Bob & RodMan Home Show Building Basics

Getting it right the first time when building a home is the only way to fly if you're to enjoy living there.   There are basic components in the structure of a house that are exceedingly difficult and expensive to rework so they meet industry specifications once they've been installed incorrectly. Ergo, get'em right the first time!!!
Problem home components are:
1.    Footings and Foundations - No structure is any more stable than its footing and foundation. The footing is particularly important since it bridges any weaknesses in the soil and keeps your home from settling.   This is a case where too much is better and the cost difference between more than adequate and marginal isn't all that much compared to the total cost of your home. As a basic rule, your footing ought be 3,000 lb. concrete measuring 2' wide x 12" deep (minimum ... I go 18") reinforced with two to four pieces of #4 rebar. While the footing should be something close to level and square, these aspects are less important than strength as they can be established during construction of the foundation.
The foundation is the connecting structure between the footing and framing of your home. While strength is an important factor in your foundation, it's equally important that your foundation be as 1- plumb (vertical), 2- square, and 3- level as possible. As your foundation goes, so goes the rest of your home in terms of these three basics. A truism in residential construction has it that if the foundation's not plumb, square, and level, you're going to fight it all the way to the ridge of the roof in framing, sheet rocking, cabinet installation, and so forth. Foundations should be absolutely plumb and square, and level to within fractions of an inch, i.e. less than 1/4". Installers may complain, but they can do it and they will if you make it a condition for them getting paid!!! Poured foundation walls should be built within the same parameters as apply to conventional footings and foundations. Take our word for it, if you start the structure of your home off right, you're going to appreciate it time and time again. Let someone else worry about sticking doors and windows, cracks running up the wall, and real expensive repairs.

1a. Slabs - Homes built on slabs (no crawl space or basement) are not our first choice, but should you decide to go that way, you might want to consider the following in your specifications. 1) The soil should provide adequate bearing of the load the house will impose. This bearing should be verified by a soils engineering firm, especially if fill is involved. 2) The minimums required by typical local inspecting authorities may not be rigorous enough in our opinion. An engineering firm can advise you as to insulation, concrete, reinforcement, and sizing, and may be willing to recommend installation folks you can trust. 3) You'd do well to insist that AT LEAST 3" of gravel covered with a thick layer of polyethylene be installed under your slab to help preclude water problems. It'd be a good idea for folks around Atlanta to have Ryan Lawrence, our goto water control resource, check this puppy, Water Solutions, (678) 449-8890.

2.    Water control - Waterproofing should be done as an essential part of the construction process. A real competent waterproofing expert with verifiable credentials, Ryan Lawrence, (678) 449-8890, or a civil engineer who's got professional engineer certification (a p.e.) can design a system for your site that will insure you never have to worry with water problems. A p.e. should design and put their stamp on a system that he or she personally guarantees will work. It's a lot easier and less expensive to handle this during construction than it is to go back later. In Atlanta, you'll not beat Ryan Lawrence, Water Solutions, (678) 449-8890.
3.    Pest control - The EPA has taken the "good stuff" off the market. Here again, diligence during construction will save heartaches and money on down the road. Termites are of particular concern and there are construction techniques and materials that will stop them cold. Make sure you do your homework and implement such measures. Briefly, don't let your contractor bury trash around your home, don't use foundation insulation unless it's termite proof, and framing members in areas termites go for (like the plates on top of your foundation wall or in contact with your slab) should be pressure treated wood. Check out 24 by 7 Pest Control for a good source on pest control how-to. They can be reached at 770-734-9874.
. 4.    Framing - Square / plumb / level are the standards here. God in his wisdom made squares, tapes, plumb bobs, chalk lines, and levels solely so we mortals wouldn't have to depend on fallible vision and "experience" to get things right. No professional carpenter with your best interests at heart would be caught "eye-balling" his or her work. "Eye-ballers" are likely to announce with pride that the work on your home looks great from where they live. If you make an ally of your building inspector without setting up an adversarial relationship between him and your carpenters, you won't have to worry about faulty headers (heavier framing on openings designed to withstand greater loads) over windows and doors, or any other structural deficiencies in your home's construction. You, on the other hand, need to unobtrusively check around with your level and square to insure framing is being installed to professional tolerances. Note: An easy way to determine if a corner is square is the 3-4-5 rule. 3 units (inches, feet, centimeters, etc.) on one side of a corner and 4 units on the other side should result in a hypotenuse of 5 units if the corner is square.
5.    Squeak-free floor installation - There's nothing as irritating as a squeaky floor, 'specially if your home's brand new. Squeaks result from sections of decking rubbing against each other or up and down on a nail. Prevention's easy. Make sure the decking of your floor is installed with glue and screws as per manufacturer's / building code specifications for the decking being used. A bullet proof installation would be floor joists of appropriate size for the distance spanned, covered with plywood decking installed with construction adhesive on every joist and screws placed in the industry specified fastening pattern. Note: A floor joist with a structural flaw can sometimes make noise when the floor it supports is stepped on. The possibility of this happening can be minimized by careful material selection.
6.    Siding - Vinyl, brick, and stone are as maintenance free as it gets. Real 3-coat stucco properly applied to industry specifications is equally trouble free. Stained redwood, cedar, fir, or pine are next. Painted redwood, cedar, pine, or fir bring up the rear. Synthetic stucco, composite wood, and anything else are invitations to heartache ... don't matter what anyone says.

7.    HVAC balance - We can't think of any complaint more common than "if it's comfortable upstairs, you freeze / burn up downstairs". Unless you're a rare exception, this could be said of different living areas in your home. The reason living zones in homes vary so widely in terms of comfort is that heating & air conditioning systems are seldom designed to make uniformity of conditioned air the rule, not the exception. And don't forget to insure your HVAC system provides for adequate combustion air and fresh air in your home. Here again, the services of a credentialed professional are required and this is a case in which we would get a design from a professional engineer with that "p.e" stamp of guaranteed performance. A lot of jurisdictions require this as a permitting hurdle. For folks in Atlanta, you'd do well to contact our goto HVAC resource, Mikhail 'Michael' Britt, Shumate Mechanical, (678) 584-0880. Mikhail's as good as they get!!!
8.    Adequate water pressure / reliable supply piping - A licensed plumber can be relied on to size pipe properly with the exception of the supply from the street to your house. That main supply should be a minimum of 1" no matter what folks say ... matter of fact, we like 1-1/4". As for the pipe material, it should be copper made up with lead free solder from the meter to the point of use. There are new cross linked poly-type pipe products out there supposedly tested in Europe for decades. If it involved our Mommas' houses, it'd be copper. This being America, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, you can do any dog gone thing you like. Again, You'd do well to use 1-1/4" copper pipe from the street. In Atlanta, we ALWAYS us Seagraves Plumbing, (404) 792-2221, as we have going on 3 decades.
9.    Insulation - Most Important - The paper side (vapor barrier) on batt insulation always faces the heated space. In terms of effectiveness, ceilings are most important, then walls, then floors. Fireplaces can be real energy thieves, along with windows and doors. Note: Insulation in vaulted ceilings is a real bear to install after construction is finished. Make sure baffles are installed if you have a vaulted ceiling so insulation doesn't block ventilating air flow from soffit vent (which must be continuous) to ridge vent.

10. Roofing - Make sure your roof is applied to specifications published by the NRCA (National Roofing Contractors Association), ARMA (the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association), and the specific roofing manufacturer who makes your shingles. These specifications are the same for the most part. One difference that comes to mind is that ARMA champions petrochemical products for some flashing applications while the NRCA specifies metal. Go with the metal and err on the side of caution. Note: There is nothing more important to the life of your roof than the color of your shingles. Lighter is better than dark for longevity and, to a lesser degree, proper ventilation will help your roof last. In ventilating your attic and/or the entire underside of your roof deck, more is not necessarily better as the most effective route for ventilation air may get short circuited / bypassed. Ideally, make-up air (outside air) should be drawn from the eaves (edges) of your roof and exhaust air (attic air) should be released by way of a power ventilator(s) with a humidistat(s) or by turbine vent(s), either mounted near the ridge of the roof in a manner to vent the entire structure. Ridge vents are as desirable as the two foregoing in our opinion.   There are variations on this theme. Make sure your builder and his roofer understand those variations and install the most effective ventilation system possible given the structure of your home.
11. Flashing details - Flashings are installed to stop water from getting where you don't want it. When you hear about leaks around chimneys, vent stacks that go through the roof, windows, doors, areas where a deck ties in to home, or areas where a roof ties into a wall, you're probably hearing about a problem that has resulted from the absence of, or improper installation of, flashings. ARMA, the NRCA, masonry and appliance associations, door and window manufacturers, building code books and other specifying authorities publish details on how flashings should be applied. Make sure your home has been flashed in compliance with those specifications. The only flashing material we rely on is metal save in the case of plumbing vents where rubberized boots will serve you well.

Make sure your contractor is able to fluently discuss with you the specifications and design parameters found in such publications as:
A- "Architectural Graphic Standards" - found at your local library or bookstore.
B- American Plywood Association.
C- Southern Pine Marketing Council.
D- The applicable building code for your inspection area.

12. Scheduling - There is nothing more critical to successful construction operations than maintaining a realistic, professional schedule of events. While there will always be some adjustments, the following flow of events is the way things ought to go on a typical remodeling project. Modifications for new construction should be subject to ready identification and implementation. In addition, the schedule is going to dictate the flow of the money.

1- Do your homework. It should take you at least as long to get ready for a remodeling project as it takes to get the work done. Changes in midstream are more costly than you can believe. Spend more time than you think could possibly be necessary to design your floor plan, decide on paint colors and plumbing fixture manufacturers, pick out hardware for your windows, doors, and cabinets, etc. Decide and record every detail imaginable down to the quality of the framing lumber and nails or screws you want used.
2- Reconnoiter the site and insure there are not going to be any drainage or septic problems. If landscaping is required, get someone who does grading to come out and give a price.
3- Locate any septic / sewage lines and underground utilities before any grading or excavation begins. The best way to do this is:

Underground utilities - in Georgia, and in most states, there will be a utilities protection center with a phone number. This center has been established by the utility companies to obviate the problem of excavation interruptions of electrical, gas, water, phone, and cable systems that are underground, and to assign responsibility should a problem occur. Within 72 hours of notification, the utilities protection center will arrange for all your underground systems to be flagged. In Georgia the Utilities Protection Center (UPC) phone # is (800) 282-7411.
Septic / sewage lines - Septic tanks are usually located by probing the earth 5'-10' in line with the exiting sewer line. Drain fields must be located by a leak detection engineering contractor and can be anywhere on your property. Sewage lines usually run in the shortest line from where they exit the structure to the street, but if you have any doubt at all, let a utility, or leak detection service, flag the line for you.

4- Determine what zoning or permits will be required for the work to be done. This will include any submissions of building plans / set-backs from property lines / flood plain compliance / tree surveys/ verification of necessary licenses, insurance, bonds, etc.
5- Before you allow work to mobilize, much less get started, have a bullet proof contract specifying EVERYTHING you want done, how much you expect to pay at appropriate stages in the process and by what protocol payments will be approved. We've found it best to hinge payments on when things get started vs. when something's finished. Finished covers a multitude of sins and depends on perspective ... ain't no doubt when something gets started. Wouldn't hurt to have an attorney experienced in residential matters guide you through this step, 'specially if there's a lot of money on the line. If you're in Atlanta, we'd call William Back or Doug Duncan, Manley, Back & Duncan,(404) 633-7000. Should Doug and William not be set up to do it, I 'spect they'll know an attorney who is.
6- Demolition. This includes any preparation of the existing structure for the improvements you plan to make. In new construction, it may include site preparation in accordance with local and EPA requirements.
7- STAY INVOLVED & COMMUNICATE with your contractor the moment something offends your intuition. If it don't look or act right, make sure he or she gets it fixed or a logical, understandable, nonconfrontational explanation puts you at ease.
8- Should there be a change to what's called for in the contract, put it in writing IMMEDIATELY along with a provision for payment.
9- Finally, keep in mind that whoever has the money wins!!! Don't turn loose yo' money 'til you're SURE you got what you're paying for!