Above 1200 Sq/FT Moving to the Mountains

[Notgrownup]

Doing your part to be earth friendly is not stupid.

 

[M-technik-3]

Nothing wrong with using the sun to power things. Just would love to see them come down a bit. I have two south facing roofs I could use for arrays, just cant stomach the dollar amount I'd have to pay to make an environmental choice

 

[Metallitubby]

Great looking place! I love the garage doors, and even thought about doing something similar, but we are already building a greenhouse... don't need two.

Regarding the solar; We are doing solar as well, but mainly for the house. It's always better to be self-sufficient in anything you do, so no need to make excuses for doing so, regardless of one's political leanings.

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[PA Slammer]

Great looking place! I love the garage doors, and even thought about doing something similar, but we are already building a greenhouse... don't need two.

Regarding the solar; We are doing solar as well, but mainly for the house. It's always better to be self-sufficient in anything you do, so no need to make excuses for doing so, regardless of one's political leanings.

*subscribed

No doubt!

Our solar is for the house, the shop... and if any is left over, a few cars. Haven’t bought an electric car yet though. Too much money going to everything else! [emoji30]

 

[PA Slammer]

Well corona has definitely put a damper on things!

However there is a positive side...

We wanted to refinance the homestead with the low rates that are out there. We figured we could maybe even get some money back and finish the shop up... However, the bank says the shop must be finished for the appraisal. We said, but that’s what we want the refinance and cash back for. They said nope.

So... looks like we dig into our savings a bit, get the exterior finished and “hope” we can close on the refinance with some cash back.

So whether we want to spend the money right now or not, the exterior is moving forward. We’re excited to get it done, but also a bit nervous.




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[Krokodil]

Wow, love this place of yours!

 

[PA Slammer]

Wow, love this place of yours!

Thanks... we lucked out with how every has gone,

 

[PA Slammer]

Progress... slow but sure.

Not sure if anyone really cares. But I thought I’d keep up the pictures so I could look back at it later.

I know you guys want to see finished interior pics. T least that’s what always draws me in. I’m afraid that might have to wait until this winter. The way the economy is doing, I may end up doing all of it myself.

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

Pretty happy with how much light is let in.

As well, the two middle upper windows and the two end upper windows are on motors with a remote control. They can be set at a certain temperature to open. Between them, and the lower casement window which opens out and the double entry door that allows both sides to swing open and of course the garage doors, there should be plenty of airflow!

 

[DeeDubz]

Nice looking place you got slammer. I noticed your weight lifting machine in your gym. I thought my employer was the only one that bought that set up. I think we had over 50plus sets. Its not bad, better than nothing I suppose. We have since phased those out. Looking forward to seeing the inside finished. How many sqft is your shop?

 

[Jagmandave]

Colorado is the prefect place to have those glass garage doors! Are they insulated at all? Will you have heat in there in winter?

 

[Ronin22]

Nice progress! Thanx for the update!

 

[Metallitubby]

Wow, that looks excellent. We have the same tractor too.

 

[PA Slammer]

Nice looking place you got slammer. I noticed your weight lifting machine in your gym. I thought my employer was the only one that bought that set up. I think we had over 50plus sets. Its not bad, better than nothing I suppose. We have since phased those out. Looking forward to seeing the inside finished. How many sqft is your shop?

We got that machine at ****’s Sporting Good’s on sale. It was a great deal and with three boys, it’s come in handy!

I think it’s about 1500 sq ft.

 

[PA Slammer]

Colorado is the prefect place to have those glass garage doors! Are they insulated at all? Will you have heat in there in winter?

The doors are south facing. With the roof overhang, I’m hoping it’ll keep it mostly shaded in the summer and let more sun in during the winter. The architect did some calculations to have the best mix.

The doors are “insulated”. However, any glass isn’t that great. R9... maybe. Can’t recall right know.

The shop will be heated in the winter, just above freezing when not in use. I’ll have a natural gas mini-split to heat the place up when I’m working. It’ll have an app that I can turn it on/up from the house when I wake up to have it toasty when I head out there. I’ll have a couple electric oil-filled baseboard type heaters as well, which I’ll use to keep the place above freezing most of the time. With the 79 solar panels on the roof, shouldn’t be a cost issue.

 

[PA Slammer]

Wow, that looks excellent. We have the same tractor too.

That tractor is an old man’s tractor! Heated and air conditioned cab. It’s way too comfy. [emoji3]

So far I have a 4th box blade, 4’ hydraulic front blade, 3’ front snow blower, 60” mid mount mower and the the bucket.

Love it! I had a BX23 for years and ran that thing to death when I lived back East.

 

[MrScott99]

Great to see some updates, had not seen your thread in a while. Your place is amazing! Well done.

 

[PA Slammer]

Thanks for all the great comments guys!

COVID-19 is having a big impact on both mine and my wife’s career. We were going to put the exterior on hold for awhile... However, with the mortgage interest rates as low as they are right now, we can’t NOT refinance. There is just too much money to be saved.

So we’ve been in contact with multiple banks. Long story short, before we can get an accurate appraisal, the exterior of the garage has to be finished in order to use it at all. Without it being finished on the OUTSIDE, they can’t include it AT ALL. Ughhh.

So, we didn’t want to spend any more money on the shop until the economy is back to normal... and our jobs more secure. But in the long run, we’ll probably end up saving more in interest then what we’re spending on the exterior finishes. Crazy! Besides, it needs to get done and our monthly mortgage payment will drop considerably.

 

[DeeDubz]

Covid has impacted darn near everyone. It changes a lot of my work as well as my wifes. The rates are great. We just refinanced to a 15yr. We want the house paid off prior to retirement. Good luck on the exterior man and your refi.

 

[Arclitgold]

I’m still following here! And insanely jealous of that shop.

We also refinanced and it was well worth it!


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[bugnut]

Like your home and building a lot.

 

[C_F]

Thanks for all the great comments guys!

COVID-19 is having a big impact on both mine and my wife’s career. We were going to put the exterior on hold for awhile... However, with the mortgage interest rates as low as they are right now, we can’t NOT refinance. There is just too much money to be saved.

So we’ve been in contact with multiple banks. Long story short, before we can get an accurate appraisal, the exterior of the garage has to be finished in order to use it at all. Without it being finished on the OUTSIDE, they can’t include it AT ALL. Ughhh.

So, we didn’t want to spend any more money on the shop until the economy is back to normal... and our jobs more secure. But in the long run, we’ll probably end up saving more in interest then what we’re spending on the exterior finishes. Crazy! Besides, it needs to get done and our monthly mortgage payment will drop considerably.

I don't blame you for putting things on hold. Good move!
I just re-upped my mortgage a few weeks ago, bumped down one point & rolled in a couple small other mistakes. Ended up at 3.5%. Went from 46K left until freedom to 70K & change, plus added a 50K HELOC to weather the unforseen **** that may come our way.

 

[isonic]

Slammer, pics look great. Thanks for sharing the progress. Feel free to share any of the electrical connections of the solar system. I am always curious how all that stuff gets hooked up.

 

[PA Slammer]

Slammer, pics look great. Thanks for sharing the progress. Feel free to share any of the electrical connections of the solar system. I am always curious how all that stuff gets hooked up.

All the panels are tied into two inverters, (the size of the system required two), which are tied together. They have their own sub panel hooked into the main panel.

Here in Colorado, any energy you don’t use goes back into the grid and you get a one for one credit. You can draw on that credit any time you’re not producing you own. With one exception, during a power outage, the system does NOT allow any power to go back into the grid. At the end of the year, any excess power is either rolled to the next year at your request. Or you are given a check. When Piaf for excess credit, it is NOT one for one. I’m not sure what the payout is, but I’ve heard it’s pretty poor.



We have sized the system at 79 panels or right at 25KW, the maximum allowed by Colorado. We believe this should cover our house usage, shop usage and perhaps an electric car. Maybe when the kids move out, two electric cars.

The payoff is expected to be around 10yrs. The system is guaranteed 94% or higher for 20 yrs. If any component goes below that, they either replace or pay you the loss.

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

 

[PA Slammer]

A little bit of paint and stain going on next week and the exterior will be complete!

Still waiting on the state inspection approval for the solar. We started looked at solar options in January. It’s a pretty long process. Took about two months interviewing solar companies. Finance approval around a month. Design took a little over a month. The install went pretty fast at around a week. The county inspection two months. The state has been sitting on thing for over two months.

HVAC, plumbing, insulation, drywall and paint to go.

I’ve been toying with the idea of using pallet wood for the bottom four foot around the interior.

 

[Ronin22]

This is just beautiful!