Disclaimer- I am not an Engineer, Architect or trained designer of anything. This series of Blog posts is intended solely for informational purposes, not educational.
Once all the footings and foundation is set, framing commences. We covered that in the last post, so today we will discuss finishing up the exterior.
Once the framing is set, the exterior should be wrapped. Wrapping creates a barrier between the plywood and what ever you are using for your exterior. Wrapping helps with many things, like energy efficiency and moisture control. There are several brands available and each contractor usually has his favorite. Just make sure the one he uses meets your standards. Tyvek is a very commonly used brand, click the link for more information on it.
Once the wrap is up the bricklayer came and started laying the brick work. Since our house is all brick, it took him weeks to finish. The decisions here are again, personal choices. Window ledge styles, brick patterns, arches over doors, etc. All personal choices. At the time we were building the trend was for stone pieces to be put down the sides or on the windows. It’s not a bad looking idea, but it is one of those trends that will date the house permanently. Thirty years from now someone will drive by and know that this house was build within this 10 year span. Kind of like the Harvest Yellow or Avocado appliances of the 80’s. At least you can change out appliances. You cannot change out brick work very easily. So we went with simple design and a neutral brick color, grey. Naturally we have the only grey house in the subdivision. (lol)
The best Handicap Accessible advice I could give would be to remember and monitor the choices you have made as it is happening. I was gone for a week or so during this process, when I returned the first thing I noticed was that they had poured the concrete slab for our garage and our concrete deck, and left a lip. I stopped the contractor and asked him why he had done this, he said ‘that’s how it’s done’. No, no that is NOT how it’s done for a zero threshold house! On top of that, he also failed to consider the ¾ thick hardwood floor that had yet to be installed. This created a lot of extra work. Short of tearing out the concrete and repouring it, there weren’t many options to correct it. He had also failed to realize there would be a height difference between the main area hardwood floor and the bedrooms with their carpeting. A ¾ inch lip between the hardwood and the carpet may seem trivial, but when you are going over it day after day, the wheelchair will destroy that lip as it goes over it. In the end we had to put another full layer of ¾ inch plywood flooring in all the bedrooms and bathrooms to raise them up and make it flush. That was about a $600 fix that shouldn’t have happened. For the transitions to the concrete garage and deck, well that was not as easy. In the end, the floor guy made a sloping hardwood ramp to correct the garage difference, another $350 expense. For the two doors leading to the deck, they installed wood pieces to raise the door threshold up to meet the floor. Not an easy task as those doors came pre-assembled and in the process they broke one. That was an additional $500 expense.
We’ve discussed windows a bit before, but here we are again. Choices in windows are more numerous than one might think. As I stated before, we chose to use casement windows with no ‘pane’ inserts so as not to disrupt our view. We also chose to have many of them as ‘fixed’; meaning non-opening, because we live near train tracks and fixed windows reduce vibration noise. It also reduces air leakage, making the house more energy efficient. At this point, I can manage the crank outs on the ones that open, should I want or need to. We opted for a nice brand and grade of window because of the warranty, yes, but also because buying a window with a cheaply made casement crank would render the window unusable in time. Surprisingly, prior to the start of framing we spent nearly a full day deciding on the height of the window, the measurement from the floor to the bottom of the windowsill. We chose large windows (again, for the view) and set too high they lost some view to the extended roof, set too low to the railing on the deck. We also opted for a tint coating. In certain ways I’m really glad we did, it keeps UV rays from doing a lot of damage to the hardwood floor, helps keep the house cooler in the summer, etc. A drawback presented itself soon enough, however, as it also keeps my plants from receiving the sunlight they require. Not so good for my kitchen herbs.
You should have already decided, with your contractor and the plumber, the placement of exterior water spouts. This again, is one to check up on. Things get forgotten as the sub-contractors move from job to job, so a quick refresher isn’t out of line. They should already be in place, making it easier for the bricklayer. The same is true for external light fixtures, plugins, light switches, and dryer venting. All should be pre-decided, but checked on to ensure accuracy.
Before the bricklayer reached the back of the house, the deck was installed, or rather it was poured. We opted for a concrete deck. It added expense, yes, but we felt it was a logical choice for us for many reasons. For one, we live on a hillside over looking a river. there is no protection from sun, wind, rain, hail, snow, etc. other than the extended roof. Wood would have a hard time standing up to that beating. Wood would also require yearly maintenance, or possibly even more frequent treatments, to stand a chance of lasting at all. Honestly, who does that? Really, admit it now, how often have you had your wooden deck maintenanced as intended? As we age, or desire to do things of that nature is even less than it was in our youth, so a concrete deck headed all of that off at the pass. With concrete you can just spray it off as needed. Pretty simple. Personally, I didn’t want a wood deck because I hate the ‘thump’, ‘thump’ of my wheelchair wheels when I roll over it. It’s annoying, and as wood expands and contracts it can be a pain to navigate. We also chose to go with a powder coated aluminum railing, they are stronger than wood and again have the benefit of low maintenance. I know it doesn’t seem that important, but I thought it was. My chair, being electric, is very heavy and it has a fairly powerful motor to push that weight around. The chances of me running into the rail are not very high, however I do have grandchildren. More than once it has happened that one is in my lap and reaches over, grabbing the joystick. So, I’m an ‘ounce of prevention’ kind of person. If that should happen on the deck, I want a railing that is strong enough to stop the chair. Wood wouldn’t stand a chance.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. Comments and/or suggestions welcome.
TH
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