Builds on 35 acres

[russeljc]

I just posted over in the intro section a little about myself and then being a newb proceeded to document my build... So, following suggestions I'm moving over here.

We've got 35 acres in South Central OK where over the course of too many years we've been slowing building a compound. We've built a house and a 40x60x15 clear span shop building. Both Red Iron frames (yes the house too). And we have a couple smaller red iron sheds. We are now in the process of building a 75X25X10 building and converting the 40x60 building into living space. Future plans include a 50x50x18 building and a 30x40 barn, God willing...

Like my intro stated there's a lot of smarts and talent around here, so I'm documenting this with the thought that I'll get good ideas and critiques to help me from perhaps making mistakes... Anyhow, here goes....

 

[russeljc]

So.. my concrete contractor is currently pouring the slab for he 75x25... He's putting it on some decent sized footings, shouldn't move around too much. This guy did my 40x60 building as well and in the almost 4 years it's been on this oklahoma soil, it's done great.


Footings poured yesterday

Forms going up today

 

[Rock knocker]

So the grade beams won't ever be in direct contact with the slab concrete? Not being encased in concrete could cause the rebar stubs in the gravel to corrode because they will not be protected for oxygenated ground water. But in any case, my experience comes from thousands of miles away and your contractor probably has very good reasons for the way he is doing it. Looks like a good build.

 

[russeljc]

Ya, the slab edges will sit directly on the footings. They just haven't dug back the screenings around the edges yet. They normally fill up the form, level it and then wait for the plumbing rough-in, then come back dig out the edges and finish the rebar grid. The slab will be 4 inches thick and 8-10 inches thick x 6 inches wide around the edge, that lip will sit on the footings encasing the rebar.

 

[Rock knocker]

OK good

 

[MacTexas]

This looks like a good project to follow. Welcome to GJ.

 

[Rock knocker]

Your contractor should put caps on the rebar stubs for his and your protection. Basic OSHA stuff there.

 

[Homebody]

I'm in!

 

[C_F]

Looks like a great start, looking forward to watching your build progress.

Out of curiosity, how often do you need to use your tornado shelter?

 

[welder57]

Are you in a area close to were all the Earth quakes are happening? I hope you don't move as well. Glad your on this site with us!!!!

 

[russeljc]

This looks like a good project to follow. Welcome to GJ.

Thanks!

Your contractor should put caps on the rebar stubs for his and your protection. Basic OSHA stuff there.

Ya, I guess since it's not a busy worksite... Good point though

Looks like a great start, looking forward to watching your build progress.

Out of curiosity, how often do you need to use your tornado shelter?

I've been in it once, it was dark and the nado was rain wrapped so I relented and went down. The rest of my family wants to get in it if it's thundering... But I'd rather stay up top and watch for the storms to come and drop in last minute.

Are you in a area close to were all the Earth quakes are happening? I hope you don't move as well. Glad your on this site with us!!!!

We get them, had a couple not too long ago that where big enough and close enough to rattle the house. I think we occasionally get the rare Snowquakenado around here.

I'm in!

 

[russeljc]

We are now to the point where we are ready for the plumbing rough in, the plumbing contractor has pushed our schedule back a bit so it'll be a couple weeks before the pad get's poured. :/

So, in the gap I thought I might go back and post some of the photos from the point we bought our land to where we are now, a walk through time so to speak. Might be kind of cool to see the transition over the years.

 

[TomcoPDR]

Nice chunk size of land there. Tuned in

 

[russeljc]

Ok, so, land purchased in Spring 2010, it was a 40 acre plot just caddy-corner to where I finished "growing up", built my first garage (16x20) and worked on my cars in high school and college years... We got 35 acres of it, and have a good neighbor on a 5 acre corner in the front. It was pasture land, so no trees except the fence rows. It makes a great wind tunnel with the bare 40 acres across the street too.

We were finishing up renovating the house we currently lived in to get that on the market, so the land sat for nearly two years before we could do anything... finally started getting the utilities to it in 2012 and broke ground in Dec 2012 on the MIL's house. (We have some livestock on it before then).

Frame for the house showed up at the end of Jan 2013 so we started putting it together.

 

[C_F]

Nice photos, thanks for showing us around. I'm curious why you went with an all metal home instead of wood. Was it due to a big price difference?

 

[russeljc]

I think the steel is actually a little more expensive really, I contracted myself and did a lot of the work myself, so we kept it around $100/ft, I think if we had this built with the steel it would be pretty high. So really we just liked the idea of a steel framed house, not terminates, fire resistant and with the amount of steel and Simpson ties in the place I feel pretty good about this taking a storm. Also, since I was planning to stand up the house myself, the bolt together red iron and precut steel studs made quick work to get in the dry. I would definitely say that if you got a little extra money, go steel.


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[russeljc]

I will also mention though the the price seems to grow more exponentially with the Size of the structure. So something twice the size will be closer to 3 times the cost. For this reason we are retrofitting a clear span steel building with stick built guts. I wish it was all steel but that size is just cost prohibitive right now.


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[sean Buick 76]

Very cool project!

 

[russeljc]

While we were building the MIL house we finished and sold the house we were renovating in April. So we got to finally after 3 years move to our new land, but, we moved into a 31ft camper, all 4 of us (me, my Wife a 7 year old and a 2 year old). That was fun! or something. Anyhow, we also broke ground on the 40x60 shop. Since I was busy with the house I hired a crew to come in and stand the shop up. They where Amish and they were good!

This was the first project I used the concrete contractor I'm using now.

While the shop was going up, I had order two smaller buildings from the same vendor. For feed and garden/lawn equipment. I decided to get these setup so we'd have a place to put things. We had a 40ft shipping container dropped off to keep our stuff in until we got buildings up.

(The white corners were sent to us wrong, the manufacture brought us the right ones and we replaced them later on)

 

[Bib Overalls]

Red iron looks good. No embarrassment for hiring a crew. That is a lot of material for you and perhaps another to put up. You'd be in that camper for a long time otherwise.

 

[russeljc]

Yep Bib, one big project is enough, I know my limitations.

So, after 6 months in a camper, the MIL house was finished (enough) for us to move in then end of September 2013. We finished up some things, the kitchen, bathroom, some sidewalks and such.

Then in the 40x60 shop that was full of our junk from moving, we started framing up a section to be a finished out space. We had always planed for a finished out space. My wife quilts and stuff and we wanted some bathrooms (one for the shop and a clean one) and some storage. So I hired a guy to com in and frame this out in March 2014.

 

[russeljc]

Ok, so, after we framed up the storage/workroom in spring 2014 the building projects went cold. We got busy with gardens, kids and other things so we never finished out the interior of the room in the shop, and the shop itself was full of our stuff waiting on a house. We also spent a lot of time going back on forth on what we were going to do about our house. Looks at plans, talked to banks, back and forth. Finally, around July 2016, we had figured out what we wanted to do. I had subtly suggesting just building out some living quarters in the clear span shop, but my wife was afraid it couldn't look like a house. After looking at some renderings of what we could do with ours and what other folks have done with these buildings, she decided to go for it. So, we shoved everything in a corner and went to framing. Right now I'm doing the work when I can, so it's slow going... since about August I've managed to get overhead doors out and panels replaces and installed a bunch of windows and doors and have quite a bit of the framing inside done. Some photos of our progress for the last few weeks.

On the 25X75 building, the plumbers have the rough plumbing in, so hopefully we'll be pouring the slab in about a week when the concrete guy can get back to us.

Now there was one building project in there, earlier in 2016 we fostered for a few months and at one point had 6 kids running around the house. That's a lot of kids anyway you slice it, we needed something for them to do... outside. So, I put in an order and the truck dropped off a pile of lumber

and I went to work on this:

It was several weekends worth of work, but it turned out alright.

Ok, hope to have more updates on the buildings in the coming weeks.

 

[russeljc]

Concrete contractor is back on site today for the 25x75, so hopefully some progress on it soon.

Have continued framing on the "Shome", made a little progress.

Also, some before, during and after shots of the exterior transition

West side before

Tore up:

Then:

East side before:

After:

Still need to replace to two existing vinyl windows... but, progress.

 

[Bighead38]

Should turn out nice. Good luck.

 

[davo727]

What company was the red iron house (kit?) from please?

 

[russeljc]

What company was the red iron house (kit?) from please?

http://www.kodiaksteelhomes.com/

It was the Rosemont kit.

 

[russeljc]

Ok, between weather and schedules, finally have some progress. Slab for the 25x75 is down.

Hope to be able to start standing the frame up in the coming weeks.

Made some more progress on the home as well, got some beams up and some more joists in.

Photos of joist are boring, maybe in a couple weeks I'll have something actually interesting.

However, while the slab was getting poured, my neighbor has a friend who wanted to fly his "lawn chair" and asked if they could use our land. "Well, of course?"

 

[Bierisch]

I don't know if it is just me... but I can't see half of the pictures in this thread....

 

[Bigdukaaa]

I don't know if it is just me... but I can't see half of the pictures in this thread....

same here

 

[russeljc]

Dote! Ya looks like my photos may not be shared right. Sorry guys. I'll fix it up when I get home later.


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[C_F]

Good, I thought I was having some funky computer issue. Was almost ready to smack it with a baseball bat.

 

[russeljc]

Well, looky there, some pictures to go with the words... Sorry about that all.. Glad no PCs or bats were harmed due to these technical difficulties.

 

[C_F]

Yay, I can see!

The siding sure matches well, where you put in the windows & doors. I expected to see a weathered difference, but I sure don't see any from where I'm sitting.

 

[russeljc]

Yay, I can see!

The siding sure matches well, where you put in the windows & doors. I expected to see a weathered difference, but I sure don't see any from where I'm sitting.

Ya, it blended really well, if you get really close, in the right light you can see the new siding is a bit shinier, but I think some of that is dirt too. Original siding is almost 4 years old, so it's held up pretty good.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Really nice setup you have there. Looking forward to following along.

 

[russeljc]

It's been some time since the last update, sorry... I have finally made a little progress on the 25x75 though between the weather and other things requiring my time.

Got most of the red iron up, just need to frame out some windows and install the doors and I should be able to start slapping up some sheets... if I can find some time that we don't have 20 mph winds (that's the catch). I got lucky and was able to borrow an old leaky (but free) reach fork from my uncle that he just happened to have at the time, so I used that to raise my rafters and the eave struts (those suckers were heavy). But me and my boy ended up walking all but 3 of the roof purlins up by hand. All in all it went pretty well and quickly, for only getting a couple hours in here and there. I've probably got a little over 45 hours in on it so far all together...

 

[russeljc]

...and installing some windows... Man I'm slow.

 

[Bib Overalls]

The 25 x 75 x 10 looks like it will have a breezeway between it and the MIL house. I looked but could not find an explanation as to what that building will be used for.

What ever you do make sure your kids do not tell people, like their school teachers, that they live in a "barn" or "shed." That will get you a visit from the child protective service. Happened to a couple I knew in Illinois. They did get written up for not having windows/fire escapes in some of the bedrooms.

 

[C_F]

I got lucky and was able to borrow an old leaky (but free) reach fork from my uncle that he just happened to have at the time...

Man I'd say, that thing was dribbling all over the place. Thank God for kitty litter!

The building looks great so far, keep at it!

 

[russeljc]

Man I'd say, that thing was dribbling all over the place. Thank God for kitty litter!

The 25 x 75 x 10 looks like it will have a breezeway between it and the MIL house. I looked but could not find an explanation as to what that building will be used for.

What ever you do make sure your kids do not tell people, like their school teachers, that they live in a "barn" or "shed." That will get you a visit from the child protective service. Happened to a couple I knew in Illinois. They did get written up for not having windows/fire escapes in some of the bedrooms.

The new building will be split into a sewing/quilting room, small photo studio and a woodshop. I do plan to enclose a breezeway between the house and building to "connect" them for easy access. We *should* be good as far as codes go, but I can definitely see where the state might want to come nosing around.