The first floor sub-floor is complete. Most of the first floor walls are in place.
The first floor level of this home is an open floor plan – the dining area, kitchen and great room do not have any wall separation. The only interior walls on this level are for the study, powder room, closet and pantry. The great room opens (thru 16’x8′ sliding glass doors) to a spacious screen porch.
While it would seem wall framing for open spaces to be simple, it isn’t. Homes must be designed to meet ‘wind load/bracing’ requirements of the building code. With few or no interior walls, the engineering for this home is required a combination of Simpson Strong-wall panels, steel columns and beams, and 24″ glu-lam beams to meet wind load/bracing requirements. You’ll see (next week) that the second floor wall framing with lots of interior walls does not need any special framing.
Front entry. The foyer will be to the left and the study on the right side. The metal panels are the Simpson Strong-wall panels
Panoramic interior photo. To the left is the 24″ flu-lam. Click on the photo to see full size.