Few questions

Started by Mike Hall, January 29, 2008, 09:18:21 PM

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Mike Hall

I just ordered the plans for the Universal 20' wide 2-story and Im starting to plan this project. I had a few questions that would help me with the planning of this project. First can this house be dried in without having any interior walls? I want to be able to get this house up and dried in as fast as I can and then start on the interior walls and what not. Also what size I-joist would be used for the main floor and the 2nd floor? I want to stay with joist spacing at 16" to insure a very solid floor. What would the cost different be between a poured concrete wall foundation compared to a pier and beam type foundation? I want the house to be a good 4' above the ground so I can see over the hill I want to build it on.

Mike

glenn kangiser

I don't think that is a problem but will move you to plans support since you have ordered.  John will probably check there first , and others will pop in there also.

Welcome to the forum.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.


John Raabe

Mike:

If you want the house shelled in without interior walls or bearing partitions use the the floor framing plan for Engineered Joists (p. 10) that carries all bearing to the outside walls. That plan calls out your I-joists specs at 16" centers. You can do this same framing plan on both floors without interior walls.

The beam and pier foundation (p. 9) can be used for an inexpensive foundation. It will cost less than a full concrete perimeter foundation (p. 7) or basement (p. 5). However, you will want to make sure it is well braced if you are going to be 4' in the air with it. Cross brace the posts (piers) to the beam to stabilize the foundation for side to side forces. This can be the weak point of a tall beam and pier foundation. Some jurisdictions will want such a foundation to be reviewed by an engineer for local design loads (usually the lateral forces of wind and earthquake that the local area has a history of).
None of us are as smart as all of us.

Mike Hall

Thanks for the info. I got the plans in today and I have already started drawing it up in AutoCAD to make a 3d Model of the whole house.  Im going to stretch the house out to 40' for sure but would there be any issued with changing the ceiling height to 9' on the main floor and 8ft on the second floor? I know the stair will need to be moved out a little to make room for more steps but is that all I would have to worry about? I

Mike

Mike Hall

I Have the shell drawn up. Im not sure what I want to do about a foundation yet so I was just playing around with some ideas. Things I have changed so far is the 12/12 roof pitch, 9' ceilings on the main floor and 8' on the second floor. I also stretched the house out to 40'. After I got everything drawn I noticed there is a good bit of usable space up in the attic area which would make a nice sized loft for the kids to play on. It could be like a little TV room or something for them. What kind of joist would I need for something like this?



John Raabe

Yes, no problem with the higher sidewalls. As for the framing for the attic, there are two options you might consider. One is to have attic trusses fabricated by a local truss company, lifted onto the walls and tilted up into place. They can layout different options and do the engineering.

If you wanted to frame it as in the model with the roof rafters nailed into the ends of the attic floor joists then you would want to use 2x12 joists and the rafters would normally be at 24" o/c. It is an attic floor that will be lightly loaded at the center, so the 2x12 will be strong enough, but at 24" o/c there might be more flex or bounce than you would consider acceptable. You could stiffen this by nailing 2x4 or 2x6 studs between the joists and rafters forming a knee-wall at perhaps 4' in from the outside wall. That forces the heavy rafters to help dampen the floor load.

Probably makes it easier to insulate and finish off the ceiling anyway. 8)
None of us are as smart as all of us.