What do Americans call finishing type carpentry or electrics?

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   Will Apseposted 5 years ago

   In the UK, structural building work is called first fix. Stuff like fixing skirtings, hanging doors, is second fix.
   
   Is it the same in the US?

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      Wesman Todd Shawposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Well I know finishing carpentry work is called just that. I'm thinking of things like cabinet work.
      
      Of course with something like electrical, you tend to have the exact same persons doing the rough in, or wire pulling, and hanging the lights, etc.

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      Live to Learnposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      We just lump it all together and call it construction, start to finish. And call each trade simply by its name.
      
      Finish carpentry, in construction, is usually those who come in after the framing (rough carpentry) and drywall work. It is an all inclusive term covering trim, mouldings, cabinetry etc.
      
      Exterior stucco is usually not stucco,but EIFS
      
      We say ' carpentry work' 'electrical work' etc. But with terms which also work as verbs we tend to use just the action word. 'Painting' 'roofing' etc.

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   MizBejabbersposted 5 years ago

   My uncle who did finish carpentry as a hobby called himself a "finish carpenter". I'm not sure what you mean by "electrics". Here to wire houses, buildings, etc. one is called an electrician and has to have an electrician's license for whatever area he/she lives in.

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3. 89

   Will Apseposted 5 years ago

   Thanks both. First fix electrical is usually just running the actual wires and fixing boxes before the plasterers do their job (assuming plasterers are involved). Then the electricians come back and fit the plates, light fittings etc.
   
   If finishing carpentry is only related to cabinet work in the US, there is a difference to the UK meaning.
   
   edit: do you have plasterers in the US? Seem to think you call it stucco.

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      wildernessposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Pulling wire and setting electrical boxes is "rough in".  Later addition of outlets and swtiches is "switch and plug", while lights, cover plates, etc. is "trim out".  Hooking up machiner - HVAC, dishwashers, hot water heaters, etc. is just called "work".
      
      And I'm sure those terms vary throughout the country!

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         Will Apseposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for that. I am probably right to avoid a lot of DIY topics because of the language differences. Also product names are different and building techniques vary.
         
         I might try running a couple of potential pages past the Americans where I am.

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      Wesman Todd Shawposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      It's generally sheetrock.

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         Will Apseposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         I thought that was some kind of disease for a moment, lol, But I Googled it and learned something.

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            MizBejabbersposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Years ago, houses were "plastered" using a wooden lattice work over the studs and then plaster laced with horsehair was applied. Later on when drywall or "sheetrock" came along, it replaced plaster as the preferred wall finish.
            We rehabilitated an old 1880s house about 15 years ago. In most of the rooms sheetrock had been installed over the plaster, and we left it. In the dining room, someone had used fake wood paneling over the plaster, and it had a big hole punched in it, probably with a fist. We stripped that room down to the studs and sheetrocked it. Once the sheetrock was applied, we skim coated a thin film of plaster, or drywall mud, over it to smooth out any rough spots on the seams and the screws holding the sheetrock to the wall. After the mud dried, the room was sanded and painted. It was the nicest looking room in the house.

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               Will Apseposted 5 years agoin reply to this

               In the UK the old style lath over studwork is called lath and plaster.
               
               "Plasterboard" in the UK is just solid gypsum sheet with outer paper covering, same as drywall and US sheetrock, as far as I can tell.
               
               Drywall is a bit down market in the UK. Too many children put their heads through the wall and then it is hard to fix.
               
               A plaster "skim", as you describe, helps, lol. But we don't call that drywall.
               
               edit: Maybe your drywall is thicker and less fragile. Or your children are less deranged. But I cannot recall a drywall house with children that did not have holes.

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                  MizBejabbersposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                  Love your last statement. The same goes here, especially with renters who don't care a whit whose house they tear up. To clarify, the sheetrock itself is the "drywall" and the skim coat is just the thin coat of decorative plaster. It isn't used for stability or reinforcement, that I know of. Sometimes finishers only finish out the seams and don't skim coat the whole panel. Here drywall or sheetrock comes in several thicknesses, 1/4 in., 1/2 in., and I'm not sure it's available anymore, but I have a house from the 1950s that has 3/4 in. thick sheetrock. The 1/4 in. is usually used to cover up imperfections, not to build the wall itself.
                  And, oh yeah, I think all of our gypsum drywall comes from China now. My husband and I have remodeled two houses since we've been married, and all of the drywall we've bought within the last 10 or 15 years came from China.

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                     wildernessposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                     5/8 rock is common in commercial buildings, and 3/4 and 1" are available as part of a fire rated wall.
                     
                     No, drywall does not come from China too much; shipping of a heavy, large but cheap product doesn't work well.  USGypsum, National Gypsum and Georgia Pacific are all large producers still.  It is quite possible, though, that you live a long distance from a producing plant, whereupon it could be shipped in from China, particularly if a ocean port isn't too far away from you.
                     
                     Drywall isn't "plastered"; plaster is a setting, gypsum based type of compound, while drywall mud (the ready-mix type) is a limestone product that simply dries.  Gypsum can and is used in place of limestone but it is never cooked to become useful as "plaster", just an inert filler.

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