CHAPTER 9: TWO ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR A HOME BUILT TO LAST
For many of you who are reading this book, by the time you have finished, you may well be ready to embark on a venture you might not have dared imagine ten years ago – building your own home. While this book is also for the guidance of those who already work in the construction industry, we wanted to include those of you who have sound DIY skills. The CFS frame, or skeleton, for ADUs or affordable housing is easy to erect, and thanks to the plethora of online videos, there is nothing in the realm of property construction, from laying foundations to plumbing, that doesn’t have a selection of how-to videos to watch in every language imaginable! You don’t need specialized knowledge, just a basic skillset and access to the internet, to be able to build your own steel- frame home! In reality, there is something of a revolution occurring in the global construction industry, with steel-frame skeletons enabling more and more of you to build your own home at a price appreciably more affordable than buying a traditionally built property from a developer – one of the main reasons steel-frame properties are becoming so popular. So what are the two essential requirements of a home built to last? In simple terms, a solid frame or skeleton (what you build) and a firm foundation (what you build upon). The frame or skeleton To avoid any confusion, properties with a main structure made of wood are referred to as timber-frame properties. When cold-formed steel (CFS) is used, the CFS frame in a property is referred to as a skeleton. Both structures fulfil
35
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter maker