Starting New House Finally!

[capt jack]

Alan,
You know where the piers are (at corners, beam intersections, under the chimmney) just cut the black poly reach in and make SURE there is'nt a shovel full of dirt sluffed off on top of the pier. Then you can tape the poly back. I'm sure you have a good contractor, but if you don't CYA no one else will.
Jack

 

[Alan L.]

Alan,
You know where the piers are (at corners, beam intersections, under the chimmney) just cut the black poly reach in and make SURE there is'nt a shovel full of dirt sluffed off on top of the pier. Then you can tape the poly back. I'm sure you have a good contractor, but if you don't CYA no one else will.
Jack

There are 49 piers so I won't be able to check them myself but I emailed the GC so we'll see. I am at work and will be at a seminar tomorrow while they pour.

I know there was some sand on the tops of the piers that I could observe on the outside, but didn't seem like enough to hurt anything, and would probably get absorbed into the concrete. The sand blows around so it makes no sense to get it perfectly clean until right before pouring. there is also some sand that has already blown into the bottoms of the beams on top of the plastic, but maybe only a fraction of an inch.

 

[Alan L.]

I just talked to the GC and he said to rest assured the piers will be clean before the pour.

 

[Alan L.]

Poured the slab today! Just in time, as we are expecting a hard freeze Thursday night.

 

[EddieWalker]

Congratulations Alan!!!

The hardest part is done, the rest is easy.

Eddie

 

[jinman]

Poured the slab today! Just in time, as we are expecting a hard freeze Thursday night.

Perfect timing, Alan. That slab will be nicely set before the chill and the ground will be warm enough that it won't matter. Congratulations, you are on your way.

 

[Jagmandave]

Could you explain what the cables do again? I'm not sure I understand that........

 

[Alan L.]

Could you explain what the cables do again? I'm not sure I understand that........

This is from the Portland Cement Association:

While concrete is strong in compression, it is weak in tension. Steel is strong under forces of tension, so combining the two elements results in the creation of very strong concrete components. Post-tensioning can help create innovative concrete components that are thinner, longer, and stronger than ever before.

Many of today’s “high-performance” concrete structures, including many landmark bridges and buildings, employ some type of prestressing. Parking garages, high-rise residential towers, and many other kinds of structures also employ post-tensioning techniques.

------

The cables are pulled to a particular tightness 2 or 3 days after pouring the slab, then again to 26,000 pounds 10 to 14 days after pouring. After the second tensioning, they plug the holes with cement.

It is a specialized post tension company that does the stressing, not the foundation contractor.

 

[Alan L.]

Congratulations Alan!!!

The hardest part is done, the rest is easy.

Eddie

I hope this is the case. My friend GC told me if I stress over the rest of the house as much as I did the foundation I won't live long enough to enjoy it.

Thanks, Jinman, I only hope it turns out half as good as yours did.

 

[heehaw]

take a look at the link i put in energy saving tips: theres lots of info for folks building a new home..it could help cut your utility bills a lot.
heehaw

 

[heehaw]

Texas is the only state i have ever heard of using cables in concrete like this: its a great idea: but strange to me that its not done in more areas? i was "told" once, that the reason its done in texas, is they could have a gulley washer and almost all of the soil under the house be washed away, and the house still stand??? don't know if thats true or not, but sounded interesting.
heehaw

 

[Alan L.]

After one day of framing we have some stuff sticking up on the air! Looks like a big box right now.

 

[Alan L.]

take a look at the link i put in energy saving tips: theres lots of info for folks building a new home..it could help cut your utility bills a lot.
heehaw

Thanks, we are doing the following:

1. Foam insulation
2. Energy efficient clad windows and doors.
3. High efficiency HVAC (2 Trane 16i systems)
4. Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV)
5. Tankless LPG water heater

 

[jinman]

After one day of framing we have some stuff sticking up on the air! Looks like a big box right now.

Wow! There's something growin' out in your cow pasture, Alan. You must have a "mob" of framers to make that much progress in one day. Lookin' good!

 

[heehaw]

you will be very glad about all the things you mentioned, especially the foam insulation: if your contractor doesn't do it, make sure you chaulk around your windows really well...
heehaw

 

[EddieWalker]

Alan,

Sure must be exiting times out there!!!

Take lots and lots of pictures and organize them when you download them. Steph and I used different cameras and our files are a mess. I've spent hours trying to get them in order and make sense of them.

Eddie

 

[heehaw]

don't forget solar board for the decking on the roof: its the same as normal decking, but has a shiny material on one side: it will pay for the difference in cost within a couple years in energy savings:
heehaw

 

[Alan L.]

don't forget solar board for the decking on the roof: its the same as normal decking, but has a shiny material on one side: it will pay for the difference in cost within a couple years in energy savings:
heehaw

Heehaw, our plan is to use the decking with the radiant barrier on the bottom in areas that are not foamed. The extent of foaming in the attic will depend on the quotes we get after some of the framing is up. In any areas of the roof that are foamed, they tell me the radiant barrier is of no benefit.

At a minimum, all roof areas that are roof on top and ceiling on bottom (cathedral and a shed roof on the back side of the second floor to raise up the ceiling height for the balcony) will be foamed. We also plan to put 1/2" rigid foam on the underside of the rafters and apply the sheetrock to that, to help prevent thermal bridging on the rafters. The rafters on the cathedral will be 2 by 12's so I might add 5.5" batt insulation below the foam (which can only be 6"), plus the rigid foam under that.

 

[Alan L.]

Alan,

Sure must be exiting times out there!!!

Take lots and lots of pictures and organize them when you download them. Steph and I used different cameras and our files are a mess. I've spent hours trying to get them in order and make sense of them.

Eddie

Eddie, I use Picasa, a free Google program to deal with my pics. I use a folder for each day up download pics, like 2006_12_06 so they sort right, and its easy to see them in date order. Picasa is great for cropping and emailing compressed versions while still retaining the original pictures.

Not much progress today as they were waiting for 3 big gluelam beams and web trusses to arrive (these go between floors). They got some ceiling joists up, and the headers around the perimeters of all the porches.

I already have a screwup. Long story short, during rough-in we changed from a 6' corner tub to a 5' foot corner tub and decided with the plumber to make my shower a foot longer toward the tub to make up the difference, and he moved his shower drain so that it would center on the new proposed shower size. Nobody told the framer so the shower is framed as the plan shows, and the drain is not centered. Also, the shower is framed like a closet, all the way to the 9' ceiling, whereas Mrs. Alan L. wanted it upen at the top.

I have not even spoken with anyone about but I think I am going to leave it. There is a 4 by 4 casement window that centers very nicely on the 6' wall behind the tub, and so we think we will just use that extra foot for a ledge next to the tub that will be tiled and she can put a pot plant or two on it. Plus, I think they can just frame in some rectanges up high on 2 sides of the shower enclosure to vent the steam, and line the openings with tile. I would hope that would look good. As for the drain, we might move the shower head from the center of the back wall to the wall adjacent to the tub (on the right). The water lines can be re-routed through the walls.

I am attaching a couple of pics. The one with the window is over the tub but the tub would actually only take up 5' of the 6' opening that the window is centered in. We would then put the ledge on the left side for plants, presumably just below the bottom of the window.

We'll keep thinking about it, but I think this is the way we will go.

I also think I put one of my floor plugs to close to the front door. You open the front door, and there is the floor plug 6'6" in front of you. I would have like to have moved it a foot further. One of the drawbacks to having any kind of foyer. The front door just opens right into the living room. I just couldn't get a foyer to work in this plan.

 

[Alan L.]

Wow! There's something growin' out in your cow pasture, Alan. You must have a "mob" of framers to make that much progress in one day. Lookin' good!

I think there were about 7 or 8 guys in the crew. The morning they started I think it was about 25 or so degrees at 7:30 in the morning. I told the boss he was welcome to build a fire if needed. He said his guys would be standing around the fire instead of working, so there wouldn't be a fire.

Mrs. Alan L. wanted to make lemonade for the those guys digging the foundation. I told her the boss wouldn't be happy about his guys standing around drinking lemonade when they should be digging.

These guys remind me of me when I was 18. I wouldn't want to do it now though.