New Home Framing Project

One of the first decisions to make when starting a new home framing project is what materials to use. Wood framing is standard on many homes, but to ensure that walls will be straight where cabinets will hang, it is necessary to avoid using rapid-growth light spring wood; although the rapid growth makes it faster and cheaper to produce, it can cause the lumber to twist and bow when it dries out, causing walls to become wavy. These wavy walls can cause a variety of problems for contractors who need to install cabinetry and countertops or do finish work. Instead, steel wall studs should be used. Alternatively, "special engineered lumber that is perfectly straight and will remain so even as the house acclimates instead" can be used (1). One of the disadvantages of wood-framed homes is their limited durability. Wood is subject to termites, rotting, and mildew, and when the wood becomes damaged, the house's structure is threatened.

Steel is an excellent alternative to wood. Steel framing contractors use computers to design the framing to meet with local building codes, and they can use architect plans designed for a wood-framed house to create a computer-generated drawing for a steel home, plus a parts list needed to replace the lumber. One advantage of using steel framing is that the parts arrive predrilled, numbered, and color-coded for easier framing. Another advantage is environmental; a typical home uses about six recycled cars worth of steel compare

Related Essays

New Home Framing One of the first dechsions to make when starting a new home framing project is what materials to use. Wood framing is standard on .... (1350 5 )

Analysis of Residential Construction Industry .... are used at various phases of the project to ensure .... Sites must be graded before framing can begin, for .... 20 years, the size of the average new home has increased .... (2606 10 )

Videotape Domestic Violence Proposal The project will be a .... the way of education and training to start a .... life for .... tires to reassure he, she only wants to go home. .... and Washizu listen to the Old Woman, framing the hut .... (4076 16 )

GENDER BIAS IN A MILITARY ORGANIZATION .... section of this project, "Focusing and Framing the Issue .... The .... data examined by the researchers were collected from .... with respect to work and home than those .... (4491 18 )

Carleton Watkins' Photography of the West .... York in 1829 and in 1851 he "left home for excitement .... In 1864 Watkins had begun to use the .... Globe lens .... c. 1865-66) it is plain that the framing trees are .... (3021 12 )

a crawl space, or a slab, although houses in wet or coastal areas are sometimes put up on posts. To make a crawl space the crew digs a set of trenches and holes and then pours concrete into them to form a concrete beam for the house to rest on; if the site slopes, the beam will be stepped instead of flat. A crawl space is superior to basements and slabs in several senses. It elevates the house off the ground, which is good in damp or termite-prone areas, is relatively inexpensive, and provides an easily serviceable area for duct work and plumbing (4). Preparation for a basement differs in that the crew digs a square hole about 8 feet deep instead of a series of trenches and holes. On top of the concrete slab at the bottom of the hole are concrete or cinder-block walls. For a slab, the crew makes a trench around the outside approximately 2 feet deep and then completely levels the area for the pad. Then the concrete is poured directly on the ground, with little labor involved. The slab works best on level ground in warmer climates; in colder climates, the freezing can shift the concrete. Once the concrete is poured, it is necessary to wait for two weeks while it cures before further work can be done (4). The layout shows the

Category: Science - N