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How to save money on custom plans

Craig Swanson — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:20:21 GMT

Once you have made the decision that you want to live in a home that no one else has lived in before, then you must decide between building a house from a set of floor

plans that have been used perhaps hundreds of times or from a set of plans that have been designed specifically for your new home.

Plans you would buy from a plan book or off the internet are stock plans and there are thousands available. Since this is such a huge industry, I would assume that this route is one that many people choose to take. With so many variations of floor plans it seems quite possible to find just the right one, or at least one that needs only a few modifications. If that is the case for you, find a builder and go.

But there are many that want to create something that is a unique expression of who they are as well as how they live. The problem is that while they know who they are and how they live, they don’t know the first thing about designing a new home and drafting floor plans. If you fit into this category then you need to get a set of house plans drawn by a professional before you and your builder can break ground. Here a few things to do

to make that as economical and painless as possible.

1.) Buy or borrow as many plan books and magazines as possible. You probably
already have a good idea of what you want, but have an open mind. Looking

at these books will get the creative juices flowing and give you ideas.

2.) Surf the net looking for plans and pictures. Set up a “house ideas” file in the

Favorites menu of your browser and bookmark the webpages you like there.

3.) Go to builders’ open houses. This is really where you get the feel of things.

Builders that have open houses are trying to sell in the current market and so

they know the latest trends and what other people want in new homes. Don’t be
afraid to take a tape measure and camera. For all they know, you could hire them
to build your new home once you have the plan.

4) Start tinkering with putting a floorplan together yourself. If you are computer

savvy, get a cheap house plan designing program or download a free one from the

Internet. They are usually simple and easy to learn. If you don’t want to bother

putting out that effort, then just get some graph paper and a ruler and start

drawing.

The truth is that you can design your own home, you just need to hire someone to draft a full set of house plans from the design that you came up with after doing your own homework. A big part of the cost in having custom home plans drawn is in the time it takes for the draftsman to figure out what you want. A hand drawn or digital floor plan that you bring in along with as many pictures as possible, should put your draftsman to work after one meeting. The more complete and thorough you are the less you should have to pay. Just make sure you find someone who will give you credit for doing your homework.

That is where Spokane Discount Drafting is a great choice. Click here to go to my drafting site.

Installing Wood Floors Part 3

Craig Swanson — Sun, 22 May 2011 19:40:40 GMT

Installing Oak Floors Part 2

Craig Swanson — Sun, 22 May 2011 18:53:37 GMT

Installing Pre-finished oak floors

Craig Swanson — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:19:00 GMT

Progress on our new home in Spokane Valley

Craig Swanson — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:37:00 GMT

The finish phase of our current project is quite a ways along with the cabinets installed, all the flooring besides carpet and most of the tiling. We have come up with a price of $318,500. To learn more about this plan that I designed and have built with my small crew. Go down to the post "New Home in Spokane." To see a video tour of the home as it was a few weeks ago watch the YouTube video I made with my wife, Elaine.

Best way to buy blades for a multi-tool

Craig Swanson — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 02:09:00 GMT

   A few years ago when I finally broke down and bought the Fien multi-tool after watching the infomercials until I could no longer bear living without one, I was thrilled with what I could do with the tool. It gave me a whole new weapon in my arsenal. As a homebuilder/ carpenter, I would say that I use it more than a belt sander or planer and less than a jig saw. Like those tools, I now believe a multi-tool is something I would never do without again.
   I thought that once I paid the $400 for the tool, I would be done with draining my piggy bank to help support the Fien company. Then I went back to the Woodcraft store to buy some new blades after the ones that came with the tool finally wore out. If I had been wearing dentures at the time, they would have popped right out of my head when I saw the price for one blade. They are not made out of gold let alone carbide. That discovery took some of the thrill out owning my fine Fien, but I had no choice but to swallow hard and fork out $25 for a blade.
    Since then everyone has started making a version of the multi-tool and so Fien is no longer the only game in town though their classic is still the best. But I am sorry Fien, your blades are no better than anyone else's though they still want way too much money. Now that there are a lot of brands making the tool, there are more companies offering replacement blades. I found Exchange-a-Blade at the local Windsor Plywood store and I am very glad that I did. After buying an adapter for the Fien, I am able to get a new blade for $6.99 with a trade-in or $9.99 without one. The blades are just as good as the authentic Fien blades and you won't have to use them to cut off your arm and a leg to buy new ones.

Sherrill Home Tour

Craig Swanson — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:47:00 GMT

Here is a video tour of a home we recently designed and built for Kathi and Mike Sherrill in Spokane Washington.

Tips on crown molding

Craig Swanson — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:05:00 GMT

O.K. this is my first attempt at putting up a video/blog. Just bought the Droid x and am working out the bugs.
The jist of what I am trying to get across is that I try to cut a piece long when possible, make sure the joint is perfect and then mark the long end and cut it only after the prior fit is just like I want it.

Fortuitous Timing

Craig Swanson — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 14:38:00 GMT

   Punching in a hole for a new home this time of year in this part of the country can be a nerve wracking experience. It is basically a race against the calender with fingers tightly crossed that Old Man Winter is in a kind mood this year. Turns out he was and he wasn't.
   Some winters in Spokane are "open" all year long, meaning there is very little snow and the temperature is mild and the ground remains unfrozen and so building moves along fairly smoothly. That is the type of winter we had last year. But the two previous were winter wonderlands where we all wondered if Spring would land. The first of those two winters set a record for snowfall and then the next one came along and broke that record. Which was kind of amazing considering the old record had stood for many years.
   Anyway, this winter was predicted by the squirrels and insects and meteorologists ( listed in descending order of intelligence and accuracy) to be another doozy. So I was quite nervous as we dug the hole on November 11 which was a Thursday. I then worked for the next 16 days straight putting in the footings, foundation and then the floor joist system. It had snowed some before and then a little during those 16 days, but over all weather was not a factor. Then Old Man Winter's demeanor turned foul.



   It snowed so much during the week of Thanksgiving that a new record for snowfall for the month of November was set. It was also very cold and so we decided not to work since I was going out of town for Thanksgiving anyway.
   When Eli and I got back to it the next Monday, the crawlspace had at least 11 inches of snow in it, but it would have taken forever to dig it out so we put on the subfloor and hoped it would melt on its own. Once we got the floor on and the site all dug out, it was time to get the rest of the crew back and start framing walls.
    This is when snowfall is brutal. If it snows over night then you spend time shoveling so you can begin to work. If it snows during the day, everything gets wet and cold and slippery. When you get the walls up and start on the roof, snowfall is down right dangerous. On this job, Old Man Winter took a two-week nap and we were able to get the roof on working in mild temperatures and not one flake of snow. The timing was uncanny.



     We had the roof done at the end of the day Thursday. The roofers got the whole thing papered on Friday. On Saturday morning it started snowing for the first time in two weeks. My house was in the dry by just a whisker and I couldn't help but singing "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..."

Working with my son

Craig Swanson — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:31:00 GMT

   One of the things I love about being a small employer is being able to work with my children. I have always gotten a deep satisfaction teaching them and giving them an opportunity to earn money. I have employed all my four children at least part time and thoroughly enjoyed each of them.
   Right now I am lucky to have my 20-year old son, Eli, working with us as we build houses. The foundation aspect of the project is particularly poignant for me because my dad was a foundation subcontractor and he put me to work for the first time during my spring vacation in 6th grade. After that, all my school vacations were working vacations.
     Since we are hands-on builders and only build a few houses a year, Eli has only helped on two foundations and so he has a lot to learn. In the photo above, he is learning how to cut the form ties with a sharp cutting bar during the stripping process which we do the day after we pour the foundation.


   I never have poured one our basements without my dad's help. I always bring him out of retirement for a few hours to help us because there are a lot of things that can go wrong. He comes out and inspects all the work and when he gives it the thumbs up, then I know we're ready.
   You talk about experience. He first went to work in this field when he was around Eli's age which was 55 years ago. I hope someday Eli will have the chance to tell his kids about what it was like to work with and learn from a master like their great-grandfather.

New Home in the Spokane Valley

Craig Swanson — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:31:00 GMT

   I find it a bit nerve racking to decide what to design and build on speculation in Spokane in this economic climate. I can only do them one at a time and so whatever I come up with needs to sell quickly so we can move on to the next.
   Our last house, which we began June 23rd and completed October 15th, sold as soon as we had it framed. That told me the floor plan was strong and so was the location. I also built it with the empty nester in mind. This new house has a much different floor plan, but it is still geared for the last-time home buyer.

Here are some features I am re-using and in some cases improving:

* No-step entry- This is a sought after feature that most builders don't bother with because of the extra hassle and because they don't have to go to the extra hassle to sell homes when times are good. But I know it was a main selling point on the last house.

* Ranch style- Not only do older people not want stairs going into their house, they don't want them in their house. I've lived in a rancher for 14 years and love it. I think one level living is the only way to go.

* 3' interior doors- As with the no-step entry, wide interior doors are a concession to impaired mobility. But I have been putting in 3' doors in all my specs for years. They are are just more practical for moving around furniture and they do not cost any more.

* Covered concrete back porch- Folks who have owned and maintained their own homes for years do not want wooden decks if they can avoid them. They always need maintenance and they always show their age even with maintenance. A concrete patio is the most maintenance-free. Having it covered is an added bonus.

*Soaker tub and walk-in shower- Some times both people want both a shower and a tub, but normally one doesn't care about the tub and the other has to have it. It is usually the wife, but not always. At any rate, I would not build a home for the empty nesters without both.

* Large laundry and pantry - The laundry room was perhaps the most popular room in the last spec. Not because it was fancy, but because it was decent-sized. So many new houses have a tiny laundry/ mud room that you pass through going in and out of the garage.
   I think a utility sink is crucial and it should be near the garage for the man to use and near the kitchen so it can be used as a back-up sink during large meals. I really like where I put in this new house.

* Bonus room- This is the area that people loved most in the last house. Everyone that went up there had their own personal vision for it. We heard it would make the perfect sewing room or weight room or guest bedroom, or grand kid's playroom or man cave. People loved the charm and old fashion feel of the sloping ceilings and dormers.
   Because it was so popular I made this one much bigger and added a bathroom.

* Over sized garage- The main reason the bonus room could be bigger is because the garage beneath it is much bigger. I have always wanted to try building a spec that basically had a shop attached, but did not look like it from the road.
   Everyone wants a 3-car garage, but they are kind of ugly. I went with the two doors and a tandem bay for the third vehicle. I reason that most empty nesters do not drive three cars regularly. They may have three vehicles but usually one is in storage most of the year.
    The tandem looks much better and lends itself to a shop area in back.

    Those are the main features that I am betting will sell this house. But it is a gamble, especially these days.
To see our last house and why I think this one will do well if we can do as good a job, click here.

Reunion of Sorts

Craig Swanson — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:58:00 GMT

     In 1989 I moved back from Annacortes after moving there a year and a half before. A lot transpired in the 18 months or so that we lived there. We moved there in January of 1988 because I was laid off in Spokane and I thought I could find work over there. Turns out I could not and so I got a bond and license and started siding and doing finish carpentry for house builders.
   Once I got the first job, I never missed a day of work and soon I was working 7 days a week to keep up. I also worked a lot to pay for the arrival of our first child, Jesse. The ironic thing is that I got the idea to move to Annacortes while visiting family there during Christmas vacation and got the idea to move back to Spokane while visiting family here during the Fourth of July. Both decisions were totally spontaneous. They were ideas that just popped in my head one day and within a week I was moving to and fro.
   The reason I came back was the apartments pictured above which are located at the bottom of the Argonne hill in the Valley. My dad was putting in the foundations for Bill Lawson of A&A Construction and he heard they were having trouble finding anyone to side it. So I met Bill there and he offered to give me 50 cents a foot which I thought was fantastic considering that I was only getting 27 cents a foot on the coast.
   So I went back to Annacortes to finish up what I had going and cancel my future obligations. I was shocked when a few of my builders told me that they would give me the 50 cents a foot if I would stay. But my mind was made up and so I came back to Spokane. It turned out to be a move that has had an impact on many more lives than just mine.
   One of the first guys I met was a kid named Rick Holmes. He was the hardest working guy I had ever seen and I decided that I would hire him if he were available and I needed a good man. But at the time I had no employees. But after I got the first of four buildings sided, Bill gave me the finish work and so I started hiring. One of the first people I hired was a guy named Tim Park who had been a friend since kindergarten. He was working at a saw mill in the Silver Valley and wanted to be a carpenter.
   Elaine also helped me through the entire job which lasted about nine months. She was pregnant the whole time and delivered our second child Eli, at the end of the job. That was more than twenty years ago.


                                        Rick on our current job , 21 years later

      After the apartments were done I became partners with my mom and brother at Homestead Construction. I remember the day Chris came by the apartments as we were finishing them up. He said there was a building boom coming to Spokane and that we should position ourselves to take advantage of it. Bill Lawson wanted me to go to Southern Idaho to do the finish work on a Perkins restaurant he was building but I chose to stay in Spokane and team up with my family.
   It turned out my brother was dead on and we took off. I soon had to hire more guys and so I looked Rick up and found him working as a hod carrier and eager to become a carpenter. When he started he knew nothing, by the time he left me about 8 years later he could frame anything. He ran my framing crew for several years and he was always the hardest working guy I had. They nicknamed him Monster.
    And he did very well on his own until the boom busted and his main builder slowed way down. So when I needed a hand framing the current house we're building, I once again called Rick and was lucky enough to have him available.


                                    This is Tim helping on the same house.

         After the apartments, I built homes with Homestead for the next 10 years. Our best year we did 86 houses.
At one time I had a 17 man crew doing all the framing, finish carpentry, painting, flatwork and roofing. Tim learned to do everything and work with us until about 1999 when he went to work for his brother in law in the Silver Valley where Tim was still living.
    I left Homestead in 2000 and built houses for a few years with Elaine before opening our restaurant, The Rock Inn. We were there 4 years and then went back into construction. Tim called me about a year and a half ago and has been with me ever since.



         And this is the kid that Elaine was pregnant with while we were building those apartments. Eli is taking a year off from college and helping us out. For Tim, Rick and I , those appartments in Argonne were a long ways back at the beginning of our careers. For Eli, they were a full lifetime ago and he is just now at the beginning of his career. Though hopefully he'll stick to his education and not have to be out pounding nails at our age.

Pre Painting Facia

Craig Swanson — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:52:00 GMT

Fascia is the piece of 6"-wide trim that runs along the bottom of the roofline. There are always a few spots on every house where a piece of facia is brutally exposed to winter weather and goes through several freeze-thaw cycles. Those are often the places that are hard for the painter to do get to. It just seems to me that painting the facia before it is installed is a good idea on a few different levels, especially since I am both the carpenter and the painter on the houses that I build.
   First of all, it is far easier and safer to do a good job of painting when the boards are on sawhorses as opposed to when they are one or two stories off the ground and often higher on lofty gable ends. It also speeds up the building process because I can get the roofer in as soon as all the fascia is up and we skip cutting in with a brush at the roof-line if the roof is not on before painting.
   You also get a much better paint job on the backside of the board. If you look closely at new houses, the small amount of fascia on the backside where it extends lower than the soffit and faces the house is almost always under-painted. That is because it is a difficult piece to hit with a paint-sprayer and because it is usually a manufactured board and so the the backside soaks in more paint than the soffit which is normally painted at the same time.
   Additionally, painting the boards this way makes it easy to roll the entire back of the board and seal this part of the board that the manufacturers do not pre-coat like they do the front, sides and ends of the board. Also, since both sides of board are painted, I don't have to worry about which way is up when I am nailing them on and can use every board, anywhere.
So that is why I do it, now here's how I do it.

   The back and sides I roll first with body-color paint. I only give them one good roller coat because most of the back and one of the sides will be hidden and not exposed to the weather. The exposed, bottom side and one inch or so of the back of the board will be given a heavy second coat with the sprayer when we paint the house later. The bottom side of the board I usually hit with a short-nap, small roller. That edge I paint the color of the body because it is the natural stopping point for the paint-sprayer when we're shooting the soffit.
   After giving the paint a decent time to dry, I turn all the boards over and paint the front of the boards with my 3" roller. It works out better to paint the front of the board second because it is better to have the inevitable paint-bleeding on the sides of the board rather than the more visible face of the board. Also, since I give the face 2 coats, it makes it more efficient to paint the back of the board, then flip it over, paint the first coat on the face, let them dry over night and then give them a second coat first thing the next morning and be done.
   After I put on the boards and caulk the joints, I can give the whole job a quick third coat with the roller. By the time we get done, it is a well-coated piece of trim. Having done several fascia repair jobs as a handyman carpenter over the years, I have seen first-hand that fascia is a piece of the house that can take a beating from the weather in our neck of the woods and it can always use extra attention to help protect it from the elements.



    When I can, I shoot the soffit before the roofer gets there. The time saved from not having to mask off is huge and it makes it easier to put on a good heavy coat in those tough places like the back edge of the fascia that Tim is spraying in this picture.


To read more about what I do to protect this vulnerable piece of trim, look at this post.

Review of the Pro Fiber Cement Rigid 5 1/2" saw

Craig Swanson — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:23:00 GMT

    As a house carpenter who has spent years framing, siding, finishing and building decks, I have used just about every type of saw a guy can use to cut through wood. The saw that I like the most is the Skil wormdrive Magnum. When the Hardie Plank siding first came out they recommended using nibbblers to cut the stuff but I could never see myself taking the time to nibble through a board when I could saw it a lot faster. I understood it was all about the dust, but I could always use a dust mask.
     I have heard people say that it ruins the saw, and so I designated an old saw just for Hardie. While I do not put on Hardie everyday, I have sided several houses and put down a lot of underlayment over the past four years and that same old saw is still going strong. I use a diamond blade and it cuts the stuff like butter.
   But still, there is a lot of dust and so I broke down and bought the Rigid fiber cement saw.



   Taking it out of the box I could tell it was well made, it just felt solid. I was quite skeptical about using a saw with a hose hooked on it since cords are usually all I need to contend with but I figured I'd have to get used to it in order to have cleaner air. Then as I was loading the blade and looking the saw over more closely, I made a discovery that shocked me. It did not have a blade depth adjustment. I kept reading the instructions to find out where the adjustment was but there was no mention of one. I'd never seen a saw that did not have a depth adjustment. It has the usual angle adjustment but nothing for blade depth. That just made me mad and I almost took it back right there but I love new tools and I wanted to play with this one even if I had to tilt the saw forward to manually raise the blade as I made each and every cut.
   So I went at siding the front the house that I was building and I really liked the saw and the way it controlled the dust compared to the old wormdrive. It really did fine and I was glad that I bought it. Then I let a friend borrow it on his underlayment project and I learned a very dirty little secret.
   He got just a little ways into his project when the blade went south, and I mean it went down past Peru somewhere. Every carbide tooth was gone. I had only sided the front of a house and he had only gotten 6 or 7 sheets layed down and the $20 blade was very burnt toast.
   My friend happens to a be purchaser for a large store that carries some tools and so he called his Freud rep (Freud makes the Diablo saw blades). When the guy heard how long the blade lasted, he told my friend that we had gotten lucky. He said the blades don't usually make it that long. Turns out the guys at the Freud company told the guys at Home Depot that a carbide tipped blade would never work and that the saw needed a diamond tipped blade. Home Depot said the customers would not pay the extra price and that it had to be carbide.
   The first thing I'd like to know is why does a 5 1/2" blade with only something like 6 cabide teeth cost more than a 7 1/2" blade with 24 carbide teeth? Seems like there is a lot less material there. But beyond that, I'd like to know why they are selling a blade and including it with their new saws when they know it will wear out immediately if not sooner. I guess they plan to make the real money in saw blades.
    So I wanted to verify this for myself and so I got a brand new blade and started siding my next house which was an 1800' rancher with siding all the way around. Sure enough, all the teeth on the blade were gone before I got half way through the house. So I could either keep buying blades like candy or I could scrap the saw or I could out smart them. I went back to Home Depot and bought a 4 1/2" diamond blade that they recommend for using in grinders for $13. Now I have a good saw and a good blade and a bad taste in my mouth. I would still recommend the saw but not Home Depots marketing strategy.

Here is an update: I have sided 2 houses since this writing with the diamond blade so far and it going strong.

True design building

Craig Swanson — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:28:00 GMT

There are three categories of builders : custom, production and design/build. The custom builder and the production builders rely on plans drawn by a draftsperson and the design/builder drafts unique plans for each house he builds. That is what I do, but I go one step further than any builder that I have seen. I actually put the boards and plywood together in such a way that the vision from my imagination that I put on paper as a plan becomes a physical structure.
   I am very fortunate when I get to work as the framer or sider or painter on one of the houses that I designed because it is not like going to work. Every day goes by too quickly because there is always more that I want to get done. I am excited the whole way through to see how it is going to turn out. There is a big difference between the idea on the plan and the actual house in three dimension.
   I have drawn many plans for homes and additions that I have not built and I have built many homes that I have not drawn. I believe it is the most rewarding to be not just the builder of my own plan but the carpenter as well. I think I am a throw-back to many years ago when the builders actually built the house with the own two hands.
   The actual building process for me is an extension of the drafting process. Some things you have to stand back and look at as you go and determine exactly what looks the best. The dormer shed on the house that I am building is an example.



   First I built the wall and stood it where I thought it felt best from the inside and then I put up a board where I thought the roofline would look best and then I went down on the road and took a look.



I did not like the way it stood out in the first picture and so I went up and moved it back in a foot and I thought it looked better that way. I also moved the roofline up later because that looked better as well. Also, notice the little angle board on the upper right corner of the garage door. I put that up there and thought about it for several days. Did I want square garage doors or should I bob the corners or should I arch the top? I really wasn't sure. I waited until I had the the dormer built and the gable windows in and the the whole thing sheated and then I knew what to do.



   I knew that doing the arches would be way more work but that is what I need to do to make it look the best. The stone work and the siding treatment for this area of the house are still being mulled around in my head. I'll know what to do by the time we get there.

Future x-ray pictures of a home

Craig Swanson — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:16:00 GMT

The advent of digital photography has given us a cheap way to cure an old headache: the buried outlet. It doesn't happen on every house but it happens enough that I have found it to be a good idea to walk through the entire house and take pictures of every wall and ceiling so that I have a record of every thing that is going on inside the walls that will soon be covered with drywall.
   The window of opportunity occurs after the mechanical and wiring are done and before insulation.

   There are other benefits beyond keeping track of where all the outlets are located. For example this picture will be a permanent record where the kitchen cabinet backing is at and how the stove hood is vented. Also it shows how the wiring is run to each outlet.



    These pictures will be put on a CD that the homeowner can keep on file. After I am long gone and the remodeling contractor comes along to remodel this bathroom in 50 years, I will be his hero. He won't have to worry about what he is getting into behind the walls, he'll just look at these pictures and know where and where not to drill a hole or run his sawzall through the sheetrock.

It is nice to be right every once in a while

Craig Swanson — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 09:57:00 GMT

So why did the new home we are building sell at the end of the framing stage while the new home just down the road and dozens of others like it sit empty month after month? I could be humble and say that we just got lucky. I feel we were very fortunate, but luck was not a big part of it. The luckiest part for us was that a very pleasant couple bought it and so working with them on the rest of the project will be fun. I enjoy working for nice people who appreciate what I do.
   It could have sold to a couple with one or perhaps both of them having a cantankerous dispositions. That would have been bad luck. But the point is I think it was going sell quickly to a certain type of couple and it had nothing to do with whether they were nice or not. It had to do with them being empty nesters who were looking to get out of the house they had raised their family in and wanted to move into a home they could live the rest of their lives in. If you think about it, there are a lot of people out there who fit that description.
   The reason the house down the road is sitting is because the builder is afraid to death to do what I did. He is like nearly every other builder in this town in that he wants to build for the largest portion of the market, reasoning that this will give him the best chances to sell his product. The realtor who sold us our lot tried to talk me out of building a home without a basement. His name is Niel Thompson and he is arguably the most experienced and successful realtor when it comes to new construction in the Valley. My mom has been building homes in Spokane for nearly 40 years and has built literally hundreds of spec homes. Not once that I can remember has she ever built a spec home targeting just the empty nester.
   So I said to myself, if almost no one is building a house for the empty nester then there has got to be an opportunity there. While the market may be smaller it is still a market and one that needs to be catered to. Most builders are going for the typical family. But all those typical families with 2.5 kids turn into empty nesters one day and a lot of them have there where-with-all and desire to buy a new home that fits their stage in life. Let the other builders go for the 2.5 kids that grew up and started there own families, I'll go for the parents they left behind.
   Turns out I was right. The couple that we sold to said they had been looking for nearly three years and had not found one house for sale, new or used, that was just right for them. Ours was the first. Besides them we have other people interested in having us build them a house exactly like it or something similar. Its not that I am a genius, but every once in awhile I have a good idea. I am just grateful that in an undertaking so risky and expensive as building a home on speculation in Spokane in this economy that I was lucky enough to listen to my own intuition and not follow the traditional line of thinking.

A Stitch in Time (Extra precautions with facsia)

Craig Swanson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:43:00 GMT

The facsia is the one board that goes all the way around every house and nearly every inch of every board is exposed to the elements. In my years as a home improvement specialist I was called on more than a few times to replace every piece around the entire house. This an unpleasant and costly job since it means taking off the gutters and sometimes the drip ledge and it is always at least 8' off the ground if not 16' or more.
    Most of the replacement involved homes where the builder used LP lap siding during the early years when so much of that product failed. Now days most builders around here use a composite trim board that is a much better product but it is still a composite board and it still exposed to the weather.
That is why I take extra precautions with the facsia. First of all we paint all for sides with two coats before we nail it up. And then on those pieces that basically lay on the roof we go a step further.

The upper end of this piece of facsia is going to get hammered through the years every time it snows and especially when the snow builds up as much as inch, let alone when it sits piled up on the roof for days.



   The problem with this composite board that everyone is using is that when you cut it you are exposing the interior wood that does not have the coating the the front does. I can tell you from lots of experience that this will swell when it gets soaking wet. Because I am the carpenter and painter, I simply go to my van and get the caulk and paint brush and treat the end of the board before I install it.

The exposed edge has a thick coat of caulk and two coats of paint the way I do it.

   This is the way every other builder handles the same scenario. The only person that could have done what I did would have been the framer and you'll never find a framer who would take this extra step or a builder who would think to ask it of him. It is left to the painter to make the best of this situation but there is no way he can do the thorough job that I was able to do because I took the time at the right time. It is one of those little things that go unnoticed for years and years until maybe ten or fifteen winters have done a number on this little trouble spot.

Little things no buyer will pay us for, but the owner will appreciate

Craig Swanson — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:46:00 GMT

I believe there is a big difference between the way I build and the way most builders build and that big difference comes from a lot of little things. The crawl space access pad that I put in is a case in point.

   This simple pad is a very minor detail in the overall house and it is something that the guy putting in the footings would never think to do just to be a nice guy. If the general contractor thought of such a thing, he'd probably decide it would not be worth the extra time and expense. But the way I do things, I am the footing guy and I am the general contractor, and I don't mind doing myself little favors like throwing in this pad. With my tools out and the cement truck there anyway, this pad took about a half hour in labor and the cement that you always order extra to make sure you don't run out.
   Additionally, as the framer, I knew it would make the joisting a little easier and sturdier. So I was doing myself a favor in that regard as well. But the person who really gets the biggest part of the favor is the future occupant even though they probably won't even notice it before they buy the house and it may never really occur to them that they got just a little extra.



    Each time the home owner goes into their crawl space they'll be able to step down onto a nice cement slab instead of black plastic. It is a minute feature and one that I cannot charge extra for. But considering how I build and what little extra it took, I could not help but to go the extra mile and put this insignificant feature into the home even though the only reward I would probably ever get was knowing that if I were to live in this home, I would be glad that I put out the effort when it really did not take much effort. It just took some thought.

No-Step Entry Versus Traditional ThreeStep

Craig Swanson — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:18:00 GMT

If you drive through any neighborhood and look at the front door, you will see that nearly all have three steps in front of them. That's because it takes a little more effort and money and thought to eliminate those steps. But if you consider how many times through the course of a house's life that a little extra effort is expended to climb those three steps and descend them, it is easy to see that the initial effort to go no-step is far less than the effort spent traipsing up and down thousands and thousands of times through the years.
     Beyond the effort, which may seem inconsequential taken on an individual trip basis, there is also the danger factor. While a few steps may not be overly hazardous, surely they have contributed to their share of sprained ankles and bruised tailbones that may not have had to happen if they were not there.
   Additionally, the biggest reason to eliminate the steps is because there will always be a certain number amongst us whose handicaps and infirmities make negotiating those three little steps a great burden if not impossible. While you are driving around, notice how many houses have had to have ugly ramp systems added in order to make simple access into the home possible for one of its occupants.
   As a builder, I say there but for the grace of God go I and anyone who may want to live in a house I build and so I try put out the initial investment of time and thought whenever I can.

So why do nearly all houses have at least three steps leading to the entry? Here's why:

   All houses have one of two kinds of floor systems : slab on grade or floor joisting and sheeting. Slab on grade is a concrete floor and lends itself the best to the no-step entry but it has a few drawbacks. It is extremely hard with no give, makes repair and remodel for plumbing very difficult and it usually requires the heating go up in the ceiling which is less efficient.
    Pictured above is the other type of floor system. Those joist are most of the reason for the three steps. They are normally between 9 or 12 inches high, and they always sit on 2x treated plate and then on top of the joist is the flooring. the other distance up to the front door is determined by how far down the ground is from the top of the foundation.



This is what you have to do to eliminate most of the problem with the steps. The top of the floor is still 2 1/4" above the foundation but by sloping the front walk and making it a little thicker it is now possible to eliminate the front steps.

There are a few different ways to support the ends of the joist where they meet the foundation. The most common way is to install a 2" blocked-out ledge in the foundation at the time it is formed. I have done that and it works pretty good but it is more labor intensive and it is difficult to to get the ledge perfect. I found using hangers to be quicker and more foolproof.
   This foundation is a crawl space where as the first one above is a full basement. With a full basement the no-step is even more expensive because the foundation has to be a foot taller to allow for adequate headroom and so there is the added cost of more concrete and extra excavation. But even then, I would still wager the initial effort would be far less than effort put out going up and down those three steps a million times.