# How to Build a House

See how a wood\-frame house goes up, from the foundation to the roof

By divyesh thakkar

Topic: Engineering

[Open the interactive Jig](https://ask.jig.com/j/mb2MzsiF9wce)

## Transcript

### 1. How to Build a House

This flat, cleared plot will become a small wood\-frame house, shown here as a tiny model\. The hole for the foundation is already dug, and lumber, wooden sheets, shingles and roof trusses wait beside it\. Tap anything to see its name\.

Drag to turn the model and look all around it\.

### 2. 1 · Pour the Foundation

Concrete footings go in first: wide strips at the bottom of the hole that spread the house’s weight over the soil\. Foundation walls rise from them, with steel anchor bolts set into the top\.

Footings sit below the frost line, the depth where the ground freezes in winter: about 4 ft in cold places\.

### 3. 2 · Build the Floor

Wooden sill plates are bolted onto the foundation\. Floor joists, boards standing on edge, span across, usually 16 inches apart\. Big wooden sheets called the subfloor are nailed on top to make a flat deck\.

A “2x6” board is really only 1½ by 5½ inches\.

### 4. 3 · Raise the First Wall

Walls are built lying flat on the deck, which is easier than building them upright\. Then the crew tilts each one up onto its bottom edge and braces it\. A strong beam called a header carries the weight over each door and window\.

### 5. 4 · Raise the Other Walls

The back wall and the two side walls are framed and raised the same way\. The walls are nailed together at the corners, and a second top plate ties them into one strong box\.

### 6. 5 · Set the Roof Trusses

Roof trusses are wooden triangles made in a factory and lifted on, often by a crane\. They are set about 24 inches apart on the top of the walls\. A triangle cannot bend out of shape, so slim boards can span the whole house\.

### 7. 6 · Sheathe the Walls and Roof

Sheets of plywood or OSB, a board pressed from wood chips, are nailed over the frame\. They stiffen the walls so the house cannot lean sideways in the wind\. Sheets are 4 ft wide, so their edges always land on a stud\.

### 8. 7 · Roof, Windows and Door

Shingles go on from the bottom of the roof up, each row overlapping the one below so rain runs off\. Windows and the front door are fitted into their openings\. Now the house is closed against the weather\.

### 9. A House, Ready Inside

Siding and trim finish the outside\. Inside, workers add pipes, wires, heating, insulation and walls before the paint\. The frame you saw is now hidden, but it holds everything up\.

Every place has its own building rules, so builders check with local inspectors at each stage\.