Off-Site Framing Blog

When using expensive exposed heavy timbers I am apprehensive to cut them to exact length, should I leave them long?

dan — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 18:15:44 +0000

With our construction drawings you can cut all beams to length. When drawing the floor, walls, and roof systems we overlay drawings to verify the correct dimensions and finally model the entire building for an inspection by the owner or contractor for verification.The standard building practice is to plum and line as you go, therefore the top plate will be the same as the bottom plate except at the elevation that is called for. Just as you would order trusses to length, you can cut all beams to exact lengths. Modeling is the key to unforeseen problems and any connecting hardware that may have been over looked. The down time incurred from having to fabricate hangers could be costly.

How close does the layout tolerance for walls have to be?

dan — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:18:04 +0000

We cut our top and bottom plates to the 1/16 of an inch.The panels turn out to be + or - 1/16″. When placing studs in the wall we keep the bow facing to the inside at the end of walls so when you butt walls they nail flush. The window layout is done in a way that the header and sill are cut to their proper length and keep the window plum. It seems these days you get wane on the studs which you need to direct away from windows and doors to make the router work accurate. Thinking ahead for drywall and case work results in a plum and square window or door.

If I panelize my house, what tolerance should the slab be within?

dan — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:12:24 +0000

You should hold the slab elevation within + or - 1/8″, that’s a total of 1/4″ which is acceptable. If the slab is out of tolerance you may want to grind the high area down or shim the low. If you are working on a raised floor system you should shim the mud sill on the stem wall. Perimeter measurements should be held to + or - 1/16″. Our drawings can help you with diagonal measurements that will make it easy for layout. We give you a base line and point of reference to pull dimensions from. When you have a lot of offsets or angles to the foundation the diagonal dimension to each corner makes it easier to keep your project square and in tolerance.

DIY Framing

dan — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:19:10 +0000

The floor, wall panels, stair, and rafter packages, are layed out and the dimensions are confirmed by the CAD drawing. You are ready to cut and frame. For the Do It Yourself framers, Offsite Framing drawings are a must. When you start with a lumber list that you can verify using drawings that give you the actual cut dimensions, it is like having your own play book. The wall heights, length of walls, headers and stud dimensions are all there. The drawings show where each piece of lumber is to be nailed. We also provide diagonal measurements to help square the walls. You can cut the entire framing package with ease of mind following the cut plan. Your lumber cost will be based on the real count, rather than a rough estimation.

HEAVY TIMBER

dan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:35:24 +0000

Cutting heavy timber rafters is stress related. The cost of the big timbers and moving them is labor intense so you want the cuts right. It’s a big help to have drawings done on CAD that are overlayed using different layers to verify lenghts and notches.

Wall panels

dan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:17:00 +0000

The wall panels are drawn using CAD. All lumber is dimensioned and labeled. The material list is then created.

Wall Panels Save Time

dan — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:13:04 +0000

Due to late approval of the building plans, when we commenced construction on a house in Lake Tahoe it was late in the “building season” and we only had a few weeks to get the framing completed and get the house closed in and the roof on before the on-set of winter. The architectural plans called for post and beam construction of a two-story residence. By using Off-Site CAD drawings we were able to begin framing concurrently while the foundation, rough plumbing, heating duct, and installation were being completed. Each wall panel wwas framed and sheared on site, next to the foundation. The panels were set by crane. We even pre-built a roof turret over the stairway. Because we begin framing early, we enclosed the house within a matter of a few weeks before winter arrived.

Pre-cut rafters

dan — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:39:28 +0000

The rafters were cut while the foundation was constructed. Setting rafters was made easy because of the numbering of all the rafters. Off-site Framing provided the layout and the number placement for each rafter.

Framing on-site

dan — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:23:28 +0000

Framing next to the foundation, while it was being constucted was a big time saver.

POST & BEAM

dan — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:08:24 +0000

Since the architectural drawings called for cut rafters it was extremely difficult to obtain bids from framing contractor in the area as they were wanting to bid “trusses” instead. By using Off-Site Framing CAD drawings we were able to provide the framing contractor with detailed drawings indicating the cut dimensions and angles for each specific valley, hip and jack rafters. We also provided elevation dimensions for the post and ridge and post brackets. Fabrication drawing for the brackets where sent to the welding shop.