Build Your Own Home & work with Contractors

Chapter 13: Drywall and Concrete Flatwork

The below is an excerpt from a book of 309 pages, 19 Chapters, 10 Appendices

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The major activities of this chapter are Drywall (sheetrock) and exterior concrete work.

Detailed Schedule - Part I*

• Drywall smooth ceilings (except garage) (hang, tape, and mud in 2 weeks). Builder to cover doors/windows/fireplace (temporary heat?)
  
• Texture (garage ceiling,) bullnose corner bead?
  
• Insulation blown above ceiling after drywall hung and taped.
  
• Call-before-dig (800-351-1111 or 811 in Tennessee.) Give 72hr notice -good for 15 subsequent days.
  
• Get employee / Sub I-9 forms, SSN, W-4’s, address, phone, I-15 workman comp. Get Certificate of Insurance (See Chapter 5.)
  
• Order Driveway & walk forms (form boards.) Pour driveway, walks at street & house, patio, porch, condensing unit pad, door stoops, brick inlay block-outs, steps, stairs on hill.
  
• Order: 2x4 forms, treated 1x4 joint, retarder, mesh (if desired,) & expansion joint.
  
• (Call Code Enforcement for driveway inlet inspection).
  
• Call Termite pre-treatment spray for porch & patio before pour driveway etc. Need termite pre-treat under porches & ...                          

 (SCHEDULE IS CONTINUED IN BOOK)

*Detailed Schedule – Part I in this chapter continues the sequence of construction tasks, following Part H in Chapter 12. See Appendix B for complete Detailed Schedule. Dimensions and amounts are based on codes in Tennessee, Colorado, and Florida, local requirements, and the Uniform Building Code that change annually in some cases, so verify all in this book before acting on them.

Scope of Work for Drywall Sub:

Chapter 12 describes steps to prepare for the drywall (also called: sheetrock, gyp board, gypsum board.) Many builders will order their own drywall, and hire labor to hang, finish, and sand it. This can save a little money, but we always found it better to get a complete job from one subcontractor. If you have never done this type of work you will under or over order, and your job will either experience delays or excess waste because of your inexperience. When the drywall subcontractor is responsible for producing a total package, there will be only one source of errors and only one person to call for corrections. He knows how to order the correct number of sheets and where to store them inside the house. This sub will order cornerbead, mud, screws, nails, tape, texture, and will be responsible for the correct quantity of each.

The sheetrock sub will supply all wallboard, will hang it, and finish it. You will have to clean out the house as he proceeds, and there is usually a great deal of waste. Much of the waste is due to your sub’s laborers being paid by the piece (number of sheets hung,) rather than by the hour or by the job. This encourages the hanger to cut up as many sheets as he can, a lot of which is discarded. You can throw this waste out the windows and have your trash sub haul it off.

If your drywaller hanger uses screws rather than nails, the job will produce a nicer finish, but either is adequate. Nails produce a few so-called pops, where the head eventually shows, but this is easily repaired. Nail pops are not normally covered by a builder’s warranty, and are an expected byproduct of construction (we repaired them anyway.)

Photo 14: Curved drywall walls, flared stair, with iron balusters, balcony, and rails, job-built treads.

Curved walls (Photo 14) always proved to be the most difficult application for flat drywall sheets. Usually the curve was framed by setting studs about three inches apart on a radiused plate, sawn on a curve out of treated 2x10 or similar lumber. The normally straight drywall had to be scored and broken at intervals that formed sections of small straight wall that had to be mudded repeatedly with a trowel to form a curved surface. This took some artistic ability and many, many trips from the finisher to complete. They never applied enough compound, and the curve was never smooth. I would often have to complete the inadequately curved surface by building up layers of drywall mud, allowing it to dry between coats, and sanding. Drywallers were production conscious and would move on to the next large job before completing details like a rounded wall.

Many different techniques have been observed to attempt a curved wall from flat sheets of thin plywood or metal sheets. Few have been successful. The best way seemed to be to spray a couple of sheets of ¼” sheetrock with a water hose periodically while they lay against a wall until bowing. Then two still damp layers were stacked to make a 1/2” thickness on top of each other on the stud wall and screwed then mudded. It was not perfect and still required several applications of joint compound to create a smooth curved surface, but it was closer than other methods. To summarize, your sub will not provide an adequate curved wall, and you will have to finish it yourself, or hire someone and pay them extra to do it.

Drywall is available in traditional four foot and in five foot wide sheets, that are made to accommodate a nine or ten foot ceiling. This can thus be facilitated without installing an extra one foot wide cut piece on top of two four-foot sheets and having to mud an extra joint to achieve the same ten foot height. The sheetrock subs still charge extra for the higher ceilings, regardless of the fact that there is no more work. This is probably just because they can.

Bullnose cornerbead has attained recent popularity and is really attractive. This curved-nosed edge on outside corners of openings and wall edges will cost more. The subs say it is harder to finish. You may have to follow the drywall finisher with a trowel and joint compound to complete his work, as the radiused edges will be left incomplete and rough looking otherwise. The subs seldom get a smooth final finish on bullnose. Arched bullnose cornerbead is available also in a series of split tabs for bending. This rounded-edged wall effect appears more in southwestern architecture where adobe likely originated.

On a few early porch ceilings we used green board that was gypsum board with a green paper skin, and was designated for damp areas, since the paper was water resistant (but not the board, which was under roof.) This was used in lieu of Masonite hardboard for a smooth ceiling. We always had to remind the drywall finisher when omitted, because it was not usual, and he would overlook it. This had to be prepared as a smooth finished ceiling even though the interior might be textured, but the joints were hidden with tape and joint compound (mud.) Since the framer, the drywaller, the painter, and other subs were not accustomed to using it, we discontinued this practice to avoid confusing our trades (subcontractors.) Chapter 17 discusses finishes for the drywall ceiling.

Green board was also used on some shower wall surrounds, but proved also difficult to execute, as the drywall sub would always forget to order it and the tile sub was not used to using it. So, eventually we began using the more expensive conventional cement board Durock.

Another problem you may encounter is that OSHA requires erection of a temporary construction guardrail at any balcony or landing above a certain height. You may have to do this work, as the framer will have moved on to another job. The easiest way is to use lag screws into the side of the balcony edge to hold up 2x4 posts to which rails will be fastened. Then when the drywaller is hanging, he will rip down the guardrails, creating a violation, in order to cover the edge. Some manufacturers have created expensive boots to be set on top of the balcony and avoid this conflict. It may just be easier and less risky to tell the hanger that you will repair the spots where the posts are later, and to leave the guardrail in place.

It usually takes a drywall contractor about two weeks to complete his work, prior to texturing the ceiling at a later date (See chapter 17.) This author would often take a vacation about this time, since there was nothing to be done until the drywaller finished hanging, taping, mudding (two or three coats,) and sanding the joints. After the taping begins you can call the insulator to blow in the ceiling insulation. In winter it may be necessary to provide temporary heat, so the mud joints set up properly without cracking. A gas-fired salamander heater that uses propane or natural gas gives off water vapor as a byproduct of combustion, thus requiring longer drying times, but stronger joints due to the slower rate. Electric heat for a construction project can be more expensive, but we used to plug small space heaters in the temporary power supply, and use unmetered power (this is confidential.)

Steel Tub Protection:

Several enameled steel tubs had to be replaced at our expense due to the drywall hanger either missing with his hammer, or the nails and debris he dropped into the tub being stepped on while working, or someone stepping on the rim with gritty boots. All of these errors caused chips and dings in the tubs. No one ever admitted to having been responsible, but we knew which sub was there working around the tubs, usually the drywaller. The plumber had to install the tub prior to drywall being hung in order to get his roughin inspection before the framing inspection could be certified. He would have to do a standing water test in each tub to check for leaks in the piping, so delaying the tub installation at this stage was not an option.

All sorts of innovations were attempted to protect the tubs from damage, including duct taping the cardboard cutouts from the shipping boxes on the tub surfaces, as .... (CONTINUED IN BOOK)
...

Contractor’s Duties for Concrete Flatwork:

You may be surprised to learn that the exterior driveway, walks, patio, porches, air conditioning pads, steps, and other flatwork are poured prior to final grading (see Chapter 18). It may seem reasonable that the grading of the land should be established prior to realizing the correct placement of concrete. This is not the case, since the final grading will be determined based upon the elevation of concrete surfaces lying there that connect to the house pad and street at a predetermined elevations. Your subcontractor should have sufficient expertise to judge the contour of the final landscape and roughly excavate for his concrete flatwork based upon his assessment of the final slope of grade, due to lot edge elevations, drainage, slab, and street levels.

Driveways normally slope continuously toward the street gutters. Walks must slope to drain, and abut the porch and driveway or street at each end. Patios and porches connect to the house at about four inches below the floor level and pitched to drain away from the house at least 2% (2 inch drop per 100 inches horizontally). A different slope may be stipulated by local codes. All of these exterior concrete surfaces will have their underlayment graded by your concrete flatwork subcontractor before the grading sub returns.

We once had a lot where the street was about ten feet higher than the front garage entrance and the setback was only about forty feet. We had to build a swale into the driveway to carry water away from the garage door opening. This was one case where the drive did not slope toward the street, but dipped to the middle from both ends at steep slopes.

Be sure your plumber has finished installing his building sewer, cleanouts, water line, and gas main from street mains to the house, and that he has run pressure tests and passed required inspections prior to calling your concrete flatwork subcontractor to begin. The water meter box and cover should be installed and any electrical underground feeds (yard lanterns, main service, etc. must be completed. Call-before-Dig has to also be notified, and ground surface markings made by them before laying site concrete.

You, the general contractor, will have to order form materials for the flatwork. This will consist of 2 x 4 utility grade lumber in long lengths, usually sixteen feet or more for forms. Be sure to figure in enough 2 x 4 material for support stakes. Control joints can be scored with a hand tool after troweling, but it is better to use 1 x 4 cedar or treated lumber. In Florida galvanized angle is being used for driveway joint material. Order 5 lbs of twelve-penny (12 d) common nails for your sub to use in staking the forms. Include 1x4 butyl-impregnated joint, and liquid retarder (to slow the concrete surface curing process for a stronger bond.)

You will need to reach the local utility’s call-before-dig department several days prior to the arrival of the subcontractor, so that the earth can be marked, showing the location of utilities. Make a note on a calendar (or your computer or cell phone’s appointment alarm) as to when the call-before-dig guarantee expires, so that you will not be liable for any broken lines below grade. Even though the flatwork seems shallow, we had a sub break a high pressure gas main digging the drive inlet on one home....
.... (CONTINUED IN BOOK)

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2 parts of 15 parts of a Detailed Schedule of tasks to build a house

The below is an excerpt from a book of 309 pages, 19 Chapters, 10 Appendices

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Appendix B – Complete Detailed Building Schedule

This appendix [excerpt] contains [part of the total] compiled detailed building schedule -a list from the fifteen partial lists (A-O) presented in the chapters of this book. The tasks shown should adequately cover the majority of details needed to complete a dwelling in chronological order.
Verify some municipal requirements with your city, county, and state authorities, as those detailed in this book reflect mostly Tennessee, Colorado, and Florida stipulations. Regulations, dimensions, and quantities are based on state codes, local requirements, and the Uniform Building Code that change frequently.

Planning & Preliminary - Part A         [1 part of 15 parts of the total schedule]

The below partial list, Part A of the Detailed Building Schedule, is from Chapter 2:

• Record Data: area (sq. ft.): 1^st floor ________ 2^nd floor ________ =Conditioned area (inside brick.) Garage area (outside blocks)= ________. Miles to Job______ Slab area(block to block, w/garage)_____. Lin. Ft. of outside footers _____1^st floor ____2^nd floor. _______Lineal ft. of perimeter with garage.
  
• Preliminary Preparation: Rough estimate of Lot cost. Get wetlands study (Florida) on lot, _________________ environmental engineer ________________phone.
  
• Lot Purchase Date ______________, Closing title Co. _____________________phone. Quit Claim Deed to LLC before construction permit pulled.
  
• Get developer’s SWPPP³² (storm water pollution prevention plan) permit number before closing lot purchase. –See Chapter 4.
  
• Liability insurance coverage may be increased by an umbrella policy if lot owned personally (not by LLC).
  
• Record Deed with county-Money order, Return envelope, certified (TN,) Verify recorded).
  
• Get address assignment for lot before Bldg. Permit & closing for lot description. _________________ Bldg. Dept. phone number.
  
• LLC Needs Contractor’s Liability Insurance (cheaper through Home Builder's Assn.)
  
• Need Workman’s Compensation insurance to cover Subs.
  
• Need Builder’s Risk Insurance.
  
• Warranty company: (HBW⁵ or BBHWA⁶) “Notice of Starts” or “Construction Indication” form before breaking ground. BBHWA call for “Risk Management number” _______________ phone number.
  

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Drawings & Estimates - Part B     [1 part of 15 parts of the total schedule]

The below partial list, Part B, is from Chapter 3:

• Detailed estimate of construction costs (Appendix F.)
  
• Drawing pages required by code enforcement for permit application: (e.g., per Shelby County, TN, 3 site, 5 floor, 2 roof, 2 joist, 1 elec, 1 plumbing, 1 slab section, stair detail, cornice detail, sections & other details.) (For the state of FL see List in the Bldg. Code.) Include 2 Duplicate plan sets for use in builder's office.
  
• Additional Plan Sets needed for early QUOTES from subs & suppliers:
  

1. Electrical,
   
2. HVAC,
   
3. Plumber,
   
4. Framer, trusses,
   
5. lumber. Request return of plans with proposals.
   
6. Small scale (1/8” = 1’) for convenience and copying.
   
7. Have FL Engineer stamp and produce structural drawings and details.
   
8. Truss company quote (truss drawing details come with truss order) - Chap.8.
   
9. Architectural Control Committee review in your subdivision / HOA.
   

• Accurate quotes desired early (after lot purchase, design, & prior to grading) are:
  

1. Grading & lot clearing quote
   
2. Roof Trusses and Truss joists
   
3. Appliances (to lock in price): Microwave, oven, Double or separate 2^nd oven & Range /downdraft, trash compactor, dishwasher, disposer, sink
   
4. Framing quote
   
5. Stone countertops (cultured? quartz composite?)
   
6. Wrought Iron: Gate, crawl space grilles, mailbox, balcony, stair rails
   
7. HVAC
   
8. Plumbing (see Chapter 7 for discussion)
   
9. Electrical (see Chapter 10 for discussion)
   
10. Slab labor quote
    
11. Window & exterior Door quote.
    

[continued in book, Total schedule is 15 parts - 2 shown on this post]

See below posts for ways to preview the book, Working for Subs, How to Build a Home and Work with Contractors:

The below is an excerpt from a book of 309 pages, 19 Chapters, 10 Appendices

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 CHAPTER 8 Framing, Roofing & Masonry:

 
The major activity of this chapter is framing. However, brick work follows naturally in the construction schedule, and is discussed later in the chapter. Other veneers can often be installed by the framing subcontractor, like lap siding or board and batten.

Detailed Schedule - Part E*   [part of a total schedule to build a home]

• hire framer. Fill out I-9 formsⁱ, get Social Security Number, W-4’s, address, phone, I-15 form for workman comp. (TN) / certificate of insurance, email address.
  
• (See Appendix E, Lumber Order.) Install black plastic sill skirt flashing (TN). Caulk or use sill sealer under bottom plates. Slab insulation if required by energy code.
  
• Give the cornice details to framer. Count chimneys to be built for sub.
  
• Order lumber and sheathing through top plates (after 1^st of month.) Reuse 2x8 forms as headers. Install sill sealer?
  
• Order TJM joist package if desired, 2x4 utility grade lumber for plates & braces, a roll of Seismic & hurricane straps if in a natural-Disaster prone state.
  
• Order rafter /truss package.
  
• Order windows (see Chapter 9) and exterior doors.
  
• Order cornice (soffit vents & louvers) –wood window arches
  
• Order prefab fireplace installed (Chapter 11.)
  
• Build whirlpool platform for drop-in type.
  
• Order roof decking (or 1x8 no. 4 spruce roof deck planks), plywood clips, & siding. Install louver dormers. Ask if framer needs more nails ordered.
  
• Install skylight curb & flashing & fireplace chimney chase (Chapter 11.)
  
• Foam insulation or board at slab edge.
  
• Clean interior and throw into yard at regular intervals.
  
• SLAB ENGINEER’S LETTER needed, and due about now -verify received.
  
• Build shutters for painter and trim subcontractors (see Chapter 16.)
  
• Any painting required? Prime cornice, siding, louvers, plywood corners, and gables.
  
• Hire roofer (verify liability & workman’s comp. Insurance.) Install copper over dormer roof (range hood? Chimney cap?)
  
• Hold off roof below stucco interface, just felt temporarily. Provide flashing for stucco.
  
• Order roofing (1 bundle/sheet of plywood), FELT (400 sqft/roll), and 90#rolls (for valleys); hip & ridge shingles, skylights & dormer step flashing, & valley flashing rolls.
  
• Get quotes: Hardwood / tile floor (Chap. 15), fireplace surround, tile countertops, wall & shower enclosure.
  
• Bricklayer / Stonemason (leave gas starter for plumber.) Order brick, flue cap, any stone, sand, mortar, quoins for windows.
  
• Order brick for fence posts & mailbox (or steel mailbox,) cast iron (C.I.) crawlspace grilles, ash clean out, flue liner, C.I. damper, lintel, 7 bags mortar/1000 brick, and chimney cap flashing. Get brick wall tie inspection.
  
• Pour fencepost footer & condenser pad (does HVAC sub provide?) after brick delivery.
  
• Call-before-Dig ___(phone no.)__ 72 hr. in advance -good for 15 subsequent days.
  
• LG&W to mark gas and electric meter location on inside walls.
  
• Plumbing top-out gas to front lanterns.
  
• Call-before-Dig ___(phone no.)__ 72 hr. in advance -good for 15 subsequent days.
  
• Order cabinets (6 week lead time,) pulls & hinges, 8”deep composite sink, 32”high vanity, tile/granite tops?
  

*Detailed Schedule – Part E in this chapter continues the sequence of construction tasks following Part D in Chapter 6. See Appendix B for the complete Detailed Schedule. Dimensions and amounts are based on codes in Tennessee, Colorado, and Florida, local requirements, and the Uniform Building Code that change annually in some cases, so verify all in this book before acting on them.

Lumber

You as the builder must be diligent when ordering lumber. Many builders order an entire package once the slab is completed, consisting of plates, studs, rafters, sheathing, and even siding, all delivered at once. This may result in waste, weathering, inefficiency, vandalism, and theft more often than not. If you can time your order until after the beginning of the lumberyard's monthly billing cycle, payment can often be delayed on this large expenditure until the tenth of the following month, aiding cash flow. Lumberyards often offer a discount of up to two percent if paid by the tenth of the month (2 percent 10, net 30 in accounting parlance,) otherwise the total net amount is due within thirty days.

A builder can give a set of plans to the lumberyard, and they will do a detailed take-off of all materials that they supply, saving the trouble and time of this work. However, the lumberyard will normally over supply many components, since they are in the business of selling the goods they quoted, and they also do not want to be accused of holding up the job due to shortages. You will be told that they will pick up any excess overages at the end of the job, however, by that time excessive leftovers are missing or destroyed due to weather and mishandling on the job and not fit for return. If you do give your plan to a lumber company for a quotation you should also give them the job even if you do the ordering yourself, since the take-off is quite a bit of work. So, prior to asking someone to do an extensive plan quotation, do some pricing of items at various local companies first. For instance, get the price of a 2x4 stud and a 2x8, etc. and compare other samplings of wares. After that take your plans to only one company to be evaluated.

The lumber company's quote will help you verify your count of materials and is a useful tool as well. We always did our own take-offs, since this forced us to do an analysis of the design as well, when counting the elements making up the structure. We also saved a good deal of money by keeping our orders closer to an accurate amount with less waste, when we did our own counts and then compared to the lumber yard.

Be sure to consult with your framing subcontractor prior to ordering as to what he will need. A small crew may take a week and a half to two weeks just to erect the first floor walls and joists. In the meantime they will be tripping over excess materials on the site, which are usually placed in the most obstructive spot, right in front of the structure, as that is the most convenient delivery spot. This is also the easiest place for thieves to back up their pickup truck and abscond with your precious materials.

As the uninstalled lumber and sheathing lays around the site waiting for its rightful place in the superstructure, it is all the while warping or curling due to being unsupported at several points. This is exacerbated and prolonged if there is precipitation. The framer will separate the deliveries into manageable stacks of about the same sizes. At the end of each day you will find much of the lumber laying haphazardly around the site, unsupported and sitting in the mud and dirt. I used to visit the job periodically and spend time stacking lumber on ground skids made from scrap two-by cuttings, placed about four feet apart. This helped the framer remain organized, and saved my lumber from deterioration, warping, and bowing. You would expect your framer to do the sorting and stacking for his own efficiency, but that will not usually be the case.

At the same time you or your trash subcontractor can toss small pieces of lumber with nails exposed into various small piles away from the house. This will serve as a safety measure and make your job site more accessible. Your trash sub can gather and remove the piles quickly. Some small two-by scrap pieces can be used for bridging, fire blocking, or for nailing blocks behind the drywall toward the end of framing. This avoids cutting up long lengths of boards for piecemeal work. For this reason it is a good idea to keep a bit of trash on the job longer than a normal time. In the winter your subs will burn your lumber scrap for warmth, and when you aren't around they will cut up your lumber and burn that rather than pay for their own salamander propane heating. This may be avoided by ordering a face cord or so of firewood. During the framing process you or your trash subcontractor will need to make frequent visits to clean the interior floor slab, so that people do not trip over all the debris that continually piles up each day.

You may want to add nailing blocks after the framer has left the job, including behind towel bars, grab bars, toilet paper rollers, wall light sconces, curtain rods, stair skirts and handrails, or supports for closet rod ends. These block-outs provide a solid support for these accessories behind the future drywall, and waiting on the sub to return is inefficient.

We once had a guy just show up and start clearing away our scrap lumber without even consulting us. Later he asked to be paid for trash work that we did not even request. This was wrong of him in many ways. First of all, our insurance would not have covered him, since he was working on our site without permission. Secondly, we lost much of the useful small lumber pieces that could have been used in the framer's work instead of having to cut up full boards to make braces, blocks, etc. Third, this guy created animosity between us and himself by presuming that we owed him for something we did not even want.

This builder prefers to order materials in phases (see Appendix E – Lumber Order,) and most lumber companies do not bill additionally for deliveries as long as you plan to order the entire package from them. Break the loads into manageable sizes based on use within a week to a week and a half. This means you can order the wall-framing package (through top plates) and perhaps the joists and part of the sheathing for corner bracing in the first delivery. The lumber companies we used could get an order out the next morning if placed before noon. Visit the construction site daily more than once, and near the appropriate time discuss with the framer when to order second floor or first floor ceiling joists and the remainder of the sheathing.

A separate order can include the second floor wall package and ceiling joists. The roof rafter order should be delayed until nearing the completion of all exterior wall sheathing. There is no need to have these members stacked idly for a week or two before installation, deteriorating. Place the cornice and siding order last, since this material needs to remain straight and will become warped & weather beaten laying around the site too long. Order attic ventilation (if not a cool roof / unvented attic) louvers and soffit vents at the time of the cornice order. There will also be several small weekly deliveries of 2 x 4’s and other miscellaneous pieces that have run short.

Order seismic straps and other hardware with the first order of lumber, since the framer will need them once the top plates are installed. These are sometimes called hurricane straps, since they perform a similar function in high winds as they do in earthquakes. This is to mitigate e effect of racking of the structure, rather the sideways deflection of the members at different degrees, which can break apart weak connectors holding building elements together. You will find that the strapping requirements vary state by state due to differing conditions in each local, so check your codes. Tennessee has earthquake influences, and Florida hurricane winds.

Engineered lumber, like truss joists or I-[shaped] joists, should be ordered as early as possible, since they have a long lead time before arrival on the job. This could take six weeks or more. Verify whether your lumber yard will hold them and ship to the job on the day they are needed. I once had a one-and-half story home where I mixed second floor joist types between engineered and normal two-by joists. This was done much to the dismay of the local lumber supplier, who wanted to provide the entire job in expensive engineered lumber. Our solution was possible, because much of the upper level was low attic, and elsewhere second floor walls needed support within in the ceiling below without bearing walls on the first floor.

Order windows and exterior doors about the same time as you order your first lumber delivery, since they usually have a long lead time. Most lumber companies will hold these until you request delivery, but will order them early to have them in stock when you call for them. See Chapter 9 for more on this subject. You should check windows and doors for level and plumb and shim them as needed after the framer has placed them and before the bricklayer begins encasing their brickmold. Almost all of our jobs had the fenestration installed improperly after the framer had considered it complete. If you can get the framer back to shim his work in a timely manner it will be unusual.

We used to ask the framing contractor to install a 36” inside door between the house and the garage, even though they did not normally do this in Tennessee by custom. The trim carpenter did it. We ordered that door with the windows, the front, and the rear door package, because that particular door similarly had exterior trim with weatherstripping, threshold, and brick mold. This way we could close up the house early to prevent intruders (usually teenagers partying or curious neighbors) after the framing. Since drywall normally is installed on the inside of the garage before this door, we had to have the framer space it with small pieces of blackboard behind the brickmold as a temporary shim where drywall would normally lie. This is an example of the problems incurred by attempting to do things in innovative ways, since it is often easier to merely go with the local tradition and avoid conflicts.

Order any trusses you will need for the roof at least two months in advance. There are truss manufacturing companies that will do a truss diagram for you, and engineer these to fit your project. There is normally no fee for this design if you order from that company.
When each lumber order arrives or any other materials, the builder should always plan to be at the job site soon thereafter to count the load. I occasionally found deliveries that did not match the purchase order. Oddly, these were always short (of a lesser count) and never in excess in my favor -go figure.

....(continued in book)

i See web page http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf ; Dept. of Homeland Security employment eligibility for work in the United States. [last accessed 6/12/13]

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Introduction to "...Build Your Own Home"; "Working for Subs"

excerpt from "Introduction:" [to a book -see below]

“Unless the LORD build the house, they labor in vain who build.” – Psalm127 ⁱ

i The New American Bible - http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/

...When an individual undertakes the chore of constructing his own shelter, many times he is the only one who will be available to repair the work that his subcontractors have botched or inadvertently omitted from their scope of work. The reader may well wonder why the main contractor has to stoop to the level of completing work which he has paid someone else to perform? If you want to finish your job on time and under budget, your level of commitment will be tested many times before securing the final inspection. Often you may pray that “the Lord would build the house.”

You will overlook ordering certain materials, like flashing for the roofer or extra studs for the framer. The trim carpenter will be due on the job, and you may have overlooked having the slab swept out the day before. The inspector will be arriving within an hour, and the framer did not anchor the plates at every location. If you want your job to proceed expeditiously to the next phase, whom else will you get to do these minor tasks properly at the last minute but yourself? Otherwise, your next arriving subcontractor may find the job not ready, and move on to his backup contract for the next two weeks, putting your job off for that amount of time.

This book [see below] will guide the self-homebuilder with each step to be taken in the order required, and possible pitfalls he /she may encounter along the path to self-building or hiring a contractor to build his /her own home. The real truth about building your home will be revealed, which you won’t read in other books of this type, so that you can make a rational decision before adopting a plan to begin construction. Many suggestions and construction techniques adopted in this book may appear unconventional to the straight-laced new builder. Once you enter the world of errant subcontractors and unexpected obstacles that homebuilding is, the realization that your attempts to control every detail in a professional orderly manner could lead to overwhelming frustration. You must be flexible and bend to accept many deviations.

Your first impression of this [book] may be that it appears like a lot of reading. I suggest this reading is minor compared to the detail and education you will encounter in homebuilding. Using this book as a guide to understanding, and hiring a general contractor may be your best course if the reading seems intimidating.

The New Home Owner's Required Experience:

The following [book] pages will introduce you to the reality of attempting to build a home. Can anyone build a house? The fast answer for most people is, not without advice and help. Not everyone possesses the organization or diligence to accomplish the task. The readers of this book will, however, be given the facts upon which to base their self-assessment as to whether they should attempt their own construction. The anecdotes and experiences of the author will give you insight into to your own attitude, personality, and temperament in regard to undertaking such a project. What you would never attempt yourself can be accomplished by a multitude of professionals offering services, including procurement, legal advice, design, land acquisition, logistics, accounting, bookkeeping, skilled labor, etc.

If you want to save thousands of dollars on your next home, have a rewarding, self-fulfilling experience, live in a comfortable and secure home that you built, and gain knowledge which will help you the rest of your life, then you are a candidate for building your own home. The overall project may seem daunting at first thought, but when performed a step at a time each phase is basically simple and can easily be accomplished by a persistent individual. This method is illustrated sequentially in Working for Subs, available ... in print by contacting the author (see About The Author near book end.)

This book attempts to educate the reader with its orderly method of explanation of the construction for your home. Most do-it-yourself, build your own home books give overall information on each aspect of the building process, but Working for Subs will take you through each task in the construction effort in logical order. Other building books will not give you an organized simplified method of the order of tasks to completion, but this book does. You will learn where to find subcontractors and how to negotiate with them.

Even if you do decided to undertake your own building, you may want to hire a general contractor as a consultant on an hourly basis. Someone, who has many years of experience with local conditions and requirements and has managed subs, could prove to be invaluable to a neophyte in the trade. A mentor (general contractor) of this sort might be found from the local homebuilders’ association, or by asking other builders and subcontractors. He could be a retired contractor or even a small builder who only builds two to four houses per year and has the time to offer you advice. An experienced builder can save you a lot of wasted cost and misplaced effort.

Inside this writing is given to you a working knowledge of the business, directing you to ask the right questions at the appropriate time of the adviser whom you hire. You will still have to perform the large majority of planning, estimating, ordering, scheduling, hiring, etc., regardless of whom you consult for advice. Our errors are discussed, so you can avoid similar mistakes without having to experience them.

Building your own domicile is not an easy undertaking, but if you are organized and persevere, by attempting one appropriate task before another, it can be accomplished. The whole experience will appear as nothing more than a walk along a challenging but very rewarding path to a Shangri-la of your own making.

The Step-By-Step Journey

You will begin to understand that even though building your home is a complex multidisciplined undertaking each aspect is still basically simple. This is, because when broken down a task at a time, one before the other, in the order that each activity must be performed, the building of your home becomes an easily understandable excursion. Just as stated by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu,ⁱ “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” the homebuilding journey begins with a single step and continues in a task-by-task order. Each of these steps can be easily understood and accomplished when viewed individually instead of overwhelmingly as a whole.

The chapter titles in this book are named to delineate the major milestones of constructing your home, but each chapter also contains multiple sub-milestones that are important. Chapter 2 for example is entitled Finding and Purchasing The Lot, however structuring a form of doing business (e.g. LLC), discussed later in chapter 2, can be critical as well. Each chapter’s title refers to the primary task discussed therein but many other tasks are also contained. See the Detailed Schedules of tasks in Appendix B and in most chapters, rather than the title, for a more thorough list of the content of that chapter. [see Table of Contents on preview of book -Amazon, see below]

Other books on the market may offer to lead you on a step-by-step road to construct your house, but you may discover their information disorganized, too brief, or misleading. Many of the elaborate details, concocted to explain the process are just not necessary for the self-contractor and confuse the path toward final completion. This writing attempts to give something unique, which other build-it-yourself books do not. Others give a rough look at each part of the building process, but none give a day-by-day, one-by-one, step-by-step flow of the construction effort with typical problems encountered along the path, like this book.

Working for Subs does not attempt to be a technical manual, micro-managing every structural and aesthetic aspect of construction, nor does it contain elaborate diagrams of components, code references, or tables of materials and their qualities even though there are many useful tables, lists, and schedules included. Other sources and references are available that provide detailed drawings and building code explanations. It is not necessary to know how to perform every activity intricately in order to contract your home. Professionals you hire will handle the varied chores. This book instead will give the reader a step-by-step orderly approach to contract their own medium-sized home putting one task before another in a logical fashion – a contracting cookbook of sorts.

This method of explanation lends itself well to building a residence, since it is truly a process where particular tasks must be performed in progressive order. You could not put on the roof before building the walls or the walls prior to the foundation. Even though there are certain tasks, which may be accomplished simultaneously, the over all majority of duties will be like Lao Tzu’s journey, a critical path of individual steps one before other.
Though this book is devoted to the self-homebuilder, it is also constructive to inform those who want a guide for understanding the various building procedures. You may want to use the book in order to understand the building process of your general contractor, and to communicate on a more informed basis. This writing has employed a colloquial manner of expression in order to incorporate the familiar language of the building industry, and to prepare the reader/builder for understanding the various job-related terms and jargon he will encounter. Even though this book is devoted to the self-homebuilder, it is constructive to inform those who also wish to use it as a guide for observing a general contractor they might hire. You may want to use the book in order to understand the building process your general is following and to communicate in the job-site lingo. This writing employs a colloquial manner of writing in order to incorporate the familiar language of the building industry, and to prepare the reader/builder for understanding the various job-related terms and expressions he will encounter.

Your Sweat Equity:

....The residential real estate market collapse offered some temporary beneficial effects for the self-home builder. Materials and labor became cheaper and more available, weak builder competitors were weeded out of the marketplace, banks and lenders became stronger as their bad loans were diminished, lending practices became more conservative, and unhealthy rampant speculation began to be forced out of the industry. Interest rates were falling for mortgages, and this helped the housing affordability index.

These short-lived benefits briefly assisted the low-overhead homebuilder in prospering, since he was buying low, with less competition and more stability in the depressed housing sector. Subsequently your sweat equity cushion from building your own home will give you a margin of safety with any drop in housing prices, and a nice profit in normal times. Continued government meddling guarantees wild price swings. [see book for continuation.]

i Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC) http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/24004.html#note

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How to build a home book excerpt about slab construction

 CHAPTER 6 The Slab:

[Below is an excerpt from the book  How to Build A Home and Work with Contractors - "Working for Subs"

The major activities discussed in this chapter are the slab and foundation work. The quantities shown in schedules throughout this book are based upon an average sized home (see Chapter 3.)

Detailed Schedule - Part D*

• Call for Portable toilet.
  
• Deliver OSHA equipment (Chap. 6) to job ( hard hats, fire extinguisher, MSDS (Chap. 4) binder, 1^st aid kit, safety glasses, etc.)
  
• If Block Foundation w/Slab:
  
  • Call slab subcontractor for date to start.
    
  • ORDER: ____8”standard blocks (w/garage); ____ bags mortar, ___#4 / #5 rebar, _____MAS (a Simpson mudsill anchor) anchors 4ft oc (on center -see Glossary;) _____ rolls mesh; _____sqft 6 mil Visqueen, _____ yds. sand (add for sand under Plumbing at Fill); ___ 24” grade stakes, ____2x8 #3 spruce for footings steps, L-shape 10”x36” rebar, 8d cut nails.
    
  • Order: ____Lin. ft. (= twice the perimeter) of 2x4 utility grade lumber for braces & stakes (slab: 10” above grade & foundation: 13” below –verify for location).
    
  • Call-before-Dig 811, 72hr in advance, liability avoidance is good for 15 days: _________________date of call.
    
  • Batter boards Shoot grade and set batter boards, need 5 lbs. 12d double head nails.
    
  • (FHA / LG&W energy inspection?)
    
  • Set Electrical Conduit for floor & island receptacles.
    
  • Dig footings per code (10” x 24”); for monolithic slab set (3) #4 rebar or (2) #5, Slab edge insulation may be required.
    
  • After footings dug, drill piers (or postholes) if needed, insert rebar & concrete fill in piers.
    
  • Pour brick fence footing and porch post piers at same time.
    
  • Take Photos of rebar (steel reinforcing rod, see Glossary) in place.
    
  • Call footings inspection or Engineer required if greater than 5 blocks high (in TN).
    
  • Call PLUMBER to roughin below slab piping.
    
  • Pour footings 10” thick; Set blocks; plumbing roughin (wait, plumber calls Inspection)
    
  • Set block foundation & fill cores with concrete & rebar per code.
    
  • Set 6”PVC (by plumber) downdraft cooktop vent pipe and 1” electrical conduit?
    
  • Set 2x8 above block with cut nails for form boards & stake
    
  • Backfill dirt to elevation for 4” slab.
    
  • Level grade around lot; Dig & pour 4” dia. postholes at 4’ oc inside slab area.
    
  • Pier/Post Hole Inspection -Engineer to survey footings & postholes.
    
  • Verify termite spray (phone ________________), call 2 days in advance.
    
  • Lay Visqueen and wire mesh; Wait for SLAB Inspection.
    
  • Pour slab (& Trowel).
    
• If Conventional Foundation: Order brick ties, 12” blocks, termite shield.
  
• If Monolithic SLAB:
  

• Pour Patio/porch now (block out if any brick inlay).
  
• Slab 10” above grade & foundation 13” below (TN).
  
• 2x10 (2x6’s) perimeter, 2X4 stakes (2x perimeter), rebar (2x perimeter + trenches), stakes (60) 24”; 6 x 6 wire mesh (750 sqft/roll), Visqueen, backfill dirt / sand for plumbing piping.
  
• Set 2x8 above brick ledge + 2x4 = 10”high form boards & stakes; Backfill dirt for 4” slab.
  
• After Forms are set, drill piers (or postholes) if needed, insert rebar & concrete fill in piers.
  
• call licensed ENGINEER to inspect –phone ______________________.
  

• Order: Spray foam slab insulation (Sill Sealer & 12” black poly -TN)
  
• Order: Roll of tie wire, 6 lb of 12d nails for forms.
  
• Call PLUMBER to roughin below slab piping.
  
• Termite spray
  
• call Plumbing and slab inspections.
  
• Get Release of Lien from each sub (or Notice to Owner provider –in Florida) before payment.
  
• Call for Trash container delivery or trash sub.
  

*Detailed Schedule – Part D in this chapter continues the sequence of construction tasks following Part C in Chapter 4.

See Appendix B for the complete Detailed Schedule. Dimensions and amounts are based on codes in Tennessee, Colorado, and Florida, local requirements, and the Uniform Building Code that change annually in some cases, so verify all in this book before acting on them.

Preparation for Slab:

Be sure to discuss with your slab contractor the steps required to pour the slab, including: who furnishes formboard nails, when he can begin, and what things you will have to do, materials to order, when and who will call inspections, etc. Ask the sub once forms are set for his guess of the number of yards (cu. yd.) of concrete for footings and later for the slab, when he will need delivery, the size of loads (8 yd. or 10 yd. truckloads) based upon soil conditions (heavy trucks sink in loose uncompacted dirt,) manpower available, and frequency of truck delivery desired (-e.g. 30 min. apart.)
Ask if calcium [chloride] should be added for accelerating the concrete setting if cold weather, which allows completion in one long day . Concrete sets up faster in warm weather, so your sub will be able to trowel the finish before normal quitting time in the summer. Calcium chloride will corrode the steel rebar surface to an extent, but the trade-off is not being able to finish the slab before dark. Consult with the concrete supplier when ordering about the percent calcium to add. Three percent (3%) Calcium is a lot, one percent is common. 

Any slab section not finished before concrete setup should be terminated with an expansion joint by inserting a temporary 2x4 form to square the edge of the open pour. This will prevent what is called a cold joint, that is subject to weakness at the irregular intersection. Add rebar ties through the smooth junction protruding into the next adjoining pour to tie them together.

Have the slab sub sign a subcontract agreement in advance. Get his insurance, contact numbers, and other information as described in Chapter 5 before he sets foot on the lot to begin. The best time to get the information is at the time you meet with or call him to award the contract. This procedure should be repeated every time you hire a subcontractor. Call the sub a day before delivery of materials are due to arrive, and let him know that everything is being delivered as scheduled. This keeps him reminded to show up on time without insulting him by calling with no information and implying that he might need a reminder.

When you call for a portable toilet, have the unit placed far back from the front lot line. If the toilet is near the curb all the other builders' subs, their laborers, lookers / passers-by (idea thieves), and neighbors on a walk will use your facilities and other builders will avoid having to rent their own. You will also have an odorous site element that you have to call to have emptied every few days. If you can avoid this nuisance, it will be worth requesting the placement further back on the lot. This won't eliminate the unauthorized use of your port-a-potty, but it will reduce the abuse.

Slab Form Materials Order:

According to Detailed Schedule – Part D the builder will have to order several items prior to the arrival of the concrete slab subcontractor. Be sure to determine from your materials supplier what the lead time is (between ordering and delivery) then add at least one half day to that. Also ask your sub what day he will begin, and get his advice before ordering the things he will need to do the job.

He may want you to supply 12d (twelve penny) double-headed (for ease of withdrawal when stripping the forms) nails for forms and batter boards, and bailing wire for tying rebar, as well as any number of items you could have omitted from the materials list. Although the sub can cut and bend L-shaped rebar on the job, he will probably prefer that you order a number of these pieces pre-formed. Verify the length required for these pieces with codes. This is a small extra expense, but your subcontractor will appreciate the gesture. We used number three spruce (SPF -spruce, pine, or fir) or lower grade that the sub could cut for braces and stakes and could cut into short end forms where the grade sloped, since this is considered junk lumber and not expensive to toss after use. Attempting to cut used concrete formboards to use for framing later is hard on saw blades, but can be done to an extent. The 7-1/4” height of the 2x8 is just about right for stepping (in tiers) a footing that will hold 8” blocks. Use standard blocks, since heavy weight blocks cost more and are hard to carry as well as over-kill for residential compression strength requirements. We used type N mortar for laying foundation blocks which satisfied the codes. Our subs would tack a 2x8 to the outside of the concrete blocks with 8d (eight penny) cut nails. These were set with a reveal at 3-1/2” above the block to match any 2x4 formboards elsewhere at the slab edge.

Verify with your local code authority whether two or three number 4 rebar or number 5 rebar are needed due to the foundation wall height. The energy code calculations, performed by you, or perhaps an architect or engineer, will dictate whether slab edge insulation is required. A 24” wide footing for residential loads is extreme overkill with a high factor of safety, but often required by code. Be sure a footing pad is placed below where any point loads will occur due to a support post.
In Tennessee we dug our own footings and poured concrete ourselves when first starting our business as a cost saving measure. We learned very early that pouring your own concrete is hard work and requires experience and skill, also you won't save any meaningful amount by avoiding hiring a subcontractor to do this. When we first began, no rebar was required in footings by the code authorities in Tennessee, but later they began demanding it. We had installed it anyway as insurance against failure. The frost line was only about four inches deep, but the codes called for a twelve inch depth of footing. Florida with no frost line calls for a thirteen inch depth, unnecessaryly for compacted soil. If there are any brick fenceposts to be installed later, this pour would be a good time to set those footings also.

Call your plumber well in advance of having formboards set. Then call him a day or two ahead of the completion of forms as a reminder. The plumber will use the slab edge forms as a guide for setting his below slab piping. You will have to verify the locations of his risers afterwards, since they always get one or two wrong (see Photo 8, Chap. 7,) and you will have to break out a big chunk of slab to relocate the piping in the future walls. The plumbing inspector will leave a tag, once successful with piping layout. Your slab contractor can then begin after the plumbing has been backfilled with sand (not dirt, due to lack of proper substrate compression.) If there are any downdraft cooktops or other appliances requiring under slab vents, it's a good idea to set them now. The plumber can use PVC piping below the slab to accomplish this, which has good compressive strength. See Chapter 7 for more about Plumbing.

After the slab is formed is the time to add electrical conduit (liquid-tight, PVC, without joints) below the slab for things like floor receptacles or island appliances. before laying the vapor barrier The electrical sub will have to lay conduit under the slab to the island. If there will be a downdraft range in the island he will need to know this, as an electrical receptacle is also needed, and may require a separate conduit. My electrical subcontractor once said to just lay a 2x4 on edge where the conduit will lie, and his guys would break it out later and grout it over. However, it would have been best to break it out the next day when the slab is still green, since it took a jackhammer to get it out once the cement set up. You, the builder, will probably have to locate any floor or kitchen island receptacles for the electrician if he is to come on the job at this time, or they will end up in the center of the room, since the floorplans are considered only diagrammatic in character and not exact unless dimensioned. Be sure to place a stake with a small note attached for the electrician, and also show him the stake. We used to attempt to locate the great room floor receptacle beneath the proposed spot for a coffee table to serve a floor lamp beside a center-of-room couch, thus the need for a furniture layout on your floorplans.
Prior to laying a vapor barrier below the slab and after the plumbing, you may be required to drill four inch diameter postholes down to stable ground with the depth dependent upon how much backfill had been added to the soil. Our concrete sub dug with a hand posthole digger (used to joke that he had a “PhD” -acronym) A gas operated auger works better. The backfill dirt may have been added thirty years prior when the subdivision was developed, but it could still be insufficiently compacted despite the settling time. These postholes will help support the slab and prevent sagging (or deflection, for the structural engineers.) We used to take a piece of no. 4 rebar and put our weight behind it to test the depth of the posthole. If there was any give into the soil, further drilling was required. Though not scientific, it was effective.

Either code enforcement or a privately hired engineer will have to be called prior to the pour and after the forms and postholes are dug to sign off on an inspection certificate that will be placed visibly on the job. This was a Tennessee requirement and may vary elsewhere. The subcontractor will wait for this clearance before laying the concrete.
In Tennessee 6”x6” woven wire steel mesh was laid over a Visqueen vapor barrier and supposedly (and ineffectively) kept the slab from cracking. However, we used to joke that our guarantee was that the slab would crack, since this was very commonly unavoidable and harmless, as most cracks seldom exceeded about 1/4”. The mesh did provide the function of preventing the crack from widening over time in most cases. The vapor barrier sealed the crack to some extent. To be accurately placed the mesh was theoretically supposed to lie in mid thickness of the slab, but this wavy flexible material never does what it is expected to do. The sub seldom lifts it off the bottom during the pour. Mesh chair supports were required in Florida, but not Tennessee, and subject to failure with workers stepping on them.

Ordering materials on time, avoids theft, weathering, site clutter, and vandalism. You do not want your slab forming materials lying around more than a couple of days, as wire mesh, Visqueen and stakes are common items that may be stolen, because they are lightweight and portable. You will not have a problem with long rebar, blocks, or utility grade lumber being stolen, since these are too cumbersome for most thieves to handle for the small return they bring.


Once the slab subcontractor has given you a start time, you should telephone call-before-dig to have the ground marked for below grade utilities (electrical, gas, water, telephone, cable, & sewer) preferably before delivery of materials, so that the ground will be uncluttered. The marking service will use different colors of spray paint on the earth where lines and cables lie beneath. The call-before-dig service guarantees you freedom from liability for damaged utilities usually for fifteen days if they mark prior to your excavation, so mark your calendar to call them again prior to tampering with the earth after that time.    [continued in book]
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