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Building Your Dream Home Part 2
b>Razing the Cottage
may have made more financial
sense.
With new house plans and
permits in hand, subcontractors The demolition effort itself
hired and a Septic Design in basically consisted of three
process, it was now time to raze parts. First, all of the
the existing cottage. I furniture and appliances needed
considered employing the local to be removed. Most of these
fire department to burn it down, items were old and musty and were
however I chose the demolition not worth saving. Next, the
route instead. Though I did not excavator used a large backhoe
contact the Fire Department, I and tore apart and crushed the
was convinced that this route building into small pieces.
would have led to multiple delays Finally, the excavator loaded the
and pitfalls, as I would have debris into several 20 cubic yard
been at the whim of several town dumpsters, which were then hauled
employees and weather conditions. away by a dumpster company.
The demolition route required Finding the appropriate dumpster
only the excavator subcontractor company was a little bit of a
and had less weather related challenge, as there are strict
schedule risks. In addition, the regulations on the disposing of
demolition cost and effort was certain home construction
very reasonable. Within two days, material. In addition, the
it was as if the cottage never dumpster costs can dramatically
existed on the land. It is increase depending on how far
important to note, however, that away their facilities are from
the cottage was relatively small. the construction/destruction
It was 22' x 30'. If the cottage site.
had been significantly larger,
then the Fire Department route Breaking Ground
all its jogs and step ups/downs
After the cottage was razed, and would be located and installed
the stakes were placed outlining per the plans. During these
the boundary of the new home, it meetings a few adjustments were
was time to break ground. This necessary to the foundation
was a very exciting time as my plans, however with all the team
dream was about to begin to take members involved the changes were
shape. I was building a large minor and absolutely necessary.
contemporary home with a wall of The changes helped prevent more
windows facing the lake front. serious problems later on and
Admittedly it was only a hole in ensured that the outside
the ground, but this hole aesthetics of the home were
represented the rough footprint maintained.
of my future house. Seeing the
hole, I could begin to more As I already indicated, the
easily visualize my future home. foundation is extremely important
to any quality home. If the
Digging out the hole and foundation is not built upon a
preparing the site for a solid footing, nor constructed of
foundation is one of the most the appropriate concrete
critical aspects of building a strength, the foundation walls
new home. As a result, I spent will crack in short order. These
several occasions with both the cracks can lead to water in the
Excavator and Foundation basement, settling in the
subcontractors reviewing the framing, and eventually cracks in
house plans and the site prior the finished walls and ceilings.
to, and during the excavation. It Consequently, it is imperative
was imperative that all of us that the excavation site not only
were on the same page to ensure be properly dug out, but also
that the foundation walls, with backfilled with crushed stone and
sand to provide for a stable base After a couple of days, the
and to enable proper drainage foundation crew installed forms
underneath and around the home. for the concrete walls. A day
In my case I had the excavator later the foundation walls were
dig out sufficiently to enable poured. Three days later the
18" of crushed stone to be forms were removed and the
backfilled into the hole and foundation walls were in. I then
still meet my foundation plan had my excavator subcontractor
requirements. return. After tarring the outer
walls, just up to the level of
Once the site was prepared for where the finished grade would
concrete, the foundation crew be, he installed a perimeter
installed concrete footings 18" drain around the foundation and
wide and 12" deep. In addition then backfilled the foundation
they installed several cement with clean sand and fill. It is
footings in the middle of the important that boulders and clay
house footprint for lally not be used as backfill material.
columns. The footings represent Boulders can crack the foundation
the base of the home and support walls while being pushed into
the concrete foundation walls and place, and clay can lead to
the home itself. Due to the fact improper drainage around the
that it was winter, Calcium home.
Chloride was used as an
accelerator to speed the curing With the foundation in and
time of the concrete. In addition backfilled I was ready for
water had pooled in a portion of framers.
the hole, so constant pumping was
necessary during the curing time. The Framing Stage
The framing stage is probably the
most exciting part of building a Fortunately, due to constant
home. In a relatively short communication and quick problem
period of time, literally days, a solving we were able to have the
house begins to take real form. initial delivery of lumber arrive
Within less than a week knee on the site within a day after
walls were up, floor joists were the backfilling of the
installed and a plywood sub-floor foundation.
was down. After a couple of
weeks, the first floor walls were It is important to note, that it
up and ceiling joists were being is at this time of the project
installed. I was so impressed I that the large outlays of money
was convinced my new home was a begin to occur. Lumber costs for
month ahead of schedule. Boy was a home construction are quite
I wrong. large, and final payments are due
to the Excavator and Foundation
Before I elaborate on my subcontractors.
misconception I should jump back Excavation/Sitework and
for a minute. While the Foundation installations are a
excavation work went on, I was significant portion of the cost
also engaged with the Framing of building a home. In addition,
subcontractor. The Framing the Framing subcontractor
subcontractor needed to order requires a portion of his labor
framing material including to be paid in advance.
lumber, doors and windows,
shingles and siding. Inevitably Also, it is very important that
there were issues with the Homeowner Construction Insurance
availability of material and be obtained prior to the
delivery dates, and as a result, construction phase. This
we spent a fair amount of time insurance protects the
resolving these issues. Homeowner/Builder against
material theft and job injuries. level of complaining or prodding
All of your subcontractors and I was unable to control my
their employees should be insured framing subcontractor's work
but don't count on it. During any ethic.
building project, subcontractors
are bound to hire extra help for Consequently, I had to contact my
short stints and I would be plumbing, electric, and fireplace
surprised if these temporary subcontractors to inform them of
employees were added to the the delay. This was extremely
subcontractor's insurance policy. painful to have to do, as I had
The homeowner/builder insurance no definitive date on when I
policy is small change compared would actually need them and each
to the risk of theft or the of them had very full calendars.
threat of injury lawsuits. As a result, to be able to call
them at the last minute and
As I indicated earlier, I was in expect for them to drop what they
for a surprise with the framing were doing to come to work on my
phase of my home. As mentioned, project was highly unlikely.
the initial framing moved Again, through regular
quickly. However it was still communication with these other
winter and frequent snow storms subcontractors I was able to
and extremely cold weather began mitigate some of this problem,
to hit. This dramatically slowed however my project did experience
progress. In addition, with the significant schedule slips due to
fresh supply of snow it quickly my framing crews shenanigans.
became apparent that my framing
crew had an affinity to In retrospect, I am not sure what
snowmobiling. So even on the I could have done to have
sunny days my framing crew was prevented this problem. Reference
frequently absent. No matter my checks on the Framing
subcontractor had been positive. rapport and regular communication
I guess I should have asked what channel with all of your
his hobbies were and made sure subcontractors. Do not assume
they did not correspond to the anything during a project of this
season I wanted the work done. It size.
is also a fact that unexpected
things do happen on any project To Be Continued ...
and one should expect it and plan
accordingly. For example, put In Part 3 of "Building Your Dream
some contingency dollars and House", the Framing continues and
schedule into your project for Rough Electric and Plumbing
events such as mine. Also, I can begin. Stay tuned...
not stress enough to establish a
About the Author:
Over the past 20+ years Mr. Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. For More information http://homeadditionplus.com and
http://homeaddition.blogspot.com.
Source: www.isnare.com
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