FRAMING YOUR DREAM HOME: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
As discussed in the article “Creating Footings and Building Your Foundation,” there are multiple steps a contractor must follow when creating footings and the foundation. With a solid foundation in place, the builder can start the next step of the building process: framing out the home.
Framing Your Dream Home
While a foundation keeps your home situated securely on the ground and protected against elements such as water and ice, your home’s frame provides the rough structure that secures flooring, drywall, trim, and the roof. Since these finishes are secured to the frame, it’s very important that the home’s framing is well thought out and properly installed. Before framing begins, you should consider and plan for the following:
Room dimensions and layout
Window and door positions and dimensions
Framing type and materials
Insulation application
Roof type
With a solid strategy, the framing can begin on your dream home.
The type of framing used on your home is called “light-frame construction.” Light-frame construction consists of dimensional and engineered lumber. Dimensional lumber is cut to a specific size, such as 2” x 4” or 2” x 6”, and it is easily found at a local lumberyard. This type of lumber is generally used to build the skeleton of a home. Engineered lumber is manufactured from wood veneers or particles then compressed with glues and resins into structural elements, such as plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), and composite board. Both dimensional and engineered lumber are used in conjunction with one another to create the light-frame construction, such as the floor, wall, ceiling, and roof assemblies.
As a general rule, the frame’s design should allow for substantial flexibility when “roughing in” of electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and other services without altering a lot of the home’s framing. It is always helpful to have a list of the amenities you want for your new home, such as a gas or propane fireplace, soaker tub, tiled shower, and water heater type, before starting the framing process.
When working with Langbeen Builders, we conduct a preliminary selections meeting to nail down all of your requests before the home gets to the framing stage. With this approach, we’re able to accommodate your requirements into the frame, avoiding the inability to achieve the request as well as eliminating any extra costs that may have occurred later in the construction process. However, there is still a fair amount of “must haves” that we can complete even after framing is finished on your dream home.