Today continues a series about the stages of construction. Our goal is to help you understand the stages of construction, learn about how we do things and what you can expect during each stage. In this series, we will cover 4 additional stages of construction. To see the previous stages of construction, click here.
During Stage 4, insulation is installed throughout the home and the drywall is hung, taped and textured. Ceilings and walls are then sanded in preparation for paint. To avoid knocking the stucco off of the exterior walls, drywall is hung before any stucco is applied to the exterior. The stucco brown coat is applied as soon as the drywall is hung.
The insulation is installed after passing the frame inspection. Typically, insulation batts are used in walls, while ceiling or attic insulation is blown in after the dry-wall is hung. Optional blow-in wall insulation is installed at this time. Drywall, or sheet rock, is hung after the insulation passes inspection by the Fulton Homes Project Manager.
The stucco lathing is inspected by the local municipality building & safety inspector and the Fulton Homes Project Manager. The stucco brown coat is then applied and allowed to cure.
A router is used to trim drywall at openings for windows and doors. It is not uncommon to slip and over-cut these areas from time to time. Minor cuts in the drywall, if they occur will be repaired as needed.
Once the drywall is hung, a sheetrock nailing inspection is required by the local municipality building & safety inspector. Next, the gas piping system is pressurized and inspected.
Having passed the nail inspection, the dry-wall seams are taped. A paper tape is embedded in dry-wall taping compound to seal these joints and reduce cracking. Once the tape joints are dry, they are topped with a similar compound. This second coat is used to level off these joints and fill-in any voids or nail holes. A skim coat is then applied as need prior to the texture-coat. The texture coat is manually applied as a skip trowel with a large trowel blade. Each coat must dry thoroughly before the next coat is applied. Wet or cold weather may add several days to this process. Once the drywall is textured, it must dry and then be lightly sanded prior to trim carpentry and painting. Please keep in mind that the texture coat is a custom hand applied texture and will typically show inconsistent patterns. This is normal and considered part of the custom application.
We hopes this helps you understand a little more about the stages of construction!