Busy Wife This Weekend

[mike69440]

Some Photos.
Second floor is getting framed in.
Basement Floor got poured.
My tiny pond I started digging in October. I've got about 8 hours so far to dif about 12' wide x 25 long x 4' deep.

It sure will be nice if the windows get installed and the vented cold roof gets sheathed and made weather tight.

 

[mike69440]

It sure will be nice if the windows get installed and the vented cold roof gets sheathed and made weather tight.

Well some progess is being made.

 

[mike69440]

Plowing. I need to keep the site open for the sub contractors..

Wheel and chassis weights bring my L39 up to about 8200 Lbs The tire chains change it from usless in snow to a good pusher. Plowing I run the engine harder than for dirt work, 2300-2400 RPM. The hightest gear I can run is 7 of 12. The L39 will drive through near 2 ft of medium density snow and just push it aside with a big pile in front of the bucket the whole length of the drive.

I bet the M59 weighted to about 5 ton's plus with chains would do 70-80% of a full size hoe pushing snow. Burr! I wish I had a heated cab.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I am intrigued in your design. Attaching a barn style garage is unexptected. You got any scans of what the house should look like finished?

 

[EddieWalker]

Mike,

Great pics and congrats on your progress. It's really taking shape!!!

I don't understand your roof system at all. Some of it looks like rafter framing, other parts look like trusses and then there is the area above what I assume is your great room. Those beams are too far apart to support the OSB, so there must be some form of support fot above the OSB?

I'm also seeing plywood and OSB for sheeting. It looks like you've incorporated just about every building techinique there is in your home!!!!! It's definately too complicated for me. Your building is either having a great time with all that you have going on, or he's going crazy. haha

Eddie

 

[mike69440]

Mike,

Great pics and congrats on your progress. It's really taking shape!!!

I don't understand your roof system at all. Some of it looks like rafter framing, other parts look like trusses and then there is the area above what I assume is your great room. Those beams are too far apart to support the OSB, so there must be some form of support fot above the OSB?

I'm also seeing plywood and OSB for sheeting. It looks like you've incorporated just about every building techinique there is in your home!!!!! It's definately too complicated for me. Your building is either having a great time with all that you have going on, or he's going crazy. haha

Eddie

Eddie Let me explain.

I'm the G.C.

I hope I can build this for 70% of what it would cost if I hired a G.C. I've had a few gliches but it has not turned out a total disaster. Not for the faint of heart, however.

The house is an enery effcient energy star home built with Structral insulated panels that are 4' x 24' long x 10" thick in roof and 6" thicl in the walls. Think if OSB is paper, SIP is cardboard.

It is all held to together by plywood banding strips in non load areas or 2" x 10" in the roof or 2" x 6" for the walls in load bearing areas. The skeleton is Timber Frame, however mine is a hybrid timber frame.

It ends up that you use almost as much stick lumber in a home like this as an ordinary stick built. Any SIP builder who does not, holds the whole thing together with "Great Stuff".

Links for more info.

Announcing Structural Insulated Panels for Construction: Winter Panel
Fiery Construction Job Progress Blog

They say SIP construction is 15-20% more expensive that stick built. That may be true for fancy big time stick builder vs. Certified reputable SIP's builder, but stick builders in this economy will work for food and lumber is at a 9 year low.

(Q) You know what they call a builder who is not building?

(A) OUT OF BUSINESS.

SIP construction is 60-70% more expensive than stick, if you find a good inexpensive hardworking stick builder.

All things considering, I think if I were did it again, maybe I'd only do the roof in SIP panels. What little you gain for SIP wall insualtion, you could buy a lot of fuel to heat the house. Spray faoming the stick walls is near as good of insulation as SIP, but quite a bilt less air tight. Anyway, I went with SIP construction for the living area of the home.

The foudation is Precast Insulated Concrete. For me it was a reasonable choice, but maybe not for the average Joe.

The thing attached to the house is a 36' x 26'-7" basement 3 stall garage, 1'st floor workshop with drive on wood floor, 2nd story 16' x 26'-7" "man's room" with a small 200 Square ft 3'rd floor Attic. (+2,200 total Square ft)

The "Man Room" is done with an Attic Truss. See attachment.

The 'Barn" is stick/truss built and will most likely be conventional insualtion. It will be unheated, or eventually it will have ceiling hung gas heaters as it is non living space. (At least untill the wife kicks me out of the house)

I'm having the SIP builder build the SIP weather tight shell and the stick builder do the Barn and the interior work on the home and basement. (At least the parts I can't con my wife or friends to do.)

 

[mike69440]

I am intrigued in your design. Attaching a barn style garage is unexpected. You got any scans of what the house should look like finished?

After I got the first bill from the Architect, I fiqured I draw the plans myself. His orgiginal 3 d Scans have changed since then. I drew Floor plans and 2 D only. I'll keeep posting photos.

In New England I cannot claim attaching a barn to the main house is exactly an original idea.

The Garage is for cars the workshop is for project. The separate equipment build is for equipment and stuff. Lot's of stuff.

My wife wants me out of the horse barn except when repairs are required. Horse barns are not go for string stuff with the food, critters, and hay etc.


Mike

 

[EddieWalker]

I hope I can build this for 70% of what it would cost if I hired a G.C.

Around here, 15% is about what a GC charges. So you are saving that much. Then other 15% is gonna have to be on work you do yourself.

One of the trade magazines that I get did a study of the nations top builders. They all agree that of the overall cost to build a house, materials are about a third. The rest consists of labor and fees. The goal to make more profit or cut down on expenses is in how well you manage your labor.

My take on it is that two thirds of the price to build a house is where you can save your money.

Eddie

 

[mike69440]

Around here, 15% is about what a GC charges. So you are saving that much. Then other 15% is gonna have to be on work you do yourself.

One of the trade magazines that I get did a study of the nations top builders. They all agree that of the overall cost to build a house, materials are about a third. The rest consists of labor and fees. The goal to make more profit or cut down on expenses is in how well you manage your labor.

My take on it is that two thirds of the price to build a house is where you can save your money.

Eddie

I think the labor / materials ratio on our home is running about a 50/50 split. Material is more than 1/3 for sure. This may change with interior work.

I am getting some really good pricing on materials. I've bought everything from a Jacuzzi tub for $425 to 6' x 10' x 16' premium hemlock beams for $57 each, glass insulated entry doors for $100 etc. I am not paying prevailing wage for carpentry work (except the SIP guy) or electrical concrete, etc an I'm doing ok with plumbing and heating, although those guys are the DR/ lawyers of the trades. $$

A GC does take his 15%, but I wonder if G.C. often makes a killing on material? If they charge Home depot pricing for material they get at a bargain price, do most G.C.'s pocket the difference or pass it on to the customer?


I'm figuring my cost per square foot base on staring with a sweet lot that has poweer right there, no rock 1400 Ft driveway of a ridge of rock to blast and move.

I've allowed for typical basement excavation, figured in the foundation prep, well, septic etc. On this I think I 'm doing well.

It was the 1/4 million I spent on "terra-forming" the land that is killing us.

$12 k permits, plans, surveys, and fees, $20 in Blasting, $12K to bring in power. Another $40 K was spent to build road thru swamp and hauled on site mateials, 10K to clear the land, $40 k for the equipment building, 30K in other hired out heavy equipment work, $80 k for buying the tractor and excavator, attachments and the operating and repair costs, and the rest for stuff like barn repair and additions/ painting. It all adds up to About $250 K before the house work.

 

[mike69440]

Windows and Doors statistic I find amazing.

I'm sure many homes have more windows and doors, but seeing these delivered and installed gives me perspective.

24 windows in the house, by windows I mean complete window units, so for example I am not counting triple mulled unit as 3 windows, etc.

Most are triple pane Krypton gas filled with U = 0.20. Bay is U = 0.25

The Slider and glass above are bare minimum energy star @ 0.31 as triple pane Krypton would have cost almost double.

I filled the attics and man room with a pair of surplus $90 Windows.

11 Windows in barn, all except one are U = 0.31 energy star.

4 House exterior doors, one is a semi fancy entry door.

3 exterior doors in house uses as interior doors to attic and basement

3 Fire doors between house and Barn (one is 90 Minute, (2) 20 Minute rated)

2 exterior doors used to seal off stairways in barn.

Depending on whose window and the style, I could have spent $40-$50 K on all of this.

Smart shopping I知 into it for $20K, I had budgeted $30, but the saved money has been spent elsewhere, then some.