Rafters and Scaffolding 28/08/2012

Capping the end of the rafters with a metal blah was the first thing on the books today. With the rafter sitting flush up against the top plate, we had to check the wood and insert the metal blahs so they sat flush. Scoring where the meatl blah would sit, we then chiseled it out and nailed them down. Any over hang would hinder putting up the weather boards later on down the track. The outside rafter, was then nailed every stud with a 4inch nail to give it more support.
Some scaffolding went up along the back of the house. Then a team of people had to check, and nail in multi grips on all of the tailing. This, securing them to the top plate properly. Then hammering nails in on either sides (both on 45' angles for maximum achorage). A string line was then set up and run along the back of the building along the top plate to see if the house had moved at all. Along with dodgem blocks them were checked. The plumb bob was also set up at the top of the frames of each corner, just to see if they were still straight.

Then a team of professional scaffolders came in and started erecting a walk way at roof height around the north and west face of the building. Once up, we started tacking our rafters in. One by one, they were lifted up, sat on the marks from previous and nailed in. We went back today using the string line and the plumb bob to check to make sure house hadnt move over the period of time. With 21 students in the class, you can feel ampul shocks through the wood. But not enough to move the frames from the bracing.

Truss 22/08/2012

Today we were to start putting up our trusses. We measured along our top plate and with a long tape (metal one because plastic can stretch and wont give you a true reading) and marked off for what it said on the plans. With one person holding it on 100mm over. I called the measurements and another person done the marking. Putting and X on the side to where the truss would sit on. After doing both sides, we set out our trusses on the ground as they were to go up. With the top plate and everything flush and straight, we had to bang in our nail plates (SN50s) onto all the stud joints etc. The Lintel for the kitchen was erected and tacked into place. Once flushed and straight, we nailed it into place properly because our trusses are to be nailed onto that. The trusses were to go up next

-Holding the truss up against the line (sitting on the X)
-Tapping the back of it to have it squared and flush with the top plate
-Then tacked the tailing end into the top plate first, then the front
-With the trusses over the kitchen, they were to sit flush with the bottom of the lintel
-Tacked in at both ends
-Using a spirit level to make sure they were straight up and down

-A metal brace was placed under the bottom of the truss attaching it to the litel for the extra support

Sitting the metal brace hard up against the truss to ensure that when the gib is put up, there wont be any warpping or shadows. If the lintel was out, it would through everything around it out so that was a very important job to get right. We had to check it multipile times to ensure it did not move.

Plum bob and Bracing 21/08/2012

With the outside framing up, today we were to stand the last of the inside walls, square it up, brace it and nail it home. First thing we did was go around checking on our temporary wooden piles (sapouz) under the boundry joist on the outside. Some had been kicked and moved and the house had sagged in those bits.We ran a string line along to get a true reading. Then with a jack, we hoisted up the part of the house, re adjusted our sapouz and set it back down. Not long before we had the FFL sitting right again. From there we went along nailed in the bottom plate, making sure it wasnt poking in or out with our packer. Around the whole house we went till the whole bottom plate had been nice and squared up. 

From there we ran a Plum Bob from the top corner of the frame stud down, to get our verticals right. Corner by corner, moving and adjusting just a little bit then bracing it down with a piece of 4by2. With the corners now standing straight. We set the string line on the top plate. Noticing that in places it was out, we tacked a brace (4by2) to the top plate, using a packer to find our measurement. We pushed or pulled to get it flushed then tacked the other end in to keep the brace froming moving. All the way around the top plate we went.
Along the way Lynsey and Cam taught us some good little trade tricks. The 4inch nail trick- when you hammer a 4inch nail into one side of a double joist. On the angle, then when almost in, bend the head back down slightly. Sit the back of your hammer on the other stud and pull slightly with your claw hammer. This, leveling the two studs and keeping a hand free for the nail gun.

Framing 20/08/2012

Arriving on site today to find our frames and trusses had been dropped off over the weekend. So in 2 groups, one to set the frames and another to finish off some of the strand board etc. With all the framing numbered, we looked at the plans then placed the frames into sections-setting them into piles so we could grab them as we used them without digging to the bottom each time.

We marked out 200mm from our boundry joist, 140mm for the wall itself and another 60mm on top of that. The string was then tacked into place. Once complete, with an almight heave, up went our first frame. Making sure our frames sit 60mm off the string line, we then tacked it into the boundry joist. Another piece to the puzzle was errected and slowly we went along putting our frames up. But it wasnt all plane sailing. Some of the students had itchy hammers and nailed a frame in before it was checked. The frame was back to front. But the problem was solved and and everyone was back on track. So frame by frame went up, checking and double checking our measurements as we went along.


Cam taught us alot on site today, how to read the site plans. What the colours represented, the measurements and most important, which way to hold it. He taught us that when tacking a nail in, just before its almost in. Using your claw, bend and pull the nail slightly, thus for pulling the boards together even more.

Flooring/Shower 14/08/2012

With the blocking and reinforced joist done, today we were to start laying the flooring down. First things first tho, we were to do our FFL (finished floor level) to make sure we were'nt out. The dumpy was set up and one by one, we took the measurements and wrote them down. Some of the support boards under the bearers had been shifted so we re adjusted to set them right. With the joist all level and looking good. We moved onto phase 2, laying down the strand board

-Strand board was cut to size
-Measurements were made on the the boundry joist
-Marks on the strand board for where the the joist run so we can nail into it
-Glue was put onto the joist before laying down the floor board, making sure to brush the area down before hand
-10mm off the edge of the boundry joist was scored to keep the floor board from hanging over and getting in the way of our weather boards later down the track
-Once squared up, we went along with the nail gun and sent it home in all the marked spots from before
-Doing the same with the other floor boards, hitting the ends of them with a mul and a block of wood that sat at the edge to get them flush and tight

The next step was to start on the shower base. We had to measure, cut and slope bits of wood so the water would ran into the centre where a drain pipe would lay. We started by packing on side, bringing it in closer and giving it more support. We nailed on board on then with another, we sloped the edge facing inwards. We then measured and found our middle. Marked and went 150mm either side. To bits of timber running through the middle, we scored down 40mm in the middle and cut it out with the skillsaw. Nailed them in then ran boards from the corners to meet in the middle. Cut the tips on a 45` angle. Thus for strenghtning the shower base once on.

So the floor boards had started to being laid and nailed in. Leveled again with the dumpy and corrected. We started on sloping the shower and making sure that every aspect was taken into consideration. Having the floor sitting level will make things a whole lot easier for when we stand the walls and framing for our roof. If the floors off, then everything is off.

Blocking 13/08/2012

Today was all about preparing the floor framing and making sure that everything was able to support the wall framing, shower, hot water cylinder etc. In groups of 4, we were all given different task but with the same purpose. To measure, cut and fit extra blocking in between the joist. We were asked to measure and block with 6bys4s every 600mm across. Then run blocking in between of that so when our walls go up and sit above it, it gives us something to anchor and nail our frames on to.

-Measure in between the joist
-Add an extra 36mm for the over hang in the joist
-Cut, always cut behind the line
-Measure 40mm down and 18mm in on the corner and cut with hand saw
-Put in between joist and square upto the mark
-Using your square, make dead straight and tac just top nails in
-Correct if off then nail it home

Once complete, we were to add trimming joist between the joists that had been cut which supports an opening in the floor. Then we were to measure out where the hot water cylinder is to go. With a 300litre cylinder, blocking was needed to sit on the bearer and extra wood was nailed to that for more support. Cos in 10 years you dont want your cylinder to warp and sink from its own weight.

Solid blocking is very important to the building process. With wall frames, you need extra support in the flooring joist to stop the strand board (flooring board) from warping and sinking. Even such things as the shower. A section is cut out of the joist so you can lower the shower bottom into. So with all the supporting and blocking done, we are now ready to add the strand board.

Cutting and fixing joist 8/8/2012

Boundry joist were laid on the outside of the framing. Marked every 450mm, then clamped to the bearers and tacked to stop the frame from shifting. Making sure to put the nails in on an angle to give it more strength. Once up and flush, we quickly done our parellels and diagonals to make sure we were on the mark. We then measured the inside width and cut our joist to fit. Setting them on our 450mm marks, 32 in total were cut-placed and tacked in. Leaving it as a floating frame so if we were out, we could shift it with out having to pull lots of nails out. We then go back to our datum to set up our string lines on our boundry joist to take the bows out and make it a true straight line. Once straight, we checked our parellels and diagonals again, just to make sure. We were 5mm out so shuffled it around and got it bang on. From there we added braces/dwangs for our wall frames and place strategically to resist horizontal forces. Measuring where the showers is to go, we cut out a section of the joist and placed a trimming joist so we had a box like shape. So with all the joist done, squaring and straighting, the boundry joist were then nailed home from the tacks before. Anchoring it to the bearers and securing the foundations.

-Use galvinised nails, they dont rust
-Joist on average sit 450mm apart, maximum is 600mm
-Always tack in your big jobs before nailing them home, easier to correct yourself than pull them all out
-Make sure your parellels and diagonals are correct
-Building isnt a game nor should it be rushed. Take your time and make the effort-craftsmanship

Bearers braced and paralleled 7/8/2012

Bearers sitting on top of the piles, every corner and diagonal measured and re measured. Today we had to anchor the bearers to the piles using braces. Run string lines and take out any bows to make the very parallel lines with our timber. But before any thing was to happen. We set up our dumpy and went around finding our heights, calculating we filled the gaps with plastic packers to raise them and make them all the same level. Once done, we split into 3 teams. 1 team worked on the smoko shed and the other with the straightning of the bearers.

-Set up dumpy
-Find levels and pack to all the same height
-Check diagonals to make sure everything was still squared
-Run string line down side, pull extra tight, look down the line to see where the bows were
-Measuring from the datum, we took it upto the next concrete pile and measured out the same
-Once bang on we screwed the brace into the pile then onto the bearer
-With the bow bits, we nailed a bit of timber to the underside of the bearer, found our flush line using the string line then nailed the other end into the pile. Keeping that bearer dead straight
-Going the whole way along checking and applying
-Once the outside bearer was bang on, we could then do the same for the middle bearer using the same technique

So now we have a FFL (finish floor level) where no matter where you put a spirit level, it will always be correct. We have bearers now anchored and braced to the concrete piles with each bearer dead straight and support beams holdings the bearers in between the piles. Today was all about re checking, making sure nothing was left out. Cos if the floors out, the next stage will be hard, then the next and so on. So making sure you have the bearers/piles all correct makes the next stage run smoothly.

Bearers 6/8/2012

Today with just the concrete piles sitting there. We had to sit the bearers on top and make sure they were evenly sitting apart. While another group build the smoko shed. Our bearers had to be double jointed and overlay on top of eachother giving maximum support for when it is lifted up and carried away once finished.
Building the bearers
-First square of the timber with fresh cuts at both end (measuring 6m each)
-Measure 3m in and score
-With that we lay the end of one bit of timber and went along over laying each piece like so until we had our outside length
-Using off cuts, we lay in between the piles to give support as we mark out and put our nails in using a line we drew 250mm off the timber, all the way along.
-With a square, we kept one side flush (bottom side to sit on the piles) and went along keeping it straight as another went and nailed the bits of timber together, making sure the nails were on an angle to give the bearer more strength and so it didnt just pull apart

Once all four bearers were made and sitting on there piles. We then calculated the end measures and cut more bearers and sat them in place giving us 4 long and 2 short ones. Thus now all our bearers had been built. We started to measure our parallels and diagonals to straighten up our bearers. Once in place, we scored the concrete piles underneath to show us our true postion incase they got bumped around. Running a string we found our straight lines at the ends of the bearers, checking and rechecking. We now had our first step under way.

Tip-when hammering the end of a piece of timber, put a scrap bit upto where your gunna hit and use that for your impact. That way you stop the timber from re-shaping and forming stress cracks. Always be careful using a nail gun, point it down, know what your doing. Datum-a peg where each level of the site is taken. The peg must remain fixed down until futher maintenance is done.

Concrete 3/7/2012

 With the weather holding off till later tonight, today we had to pour the concrete. Another going over with the dumpy, standing the staff on each pile to see if they were perfect. Finding the correct place for the 2 off center piles and preparing everything for when the concrete truck turns ups. So everyone set about completing all the tasks at hand.  Down to the fine details like making little ramps to push the wheel barrows over (no one wants there barrow to fall over) and bending rebar to put into the concrete so they can crane them out and reuse them. 10pm the concrete truck turns up. With 3 barrows at hand, we all took turns at doing a load each. 2 full loads per pile were required.

Pouring Concrete
-Wheel barrow it to the pile, furtherest one away first
-One load fills halfway
-Screen it so its even and poke and viabrate it with a long wooden peg to bring the air bubbles out
-Lay our reinforced rebar square to keep the concrete strong and secure
-Add another wheel barrow of concrete, filling it 20mm over the top
-Poke with the wooden peg and bring the air out. Giving it a wet look at the top. But making sure not to over do it
-Bang the side to make sure all air is out and the concrete has settled in
-Screen top and make it smooth and level with the boxing

When pouring concrete you should always take alot into consideration. Because ordering a truck and it turning up and raining is no good. Make sure you know what the weather forcecast is doing. Always be prepared for everything. You dont want to be fixing things while the truck is sitting there. On average the truck will sit there for 30mins for every metre. So dont muck around.The bent rebar was then placed into the concrete after 10mins. Cleaning all the excess off the boards and piles, we washed the wheel barrows and gear clean. Then Cam and Mark walked around and seemed very pleased with how today went. We made sure it ran smoothly and everyone was very happy with what we had done.