Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 30, 2000 11:21pm | #1

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   Kirk:

   This is the way I do it.

   Plumbing rough-in first, since he has, in most cases, no flexibility where his fixtures go, and therefore, little flexibility with placement of at least, some pipes.

   Second comes the HVAC rough-in, he has more flexibility, plus, when he goes through the floor with a sawsall, you don't have to worry about how many wires he just cut through.

   Third, Electrical. That way, he can rough in wiring for the water hearer, or any other plumbing stuff that needs elect, and for any HVAC equipment like, maybe an air handler in the attic, crawl basement.

   Most tradesmen don't like sharing the house with other folks, but they can live with it, however things will be smoother if you follow the above order, consecutively, not concurrently.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 01, 2000 01:41am | #2

   *Kirk,Scheduling.......HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!Sorry, I had to get that out of my system.Now, for real. I'm with you. HVAC first. The big stuff needs to go first. Electrical in Romex can go anytime, as long as they don't get in the way of HVAC. Conduit for electrical is another story. Plumbing the waste lines has to be considered. They can't turn corners with that real well. Hot and cold pressure forced water can twist and turn as needed, if needed. Really, all these trades should go in at the same time. That way they can fight over the space themselves while the work is in progress, and nobody has to come back to re-route anything because of another mechanical trade. That's the way it's done here in Dallas.Ed. Williams

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 01, 2000 05:53am | #3

   *Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical, in that order for allthe reasons listed previously. When I was a GC, Iwould try to get the plumber and HVAC subs to meet,if possible, in the house before they started. Lotsof times these to trades want to use the same joistand stud spaces or same area for water lines and trunk lines. Nice if they can hash it out beforehand so as not to surprise one another. Electricalcomes next. Much easier to bend conduit than waterand waste lines and heat ducts. Good luck,Mike

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 02, 2000 05:09pm | #4

   *I agree with Ed it would be fun to watcvh them all battle it out, Order is as listed above. In our area the only problem is that you can not get a rough framing inspection until after all the other trades have their rough in done. If that is true in your case and you are an owner builder with little experience you might want to talk the inspector into a rough inspection without a sign off before hand. They will come out, look around and point out any problems or make good suggestions and then come back again later to "inspect". Another step that might also be good if you are new, is get your drywall person in to look to make sure all of the things he needs are in place, drywall nailers etc, thewe are easy to put in without wires and plumbing in the way

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 03, 2000 12:18am | #5

   *Josh,I have a home with no drywall nailers installed...It uses drywall scraps nailed as backers and the corners just float in a taped seem sandwich....No cracks....very quick and even uses up scrap rather than trees....(I didn't invent the idea, just noticed it when repairing water damage.)near the trickling stream,ajps as to order of mechanicals...HVAC....plumbing....electrical...they should be brought together to agree on there space needs especially if there is any room for overlap...etc...

2. 
   Guest_ | Jul 04, 2000 02:12am | #6

   *Jack is right, they all need to be brought together. Especially the HVAC and plumber. I've seen plumbing and HVAC in the way of ceiling cans way too many times. You would be wise to get sparky there to at least lay out his cans and anything else that can't go "someplace else" steve

3. 
   Guest_ | Jul 05, 2000 05:24am | #7

   *Ed, you must build awful big effin' houses out in Dallas. If I tried that, I'd be looking for new subs every house. Wouldn't be able to come around during working hours, either.You do need to lay out cans for the plumber and HVAC first, but sequencing is best as described for reasons already given.Best of luck.

4. 
   Guest_ | Jul 05, 2000 07:14am | #8

   *Kirk, Did the governor make a change that I was unaware of? I was under the impression that kirkland was in King county, land of the almighty property tax gods. Did snohomish county annex it? ;) Flatch

5. 
   Guest_ | Jul 06, 2000 02:17am | #9

   *Here is what works the best for us:Plumber in first to run gas etcElectrican and HVAC in same day, electrican lays out cans, and then works on rough in in walls while HVAC places there units in attic, and mounts registers. Then electicans get the house, till they are finished. Then HVAC comes back and runs duct work.Works well for OUR situationDavid

6. 
   Guest_ | Jul 06, 2000 05:16am | #11

   *BG,Yeah, I guess I'm coming from a different aspect. Most of the houses we work on are 8,000 sqft and up. There might be thirty tradesmen working at one time. All the mechinal trades plus carpenters, jointers and painters. Not to mention security companies and A/V all in the same space at the same time. I've never seen any trouble. We all have to work together and we know it. It all works very well if you're used to it. That's just my market. I don't know how they do it with smaller houses. I guess if you can get a trade in and out in a couple of days, then you can have just one at a time. Some of the larger houses we work on can take 8 months just to wire.Ed. Williams

2. 
   kirk_in_kirkland | Jul 06, 2000 05:16am | #10

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   I'm finishing up the framing on my home and would like some advice before I schedule for the plumber, electrician and duct work. In my county (Snohomish, WA) the inspections go: plbg first then elect then mechanical. Several issues... If I have the electrician working at the same time as the plumber, (and just have the inspections one after the other)do they get in each others way? HVAC: It seems to me that the duct work should be in first so the wiring could go up around it, unless the electrician knows exactly where the future ducts will be. How have you taken care of this scheduling? Thanks