At Home In The Woods

[radioman]

Obed, when you portray the story that way, something seems amiss here, doesn't it? If you really suspect its Jim and you want to stick it to him for not being able to "squeeze" old landlady into selling, just go and mow down the grass before fines is implemented and have town look at it when you are done. Nothing like giving him a hard time to be able to buy cheap. you would be what? out of gas money for it ?

Now why did the brick workers leave without finishing the job? or did something arise from your conversation with them ?

 

[Obed]

Obed, when you portray the story that way, something seems amiss here, doesn't it?

I don't really follow your point.

If you really suspect its Jim and you want to stick it to him for not being able to "squeeze" old landlady into selling, just go and mow down the grass before fines is implemented and have town look at it when you are done. Nothing like giving him a hard time to be able to buy cheap. you would be what? out of gas money for it ?

He'd just call the county the next time the grass gets high if that was his motivation. I don't know for certain that Jim filed the complaint; I just wouldn't be surprised. I don't remember indicating that I wanted to "stick it to him." My energy is better spent on getting our house built at the moment.

Now why did the brick workers leave without finishing the job? or did something arise from your conversation with them ?

I guess my post was confusing. The brick workers didn't quit our job. They were back on-site today. I'm sure that on Friday, the brick mason had a different job he wanted them to work on that day. We're not his only customer.

Obed

 

[Diamondpilot]

My buddy had a AZZ neighbor like that. How we stick it to them in Indiana is mow the lot, put a fence up, then bring in hogs. Even better if you are little west of said neighbor to allow the full aroma a good flow to his nose. Chicken and roosters also do a good job.

Anyway that is the way us Red Neck boys from Indiana do it.:thumbsup:

Chris

 

[Obed]

Here are the latest brick pictures. The other side of the retaining wall has been bricked. I don't have a picture of it. They were going to brick the uphill side of the retaining wall today but they ran out of "ammo" for their nail gun. In order to attach the brick ties to the poured concrete wall, they are using a nail gun that uses 22 caliber shells to drive the nails into the concrete.

Yesterday the brick workers did an "oops." On one side of the big dormer, the side that you cannot see in the picture, they bricked the whole side, laying bricks on top of the roof. Our roof was not built to support the weight of brick so we made them tear down the brick they had laid over the roof. There will be vinyl siding on the sides of the dormer where the side wall is above the roof.

 

[Obed]

We ordered a whole house fan from Grainger; I picked it up yesterday. Today my wife opened the box and noticed that the shutter was broken. The shutter was made out of the most flimsy thin plastic. Some of the plastic pins on the inside of the frame that the louvers rotate on are broken. My wife is now looking for a different brand fan with a more substantially built shutter. One fan she saw had a metal shutter. I like the idea of a metal shutter a lot better than a plastic shutter. The shutter is going to open every time the fan turns on and will "jiggle" as the air runs through it.

I found it interesting that the box than contained the shutter says "BUILT TO LAST". They must have meant that the box is built to last because the cheap plastic shutter certainly wasn not built to last. It wasn't even built to "start". Also, look at the packaging. The "THIS SIDE UP" marking on the box was hidden by the outer box so it was impossible to tell which way the box should be oriented during shipping. Also, if you look closely at the top of the outer box, you can see foot prints.

 

[Obed]

Attic and Soffit Ventilation
My wife has been researching attic ventilation needed for our house for cooling efficiency, prevention of ice dams on the roof, and for moisture prevention. According to her calculations, the vinyl soffits that all the vinyl subs normally use would not provide adequate ventilation. If that is the case, then almost no house being built in our area meets the ventilation requirements based on the fact that our soffits are 2 feet wide which is at least double the width (and therefore potentially double the ventilation) than most of the houses that are being built. We needed double the ventilation than what the vinyl installers would provide by default.

The vinyl subs who gave us estimates were recommending that 1 out of every 3 vinyl soffits be a vented soffit (i.e. has holes in it for air movement). However, we need at least 2 soffits out of every 3 to be vented to meet the ventilation requirements put out by The Home Ventilation Institute. However, if 2 out of every 3 vinyl soffits is vented, we may have issues with sagging since our soffit area is 2 feet wide. The vented soffits are not as stiff as the non-vented soffits and are thus more prone to sagging. One of the vinyl subs is getting us a quote on how much he will charge to add 1x3 blocking along our eaves in order to support the soffits and prevent sagging.

There is a part of me that wonders how important it is that we meet the attic ventilation requirements put out by HVI since most of the homes in our area only have 1/4 of the ventilation that HVI recommends.

 

[CurlyDave]

There is a part of me that wonders how important it is that we meet the attic ventilation requirements put out by HVI since most of the homes in our area only have 1/4 of the ventilation that HVI recommends.

I would not go short on ventilation. Especially if you have long periods of high relative humidity. Not enough vents can lead to mold & mildew.

One of my pet peeves is when people build houses with features that are just barely "good enough" for the house to last 10-15 years, when the contractor will be long gone. The fact that everybody else gets away with it, doesn't mean that they aren't going to have problems at some point in the future.

 

[dave1949]

There is a part of me that wonders how important it is that we meet the attic ventilation requirements put out by HVI since most of the homes in our area only have 1/4 of the ventilation that HVI recommends.

I would not go short on ventilation. Especially if you have long periods of high relative humidity. Not enough vents can lead to mold & mildew.

One of my pet peeves is when people build houses with features that are just barely "good enough" for the house to last 10-15 years, when the contractor will be long gone. The fact that everybody else gets away with it, doesn't mean that they aren't going to have problems at some point in the future.

I agree. I have a gable-end fan at each end of our house. I bought the Dayton brand with aluminum shutters that open by fan air pressure. After checking the attic in winter weather, I realized the shutters are not wanted. Just feels to humid in the attic. So, I have my shutters open all the time, and someday I will find a better looking solution than clothespins :laughing:

We have vented soffit panels every third section, but no ridge vent. You really need the air flow year-round.
Dave.

 

[towmotor]

Ventilate to the max Obed.
It's cheap insurance in the long run.

 

[scoutcub]

We ordered a whole house fan from Grainger; I picked it up yesterday. Today my wife opened the box and noticed that the shutter was broken. The shutter was made out of the most flimsy thin plastic. Some of the plastic pins on the inside of the frame that the louvers rotate on are broken. My wife is now looking for a different brand fan with a more substantially built shutter. One fan she saw had a metal shutter. I like the idea of a metal shutter a lot better than a plastic shutter. The shutter is going to open every time the fan turns on and will "jiggle" as the air runs through it.

I found it interesting that the box than contained the shutter says "BUILT TO LAST". They must have meant that the box is built to last because the cheap plastic shutter certainly wasn not built to last. It wasn't even built to "start". Also, look at the packaging. The "THIS SIDE UP" marking on the box was hidden by the outer box so it was impossible to tell which way the box should be oriented during shipping. Also, if you look closely at the top of the outer box, you can see foot prints.

Very sad quality issues, but very funny post!