Foundation to Roof

Posted June 11th, 2008 by Jen in features, the ranch
3 Comments »

by My Husband
Breaking ground is exciting. After much planning and paperwork it’s finally time to actually start moving some dirt. For our home, I took on the task of doing the “site prep” and “push out” myself. With a flat building lot and blueprints in hand it didn’t seem too intimidating and proved to be very doable. Had the building site been on a slope and thus required more calculations, I may have thought twice about this. But, it wasn’t and so I rented a small bulldozer from the local heavy equipment company and started to work.

Before You Start
The very first thing to do once you have your plans done is to get a lumber takeoff. Looking back I wish I would have done just one of these. Instead I gave a set of plans to 3 different lumber retailers and they all did separate bids for all of my lumber, siding, posts, brackets, housewrap and sheeting. Problem is, the takeoffs (materials list) were all different. Also, these takeoffs had a lot of assumptions in them. There is, for example, more than one brand and style of lap siding - all with different prices, benefits and so forth. So, pay a couple hundred for a takeoff to be done.

Once you have your takeoff done you still have to go through it and make changes. A big one I missed is exposed beams. Our porch has big beams all the way around and the engineer had only specified the minimum size, which is what the lumber company ended up putting on my order. So, a few of the beams ended up being 7″ tall because they required less load than the 9″ tall beams they connected to. That just did not work when it came time to frame the porch and we had to end up building up the beams to make them meet up. Brackets are another example. My supplier sent ugly galvanized post to beam brackets out when I had visualized nice powder coated ones. I exchanged and all is happy but it could have been smoother.

When you have your takeoff, give it to 3 or 4 lumber stores. Tell them you want a contractor’s account with terms and make sure they specify how long prices are guaranteed and return policies. You’ll see lumber and material prices go up and down a lot in the course of a year. Try to buy when it’s low as much as is feasible - that will require a little research and planning but it can payoff a lot if you are savvy.

What To Do and What Not To Do

Knowing what to do and what not to do on a building project is key. There is so much to do it can seem overwhelming. My advice is to focus on efficiency. Looking back, I spun my wheels a bit worrying about details - things I should have just left to the sub-contractors to figure out. You’ll be able to get done faster and save more money by getting at least 3 bids (I recommend 4), making sure you have negotiated the best material prices and coordinating and scheduling. Stay on the job but focus on pushing things forward.

Do not think you are going to save a bunch of money by doing everything. If the task requires a lot of specialized tools and intricate know how, you’ll be better off hiring out most of the time. Try to get things setup for the subs so they can get in and get their job done, and sell them on this. Make sure they know you are here to make their job easy.

Dealing With “Subs”

Make sure to absolutely require the sub contractors put in writing a finish date and who pays for overages. I learned this when my foundation contractor kept pushing out an extra day and then went over on his bid for concrete by $900. We ended up working it out but it was a hassle and stressful. I would also be cautious of handing over control of framing material purchases to a framing crew. These guys may be good but their task consumes the most material by far. My framing sub wanted me to let him do the material ordering - I told him no. No offense, but I didn’t know him from Adam and an open ticket at the lumber store sorta scared me. Some subs will order material on one job and move it to another to cover shortages or they may markup your lumber to make a little more since they get a discount from the lumber store, but you can do the same if you take in a materials list. I made myself the point man for materials on framing. I was on the job every day and asked for any materials they needed daily, which I would order or pickup. The lead framer had my cell number and it worked out quite well.

When you request a contractor give a bid, give them an outline of what you expect in spoken word or a cover letter along with your plans. Request they include any parameters you specify in their formal bid. They are not doing you any favors, so don’t feel bad about letting them know how you want it done. You’ll get a gut feeling when you talk with them, go with it. I didn’t a few times and it bit me. If a sub is grumpy and rather rude when you offer him the chance at your business, don’t expect him to be cheery once he is on the job.

Do make sure you check the work of your hired help and tell them early if you want it done differently, better yet tell them before they start how to do it if you have a specific desire. Every single sub I worked with wants to get in and get out, and often they don’t mind cutting corners to get it done quicker. I made it clear that good enough was not good enough. We can have a good working relationship, but that doesn’t mean I am going to smile when you do something the wrong way. I also think the work is done better when there is knowledge that the owner will be checking it thoroughly on a regular basis. I am sure if you can pay for a true master carpenter, this isn’t necessary, but most likely you’ll be on the other end of the spectrum.

Foundation to Roof Quick Tips

When the foundation goes in make sure it is spot-on with the plans. Check the layout before pouring and make changes if necessary. I triple checked every wall length and angle one evening after the sub had left for the day. I found a few small errors and one big one. The foundation forms should also be plumb, level, greased and well braced. Check for all of this. A bad form setup will give you a foundation stem wall that is very difficult to build on, wastes concrete and looks rough when the form boards are pulled.

Framing crews are in a league of their own. I hadn’t listened to so much 80’s rock since high school. Stereo blasting, nail guns thumping and saws ripping, these guys want to turn it out fast. A good framer will check for plumb and level quite a bit. A not so good framer will use shortcuts used on track homes and say good enough when doing so. These types of small errors add up and magnify as you go up. A good framer will be conscious of the lumber warp and wane and then strategically utilize less acceptable lumber.

I did roofing for a summer and considered doing ours. I am glad I didn’t. I found a good deal and ran with it. It got done in a few days and I was able to work on other things in the meantime. For your roof, you can vent with standard roof vents or with ridge venting. Ridge venting allows for more airflow at the peak and thus is preferred - keeping your attic cooler in the summer and saving you money. The cost difference is a little more but it wasn’t too bad. Make sure your sub tells you what type of valley flashing he will do. There are a lot of methods, some cheaper and some better - take a pick. I would recommend not skimping on this as a leaky roof means a lot of trouble. Check with local roofing supply companies and ask them what they consider to be adequate and what is subpar. This will differ depending on where you live as climate is the determining factor. High winds and/or freezing temperatures for example, need to be addressed in roofing to ensure ice and snow doesn’t dam up and water doesn’t blow into the building structure.

That’s it. Hope this was insightful and useful to some of you out there.

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