New House Build in WV

[rScotty]

It’s been a slow week, but I did pick up the driveway fabric and got it laid out after dark in preparation for the gravel that will be delivered tomorrow morning.

Also got a lot of stuff cleaned up and one room mostly wired.

Shopping kitchen cabinets has been very discouraging. They seem to cost much more than I expected, but we want a nice kitchen that will last a long time. Will likely place our order Monday after taking the weekend to make sure we have what we want accounted for. Looks like it will take about 8 weeks for them to be built. That’s not a problem as it will surely take me that long to get ready for them, probably longer.

We found the same thing with kitchen cabinets. Cost a lot more than expected. Because our house has a lot of natural wood, lacquer, and varnish, we ended up getting cabinets with hardwood for doors and visible ends. The insides and shelves are a composite of some sort. The best deal we could find was through Home Depot so that is what we did. I've got to say they did a really nice job. I hired an older carpenter to do all the cabinet hanging and fitting & glad I did.

Geotextile fabric is great stuff. I wish I'd used it on more of the landscaping instead of just some.

There's a mistake I made you might want to avoid. Where I drilled holes through the bottom frame plate to run wires and electrical cables from the basement to upper floors, I should have then sealed those holes around the wires. Not sure what I would have used, but maybe some sort of hard-setting spray can or cement foam - if there is such a thing. Or maybe metal. But I didn't, and one year I got mice in the basement. Those wiring holes provided access for mice to travel freely through the walls.
If doing it again, I'd take the time to seal every single wiring access hole I drilled in baseplate, studs and top plate. It's the kind of time consuming simple job I didn't do and wish now I'd just hired someone to do it for me.
rScotty

 

[deezler]

Where I drilled holes through the bottom frame plate to run wires and electrical cables from the basement to upper floors, I should have then sealed those holes around the wires. Not sure what I would have used, but maybe some sort of hard-setting spray can or cement foam - if there is such a thing. Or maybe metal. But I didn't, and one year I got mice in the basement. Those wiring holes provided access for mice to travel freely through the walls.
If doing it again, I'd take the time to seal every single wiring access hole I drilled in baseplate, studs and top plate.
rScotty

Isn't it code to seal all wiring holes drilled through framing members between floors with fireproof (red) caulk? It is here in Michigan, anyway.

 

[rScotty]

Isn't it code to seal all wiring holes drilled through framing members between floors with fireproof (red) caulk? It is here in Michigan, anyway.

Not part of our local code here. It does sound to me like a good idea though. Not just for mice, but for fire too. I'm tempted to propose that hard mouse & fireproof caulking like that gets included next time our local jurisdiction votes on what portion of updated codes to accept - we do that every couple of years. ....although I'd like to hear arguments for and against that caulking before voting. Feel free to weigh in.

A lot depends on which code is being used. Plus lots of local jurisdictions can accept or reject whatever portions of the unified or national codes that they want or find appropriate.

For example the OP - TnWV - said a few posts ago that he wasn't concerned about the window inspections because he was done with those. Here, he would still have an electrical inspection, framing & insulation, plumbing, and final occupancy inspection still to go. At least. There might be others.
rScotty

 

[TnWV]

Living in a double wide for the last 14-15 years, we have dealt with our share of mice, that’s for sure. You just can’t seal these things up enough to keep them out, it seems. I will do everything I can to keep them out of the new house. I plan to seal off every potential place one could get in, so I will absolutely seal holes for electrical wiring between floors. I also plan to foam around any electrical outlets on the exterior walls to help keep air from being able to come through them.

Gravel made it, so I’ll be doing some spreading later this evening.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Living in a double wide for the last 14-15 years, we have dealt with our share of mice, that’s for sure. You just can’t seal these things up enough to keep them out, it seems. I will do everything I can to keep them out of the new house. I plan to seal off every potential place one could get in, so I will absolutely seal holes for electrical wiring between floors. I also plan to foam around any electrical outlets on the exterior walls to help keep air from being able to come through them.

Gravel made it, so I’ll be doing some spreading later this evening.

Put scotchbrite pads in weepholes in brick. It doesn't rust and it breathes.

I put down 12' landscape cloth on top of my clay soil, and then put about 4" of screened gravel over it. It has performed flawlessly for 17 years now, but I need to top it off with another 2" layer of fines to 1.5"

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

The price of cabinetry makes me want to buy all the shop equipment to make them.

 

[TnWV]

Put scotchbrite pads in weepholes in brick. It doesn't rust and it breathes.

I put down 12' landscape cloth on top of my clay soil, and then put about 4" of screened gravel over it. It has performed flawlessly for 17 years now, but I need to top it off with another 2" layer of fines to 1.5"

Same experience. My main drive has been in place for over 100 years, and it eats gravel. Poor drainage doesn’t help, but I’ll fix that over the next few years. I put fabric under the drive off of it that comes my current home and put crusher run over it. I’ve only toped it off once in 15 years. I put 50-75 tons on main drive every other year.

I spread 50 tons of the larger gravel over the fabric and 10-12 of the 57’s on main drive where trucks have messed the gravel up this evening. I will cover the larger gravel with 57’s once the larger gravel settles a few weeks. Still have a little more gravel moving some dragging to do. May leave work a little early tomorrow so I can do it in the day light. Supposed to rain again Saturday.

 

[TnWV]

The price of cabinetry makes me want to buy all the shop equipment to make them.

No kidding. We added a few options that increased the cost a bit such as spice rack drawers, utensil rack drawers, pull out shelf’s, and have several wall cabinets taller to give a staggered look. Crown, under cabinet lighting trim and all knobs/handles are also included.

Lowe’s/Home Depot were higher. We found one other supplier that was a bit cheaper, but their cabinets didn’t have all the same options and just were not as nice overall, and I’m afraid we would be disappointed with them. There are a few other places I could check, but I believe they will be more, from what I’ve been told. Hard to find time to shop for stuff as well.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

The price of cabinetry makes me want to buy all the shop equipment to make them.

That’s what I did. I built my cabinets in the year it took the former house to sell

 

[TnWV]

That’s what I did. I built my cabinets in the year it took the former house to sell

My father in law built his cabinets as well. He built them around 2003. In 2015, we tore their house down and built them a new house in the same spot. Old house had too many structural issues and they were better off building new than fixing it. We designed the house with the exact same kitchen as the old house so the cabinets fit right in. I just don’t have the time, or patience, to do that, unfortunately.