Basic Home Building & Carpentry

Design and Preparation

• Home building begins with an idea that grows into a precise set of instructions. Engineers, architects and designers create site plans and building plans and submit plans to local building authorities for approval. Once approved, surveyors or construction professionals stake a home's location footprint. Once a home site is marked and approved for construction, builders clear the land, grade building pads and dig trenches for foundation work and utilities.

Foundation

• Conventional homes rest on a support structure called a foundation. Standard foundations consist of thick, masonry units that extend beneath the ground's surface, support structural loads and distribute weight. Common residential foundations include concrete slab foundations, concrete foundation walls and spot footings, such as concrete pier systems. Foundation work involves both excavation professionals and masonry professionals. Because of their important role in supporting a structure, foundations receive close attention from building authorities; most foundations require on-site inspections to ensure proper concrete mixture and distribution.

Walls and Floors

• Wall and floor framing methods vary according to the structure of a home's foundation. Carpenters typically anchor wall framing directly to a concrete slab's surface with anchor bolts or specially designed fasteners. To construct raised floor framing, such as the floors of foundation wall or pier footing structures, carpenters build a framework of support beams, called girders and joists. For foundation wall structures, beams rest on the wall's upper edge. For pier foundations, beams typically rest on posts attached to the piers' tops. Carpenters cover raised floor framing with a deck of wooden sheathing and fasten wall framing to the sheathed floor.

Roof Framing

• Traditional roof framing involves cutting and fastening individual rafters and attaching rafters to a raised, center board, called a ridge board. However, most framing carpenters use manufactured rafter units, called trusses, to frame a roof. Typically triangular, trusses are engineered for strength and manufactured in consistent dimensions. To install trusses, carpenters lift the units onto the upper edges of walls, tilt the units into place and secure the trusses with fasteners and brackets.

Utilities, Roof Coverings and Finishes

• Utilities, such as electricity and plumbing, run through a home's wall cavities. Following the completion of basic framing, plumbing and electricians can route and install rough electrical and plumbing systems. Meanwhile, door and window installers, siding installers and roofers complete a home's exterior coverings. Interior finishes include interior wall coverings, such as drywall, floor coverings and cabinetry. With interior finishes applied, plumbers and electricians return to finalize the installation of electrical and plumbing fixtures.