Wiring, Plumbing and Insulation

When the framing is completed, the electricians, plumbers and HVAC subs can begin their jobs. The carpenters may still be at work outside finishing the siding and trim, but inside the house, the electricians will be drilling holes in the studs and joists through which to pull their wires. The plumbers will be running large pipes for the wastewater leaving the house and smaller ones to deliver a supply of water in. Heating pipes or ducts may be snaking their way to new locations. If you have a security system going in or specialized phone installations, the appropriate pros will arrive, too, to bury their wiring in the wall cavities. If your design involves a fireplace or chimney, the masons may still be at the work.

If you want the chimney to emerge at the peak of the roof, sometimes you have to veer across the structure to get there. That's done by corbeling, in which each course projects slightly out from the previous one. Note the mason has stretched lines at each corner to guide the corbeling.

This is an interim stage in the building process. It follows the basic shaping of the spaces and precedes the finishing of the inte­rior walls and floors. It's during this phase that all the components of the mechanical systems that will eventually be hidden behind wall, ceiling, and floor surfaces must be put in place. It's a time when several trades will come and go often, working in tandem to rough-in the basic systems.