Real Men Retrofit Fayetteville AR

Retrofit definitely separates the men from the boys in the custom installation business. Anyone that's done it for a while will attest to the fact that it requires and/or builds confidence, strength, patience, and character. These are all admirable qualities for any profession.

To encourage you, this article will pass along some hard learned tips and recommendations to get you started in the retrofit world.

There is certainly some science to retro fitting (planning steps,knowing construction techniques) but mainly its an art, still learned primarily by apprenticeship. To be successful you need to be good at both the science and the art. I'll try to cover a little of both by dividing it into the three Ps: Planning (including understanding construction techniques), Practice (including tools and training), and Patience.

Do the Planning
Planning on any job is essential, but in retrofit, it means the difference between making money and making a mess. Never start a retrofit job until you know the following about the house you're about to cut into.

• The general house framing style (see above)
• Any remodeling that has been done in the past
• Where all attic spaces are and how to get to them
• Where all basement/crawl spaces are and how to get to them
• What walls you can access from the attic/basement/crawl space
• The material used on all interior walls and ceiling
• (lath/blaster, cement board, sheetrock)
• Which walls contain insulation and what type
• If two story, what walls are common between floors (make sure)
• Where the water cut-off is (that you personally tested)
• Where the gas cut-off is
• Where the major plumping fixtures are where the pipes go
• If radiator heat, where the pipes go
• If forced air heating/cooling, where the ducting is run.

I could go on, but these are the major items. Finding out all of them requires time, so spend it. Most important, however, is figuring out where every cable will go before you start the job. Every hour that you spend in planning will save you more than four hours on the job. Guaranteed.

Learning Construction Techniques
You definitely need to know how the houses in your area are built. If you live in the Northeast and Midwest, then youre lucky because most of the homes there are built using balloon construction. This style features wall studs that run from the foundation all the way to the roof rafters. All floor joists are nailed directly to the wall studs. It's great. Take the job.

Everything built after the 1950s is probably what's called platform construction. Each floor is built as a unit or platform and either sits on the foundation or on the walls of the floor below. Nothing lines up. Take the job only after you have studied the situation more carefully.

After you've been working in an area for a while, you'll begin to figure out who built what and when, and it will be a lot easier to plan the job.

Get the Right Tools
I learned retrofit skills when I was in high school working for an installer at the local high-end stereo...

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