Residential Construction

1
Residential Construction

• Plans, Specifications and Codes

2
When constructing a house, what provides the
instructions for those building it?

• The floor plan or blueprint
• Other plans used in building a house
• Foundation plan
• Elevations
• Sectional
• Plot plan

3
In the planning and construction of a house,
several people are involved. Who are they and
what are their roles?

• Contractor
• Prepares the bids
• Hires subcontractors
• Prepares the schedule for construction of the
  house
• Carpenter
• - Interprets plans
• - Supervises workers on-site
• Subcontractor
• - Provide services in various phases of the
  construction process
• - Receive copies of the house plans and make
  cost estimates for their phase of the
  construction

4
What information should be included in cost
estimates?

• - Number of a given item (quantity, feet, yards,
  etc.)
• - Name of the item
• - Description of the item
• - Sizes and measurements
• - Cost (Unit and total)

5
Dimensions for construction

• - Material dimensions are usually based on
  multiples of 4, including 16, 24, and 48
• - Plans are usually done to scale to fit all
  necessary information onto the sheet
• - Typical scale on a house plan is ¼ 1
• - Dimensions on a plan are given in feet and
  inches no decimals or fractions

6
What are symbols used for in house plans?

• Used to represent items on a drawing that are
  difficult to reproduce (materials, special items)

7
What are specifications in a set of house plans?

• Supplementary information for construction in
  written form (construction details, notes)

8
Building Codes

• Laws covering the construction of new buildings
  and the renovation, repair, or demolition of
  buildings in any community
• Building codes set the standards for design,
  quality of materials and construction

9
Other requirements

• Size/height of buildings
• Room sizes
• Lighting/ventilation
• Atmosphere protection
• System installation (plumbing, electrical, HVAC)
• Footings and foundation

10
Examples of building codes in the U.S.

• - Uniform Building Code (most common, used in
  Wisconsin and in midwest)
• - Basic Building Code (commonly used in eastern
  United States)
• - National Building Code (used commonly in
  western United States)
• - Standard Building Code (commonly used in
  southern United States)

11
Building Code Information

• Zone types
• Residential
• Commercial
• Industrial
• Agricultural
• Lot types (city of Wisconsin Dells)
• - A 10,000 square feet (about ¼ acre)
• - B 7,200 square feet
• Township lot sizes are larger to accommodate
  septic and well needs

12
More Building Code Information

• 8 of the houses area is required to be glazed
  that is, to have windows
• Plan requirements
• Elevations
• Floor plan
• Foundation plan

13
Building Permits

• A request by the contractor to begin construction
• Building permit must be posted within the
  building or on the lot
• As the building is constructed, the building
  inspector will approve completed work after
  various phases (ex concrete work, framing,
  rough-ins, insulation, finish)
• After the final inspection is completed, an
  occupancy permit is issued and the owners may
  move in