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Thursday, July 30, 2009

11. Mechanical Roughs

Rough mechanicals includes your plumbing top-out, your electrical rough, your a/c rough and all of your low voltage wiring. As we discussed before their is a logical sequence as to the order of things. I have seen things get out of sequence and things never seemed to operate correctly in that house. The first thing your builder will do is get the plumber started. The plumber will run all of his water lines, drain lines and vent pipes. He will have to drill through some studs and top plates. He should never over drill holes for his pipes. You need to remember that drain lines work by gravity some there will be enough room in his bores for the pipe to 'fall'. During this phase your plumber might have to adjust some of his in slab plumbing lines and/or drains. To make these adjustments they will have to use a chipping hammer. A chipping hammer is a small jack hammer. All water lines that run in exterior walls or in the attic should be insulated at this time. Depending on the size and how your plumber is organized he might and he might not install his tubs and shower pans at this time. Your HVAC contractor can start the same day as the plumber if the home is large enough for both crews. If the home can only handle one at a time, let the HVAC guy go first. He will probably be in and out in half a day. Why do you let HVAC go first? Well the plumber needs to hook up your primary A/C drain and you want your A/C duct work and return airs run with the fewest restrictions as possible and the easiest way to ensure that is to have it installed first. All other contractors need to go around them. The only thing to check is the space for the water heater in the attic or the utility closet. the plumber can take any where from one day to almost a week depending on what is required of him. The electrical contractor should not even get started until the plumber is complete. He needs to ensure that none of his wires are touching any of the plumbers water lines. He also needs to be able to identify water areas for the placement of his GFCI's. His wiring should be bundled together and not run wildly through your studs and joist. All light fixtures should have boxes and be secured for fixture installation. Smoke detectors are placed in required locations. Weather proof boxes are installed where required. Ceiling fans are blocked and wired. This is the time to add separate switches for light kit and fan operation. Appliances should be determined by now so the proper wiring can be installed. Your furnaces are installed and A/C locations determined because your roughs are complete so the proper wiring can be run to them. Breaker box locations should have been identified prior to the electrician getting started. Don't forget to add a switch for your dishwasher. There is nothing like a two or three year old pushing buttons on the front of them. When your electrician is done you can have your low voltage wiring installed. I like to have them start on the last day when the electrician is stripping and rolling his wires in the boxes for inspection. Low voltage wiring includes; security, intercom, speaker wiring, any and all computer wiring, and/or any type of home entertainment centers. On 'Q' is also considered low voltage. Low voltage wiring is not as thick as electrical wiring and you want to make sure it does not get damaged. Just in case you need an extra electrical outlet you want the electrical contractor on the job, that is why you get your low voltage guys going on the last day he is in the home. If your plumber has not installed your tubs and shower pans, now is the time. Now you are ready to have the framer and cornice man come back and finish their punch for inspection. Seal holes in sheathing, check for bowed studs, see if anything has been knocked loose. Maybe a few studs need to added, there might be some extra blocking needed. Something bracing gets beat around or even knocked out. You need to check you soffits if you had Christmas plugs installed in them. At this point you should get the home primed and painted, if you live in a windy climate or have an all siding home. If you live in a climate where the painters are competent at 'Top Coating' after the masonry is complete - wait. Once the paint is done (to the extent that it is going to be completed) you should get the home shingled. Once the shingles are complete stage three is complete. Your home is ready for inspections.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

10. Cornice - Window and Exterior Doors

Cornice is what seals up your home. It is the installation of doors, windows, siding, fascia and soffit. Let's get started. The first thing your cornice crew is going to do is install your windows. After all of your windows are installed they should run your sheathing. There are several types of sheathing, you have deny board, Styrofoam, and some people will use O.S.B. covered with Tyvek are a similar material. Basic things to look for in window installation are the margins inside. From the inside of the home look at the distance from the wood framing and the edge of the window. The distance on the sides and top should be about the same. You don't have to worry about the bottom, because the trim carpenter will adjust for margin when he installs the window sill. the reason for installing windows prior to sheathing is that you want the sheathing to cover the window flanges to eliminate window leaks. Window leaks in masonry are especially troublesome . You end up with an eye sore masonry repair where your mortar and brick might not match. Some builders tape their flanges prior to installing their sheathing and others use deny board to insure they do not get leaks. During your pre-drywall walk you can ask what technique they used if it is not obvious. Your exterior doors are installed at this stage. construction doors might be used to protect your finished door. The door jamb will be your finished jamb. When installing exteriors doors there are several things you want to look for. You want to know what type of material is butting up to your door. Doors have different trim for different material. You have brick mold for brick and if it is siding you are going to have 1x4, are some type of trim with some width to cover the ends of the siding. Doors should never, I want to say that again - doors should never be butted up to the header cripple/stud. Doors should be tripled blocked on both sides. Exterior doors should be blocked at the hinges and the keeper. Exterior doors come with 3" screws attached to the jamb. These screws are to replace one screw in each hinge on the jamb. this will ensure that the door has an attachment through the blocks into the door header cripple. These blocks should not be continuous. these blocks allow for the vibrations that doors will get from opening and closing. I would recommend that your siding, fascia, soffit and all trim material be made of cement fiber board, Hardi is a well known brand. All soffit an fascia should be installed prior to your roof sheathing (called roof decking in some parts of the country) being installed. The reason for this is that you can not level and plumb your fascia correctly or with ease after the roof deck is installed. I know you are going to have someone tell you that they can, but I want you to know that if you look at homes done after deck you will notice the problem. Real quick, your rafter tails are at different lengths and need to be cut. You take a string line to the top of them and mark them so they are the same length. Now when I nail my sub-fascia to the ends they are already the same length and are nailed solidly to the rafter end, if I have the deck on I have cut my tails from the bottom and my deck is not even at the edges. To make my fascia straight I have to go to each rafter and pry my sub-fascia in and out if I go back at all. If you are using shingle mold now is the time to install. Shingle mold is usually a 1x2 attached at the top of your fascia. Some builders use shingle mold and some use Drip Edge. I personally prefer shingle mold for the look. Drip edge is metal and after time paint flakes off. When the cornice and roof is installed your home should be dry. When it rains, you should get no water inside the home with the exception of exterior door thresholds, if the threshold is not part of the door unit. After windows, exterior doors and your cornice is complete the home is ready for the roof sheathing installation. Depending on your part of the country you want to have the decker (roof sheathing installer) to cut deck for ridge vents. Your roofer will cut out for air hocs, roof vents and power vents. Generally your Construction Manager will claim a stage two (2) on his construction status report at this point in the process. Next - Rough Mechanicals

Monday, July 27, 2009

9. Framing - Roof, Stick -vs- Truss

There are a couple types of roofs, Trusses and Stick Frame. Truss roofs are easy to install and were almost exclusively used in apartments, town homes and condominiums. In the last decade or so they have made inroads into single family construction. They function well and do save money on the construction of production homes. When you have repeat floor plans and elevations once the roof is engineered, that cost is split by the number of times the home is built. What are the negatives of trusses? Generally it renders your attic unusable. Most truss designs utilizes a design where the bottom cord is also your ceiling joist. Being that most joist are made of 2x4 construction they can not carry a lot of weight if any. The web construction also can limit head space in the attic if you could put weight on the bottom cord. Stick framed roofs offer you more flexibility. Ceiling joist can be sized for storage space. Stick framing also lends itself to remodeling. With a stick framed roof you can convert your attic to storage space by doubling your joist adding sub floor or sheathing, also depending on your pitch a lot of attics have been converted to living space. Now, if you plan for it, trusses can be designed to meet those requirements. You can remodel attics that are trussed. Anything can be changed/remodeled, it just depends on how much you are willing to do, and pay. If you are building your home for life, and know this is where you want to be, I would say stick build the roof. Most of your custom builders stick build their roofs anyway so this might not even be a conversation for you. As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider when you are building the 'American Dream', your new home. Remember, there are no dumb questions. This is possibly the largest investment of your life. Next we need to talk about 'Cornice'. This is where we install windows, doors, soffit and fascia.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

8. Frame II

Second floor framing is like putting a one story on top of your sub floor. Things to look for; triple blocked corners and T's, deadwood, header sizes, cripples, double cripples on headers 6 feet or larger. Look for tub studs, and don't forget to kick your door jambs (door bucks) at the bottom plate. This will make sure that they are nailed. If they aren't properly secured, as time goes by your doors will not close properly and it is not an easy homeowner fix. On your frame walk ask the CM (construction manager) or CSR (customer service representative) to explain and show you a few of these things. As stated previously, Framing and Finishing are the two most difficult things to do on a home. The quality of the frame punch will have significant impact on your finished home. Doors are framed 2 1/2 inches larger than the door rough opening. Tubs in secondary baths are 60" (sixty inches), all hallways are rough framed a minimum of 38 1/2 inches wide. Framer and/or CM must have a six foot level on the job site. All sub floor is tongue and groove. seams should not line up on your sub-floor. If you tongue and/or groove are cut off during installation there needs to be a block installed at that joint. We could go on and on and on about what needs to be punched. If you a with a good builder they should be pretty good at it. The main reason that I have spent so much time on framing is that I want to impress upon you how important it is to your home. One eighth inch out of plumb in 32 inches is excessive. You want 1/8 inch in six feet. Understand that in almost all cases when the code book, which there are several, (you have to check and see which one is being used in your area ), is talking about the bear minimum. So if you were to build your home to 'the code' you would not have an exceptional frame. Arm yourself with some of the terminology and come to your walk with questions. If your CM does a good job explaining it to you, then you know he will be able to explain it to his framer. Next we need to have a short conversation about your roof framing

Thursday, July 23, 2009

7. Subfloor and Second Floor

Trusses vs I-Joist. Stick framing the floor for the second floor is obsolete. So we will not discuss it as an option.
I-joist, the quiet floor. This is a relatively new flooring system that uses two by two's on the top an bottom of O.S.B. ( oriental strand board ) for the flooring. The system is suppose to eliminate floor squeaks and sagging. The biggest benefit is cost. Now some of the problems, or should we say disadvantages of the floor. First the rules on where you can cut through the joist for plumbing and electrical are different from what most installers are accustomed with. If you do have a miss cut you need an engineer to give you a signed/sealed plan for the repair. This could cause time delays and unwanted back-charges to one or more of your mechanical contractors. You also have to be careful on how you run your A/C ducting. You don't want to run it across several of these in a row, or run across an entire room. This could make you have to frame additional chases for your ducts, or furr-downs. With open web trusses you have the ability to run all of your Mechanicals with out cutting anything. If you do have a truss repair, the repair is already on your plans and eliminates delays. Contractors are familiar with them and you eliminate that learning curve. Any monies saved in the use of I-joists is given back in the cost of the plumber, electrician and HVAC contractor, and in some cases could cost more. Talk to a framer about nailing sub floor to I Joist which is 1 1/2 inch wide versus an open web joist which is 4 to 6 inches wide. Silent floor, most floor squeaks are created by your sub-floor not your framing. Back in the days of framing floors out with 2x 12's we had those problems. Most of the time when the floor framing squeaks it is the wood against wood or the nails against the wood back when we used ledger strips instead of joist hangers, and we had X blocking. We also used shims because no two pieces of lumber are the exactly the same width. Then we also had plywood sub floors which are great with one exception -- when they get rained on they start to delaminate. You might not hear this squeak for four to eight seasons. You have to remember lumber moves with the weather. Even kiln dried lumber has drying out to do after it has been exposed to the elements during construction. During construction your lumber is exposed to whatever the weather is at that time. It swells, bows, and warps. Hopefully very little, but a little here and a little there and soon you have places for movement. Most of your quality builders will come into your home once, at the tail end of your cosmetic warranty and fix hairline cracks. The reason is they want your home to go through four seasons, that way you have to turn your heat and A/C on. You also go through that time where you might leave windows open. This time will ensure the lumber is dried and the home has settled. Gravity, snow, furniture along with just living in the home will tighten frame members. With I-joist or open web joist you eliminate a lot of the rubbing because of how their systems designed. Sub-floor should be O.S.B. This material is not laminated and has been used for some time now. It has been in use long enough that we know it works. You have to be careful with new products and systems. Some have been very painful for the homeowner and the builder, not to mention expensive. I have used I-joist in several communities in various municipalities with great success. That is why I know it takes a lot of training of sub contractors and construction managers. Sometimes the suppliers are not sure on the proper techniques for installation. If they have been in use for a while in your part of the country and your mechanical contractors are well versed with them, I say go for it. But if it is new to your area and when you talk to contractors and they don't seem real confident --stay away. Me--I am still using open web. Make sure your strong backs are on top and you get less flex. Make sure your game rooms are designed for pool tables and if the master is upstairs make sure it can handle a water bed. I know, no one has water beds anymore, but you have to remember that the average stay for people in their home is only around seven years, and that number includes people like a lot of our parents and grandparents who stayed in their homes for decades. You want to be able to sale your home when you desire to move up, move down or get a R.V. and ride. Next time more framing

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

6. Frame - 1

All lumber should be number two or better. Sometimes when the home is being built in the county or where there are no municipality inspections the builder will try to use #3 lumber instead of #2. This will save your builder a few hundred dollars, but you paid for #2 and for a home done right it should be built with #2. 'We Do Right Things Right Because That Is How They Were Meant To Be Done'. You have to watch out for finger jointed studs. Structurally they are fine. Your framer should check to make sure they were glued. Some times (more often they it should happen) they come from the mill and the joints do not have glue in them. Finger jointed studs only have strength when used vertically. They have NO structural value when used horizontally. They can not be used for plate material or bracing. I would not used them for cripples except for when most of the length can be used, i.e. door cripples. Studs on exterior walls should be placed on 16' centers, interior load bearing walls should also be on 16 inch centers. Interior non-load bearing walls can be framed 24" on center, depending on length. 16" and 24" are important measurements because everything, and I mean everything breaks on 24 or 16 inches. On one story homes depending on span, your joist span might be 16" (inch) centers or 24" centers. As you can see there can and will be cost savings by using the 24" on center joist. When going 24" you need to use 5/8" thick drywall for your ceilings. This will help eliminate your drywall from sagging over time from the weight of your blown insulation and gravity. The ideal situation would be to to have your joist on 16" center with 5/8 inch drywall on your ceilings. Some guys will try to go 24" on your joist and hang 1/2" drywall on your ceiling. Do not accept this. You will regret it in one to two years. You should expect the same quality construction in areas with no inspections as you would receive if there were full inspections. If your builder is trying to sell you on the ideal of 'Just AS Good' you need a new builder. Granted there are products that have the same function and are equal in performance, but you can not use a #3 and get #2 results. Five-eights on the ceiling is superior to half-inch. Bottom plate (the wood that is in contact with the concrete slab), should be treated material. Some will try to use 'SILL SEAL' and use untreated materials. If you have zero risk of ever having termites this might be one way of saving a few dollars. If you think you might now, or in the future have the smallest chance of termites treated is the only way to go. Termites are blind and come into the home through dirt tubes which are easy to spot, are through foundation penetrations which aren't so easy, i.e. plumbing and/or electrical. Sill seal is good with treated lumber to make sure you have a tight seal with the slab. When your insulator poly seals the home it will be that much tighter. All exterior walls should have two by twelve headers (2"x12"), interior door header's should be sized to the door. All headers should have a plywood (not OSB) flitch plate in the middle. Stud equals 3-1/2 inches wide. 2-X is 1-1/2 wide. If you double it you get 3 inches so the 1/2 inch flitch gives you the 3-1/2 inches. This also ensures the strength of the header plus ensures that the header is is flush with the studs. Punching a frame and finishing is the most difficult thing on a home. There are a lot of rules. You need strong backs on open end joist. You need rat runs, purlins, wind bracing, joist hangers, deadwood, etc. Your builder should be proficient at this. Along with your foundation this is the most important part of new home construction or remodeling. We all know the home is only as good as it's foundation. I like to say 'The Home is Only as Good as it's Foundation and Frame'. If your frame is tight ( done correctly) everything else becomes a big jig-saw puzzle. Cabinets fit, doors fit, toilets have room, tubs fit. Next we need to talk sub flooring and second floor framing. We also need to discuss I-beams vs Open web trusses.

Monday, July 20, 2009

5. Stages of Construction (Simple version)

Let's keep it simple. I am going to break the construction of your home into 10 stages. Now remember these are the basic stages to build any home. Most if not all production homebuilders have some measuring stick that they use to ensure the home is progressing at a suitable pace. Some homebuilders might have 12 or 14 stages, but they all encompass these ten mile stones.  It is a matter of what their preferences are.

Stage One - Slab Poured

Stage Two - Frame Complete - 2"

Stage Three - Shingles and Cornice Complete

Stage Four - Inspections and Insulation

Stage Five - Drywall Complete

Stage Six - Interior Trim Complete

Stage Seven - Cabinets and Interior Paint Complete

Stage Eight - Carpet Complete

Stage Nine - Final Inspections and CM punch passed and Complete

Stage Ten - Final Punch Complete, Home ready for Move-In


Obviously each stage has several activities that take place within the stage.  Remember, this is a 'Logical, Organized Sequence of Activities'.  These stages are used for planning, construction draws and to track the progess of the construction of the home.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

4. Rough Grade and Frame Drop

Rough Grade, what is it? What is the impact?
After your foundation is poured and the forms have been stripped you builder will do a form clean. This is where the lot is cleaned, all wood and concrete overspill pickup and placed in the job site dumpster or haul off to the dump depending on how your builder handles trash. Once the lot is cleaned you should get a rough grade. This is when the basic yard drainage is established. there are three basic types of drainage; they are referred to as 'A', 'B', and 'C'. 'A' drainage is horseshoe shaped with the water going back to front. The dirt slopes away from the foundation and then towards the front of the home. If you can imagine placing a horseshoe around your home with the opening towards the street. 'B' drainage is just the opposite. The opening of the horseshoe is opening towards the rear property line. Remember the yard should slope away from your foundation and into the horseshoe then to the opening. These are the two primary grades used in subdivisions/production home neighborhoods. Must towns, communities, states have a law that you can not drain your water onto others property unless there is a designated easement for drainage. 'C' drainage is used primarily on acreage lots. This is simply the water draining away from the home 360 degrees. Rough grade is important for job site safety also. Frames, cornice crews, and masons will set up scaffolding and use ladders. A well graded and drained site ensures their safety which enhances the quality of their work. Once the grade is complete (not before) you are ready for your frame drop. Depending on the size of your frame package it could come in several deliveries. There should never be more than a day and half worth of wood on the job at one time. With weather you do not want material sitting in water. Theft is also a consideration for when and how much you drop. Most lumber companies have several drop times and are accustomed to several drops. Early morning drops work real well. You have what should be a real pretty job site, take a picture. At this stage it is clean, graded, with your frame 'one' is sitting waiting for the framer.

Friday, July 17, 2009

3. Your Foundation

Your foundation is one of the most important part of your home, the other is the frame. There is nothing worse than a foundation problem, especially when it could of been avoided. There are several types of foundations, pier and beam- this is the one with a crawl space under it. You drill holes in the ground install beams, they can be concrete or sometimes they are treated post. You frame the floor out like a wood deck and build the home on top. Problem with this type of foundation is that rain and dryness and uneven yard watering can cause settling of the piers which in turn causes your floor to become uneven. Foundation leveling companies make a fortune leveling and re-leveling homes. You save money on the initial cost but you will periodically have to level the floor. The best way to go is slab on grade with an engineered post tension foundation or basement. Engineered post tension type of foundation is engineered for the soil conditions on your lot. First there are boring's taken, usually ten to fifteen feet deep to take soil samples to establish soil type. These samples are taken to a lab where moisture test and elasticity test are done. There will be a soil report generated for the foundation engineer. Based on your soil conditions the engineer will design cable locations, beam size and depth. Your builder should have a plan with the layout that also has the engineers seal and signature on it. If they let you this is an easy plan to read and understand. You just count cables going left to right and front to back. Inspections are very important. ALL HOMES SHOULD BE INSPECTED DURING CONSTRUCTION AND REMODELING. This is for your protection and the builders also. If you are in a municipality that requires building permits they probably have their own inspection department. Before I forget - try NOT to have a re bar slab. The steel corrodes and slab failures are common. If you do not have city inspections you need to pay attention. The homebuilder hires his own inspectors in these cases. The reason for this is that most financial institutions require inspections. Let's think about this,-- I hire the guy and pay the guy who is telling me what I need to correct and fix. Sounds like a good deal to me. If I am the inspector I am not going to be to tough on him because I want the next job also. I would just insure that the bare minimum requirements were met. And they do! With an engineered foundation generally the engineer inspects the foundation to ensure that the workmanship meets their standard. You need to realize that the engineer has his reputation and license to protect, not to forget they are like everyone else and do not want to find out how good or bad their insurance is. If you are building a home with a basement your walls can be poured concrete or built out of block. The one thing you want to check is the waterproofing and how they are removing the water that gathers around the walls. You need floor drains when possible. Terrain, yard slope and community rules have a lot to do with what is allowable and what your builder can and can't do. If you are in a situation where you do not have city/township inspections hire your own inspector. Your builder is liable for the first couple of years, but that is not usually when the problems occur. Protect yourself. Generally if the engineer OKs the work you should know it is good. When you move in you should pay attention to your watering habits. In the South and Southwest the builders landscape and sod the front yards of their home. We move in and do not sod the rear yards for a couple of weeks but water the front yards every day. Depending on your soil conditions this could create a problem. Expansive soils will expand from watering (the front yard) while the unsodded or landscaped part of your yard (the rear yard) will not. This can and will create unwanted stress on your foundation and could create cracks and or breaks in extreme circumstances. Your foundation is poured and it is time for the next phase, Rough Grade and Frame Drop. Remember: Building a Home is a 'Logical and Organized Sequence of Activities'. whether the home is 1200 sq ft or 12,000 sq ft the sequence is the same.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

2. Your Lot

Let's talk about lot selection. Most homebuilders charge a premium for cul-de-sac lots and corner lots. Let's talk about corner lots first. There are added costs associated with corner lots. If you have privacy fencing, the outside fence's total cost goes to that lot. Public sidewalks add cost, the extra sod and dirt used for grading add cost. You get the benefit of no neighbor on that side, and usually your lot is a little larger. Sometimes there is an easement, but it is your yard so a put a swing, barbeque or maybe hammock on it.  You can not put permanent structures on top of easements.  Cul-de-sac lots have their own benefits, no thru traffic, and a great place to put a basketball goal, hockey net, etc., for the kids. Generally your front yard is going to be smaller than the yards of your neighbors. Lots at the back of the cul-de-sac are pie shaped which sometimes gives you different shaped rear yards based on your home’s footprint. Think about your family, where you want to be in time, how long you are going to be in your home, and do not forget--KID'S GROW UP. I think a lot of people find their homes and yards are great for them now, just to find out in three to five years they can't function in it. Your homebuilder and/or your realtor want a sale; sorry--they want a closing. To them your home might be just another house, rather a paycheck. You have to really look out for your own interest. Once you have found a lot that will satisfy your wants and/or needs, next we have to talk about foundations.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

1. "Your New Home"

Let's talk about your new home. I am not going to make you an expert homebuilder, but I will try to give you an education on what to look for during the new home construction process and/or remodeling of your "New Home". You see whether you are building a home from dirt or are purchasing an existing home, it is new to you. The homebuilder does make a difference. He is the guy who is managing the job and is going to determine if you receive the quality you deserve. he is the one who is hiring and firing subcontractors. He is the one who is hiring and firing all of the vendors and suppliers. He is the one who is determining what products are going to be used and which ones are not going to be used in your home. Products also make a difference. He is also the the one who will inspect the workmanship of the contractors and insure the quality and completeness of their work. So let's make sure that we receive our dream in the 'American Dream'. You will learn enough to be dangerous. And that is a good thing.