Library builder

Unless you arc building on a slab, yoiTlI prob­ably need to provide midspan support for the floor joists. Without additional support some­where between the sills, the joists can be over­spanned, resulting in a finished floor that sags or feels bouncv. A friend once :ook me / through his 18th-century home in rural Connecticut. The beautiful, […]

Select an 18-in. by іУг-іп. by Vs-in. metal plate strap. Cut a notch in one end of the strap so that it will fit around a Уг-іп. or 5/s-in. bolt. From the center of the notch, measure back 3!/г in. for a 2×4 plate and 5V2 in. for a 2×6 plate. Drill holes at those […]

But here’s some good news: If von know how far off it is, yon can usually make the appro­priate corrections when installing the sills (see the sidebar on the facing page). It’s worth it to make the sills as straight, parallel, square, and level as possible. Otherwise, the mistakes made at this preliminary stage tend […]

Some important carpentry work is about to begin. Whether you are building on a concrete slab, over a crawl space, or over a full base­ment, the first wooden member that is laid down is called a sill, mudsill, or sole plate. T his sill is commonly a pressure-treated 2×4 or 2×6 attached directly to the […]

Foundation insulation isn’t used in mild cli­mates. But in areas with frigid winter months, il uni improve interior comfort and save on heating costs. Even though it’s not required by code in many areas, it’s definitely worth installing wherever prolonged freezing tem­peratures are expected. You can install insula­tion on the inside or outside of a […]

WHEN I WAS STUDYING at UCLA in the early 1950s, I lived in a small house that was held together by stucco on the outside and plaster on the inside. The wall framing had long been devoured by families of termites. Today, a number of defen­sive strategies are used to deter termites. Check with the […]

INSULATED CONCRETE FORMS (known as ICFs) offer builders an easy way to build insulated con­crete walls for crawl space and basement founda­tions. Made from polystyrene or another rigid foam, these forms are designed to stay in place; they aren’t stripped off like standard forms. It doesn’t take a lot of building skill to stack these […]

WE NEED WATER. We just don’t need it in our base­ments or under our floors, causing dampness, mold, and rot. We may not be able to hold back the Mis­sissippi when it floods, but we can control most of the rainwater that falls around our homes. Follow the guidelines below and you’ll stand a good […]

  FOUNDATION TYPES VARY by region. When deciding which type of foundation to use, consider the cost, climate, and local preferences. The three major foundation types are discussed below.   rough or finished floor for the first level of the building. This explains why slab foundations are less expen­sive than other types. Because con­crete has […]

  of the building. For appearance’s sake, most builders try to leave vents off the front of the building. If you need to install crawl-space vents, there are several ways to do so. Some factory-made vents are designed for installation in openings formed in     у