The framing stage is exciting. The building will very quickly start to take shape. It will take its place in the local setting and if designed right, it will complement and enhance the neighbourhood. Rooms and spaces will start taking shape. You will finally be able to get a feeling for the physical room size and the flow and liveability of your home.
Our carpenters will start by measuring and marking the location of the ground floor walls in accordance with the approved architectural plans. With this done, they can start to build the walls in small manageable sections. If built on site, this is referred to as a “stick” system. Depending on the project, these sections may also be built off site. This is referred to as a “pre-nailed” system. Generally, the walls consist of a bottom plate, studs, noggings, top plate, and lintels. The sections are lifted and nailed into place. As the sections come together the structure becomes more ridged and secure. We use temporary bracing to hold the walls in place until the rest of the frame is build and secured.
After the ground floor walls are complete, we can start on the first floor flooring system. The flooring system is engineer designed to ensure it can support any potential dead and live loads from the first floor. If the ground floor has large open spaces, the flooring system will require larger beams to minimise movement and deflection. The floor system usually consists of LVL beams, steel beams and floor joists. The components are fixed into place using a variety of bolts, screw, joist hangers and other hardware.
Once the floor system is complete we can start laying the flooring sheets. This is a particleboard tongue and groove system that is glued and nailed into place. We now have a flat, clean and secured surface on which we can start building the upper walls.
The upper floor walls are built the same way as the ground floor walls depending on if a “pre-nail” system or “stick” system has been used. The segments are lifted and nailed into place. A horizontal length of timber, commonly referred to as a ribbon plate, is used on top of the wall segments to interlock all the walls. Temporary bracing is once again installed to insure the walls stay straight and plumb
We are now ready for the roofing system. Usually this comes in the form of roof trusses. The trusses are manufactured off site. They are engineered and certified by the truss manufacturer. A crane is used to lift the trusses onto the first floor walls. Our carpenters can then move the individual trusses into place and secure them as per the engineering requirements.
The final step of the framing stage is the tie-down. A variety of different types of hardware is used to tie down the frame from the roof system down to the slab and foundations. These come in the form of metal straps, brackets, rods, bolts and much more. A structural engineer can then inspect the entire frame and certify that it has been built in accordance with the approved design and all other relevant standards.
We can now move on to the roof coverings.
QBCC licence number : 15144993
Master Builders membership number: 80518
