Raspy
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Some pictures of our new home project in Smith Valley.
Steel work
- Thread starter Raspy
- Start date
OP
Raspy
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More pictures
Mousefield
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So I have to ask, what is the building going to be used for? Looks like it will be fairly big, so how big is big. Thanks for the pics, always nice to see what and how projects are going.
OP
Raspy
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It's the steel framework for a 48 X 60 building with an additional 12 X 60 porch area. I am finishing it out as a house with exposed steel truss beams and posts.
It is turning out to be more trouble than I expected, but will be very nice in the end.
My New Holland has done more work than I ever imagined it could with all the foundation, trenching and septic systems, as well as setting all the posts, one of the rigid beams and some of the trusses.
The forks, the backhoe and the bucket crane have been amazing! And fun.
John
It is turning out to be more trouble than I expected, but will be very nice in the end.
My New Holland has done more work than I ever imagined it could with all the foundation, trenching and septic systems, as well as setting all the posts, one of the rigid beams and some of the trusses.
The forks, the backhoe and the bucket crane have been amazing! And fun.
John
woodlandfarms
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So what is was the motivation to go with steel for a home? Did you notice a big difference in costs as compared to stick built? Any code issues?
OP
Raspy
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Conventional building with wood has it's own set of problems and I just thought it would be fun to build with steel.
This building is rated for a 90 MPH blow, can't rot or sag over time, is open inside only needing partition walls and I just like steel. It is very fire resistant and it will be far stronger than the original design because we will sheet the entire exterior and use concrete siding
Originally I was going to build a shop first. Then a shop with a small apartment. Lot's of thinking went into what to do. Then we decided to get this very strong building and make it a home with a large garage. I deleted the conventional steel siding and added overhangs to make it better looking than a regular steel shop. Then we added a separate porch structure with trusses and a rear, south facing 12X60 porch area. The concrete floor will be the finish floor and will have radiant heating throughout. It has a very massive foundation and should last for many generations.
Unfortunately, even though the steel was not particularly expensive and is very heavy and high quality. There have been issues that have slowed us down. One thing is that everything must be right from the ground up. You can't just cut a stick a different length as in wood framing. This design also lends itself to being done in stages and over a longer period of time.
This building is rated for a 90 MPH blow, can't rot or sag over time, is open inside only needing partition walls and I just like steel. It is very fire resistant and it will be far stronger than the original design because we will sheet the entire exterior and use concrete siding
Originally I was going to build a shop first. Then a shop with a small apartment. Lot's of thinking went into what to do. Then we decided to get this very strong building and make it a home with a large garage. I deleted the conventional steel siding and added overhangs to make it better looking than a regular steel shop. Then we added a separate porch structure with trusses and a rear, south facing 12X60 porch area. The concrete floor will be the finish floor and will have radiant heating throughout. It has a very massive foundation and should last for many generations.
Unfortunately, even though the steel was not particularly expensive and is very heavy and high quality. There have been issues that have slowed us down. One thing is that everything must be right from the ground up. You can't just cut a stick a different length as in wood framing. This design also lends itself to being done in stages and over a longer period of time.
woodlandfarms
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Raspy... Do you have any drawings of the final design? I would love to see the elevations or perspective.
Also, keep the pix up. I am very interested in a steel home. Trying to convince the wife is something entirely different.
Also, keep the pix up. I am very interested in a steel home. Trying to convince the wife is something entirely different.
OP
Raspy
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Woodland,
I got an engineer to draw a complete set of house plans based on the steel building. The building has it's own approvals and engineering stamps. The interior had to meet current codes with windows, insulation, electrical and ventilation codes, etc.
I had to decide in advance on a lot of issues because I needed the building permit before I could get power. So the plans had to be complete and ready to go.
The plan was designed to be on a flat surface, but I picked a spot that was sloping about 5' across the house. This meant a much more complicated foundation with 3' square posts every twelve feet and stem walls with a large amount of backfill.
The house has a 36' deep by 28' wide garage with two 10' doors. Two bedrooms and two baths. Oil fired radiant heat with at least four thermstats, a wood stove and thermal solar. There is an area that will start out open but can be converted to another room if I want to later. The pictures show the covered entry porch and the beginnings of the rear porch area that runs the length of the house. The entry porch is about 5' off the ground and the garage doors are at ground level. There is a "cave" under the porch for storage.
If you are interested I could post some more pix or, maybe, scan the floor plan. One of the key differences from a conventional steel building is the overhang detail. It has factory built steel overhang structures that add three feet at the eve. End walls will have conventional looking overhangs with extended 2X10 purlins. These changes and the elimination of the regular steel siding make it look like a home instead of a shop. In the end it will not look like a steel shop from the outside, and inside, it will be open in some areas and have 9' ceilings in others. The verticle truss posts and truss beams will be visible in some areas. I don't feel the need to box them in because they are so nicely made and interesting to look at. Ceiling insulation will be done in a couple of ways, but the entire roof will be sheeted with OSB and insulated from below in the 2X10 purlin areas. The purlins are wood and run opposite the direction of the main trusses.
Diagonal bracing was another consideration. The normal way to do it on these buildings is with 5/8" rods and bolts in some areas and 3", "X" straps, in other areas. This blocked where I wanted windows, so I had them change the design to "rigid" bracing where reinforced or H beam posts bolt to huge box beams with large flanges, to resist the seizmic loads and transfer them to the ground bolts. I'll also be sheeting the exterior for other reasons, so that will make the structure even more stiff. It definately won't be weak. :laughing:
Progress is slow because every little problem concerning bolts or steel must be dealt with properly and the slab height is a constant consideration with post placement. I already had to cut and weld the rigid beams because they were the wrong length and the foundation contractor made the bolts too short in one area, so I had to extend them up. These are just a couple of the setbacks that add time to the project. I am pouring the slab after the roof goes on so I can continue to drive the forklift around inside on gravel. This also means no underground plumbing until I'm ready to do the slab. I'm planning on about a 6" to 8" slab poured in three stages. This will have rebar in both directions at about 9 to 12 inches. Each section of wall or truss that goes up must be done so it doesn't block the erection of something else and so that it stands safely until connected with the next section. I'm using the tractor, to hand off to the forklift, to lift and hold till I go up on the ladder, to connect bolts and stabalizing conduits for all this. Lots of planning and climbing. But fun. So far I've done almost all the steel work by myself including making the "A" frame for the tractor. Once in a while my wife holds the tape, measures, hands me something, or "eyeballs" a post, along with sorting out the steel puzzle and reading the plans. The dogs are mainly there for chasing rabbits, "warning" of dear in the area by watching them very closely, and as a general greeting commitee and group af pals.
Building out in the country like this is a real pleasure.
I got an engineer to draw a complete set of house plans based on the steel building. The building has it's own approvals and engineering stamps. The interior had to meet current codes with windows, insulation, electrical and ventilation codes, etc.
I had to decide in advance on a lot of issues because I needed the building permit before I could get power. So the plans had to be complete and ready to go.
The plan was designed to be on a flat surface, but I picked a spot that was sloping about 5' across the house. This meant a much more complicated foundation with 3' square posts every twelve feet and stem walls with a large amount of backfill.
The house has a 36' deep by 28' wide garage with two 10' doors. Two bedrooms and two baths. Oil fired radiant heat with at least four thermstats, a wood stove and thermal solar. There is an area that will start out open but can be converted to another room if I want to later. The pictures show the covered entry porch and the beginnings of the rear porch area that runs the length of the house. The entry porch is about 5' off the ground and the garage doors are at ground level. There is a "cave" under the porch for storage.
If you are interested I could post some more pix or, maybe, scan the floor plan. One of the key differences from a conventional steel building is the overhang detail. It has factory built steel overhang structures that add three feet at the eve. End walls will have conventional looking overhangs with extended 2X10 purlins. These changes and the elimination of the regular steel siding make it look like a home instead of a shop. In the end it will not look like a steel shop from the outside, and inside, it will be open in some areas and have 9' ceilings in others. The verticle truss posts and truss beams will be visible in some areas. I don't feel the need to box them in because they are so nicely made and interesting to look at. Ceiling insulation will be done in a couple of ways, but the entire roof will be sheeted with OSB and insulated from below in the 2X10 purlin areas. The purlins are wood and run opposite the direction of the main trusses.
Diagonal bracing was another consideration. The normal way to do it on these buildings is with 5/8" rods and bolts in some areas and 3", "X" straps, in other areas. This blocked where I wanted windows, so I had them change the design to "rigid" bracing where reinforced or H beam posts bolt to huge box beams with large flanges, to resist the seizmic loads and transfer them to the ground bolts. I'll also be sheeting the exterior for other reasons, so that will make the structure even more stiff. It definately won't be weak. :laughing:
Progress is slow because every little problem concerning bolts or steel must be dealt with properly and the slab height is a constant consideration with post placement. I already had to cut and weld the rigid beams because they were the wrong length and the foundation contractor made the bolts too short in one area, so I had to extend them up. These are just a couple of the setbacks that add time to the project. I am pouring the slab after the roof goes on so I can continue to drive the forklift around inside on gravel. This also means no underground plumbing until I'm ready to do the slab. I'm planning on about a 6" to 8" slab poured in three stages. This will have rebar in both directions at about 9 to 12 inches. Each section of wall or truss that goes up must be done so it doesn't block the erection of something else and so that it stands safely until connected with the next section. I'm using the tractor, to hand off to the forklift, to lift and hold till I go up on the ladder, to connect bolts and stabalizing conduits for all this. Lots of planning and climbing. But fun. So far I've done almost all the steel work by myself including making the "A" frame for the tractor. Once in a while my wife holds the tape, measures, hands me something, or "eyeballs" a post, along with sorting out the steel puzzle and reading the plans. The dogs are mainly there for chasing rabbits, "warning" of dear in the area by watching them very closely, and as a general greeting commitee and group af pals.
Building out in the country like this is a real pleasure.
RedOak
New member
Nice work, John! 
I'm very glad to [finally] find someone who's working on the same type of project. You're much further along than we are -- we're still in the planning stages -- but finding another "hybrid home builder" is great!
Are you pretty much on your own out there? That is, are you building on a fairly large parcel of land? We see some buildings off in the distance, so we were wondering if you have enough privacy to work at your own pace...
I'm very glad to [finally] find someone who's working on the same type of project. You're much further along than we are -- we're still in the planning stages -- but finding another "hybrid home builder" is great!Are you pretty much on your own out there? That is, are you building on a fairly large parcel of land? We see some buildings off in the distance, so we were wondering if you have enough privacy to work at your own pace...
