My New York garage/house build

[wallaroo87]

Its kind of a weird idea to get your house as a package. This kind of houses are very rare in the netherlands. Every house here is build out of bricks and concrete. Only the roof is made out of wood. Also the floor of the houses here are from concrete not only downstairs every floor, only the old houses are from wood with bricks. I see sometimes videos on cnn where a whole neigberhood is destroyed by a storm. But if you make everything out of wood is it not your own fault when building a house out of wood? And how is the strength of a house like you are building? I mean if you jump on the first floor is it then like the whole room is vibrating?

 

[matty d]

Nice...I didnt get a chance to read everything (im a pictures guy), but have you thought about garage cabinets/flooring yet? Youre probably too busy thinking about all the other details of your house! Nice job already...keep us posted!

 

[Pate]

how is the strength of a house like you are building? I mean if you jump on the first floor is it then like the whole room is vibrating?

The house is very well built and notice nothing different when people are walking around upstairs. The entire house is getting a 3/4" oak floor put down, so that should also help deaden the sound.

I ran across a site when I was researching these homes and it showed a farm that had got hit by a tornado and the stick built barn was demolished and the modular house had been pulled off its foundation and thrown into a field. They picked it back up and bolted it back down. I'm sure it needed some inside repair, but the fact that it didn't shatter was the impressive part to me.

My neighbor thinks their is no way this house is a strong as a conventional stick built house. I asked him if he thought that his house could be picked up with a crane and moved? Silence.....

 

[Pate]

Nice...I didnt get a chance to read everything (im a pictures guy), but have you thought about garage cabinets/flooring yet? Youre probably too busy thinking about all the other details of your house! Nice job already...keep us posted!

Thanks to you guys and GJ, the garage is all I've been thinking about for a year. I plan for some type of coating system and have already contacted a local guy who did my friends garage a few years ago and a member here on GJ that does floors. I really wanted a polished and stained floor, but now realize Its just not practical and won't live through a NY winter.

As far as cabinets, I looked at every thread on this site and really like the Seville Classic line. I may buy a couple of the big standup cabinets and get them assembled and then decide if they are strong enough for my garage. I can always use them in my gun room in the basement. From what Ive seen, they look nice and should do the job.

I did the 12' ceiling height for a lift and plan to get a BendPak for the single bay. My Chevelle deserves a nice warm home finally.

 

[Pate]

Some interior shots.

The house is delivered with all the stuff needed to finish inside.

Beginning of the master shower stall.

 

[Justanoldguy]

Its kind of a weird idea to get your house as a package. This kind of houses are very rare in the netherlands. Every house here is build out of bricks and concrete. Only the roof is made out of wood. Also the floor of the houses here are from concrete not only downstairs every floor, only the old houses are from wood with bricks. I see sometimes videos on cnn where a whole neigberhood is destroyed by a storm. But if you make everything out of wood is it not your own fault when building a house out of wood? And how is the strength of a house like you are building? I mean if you jump on the first floor is it then like the whole room is vibrating?

90% of houses built here in NZ are wood and have been for near on 200 years.
I think you are out of touch with how a timber house is built and reacts to things.
Do some research.
EG . Earthquakes have had way less impact on timber buildings than brick or concrete here in NZ.

 

[Pate]

Pic of the temporary walls that come when the house is delivered.

 

[BMcC]

[/QUOTE]

When they poured your foundation, did you have them pour it with the intent to make a side room enclosed in concrete, or is that part of the building code for a modular home?

 

[Pate]

That was poured intentionally and will be used when the zombies come knocking!

It was figured into the design and elimated a couple of support columns. One regret I have is not having steel put into the house to eliminate all the columns. It wasn't offered as an option and it didn't dawn on me until after the house was "installed". I have a 9' ceiling so I guess it can be changed in the future and still have decent headroom.

 

[3pedal]

Nice build so far. I love the concrete room in the basement.

I'm closing on a modular tomorrow. They sure aren't the doublewides of 20 years ago. Can't wait to see the garage take shape.

 

[BMcC]

I was definitely definitely thinking zombie bunker room too. That or a home theater. In the zombie apocalypse the room might do both?

 

[Pate]

The room is 15' x 32' so it is large enough to put some furniture, tv, fridge and a lot of guns. It will be nice to be able to secure the entire room and be able to display some of my "toys". Being in the lock business allowed me to get a deal on a custom vault door that will keep the walking dead on the correct side of the room. My mistake was not Installing gun ports like they have on armored cars.

 

[Justanoldguy]

My mistake was not Installing gun ports like they have on armored cars.

A big *** concrete hole saw will fix that problem real quick.

 

[Pate]

A big *** concrete hole saw will fix that problem real quick.

Don't think I didn't consider it.

 

[wallaroo87]

90% of houses built here in NZ are wood and have been for near on 200 years.
I think you are out of touch with how a timber house is built and reacts to things.
Do some research.
EG . Earthquakes have had way less impact on timber buildings than brick or concrete here in NZ.

First i dont want to offend your kind of building houses. But friends of me in THE netherlands have houses where THE floor is from wood and if hou jump on That floor THE whole room is vibrating. You can hear this when glass cup with à spoon is standing on à table. You hear the sound of THE spoon Against THE cup. So thats why i Asked THE question. And thats only when floor is from wood, so if à whole house is from wood is it then worse That was my question. And of course THE houses these Days are much stronger becausé of new techniqies.

 

[Pate]

A few updates over the last few days.

Garage windows installed.

Sub panel installed in garage.

I asked them to protect the gas line from me putting a screw through it.

Gas line installed and passed.

Had them cut the plywood used for support during transport to run electric, speaker and air lines.

Not much to see (except my new truck), but water line and meter installed.

Precast piers for front porch.

 

[Pate]

Interior drywall patches getting done.

 

[Pate]

It seems "Alex" was here. He better pray he didn't scratch my counter.

 

[Pate]

Getting ready to build the porch.

 

[HOTFR8]

Looking good.

 

[neonnblack]

Ah!!!!!! the pictures, they are gone!!! aaaaah!!! i know it looks great though.

 

[WQ59B]

Some interesting construction details in first pic, post #56, IE: 5 sill plates and no headers over the windows.

 

[Pate]

Ah!!!!!! the pictures, they are gone!!! aaaaah!!! i know it looks great though.

I had to organize them online. I fixed all the links so the pics are back.

 

[Pate]

Some interesting construction details in first pic, post #56, IE: 5 sill plates and no headers over the windows.

You can see the whole wall better in this picture. The headers are way up top because they knew they would have to adjust the height of the windows on site because of the foundation height. The downside to panelized walls!

You can also see where the man door was prepped in the wrong spot.

 

[morfmedia]

Its kind of a weird idea to get your house as a package. This kind of houses are very rare in the netherlands. Every house here is build out of bricks and concrete. Only the roof is made out of wood. Also the floor of the houses here are from concrete not only downstairs every floor, only the old houses are from wood with bricks. I see sometimes videos on cnn where a whole neigberhood is destroyed by a storm. But if you make everything out of wood is it not your own fault when building a house out of wood? And how is the strength of a house like you are building? I mean if you jump on the first floor is it then like the whole room is vibrating?

I've never seen a pre fab house before but it looks awesome. We're not saying it's bad, just different to how it's done in Europe. Good luck with the garage fit out!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Its kind of a weird idea to get your house as a package. This kind of houses are very rare in the netherlands. Every house here is build out of bricks and concrete. Only the roof is made out of wood. Also the floor of the houses here are from concrete not only downstairs every floor, only the old houses are from wood with bricks.

Which is why not everyone can afford a single family home in EU and a much higher percentage of people live in apartment or multi-family buildings.

I see sometimes videos on cnn where a whole neigberhood is destroyed by a storm. But if you make everything out of wood is it not your own fault when building a house out of wood? And how is the strength of a house like you are building? I mean if you jump on the first floor is it then like the whole room is vibrating?

Designed and built properly a wooden structure can withstand a hurricane !

That was hurricane Ike, along the Gulf Coast in TX. The house was constructed a few years before the storm and included all "upgrades" that were recommended by builders AFTER hurricane Andrew destroyed so many homes in FL several years ago. Building codes for new construction in FL are much stricter. Most insurance companies require hurricane shutter be retrofitted to older home.

There was a first floor (garage, I think) that was designed to "blow away" and it obviously did. I remember one picture of that house and the A/C/heat pump was still attached to a platform on the side of the house.


As for "bouncing floors", again design correctly (which frequently means going beyond building codes), that is just nor a problem.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I really wanted a polished and stained floor, but now realize Its just not practical and won't live through a NY winter.

I have a friend who did that in his basement ! AWESOME !!!!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Questions, questions, question !

(Ooops, I should first say a fantastic build ! Can't wait to see how you finish the garage !!)

• With the shingles installed at the factory, how did they install the flashing where the roof meets a wall ?
• How is the roof attached to the walls ?
• Where sections meet up, how are mechanical connections like electrical, plumbing and heating handled ?
• What kind of insulation is in the walls ? Ceiling ?
• Who handled ordering the footings/concrete work, you or the factory ?
• Any "unusual" building techniques ?
• How are "rough" inspections handled ?

 

[Pate]

[*]With the shingles installed at the factory, how did they install the flashing where the roof meets a wall ?

The roof of the house never really meets a wall that would need to be flashed. The roof truss system is hinged and lays flat during transit. It's lifted on site and the end gables are installed. They also prefab the ridge and drop it in when the roof is lifted to the correct pitch. The garage roof was done on site using normal framing.

[*]How is the roof attached to the walls ?

The truss system is attached like any other house. It's nailed in and then plated and strapped per local codes.

[*]Where sections meet up, how are mechanical connections like electrical, plumbing and heating handled ?

The house has access panels cut in the floor and Sheetrock left off in locations where connections need to be made. The house had pipes prerun from the Top floor for the plumber to connect to. Everything in the basement was connected and run to the mechanicals like normal.

What kind of insulation is in the walls ? Ceiling ?

Ceiling was upgraded to R-50. Walls are R-19.

[*]Who handled ordering the footings/concrete work, you or the factory ?

You can go either way, but we chose "turn key". They are doing everything.

[*]Any "unusual" building techniques ?

The hinged roof truss system is not normal. The Sheetrock is all glued and screwed to prevent damage during transport. They use all standard lumber because they claim "regular" lumber has more resistance to being twisted and holds the house square until its installed.

[*]How are "rough" inspections handled ?

All the rough inspections are done at the factory and the modular company supplied a waiver to my local building inspector. My town was very receptive to modular construction and really helped me get through the process. The house meets Energy Star compliance and that makes the town happy

 

[BMcC]

Its kind of a weird idea to get your house as a package. This kind of houses are very rare in the netherlands. Every house here is build out of bricks and concrete. Only the roof is made out of wood. Also the floor of the houses here are from concrete not only downstairs every floor, only the old houses are from wood with bricks. I see sometimes videos on cnn where a whole neigberhood is destroyed by a storm. But if you make everything out of wood is it not your own fault when building a house out of wood? And how is the strength of a house like you are building? I mean if you jump on the first floor is it then like the whole room is vibrating?

A friend of mine was looking to build a house on his property and looked into pre-fab houses. He learned in researching them that the pre-fab houses are actually more sturdy than houses built on site, because they have to be strong enough to withstand shipping.

 

[Pate]

We've had some seroius rain the last few days and progress has been slow.

The posts for the porch are set and ready for construction.

Sewer line is in and inspected.

The temporary workshop.

Master shower drain.

Some spackle being done.

 

[Pate]

Almost ready for paint.

Garage door installed and rough electric in garage is done.

Grading is getting done now that the rain has stopped.

 

[HOTFR8]

I can see you must be happy with the progress.

 

[HankRutherfordHill]

awesome place you got coming along there, cant wait to see more updates.

 

[Pate]

I can see you must be happy with the progress.

You always hope for quicker progress, but they're working every day doing something.

On a more important note, I had a local company come by tonight and take some measurments for an estimate on a floor coating for the garage and basement. Priorities....

 

[HOTFR8]

You always hope for quicker progress, but they're working every day doing something.

On a more important note, I had a local company come by tonight and take some measurments for an estimate on a floor coating for the garage and basement. Priorities....

Never rush a good thing. Some times a delay may give you time to see a better way of doing something.

 

[Pate]

Some progress on the porch today.

 

[nonwing56]

Very nice and with a covered porch! what do your neighbors think? There is a company in Madison S.D. that builds modular homes and I think they put one in down the street from me, one day foundation next day house with walk out basement! Subscribed and what is the metal lined box by the door for?

 

[eatbreathedrive]

It's a proper living quarters! Very nicely done my friend, kudos.

 

[Pate]

Very nice and with a covered porch! what do your neighbors think? There is a company in Madison S.D. that builds modular homes and I think they put one in down the street from me, one day foundation next day house with walk out basement! Subscribed and what is the metal lined box by the door for?

Thanks for the compliments. All of my neighbors seem happy for us and that's the main reason we chose to build in place of our existing home and not move. Our neighbors are great and would hate to lose them.

The metal box is actually an air return for the ground floor AC system. The structure on a modular house isn't really designed to take AC vents, so they must be put in the floor on the 1st floor and the ceiling of the 2nd floor. They actually plan to cap that box with granite and make it a little shelf.