To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

MG David

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
192
Location
Warwick UK
Thomas, are your internal wall heights planned to make use of a standard stud length without cutting? If so will it also correspond with a standard plaster board (sheet rock) sheet size?

If so I can imagine it making for a very efficient build.
 

rmalkow2

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 26, 2009
Messages
4,087
Location
Brighton, MI
Thanks for taking us along on this journey. Your planning and preparation are just outstanding and the end result will show the benefits.
 

71 MKIV

Active member
Joined
Dec 20, 2013
Messages
32
Location
Lancaster PA
Hey Thomas?
Dumb question du jour.

The sealed concrete looks gorgeous. Do you have any concern that a coat of sawdust will make it slippery?

Thanks

Steve, aka 71 MKIV
 

csp

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
5,719
Location
Franktown, CO
It took me a while to catch up on this thread. I love pictures of home building and took hundreds while we built our home.

It was cool to see the Form-A-Drain in use. My dad used it on his home and we considered it, but with a walkout basement and how our home sits at the crest of a hill, we only really needed a foundation drain on two sides so conventional drain tile was used on the outside of the footers.

I was curious, did the backfill after gravel occur in lifts that were compacted? From this photo below it looks like they just dumped the native soil back into the excavation without any compaction. It could be that it appears that way just because this is a corner though.

IMG_7336_zpseweyuebk.jpg
 
OP
B

BB767

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Messages
3,724
Location
Philo, IL
Questions Answered

Thomas, are your internal wall heights planned to make use of a standard stud length without cutting? If so will it also correspond with a standard plaster board (sheet rock) sheet size?

If so I can imagine it making for a very efficient build.

Yes they will David. There should be no cutting of the studs and minimal drywall cutting. The wall height is 9' (2.7 m) and we'll be using pre-cut studs so building the walls will go up very quickly.



We're pre-building corners (on left) and headers, (on right). Having those done ahead of time will greatly speed up the process.



The headers were assembled with the crown toward the top and they're all marked, ready to go.

Hey Thomas?
Dumb question du jour.

The sealed concrete looks gorgeous. Do you have any concern that a coat of sawdust will make it slippery?

Thanks

Steve, aka 71 MKIV

That's an excellent thought Steve and not dumb in the slightest. You'd think it would be slippery, won't you?



When we were building the walls in the basement we did all the cutting down there and generated heaps of sawdust and it wasn't slippery that any of us noticed. So I guess the answer to your question is....no. ;)

It took me a while to catch up on this thread. I love pictures of home building and took hundreds while we built our home......


.....I was curious, did the backfill after gravel occur in lifts that were compacted? From this photo below it looks like they just dumped the native soil back into the excavation without any compaction. It could be that it appears that way just because this is a corner though.


Thanks for joining us csp. For better or worse there is a lot of material here to sort through. I too, am heavily documenting the construction. Besides taking on site pictures with my hand camera...



...I have a time lapse camera working that is...



...mounted under the carport of the barn.



It's mounted about 15' (4.5 m) above the ground...



...and is enclosed in a weather proof housing.



After I programed it, it's hands off and is doing great job recording the building site. The idea is when the house is complete to produce a sped up video of the house being built in around 6 minutes or less. So far I have about an hour of video which will be edited. Better to have too much material than not enough.

Now for your question about the rock back fill. Matt Esker tells me the rock they specify for back-fill on their basements is angular, so it interlocks with itself and doesn't settle. It's 98% compacted after it's back-filled. They use a minimum of 2' (61 cm) rock on top of the footing tiles and then back fill with clay/soil. I know that when I walk on it I don't leave much in the way of a foot print. The rock doesn't move much under foot. This has worked successfully for them for decades and I expect it will for me as well. Excellent observation on your part.

Thomas
 
OP
B

BB767

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Messages
3,724
Location
Philo, IL
Floor Trusses

The floor trusses arrived today.



I was all prepared to do a post about them...........but I'm going to bed instead. Long days and I'm pooped. :eek:

We got a bunch done, and the work is proceeding nicely. Stand by.

Tired Thomas
 

oldschoolbob

Active member
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
Messages
32
I love watching this build.

I'm surprised you didn't use California corner framing - Can you get insulation in the hollow corners? Also why not put insulation board between the 2 x 12's on the headers?
 

oldschoolbob

Active member
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
Messages
32
I also noticed the basement walls look short. Do the floor trusses hang on the sill plates or do they set on top of the plates?
 

csp

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
5,719
Location
Franktown, CO
Now for your question about the rock back fill. Matt Esker tells me the rock they specify for back-fill on their basements is angular, so it interlocks with itself and doesn't settle.

I was actually asking about the soil that went back in on top of the rock. ;)

I also noticed the basement walls look short.

IIRC, the concrete was formed for 10' walls in the basement.
 
OP
B

BB767

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Messages
3,724
Location
Philo, IL
I love watching this build.

I'm surprised you didn't use California corner framing - Can you get insulation in the hollow corners? Also why not put insulation board between the 2 x 12's on the headers?

Hi oldschoolbob and thanks for your interest and support. I'm glad you're enjoying watching me build the house. It's truly rewarding doing the construction. We'll be able to insulate those corners with no problem. As for the headers, if you put insulation board between the 2 X 12's on the headers you loose all the strength that comes from sistering them together.

I also noticed the basement walls look short. Do the floor trusses hang on the sill plates or do they set on top of the plates?

Scroll back to the top of this page to post #9561. Look at the 4th picture and you'll see that the trusses sit on top of the frame walls we built in the basement. No doubt that's' why the walls look short. :thumbup:

I was actually asking about the soil that went back in on top of the rock. ;)......

Oh,..... sorry 'bout that. We only back filled the corners until we get the floor trusses installed. The long basement walls could crack if we put too much side pressure on them until they're supported at the top. The corners are self supporting but we won't do any compacting of the back-fill until all the metal I beams and wood floor trusses are installed. Just being conservative. Wouldn't want to harm Matt's fine concrete work. :)

Thomas
 
OP
B

BB767

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Messages
3,724
Location
Philo, IL
Floor Trusses

The truck delivering the trusses was too long and was unable to make the turn by the barn...



...so he backed up and we unloaded the shorter trusses with the GEHL.



There was a clearance problem between the barn and a tree...



...but this load had about a foot to spare on each side.




The longer trusses had to be unloaded in place...






We then took a lifting strap and slung the load under one of the forks. By doing that we could pivot the load through the tight spaces. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of that, I was steadying the load.



You can see each truss is labeled and they came with a print that showed each placement. Some assembly required I think it said. :dunno:



All the first floor trusses are now on site. We're still waiting for the I beams before we can install the majority of the trusses but...



...we did finish the trusses in this section.



The arrows point to where they hang on the sill plates.





On the other end they rest on top of the load bearing wall we built in the basement.



This is a short truss sitting on top of the stairwell wall.



For all you golfers out there, this is the divot...



...left by the truss bundle when it was unloaded and it dug in. :sad:

I can fix that. ;)

Stand by, more is coming.

Thanks everyone, another great day, divot and all.

Thomas
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
OP
B

BB767

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Messages
3,724
Location
Philo, IL
Another Good Day

It was a good day with a lot getting done.



Ray and I built the basement stairs. We installed the studs for an inside wall in the stairway first.



Using treated studs because they contact concrete, the studs were turned on their sides and installed with tapcons.



The stair stringers were cut...







...and then installed.



Temporary treads were screwed down using 3" (7.6 cm) long screws.



The final treads will be installed when the house is just about finished.



The garage walls...



...were framed as well but I'll do more on that later because...

Chris and I had an event this evening that...





...the organizers requested my coupe for display. It was held in an aircraft hanger...



...that they completely transformed.



I didn't get home till late and I'm going to finish posting the house material tomorrow. I know you all understand. 16 hour days do that to you. ;)

To be continued.

Thomas
 

SiGmA_X

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Messages
1,111
Location
Portland, OR
Great progress. And wow your coupe looks great.

I wish I had the ability to do 16hr days. I'm less than half your age and 12s take it out of me!
 

Gingger22pm

Active member
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
38
Thomas. Respect re. the house build and being committed enough to lengthen each exhausting day by sitting in front of the Mac (points in the test there, Chris uses the PC ;-) ) and telling us about it.

But I am shocked and stunned my friend, this is bigger than clocked switchplategate! Horrified to see the time lapse camera secured in place by cable, or zip, ties that haven't been trimmed off! With flush cuts, obviously.....
 
Last edited:

jbmatth

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 3, 2013
Messages
5,681
Location
Northern Ok.
Thomas, I have never used tapcon screws. Do you have to drill and plug the concrete?

David,
I'll do a quick answer for you to give Thomas a little break but I'm sure he will be far more detailed in his response. Tapcons do require pre-drilling, I typically drill a hole in the wood with a smaller wood bit then run the supplied (typically supplied in my experience) hammer drill bit or masonry bit. You then use a nut driver to fill tighten the Tapcon. They are very strong but I would not use them in a shear loaded situation.
JB
 

gasgas17

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 7, 2009
Messages
443
Location
Nova Scotia, Canada
Tapcons are also great fastener for some thing like a work bench that you may want to remove at a later time, as they just unscrew and only leave a small 3/16" hole. For more permanent work we use typically use strikers. Basically a thick coated concrete nail requiring a 3/16" pre-drilled hole the same as a Tapcon. But they don't come out very easy if at at. We have pulled them out with a large pry bar, but they often bring a 3" divot of concrete with them.

It's interesting to watch this build as the building methods are so similar to ours, but yet so different in the details. We don't have termites here so no copper around the sill plates here. We are also not allowed to use treated lumber inside the building here due to off gassing. We use a treated 2"x 4" plate embedded into the outside edge of the wall pour and then sill gasket and all regular framing lumber from then on. We have to place plastic between wood and concrete to prevent moisture transfer.

And the zip ties...........................Oh my gosh!
 

stillp

Well-known member
Joined
May 5, 2015
Messages
428
Location
Midlands, UK
"16 hour days do that to you. " Thomas, you're obviously putting in a lot of work yourself. How common is it in the US for customers to get so involved with the build? Over here most contractors wouldn't let the customer on their site while they're working, if only for insurance reasons.

Pete
 

HCNDM

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
682
Location
Netherlands (tiny little country in western Europe
Hi Thomas,

I have been lurking on your thread for a while and can only say I am thoroughly impressed.

I had to google tapcon. I've never seen the used here in the Netherlands.

We use these

2852adbf2620a9b5ca3afb7e97a32b86.jpg

You pre drill a hole and hammer in the screw. If you ever need to remove it you can simply unscrew them. They come in all sizes.

Again: awesome builds



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

GoodJobTim

Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2012
Messages
18
Location
Magnolia, Tx
"16 hour days do that to you. " Thomas, you're obviously putting in a lot of work yourself. How common is it in the US for customers to get so involved with the build? Over here most contractors wouldn't let the customer on their site while they're working, if only for insurance reasons.

Pete

Pete, it's not normal or welcomed here either by the contractors. Mr. Thomas has obviously arranged an exception.
 
OP
B

BB767

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Messages
3,724
Location
Philo, IL
...we did finish the trusses in this section.



Those are some heavy duty trusses, are you parking school buses in this room??

A few of my pet peeves are walls that move or flex when you shut a door, floors and stairs (and railings!) that aren't solid. I greatly dislike floors that give a little when you walk on them, or a hand rail that wiggles when you grab it and stair treads that are loose. Hate 'em, hate 'em!!

And they look to be 12" OC. Should be very solid floor.



You're close, they're really 16" OC. Note they line up with the wall studs below them. We hadn't installed the header in the doorway in this picture. That was the first wall we framed and the 2 X 12's hadn't arrived yet. We'll install it later.


Of course the garage walls would be the first to go up!

I was wondering if someone would notice that. :D

..........

But I am shocked and stunned my friend, this is bigger than clocked switchplategate! Horrified to see the time lapse camera secured in place by cable, or zip, ties that haven't been trimmed off! With flush cuts, obviously.....



Well that was deliberate of course. :) Not only is this is a temporary set up, I wanted folks to notice the installation and steer clear of it and not bump it.



You might note that I did use high density foam between the wood block and the post and also I padded all four corners between the zip ties and the post so I wouldn't leave a mark on the painted post.
 
Last edited:
OP
B

BB767

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 24, 2009
Messages
3,724
Location
Philo, IL
"16 hour days do that to you. " Thomas, you're obviously putting in a lot of work yourself. How common is it in the US for customers to get so involved with the build? Over here most contractors wouldn't let the customer on their site while they're working, if only for insurance reasons.

Pete

Hi there Pete. To say I'm obviously putting in a lot of work myself...



...is a true statement! I'm one of the regular crew. (When framing really cranks up there will be a total of 4 of us) In the morning I'm the first one on site getting everything ready and at the end of the day, after everyone's gone, I clean up so when they come back the next day the floors are all swept, trash picked up, tools and materials straighten up or put away. I want them to work in a clean, organized environment.



During the work day I do whatever is necessary at the time, often the stuff nobody else wants to do. Yesterday my son Cameron and I had to move 120 blocks from here, to the basement in preparation for laying the fireplace foundation Saturday.



We had to move them onto a separate pallet...



....which we suspended from the forks...



...and lifted them over the wall.



By using straps we could get them all the way down to the floor.



We then transferred them to my 2 wheel dolly, 4 blocks at a time and moved them over where the fireplace will be and re-stacked them. That meant we had to handle them three times, once on the pallet, once off the pallet and then back on the new stack. So @ 35 lbs (16 kg) per block, we lifted 4,200 lbs (1905 kg) each time we transferred them. It took us 2 hours but we got them down there without damaging any blocks or us!

I had one of the floor heating installation guys tell me he's never had an owner be so involved in the building process. When I first talked with Ray about being the contractor of record I made it clear I was going to be working along side them, assuming I was competent. It's been a real win-win situation for all of us. I can do just about any task necessary. Questions come up and I'm right there to help resolve any issues. It's all one of the benefits living in a small town. :thumbup:

Thomas
 

PLOWJEEP

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 29, 2009
Messages
147
Location
Youngsville, PA
Thomas, A good laborer can make everyone's job go easier. As always you are doing a great job. This house is going to be solid as a rock. You can tell the quality of a build just by walking thru it. Your floors should have minimum deflection . Thanks for sharing ,Brian
 

dpljmurphy

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 13, 2015
Messages
200
Location
Near Agnew WA
You go Boy! I imagine Chris is right there with hydration and nutrition, an occasional ice pack and all the support you all need. Keep up the amazing documentation and may Murphy's law be on vacation until completion.
 

markviii

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
1,310
Location
east central IL
No, dpljmurphy, your imagination is playing tricks on you! Maybe, if it was hot and muggy, I'd bring out some ice water or lemonade and snacks. But it's still coat weather here. Tom and 2 others worked 8 hours today (which I'm sure he'll document tonight). No work is scheduled tomorrow, so maybe Tom will have a day off. We'll see.

Chris
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom