Plastic plumbing drain lines are noisy. Cast iron is a much better choice.

DEAR TIM: We bought a new builder's inventory house about six months ago. Now that we have been in the house, we have noticed all sorts of things that seem sub-standard. The floors are bouncy, the plumbing system is loud, the windows are drafty, etc. When we mention these things to the builder, he responds that the house was built to code and that we shouldn't expect perfection. We intend to build our dream home in several years. What can we do to avoid future disappointments? Kim Lee, Franklin, TN

DEAR KIM: I hear complaints like yours on a more frequent basis as each year passes. It is easy to get discouraged and think that the quality standards and craftsmanship of the entire construction industry is in a state of decline. The truth of the matter is there are still builders, tradespeople, and manufacturers who strive for perfection and try to do the best job possible on a routine basis. Unfortunately, I believe this group is a minority. To make matters worse, competition for sales and the creation of affordable housing for all segments of the marketplace often are the source of problems like yours.

The residential one and two family dwelling building code is a wonderful document. Over the years it has become more refined and detailed so that the consumer gets a better product. But keep in mind that the building code is a set of minimum standards. Frequently manufacturing and trade associations publish more stringent and detailed guidelines that exceed building code requirements. Sometimes it can be quite costly to build to a higher standard. But in many, many instances it doesn't cost that much to include different materials or labor practices that produce a finished house that will rarely disappoint a homeowner.

When you get ready to develop specifications for your dream home, consider the addition of inexpensive one half inch diameter steel bars to concrete sidewalks, driveways and patios. They will greatly enhance the strength of concrete and will help hold the concrete together when it cracks. If your house will include a basement, make sure the exterior of the foundation has a true waterproofing treatment, not the hot asphalt damp-proofing I see being installed on many foundations in my area. Consider extra height walls that produce taller finished basement ceilings.

How would you like me to build your new home? It's probably impossible for me to fit your job into my schedule, but I will gladly share hundreds of my tricks and building secrets with you and your builder. Check out my New House Specifications.

Your bouncy floors probably do meet code. If you want stiff, rigid floors, then you need to purchase joists that are wider or deeper. In other words, if your current house has 2x10 floor joists, then you might want to upgrade to 2x12 joists. You can also use engineered floor joists or floor trusses. To make sure the floors will be stiff, have a residential structural engineer verify your selection.

Plumbing system noise can be stifled by substituting cast iron for plastic in drainage pipes that handle water. To save money, the plumbing vent pipes and drainage piping below slabs can still be plastic. Water supply lines can be noisy if they are undersized. Consider increasing the size of the main feeder lines that deliver water to all fixture groups. Larger diameter pipes slow the velocity and minimize turbulence of water as it travels towards a sink, toilet, or shower. Simple fiberglass sound insulation batts wrapped around the pipes that are hidden in walls and ceiling will also muffle noise.

Not all windows meet voluntary industry standards. Purchase windows that carry the AAMA/NWWDA, or NFRC, or Energy Star label. Windows and doors can be the largest source of energy loss in the average home. You want to buy the best possible product for your dream home.

If you live in all but the driest parts of the nation and intend to use asphalt roofing, make sure you purchase algae resistant shingles. Have the roofer use 40 lb tin instead of 20 lb tin for all flashings. The high performance ice and wind blown rain barriers are excellent upgrades as well if your budget has room. Request that all face nailed exterior siding and trim be fastened with stainless steel nails instead of traditional galvanized nails.

To protect yourself completely, I urge you to obtain a copy of the residential building code. The new code is written so that it is easy to understand. It also contains many helpful diagrams and illustrations. It is in your best interest to monitor the construction process and match sections of the code to the building process. Although you are not a trained inspector or builder, you may be able to spot problems or deficiencies before they are hidden or become major problems that are expensive to correct.

A realistic and well-illustrated book for teaching basic skills needed to read, study and understand construction plans is Construction Print Reading. In this book you will find a Unit on Specifications. The sample specifications are well-organized but I don't necessarily agree with some of the technical aspects of some of them. For example, they have a sentence about concrete thickness. It states that driveways should be 4 inches thick. I feel the minimum thickness should be 5 inches. So, I suggest you use the book to give you the outline for the specs, but use my past columns and Builder Bulletins to provide you with the actual numerical value or level of quality for each area of the specifications.

If you are like me you have dreamed of owning a home away from home. Imagine when the weekend comes, hanging out in a hammock at your own lakefront cottage, boating, antiquing in a charming little town, or whiling away an afternoon on your ocean-view porch. If you have imagined these things you need Second Home: Find Your Place in the Fun (Better Homes and Gardens).

This inspiring volume will help you turn your second home fantasy into the real thing. This book will take you through tours of gorgeous homes to see how other people have created their own great escapes. There are expert tips on everything from real estate shopping to building, remodeling, and decorating. There are hundreds of spectacular color photographs of beautiful homes and great locations. As for me, I'll keep dreaming ... until those lottery numbers come through or some forgotten relative leaves an unexpected inheritance, the book will have to suffice.

Column 309

I helped build this unusual cabin-like structure. It is a shed for distilling maple sap into maple syrup. Would you believe it if I told you it was less than seven miles as the crow flies from downtown Cincinnati, OH?

DEAR TIM: I am going to build a cozy cabin on some property I have in the woods. I would like to have a wood stove in it for heating purposes. What is the smallest size you think I can build and have many of the creature comforts I have in my existing home? If you could have the cabin of your dreams, what size would it be and what features would it include? John M., Neenah, WI

DEAR JOHN: Oh, this sounds like a dream project if you ask me! What a delight to be deep in the woods framing this cabin. I have spent time in several different cabins and know what a blissful time you are going to have sitting on its covered porch on those late summer evenings. I'm just about ready to trade some labor for periodic vacation visitation rights.

The biggest design constraint, in my opinion, is the minimum number of people that are possibly going to sleep in this cabin at any given time. Beds or cots take up an enormous amount of floor space when you are talking about small cabin and cottage structures. Don't try to plan for people to sleep on the floor. It is impractical, uncomfortable and can cause enormous traffic flow problems if the person(s) on the floor is still sawing logs while other inhabitants are trying to move around.

If you feel that more than two people are going to sleep in the cabin at a time, then you need to consider building a cabin that has a cozy sleeping loft. The loft space is created easily if the roof of the cabin has a steep pitch of 9 inches of rise for every foot of run (9/12). If you increase the pitch to 12/12, you can almost create a loft that has 8 feet of ceiling height in the center of the loft.

The smallest cabin foot print I feel that is workable is one that is 16 feet wide and 12 feet deep. Add to that a covered front porch that is 16 feet wide and 6 feet deep and you will have a little gem. A small cabin like this will accommodate a standard bed in one corner, a large chair in another corner, and a toilet and shower and kitchenette in the remaining corners. You can place a stove in the center of the cabin for even heating if you want, but its chimney will pass through the center of the sleeping loft. I feel that cabin stoves work best on exterior walls.

Let's see, the cabin of my dreams. I don't want my cabin to be too large because then it isn't a cabin but more like a small house. I feel an ideal size is one that is 20 feet wide by 18 feet deep. It would have a 12/12 roof pitch and nine foot high walls that would provide a very spacious feeling. The sleeping loft would just be above the center core of the cabin so that the underside of the roof was visible along all of the exterior walls. A guardrail wall would surround the loft on 3 sides for privacy and safety purposes. It would easily stop a restless occupant from crashing to the lower floor in the middle of the night.

My cabin would be constructed with 2x6 walls and 2x12 floor joists to allow for maximum insulation. I would place a vapor barrier on the bottom side of the joists to make sure the cabin didn't get musty. Since I prefer lots of light, the windows would be a minimum of five feet tall and have very few, if any, mullions in the sashes. When inside, I would want to enjoy as much of the outdoor view as possible. The exterior door would be an insulated steel door with top of the line weatherstripping.

The cabin walls would include an air and water barrier wrap before the siding would be applied. This will help to minimize heat loss which means I would have to split less firewood. The interior walls would be wood covered and stained and sealed so that they are light and airy. I want the interior of the cabin to be bright at night. Keep in mind that most woods develop a patina over time and they naturally darken. A medium colored wood can become dark in less than 10 years. My cabin would have the best wood stove available. It would be equipped with a cooking surface and hopefully have space for an old fashioned Dutch oven. Because of my love of natural light, I would try to include at least 4 skylights. I would make sure that these could open slightly so that they would provide some wonderful up-flow ventilation on those balmy summer days.

Column 313

This heating duct has a damper control lever. Simple things like this are signs of quality construction.

DEAR TIM: My husband and I are at odds. We are having a new home built and I am paranoid about defects in the work that might go undiscovered. My husband seems to think we should just trust the builder to do his job. I want to go to the jobsite and check things out. What should I look for? What components of residential construction can cause major problems at a later date if they aren't done right the first time? How can I avoid squeaky floors? Judy H., Louisville, KY

DEAR JUDY: I'm glad you are alert because I feel your husband is asleep at the wheel on this one. If the ever increasing number of letters and e-mails I get each week are any indication of the state of quality control in residential housing, I am inclined to think you should be at the jobsite on a full time basis. In all fairness to your husband, there are indeed builders out there who do excellent work. They inspect their sub contractors daily and make sure all work is first class. The problem is that these individuals are few and far between.

Construction defects are often caught by building inspectors. But you can't expect these people to be at your jobsite on a daily basis. Workmanship flaws can and do get covered up. Some are honest mistakes while others can be traced to a lack of knowledge and/or are motivated by a lust for extra profit.

Keep in mind that your presence at a jobsite involves danger and risk. You can fall through holes, fall into trenches, have objects fall on your head, etc. Inspections should be scheduled with your builder and negotiated into your contract if necessary. Inspections that take place while workers are on site can be distracting and disruptive. I would suggest you do all inspections after the workers have gone home for the day.

The inspection process should begin on the first day of work. The first mistake to look for involves the finished height of your foundation or building slab. You need to make sure that you have good, positive drainage away from all points along the foundation. This usually means that you need six inches of fall within the first ten feet of dirt that grades away from the foundation. Check for the presence of foundation drain tile and where this pipe discharges its water. Make sure no organic material or scrap wood is used in the backfill around the foundation or slab.

Be sure that a high quality vapor barrier is in place beneath any interior slabs, garage floor slabs, and crawlspaces. Inspect all structural steel angle irons and beams before they are installed. To prevent rust problems at a later date, these items should be completely coated with rust inhibitive primers. Ideally it would be nice to see a coat of finish paint on exterior steel before it is installed.

Inspect plumbing pipes that are attached and/or are next to wood framing members. Look for clamps and supports that allow the pipe to expand and contract. Pipes that can't move easily, can make noise. If you will have forced air heating and cooling carefully inspect the duct work. The branch lines that feed off the main trunk line should have damper controls that allow you to adjust air flow. The main trunk duct line should get smaller in size as branch lines feed from it. If the main trunk line does not get smaller, rooms that are farthest away from the furnace simply do not get enough conditioned air. These problems can be a nightmare to fix once covered up with drywall.

If your home has a brick exterior, check to make sure a high quality flashing is under the first course of brick. This flashing needs to be sealed at all lap joints and interior and exterior corners. Inspect your wall insulation. Look to see if the insulation has been split where electric wires pass through it. If the insulation is just packed over the wires, an air void will remain in the wall. Make sure that the space between the rough framing and the sides of windows and doors is filled completely with softly packed insulation.

If you have a wood sub-floor and roof system look at the underside to make sure all nails have been driven into the floor joists and roof trusses. If you want to avoid future floor squeaks, you might need to do some work on your own. I would install one and five eighths inch long drywall screws on eight inch centers in all areas that will experience foot traffic. This will take several hours to accomplish, but will produce years of peaceful pleasure.

Column 317