1.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
3.
EXAMINE YOUR SKILLS
Capability 11
Book Information Can Be Dangerous in the Wrong
Hands 11
4.
WORK SAFELY
Safety First 13
Tool Dangers 13
Risk assessment 13
5.
BOOK EVOLUTION
Book Motivation 15
Where's the Beef? 15
Roll My Own 15
Virtual Block Plans 16
Theory in Action 17
Bumps in the Night 17
Round Two 17
Summary 18
Conclusion 19
6.
ORGANIZE FOR A QUALITY CUSTOM HOME
Planning 20
Sewage 20
Sun and Shade 20
Roof Style 20
Roof Support Structure 21
Little Errors 21
Truss Accuracy 21
Obtaining Block House Plans 22
Permit Plans 23
7.
WHAT IS DRY-STACKED CMU?
Dry-Stacked Concept 24
Surface Bonding Cement 25
How Strong is It? 25
Required Skills 26
8.
EMPIRICAL BUILDING DESIGN
What is Empirical Design 28
Terminology 28
Example Empirical Requirements 28
General Block Construction Requirements 29
Lateral Wall Reinforcement 30
9.
BUILDING PERMIT OVERVIEW
Permit Process 31
Meeting with the Inspector 31
Owner-Builder Electrical & Plumbing 33
Required Documents 33
Dealing with Rejection 34
Progress Inspections 34
Abandonment Rules 35
10.
SELECTING THE CORRECT HOME DIMENSIONS
Home design 37
Include Empirical Design Rules 37
Rough Door Openings 38
Rough Window Openings 38
Wall Lateral Strength 40
When Long Wall Sections Prevail 40
Roof Overhang 40
Room Inside Dimensions 40
Ceiling Height 40
11.
DRAW YOUR OWN PLANS FOR CONVENIENCE
Why Would You Want To? 42
Plan Creating Software Choices 42
CadStd for Me 43
Drawing Paper Size 44
Drawing Scale Size 45
Using CadStd 46
House Plan Training 47
12.
FOUNDATION POURING DETAILS
Foundation Types 48
Monolithic Slab 48
Forms Placement 48
Garage Slab 49
Forms Back-fill 50
Grade the Slab Dirt 50
Slab Plumbing 50
Footer Details 52
Placing Wall Cell Rebar 52
Trowel and Edge 53
Cure Time and Control joints 54
13.
DRY-STACKED WALL DIMENSIONS
Two-Cell vs Three-Cell Blocks 55
Installed Block Dimensions 55
Half-block Madness 56
Placement of Corner Blocks 57
Wall Growth Madness 60
Spreadsheet Solution 61
Where to Measure From 62
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14.
WINDOW AND DOOR OPENINGS
Careful Planning 63
Window Width Constraints 63
Window Height Constraints 64
Combined Bond-beam and Header 64
Wider Windows 65
Window Framing 65
Window Rebar Details 66
Door Openings 66
15.
BOND BEAM, CELL, AND LINTEL DETAILS
House Skeleton 68
Foundation, Walls, and Roof 68
Concrete Properties with Rebar 68
Rebar in Foundations 68
Rebar in Bond-beams 69
Rebar in Wall Cells 70
Door and Window Cell Pouring 71
Wall Cell Locations 72
Inspection Blocks 73
Lintel Blocks 75
Concrete Stopper 75
16.
LAYING THAT FIRST ROW OF BLOCKS
Careful Planning 76
Establish Corner Block Locations 76
Establish Block Reference Height 76
Striking the Mortar 76
Leveling Checks 77
Placing Row Segments 77
Closing that Row Segment 77
Mortar and Troweling Tips 78
17.
DETAILED DRY-STACKING TECHNIQUE
Preparation 79
Block Irregularities 79
Out of Plane Blocks 80
Dry-stacking Corner to Corner 80
Stepped Blocks 81
Lock the Corners 82
Door and Window Headers 82
Bond-Beam 83
18.
SURFACE BONDING METHODS
Surface-Bonding Cement 85
QuikWall SBC 85
Health and Safety Notice 85
Coverage 85
Mixing the SBC 86
SBC Application Method 86
Get a Sprayer 86
Spraying Technique 87
Trowel that Wall Flat 88
Continue Spraying to the Corners 89
Extended Cure Time 89
19.
SPECIAL TOOLS FOR THE OWNER-BUILDER
Make Your Own 90
Concrete tools 90
Rebar Bender 90
SBC Sprayer 91
Lift that Concrete 92
Hopper Design 94
Portable Mixer Platform 95
20.
WALL EXPANSION JOINTS
Wall Expansion Problem 97
Wall Expansion Solutions 97
Conclusion 98
21.
BUILD AND INSTALL HEADER FORMS
Build the Forms 99
Mount the Forms 99
Clamp the Forms 100
Safety Concerns 100
22.
APPENDIX "A" – SPREADSHEET TABLES
Dry Stacked Block Unit Dimensions Table. 104
Dry Stacked Block Unit Height Dimensions Table 106
23.
APPENDIX “B” – SAMPLE HOUSE PLANS
Sample Floor Plan 107
Sample Roof Plan 108
Sample Foundation Plan 109
Sample Elevation Views 110
Sample Electrical Plan 111
Sample Plumbing Plan 112
24.
APPENDIX “C” - SPRAYER PLANS
Sprayer Article Reprint 113
Sprayer Drawing 1 of 2 116
Sprayer Drawing 2 of 2 117
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