Author: Mark J. Donovan
Razing the Cottage
With new house plans and permits in hand, subcontractors hiredand a Septic Design in process, it was now time to raze theexisting cottage. I considered employing the local firedepartment to burn it down, however I chose the demolition routeinstead. Though I did not contact the Fire Department, I wasconvinced that this route would have led to multiple delays andpitfalls, as I would have been at the whim of several townemployees and weather conditions. The demolition route requiredonly the excavator subcontractor and had less weather relatedschedule risks. In addition, the demolition cost and effort wasvery reasonable. Within two days, it was as if the cottage neverexisted on the land. It is important to note, however, that thecottage was relatively small. It was 22′ x 30′. If the cottagehad been significantly larger, then the Fire Department routemay have made more financial sense.
The demolition effort itself basically consisted of three parts.First, all of the furniture and appliances needed to be removed.Most of these items were old and musty and were not worthsaving. Next, the excavator used a large backhoe and tore apartand crushed the building into small pieces. Finally, theexcavator loaded the debris into several 20 cubic yarddumpsters, which were then hauled away by a dumpster company.Finding the appropriate dumpster company was a little bit of achallenge, as there are strict regulations on the disposing ofcertain home construction material. In addition, the dumpstercosts can dramatically increase depending on how far away theirfacilities are from the construction/destruction site.
Breaking Ground
After the cottage was razed, and the stakes were placedoutlining the boundary of the new home, it was time to breakground. This was a very exciting time as my dream was about tobegin to take shape. I was building a large contemporary homewith a wall of windows facing the lake front. Admittedly it wasonly a hole in the ground, but this hole represented the roughfootprint of my future house. Seeing the hole, I could begin tomore easily visualize my future home.
Digging out the hole and preparing the site for a foundation isone of the most critical aspects of building a new home. As aresult, I spent several occasions with both the Excavator andFoundation subcontractors reviewing the house plans and the siteprior to, and during the excavation. It was imperative that allof us were on the same page to ensure that the foundation walls,with all its jogs and step ups/downs would be located andinstalled per the plans. During these meetings a few adjustmentswere necessary to the foundation plans, however with all theteam members involved the changes were minor and absolutelynecessary. The changes helped prevent more serious problemslater on and ensured that the outside aesthetics of the homewere maintained.
As I already indicated, the foundation is extremely important toany quality home. If the foundation is not built upon a solidfooting, nor constructed of the appropriate concrete strength,the foundation walls will crack in short order. These cracks canlead to water in the basement, settling in the framing, andeventually cracks in the finished walls and ceilings.Consequently, it is imperative that the excavation site not onlybe properly dug out, but also backfilled with crushed stone andsand to provide for a stable base and to enable proper drainageunderneath and around the home. In my case I had the excavatordig out sufficiently to enable 18″ of crushed stone to bebackfilled into the hole and still meet my foundation planrequirements.
Once the site was prepared for concrete, the foundation crewinstalled concrete footings 18″ wide and 12″ deep. In additionthey installed several cement footings in the middle of thehouse footprint for lally columns. The footings represent thebase of the home and support the concrete foundation walls andthe home itself. Due to the fact that it was winter, CalciumChloride was used as an accelerator to speed the curing time ofthe concrete. In addition water had pooled in a portion of thehole, so constant pumping was necessary during the curing time.
After a couple of days, the foundation crew installed forms forthe concrete walls. A day later the foundation walls werepoured. Three days later the forms were removed and thefoundation walls were in. I then had my excavator subcontractorreturn. After tarring the outer walls, just up to the level ofwhere the finished grade would be, he installed a perimeterdrain around the foundation and then backfilled the foundationwith clean sand and fill. It is important that boulders and claynot be used as backfill material. Boulders can crack thefoundation walls while being pushed into place, and clay canlead to improper drainage around the home.
With the foundation in and backfilled I was ready for framers.
The Framing Stage
The framing stage is probably the most exciting part of buildinga home. In a relatively short period of time, literally days, ahouse begins to take real form. Within less than a week kneewalls were up, floor joists were installed and a plywoodsub-floor was down. After a couple of weeks, the first floorwalls were up and ceiling joists were being installed. I was soimpressed I was convinced my new home was a month ahead ofschedule. Boy was I wrong.
Before I elaborate on my misconception I should jump back for aminute. While the excavation work went on, I was also engagedwith the Framing subcontractor. The Framing subcontractor neededto order framing material including lumber, doors and windows,shingles and siding. Inevitably there were issues with theavailability of material and delivery dates, and as a result, wespent a fair amount of time resolving these issues. Fortunately,due to constant communication and quick problem solving we wereable to have the initial delivery of lumber arrive on the sitewithin a day after the backfilling of the foundation.
It is important to note, that it is at this time of the projectthat the large outlays of money begin to occur. Lumber costs fora home construction are quite large, and final payments are dueto the Excavator and Foundation subcontractors.Excavation/Sitework and Foundation installations are asignificant portion of the cost of building a home. In addition,the Framing subcontractor requires a portion of his labor to bepaid in advance.
Also, it is very important that Homeowner Construction Insurancebe obtained prior to the construction phase. This insuranceprotects the Homeowner/Builder against material theft and jobinjuries. All of your subcontractors and their employees shouldbe insured but don’t count on it. During any building project,subcontractors are bound to hire extra help for short stints andI would be surprised if these temporary employees were added tothe subcontractor’s insurance policy. The homeowner/builderinsurance policy is small change compared to the risk of theftor the threat of injury lawsuits.
As I indicated earlier, I was in for a surprise with the framingphase of my home. As mentioned, the initial framing movedquickly. However it was still winter and frequent snow stormsand extremely cold weather began to hit. This dramaticallyslowed progress. In addition, with the fresh supply of snow itquickly became apparent that my framing crew had an affinity tosnowmobiling. So even on the sunny days my framing crew wasfrequently absent. No matter my level of complaining or proddingI was unable to control my framing subcontractor’s work ethic.
Consequently, I had to contact my plumbing, electric, andfireplace subcontractors to inform them of the delay. This wasextremely painful to have to do, as I had no definitive date onwhen I would actually need them and each of them had very fullcalendars. As a result, to be able to call them at the lastminute and expect for them to drop what they were doing to cometo work on my project was highly unlikely. Again, throughregular communication with these other subcontractors I was ableto mitigate some of this problem, however my project didexperience significant schedule slips due to my framing crewsshenanigans.
In retrospect, I am not sure what I could have done to haveprevented this problem. Reference checks on the Framingsubcontractor had been positive. I guess I should have askedwhat his hobbies were and made sure they did not correspond tothe season I wanted the work done. It is also a fact thatunexpected things do happen on any project and one should expectit and plan accordingly. For example, put some contingencydollars and schedule into your project for events such as mine.Also, I can not stress enough to establish a rapport and regularcommunication channel with all of your subcontractors. Do notassume anything during a project of this size.
To Be Continued ….
In Part 3 of “Building Your Dream House”, the Framing continuesand Rough Electric and Plumbing begin. Stay tuned……………
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/building-your-dream-home-part-2-1723.html
About the Author
Me_Donovan@comcast.net http://www.homeadditionplus.com
http://www.homeaddition.blogspot.com
Over the past 20+ years Mr. Donovan has been involved with
building homes and additions to homes. His projects have
included: building a vacation home, building additions and
garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes.
Mr. Donovan’s formal education and profession have been as an
Electrical Engineer and Marketing Manager.