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There Are a Lot of Construction Questions to Be Answered

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Cartoon man looking up at large question mark

 

 

 

So, Let’s Move on to the Next Ones on the List

 

I’ve answered 11 of the 21 questions asked by the scouts. The first eleven were answered in two separate posts, what are the best construction questions and construction questions about the physical process. Let’s see if I can squeeze the final ten in this post.


We’ll start with questions about types of construction.

 


Do you do more commercial or residential work?


I do more residential than commercial but do both. Commercial tends to be less relational than residential. I’ve always felt like the relationship between the customer and contractor is more than only a business transaction. In order to serve the customer well I need to get to know them. This only happens if a relationship is built. Commercial projects normally are more transactional.


Do you do more renovations or new building projects?


I do mostly renovations and remodeling projects. New construction is less challenging than remodeling. New construction has less restraints than renovations do. It takes more out of the box thinking to take an already existing structure and change it into something different. I love the challenge of finding a solution to these projects.


Do you build specially for earthquakes?


No. In this part of the country this hasn’t even been a part of the discussion up until recently. It still isn’t a big issue for local construction projects. If buildings are built up to the current building codes for our area, past tremors won’t be any reason to change this. Our focus should be on high winds and tornados.


How many permits do you need to build a new house?


This depends on where the building project is located, some places don’t require any. Normally there is at least one “building permit” for each project. There are also different permits for different areas of the project, i.e. plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc. that are sometimes required. All permitting is determined by the local jurisdiction, so it is important to find out what the regulations are for the location where you plan to build before you start.


Have you ever built a tiny house?


Your definition of a “tiny house” will depend on how I answer this question. I have built three very tiny houses. None of these were built for living in, not that someone couldn’t have. The three tiny houses were built for playhouses but were more than a normal playhouse. All of them were built with the same construction as a full-size house…just smaller…a lot smaller.


Okay, I was kidding myself when I thought I could get all ten answered this week.


There are still five more questions. I will answer the last five next week. The remaining questions are about my education and my experience.


Those young people asked a lot of questions.

An Update on The Lavallee Remodeling Project

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A Good Example of How to Hit A Moving Target

 

 

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the challenges of remodeling and how they pertained to the Lavallee project. I pointed out that these challenges start before construction and continue throughout the project. These moving targets are part of remodeling.

 


Hitting a moving target requires the ability to look ahead and visualize where it’s going.


One of the project goals was increased head room at the top of the stairs on the second floor. The top of the stairs ended in a low vaulted ceiling attic room with a small raised dormer for head room. This area was cramped and dark. It didn’t provide a very usable space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The increased head room was the initial focus. We also planned to remove a dividing wall doubling the square footage of the space. It was still going to have limited head room at the sides of the room but would provide the head room needed to access the second floor and would make a great play area for kids.



The original plan was to install some beams to allow for raising the center portion of the roof and ceiling. As the project progressed, we began seeing another option to gain more usable space by adding to the existing short walls. This option would open the area up more and make it more usable. It would also allow enough wall height for installing two 25” x 25” windows above the porch roof giving the area some great natural light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Once the walls were built level it was apparent the floor was not. It was decided to remove the floor from the stairway landing and level it up as well as eliminate the existing broken floor joists. When the original painted tongue and groove wood floor was uncovered it was determined that it should be salvaged and used. At this point we don’t know where yet, but we’ll find the right place.


After seeing the open framed ceiling with a few temporary ceiling joists, the customer asked about leaving it vaulted. After some discussion, we decided to leave it vaulted with a narrow flat ceiling near the ridge and install some beams rather than ceiling joists.


As you can see the targets keep moving and we have the stairway landing one in our sight.


The floor height in the stairway landing area was fifteen inches lower than the height of the second floor. To accommodate this height difference there was a step at the top of the stairway turned 90 degrees. This is not a good design and is not going to work. We are currently planning to cut a step back into the second floor rather than how it is currently.

 

 

 

At our weekly production meeting with the customers earlier this week we discussed the stairway plans. As we talked there were some new and different options that began to surface.

 

I’ve been thinking about some ideas for this stairway since the meeting and have come up with different options. I think this target is on the move and we better get it in our sights.

 

 

 


Check back later to see what direction the stairway goes and how it turns out.

I Love the Challenge of a Good Remodeling Project

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If It Was Easy, Anybody Could Do It

 

The challenge of a remodeling project is taking an existing building and turning it into something new while working within the buildings predetermined parameters. Otherwise just tear it down and start over.

 

The remodeling challenge isn’t for everybody.

 

Building new is simpler, it’s a less restrictive clean slate that requires less imagination. Where’s the fun in that?

 

On the other hand, new can be more cost effective than remodeling. This is one of the questions that needs answered early on. If remodeling is the decided-on plan, just be ready for the challenges.

 

The Lavallee remodeling project certainly fits the status of challenging.

 

This project starts with a home that was built in the late 1800s. It has previously gone through numerous remodels and additions. The amount of previous changes makes this project that much more challenging.

 

The project’s goals:

 

  • Increase the size of the master bedroom, add a new master bath and walk in closet.
  • Add a bathroom to the second floor.
  • Widen the narrow stairway to the second floor.
  • Increase headroom at the top of the stairs on the second floor.
  • Open wall between the kitchen and the dining room.
  • Lower the dining room floor height to match the kitchen.
  • Install new windows.
  • Change the exterior of the remodeled part to a low maintenance exterior finished insulation system (EFIS) system.

 

 

The challenges start even before the construction does:

 

  • Is remodeling the best option?
  • What is the project budget?
  • What is the project timeline?
  • Without a blueprint what will the floor plan be?
  • Where do the customer’s plan to live while the work is being done?

 

 

 

As this project gets underway there have been new challenges that have come up. They are hidden inside, behind or under something. Until things are opened up you won’t know what they are. As they do, we address them, find a solution and move forward.

 

A few of the challenges we’re dealt with while digging for the addition foundation:

 

  • Temporarily disconnecting and moving the air conditioning ductwork so the digging could happen.
  • Discovering a buried gas line, determining it was not in use and cutting it out of the way.
  • Finding some unused foundation pilings and determining a plan for dealing with them…final plan yet to be determined.
  • Reconnecting the ductwork so the customer has air conditioning in this upper 90-degree heat.

 

 

I will post more updates to this project as they happen. Check back regularly and watch as this phoenix rises from the ashes.

It Doesn’t Require A Big Building for The Dream to Be Big

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Another Big Dream in A Small Package

My Timber Creek Construction web site is ten years old and just like a building, it needs some updating and remodeling.

Earlier this week I met with Stacey and Shaunna from Custom Internet Services to discuss ideas about the project. One of the things that I’m looking to accomplish is an improved connection between that site and this one. I used to regularly write project overviews and post pictures. I need to get back to doing this again.

As we looked through the projects it struck me that the project summaries are a good fit for “Weekly Solutions” and helping customers build their dreams. So, here is a project summary of a dream project for Webber’s from 2005.

This project was done both as a functional building for storing garden equipment and the potting of plants as well as a decorative building to resemble a rustic cabin for landscaping. The 12′ x 16′ wood framed structure is built on a 4″ thick steel reinforced concrete slab that was formed and poured by Arthur Contreras with the concrete purchased from Daniels Rock and Ready Mix. There is a 6′ x 16′ porch along the east side of the building with a cedar floor. Electrical service was run underground by Finn’s Electric to provide electricity to the building. The 4×8 sheets of wood grained James-Hardie fiber cement siding with vertical grooves was installed directly to the studs.

Roof construction consists of engineered wood trusses on the building and 2×6 rafters on the porch, wood stringers over rafters, covered with galvanized, 29-gauge, corrugated Strongbarn tin. Uninsulated 6′ x 6′-6″ overhead door was supplied and installed in the back of the building by Keith Hostetter. Front entry door was job built from 1″ rough cedar to resemble an old cabin door.

Building has two 24″ x 36″ vinyl single hung windows, one in south end and one on west side, to let in natural light. Painting of exterior siding was done by the customer. This project in 2005 was a little over $10,000.00.

I plan to share more current projects as well as archived ones in this up coming year as well as connecting the two web sites to make it easier to access the content across both sites.

I will keep you updated on the Timber Creek Construction web site remodel.