Michael Holigan: Last week we talked about laying the foundation. Now it's time to get started with the framing of your new house. This is one of the most important parts of building any house.
Al Carrell: Everything needs to be done properly, because you can't go back and make adjustments to the framing later without incurring some major expense and inconvenience.
M.H.: No matter where you live, severe storms can damage or destroy your house. But there are some simple and inexpensive ways to make your new house much stronger and ready to protect you during serious weather. And it all begins here at the foundation. Some builders take the base plate, the bottom piece of wood on the exterior wall, and just nail it down to the foundation. But look what can happen in a high wind. As the wind blows the wall down it pulls the nails out of the foundation just like the handle of a claw hammer rotating to pull nails out of a wall. A much more secure way to fasten the wall to the foundation is to add either a bolt or a strap when we originally poured the concrete. Then holes are drilled in the base plate. The whole wall is then set over the top of the bolts and a washer and nut are tightened down on the bolt. All the bolts you need should cost between $20 and $50 for the average house. Now watch what happens. If a wind blows this wall down the studs will separate from the base plate, but the base plate will stay firmly anchored to the foundation. Maybe that doesn't sound like much improvement, but if we can keep the base plate from moving around on the foundation, there's something else we can do to keep the rest of the wall anchored to the base plate. The corners of your new house should be wrapped from top to bottom in solid sheets of plywood or OSB, that's oriented strand board, and it should extent out four feet from the corner in both directions. When the OSB wrapping the corners is nailed to the studs and the base plate, the whole wall is effectively anchored to the base plate. Now that's the strongest corner we can build. It's going to be safe and no lateral shifting, so no sheet rock cracks inside. Let's take a look at an inexpensive way builders try to get by and cheat you on the corners.
A.C.: Instead of using those solid pieces of OSB, a lot of builders will come in a notch the 2x4 framing, and then put a 1x4 in the notches. Well, that means the thickness right here were the notch is, is only two and three-fourths inches. Plus the fact all these cuts are going to weaken the 2x4.
M.H.: This is the next weak link right here.
A.C.: And that's where the rafter is attached to the wall. Now most builders are going to just toenail this in place. That means they take nails and drive them in at an angle. This is not a very good way to go. Plus the fact, sometimes it splits the wood, making it even weaker. Let me show you what could happen.
M.H.: Now I doubt two guys will come up on your roof and pull you rafters off. But anytime a high wind hits the side of your house it can come up, catch the overhang and take the roof right off of the house.
A.C.: And this is the twenty cent solution. It's called a rafter clip or hurricane strap. Whatever it's called, it does a great job to protect your home against hurricanes, tornadoes, strong winds and two guys getting up on your roof.
M.H.: A rafter clip nailed to the top of the wall and nailed to the rafter will hold your roof onto the house. And that's very important, because if your roof is lifted off your house, the walls are going to be blown down. So make sure your builder installs rafter clips on your house. The average cost for a whole home is less than $50. That's a small price to pay to insure the safety of your home and family during bad weather.
Episode 29 1996 - 97 Season
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