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Posted by Mooshie on August 18, 2006, 3:27 am
Insomnia has hit yet again, so for fun I'm designing my "mini" dream
house (will never actually build it unless I win the lottery, of
course). To make things even more fun, I'm doing the design in freaking
Excel. Woo! Anyway, here are my stupid questions:
1. If you're going with 2x6 construction, is every single wall in the
house 6 inches deep? Or is that just the retaining walls? If just the
retaining walls, are the other walls 4 inches deep?
2. How do you design a stairwell? My current one is three series of 4
to 6 steps each, with two landings. How many steps, total, do I need
to account for a 12-foot ceiling on the first floor? Any other tips?
(Spiral staircase is out.)
3. How much wall depth is needed for your average pocket door?
4. Why am I going with 2x6 construction, anyway? Because I hear it's
"good." Is that a good enough reason? My dream house will be in the
Pacific Northwest, and I will want good insulation, if that makes any
difference.
Thanks! --M
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Posted by DT on August 18, 2006, 9:27 am
>1. If you're going with 2x6 construction, is every single wall in the
>house 6 inches deep? Or is that just the retaining walls? If just the
>retaining walls, are the other walls 4 inches deep?
Only the exterior walls are 2x6. The purpose of 2x6 construction is to fit more
insulation in the walls. The only other 2x6 walls would be the plumbing walls
for the bathroom, to allow for the vent piping.
>2. How do you design a stairwell? My current one is three series of 4
>to 6 steps each, with two landings. How many steps, total, do I need
>to account for a 12-foot ceiling on the first floor? Any other tips?
>(Spiral staircase is out.)
Well, I have built, let's see, seven stairways in the last year or so, so it
tends to come naturally for simple, straight stairs. The number of steps
depends on the total rise, you need to know the depth of the second floor
structure and how high of a rise for each step yopu want. For 2x10 floor joists
and no more than a 7 1/2" rise, you will need 21 steps. Many people prefer
a lower rise, around 7". With two landings it is going to be a loooong
stairway! The length of each landing (in the direction of travel) should be at
least as long as the stairs are wide, but no less than 36", is a common
standard. That gives you a minimum total run of around 23 feet, although it
sounds like you are making some turns.
Here is a web page with lots of framing information, look in chapter 6 for
stairway construction. It won't cover winding stairs, each is a special design.
http://www.tpub.com/content/construction/14044/index.htm
and a couple more:
http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/framecarp/technique/stairs/outdoor.htm
http://www.homefocus.com/423/cutting_stair_stringers_.htm
>3. How much wall depth is needed for your average pocket door?
The commonly avaiable kits fit in standard 2x4 construction.
--
Dennis
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Posted by HerHusband on August 18, 2006, 12:27 pm
> Only the exterior walls are 2x6. The purpose of 2x6 construction is to
> fit more insulation in the walls. The only other 2x6 walls would be
> the plumbing walls for the bathroom, to allow for the vent piping.
2x6 walls allow for better insulation (R21 instead of R13), but they also
add additional strength too. I constructed all "load bearing" walls using
2x6's. This included the exterior walls, a long bearing wall that runs down
the center of our house, and a couple of 14' tall walls that support our
vaulted ceilings. Because of our fairly open floor plan, the only 2x4 walls
we have are short walls separating the bath and laundry rooms.
As you said, the 2x6 walls allow more room for plumbing, electrical, etc. I
was able to install 2x6 diagonal braces, and still have room to pass 3"
pipes through the wall.
Anthony
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Posted by Jonny on August 19, 2006, 9:49 am
> Insomnia has hit yet again, so for fun I'm designing my "mini" dream
> house (will never actually build it unless I win the lottery, of
> course). To make things even more fun, I'm doing the design in freaking
> Excel. Woo! Anyway, here are my stupid questions:
> 1. If you're going with 2x6 construction, is every single wall in the
> house 6 inches deep? Or is that just the retaining walls? If just the
> retaining walls, are the other walls 4 inches deep?
Some build the house with exterior walls with 2X6, interior 2X4, more
common. Others, strictly 2X6 throughout. The cavitation from a 2X6 is
5.5". 2X4 is 3.5". Both resulting from their actual dimensions.
> 2. How do you design a stairwell? My current one is three series of 4
> to 6 steps each, with two landings. How many steps, total, do I need
> to account for a 12-foot ceiling on the first floor? Any other tips?
7.75" rise per step is standard.
> (Spiral staircase is out.)
> 3. How much wall depth is needed for your average pocket door?
These are normally made to install as is for 2X4 wall construction.
> 4. Why am I going with 2x6 construction, anyway? Because I hear it's
> "good." Is that a good enough reason? My dream house will be in the
> Pacific Northwest, and I will want good insulation, if that makes any
> difference.
> Thanks! --M
>
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Posted by DT on August 20, 2006, 10:33 am
>> 2. How do you design a stairwell? My current one is three series of 4
>> to 6 steps each, with two landings. How many steps, total, do I need
>> to account for a 12-foot ceiling on the first floor? Any other tips?
>
>7.75" rise per step is standard.
7 3/4" is a bit much and certainly isn't standard. Most people will find it
uncomfortably steep. 8" is the max rise allowed by many codes but the higher
risers should only be used when you are fitting a stairway into an existing
stairwell with no room to expand. Commercial construction stairs are specified
at 7" as I recall. I usually start my layout at 7 1/2" and come down from there
to make it fit.
If you have a little flexibility in the stairway length, and want to use stock
treads and risers from Home Depot, they carry 7 1/4" risers and 11 1/2" treads,
for a 10 1/2" run with a 1 inch overhang. 7 1/4" is as close to a 'standard' as
I see and is a nice comfortable step.
--
Dennis
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