Golden rules of construction and property design: Help Wanted
tudordavies
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hi,
My name is Tudor and I am writing at blog about the golden rules of cinstruction and property design. Would members be open to providing me with their Golden Rule, the one piece of advice they stick to or would recommend others to follow, or perhaps just a sound principle they have learnt and now swear by.
Basically I want to compile these into one blog post, giving the best advice. If you would help me it would be much appreciated. All I need is your quote (50-150 words), your name and your location.
I will also give credit to the forum for helping me to write the piece, as well as all contributors.
Thanks,
Tudor
Replies
Gravity
When you ally with gravity, it can be a constant help. But woe is the builder who tries to defy gravity, or ignores it. Consider it in every decision. Know that it never rests.
Tud
I was taught this early in my construction career.
It aligns quite easily with Jim's above.
Don't back up. Never back up.
Keep your beer in the shade.
Well, I know the two rules for a plumber are
Sith runs downhill
Don't bite your nails
But dunno about the other trades.
3rd rule for a plumber: Payday's on Friday.
1) Don't make anything you would not use for yourself;
2) Good design always meets code, while 'designing to code' is always poor design- and often fails to meet code!
honor the building site
I've seen a lot of people with an already designed house, then they buy the land. Problem is, the house as designed doesn't really fit the land. Orientation, exposure, drainage/slope, etc.
It's best to tweak the design to fit the land.
Changing your little building footprint to fit the house might not take into account the area around your lot.
As the folks at Imperial Margarine told me over and over when I was growing up...you can't fool Mother Nature.
Reply to comments
These are all great and exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks guys. Keep them coming.
Look in this book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language
If you think your customer/employee/subcontractor/inspector/supplier/wife/children/neighbors/friends/councilman/mayor/state-federal political representation/all the rest of the people of the world are smart enough to know better than to do X, you're wrong. They will do X and blame you for it and/or come to you to pay for it.....not that I'm bitter or anything.
buy low sell high
never pass up a tool at a garage sale
have duplicate tools for emergencies, even if the 2nd is a Hazard Fraught tool
be afraid of falling
what you like is best, what somebody else says does not matter for your own house
if the foundation is crooked, most else will be crooked
remember eathquake, flood, etc. when designing
a well (if feasible) and septic beat city water and sewer - except in some cases
a nasty neighbor will not get nicer
if controlled by IRC or other imbcile code, design so you can modify after the inspector signs off,
Install the very cheapest TR outlets to satisfy NEC, after inspection, replace with regular spec grade, save the cheap TR for the next job
never rent a tool you can afford to buy, except maybe a concrete pumper, hire that out.
never get on a dozer or backhoe without rops/fops
keep your tools sharp
if your girlfriend or wife says you dont have to 'break in' every room the first day you move in, dont force the issue; if she says yu should, by all means accomodate her.
never install an AC without the HP option
dont pour concrete when it is freezing outside
you can never have too many garages or outbuildings or sheds
et.c...
That's great Junkhound. There are some really good ones there. Thanks.
Anybody get anymore?
He forgot about learning how to give and take bribes. Bribes and kickbacks in the construction industry are a $1.5 trillion buisiness world-wide.
Design is a disipline that answers questions. If an individual doesn't know what that statement means... he/she isn't a designer. Hire someone else.
Maybe this is too common to be suggested, but
"Measure twice, cut once."
Measure once, cut yourself, go to the hospital, get stitches.
Be just and good.
I cut that board 3 times and its still to short.
Get one of them board stretchers from Harbor Freight. Used to be that board stretchers were too expensive to have around, but of course HF makes a cheap version of everything. (They might even have a left-handed smoke shifter.)
When in doubt about proportion, consider the Golden Rectangle.
If you can, stack your plumbing.
Avoid placing plumbing in exterior walls if you're building in a freezing climate.
Avoid inefficient design. Example, a 32' long wall is logical to frame in terms of the incremental use of materials and 8' long sheets of plywood. A 32' 3" long wall? A disproportionate waste of material for an extra 3" of wall.
A 32' 3" long wall? A
A 32' 3" long wall? A disproportionate waste of material for an extra 3" of wall.
good suggestion but example not good, eg. 2 16 ft joists end to end and rim = 32'-3"; No cut all the joists, 1/1/2" gap at corners for osb on sheathing. 12"x2+4'- siding, 1x4 corner plates, etc....
??
It's a perfect example.
Especially if the only rim stock you can get is 6' 5-7/8" long boards that are all warped so badly that you have to cut them into short straight pieces and then use a fingerjointing cutting head to cut and reglue them into longer straight pieces.
OSB? I figured it using 8' long sheets that were already cut down to 7'4" long. The 8" OSB offcuts were used to make Christmas toys.
16' + 4" x 4, etc...
Golden Rule
This applies to everything, not just construction.
WHO EVER HAS THE GOLD MAKES THE RULES !
Fast, Good, Cheap. The eternal dilemma
Fast, Good, Cheap. You only get to pick two. Which ones will you choose?
Do what you do best and pay the Professionals to do the rest
Tell Customers to do what you do best and pay the Professionals to do the rest.
I would never expect a neurosurgeon to ask me as a building contractor to help him with brain surgery. On the other hand it is highly unliklely I would ask a neurosurgon to help me frame a complicated roof.
We make our jobs look easy to a lot of homeowners because we have spent decades perfecting our craft. HGTV does not help with their two day high end $60,000.00 kitchen remodeling projects that that they state a cost that is a quarter of the actual cost.
Thanks for the replies, been really helpful. Here is the finished article, using all of your responses to collate the data:
http://www.terrysblinds.co.uk/infographics/the-whos-who-of-interior-design-infographic/
Love to hear your feedback.
td
Was this just another of the many attempts for you United Kingdom (or Asian) folks to get us to click on links?
Seems odd you'd claim survey w/o including Terry's blind company as the sole banner headline and footer, then turn around and lay it up there now, no?
Great success? Seems like a puny response to come to any conclusions or award winning responses.