Ever wonder how your house was built? In this article, I am going to explain how a one story house is built in ten steps. These steps are not including all of the details that go into a house, but it will give you a general knowledge of how your house is built.
1.Excavation
The very first thing that is done, is excavation. This includes making sure the lot is free of debris, and digging a hole in the ground for the basement of the house. To dig the right sized hole the workers use a site plan which is included with the house blueprints. Once they have laid out the size and shape of the house, a back-hoe digs a hole big enough to pour the concrete footings and foundation.
2.Concrete Footings
The footings are the main support for the house and they help distribute the weight of the house into the soil. The size of a footing can vary depending on soil conditions and the size of house. The footings are typically made out of poured concrete. Wood is used to create a mold so the desired size of footing can be made. Lumber on its side is normally laid out according to a foundation plan which is provided with the house blueprints. Once the mold is ready, the concrete is poured into it, and then leveled off off on the top. By making the top smooth, it gives a solid area for the foundation to be poured.
3. Concrete Foundation
The foundation walls are what provide alternate support for the house. They are also made out of poured concrete which is created by using formwork. Formwork are sections which are normally made out of metal and wood which can be put in place to create the desired shape of concrete. A foundation is the concrete walls you can see in an unfinished basement. Once the foundation walls are poured and dried, they fill extra space outside of the walls with backfill. The floor system is now ready to be built.
4. Floor System
A floor system is made out of wood, unlike the concrete footings and concrete foundation. The lumber used is normally a 2×12 or a 2×10. The lumber is put on it’s side and run across the foundation walls parallel to each other. These are called floor joists. They are spaced out a certain distance from each other to provide even floor support. To keep them in place they are nailed to a header which is the same sized lumber but put perpendicular on the outside edges. If the basement is too large then posts and beams are put in to help support the floor.
5.Floor Sheathing
The floor system provides good support but the only problem is all the holes in between the lumber. This is where the floor sheathing comes in. It is made out of sheets of wood which are drilled into the floor joist to keep it secure. They are installed perpendicular to the joists so they can support more weight. When the house is complete, the owners floor of choice will be installed on top of the floor sheathing. Now the workers are ready to install the walls.
6.Walls
When talking about the location of walls in a house there are two types; exterior walls and interior walls. The exterior walls run along the outside of the house and are normally thicker to resist wind and allow more insulation to be installed. The interior walls are on the inside and are not required to be as thick. When talking about the structural strength of walls there again two types. Load-bearing walls and Non-load-bearing walls. Load bearing walls are reinforced because they have to hold up anything above the wall whether it is a roof or another floor (in this case it is a roof). Non-load-bearing wall provide no structural support for the house because they are typically just used to separate walls.
When they install the walls, they look at the house blueprints and layout where the walls are going to be placed. To build the walls they first construct them on the ground. They have lumber which is spaced apart (these are called wall studs) and then drilled into a top and bottom plate. The top and bottom plate could be compared to the headers on a floor system. They both help keep the lumber in place and provide strength for the wall. Once they are built, the workers then lift the walls into place and it is drilled into the floor system. The wall cavities then have to be stuffed with insulation and covered with a vapor barrier to keep out moisture. But, the insulation can not be installed until the wall sheathing is applied.
7. Wall Sheathing
Wall sheathing is similar to floor sheathing and roof sheathing (which you will see later). The same material is typically used for wall sheathing and floor sheathing. Sometimes the sheathing is put on before the wall is erected, and sometimes it is put on after. They only difference is that lifting a wall with sheathing on it is a lot heavier and can sometimes require a crane. When they put on the sheathing, it has to be installed perpendicular to the wall studs. The sheathing provides some shelter from the wind, but it also has to be covered with an air barrier. When the air barrier on the wall sheathing and the vapor barrier on the walls are combined, it provides shelter from both wind and rain.
8. Roof Trusses
The next step in construction is the roof. Most houses that are built, have roofs that are pre-manufactured in a warehouse and are shipped to the building site. When they order a roof, the project manager will send in the house plans to a roof truss company and they will build all the parts needed. Depending on the style of the roof, there are many different shaped trusses that could arrive on site. To install the roof they follow a roof plan which is provided by the company and install each truss over the exterior walls. The plans have a specific distance to space the trusses to provide a level roof. Roofs can also be constructed on site from lumber. The only difference is that the trusses have to be constructed by hand, and this is less time effective. Now we have a skeleton of a roof, so what is next?
9. Roof Sheathing
The roof sheathing is installed the same way as all of the other sheathing. The only difference between any sheathing is that a different type of wood might be used for different conditions. If a house is built in an area with lots of snow fall, then the strength and thickness would have to be increased. The roof sheathing is the last structural element of a house. All that is left now is to add some curb appeal.
10. Aesthetics
If you can picture what the house looks like right now, it looks like one big plywood house. There are more details that have to be added. One of those are the roof shingles. These are not only for looks but they protect the house from water and help direct it away. There are many different types of shingle available but the most common are made from asphalt. The walls also have to decorated. The most cost effective way of doing this is with plastic siding or wood siding. A more expensive way is to use brick. To save money, houses in the suburbs normally have brick on the front, and have plastic siding on the other sides. The exterior of the house is now complete and all that is left to do it decorate the interior.
If you have an unfinished basement, you should be able to see some of the structural elements on your house such as the foundation walls, the floor system, beams, and posts. I hope this helps you understand how your house is put together and how the house blueprints help the house come alive.