Home > Blogs > Bob Arena - home inspector:-) > Bob Arena's Blog

Lesson of the Day (Step #3) - House Construction Made Easy - Framing Construction

By Bob Arena - home inspector:-)

Home Inspector with Arena Home Inspections - #1 in USA !!!

October 10, 2011 08:21 AM

Floor Framing -

The framing crew starts by building the floor (if the house is to be built on a slab, then the slab is the floor).

The floor starts with a sill-plate made of pressure treated lumber in direct contact with the bricks of the crawl space wall. The floor is then constructed on the sill.

Brick posts hold a beam that runs down the center of the house. The beam is typically built from 2"x10" lumber (three pieces thick).

All of the joists (the 2x10s in the floor) meet on this center beam.

Once the floor framing is complete, it is covered with 1/2-inch or 5/8-inch plywood or OSB (oriented strand board).

Wall Framing -

Walls are first assembled on the ground, and then are raised into place.

The walls are typically made of 2"x4" lumber, which are then covered on the outside with a plywood or OSB sheathing.

Most of the 2x4s are placed 16 inches away from the center of the next (exceptions are for areas where windows/doors will go, and for where inside wall framing will go).

The outer sheathing will be cut out of the window openings as construction proceeds.

Above the windows is a 2x10 header (two 2x10s with 1/2-inch-thick plywood in between and a 2x4 along the bottom).

Headers are located over all windows and doors.

Headers give the wall enough strength over the window or door to support the roof.

All of the exterior walls go up following this same basic pattern.

In the corners, the top plate on one wall overlaps the top plate of the next, and the walls are nailed together to bind the corner.

Then the interior walls go up, fitting into the top plates of the exterior walls.

The walls of the garage are built slightly differently (because the garage will have a slab floor). The walls are bolted directly to the brick foundation walls.

The outside walls are then covered in a house wrap. House wraps prevent outside water from entering the walls and help to seal the home to keep outside air where it belongs. House wraps help reduce homeowner energy bills because homes stay cool in the summer, and warm in the winter, and dry all year round.

Roof Framing -

Many houses have trusses for roof framing. Trusses are pre-fabricated, triangulated wooden structures used to support the roof.

Trusses are have become much more common because they are strong, quick to install, less expensive, can be custom built, and large spans are possible (weight is transmitted to exterior walls - which means that none of the interior walls are load-bearing).

From the homeowner's standpoint, the only disadvantage is that attic space is very limited.

The older method of constructing roof's frame is with 2x8s and 2x10s, increases your attic space, but doesn't have the advantages listed above.

Trusses come in several standard configurations, an M-Truss, a Scissors Truss (for cathedral ceilings, etc), and a Gable Truss (used at ends of the roof).

The trusses are tied to the walls with small metal plates.

Once the trusses are up, the roof is covered in plywood or OSB, which gives the roof great rigidity and strength.

Lesson of the Day (Step #3) - House Construction Made Easy - Framing Construction

Comments(0)

Bob Arena - home inspector:-)

Recent Posts

Additional Information