Framing Update

The framing and steel are finally finished!  Due to the fact that the South side of our home consists mainly of glass doors we had to add steel over the garage to keep the house from racking.  Steel columns were also utilized in between the door locations and the eyebrow that runs above the glass doors and front door also required steel framing.

You may not see much change in these photos, but quite a few things were being done.  In addition to the steel, framing and exterior sheathing the plumbing and HVAC were also being installed.  After the exterior sheathing was finished Ross sprayed Bora Care, an eco-friendly termite treatment, on all of framing and sheathing up to 3' high.  This treatment is 1/2 LEED point under sustainable sites.  Its a fairly easy and inexpensive point to complete, as well as beneficial to your home.

The steel above the garage door is in place and they're starting on the steel above the glass doors.

It's really starting to take shape.

Abby enjoying HER house.  She loves coming to the site with us.

The eyebrow finally in place.

The underside of the eyebrow showing the steel and wood framing.

The underside of the eyebrow will be will be finished out as one continuous piece so the bronze color will continue to the interior and run along the main walkway in the home.  The writing on the house is not vandalism, we actually wrote this as a note to our framers.  It was shortly thereafter covered with waterproofing - our next post.

Ross and his Bora Care.

Abby loves laying on the cool concrete slab and watching us work.

Ross spraying the Bora Care with a typical garden sprayer.  This product is non-toxic, but Aaron made him wear gloves and a mask just in case.

Coating the North side of the house.  The North side of the house is 1 hour rated fire wall, so treated plywood was used as sheathing instead of OSB.

Material Efficient Framing

The framing has begun, actually it's almost finished, we'll update with a second post once it's done.  LEED for Homes has many requirements for material efficient framing and it was our goal to achieve 5 points on this area of the home.

LEED MR1 has a prerequisite to limit the framing waste factor to 10% or less.  Waste factor is defined as the percentage of framing material ordered in excess of the estimated material needed for construction.  We actually used two credits in order to achieve this prerequisite.  First, we created detailed framing drawings showing the specific location and size of each framing member in the house.  Then we used those framing drawings to create a detailed cut list and lumber order, limiting the waste to 10%.

To achieve the framing efficiencies credit the exterior walls were framed with 2x6 studs at 24" on center instead of 2x4 studs at 16" on center.  This not only cuts back on the amount of wood used in the home up to 40%, but it also allows for more insulation which increases the energy efficiency of the home.  Additionally, floor joists, ceiling joists and roof rafters were also placed 24" on center and 2 stud corners were used.

Detailed Framing Drawings - Elevations

Detailed Framing Drawings - Elevations

First day of framing

2 stud corners

Starting the second floor

Ross checking out the second floor

It's really starting to take shape

View of the interior

North side of the house.  Our neighbor's yard will run right up next to the side of our house so it was important for this side to be simple and clean.

Really starting to look like our drawings!

The framing, steel, & plumbing should be finished soon.  More to come!