Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[SPIKER]

I asked the builder about that today and he confidently stated that #57 gravel self compacts and that there would be no point in vibrating/compacting it further... Not sure, but I know who to call now if the floor ever does something undesirable.

Are ya going to get that down on paper with his signature by it? If I remember correctly that was several feet of fill in there wasn't it?

Mark

 

[murphy1244]

Are ya going to get that down on paper with his signature by it? If I remember correctly that was several feet of fill in there wasn't it?

Mark

At least 3 feet.

 

[dave1949]

At least 3 feet.

I don't know if I can buy that, that washed stone will not compact. I think it will just because the vibration makes it fit together better, and fit up against the surrounding walls better. It could be that the PSI/weight of the slab resting on the stone is not enough to make it move, but there are still voids between individual stones that could be smaller voids when forced by a compactor to fit closer. That's my theory. I ran a compactor over washed gravel for my house and I do believe it compressed.

 

[Buppies]

57s are 95 percent compacted when they hit the ground and are the preferred stone for concrete. They are not however suitable for paving as they tend to move around a bit but good for concrete. The builder told you correctly

 

[pacerron]

As far as insulation, they will blow in foam, and it will expand to at least 1.5" or so. And they will then add R19 batts to that, on all exterior walls. They will also spray foam everywhere else a surface is exposed to the outside on the other side. Cellulose will be blow in the ceiling to a thickness of at least 16". This is required by code these days from what the builder told me.

Sounds like you may have talked him into some freebie insulation from what he told you a few days ago.
As I understand it, closed cell foam, which is the good stuff, runs about $1.00 a board foot, so you have gone from 25 cents a square foot to $2.00 a square foot. Open cell is not as much but has half the R value and passes moisture. The house wrap they used is supposed to block wind infiltration but pass moisture to the outside. I don't know what the concrete siding is supposed to do as far as moisture.
Time to just watch the pictures.

 

[mjncad]

IMHO, the traditional can or traditional can with efficient bulbs can be one of the larger hidden energy losers in a house, in that they typically are not easy to impossible to seal against air movement. With warmer air trying to escape the ceiling, they let a lot of air out of the conditioned envelope. This is of course tempered by whether the top of the cans are in the attic, have an insulation dome to stop air movement, etc., but it is something that should be looked at to ensure that you don't lose a lot of heated air in the winter.

There are newer cans that are low heat generating, so they can be sealed, and I wouldn't use anything else to make sure that air infiltration (the stack effect of air moving higher from the basement through the house and into the attic) is minimized. I would advocate that making sure that the conditioned space envelope is well sealed is the most important factor in energy costs, followed by insulation factors. It's the reason that spray foam is as popular as it is, as it greatly aids in sealing the conditioned air envelope.

Our place was built in late 1999, and has insulation contact rated cans from that era with blown-in insulation in the ceiling space covering the cans. Since we went to CFL bulbs in the kitchen, the warm up time before they hit full brightness in the winter is significantly noticeable. So in spite of having attic insulation, there is still enough cold air reaching the CFL's to affect their performance when first switched on.

 

[pclausen]

He is right in a way, though the 57 does need to be spread the right way for it to settle/equalize, and you have to assume the base is solid!

When they did the garage on our new house, they spread the gravel (a little smaller than #57) and worked it in to make sure it settled, but did not vibrate. Then they drilled holes in the walls all the way around and stuck in short rebar pieces before they poured the slab. This still lets the slab float horizontally, but won't let it move vertically at the walls, and should prevent cracking if there is any minor settling. The builder said they have been doing that in this area for about the last 4-5 years, and it has really cut down on issues.

The Superior Walls are fabricated with built-in rebar pieces sticking out every few feet like you show in your pic for that exact purpose. Builder said he will be adding additional rebar across before the floor is poured. Also, the cement will be 4000 psi fiberglass.

 

[pclausen]

Sounds like you may have talked him into some freebie insulation from what he told you a few days ago.
As I understand it, closed cell foam, which is the good stuff, runs about $1.00 a board foot, so you have gone from 25 cents a square foot to $2.00 a square foot. Open cell is not as much but has half the R value and passes moisture. The house wrap they used is supposed to block wind infiltration but pass moisture to the outside. I don't know what the concrete siding is supposed to do as far as moisture.
Time to just watch the pictures.

Good catch Ron. Yes, he did tell me they will blow 1/4" foam initially, but what I misunderstod then was that was the wet thickness, and once it dries, which I think it does more or less in real-time, it will end up being 1.5"+. As for the cost, it adds $1000, but they should be able to absorb within the overall cost already agreed to without charging me extra.

 

[pclausen]

IMHO, the traditional can or traditional can with efficient bulbs can be one of the larger hidden energy losers in a house, in that they typically are not easy to impossible to seal against air movement. With warmer air trying to escape the ceiling, they let a lot of air out of the conditioned envelope. This is of course tempered by whether the top of the cans are in the attic, have an insulation dome to stop air movement, etc., but it is something that should be looked at to ensure that you don't lose a lot of heated air in the winter.

There are newer cans that are low heat generating, so they can be sealed, and I wouldn't use anything else to make sure that air infiltration (the stack effect of air moving higher from the basement through the house and into the attic) is minimized. I would advocate that making sure that the conditioned space envelope is well sealed is the most important factor in energy costs, followed by insulation factors. It's the reason that spray foam is as popular as it is, as it greatly aids in sealing the conditioned air envelope.

Thanks Thomas. Excellent advice and it makes a lot of sense as hot air will want to rise as we all know. I'll be sure to pick fully sealed, low heat generating cans.

Any recommendations for under cabinet LED lights? I spoke to the electrician about it, and he will wire in a single feed, so the plan is to get the kind that you can string together.

 

[pclausen]

Are ya going to get that down on paper with his signature by it? If I remember correctly that was several feet of fill in there wasn't it?

Yep, 3+ feet as Murph mentioned. I'll ask him about getting it in writing. That might compell him to vibrate it anyway, although I think that with the build in rebar extensions in the Superior Walls, and the fact that he will be adding extra rebar and use fiberglass concrete, I'll likely be covered.