Support Walls

You know all to well, DIY saves money.

And on this most monster of DIY projects - a duplex for our mothers fondly referred to as the Momplex - not hiring contractors has saved us quite a bit of money.

But it's the little things, the small decisions over time, that really add up. It's using materials smartly to minimize waste and reusing scraps that are the silver lining.

And when you are the one writing the check, you really take a minute to consider what you are buying, and how you can cut costs.

Momplex

Step 1 Diagram

Step 1

<h1>Structural Engineer</h1>It is always a good idea to take your floor plan to a structural engineer, and that's exactly what we did. But we never had a chance to sit down and talk about all the details - we basically just gave him the floor plan and picked up the structural recommendations.  

Step 2 Diagram

Step 2 Instructions

<h1>Engineer Recommendations
</h1><div>We followed all of the recommendations so far, and the Momplex is one sturdy, well built structure as a result.</div><div><br></div><div>But when we went to order the floor, I suddenly got cheap.</div><div><br></div><div>You see, each of those blue boards cost a staggering $500 a piece.  </div><div><br></div><div>Now if we were contractors spending someone else's money, I would never have even considered alternatives.  We probably would have just put the order in and kept on building, not considering if there might be a more efficient way of doing things.</div><div><br></div><div>But I could see $2000 in savings - not to mention time savings as well.  </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Can you see it too?</div><div><br></div><div>There's $2000 just sitting in that diagram.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><i>(drawings for illustrative purposes only - not exact construction drawings)</i></div>

Step 3 Diagram

Step 3 Instructions

<h1>Support Walls Under Support Beams</h1><div>On the Momplex, the stairs are boxed in with walls to separate out the garage and bonus room.  The engineered diagrams called for double LVLs (Laminated Veneer Lumber - or just a beam made up of boards glued together that is incredibly strong) on top of these support walls.  Each LVL is $500, and we'll need four on top of these support walls.  That's $2000 in LVLs (in addition to the LVLs that the joists tie into).</div><div><br></div><div>But do we really need them?  </div><div><br></div><div><i>(drawings for illustrative purposes only - not exact construction drawings)</i></div>

Step 4 Diagram

Step 4 Instructions

<h1>Taller Support Walls
</h1><div>Why not just make the support walls taller and scrap the LVLs?  We are already buying the boards and building the wall - building the wall 16" taller is not going to cost us a penny more and will save us tons of time.</div><div><br></div><div>Putting the LVLs in there is like modge podging our tickets to Hawaii (our yearly sanity saving vacation when Alaska gets very cold and very dark) under the floor.  $2000 is alot of money to us!</div><div><br></div><div><i>(drawings for illustrative purposes only - not exact construction drawings)</i></div>

Step 5 Diagram

Step 5 Instructions

<h1>Win-Win</h1><div>So that's the plan - we'll build the walls on either sides of the stairs to the height of the floor joists, and plywood overtop.  This also gives us a very strong and accessible place to frame the stair platform to, not to mention already framed walls to finish the stair openings (we plan on using the space under the stairs for utilities and storage). </div><div> </div><div>So often I find myself a support system when building, rather than getting to actually do the building  :(  .  It seems every time I get all my work done at home, get the children occupied, and go up to the Momplex to help, I'm just tasked with ordering lunch or ordering materials.  Somedays, I feel like I'm no help at all, just someone to run errands and support those who are working.</div><div><br></div><div>But these small things are actually a big help.  Someone has to do it, and good planning saves everyone time and money.  There's nothing wrong with being a support wall - unless you are supporting a supported beam.  </div>

Step 6 Diagram

Step 6 Instructions

<h1>Floor Arrives
</h1><div>We ordered the floor - thank goodness, I can't imagine loading and hauling those joists!</div><div><br></div><div>It's sad to think the trees are ready for snow ...</div>

Step 7 Diagram