Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[J F]

Jay, would it be acceptable to use a biscuit joiner on the butt joints?
-Stu

Absolutely, Stu. (disclaimer: No, I'm not the be-all, end-all, or even the "all" t&g (or even, carpentry) know-it-all...did I cover most of the bases?)

I don't remember everdoing maybe a dozen or so projects, with t&g, walls included.

Imo, the best way to use any kind of connection (biscuit, domino, etc) would be to "make" the long pieces, prior to putting it up on the ceiling. Much easier (and less painful) to sand/finish, etc.

Think about trying to "wrestle" the t&g piece, to match the opposite mating male/female piece, while one piece is already "installed" on the ceiling. With one "mating" piece already installed, there's not really any room to maneuver the other piece into place...unless there are no vertical (wall/tray ceiling, etc) surfaces to deal with.

 

[J F]

Another thing to consider is...no matter how you "join" the longer pieces together (plain butt-joint, included), unless you get a "perfect" joint (not going to happen very often, it's wood), , there will be plenty of sanding, which is easy on "the flat" part of the millwork, but you also have to contend with the "v groove" part, or worse yet, the "beaded part", if used.

 

[J F]

I enjoy discussing this, but will state right now: WAY too much emphasis is being placed on how this ceiling is being installed. I PROMISE you, it's not nearly as dramatic as we all (myself included) are currently making it.

 

[J F]

:laughing: I got my other disclaimer outta the way.

Listen guys, I know why (most) of us are doing this. It's to help Pete/r get the best possible job done for his Mom, I LOVE that.

So please don't take my above post as to "don't discuss" it any further, I just wanted to add a carp/remod/gc's perspective.

I really like how Pete/r and everyone else here is trying to get a good, quality-built home for "Mom".

They're aren't many better pursuits in lift. :drink:

 

[davedj1]

Ok, I'll throw out my .02
I have sort of watched this thread from the beginning and was curious to see how close to the 90 days it would come out. I am a builder by trade for 30 plus years and do only top quality work.

The trim should be square joints, square trim = square joints, they should be biscuit jointed, glued and sanded. You put a bow tie on a pig and it's still a pig. What I mean by that is you have basic plain paint grade trim. The more you try to doctor it up the less it will fit in.

I have NEVER seen t&g glued to sheet rock like that. Wood has to come and go with the weather, a simple fact. The butt joints should have been a 15-20 degree bevel thereby being able to make them look much better (with the help of a block plane) and the grain can be matched it's called end matching.

The doors look like someone over insulated them and bulged the centers out, was spray foam used? It can expand too much if you don't use the proper type.

I have one question, are they pouring concrete up against that trim board? If they are that will be trouble down the road as the trim will rot out and quick from the lime in the crete.

As far as the hardwood floor going down after the baseboard, we would never do that in these parts, again, wood has to come and go with the weather. We put the base on top and use a shoe base moulding. It's good that you are keeping an eye on the builder but at the same time it's very sad that you have to! I take a lot of pride in my work and stake my reputation on every job we do. I think pride and craftsmanship are going by the wayside and that is a shame. If the supervisor is overseeing 8 jobs then it sounds like the builder needs more supers! I know if someone were to find and post such work of mine I would go ballistic! In the first place it shouldn't happen and in the second place I would be so embarrassed. It only takes one bad rap for people to remember what a hack you are or were. Good luck on the rest of the build.
dave

 

[J F]

Dave, can you edit with some paragraph spacing, so I can start disagreeing?

 

[J F]

Ok, I'll throw out my .02

I have sort of watched this thread from the beginning and was curious to see how close to the 90 days it would come out. I am a builder by trade for 30 plus years and do only top quality work.

The trim should be square joints, square trim = square joints, they should be biscuit jointed, glued and sanded. You put a bow tie on a pig and it's still a pig. What I mean by that is you have basic plain paint grade trim. The more you try to doctor it up the less it will fit in.

I have NEVER seen t&g glued to sheet rock like that. Wood has to come and go with the weather, a simple fact. The butt joints should have been a 15-20 degree bevel thereby being able to make them look much better (with the help of a block plane) and the grain can be matched it's called end matching.

The doors look like someone over insulated them and bulged the centers out, was spray foam used? It can expand too much if you don't use the proper type. I have one question, are they pouring concrete up against that trim board? If they are that will be trouble down the road as the trim will rot out and quick from the lime in the crete.

As far as the hardwood floor going down after the baseboard, we would never do that in these parts, again, wood has to come and go with the weather. We put the base on top and use a shoe base moulding.

It's good that you are keeping an eye on the builder but at the same time it's very sad that you have to! I take a lot of pride in my work and stake my reputation on every job we do. I think pride and craftsmanship are going by the wayside and that is a shame.

If the supervisor is overseeing 8 jobs then it sounds like the builder needs more supers! I know if someone were to find and post such work of mine I would go ballistic! In the first place it shouldn't happen and in the second place I would be so embarrassed.

It only takes one bad rap for people to remember what a hack you are or were. Good luck on the rest of the build.
dave

Apologies, Dave, I was being a smartazzz.

 

[FairfaxStu]

Ok, I'll throw out my .02
If the supervisor is overseeing 8 jobs then it sounds like the builder needs more supers! I know if someone were to find and post such work of mine I would go ballistic! In the first place it shouldn't happen and in the second place I would be so embarrassed. It only takes one bad rap for people to remember what a hack you are or were. dave

I wonder if that is common in the building trade. My builder, whom I absolutely love, does not have that concept. Granted they are a remodeler not a pure builder. They have a lead carpenter assigned who is reponsible for all interaction with not only you but also whatever subs they use. They are onsite every day, responsible for the schedule, etc. Once I signed my contracts with the owner of the company, I only dealt with the lead carpenters (that is plural because I used them twice, well 3 times now).
-Stu

 

[J F]

I think that's pretty common Stu and Dave. It's a numbers game/business, like most.

 

[J F]

One of the differences in the building/remodeling biz, from other businesses, is the huge emotional connection involved with the work, many times.

If you're not aware/capable of handling that aspect, it's a tough business, no matter how skilled you are at your trade(s).

I've always thought a builder with a psych. degree is somewhat of the perfect mix.