Concrete Block and Stucco - CBS Homes

Hi Carl,

I enjoy your web site a great deal.

I’m in carpentry school (in Seattle) because I would like to build my own house.

The problem I am concerned about is that carpentry school teaches wood framing.

Will my skills as a carpenter be applicable in Port St. Lucie, Florida, an area where CBS is the standard method of construction?

Thanks much,

Barry


Note to Readers: CBS Stands for Concrete Block and Stucco or Concrete Block Structure. Because of hurricane resistant building codes, there are many CBS homes in FL... Carl

Hi Barry,

Yes, your skills as a carpenter will be applicable. There is much more to a CBS home than the concrete block.

Courtesy of the Tamure Corporation

CBS uses concrete blocks for the exterior walls and there is more to building a house and to carpentry than putting up stud walls as everyone can see from this cutaway of a CBS home.

Your carpentry skills will be invaluable throughout any home building project including CBS homes, steel frame homes, log homes, etc.

Besides all the actual carpentry such as roofs, furring out the block walls for drywall, interior and exterior trim, stairs, etc., a good carpenter has “vision”…vision to imagine 2 dimensional in 3-D, vision to see the completed house throughout every stage and step of construction, vision to make things “work out” when the home designer “screwed up”…and much, much more.

In my opinion, a good carpenter who knows many (if not all) the “tricks of the trade”) is the most important person in any home building process.

Carl