building your own home
example of excessive lot grade
building your own home
- concrete driveway placement
Flatwork is placed after the walks, driveway, and patio have been cut by the tractor contractor (you may also be required to get a city inspection). It might be a good idea to pour back patios and pads for air condition compressors at this time also.
Materials required for this job consists of economy grade 2×4s and 1×4s, 1×2 and 1×4 redwood, 1×4 black joint material, 6 ga. wire mesh or #3 rebar, and concrete. All of this material can either be supplied by the contractor, or provided by you, but be clear about this during initial negotiations.
If you are contracting this work out, you need to provide a plot plan to the contractor so that you can ensure flatwork forms are installed in the proper location and to guard against encroachment on any easements. The contractor sets the forms, installs redwood (control joints set at prescribed intervals) and black joint (expansion material between separate pieces of concrete), grades the flatwork sand to assure a 4 inch thickness of concrete, sets the driveway in-turn, then places and finishes the concrete. Prior to setting forms for the driveway in-turn, the curb must be cut and removed.
You should visually check the flatwork for compliance with your standards (as well as city building codes) prior to allowing the contractor to pour the concrete. The in-turn inspection is also at this time and should be called in to the city with sufficient lead time to ensure the inspectors availability. The forms must be ready for concrete placement when the inspector arrives. Know the requirements for your community and, when possible, meet the inspector at the job site. Any corrective action specified by the inspector shall be corrected prior to concrete placement. Place the inspection certificate someone safe (inspectors are known to loose them).
The concrete finisher should be responsible for staying on the job site until the concrete has sufficiently hardened to protect against vandalism. Twenty-four hours after placement the contractor can come back and remove the form boards.
Pre-Placement Checklist for Flatwork Concrete
- Schedule flatwork and/or in-turn inspection, as required
- Check for 4″ concrete thickness in forms. Use additional flatwork sand to reduce the amount of concrete needed, if necessary.
- Check driveway in-turn for proper curb cut (as specified in applicable code requirements).
- Cut should extend at least 6 inches into street
- Allow for a 5 foot radius on each side of the in-turn
- In-turn must be free of loose debris and no standing water
- Check the live ends on post tension cables to ensure that they do not interfere with the flatwork forms (examine garage and porch areas)
- Ensure that the patio is sloped to the nearest side of the lot for proper drainage (no more than 2 inches in 10 feet)
- Maximum step height at front & rear entries is 8 inches. Any greater height requires an added step(s)
- Check that the patio surface is 4 – 7 inches below the top of the slab
- Ensure the public walk is set in the right-of-way; lines up with existing sidewalk; and complies with local requirements.
- Check the slope of the public walk. It should angle 1 to 2 inches from rear edge to front edge.
- Check the driveway is 1 inch lower than the garage trough
- The forms must be ready for concrete placement when the inspector arrives (if inspection required). When possible, meet the inspector at the job site
- Rear entry stoop shall be 42 inches square. Use black joint at slab edge.
- A/C Compressor pad dimensions vary by unit installation
- Single System – Typically 36″ x 36″ Concrete Pad (4″ thick)
- Double System – Typically 84″ x 36″ Concrete Pad (4″ thick)
- Ensure AC pads are physically seperated from the foundation to prevent vibrations and excess noise
Flatwork Placement Checklist
- Make sure you have a concrete washout location to be used by truck drivers
- Check and confirm black joint installation. Ensure it is level with the new concrete
- Check all joints for proper edging (i.e. picture frame use)
- Check for proper edging where concrete meets the form boards
- Check patio, stoop, and AC pads for trowel smooth finish
- Check drives/walks for a light broom finish
Checklist for Flatwork Concrete Post-Placement
- Check for concrete spillage outside of forms. Stack all spillage in one pile at curbside
- Ensure form boards have been pulled and stacked neatly
- Make sure all trash is in the trash barrel and construction debris is cleaned
build your own home
Following slab placement, form wreck and lot debris removal, you should schedule your tractor man to cut down the flatwork areas for concrete placement. When building your own home, you should use the plot plan as your guide when having the walkways, driveways, and the patio cut down for concrete placement.
You should bring in flatwork sand at this time to ensure that the flatwork forms will sit level (or slope as desired), and to keep flatwork thickness no more than 4 inches. Enough flatwork sand should be ordered (with sufficient lead time) so the tractor man needs to only make a single trip (this will save you money). Spread excess sand over the yard rather than piled on the lot or next to the street.
Maximum driveway slope must be no greater than 14% (approximately 1.68 inches per foot). If you are building your home in a community with extreme lot gradients ensure a 14% slope is not exceeded. On lots that drain from front to back (FHA drainage type “C”) where the street is higher than any portion of the lot, ensure the driveway reverses slope at the established front drainage swale to preclude water runoff entering the garage.
checking driveway slopes
Checklist for Cutting Curbs and Sidewalks
- Check public walk location extends to the property lines on both right & left sides of the lot (in communities with public walks)
- Ensure the finished height of the public walk is 1 – 1 1/2″ inches above the curb, but is adequately recessed to comply with lot drainage requirements. Do not accept situations where the flatwork creates a dam (especially between the entry walk and the slab)
- Confirm driveway slope is less than 14 degrees (use the tables to help determine)
- Ensure the driveway is cut so the form sits 1 inch below the lip of the garage trough
- Check entry walk location cut per plan
- Ensure the flatwork sand is spread to restrict flatwork to a nominal thickness of 3 1/2″ – 4 inches.
- Check patio location for proper sizing & orientation, if applicable
- Check slab for damage to the live ends of post tension cables (can be a factor with certain slab configurations)
- Check the water meter, water service line, and front sewer clean outs for tractor damage.
building a house
building your own home
build a house
1/2″ Drywall Reveal Used At Baseboards
drywall reveal | drywall design
Baseboard drywall reveals are a great way to add design and style to your home.
The following images are an example of a 1/2″ drywall reveal that has been added above baseboards.
In this particular example of using drywall reveals for design elements, they have chosen to go with a 12″ MDF Painted baseboard that has a half inch drywall reveal above the baseboard and then drywall.
These photos below of the drywall reveal demonstrate what it begins to look like once the baseboards are installed below the drywall reveal. This drywall reveal is a Z shaped drywall reveal that creates this 1/2″ reveal between the doorjambs and baseboards. This is a very modern use of drywall reveals.
drywall reveal | drywall design
drywall reveal | drywall design
drywall reveal | drywall design
post tension cables
Post-tensioned concrete incorporates 1/2 inch steel cables to provide internal stress as a means of transferring or counteracting eternal loads a concrete slab is designed to support. Slab design is based on a soil analysis accomplished before any home construction should begin. The foundation plan and beam detail sheet provided by the slab engineer outlines the method for constructing a foundation capable of withstanding the forces and loads expected for residential housing. The slab engineering firm performs a cable inspection after the cables have been stressed, then issues an inspection compliance letter and FHA stress certificate. You should retain these documents for your record.
CHECKLIST FOR POST TENSION CABLES
Checklist after Slab-Placement
- Call the post-tension company on the day of slab placement to coordinate cable-stressing dates.
- Track the days since slab placement and ensure the cables and stressed within 7-10 days. The live ends will not be cut until cable elongation and condition have been inspected and approved by the slab engineering company
Post Tensioning Process
- When possible observe cable stressing while the post-tension contractor is on site. Inspection and approval is essential!
- Visually inspect each anchor to determine if the wedges are seated evenly
- Check the elongation at each cable. Before stressing, the post-tension cable company should paint the exposed portion of the live end (where it protrudes from the anchor). After stressing, this identifying mark is the basis for measuring the amount of cable elongation. Approximate elongation should be 1 inch for every 12 feet of cable length between anchors.
- Contact the slab engineering firm to follow-up on the scheduling of a cable inspection. Occasionally the post-tension contractor forgets to coordinate.
After Inspection
- Check all live and dead end locations to ensure the contractor has cut all cables, neatly grouted each hole and cut all exposed nails protruding from the slab
- Ensure all debris is removed from around the slab. Make sure all trash is in the trash barrel and construction debris is piled at the front of the jobsite.
The day following slab placement you should have the concrete finishing contractor return to strip the form boards from the slab. The form boards must be stripped, all honeycomb and poorly formed slab corners should be grouted, and the jobsite free of debris before you proceed with building your home and prior to the contractor being paid.
Checklist for Stripping Forms of Lumber Following Slab Placement:
- All form boards, stakes, and kickers are removed from around the slab and placed on the slab in the garage area. Leave brick ledge floats in place long enough for the finishing contractor to grout all bad edges, honeycomb & corners.
- Inspect the slab grouting job performed by the concrete finisher, then remove float boards.
- Check for slab damage caused during form board removal. Do not allow the use of pry bars to strip form boards in front of the garage, the rear entry, or areas receiving exterior siding.
- Ensure all useable lumber is stacked neatly in the garage area. The framer can cull out material useful in constructing headers, braces, etcetera.
- Check all catheads have been removed and disposed of properly. Serviceable catheads can be collected for reuse and stored in a container behind the construction office.
- Ensure all debris is removed from around the slab. The tractor man will need access to cut the driveway and entry walk, as well as complete the rough grade.
- Make sure all trash is in the trash barrel and construction debris piled at the front of the job site.
build your own home
Like other chemical reactions, hydration of cement depends on temperature and time, as well as the presence of moisture. As concrete hardens, it becomes stronger, resists damage, and increases in durability. Hydration of cement stops when concrete dries. This means concrete must be kept from drying for as long as possible to reach its greatest strength. Warm, moist conditions are nearly ideal for concrete placement and curing. However, when the weather is hot, dry & windy, a number of potential problems arise.
Some of the more critical problems include:
- More water is needed to make concrete workable
- Warm concrete dries faster
- Concrete may set too fast
- Handling, finishing, and curing may be more difficult and may require more effort
- Concrete contracts more as it cools if its temperature is high
- Plastic shrinkage cracking is more likely to occur because the surface dries before curing begins
- Concrete will be more porous and srink more because more water must be used in the mix
The statement, “start curing concrete immediately” cannot be overemphasized. Curing must begin as soon as placement and finishing is complete. If concrete surfaces dry before the concrete hardens, or is alternately wet and dried, cracks may appear on the surface. To prevent cracks, steps can be taken to reduce evaporation during finishing and thereafter.
All materials needed for protection from early drying and curing should be available and ready for use before the concrete arrives, for simplicity & ease of application during finishing and thereafter.
- Sprinkling or fog spraying – Sprinklers must be setup to ensure complete slab or flatwork coverage to keep the surface wet. Keep water pressure and flow long enough to avoid surface damage.
- Straw or hay – Wet loose materials such as straw or hay can be used, however they can discolor the surface. Keep material moist & prevent from blowing away in windy conditions.
- Poly sheeting – Plastic film must be at least 4 mils in thickness. For hot weather, white colored poly is preferred for its heat-reflecting quality. Remember, any poly is better than none at all. Wrinkles in the poly will result in discoloration of the concrete. Ensure it is secure at all edges to prevent it from blowing off/away.
- Check plans for correct elevation (roof lines, bay and box windows, entry configuration, covered porches, etc)
- All first floor wall bottomplates of interior and exterior walls are pressure treated lumber
- Porch columns sitting on pressure treated lumber of elevated brace designed to prevent water from penetrating
- No untreated lumber in contact with concrete
- Bottom plate lines up with framing chalk lines. Pay particular attention at bottom plates near door openings.
- Bottom plates at exterior walls secured using mudsill anchor (if required by municipalities), secured with 10d 1 1/2″ nails, when possible.
musill anchor
- If using mudsills – ensure that all nailholes receive a nail. Typically two nails are driven into the side of the bottomplate, while 4 nails are secured at the top.
- Interior wall bottom plates secured using concrete nails, masonry nails, or cut nails every 4 ft.
- Confirm topplate in each room is straight and level. Check looking from the opposite side of the room to see if deviations are visually apparent.
- Drilling or notching of exterior and wall-bearing topplates by more than 50% of plate width require securing a 16-gauge galvanized repair strap to each plate and to each side of the opening with no less than six 16d nails.
- Confirm all structural elements are adequately supported from the highest point directly/indirectly to the slab using accepted construction methods.
- Confirm a stud is placed under all splices in the bottom layer of topplate.
- Confirm stud spacing. Typically 16″ on center
- Check all room dimensions per the framing plan & any supplemental detail sheets.
- Check stud security. Randomly inspect by twisting with hand.
- All mid-wall and corner Ts blocked 3 times using 12″ scrap pieces of 2×4s.
- Check for opposing windbracing on each exterior wall and typically every 25′ of wall lengths.
- Windbracing free from material defects and installation damage
- Check Rough Opening Dimensions (see post on dimensions)
- Check shower rod blocking (center above tub/shower units – 30″ out from rear corners).
- Toilet paper holder blocking: 2′ A.F.F. and 2′ out from corner
- Check tub and shower nailers installed over top edge of tub & shower pan and vertically along sides at front.
- Ensure any partition wall between separate tub and shower extends a minimum 4″ beyond front of tub & shower pan allowing sheetrock, tile, and baseboard attachment.
- Check vertical framing for plumb. Use 6′ or 8′ level to inspect window framing, sheetrock openings, furrdowns, sheetrock corners, box windows, door openings, walls, and pony-walls.
- Check for square. Inspect all corners with particular attention at entry door spaces, inside corners at cabinet spaces/countertops, tub and shower spaces, furrdowns, furrouts, and box windows.
- Use 6′ or 8′ level to check for bowed studs, especially at long walls.
- Inspect nailing pattern on 2x dimensional lumber. An acceptable standard would be 1 nail for every 2″ of lumber depth (ie – 2×8 requires 4 nails per connection) and every 16″ o.c., unless otherwise specified by engineer.
- Check header and beam sizes. On two story homes at 1st floor doors and windows – mandatory 2×12 headers.
- Headers smaller than 2×12 lumber require cripples below the topplate (in same intervals as stud spacing).
- Recheck window sills are level and jack studs plumb. (bedroom window sills no higher than 42″ A.F.F.
- Box windows must be secured into exterior wall framing with OSB/plywood side panels fully sandwiched between studs.
