This being my 2000th post on The ForestryForum 8) I thought I should make it a biggie.
We have decided to start building our new house, and have taken the first preliminary steps. We have tentatively selected a plan, and ordered detailed drawings that will tell us if this is really the one, or not. I also talked with the engineer who will bring the plans up to code, make a few minor changes, and engineer the foundation. He seems like a really nice guy, and he was patient in answering all my questions, at least all I could think of at the time.
Yesterday, I spent quite a while at the building permit office, where I asked more questions and got some eye-opening answers. Here again, the people there were very patient with me, and my lack of experience didn't seem to bother them at all. I think that these are folks I can work with. Ahh, the joys of being in a small rural county. :)
A couple of the shockers I learned about were: Product Approval Codes! Certain elements of the structure must be pre-accepted by the Florida Building Commission and bear a PAC number. This includes the windows, roofing and trusses, sheathing AND siding, exterior doors, and a bunch of other stuff, besides the obvious plumbing and electrical items. That wasn't a total surprise, but I was shocked to learn that I have to select all of these items beforehand, and submit the PAC numbers along with the application for permit. :o I will have to submit a letter for each item that changes during construction. This will really complicate things for me, as it will all but preclude shopping around for best prices when I get ready for each of these items.
I knew I would be limited in the amount of my own wood I can use, but I thought surely I could cut my own siding. The porch flooring is another item that I'll have to settle on storebought crap instead of the cypress I was gonna cut. The best advice I could get for a solution to these problems was, "put up the cheapest stuff you can get away with, then replace it after we're gone." (wink wink) After spending hours reading about the building codes and PACs online, I think it would be cheaper to just get my own products pre-approved before I apply for the permit. The fee is only $300 for each group of items. For instance, I could get several types of siding approved under one fee. The products have to be lab tested, though, and I don't know what that would cost, or how long it would take.
Well, that's what I've done so far. I'll update as things happen.
BTW, the plan we're thinking about can be seen at the link below. Just look for plan # DD-1850
www.homeplans.com
Dang
Arent you proud these people are there to tell you witch kinds of sidding and decking you may use on your house,
and that they also know that cheap crap will fill thier expectations,
and that the quality material you want to put on your home does not,
and that, they secretly recomend spending money to meet the letter of thier absurd and meaningless laws.........
then spending more time and money to replace the junk with what you originally wanted.......................
This is a PROBLEM....I cant even make up a funny joke about it :o :o :o :o
How did our ancestors, the good ole pioneers, sleep at night without knowing their siding and porch floor had been tested in a lab? Man, how far we've come! Thank god for progress! ::)
WOW...........
that really bums me out. Im going to go talk to a friend of mine. I live in Jacksonville and know a LOT of builders both residentual and commercial - my brother and cousin are also both Architects...... Seeing that I want to build my own house with my own cut lumber and reside also in Florida I want to see what my friend that will be 'building' my house has to say......
Those rules were put there to protect the house buyer, that knows absolutely nothing about buildings and materials, from untrustworthy Contractors that would use shoddy material.
The problem, when the governments implement such rules, is they don't allow for any changes if someone wanted to use a high quality material that deviated from their rule. That is sad.
I feel rules are made as a guide and are meant to be broken if common sense applies. But, no one wants to stick their neck out and it's easier for them to just follow the rule ver batum
Well said Charlie.
Congratulations Dan on everything. 2,000 posts wow, take a breath. Building your own house, what a great thing to do.
Running the permit process gauntlet... are you nuts! Man talk about taking abuse! I guess you have to, good luck.
Why don't you keep this thread running and post pictures of the building in progress.
Jon
DanG
Where exactly in Florida are you? I'm a Florida contractor so maybe I can help you out some here.
First thing is try not to use a plan service. By the time you finish paying someone to tweak those generic plans to fit your jurisdiction they will cost as much or more than if you hired a local building designer. I pay $.80 a square foot here for finished plans stamped by an architect. The designer knows everything the building department needs so I don't have to go looking for product specs or anything else.
You can take the floor plan you like as well as an elevation to any designer and they will fix you right up.
Don't know mothin bout them PMS numbers, but, I do believe each county has it's own agenda, as far as setting specs for building.
I know of one feller that had sheathed his entire house with T&G 1 X 6. The inspector failed the house. The owner called in to the building code office and spoke with the head honcho.
When the inspector got back to the office, his boss questioned why he faiked the job. After explaining himself, the boss said, Don't you know that what he used is 5 times stronger than plywood ??? Now, go out there and pass that sheathing. ::) ;D ;D ;D
We have been checking into the same as DanG. We found out that an engineer can spec your building material and certify your home sawn lumber to be used in your house. Rough sawn CAN be used, even though the inspectors say no.
Putnam County is a real bear to get stuff approved. >:(
Sure wish somebody with brains would take over this Govt. fiasco stuff. >:( ::) ::)
Ran into so much of this crap I was ready to blow.
Was just getting the tools out on one job and some pea-brain inspector pull in and said that log cabins homes arent strong enough in his county. I had a few words with him but didnt matter. As I walk by him I gave him the elbow hit in the shouder and broke his collar bone. :o I went home and it wasnt long when the sheiff came and spent 18 hours in jail, had to pay the doctor bill and lost my job. ::)
EZ
I didn't mean to start a firestorm of anti-bureaucratic sentiment, here. ::) ;D
Much of what I posted earlier, I learned by reading the Florida Code, interpreting it as I saw it. There may well be provisions included that will allow me to work around some of these challenges, and I will find them if they are there. Whatever happens there, I am determined to build the BEST house I can with the funds available.
I suspected there may be some building contractors on the forum that might offer some advice, in fact I was counting on it. ;D
I'm not going to get into a pithing contest with the inspectors if I can help it. I know they are just doing their job as instructed, and I can get a lot more leeway by seeming cooperative than by confronting them. The 2 I talked to seemed just as pained as we are about the new regs, and I feel like they will give me every benefit of the doubt they can.
Gotta go for now. Wife just got in from outtatown and my concentration is shot! :D More later.
I just figured I would pass along some info that I had gotten. If it seemed that I was being confrontational, I guess I don't express myself well. So, I will just read from now on.
I have built homes and done about everything related to the consstruction field for almost 25 years.........
Dang I always cooperate with them all , and everybody else, for that matter, and do my work right and above and beyond code many times........ i am havin fun (sometimes) buildin my dream house and maybe we can encourage each other.......I simply was voicing my personal frustration dealing with people who know FAR LESS than me about the industry ....usually POLITICAL payback jobs, that try to find fault as a condition of thier employment.....if they find nothing wrong they just look till they do......
EZ...I didnt know you were such a tough guy :o :D :D...I am sure you only bumped him acidentally :)
OK, things are settling down a bit.
Eightwgt, I was hoping you were reading this thread. I saw where you're planning to cut out your own house. I hope this gives you a chance to school off of me as you follow my trials and tribulations and, hopefully, a few victories.
Florida, I appreciate your offer of help, and I'll take you up on it. :) I can use all the help I can get. You gotta keep in mind, though, that I'm an opinionated old fart, and have my mind set on certain things. I won't be blindly accepting whatever parts an architect pulls out of a book. I may put that on the original application, but I'll do the shopping and buy what I want, when the time comes. I just have to submit a letter to make the change. The engineer I'm working with says he can save me money by working from an existing plan, and with me doing the legwork, I should come in at about $.60 to $.65 sq ft. What I will likely need the most help with is the mechanics of putting the whole thing together. I have very little experience in construction, but the only way I can do this on my meager budget is to do it myself. It may take me weeks to build the foundation wall, but I got lots more time than money.
DanG, learning as you go really IS the best way to learn.
You'll make PLENTY of mistakes, but you will get it right in the long run. I hear ya on the time vs. money thing and can only say "keep at it"! Just remember, if ya think it'll take ya a week to do something, it will really take you two. ;)
Makes me glad that there's no building codes to meet out in the county where I live. That said, I did build my house completely to where it would have passed most building codes, perhaps with the exception of using sawmill lumber for siding, etc.
I did a lot of research on building codes before I built my house. One thing that I discovered was there were or have been a LOT of shady contractors in Fla. in the past. Building LOTS of high dollar houses with shoddy materials, and shoddy construction practices. One of the worst offenders was M...... Homes. There were so many complaints against them, and others like them, including fly by night contractors that come through after storms and do sub standard work and take peoples hard earned money, and this is the reason that I believe for Fla. tough building codes. I understand how this will make it tough on you. It would slightly, ok, maybe more than slightly p..... me off too. I have no answers, just wanted to pass on what I found out when I was trying to learn about building codes before building my house.
I lived in a town once thad had weird cods on some lots they wouldn't let you build new because of lot size. The answer to this was remodel as long as you had a wall standing it was considered remodling of corce you could replace it last.Here I needed electric for my sawmill to complicated and expencive so I used a tralar service pole 200amp for the well I was going to drill got it turned on may drill well in 2020 :D All I ask is tell me the laws an I will work with them Like what are the laws on a storage building a barn garage ??? I saw a garage built once that in no way looked like it was one but that is what the man said it was . Good luck if I was closer I would volenteer to drive a few nails as I did it for a few years also did elect and plumbing. I do better at that than spelling ;D
Hi DanG,
If you can, maybe getting to know a reasonably priced engineer would help you out quite a bit. In my brief building experience an engineer's stamp allows you to do stuff that makes sense that isn't covered in your building code.
We wanted a cantilevered balcony 4ft wide, and cantilevers over 13" aren't covered in our building code. Our floor joists were 2x12's on 16" centres so it was pretty obvious the balcony wasn't going to break off but the inspector wouldn't approve it. So our choice was to get some engineered floor joists for $3800! but our architect recommended an engineer and he stamped our cantilever for $200. We saved around $2400 going with regular floor joists and the engineer.
Our engineer was retired and was still working just because he likes too so his rates were really good. :)
Also I found no one else is as interested in saving my money than me so look into all your options.
Have fun too though, it can get a bit stressful at times!
Ian
Yep, the engineer is already on board. :) I'm sure he can help punch through some things, but he has to stay with approved products, such as your joists. As I understand it, products that don't have a PAC have to undergo tests by and engineer or architect And be approved by another. Gets expensive!
J-T, I'll be in touch when it comes nail drivin' time. ;D THAT's the kind of help I'm really gonna need.
Tuff guy, not me. ;D Back then I was a 24 year old hot head and paid for it at times. :D Live and learn the hard way, that was my motto. ::)
EZ
DanG
At this stage of life I suppose I'm an opinionated old fart myself. Sounds like you have things well in hand. You shouldn't have any major problems. a house is a huge project that goes up one board and one nail at a time.
If you don't already have one spend the money and buy yourself a decent framing nailer and compressor. A typical framed house has about 400 pounds of nails in it and they take a lot of hammering. A nail gun will keep you in better shape and allow you to frame much, much faster. A good gun will allow you to shoot 8# through 16# nails. If you're shingling buy a shingle nailer too.
Nail gun is real high on my shopping list. I've had a reccomendation to get the Dewalt gun because it is lighter, but still a quality tool, ie rebuildable. You concur? Roof will be metal, so I'll be shooting lots of screws when we get to that point.
Yep you wright a nail gun will save a lot of time and pounding. Be sure it is where you want it before you shoot it if in queshton tack with a hammer then when you are sure shoot it these nails are super hard to get back out.I would sugest if you can or the commies will let you before sealing the elect box run a conduit to the outside for forgotten use as it is easer now than getting back in the box later .Just a thought PS those nail guns shoot thur your fingers easer than wood guess how I know ??? ;D
Don't know about Dewalt we used Bostic coil nails never had a problem. We chalk lined off large areas hold trigger back and get a ruthem going bouncing it along.On long spans with two hook the chalk lines together and reel to each outher saves time and walking. We used blue then if we goofed we went to red for corected lines.
Good-luck to you, Dan. We have been building our house for about 14 years now. It is a project that never ends. We got the major stuff done in the first two years then took a hiatus of 12 years to think about what we wanted to do with the basement we lived in before we put the house on top of it. I'm still thinkin' on it :P :P ::) ??? ;D
OW, OWW! :D My wife would leave me if I took that long. Besides, in 14 years I'll be 72. We've set a goal of 2 years to get moved in.
J-T, I plan to put outlets all along those wrap-around porches, but a "future use" conduit is a good idea, anyway. I'll be planning on that. :)
We moved in within the 2 years. Just haven't redone the basement yet - you can't rush into these things you know. :D
Heck, 72 ain't too old to be doin' stuff. I bet with all the grits you've consumed you will live to be 100 ;D
WHEW! That's better! I thought you were saying you've been living in the basement for 12 yrs. :D :D :D At least I won't have your problem...there ain't no basement to worry about. ;D
Gotta confess that I lived in the basement for 13 years before we started on the house. I always dreamed of building a rammed earth house and started that project beside the basement during year 3 of my sub terranian existance. The walls weighed 4 tons per 8 linnear feet so I could not put it on top. My then wife must have decided I was certifiably crazy about half way through (we actually had all the walls done) cause she made tracks before it was roofed. I got a bit depressed, both emotionally and financially and tore them monster walls down. It wasn't long after my saving grace moved in that we started making plans to build a more conventional structure on top of the basement - what a novel idea :D
Anyway, good luck on getting your dream home put together.
DanG, you are getting lots of good advice. Being the general contractor is a real responsability, that I'm sure you are up to. We are like CK in that there are no codes where we live, but we built the house far better than any code would require. Any help you need, just ask here on the forum. We all are full of it :D
Advice I mean. ;D
Y'all were sure lucky to get your houses done, or at least started, before this stuff came along. You may not have'em yet, but they're coming. :-/ If I had known it would be this bad, I would have made this move long ago and just suffered through the mortgage thing. Florida's codes are updated every 3 years and the 2004 code is much tougher than the 2001 version. Thanks to Hurricane Andrew, Florida has some of the toughest regs around, and H. Charlie ain't gonna make it easier in 2007.
The nail gun has to be one of the best labor savers there is when nailing things off like decking and assembling walls on the deck. Many times, like ladder work or in odd spots, it's faster to just hammer em. Getcha a good straight claw, 20oz-28oz framing hammer if ya don't have one already.
As to nail gun brand, They are all pretty good. I've got a porter cable I bought at an auction that shoots paslode nails. My uncle has a bostich and a paslode "cordless." I have a friend with a makita that's really nice as well. The cordless guns are really nice but not as fast as air and come with more maintence costs in $$ and time.
The only real rule of thumb is make sure you can get nails easily and it feels good to use.
See how easy it is to clear a jam and reload. Hold it in several positions and see how heavy it is after carrying it around a few minutes. Get a nylon or polyurthane hose as your final hose in line from the compressor. They are lighter but kinda expensive so the rest of the hoses can be plain rubber.
The last thing is trigger style. There is contact trip and squential trip.
Contact trip is just like it sounds, when the nosepiece (aka snout) is pressed or bumped on the wood, it fires. One can hold down the trigger and just bump the gun. It takes a little practice to prevent misfires. :)
Squential trip works differently whereas the snout must be pushed down and then the trigger pulled to fire.
In my opinion, Squential is easier to use assembling walls and contact is easier on decking and roof sheathing. Some guns come with both triggers and some only come with one.
Guess I've babbled long enough... HTH
Here you can do your own elect just must be inspected all you need is a homeowner permit . Even here sometimes they try to say you need a licened electricen but a homeowned can do three jobs in one year.Those recptals front and back will be G F I of some sort wouldn't want my freser pluged in and leave home.They are soposed to be kill you proof.When we did our wiring we put our wires in a race way and kept it neat nice turns and such .Also we left a small loop in the wall in case a futher need a man one time didn't do this and vandels cut his wires off after the wall were done ,if he had left a loop he would of been ok.Most people think those boxes in the wall are to hold the plug but they are to contain a fire. I sometimes go above code on elet. In the riser some will let you use 2-0 for ground on a 200 amp I use three 3-0 Hope I an't booring you people out thare.
Scott you right about a good hammer It makes a difference at the end of the day flat pencels too. 8)We going to have Dan looking like a pro may be a broke one but a pro ;D
Best of luck Dang, with your new home and all points along the way. :)
I've been trying to round up some contractors to do some cement work on the old house. The unheated part of the house has some deteriorating cement work that neets placing bad. The outside wall is 30 x 26 feet. I need new garage floor and I want to dig out a crawl space and extend the basement out into it (20 x 18 feet). Trouble is everyone (contractors) is busy and no time for nuttin. Oh well she ain't fell down yet in the last 100 years. :D Once I get some one online for the work, I'll be posting pictures. Might have to delay another year if no ones available though. I don't get too excited over it. ;)
cheers 'old timer'.....ermmmm I mean DanG ;D
Got a little tip when it comes to wiring. When you start to wire your bedroom instead of just a light switch at the door make it a three way switch and put one switch right on the wall next to your bed. That way you can control the light from your bed. Might save some stumbling around in the dark in the future. :)
Ck what happens if you move the bed ??? Use 2 4way switches ??? Sorry had to ask ;D
We have an Infra red (I think) remote that controls the ceiling fan and lights in our bed room. Pretty neat. ;D
It doesn't matter where the bed is as long as you don't lose the remote. :D
Yep they are nice . Just picking at Ck ;D Would never work for me was hunting my glasses once ask the wife to help she found them I had them on :-[ :(
I''m glad somebody else does that.......picks on CK :D
I have that glasses problem too. Don't know what i'd do without my wife. She can find anything. I lost both pair of mine one day. I have bifocals for regular wear and some computer glasses. Sho laughed at me 'cause I had both pair on top of my head. :-[ :-[ :D
;D ;D ;D
I gots these glasses that get dark out in the sun. They're some kinda tri focals or sumpthin. Now back up a few years. We were roofing this house out in the country. Just about through, and getting through early for a change. Couple a skylights on that there house. Been telling this dunce that was working for me, "STAY AWAY FROM THEM SKYLIGHTS!". Just come down the ladder off the roof. Heard a crash, glass breaking. That low down, sorry, no account, good for nothing hand had done stepped on, and busted that skylight.
I went BESERK!!!!!! Yelling and Screaming. Guy said he'd quit. I said "NO *DanG WAY!!!!! You ain't a going NOWHERE until you help me fix this skylight, IF WE CAN FIND ONE!
Somehow during all of that I lost a lens out a them glasses. The whole dang world was looking sideways. It was bad Hot, I was bad HOT, and before I settled down I thought I was having a stroke cause everything looked so out of whack.
Finally settled down and found that lens and put it back. We rode for over two hours looking for a exact replacement. Last place we had to stop at before heading for Memphis we found one. Got back and got it on that roof, completed before the lady got home.
Yep, me and that dunce of a helper, we shore had some moments back in them days. Some a them dang guys, you just can't ever teach the first dang thing.
Well, maybe SOME of em will finally learn something. Once in a blue moon maybe. The guys name was Kenny. :) He's my foreman now.
One a these day's I'll tell ya how I tricked him into going ahead and getting hitched to that little ole gal he's married too. ;D . Heck, I had to do something to start getting him turned around form a hoodlum into a decent citizen!!!!!!
CK:
I could tell a similar tale, but that pretty much says it all. :D :D :D
If you don't have em already, there's ALOT of tools you'll want.
Built my own house 5 yrs ago. Remodled the previous one. Did everything myself 'cept the sheetrock on the recent one. Even did my own wiring and some of the plumbing. My ex husband is still a good friend and he is a plumber. He did the radient floor furnace. Hired two men that I work with (construction) to help me w/ the frame and roofing .
Round here we screw metal roofing on and nail asphalt. Screws hold alot better in all applications. Those shot in nails have a lubricant to make them go in and they come out easy ,too. Angle them.Alternate the angle.
There are zillions of decisions to make on a house ,that part overwhelms me at times.But I better get over it 'cause I'm 'bout to build another ,too. The bulldozers moved in on Weds to start the 70 unit subdivision on two sides of my lot.Time to move further north to my woodlot. Am going to build either an Insulated Concrete Form house or a log cabin kit.
Hope your project goes great for you, DanG.
Thanks for all the encouragement and good wishes, everybody! :) :) :) :)
Ahhh, Tools. ;D I love shopping for tools. I retired six months ago, but am just now getting all the paperwork straightened out. Now that it is finally done, they can pay me six months back pension, plus the $400 retirement gift they promised. The boss says me and him can just go shopping to fill out the gift list. I'm gonna ask him to meet me at Lowes to get the nail gun($260) and a new circular saw. My old one is a real relic and doesn't cut true anymore. I'm eyeballing the one Hitachi has come out with. Looks like all the quality is there, as well as the power, but the price is lower. Anybody use one of these?
I have a couple of good framing hammers. I like the FatMax 24oz with the magnetic nail holder. Real handy when you have to hold the board in place while starting the first nail. The ergo handle is comfy, it packs a wallop, and makes a nice ringing sound when you hit the nail. ::)
I'll be looking for a good sliding compound miter saw, too, but that can wait till the foundation is done.
Just one caution on the nail gun. Some guns use clipped head nails while others use round head nails. Clipped head nails are being outlawed in some costal area's so check with the DanG building inspector before you buy. I have a Bostich which is going on it's third house. No problems other than it is a little leaky. Never had another brand to compare it with so I dunno.
On driving 8 penney nails if you hit it more than twice the boss said we were playing ::) We used skill with them you can see the blade on either side when making a cut .We always looked at the blade little slot out frount is a good way to get off cut .Milwakiee made a hevey saw but can't see the blade plus the handle is off possison for me.Guess it is what you get use to . We had a six and a half we used more than anything always with carbide blade.Most call all circular saws skill but they an't.Skill is a brand name.
Larry, clipped heads aren't legal here, so they don't even sell them. I wouldn't use them if they were legal. :)
J-T, good point about the visibilty issue. I hadn't really thought of that. I'll check before I buy.
I've got both dewalt and makita 6 and 1/2 inch Both make pretty nice saws. Haven't seen the Hitachi but I've always had good luck with Hitachi tools. I would absolutely stay away from the walmart variety Skill brand. Unless you get up into the heavier worm drive saws they're pretty much throwaway saws now and won't hold up to heavy sawing or ripping.
Don't do like I did and wait until you get halfway through to get a sliding compound miter saw. Those things are more than handy, especially if you get a stand to bolt it on that has expandable wings.
For the circular saw (skil type), I like the DeWalt model DW364 that has the rear pivot point and electric brake. Very handy knob on top to grab, twist to loosen, slide to change depth, twist to tighten. Also good handhold to guide saw if holding with both hands. They are on sale in ToolCrib now for $137. I also like the DeWalt 12" sliding compound miter saw. I'm sure there are other good ones too.
Wish you well on your house project. I'm in the middle to end of a shed project. Get the doors in next week.
Going into the 40's tonight, and walnut leaves are falling big time now, and squirrels are eating the hickory nuts before they fall from the trees. Must be hungry.
Just wondering what the deal is with the clipped head nails ??? Why can't you use them ???
I'm such a tool junkie I have 4 circular saws....
Makita 7 1/4 right side blade
Porter cable 6"? left side blade
Skil Worm drive 7 1/4" left side
Dewalt 24V cordless right side
They're all my favorites too... :D
The worm drive is the badboy and gets used for framing and rough out stuff. It's got more power than anything I've used and guides like a dream. A bit heavy till ya get it on the board. :)
The PC is used for trim and cabinet work. Very light and nimble.
Dewalt is great for running around on rooftops or under crawlspace.
Makita is brought out when it's not conveinent for the worm drive. I got this one first years ago and it's a good all around... A bit heavy compared to some newer ones.
DanG you going to build your tee's,corners, crippels and headers a head ??? All my tools are like me getting old :'( We built ours and then put them under cover.We hand picked the best for these also the studs for the kitcken where the cabnets were going .Also we were pickey with the insolation I hated it but always did it right the first time.Once we over stuffed around some windows and got them so tight they wouldn't work right. Hop I an't over loading your wagon all at once. Ck the roof is yours I'm lost thare that is above me .Last one I was on I looked in the kitchen window as I went by ,I knew it was going to hurt :(
J_T:
Skil's a circular saw as Ski-doo is a snow mobile. ;) ;D
Did somebody say TOOLS!, seems I may have a couple of those around here. ;D Don't buy the campbell hausfield power nailers, they're poor quality and my mother in law can drive nails better. My personal favorite for air nailers is Hitachi but DeWalt and Bostich are good too. DeWalt has a newer model worm drive circular out that's real nice and their 12" sliding compound miter is about the handiest tool I own. Get the base with wings for it.
Every time I get the latest copy of Tool Crib I have fantasies of winning the lottery and spending it all there. I drool so bad Patty has to put a bib on me. :D
:D :D :D Norm, I got a built-in bib to catch the tool drool. ;D
(https://forestryforum.com/images/03_21_04/tom-dang08.jpg)
What makes the Hitachi your favorite nail gun?
I plan to pre-build as much stuff as I can. I figger to do this stuff alone, then put it in place when the hired guns are here. Should save a lot in labor costs that way. I haven't seen the details of the framing yet, so I don't know what parts can be done this way. I'm thinking of prebuilding the wall sections, complete with headers for doors and windows, etc and placing them with the Hootiemobile. That should really shorten the dry-in time and cut down on weather exposure of new wood. That might be important with the new restrictions on pressure treated wood. Sodium Borate don't take to kindly to being rained on.
In the fall when the weather turns cooler I let my beard grow until the end of deer season. I helps keep your face and neck warm during cold weather, not to mention catching all those crumbs that would otherwise be wasted on the floor. ;)
The Hitachi stick nailer I have is the NR83A, it will shoot 3 1/4" framing nails like greased lightning. Works well with the smaller ones for sheeting and flooring as well. Easy to unjam and pretty reliable.
The framing crew that did our present house brought out two of the 12" dewalt miters, makes nice square cuts. Only things they cut with the worm drives were the sheeting. Something else they did that I'd never seen before was use construction adhesive under the bottom sills of the exterior and interior walls. Really made them stay put especially when they butted another wall up against it.
For the price you can't beat the armstrong Vaughn in the 20 oz. long frame model. Fewer moving parts and lower initial cost.
Bruce that's the best armstrong model ever made. Them west coast framers all use em. Its also the one that convinced me to buy my first nail gun some 11 years ago after my elbow went out. It still gets a lot of use but the Bostich gets used if it is one nail after another. Tennis elbow ain't no fun.
I guess I'm sort of a tool junkie also. Maybe 4 years ago I started buying at
http://www.toolking.com/index.asp
when they were first getting a start selling reconditioned tools. First purchase was a Dewalt biscuit joiner, second was a DW 3/8" corded drill, and third was a DW cordless drill. All the tools appeared to be brand new with a great price break. The reconditioned tools carry the same warranty as new. Both of my drills are still kicking and have had a lot of use and abuse. Toolking also seems to be a great company with fast and reliable service.
Dan G on most jobs we had three men.If it were me I would want two experenced guys or gals.All you need to build what I ask about is a level spot and a take off of rough in sizes keep one end and side even.We used solid headers over our doors an windows thus they were in parts as weight and bulk could be a problem. Also we built on the sub floor our walls as they would get hevey and flex ,we put then in sechons three men could set up.we then had our brace lumber in place if they were in two or three parts we broke the top plate where we could join them for best results.Five of us put a house in the dry in one weak it was a one level house with two car port. We were all pros like to of killed me but fridey night the roofers nailed the last shingels on. Am typing this as it comes to me been a while since I did a lot of it
DanG,
I was kind of wondering if you had to have a permit to carry a nail gun in FL? :D :D
Nah, Tman. You can carry as long as it ain't concealed. :D :D
DanG! I've read a lot of good advice here. I don't know much of anything about house construction but I'm gonna put in my 2 cents worth of advice anyway.
First! Don't work outside mid day during July and August!
Second! Don't hire Tom to cater your lunches.
Third! Order a set of building codes from Boca Raton, Florida. When things get tough and discouraging and you are getting frustrated with all the local building codes, sit down and read the ones from Boca Raton. It will brighten up your day 'cause you'll realize how good you got it. ;D
I just learned of another consideration for choosing a nail gun. The replacement for CCA treated lumber is ACQ. ACQ requires "hot dipped galvanized" or stainless steel nails. When I stopped by the local yard last week to pick up a box of Bostich nails they were out. The manager told me the supply has been short all year for Bostich guns and just as bad or worse for some of the other brands of guns. Next stop was Lowes and I was lucky to get the last two box's they had.
A little info for fastener use with ACQ lumber can be found here.
http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/articles/showarticle.asp?articleID=2115&position=1&type=article&partID=1
Also be prepared for sticker shock when you buy that first box of hot dip galvanized nails.
Thanks a million for the link, Larry! 8) That's a good one! I've already learned a few things, and would have already made mistakes if I was a little farther down the road. I read the Tool Test for nailers, and will probably go with the Hitachi. There are great explanations given there as to why certain products excelled in certain areas. Fer instance, I was going with the DeWalt because it is lighter. Nyet, nyet, says the Tool Test. The heavier tool was less tiring to operate because it stays where you put it instead of bouncing on every shot. Whooda thunk? ???
Anybody know how to put this site in the ForestryForum Links?
Dang, what do you think about the cordless/airless nailers?
I think they're great if you don't have compressed air available. Otherwise, more expensive to buy and operate. I have a generator and air compressor, so I don't need one. :)
If I was a pro, I'd have one... Very handy for tacking things together on the roof deck or underneath the floor. They carry more maintence than the air guns as one has to take em apart every 2-3 days and clean out the fire chamber. Buy an extra battery too cuz they don't last all day.
For the amatuer like myself, Just too expensive to operate regularly. Those fuel cells are expensive.
My pnuematic gun gets a few drops of oil in the inlet and it's good to go til sundown or at least lunch time.
I have a Paslode airless nailer. Works great.Has survived quite alot of punishment and haven't had to clean it much..
I'll second the Paslode. It is great when I am working out in the woods where juice just isn't available. But where you got juice a good air operated stick nailer is worth its weight in oil.
I started getting as many tools as possible from the Porter Cable/ Delta factory outlet store over in Portland, OR. You pay about 60% of new and they all factory reconditioned. That 19.2V cordless set that retailed for $499.00 sold there for about $280.00. My charger went out so I took it over to get repaired, "$60.00". $75.00 for a new one, or a reconditioned 19.2V hammer drill, charger and two batteries for $125.00. Got an extra drill and two extra batteries now.
Here's there service center finder: Look for a "factory service center" if you are interested.
http://www.porter-cable.com/index.asp?e=257