With the home’s sub-floor down and the exterior walls
framed and up, the framing crew was on to the roof. Though the roof was rather
simple in structure with just a 12/12 pitch and no valleys it was a significant
framing undertaking due to just the size and height of it. The house was 32 feet
wide by 44 feet in length, and the exterior side walls stood 11 feet tall in the
great room. This exterior wall height of 11 feet translated into a roof ridge
that was 27 feet off the floor of the great room.
Consequently staging was required to install the ridge pole
and roof rafters. In addition, since the span from the top of the walls to the
ridge was so long, heavy 2x12s were required for the roof rafters.
Within
a week, however, the team had completed the installation of the roof rafters and
the house began to take on real shape.
I should comment briefly about the sub-floor and exterior
walls before I move on.
I decided on using ¾” tongue and groove plywood for the
sub-flooring rather than OSB / particle board as I was concerned that the OSB
was too sensitive to moisture. I was concerned about this, both from the
construction phase and from normal home use. I was concerned that during the
construction phase that snow and ice could potentially lead to damage such as
warping.
I have seen this before when OSB was used on sub-flooring.
I was also concerned that during the life of the home, that there could be water
incidents, e.g. a leaking dishwasher or washer machine that also could also lead
to water damage to the floor. I also believe that plywood is stronger and
that it would provide for a more solid and rigid floor.
Regarding the exterior wall framing I used 2x6
construction. This is typical in New England as the additional wall depth allows
for higher insulation factors; a must in colder climates.
Sheathing the Outside of the Home
In order to get plumbing and electric contractors onto a
site typically they want the home “buttoned up”. This includes the roof shingled
and the doors and windows on. Thus my framing crew moved onto the exterior
sheathing once the walls and roof framing were complete.
As with the sub-floor, I again chose plywood for the
exterior sheathing for the same reasons mentioned earlier. On the exterior walls
½” exterior grade plywood was used. On the roof 5/8” exterior grade plywood was
used. I know many builders today use OSB for both the walls and roof, however,
I still believe for stronger construction plywood is the way to go.
The sheathing effort took about a week to complete. During
this time exterior doors and windows showed up on the site. Staging the delivery
of material reduces theft and insurance risk as well as keeps a less cluttered
construction site. However, as I have indicated earlier, communication is
critical when you are doing “Just-in-Time” material delivery.
Installing Exterior Doors and Windows
The installation of the doors and windows was a major
undertaking for this project as the lake side view of the home was literally a
wall of windows; 32 feet in width and 27 feet in height. A great deal of
engineering had gone into the window design so that the 10 large custom windows
would fit together like a jig saw puzzle. This said, when the windows arrived on
site and were inspected, it was determined that some of them were not built
correctly to the dimensions specified. After much debate with the framing crew,
the window vendor and me we reached a compromise on sharing the cost of fixing
the windows. The window vendor took back the improperly sized windows and the
framing crew began the installation of the doors and what windows they could
install. Fortunately the window vendor was able to return to the site with the
properly sized windows within a few days and the construction phase did not miss
a beat.
Completing the Interior Framing
With the doors and windows installed, the framing crew
proceeded to complete the Interior Framing. This was an exciting time, as the
rooms began to take real shape. You could now walk down hallways and into
bedrooms and closet areas. Within just a few days the interior walls were
complete and the framing crew proceeded onto the roof for the shingling.
I should note that 2x4 construction was used on the
interior walls as insulation was not required on the interior walls.
Shingling the Roof
The last task to complete before the house could be
classified as “Buttoned Up” was to install the shingles on the roof. Fortunately
my framing crew was also able to do this task, thus eliminating the need for yet
another subcontractor.
I chose a 30 year architectural shingle due to the quality
and look I was trying to achieve on the home.
Though relatively a simple roof, it was quite large and the
weather was less than hospitable. Consequently it took nearly 2 weeks to
complete this task. However, with the roof complete, my electric and plumbing
contractors were now able to begin their work.
Also, with the main house now structurally complete, the
framing crew moved onto the garage framing and construction phase. As a result
of staging the garage behind the main home construction phase, I was able to
have subcontractors work in parallel without getting in each others way.
Rough Electric and Plumbing
With the house “Buttoned-Up”, my Electric and Plumber
subcontractors showed up to begin the roughing in phase of their respective
tasks.
Rough Electric
I had met a few days before on site with the Electric
subcontractor to discuss the placement of all the wall outlets and switches, as
well as where the light fixtures would be situated. During our discussion he
marked the wall studs for the placements of the electric wiring boxes so that we
could visualize the entire electric wiring scheme. We also marked where the
telephone and cable boxes would reside.
During the electrical rough in wiring phase, the
electrician installed all the wiring boxes and ran wire from the boxes to where
the main circuit panel box would reside.
Rough Plumbing
As with the Electrical Subcontractor, I had met several
weeks earlier with the Plumbing Contractor. During this meeting we discussed the
form of heat for the home, as well as where the bathrooms and kitchen were to
reside in the home. We also discussed types of bathroom fixtures including tubs,
sinks and toilets. Consequently, when he showed up on site he new exactly where
to run main drain and supply pipes and vent stacks. He also roughed in all of
the plumbing for each bathroom and kitchen plumbing fixture.
Within a week both the Electrical and Rough Plumbing
contractors had completed their tasks and had successfully passed their
respective inspections.
To Be Continued ….
In Part 4 of “Building Your Dream House”, Electric and
Plumbing continue and the Kitchen Design is explained. Stay tuned……………
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