Doorman’s next big adventure

[Kubota-guy1911]

At least where I live in Illinois there is no zoning, no inspection’s or anything, except for the septic.

Should have plumbing inspector to insure compliance with IL State Plumbing Code.

 

[dodge man]

When does it end? Septic, plumbing, electrical, foundation, hvac, roofing, 2x4 nailing inspector. I’m ok taking responsibility for my own work or the work of any contractor that comes in.

 

[300k]

Sir, why not build and extension to the existing barn, it eliminates one wall and all the septic ,power problems. Plus he becomes an on site warden against those five finger discount people

 

[ovrszd]

When does it end? Septic, plumbing, electrical, foundation, hvac, roofing, 2x4 nailing inspector. I’m ok taking responsibility for my own work or the work of any contractor that comes in.

Me too.

 

[Doorman63]

Thanks for all the input guys.

Bigger is out of the question…..wife wants what the wife wants

Expanding existing…..the ultimate plan is a she shed/craft area/workshop/storage area for my wife’s future goats/chickens/etc.


Not much progress lately……I’ve got all my PVC for the DWV portion of the below slab work

All my conduit/fittings for below slab work

Moved about 4 buckets of sand with the tractor from a creek crossing in the back to an area closer to the building site. Gonna use it in the trench under the PVC drain pipes for a nice base.

 

[rScotty]

Slab heat is NOT efficient for sporadic use. Not at all. Changing the temp within a heated building by 1 or 2 degrees may take 24hrs.

You would need to fill the piping with an anti-freeze fluid of some kind.

In sub freezing temps it would take floor heat 2-3 days to stabilize to a livable temp (70F).

I have in floor heat. I will never pour concrete without putting the special flexible pex pipe in. The pipe is cheap & doesn't have to be hooked up. But without it there is no chance.

In 2008 I built a new house and installed inexpensive in-floor heat with at twist....

We don't use it for heat, instead we use it to automatically set a baseline for the lowest temperature in the whole house. It's especially useful when we travel in the winter. We know that the inside of the house will never get below (or much above) 50 degrees - or whatever we set it at. The heat source is a Rheem hot water heater with propylene glycol/water mix for fluid. The HWH has its own thermostat of course.The HWH is set almost as low as it will go. The fluid is pushed through the pipes by a tiny circulator pump hooked to a wall thermostat. It draws only a tiny wattage - about like a light bulb. The whole system doesn't cost anything unless there is a cold snap - and then it isn't particularly efficient but who cares. It does its job with no maintenance and very little cost.

rScotty

 

[civilian]

Our county building dept will not allow hot water heaters to run floor heat. Jon

 

[ovrszd]

I have in floor heat. I will never pour concrete without putting the special flexible pex pipe in. The pipe is cheap & doesn't have to be hooked up. But without it there is no chance.

In 2008 I built a new house and installed inexpensive in-floor heat with at twist....

We don't use it for heat, instead we use it to automatically set a baseline for the lowest temperature in the whole house. It's especially useful when we travel in the winter. We know that the inside of the house will never get below (or much above) 50 degrees - or whatever we set it at. The heat source is a Rheem hot water heater with propylene glycol/water mix for fluid. The HWH has its own thermostat of course.The HWH is set almost as low as it will go. The fluid is pushed through the pipes by a tiny circulator pump hooked to a wall thermostat. It draws only a tiny wattage - about like a light bulb. The whole system doesn't cost anything unless there is a cold snap - and then it isn't particularly efficient but who cares. It does its job with no maintenance and very little cost.

rScotty

You most certainly use it for heat. The temp the thermostat is set on doesn't take away from it's function.

Your description is exactly how in floor heat works. Whatever your air temp thermostat is set on is what you get. Exception being huge temp swings, it might overheat a couple degrees.

The cost of operation is completely based on thermostat setting, outdoor temp and efficiency of building.

 

[ovrszd]

Our county building dept will not allow hot water heaters to run floor heat. Jon

I've read/heard this a lot. I know of a dozen or more systems using hot water heaters.

I also know of 3 systems using boilers.

No difference in performance.

What is their reason?

 

[civilian]

I've read/heard this a lot. I know of a dozen or more systems using hot water heaters.

I also know of 3 systems using boilers.

No difference in performance.

What is their reason?

Water heaters are for domestic / drinking uses, not to heat the rooms / house. Or something to that effect. And boilers are designed to heat the house and cost more. Jon

 

[pmsmechanic]

Go as big as you can with the door! You'll never regret it.

Also I noticed in the plans that you have an overhead door and your sliding doors in the same area of the building. Overhead from the side and sliding from the end. Unless there's a real good reason for it, having 2 larger doors in the same corner of the shop seems a bit redundant. You won't regret spacing them out a bit more to serve different area's of the shop.

Edited to add that I realize that eventually this is going to be your wife's building and what she wants, she wants, but I would point this out to her and get her to think about it for a bit.

 

[Doorman63]

Also I noticed in the plans that you have an overhead door and your sliding doors in the same area of the building. Overhead from the side and sliding from the end. Unless there's a real good reason for it, having 2 larger doors in the same corner of the shop seems a bit redundant. You won't regret spacing them out a bit more to serve different area's of the shop.

Edited to add that I realize that eventually this is going to be your wife's building and what she wants, she wants, but I would point this out to her and get her to think about it for a bit.

The shop is only 20x24……not much room to spread them out.

Update…….
Reached out to the builder……..
Timeframe pushed back to April.
The slab most likely sooner.
The slab sooner means I’d probably have all utilities and the driveway done before the buildings even built.

Father in law is a bit bummed.
He’s gonna be back from Florida in early May.

 

[ovrszd]

The shop is only 20x24……not much room to spread them out.

Update…….
Reached out to the builder……..
Timeframe pushed back to April.
The slab most likely sooner.
The slab sooner means I’d probably have all utilities and the driveway done before the buildings even built.

Father in law is a bit bummed.
He’s gonna be back from Florida in early May.

Good news, I think.

FIL just doesn't want to miss out on anything!!!!

 

[EddieWalker]

Did he say why it's being pushed back to April? When was the original start date? Are you getting any red flags? Always trust your gut when things start happening that you didn't expect to happen, and the reason doesn't make sense. In every case that I've come in to fix or finish a job, the client knew almost from the beginning that they where in trouble with their contractor.

 

[Doorman63]

Did he say why it's being pushed back to April? When was the original start date? Are you getting any red flags? Always trust your gut when things start happening that you didn't expect to happen, and the reason doesn't make sense. In every case that I've come in to fix or finish a job, the client knew almost from the beginning that they where in trouble with their contractor.

No real red flags
Weather/material delays.

They’ve always been responsive when reaching out and honest about how busy and short handed they are

 

[ovrszd]

No real red flags
Weather/material delays.

They’ve always been responsive when reaching out and honest about how busy and short handed they are

I assume your weather is similar to ours. April start isn't far off. Heck it may set in and rain the entire month of March.

 

[Doorman63]

Motion going forward on the barn build is slow…….
Talked to contractor last week and he’s supposed to get the forms/stone/grading done this week.
3 of his guys quit…..weather has been wet…..all a bit frustrating.

After forms are up I do underslab work next weekend
Electrical pipes
DWV for bathroom/kitchen/laundry.
If he pours the following week things will move forward
Water/septic trench
150’ gravel driveway
Electric pole/meter/disconnect

These tasks require the builder to do his part first……fingers crossed!!

 

[EddieWalker]

Who is doing the rebar?

 

[Doorman63]

Who is doing the rebar?

Not me…..not sure if he’s doing bar or wire honestly

 

[EddieWalker]

NEVER EVER use wire in concrete. For it to work, it has to be pulled into the concrete while pouring it. Usually they will pull it up when they first get started for pictures, but as soon as the work gets serious, nobody has time for posing for fake pictures. As soon as they pull it up, they walk on it and push it back down again. There are few absolutes in construction, but one of them is that is wire is used on a slab, it's on the bottom of the slab, not doing anything. The reason they like to use wire is that it's cheaper, faster and easy for them. If you are doing something small, and you do not have to walk in the concrete while spreading and leveling it, and the wire is in the middle or bottom third of the slab, then it's great. Since this is IMPOSSIBLE to do when walking on it, any contractor that wants to use wire instead of rebar should be fired immediately.

Same thing if they use rebar, but don't use chairs. If chairs are not used to support the rebar during the pour, the rebar will end up at the bottom of the slab and be worthless. Hack contractors don't like to use chairs because they trip over the rebar, and it makes it harder for them to spread the concrete.

Fiber is a fun gimmick that doesn't really accomplish much. Sometimes the fibers stick out of the slab when it's done and that can be really annoying. If used with rebar, and they mix the mud with too much water, fiber can help hide some of the cracking.

Concrete cracks because of too much water. When the excess water evaporates, a void is created in the slab, and it cracks. When pouring, the concrete should not flow smoothly, or be like soup. It should be like mashed potatoes. You want it to pile up, not spread out. When mixed properly, it's a lot more work for the crew to spread it. When water is added, it gets easier for them to spread it. Some will just keep adding water to the point of making soup.