One week at a Housing for Humanity Organization

[mcyr (Marcel Cyr, CMI)]

Well, this is a switch, Commercial Building to a residential Home being built by volunteers. ha. ha.

I guess it is the thought that is good here.

Here are a few pictures I took out of the truck for ten minutes.

Antiquated staging and mess of debris.

Plumbing in the works and notches along with it. ha. ha.

Well, what’s this, trusses built and then decided to cut out the stairwell to the second floor.
Well come to find out they got the truss manufacturer to supply a design fix. Post later.

There is the stair opening and cut a stair stringer laid out at 7-11/16" rise and 14 treads at 10".

Problem #1, bottom of stair has an opening and cannot be reduced more than 6". there is not enough room for the run of the stairs.

The whole stair opening would have to be taken apart and moved in the other direction.

Problem #2 door opening at the top of the stair to the right and the left.
2-6x6-6, cathedral ceiling and door can’t move.

Solution; If the stringer is cut at a 10" cutout in the 2x12, you will end up with an 11" tread with the nosing. But the run of the stair is 10"=130" for 14 risers.

I needed to gain 12" top and bottom and meant takeing down and re-framing the whole thing over again.

If you cut out the stringer at 9" + the 1" nosing you end up with a 10" tread but the run is 9" = one less riser, and it worked. 117" for 13 risers

Problem #3 IRC defines tread depth to be the horizontal measure between the vertical planes of the foremost projection of the adjacent treads and at a right angle to tread’s leading edge. R311.5.3.2

Covering my butt, I had the coordinator call the AHJ and get the interpetation.
Came back in writing to be 10" period with a diagram, nosing to riser=9.

I said, well he is wrong, but this works here and built the stair at a 9" run.

Tread width nosing to nosing = 9"

This is something that was not really clear on Nachi TV 16.

What do you guys think of that scenario?:)

Marcel :)

[badair (Barry Adair, EIFSTX#39)]

I’d use a calculator or framing square to get the rise run, as you know it to be, right!

9" treads are a fall/trip hazard, imo

laying out stairs can be simple once the “total” floor to floor height is known

doors at top are another issue all together and will have to be accounted for even if it requires further stairwell adjustments

measure twice and cut once, if you’ve cut three times and it’s still too short, oh well

good luck

oops here’s inch version

[lkage (Larry Kage, CMI)]

Good for you, Marcel.
Habitat for Humanity is a fun organization to participate in. It is like the old barn raising energy neighbors used to have. I enjoyed many years of volunteering and even did their construction management for a while. Typically, lots of bodies with few that knew what was going on…great energy…many corrections.

](“http://www.habitat.org”)

[mcyr (Marcel Cyr, CMI)]

@badair

I’d use a calculator or framing square to get the rise run, as you know it to be, right!

9" treads are a fall/trip hazard, imo

laying out stairs can be simple once the “total” floor to floor height is known

doors at top are another issue all together and will have to be accounted for even if it requires further stairwell adjustments

measure twice and cut once, if you’ve cut three times and it’s still too short, oh well

good luck

oops here’s inch version

Laying out stairs is easy Barry when you know how, other than that it can be very confusing and difficult, especially if you have no knowledge of the framing square.

I divided the rise by 13 and 14 and went from there. Once I got word from the AHJ, I went for it and was done the stair in three hours with temporary treads only of course. Layout the first stringer, cut it out and pattern for the other two. Piece of cake. Hip roof gets a little more involved. ha. ha.

Here are a few pictures I took of the property in the little time I spent there.
Most pictures were from the site visit 20 minutes.

I won’t bother going into details, you all can figure out what I was looking at. Interesting at that.

I was going to take pictures of the finished stair, but yesterday my camera did not work right and today wasn’t there. Wenesday, I worked with four guys in their 70’s that are donating there time. Fine bunch of guys, but just do not know, Bless their souls.

Marcel :)

[mcyr (Marcel Cyr, CMI)]

Here are the rest of the photos that I took.

Marcel :)

[mcyr (Marcel Cyr, CMI)]

Well, nothing going on right now, so my employer sent me here for the past couple of weeks.

It is very interesting work when your helpers are all volunteers and an average age of 70 years old.
They enjoyed the expert finish Carpenter to help them in the finishes and being taught how to do the work.

This weeks lesson was on how to install Laminate flooring.
One guy was 60 years old, who was not bad and the one that new the most was 75 years old, retired from the Military at 39 years old.

Talk about a stress free week. I enjoyed it.

Marcel :)

[mcyr (Marcel Cyr, CMI)]

I thought I would post a few pictures from this week.

Well, they have made progress since the last time I was here. The siding is almost done.

Built the stairs last time here and now the walls are up and painted.
Now I can finish the stair and that is why I am here. To do the finish carpentry.

Here I am preping the skirt boards and applying an ogee edge with a router.

I have not got the stair finished and had a hard time with the crooked walls down near the half wall.

You can see a little at the bottom where the wall is leaving my skirt board.

I will post the rest on the next one down.

cont.

Marcel :)

[jmckee (James McKee)]

pretty nice work for an old dog …course it sounds like You were the "Kid " on the block this week…that had to feel good…:):p:D

[mcyr (Marcel Cyr, CMI)]

Continued;

Here are a few more pictures.

Oops, I guess they made a little crook in the wall when they got to the half wall.
I have got the plaster guy coming back to fix it. But the stair has to go down straight.

I am also doing the extension jambs, window sill and casing trim throughout.
The older guys were fasinated by how I returned a casing trim on to itself. Now they know how to do it.

When I first got there a few weeks ago, they had a temp. post to hold up this dormer and did not know what to do on how to support it without using permanent post and brackets that the organization did not want.
I took cared of it for them.

Since I had access to the inside, I picked up the Ridge and transferred the load to the tail end of the truss and roof.
The diagonal you see is a sway brace due to the pin point load pick in the middle. That stopped the vibrating of the wings one could say.
When I removed the temporary support, nothing moved.
They were tickled pink.

Marcel :)

[dstjacques (Darren St.jacques, C.M.I., RHI)]

Thank God for 1/4 round, that’s my thought!

[mcyr (Marcel Cyr, CMI)]

It is unfortunate when the economy is done so bad that even people that qualify for Habitat for Humanity can’t afford them.

Watch HERE

:(

Marcel

[jkogel (John Kogel)]

When I first got there a few weeks ago, they had a temp. post to hold up this dormer and did not know what to do on how to support it without using permanent post and brackets that the organization did not want.
I took cared of it for them.

http://www.nachi.org/forum/attachments/f18/25395d1227400536t-one-week-housing-humanity-organization-dscn2071.jpg Since I had access to the inside, I picked up the Ridge and transferred the load to the tail end of the truss and roof.
The diagonal you see is a sway brace due to the pin point load pick in the middle. That stopped the vibrating of the wings one could say.
When I removed the temporary support, nothing moved.

Nice work, Marcel. That’ll have a future home inspector scratching his head for sure.

John Kogel
www.allsafehome.ca