This Old House

KEVIN

Today on the "This Old House"... It is a big day here on our North Shore jobsite. The trucks start arriving. And they are carrying the framing materials for a new reproduction farmhouse that we're building.

RICHARD

And our homeowners learn about their new landscaping plan.

BILL

It's exactly what we're looking for.

TOM

Looks pretty bad right here.

NORM

Are you kidding me? Is this place really worth saving?

RICHARD

We can do better than this.

TOM

Time to get to work.

KEVIN

Nice and easy, nice and easy. Everybody together.

Grunting

KEVIN

Oh, yeah!

ROGER

The right plant in the right place.

KEVIN

Good!

RICHARD

It's state-of-the-art, perfectly square. All in all, a good day's work.

KEVIN

Hi, there. I'm Kevin O'Connor, and welcome back to "This Old House." It is a big day here on our North Shore jobsite. In just a little while, the trucks start arriving. And they are carrying the framing materials for a new reproduction farmhouse that we're building. Now, everything was designed and partially assembled in a factory up in Vermont about 200 miles north of here. And once those trucks arrive, Erik Kaminski and his crew are gonna start assembling our new house. But before that happens, we've got a couple things that we need to check off the list.

ERIK

Foundation's sprayed, sitting on the footing.

KEVIN

Bill Holton is our local inspector. Hey, Bill. Good to see you.

BILL

Good morning.

KEVIN

Erik, good to see you again. So, we have got footings and foundation poured, right? And we want to move forward with the framing, so we need the sign-off from you, correct? We can't go forward till you give us the okay?

BILL

Yeah, okay.

KEVIN

What is it that you're looking for at this stage?

BILL

Well, before we bury this foundation -- and this is the last time we're gonna see it before it's all backfilled -- I want to check and make sure that the walls sit on the footing properly, that they're spaced, that the walls are in the center of the footing. Check for the anchor bolts, that the distance between the anchor bolts -- 'cause the anchor bolts are gonna hold the framing -- the whole anchor to the system. And then we'll be pretty much done with our...

KEVIN

Good. I mean, it's an important step, right? Because this is what's holding up our house. And as you say, we will never see this again once this is backfilled.

BILL

That's correct. That's right.

KEVIN

So, what do you have to do, Erik? Do you have to walk him around and...?

ERIK

Yeah, so we're just gonna walk around. We're gonna take a look at the setup here, how everything was poured, the alignment and everything -- you know, everything he just discussed -- to make sure we're in accordance with what he needs.

KEVIN

Let's get to it. Hopefully we'll pass.

Let's go. -ERIK

Sounds good.

ERIK

So, Bill, we've got the footings down in here. We've got the foundation wall sitting half on this footing. We've got proper alignment. The walls are set. We've got the big footing over here that we're gonna be using for the fireplace. It's gonna sit in the middle of this home.

BILL

That looks good.

ERIK

You want to go up top and take a look at the bolts? The waterproofing and the exterior drainage?

BILL

Let's do that. This looks good down here.

ERIK

Thanks. So we got the garage footing going in here. We overpoured on top of that ledge right there.

BILL

Yeah.

ERIK

That we pin down to. Now that we're up top here, Bill, we can look at the proper spacing of the bolts that we have that's gonna hold this house down onto this foundation. We've also got the insulation, the drainage. And we're gonna continue this right around the property. We've already done it on this side, but we're gonna go to daylight around this corner of the foundation.

BILL

Okay. Looks good.

ERIK

Yep. So, how did everything go here today, Bill?

This looks good. -ERIK

Great.

KEVIN

So, how'd we do, Bill?

BILL

Yeah, did a great job. This is a good foundation, good footings. Everything lines up.

KEVIN

Nice job, Erik. That's what we wanted to hear. Well, we appreciate you coming by.

BILL

Okay. Thanks.

KEVIN

So, with that signed off on, I know we got the trucks coming with the framing material. We're ready to start framing?

ERIK

No, before we get to the framing, Kevin, we've got to do the exterior perimeter drain, the insulation, and the backfill.

KEVIN

All right. Well, let's get to that.

ERIK

After we took the forms off, we waterproofed this. That's that black coating right there. We're gonna get a lot of water in this area with all the ledge we took out. So what the last thing we want is to have the basement be wet.

KEVIN

I mean, you're gonna have a lot of water running off of the roof during a rainstorm, but like you say, this ledge, I mean, you guys basically dug yourself a swimming pool.

ERIK

We did. We did. So we have to take extra precautions to make sure we don't have a wet basement.

KEVIN

So, waterproofing on the foundation. I see that. I see a pipe here. So this is the perimeter drain we're working on?

ERIK

Yeah. It's a perforated pipe. It's got holes all the way around it.

KEVIN

Okay. And what's the formula here -- the recipe?

ERIK

So, basically, we lay down a bed of crushed stone. We lay that pipe on top. On top of that pipe, we put some more crushed stone and landscape fabric so when we backfill, that dirt doesn't clog those holes.

KEVIN

Beautiful. So we got a nice, clear channel for the water to run into the pipe. Obviously, you've got to get it away. Where does it go?

ERIK

With the grading we have on this property, we're able to run it to daylight.

KEVIN

Got it.

ERIK

The end of that drain's gonna be 20 to 30 feet past this foundation.

KEVIN

So, can we finish laying this?

ERIK

Yeah,

let's do it. -KEVIN

All right.

ERIK

So, Kevin, we're gonna have some stone drop down into this foundation. We're gonna spread it around and get that pipe laid out.

KEVIN

Sounds good.

ERIK

Gonna drop this right here. Let's back off a little bit.

KEVIN

So, what do we got? Like 3, 4 inches of stone on the bottom here?

ERIK

Yeah, roughly 3 or 4. We just want to keep that water and give it a good place to go.

KEVIN

4-inch pipe?

ERIK

Yep. Perforated all the way around.

KEVIN

Just gonna swing it right around the corner?

ERIK

Yep. Just roll this right out through here.

KEVIN

Gravel below and on top of the pipe allows for easy access for the water to enter through the perforated holes. Gravity will then take the water around to the back of the house.

ERIK

Looks like we're ready for the next bucket. Got enough around that corner?

KEVIN

Yeah, this is good here.

ERIK

Let's spread this stone, Kevin, and then I can have you go get some insulation. We can start installing that. All right. We're ready for insulation.

KEVIN

All right, so rigid boards there. Just gonna lay them in there, or do you got to secure them or anything?

ERIK

Just gonna lay them in there. The backfill's gonna hold them in place.

KEVIN

And what do you get for an R-value off of these?

ERIK

These are R-10. They're rigid insulated panels. Code requires us to have a certain insulation for the concrete. Concrete makes up for some, and then we put the pink R-10 one layer on the outside before backfilling.

KEVIN

I'll get you some more.

ERIK

Take that other one from you. Got it?

KEVIN

You want this one in, or you want it cut first?

ERIK

Let's hold off on that one. We'll lay the fabric down now.

KEVIN

All right. Fabric?

ERIK

If you want to grab that end of the landscape fabric, we'll lay this down over the pipe. So, the reason we're laying this fabric down is when we go to backfill, we want to make sure none of the dirt or anything clogs up these holes that we've got down here in our perimeter drain. So we're gonna lay this down prior to backfill so we'll get proper drainage when this all gets filled in.

KEVIN

Nice.

ERIK

Kevin, it looks like we're all set here. We're ready to backfill.

KEVIN

All right.

ERIK

Kevin, as you can see, we've taken out two areas here in the footing that we've run that perimeter drain through.

KEVIN

Right. So that gets us through that. And we get it, what, 10, 15 feet away from the main foundation. It's not to daylight yet, but this is far enough so you can keep working?

ERIK

Yeah. We'll determine the length on this when we come up with final grading. But we're ready to go on this garage foundation.

KEVIN

And then after that, we're pretty close to starting to frame up this house.

ERIK

Yep. We certainly are.

KEVIN

Awesome. All right, thanks, Erik.

ERIK

Thanks a lot.

RICHARD

The foundation passes inspection, the perimeter drains are in place, basement slabs have been poured. In most new house construction, we'd now be waiting for trucks filled with uncut lumber for the framers to build this house over the course of weeks. But today we're getting a truck filled with precut sections of the building, so this house will be framed in a matter of days. Mike Gingras is the project manager from the factory. -Hey,

Mike. Good morning. -MIKE

Good morning.

RICHARD

Hey,

Erik. -ERIK

How you doing?

RICHARD

So, what are we expecting today?

MIKE

Three tractor trailer loads of framing material, precut with wall panels pre-made.

RICHARD

So tell me about the process. What happens on the other end?

MIKE

On the other other end, we have a factory that we precut all the materials through these big machines. And we load it on a truck and send it down. We started about a week ago, and the trucks are on their way.

RICHARD

Pretty amazing coordination.

MIKE

It is.

RICHARD

How do you interact with Erik as a general contractor?

MIKE

Well, it's my job to inform Erik of how the package is coming, how to put it together. We go over the plans. We have a real system here that we've developed that we want to perform.

RICHARD

And it all goes together?

MIKE

It all goes together.

RICHARD

All right. So just waiting for the truck?

MIKE

Yes.

ERIK

How goes it? We're gonna swing into here. You're gonna have to swing wide. Obviously, watch the pitch. You're gonna swing in here. You can pull straight in. You can loop all the way right around and right out, so you don't have to reverse any. All right? What do we got?

MAN

We got 10, 11, 12.

ERIK

I got 13'7". Watch your step up there.

MAN

Ah.

ERIK

We got it. We got it.

Chuckles

ERIK

You're good.

You're good. -ERIK

You're good.

RICHARD

Hit a little wrinkle getting the truck onto the site. Incredibly tight turn right here. We got trees and we got power lines.

ERIK

So, I want this guy, like I told this guy, I want him to get over tighter. Back up and get over tighter. We'll get the Lull, take it down there, grab the forks, get that. But I need him to back up and get over.

MIKE

Can you go that way with the Lull?

ERIK

We can. Just have him get it -- yeah, that's fine.

MIKE

Yeah. Who's driving the Lull?

MATT

Right here.

MIKE

Okay, do you want to grab that and come down with me?

ERIK

That's good for right now. We're gonna go get the big forks.

MIKE

Oh, okay. Probably right where they started from.

ERIK

Watch that wire above, Mikey. Are those individual? Can they move?

MIKE

No,

it's together. -ERIK

They're welded? Okay, tip it.

MAN

Slide her in.

ERIK

There you go. You got it.

MIKE

Yeah, good.

ERIK

Matt, you want to guide him back? 15 and above.

MATT

If he backs the truck up a little bit, I can still fit, pull around, and drop anything below 14 over there. And then anything above, I can back it in.

RICHARD

The first truck barely made it into the jobsite. To save time, Erik and Mike decided to unload the later trucks out at the main road. All right, so you got three big trucks coming here. How do you figure out where to put everything?

ERIK

Connor Homes provides us with this book that details --

The book. -ERIK

The book. That details exactly the stack number and the reference as far as where it's gonna go. So in accordance to this book, we know anything that's with an "A" or starts with a "1," is gonna be first floor. "B," "2," is second floor. And they've correctly labeled all of these packages for us, so it makes it relatively easy to get off.

Even you could do it. -ERIK

Even I could do it.

RICHARD

Enough framing material for the entire house will come off of these trucks. The next problem is organizing where the stacks are stored. First floor stacks go near the building site. Second floor and roof material can go father away in the backyard.

MIKE

What we've got on this truck is mostly second floor stuff and second floor walls. I mean, you can just tell by the stack numbers here. And then we've got a little bit of roof and ceiling involved, so those will probably be something you want to put aside.

ERIK

And the stack numbers correspond to the book that you gave me for the unloading procedure.

MIKE

Yes, it does. Yeah.

ERIK

Okay, sounds great. Well, let's get this unloaded. Thanks. Up. Up and tip.

MATT

You got to fork down and go straight in.

ERIK

There you go. Watch Lou. Come down a little bit, Charlie. That's a 16. That goes to the backyard.

Indistinct conversation

ERIK

Yep.

RICHARD

While Erik sorts out the delivery, the homeowners need to sort out the landscaping on their very raw four acres of land. Roger recommended they contact landscape architect Kim Turner, and she is here today. -Hey, guys. Hi,

Kim. -KIM

Hi.

APRIL

Hi, Richard. How are you?

RICHARD

Thanks for joining us today. So, this started as a big hunk of forest. What were you thinking?

KIM

So, the homeowners are building a historic -- a new home, but it looks historic. It looks like a historic New England farmhouse. So we want to make sure that the home feels like it's always been here. And one way we do that is by preserving some of the mature trees on the property. And we have two beautiful old oak trees that we're preserving. Another way to do that is to use reclaimed materials. So we have a lot of reclaimed granite, both curb stock and cobbles, and also brick. Another thing that we're doing here is we have a big turnaround in front of the garage over there that we're gonna pave with macadam, which is a traditional way to pave roadways. Kind of looks like crushed gravel.

RICHARD

How's this look to you guys?

BILL

It looks great. I mean, one of the things that really drew us to the lot was the rawness of it. And there are sort of three aspects of the property that we really want -- that signify that and that we really wanted to put on stage for the finished property. And those three elements are the two field oaks here and also the piece of ledge, which we'll incorporate.

RICHARD

Oh, I see that right here.

KIM

Right, so there was an existing cart path through the property that we're actually maintaining as the new driveway. And that gives a really beautiful reveal to the house, and it also points the driveway right at the front door as opposed to the at the garage. We're gonna expose this ledge by taking out some of the invasive species. We've got some buckthorn here, some other poison ivy and bittersweet, as well. We're gonna clean up the ledge and make it a feature of the front yard.

RICHARD

That's great. So the front yard looks awesome. What about the backyard?

KIM

Well, we can go there next.

RICHARD

Well, it doesn't look like too much right now, Kim.

KIM

That's right. But it's gonna be an unbelievable transformation. So, we have three main spaces in the backyard. The first -- we're standing right now in the site of the screened porch. And right in front of us is gonna be a sunken brick terrace.

RICHARD

Good. That sounds good for you guys, right?

APRIL

Yeah, no. We're really excited about it. So, the terrace we see as an area that we're gonna spend a lot of time. We have our kitchen right here. We have the screened-in porch right here. So, you know, we see ourselves bringing food back and forth. We're gonna have our grill, table.

RICHARD

You will be coming and going to the grill every day.

BILL

Looking forward to it.

RICHARD

Cool. All right, so there's the terrace.

KIM

Then the second space is off of the main body of the house over there. And it's going to be an elevated deck. It's about 18 inches higher than the sunken terrace.

RICHARD

So, how are you guys gonna use that?

BILL

Well, we see the space in the back just in general as our leisure space. We're gonna spend leisure time out here, entertaining with people, enjoying the property and the two oaks which sort of anchor the back area of the lot. And also just playing with our daughter in the backyard.

RICHARD

You have fair skin. You might want to put some sunblock on there.

APRIL

Yes, I do.

RICHARD

All right, so the deck comes down to a lower level.

KIM

And then the third space is at the base of the stairs to the deck. We're gonna have this reclaimed granite seating area that opens out to the relatively flat backyard.

RICHARD

So, what do you do with a big lawn like that?

APRIL

So, we're really looking forward to having a nice backyard where our daughter can run around, play, and we can watch her.

RICHARD

And Bill has something to mow?

BILL

I've got a lot to mow, and I could use your help.

RICHARD

I'm busy. All right, is that gonna be close to level?

KIM

More or less. There's a little bit of a pitch out to the back woods, but fairly level.

RICHARD

Well, it looks great. So, what's left for you?

KIM

Well, now we have to pick out some materials.

We go shopping. -APRIL

Yeah.

RICHARD

So, one of the trucks is unloaded, and Matt Khoury and his crew is in charge of framing this thing. So, Matt, you are a professional framer?

MATT

Yes, sir.

RICHARD

How many houses a year do you frame?

MATT

We frame approximately 45.

RICHARD

Okay. And how many of those are now being done this way, with prefabricated and precut?

MATT

I would say roughly 50%.

RICHARD

Is it a changing trend?

MATT

Absolutely, yeah. It's gone up considerably over the last five years.

RICHARD

So, if you were gonna frame this building conventionally, how long would it take you probably?

MATT

This building here, approximately maybe four weeks.

RICHARD

And how long do you think it'll take to get it done this way?

MATT

I'll be up to the roof in a week here.

That has my attention. -MATT

Yeah, absolutely.

RICHARD

All right, so are you ready to go here? What's happening now?

MATT

We've already laid the sill seal here. And what we're doing is we're getting ready to lay the mudsill plate on top of the sill seal.

RICHARD

There's your beginning point.

MATT

Then we'll bolt that down and go from there.

RICHARD

Good. So, there's some lags that are put right into the foundation's sill sealer. -You ready to go?

MATT

Absolutely. Yep.

RICHARD

All right, cool.

MATT

So we'll locate that right over the holes. Make sure it's on its line here.

RICHARD

I see -- snap lines. Good.

MATT

Yep. We'll keep it on the line.

RICHARD

All right, what do you got there?

MATT

We've got a Ramset powder-actuated nailer. It works off of loads fed through the feed tray.

RICHARD

Give that a shot. Go.

MATT

We'll keep it on the line.

RICHARD

Good. You got another?

MATT

Yep. Keep it right on the line.

RICHARD

All right, but that's just holding it temporarily. This is how you're ultimately gonna hold it down, right?

MATT

Yes. We'll come by and we'll put the nuts on top, cinch it down, and that'll be the final application.

RICHARD

All right. You got another 80 feet at least.

Absolutely. -RICHARD

I'll let you go. The sill seal is usually a thin, closed-cell foam material that acts as insulation and a water barrier between the cement foundation and wood framing. It goes down first.

MAN

11 3/4.

RICHARD

A piece of wood called the mudsill plate is bolted on top. The rest of the house is attached to that. On the basement level is a walkout to the backyard. This gets framed up to the first floor level. On top go the rim joists. These are placed on edge. A floor joist is nailed into the rim joist every 16 inches. Finally, the subflooring goes on top of the floor joists. Most of the lumber is already cut to size in the factory. Each piece is numbered and labeled.

MAN

FJ04 and FJ07 next.

RICHARD

Erik uses a master set of plans to figure out which piece of lumber goes where. All right, Erik. After our very first hot, long framing day, how'd we do?

ERIK

We did well. All the materials came off, everything looks good, and the guys are hard at work.

RICHARD

All right. Any surprises?

ERIK

Trucks were a little bit late, but we'll take it on a hot day like this.

RICHARD

And at the end of the day, we have our first floor deck ready to go.

ERIK

Yeah. We're ready to go.

RICHARD

What's up for next week?

ERIK

We're gonna do exterior walls, second floor, so on.

RICHARD

To the moon,

Alice. -ERIK

There you go.

RICHARD

Till next time, I'm Richard Trethewey...

ERIK

I'm Erik Kaminski.

RICHARD

...For "This Old House." You need some water. You want some?

ERIK

No, I don't.

Laughs

KEVIN

Next time on "This Old House"...

TOM

The panels are going up, and they're going up fast on our North Shore reproduction farmhouse.

ERIK

And as you can see, all the panels come plywooded with solid headers.

TOM

You know, the other thing I notice, that there's no electricity, no saws around here. So you can work in the rain. You don't have to worry about getting zapped.

ERIK

Yeah, we're gonna get to the second floor and get the roof up before you know it.

TOM

That's gonna be great.

KEVIN

And our homeowner picks a color palette for the living room.

NORM

That's next time on "This Old House."