Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Step 1: The Building Site
You're ready to move out of the densely packed urban city and into the suburbs. Not finding any homes that suit you and your needs, you decide to build your own. It will be perfect! You find an empty lot in a quiet neighborhood and can see yourself in the home of your dreams. You notice that all of the houses on the street are set a distance back from the road and realize it must be due to a residential zoning ordinance. At least you know you're going to have a large front yard!
What is the term for the distance between your home and the street?
2. Step 2: Making Plans
You have the site for your new home and are happy with the location. You're excited to have all of the yard space, and can't wait to start working in your very own garden. With the lot chosen it is now time to work on the plans for the house. You hire an architect to design your new home and work with her until the design is exactly what you had in mind. The architect shows you floor plans and rendered pictures of the interior and exterior so you can better visualize the final product.
What are the technical drawings the architect made that show you views of the walls of your new house?
3. Step 3: Thinking Green
You've always been one of those people who cares about the environment and you are looking into building a sustainable house. You want to reduce your electric usage to lower that electric bill! You want to conserve water, reusing what you can, and you want to use local materials and renewable resources, reducing greenhouse gasses. You know that there are programs out there that award green building designs and are certain that your home can become certified!
What is the name of the US Green Building Council rating system that awards certifications for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Designs?
4. Step 4: A Solid Foundation
The designs are finished and you're ready to start building. If all goes according to plan, when your home is complete, you'll have a green certified house! The construction crew starts work on the lot, digging deep into the ground. You need to dig five feet down to be below the winter frost line, so you decided while planning that you wanted a full basement. The foundation is being poured into wooden forms to make the walls, but you notice that under each section of the basement wall is a wide flat concrete slab, running along the entire perimeter. The contractor explains that the slab is called a wall footing.
What does the contractor tell you is the purpose of the concrete wall footing?
5. Step 5: A Floor to Stand On
The basement walls are set and cured and the concrete wall forms are removed. You're ready to start putting in the first floor! To reduce the amount of wood you need to use, the floor has been designed to use trusses instead of solid beams. Trusses provide the strength of a solid beam, but eliminate the unnecessary material in the middle. At the site, you hear the framers use a special word for the floor trusses.
What is the word for a solid beam or truss that is part of a closely-spaced array, like those used in a floor to support the decking material?
6. Step 6: Up the Wall
You can see the house coming together now; the walls are going up and the rooms are being defined. You notice that the exterior walls are being covered with plywood sheets before they are put in place, but the interior walls are not. The plywood on the outer side of the exterior walls provides a surface to attach blue board insulation, vapor barriers, and siding. The plywood also provides a backing for the interior insulation of your house. Since you're going green, you have opted for recycled cellulose blown-in insulation. You know that the insulation has an R-value and it has something to do with heat flow.
What does the "R" stand for in "R-value"?
7. Step 7: A Roof Overhead
Your house is now ready for the roof to be completed. The framing is done and the plywood is in place. You decided to use traditional asphalt tiles for roofing, but you notice that along the edge of the brick chimney, metal strips are being nailed into place. You panic, thinking that the roofing company has been given the wrong instructions for shingling your roof, so you call someone over. He calmly explains that before the asphalt shingles can be nailed in, the metal strips must be put in place. The metal strips will prevent water from entering the joint between the chimney and the roof.
What did the roof installer call the metal strip that is nailed over the roof-chimney joint?
8. Step 8: Windows of Opportunity
Until now, there have been empty holes where your windows and doors are supposed to be. You watch as the windows and doors that you hand-picked are put into their proper places. You had your home designed with a variety of window types - simple double-hung windows, bays, bows, and skylights. You're getting plenty of light and natural ventilation in your new home, which in addition to being aesthetically pleasing will also cut down on energy costs. To allow for more light inside the house, and to facilitate natural ventilation, you requested windows above all the interior doorways and along non-load bearing walls where the walls meet the ceiling.
What is the name for those interior windows that are sometimes called transoms?
9. Step 9: Simply Electric
Since you're designing green, you have all your lights on dimmers and sensors and you have a system that collects rain water which can be used later to water your plants. All of your windows are operable to let air circulate naturally through your house to cool it in the summer months. You're still worried about electric costs but have discovered a way to produce some of your own electricity. The back of your house faces the south (for a northern hemisphere dwelling), so solar panels can effectively capture the sun's energy and use it to fill some of your electric needs.
What is another name for the solar cell that is used to convert sunlight directly into electricity?
10. Step 10: The Finishing Touch
Your house is almost complete, with just the finishing details to go. The walls have been painted and the bamboo floors have been installed. You're ready to move in your furniture and your appliances, to make the house into a home. The floor molding is going in and there is beautifully carved trim around all the windows and doors. You make a last minute decision to put trim where the walls meet the ceilings to finish off the elegant look to the rooms.
What type of molding do you need to ask the contractor to install for you?
Source: Author
kaddarsgirl
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
LadyCaitriona before going online.
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