At Home In The Woods

[Coyote machine]

Thanks Eddie for the compliment on my post I appreciate that. Yeah, the purple missing on the pipes jumped out at me as to whats wrong with this plumbing picture- and then it hit me! There's no sloppy purple everywhere:laughing:

Obed, On the security system I believe the newer ir combo detectors for motion can allow a house pet to be seen as not a trigger for the alarm- I could be wrong on this but I seem to remember that is what I was told by our installer a number of years back on my CT houses. I'd look into it.
eepete reminded me in his posting that you could also consider installing a central vac system while things are opened up. It is pretty easy and saves big time on lugging vacs up and down stairs etc. We had our plumbers do it for us, it's mostly fitting pvc piping together and that they can do easily. - (my project is little hands on by me - mostly I do the thinking part and tell the builder where I want the subs to put stuff). I work the tractor and things on the side and mostly keep out of the contractor's way.

I like eepete's thoroughness of doing everything now and for the future, but IMHO, unless you are planning on running a shuttle launch from your house you can probably do a watered down version of the total automated house- obviously a personal choice as to the depth you want to go. BTW, I hear eepete gets commission on the amount of wire he sells or uses or thinks about

 

[Chilly807]

Not sure of the building code where you are, but here any floor drains have to have a "trap primer" that automatically adds water when a common water source is used. Ours is tied into our laundry sink taps, others use a line hooked into the shower head riser. The risk of methane gas coming back into the house through a dry trap is the reason it's code here.

Dave's right about gluing drywall, I've never heard of it either. A nuisance to repair. And come to think of it, how is he going to glue it to the vapor barrier??

As far as motion sensors go, there are pet friendly ones. Ours (ADT) allow up to 40 pound critters as long as they can't get close to the sensor. Most of the new ones are dual sensors, they need to see both body heat and mass for an alarm.

Chilly

 

[dcyrilc]

Today the wife put boxes in the kitchen to simulate the kitchen layout to help her make sure the cabinets and layout will be something she will like.

The first box on the left is where a pantry will go. The box to the right of the pantry is where the refrigerator will go. The box to the right of the fridge will be a cabinet that contains an oven and a microwave. The stovetop will go where the cardboard is sitting on the floor to the right of the wife and baby. The felt on the floor is where the sink and bar will go.

I had to laugh when I first saw the picture and hadn't read the text yet. My first thought was, Someone's getting anxious to move in. :laughing:

 

[Diamondpilot]

If you have a volt meter, you can start the tractor and then remove one of the battery terminals and test across the terminals for voltage. This should tell you if the alternator is working or not.

You do not have to do all that. Just note the battery voltage. Say its 11.8 volts for argument sake. Now start the tractor and set the rpms above a idle and check again. It should be close to 14 volts if the alternator is working.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

We are trying very hard to get all the plumbing and H&A ducts to be run inside the 24" high floor trusses. We would rather not have to lower the basement ceiling if possible. The bottom of the trusses are 9' above the basement floor. We have room to lower the basement ceiling if needed and could still have an 8' ceiling but are trying to avoid doing so if possible.

The H&A guy and the plumber know each other. They seem to be working well together to try to route the plumbing and H&A ductwork in ways that won't interfere with each other. Today the plumber lowered the drain line shown here because the H&A guy asked him to do so to make room for a H&A trunk line.

When interviewing the potential H&A subs, some of them didn't give us much confidence that they would do their best to keep the ductwork inside the trusses. They did not get the job.

Couple things I note. In my area water lines and drains are never run though outside walls, period. They would freeze for sure.

Also the homes I have been around being built the HVAC guy does his rough first. Pluming second. Electrical last. I was told this was because the HVAC work is less flexible on routing ect.

Chris

 

[dcyrilc]

You do not have to do all that. Just note the battery voltage. Say its 11.8 volts for argument sake. Now start the tractor and set the rpms above a idle and check again. It should be close to 14 volts if the alternator is working.

Chris

When I first got my tractor, one of the batteries was toast and was drawing down the voltage when it was connected. That was the reason I suggested disconnecting the battery. Not a common problem, but I've seen it happen.

 

[2manyrocks]

My tractor battery kept running down because the insulation on the hot lead from my battery had rubbed off on the tractor frame. Problem solved when I replaced the lead.

Not so crazy about gluing drywall. I use screws. You'll be seeing the drywall finish for a long time so you want a really good drywall contractor.

You'll also want a really good trim carpenter to install your trim. The guys that cut everything at 45 degrees without measuring to see if the corners are true 90 degrees will caulk and paint to hide their mess. When the seasons change, then the joints open up and look terrible. So I'd be looking for some one who actually checks the angles and will cope and miter the trim joints. I really hate sloppy trim, and I see it everywhere.

 

[Obed]

Painting Questions
We are getting ready to interview painters. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what questions we should ask the painters? Are there any specifications we should give them regarding materials and how certain things should be done?

We need interior painting and limited exterior painting done. The exterior will all be all brick with vinyl siding on the gables and soffits. The only painting needs on the outside that I can think of are the exterior doors and the front porch railing.

Thanks,
Obed

 

[eepete]

Four things bit me on painting:

1) It was not clear who should wipe the dust off the drywall- the drywall people or the painter. So I lost 5 days with damp towels cleaning the drywall.

2) It was not clear who put up the plastic to cover everything before the drywall people came in and then later when the painters sprayed on the primer. So I lost about 5 days coving all the windows, stuffing electrical boxes and blocking HVAC vents. BTW, this is another reason you cover and protect those shower stalls.

3) Not strictly painting but when the sheet rock guys were sanding, they took the plastic off of a number of windows and opened them. So I lost a few days taking the covers off of the gearing on the Anderson windows and cleaning out all the drywall dust that made them very hard to operate. Also had to clean the perimeter and tracks which is time consuming. I think you can discuss this with the drywallers and then prep a few windows for ventilation where you cover everything with plastic so the windows are OK. Of course the plastic cover must go back before painting, and when you clean the walls you'll want to get the dust off the plastic as best you can so it doesn't blow off during primer spraying and mess things up.

4) Look at the quality when they get to rolling on the colors after the primer has been sprayed on. I had to ask them to change to a new roller a few times because there were bits and pieces of the "fuzz" on the roller getting on the wall. Classic money vs. quality. They save money, you get low quality.

Reference my earlier epic long post: I laid out a buffet, choose what you want, there is no wrong choice including going somewhere else to eat. I just want to be sure you don't have a "Oh, man, I should have..." moment down the road.

Pete

 

[EddieWalker]

With painters, attention to detail is everything. Talking to them, you're only going to hear how good they are, so it's very important to either check their refrences, or rely on recomendations from those you trust. Your framer seemed like he knows what he's doing and I'd go to him first for a recomendation.

I really like Zinsser primer. It just works better then anything else that I've tried.

Your premium paints cover better and last longer. Most pros have an account with a paint company such as Sherwin Williams. Those places all have good paints, just be sure to ask for the better quality paint.

Try very hard to limit your color choices and stick with something from one place. In the long run, keeping it simple and neutral is going the be the most affordable and less likely to be changed.

Use an enamal for your trim. The higher end homes will have it sprayed on for a perfect finish.

I personally through away my rollers when I'm done with them. I add it to the price of the job and only use brand new rollers. They are cheap enough that it's not worth the time to try to clean them.

I don't like to spray intererior walls, but have from time to time. Mostly I've fond it faster and cleaner to roll them, but with a rough texture, spraying is your only reasonable way to get it done. Same thing with ceilings. Some newer homes are going with some really rough texture treatment,s which look amazing, but it's more work to paint them.

For your great room, you might consider some of the glazing techniques. I'm a huge fan of them, and think that if done in a fairly moderate level, will have a long lasting appeal. My fear with allot of wall treatments is that they are trendy and in a few years, will become something that you will want to change.

Eddie