Reviewing the Addition's Footprint and Garage Doors and Laying Down the Second-Story Floor

Project: Building an Addition for an Elderly Parent, Episode 3, Part 3



Bob is on site where insulated, steel garage doors are being installed to replace the original, low-budget fiberboard doors. He walks through the new insulated concrete addition with the homeowner Howard Brickman, who explains how the layout of this in-law addition essentially doubles the size of the existing home. They talk about the concrete construction, how quickly it went up, and how insulated concrete form (ICF) construction allowed them to get a basement and slab, full upper story, walls, and first floor poured for nearly the same amount of concrete as a traditional basement wall-and-slab design.

 

This building process purposely uses innovative techniques and improved building practices – like the stay-in-place forms for the footings, the under-slab insulation and vapor barrier, the engineered lumber for I-joists and rafters, and the innovative DryPly decking being used for the second floor. Not only do these these technologies reduced waste, but any waste generated is being sorted for reuse.

Part 1: New Insulated Garage Doors
Part 2: Installing the New Garage Doors
Part 3: Reviewing the Addition's Footprint and Garage Doors and Laying Down the Second-Story Floor
Bob talks with homeowner Howard Brickman about the footprint of the new addition for his mother-in-law. The new space is 36'x42', and has a master bedroom and bath, a living area, and a meal-preparation space. The insulated concrete form (ICF) method has made the whole process go very quickly and economically. Brickman has used insulated concrete forms and 84 yards of concrete to get a basement floor, foundation, first-story walls, a second-floor deck, and second-story walls to the rafters. An insulating and waterproof fabric barrier under the slab prevents moisture from coming up through the foundation. The new technologies used in constructing the house have reduced the amount of waste so much that a dumpster has not been necessary on the job site. A very small pile of waste is sorted for reuse, and some of it is used in a load-bearing wall. Bob and Howard review the upper floor of the new addition. When completed, the new roof will match the line of the existing home's roof exactly. The whole deck of the upper floor was put down using Georgia-Pacific DryPly. Made of Southern yellow pine, this plywood product is strong and functional, water-repellant, and ideal for use as floor decking. Bob talks with Howard’s son, Richard Brickman, about working with the DryPly, then also with Peter Conlon from Todal Products about the Pur-Stick polyurethane foam adhesive, which is applied wherever plywood meets the structure. The gable end of the roof is clerestory construction with two shed roofs coming together. The vertical line of the gable will be a wall of glass. We get a glimpse of the newly installed Amarr Classica 3000 garage doors. These steel doors are stamped with three panels and look like wooden carriage-house doors.
More and more homeowners are converting their houses into multi-generational homes for themselves, their children, and their aging parents. In Norwell, MA, Bob Vila meets a couple making room for a mother-in-law.

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