Site preparation and laying the foundation – Here we recommend you use professional contractors. First, the site needs to be cleared and surveyed to establish what type of foundation will be needed. When the site is cleared, it will be ready for the concrete base and any foundation trenches to be dug where necessary.
Note that any services (e.g., water, gas, electricity, and drainage) need to be installed in advance of laying the foundation so that you will have direct connections to them all through the concrete base. Get your snaplines right – Once your concrete foundations have dried, you need to mark out where the frame will sit. You can establish the precise location based on the position of all the connections to the utilities, as you will know exactly, based on the plans, where in the dwelling each of these will be connected. The next step is to create snaplines on the concrete. These require two people to run a length of heavily chalked string along the concrete base where the outside of the wall frame will be. You tighten the string, lift it up, and allow it to snap back into place, leaving a clear, straight chalk line on the concrete. This needs to be done for all external wall frames, and it is important to ensure that all lines meet at a right angle (90 degrees) to each other. Taking delivery of the steel frame – All the wall frames, beams, trusses, and joists will arrive on the back of a lorry. As you unload them, check that everything is in the right order. In theory, the last thing to come off the lorry should be the first piece you will use when you start the construction process. In simple terms, you want all the pieces stacked sequentially to match the order of installation.
42
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter maker