My Industrial Cabin Build

[747driver]

You guys are almost there !! I like the look of the exposed post sticking out . Once finished out it will really enhance the exposed look of a timber build. Will there be drywall or wood on the walls or maybe even some kind of stone work ?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

When our new church building was being built a few years ago I put up a fixed IP camera (after slab was poured) and got all the construction at about 1 picture per minute. I made a time lapse video using only some of the pictures, and it was still a very long video. It’s neat to watch the time lapse video. I should make it available on our web site.

That view from behind the house would have made for a good time lapse.

 

[ovrszd]

Also. I think it was Buckeye who asked how we were finishing the concrete. My wife wants to stain it. I don稚. I would like to just clean it well and wax it. Or epoxy it. I prefer wax because it is easier to remove and reapply. For a family, it isnt something you have to do on a regular basis. I dont mind the floor showing Wear. I like the way a cement floor looks after a few years when the aggregate shows thru some worn spots. We have a couple nice rugs that will be down and I am certain my wife will buy others. There are a lot of options.

We stained/sealed/wax (polish) our concrete floor. We hired it done. If I remember correctly it cost $2.50 per square foot. We've been on it a year. Next Winter we will put on another coat of polish. Terry really likes it. Her only complaint is you have to frequently dust mop it because everything shows. Plus side is the house is very clean because you don't have dirt buried in carpet. She uses throw rugs.

 

[dstig1]

You really don't want raw concrete as the primary floor. The surface generates dust on it's own that gets very annoying as it is persistent. If you aren't going to stain and seal you may want to use a concrete densifier like Ashford Formula and consider polishing it, perhaps.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

You really don't want raw concrete as the primary floor. The surface generates dust on it's own that gets very annoying as it is persistent. If you aren't going to stain and seal you may want to use a concrete densifier like Ashford Formula and consider polishing it, perhaps.

Polishing runs $5-$10 pre square foot around here. So thats out. We will do a stain, wax/polish. We have some oriental rugs and some other throw rugs that my wife has bought and I am sure she will buy more. The first step will be to clean it really well and open up the pores then stain and seal with wax I like the surface that you get from sealed concrete and if we ever feel like we need something different, there are lots options. I remember pulling the wall to wall carpeting out of the house I sold last year. That was about 10 years ago. It had oak floors under it and They were in great shape. The difference in how the house felt is remarkable. The house we live in now has wide wood flooring that was salvaged from another house. I bought a Dyson V-10 when we moved in 2 years ago. A great investment. I remember being absolutely amazed at how clean the floors were and how great it felt to be barefoot on wood floors

 

[dstig1]

Oh. I thought you said you weren't going to seal it...need to read better I guess...

 

[WoodChuckDad]

This weekend we completed the back wall. Progress is slow, but it is definitely progress.
We went up a fee days this week after work. You really only get to peck at things that late but it is still work being put in.

I am really happy with the way it looks. There is still a mountain of work in front of me to be done. But it makes the place feel different. It is hard to describe.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Awesome, pretty day!!

 

[ronjhall]

Great pictures.

 

[deezler]

Great job, woodchuck. Your perseverance is truly admirable.

My house (built by contractor in 2014/15) has a pretty similar vibe - single slope roof, on-slab, semi industrial look, etc. We were trying to build the greenest, most energy efficient small home that we could on our very limited budget. http://giraffedesignbuild.com/project/passive-solar/#slide-0
Interior pics (including concrete floor finish) : Parade of Homes Tour Photos June 2016 - Google Photos

We also had a remote building site, so opted to avoid natural gas line expenses and went all-electric. With 16 solar panels on the roof, we're net-zero now. This thread is too long now to review in full, but what are your appliance plans? Heat-pump water heaters and clothes dryers can cut your electric usage in half. I think you have PEX in the slab for heating, right? I wonder if anyone has made a heat pump heater work for hydronic, too?

All your pics (which are great) are from the rear of the house. I understand it makes for a good overview because you can get some elevation above the ground floor level. Do you have any good vantage points from the front side? I threw an old wooden extension ladder against a tree in front my house, so I could climb up and take pics every day during the build (and many more after as we finished up the landscaping, etc). Still need to stitch them all together into a short video!

As for the exposed concrete floors in our build, we did not polish, etch or epoxy. Those things all take time and lots of money. We simply ensured that our concrete guy knew how smooth the finish would be, so he helicoptered the crap out of the pour and we got good results. Then after the dirty part of the build was done, we mopped 5 times (dont skimp on this!!!), and did a simple mixture of red paint pigment into a clear, natural polyurethane. 5 years later, it is holding up amazingly well. Yes, some of the high spots are worn off and its faded a bit, but its kind of a lovely patina at this point. It will probably be years more until we need to re-do it. And as you note, you will cover up a lot of the high traffic and living areas with rugs or mats. If you haven't lived on a concrete floor yet, let me warn you: It's very hard on your feet and legs. We invested in some cushioned anti-fatigue mats for the places you stand and walk the most (kitchen, bathroom sinks, hallways) and even still you find yourself wanting to wear padded slippers in winter, or flip flops in the summer. But it's still a choice I would make again, no question - It looks great and the concrete slab stores so much thermal energy, that the house temp is solid as a rock. Tomorrow the temps will go from 60 in the morning to mid 90s by afternoon, and I know we won't need to run the A/C. It takes multiple 90+ days in a row for the house temp to get up over 80 inside (I should probably note that our house is earth-bermed and R30 walls, R50 roof).