madoc1
Well-known member
loving updates. summer in maine is nice, despite the bugs!
The Concrete Underground
- Thread starter ConCretin
- Start date
For those of you that thought that my extended absence would result in a breathtaking update showing incredible progress..............urrr, well sorry.
We've been undergoing one of those tedious and frustrating periods where progress comes slow. It's not that we're not working hard, it's just that what we're doing isn't very exciting.
For example; How about individually measuring and sorting by thickness 17.5 tons of limestone.
Yup, the stuff we bought varies from 9/16 to 13/16". It might not sound like a big deal but if you try to lay two pieces of widely varying thickness side by side, it virtually impossible to get a flush joint. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that we're laying 3' planks over suspended concrete floors, which are never perfectly flat.
So we're measuring and sorting every piece into stacks so the installer doesn't have to fight every tile. How's that for exciting?
Still, we're making progress; The second floor is sealed, grouted and sealed.
No, that wasn't a typo. We're sealing the tile once before grouting and again after. This wasn't the original plan, especially when the sealer costs over $100 a gallon.
We knew we'd have to seal the limestone but didn't plan on doing it twice.
The reason behind the exercise is two fold. One, we didn't want the grout itself to stain the porous limestone and secondly, sealing the stone prevents it from sucking all the water out of the grout and making it difficult to remove.
The Guest Bedroom is also grouted and sealed. Here'e the landing at the top of the cantilevered concrete steps;
The tile is laid and sealed in the Master Bedroom and awaiting grout;
Speaking $100+ per gallon sealer, here's what we're using;
I did a lot of research and it seems like this is one of the best. Believe it or not, it's not the most expensive product but if the test results I saw are to be believed, it performs extremely well. It's actually water based. This is usually not a selling point for me (I'm kind of old school when it comes to VOCs) but all else being equal, it's nice from a clean up perspective.
The Master Shower is also laid. There will be a glass panel in the center in front of the actual shower(s), which is flanked by drying off areas on either side. Once the plumber is done, I can complete the backer board and waterproofing. The walls gets covered with large sheets of glossy acyrlic material called Lustrolite. http://lustrolite.com/
The linear shower drain came out pretty good. I was hoping for a slightly narrower drainage slot but it is still pretty cool.
Meanwhile, other materials are arriving. My custom i.e. God I hope they actually work, doors and frames arrived.
I bought a few hollow metal doors for the garage and utility areas but the rest are solid core panels in custom made frames.
The pockets you see above are for hidden hinges (4 per 9' door) that are intended to make the doors as invisible as possible. The door sits flush with the adjacent drywall, which is finished (hopefully) flush to the frame with no trim.
Here are the custom frames. The header actually sits above the drywall ceiling, which passes through the opening without any break.
I pretty much dreamt the whole thing up and it will either be brilliant or a train wreck.
The Kitchen cabinets are also patiently waiting to be installed; There are two finishes; a stained, rift cut oak laminate like the one below and a glossy white laminate.
I freighted two 26' U-Hauls trucking all this stuff home - long story
These are the custom wraps we had the cabinet company make for the 'pods'. I haven't broken them out yet but they look to be very nicely made. In fact, the crating probably exceeds my cabinet making ability.
Since I'm not sure I've ever successfully explained what I mean by 'pods', I thought I'd try something new. The rendering below is a very early 3D view we created during the kitchen design process. You can see the two stand-alone pods, which basically act as room dividers and house back to back cabinets
Here's a different angle. There have been a lot of changes but hopefully this gives you a different perspective
Finally, here's a shot of a couple more exterior lights. It's a nice simple fixture made my Hinkley, the same company that makes the funky lights we hung by the garage doors. They are LED, which is a good thing since there are no less than 14 of em hung on various exterior walls.
As I've mentioned before, glass tends to morph into shiny black walls at night unless you put lights on the exterior.
So the good news is that the flooring is on track to finish in a week or so and meanwhile I can start hanging doors and installing the flush base board detail. Assuming my electrician and plumber can be persuaded to finish the R/I, we'll be ready for drywall shortly thereafter. It's all downhill from there right?
Sorry I can't reward your patience with something more dramatic. Cheers everyone.
We've been undergoing one of those tedious and frustrating periods where progress comes slow. It's not that we're not working hard, it's just that what we're doing isn't very exciting.
For example; How about individually measuring and sorting by thickness 17.5 tons of limestone.
Yup, the stuff we bought varies from 9/16 to 13/16". It might not sound like a big deal but if you try to lay two pieces of widely varying thickness side by side, it virtually impossible to get a flush joint. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that we're laying 3' planks over suspended concrete floors, which are never perfectly flat.
So we're measuring and sorting every piece into stacks so the installer doesn't have to fight every tile. How's that for exciting?
Still, we're making progress; The second floor is sealed, grouted and sealed.
No, that wasn't a typo. We're sealing the tile once before grouting and again after. This wasn't the original plan, especially when the sealer costs over $100 a gallon.
We knew we'd have to seal the limestone but didn't plan on doing it twice.The reason behind the exercise is two fold. One, we didn't want the grout itself to stain the porous limestone and secondly, sealing the stone prevents it from sucking all the water out of the grout and making it difficult to remove.
The Guest Bedroom is also grouted and sealed. Here'e the landing at the top of the cantilevered concrete steps;
The tile is laid and sealed in the Master Bedroom and awaiting grout;
Speaking $100+ per gallon sealer, here's what we're using;
I did a lot of research and it seems like this is one of the best. Believe it or not, it's not the most expensive product but if the test results I saw are to be believed, it performs extremely well. It's actually water based. This is usually not a selling point for me (I'm kind of old school when it comes to VOCs) but all else being equal, it's nice from a clean up perspective.
The Master Shower is also laid. There will be a glass panel in the center in front of the actual shower(s), which is flanked by drying off areas on either side. Once the plumber is done, I can complete the backer board and waterproofing. The walls gets covered with large sheets of glossy acyrlic material called Lustrolite. http://lustrolite.com/
The linear shower drain came out pretty good. I was hoping for a slightly narrower drainage slot but it is still pretty cool.
Meanwhile, other materials are arriving. My custom i.e. God I hope they actually work, doors and frames arrived.
I bought a few hollow metal doors for the garage and utility areas but the rest are solid core panels in custom made frames.
The pockets you see above are for hidden hinges (4 per 9' door) that are intended to make the doors as invisible as possible. The door sits flush with the adjacent drywall, which is finished (hopefully) flush to the frame with no trim.
Here are the custom frames. The header actually sits above the drywall ceiling, which passes through the opening without any break.
I pretty much dreamt the whole thing up and it will either be brilliant or a train wreck.
The Kitchen cabinets are also patiently waiting to be installed; There are two finishes; a stained, rift cut oak laminate like the one below and a glossy white laminate.
I freighted two 26' U-Hauls trucking all this stuff home - long story
These are the custom wraps we had the cabinet company make for the 'pods'. I haven't broken them out yet but they look to be very nicely made. In fact, the crating probably exceeds my cabinet making ability.
Since I'm not sure I've ever successfully explained what I mean by 'pods', I thought I'd try something new. The rendering below is a very early 3D view we created during the kitchen design process. You can see the two stand-alone pods, which basically act as room dividers and house back to back cabinets
Here's a different angle. There have been a lot of changes but hopefully this gives you a different perspective
Finally, here's a shot of a couple more exterior lights. It's a nice simple fixture made my Hinkley, the same company that makes the funky lights we hung by the garage doors. They are LED, which is a good thing since there are no less than 14 of em hung on various exterior walls.
As I've mentioned before, glass tends to morph into shiny black walls at night unless you put lights on the exterior.
So the good news is that the flooring is on track to finish in a week or so and meanwhile I can start hanging doors and installing the flush base board detail. Assuming my electrician and plumber can be persuaded to finish the R/I, we'll be ready for drywall shortly thereafter. It's all downhill from there right?
Sorry I can't reward your patience with something more dramatic. Cheers everyone.
Last edited:
Bib Overalls
Well-known member
Doors that blend into the walls. So, when I get pissed at your place I will not only be unable to scale your cantilevered concrete steps I won't be able to find the bathroom. And if I do, I won't be able to find my way out. I think I need another beer.
Stuart in MN
Well-known member
Those limestone floors are amazing. 
BBChevro
Well-known member
Those doors will be pretty cool, are they going to have hidden handles as well? 
Remind me what the GJ guest room looks like again?
wssix99
Well-known member
Once again, thanks for your posts. They are a tremendous help to those of us following your path in to concrete housedom.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the first person drags something across that floor!
I just bought a similar product from the StoneTech Pro line (only a quart needed for our fireplace) and it's great to see you moving along with it positively. It gives us a lot more confidence before my wife goes and starts applying this "liquid gold" to the wall.
It also looks like your installer is thinking ahead to grouting and knows what they are doing! A+++
If any of these don't work out exactly and you need a mortising jig for these hinges, (for adjustments or new slabs) lemme know. My wife has one from a previous build and it's lonely/unused.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the first person drags something across that floor!
No, that wasn't a typo. We're sealing the tile once before grouting and again after. This wasn't the original plan, especially when the sealer costs over $100 a gallon.
The reason behind the exercise is two fold. One, we didn't want the grout itself to stain the porous limestone and secondly, sealing the stone prevents it from sucking all the water out of the grout and making it difficult to remove.
Speaking $100+ per gallon sealer, here's what we're using;
I did a lot of research and it seems like this is one of the best. Believe it or not, it's not the most expensive product but if the test results I saw are to be believed, it performs extremely well. It's actually water based. This is usually not a selling point for me (I'm kind of old school when it comes to VOCs) but all else being equal, it's nice from a clean up perspective.
I just bought a similar product from the StoneTech Pro line (only a quart needed for our fireplace) and it's great to see you moving along with it positively. It gives us a lot more confidence before my wife goes and starts applying this "liquid gold" to the wall.
It also looks like your installer is thinking ahead to grouting and knows what they are doing! A+++
If any of these don't work out exactly and you need a mortising jig for these hinges, (for adjustments or new slabs) lemme know. My wife has one from a previous build and it's lonely/unused.
82355
Well-known member
The limestone floors really are amazing.
Martin
Martin
red
Well-known member
Wow! Amazing!
Fantastic job on the floor! Sorting tiles by size in not fun, but a necessary evil for a perfect floor. What type of thinset did your installer use? I've being using ProLite lately and love it. BTW how is your installer doing ? Hope he's feeling better.
As to sealers and VOC's, I couldn't agree more with the old school type of thinking. Reaching a point where none of the old product will be available soon. The oil base poly I used for my oak floors had to be shipped in one quart containers. Government regs prohibit any thing bigger (16 quarts
) But the finish should be good for another 20yrs.
Thanks for the updates, don't know how you find the time, but grateful that you do.
Fantastic job on the floor! Sorting tiles by size in not fun, but a necessary evil for a perfect floor. What type of thinset did your installer use? I've being using ProLite lately and love it. BTW how is your installer doing ? Hope he's feeling better.
As to sealers and VOC's, I couldn't agree more with the old school type of thinking. Reaching a point where none of the old product will be available soon. The oil base poly I used for my oak floors had to be shipped in one quart containers. Government regs prohibit any thing bigger (16 quarts
) But the finish should be good for another 20yrs.Thanks for the updates, don't know how you find the time, but grateful that you do.
JordonMusser
Well-known member
Looks awesome man! I sealed by first floor grout with the same stuff.
Going to do the bathroom grout once I move in (all tile, no natural stone)
Going to do the bathroom grout once I move in (all tile, no natural stone)
Nolift911
Well-known member
I call that a pretty serious update and lots of progress...
Looks fantastic!
Looks fantastic!
It might be tedious work and pretty expensive but I doubt you'll regret the time and money you've put in to it.
That floor is the icing on the cake (at least until you amaze us with something even more outstanding).
That floor is the icing on the cake (at least until you amaze us with something even more outstanding).
JordonMusser
Well-known member
BTW.. interested in seeing your attack plan for flush baseboards!
kamlung
Well-known member
i also use this sealer at my house... great stuff and worth the money...
Floors look stunning! I feel your pain the the sorting. I had a similar experience when installing Ipe on my house, except I had varying face width, and really no good way to compensate for this, and there is -no- way that wood is compressing to a forced fit. We had to measure and mark both ends of every single board with a digital caliper to the 1/1000th, then sort and install.
And as much as I like the construction, I am equally excited to see all of the interior work progress. Can't wait to see more.
And as much as I like the construction, I am equally excited to see all of the interior work progress. Can't wait to see more.
cderalow
Well-known member
floors look awesome. and you've discovered the downfall to natural cut non-rectified floor materials.
very large PITA.
The dupont stuff is great, through I see the impregnator used normally (511). It's always seal grout seal with a porous stone.
very large PITA.
The dupont stuff is great, through I see the impregnator used normally (511). It's always seal grout seal with a porous stone.
Beemer533
Well-known member
Wow, I can't anything to what has been said but this is cool. The limestone floors are awesome! As is everything else.. I love concrete...
Not sure if you have decided on what to do with your floating stairs as far as a handrail goes, but I saw these today at the hotel I am in, and they reminded me of this thread..
I know yours are individual treads, but seems like it work as well..
Not sure if you have decided on what to do with your floating stairs as far as a handrail goes, but I saw these today at the hotel I am in, and they reminded me of this thread..
I know yours are individual treads, but seems like it work as well..
Doug, talk about some serious attention to detail, this place keeps getting better all the time.
thought you might appreciate this Archilovers post depicting a modern-design home on the coast in Cadiz, Spain. I thought of your build when I looked at how they used limestone tile throughout: http://www.archilovers.com/projects/132045/house-of-the-infinite-vt-house.html
peaceonesxwai
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2014
- Messages
- 35
wow this house is amazing, very envious
Justanoldguy
Well-known member
Lol... This made me laugh. .
Been re reading the thread.
Best joke of the year..
Still laughing at this also ..
Majorezakimak
New member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2014
- Messages
- 1
Well Doug, you sir are a true craftsmen! Pardon me for calling you by your first name, but over the course of reading this thread, I feel like I've come to know you.I've been lurking in GJ for a year or two, but with no build of my own, felt I had nothing to contribute. I am overwhelmed by the quality work and the attention to detail you have committed and felt the need to comment as so many others. Your house is AMAZING and I've had to redesign my plans for my future house and shop build.
You sir are a gentleman and a scholar. You've been truly dedicated to this thread with regular updates and have had some extreme patience with questions, some that you've answered more than once. I've had a few true laugh out loud moments and a few groans (the rebar caps debacle that seems to pop up again and again lol)
I've also been encouraged by your wife's support and I'm hoping my wife will be as supportive when I start my build. I myself am a concrete cutter, and have done some placing and finishing as well. I'm amazed that you have such a long standing crew. Where I'm from, the guys in concrete are mostly Gypsies, jumping from company to company.
You mentioned the thread fading away, but I am quite certain your thread will be reviewed and referenced for a long time to come.
All the best to you!
You sir are a gentleman and a scholar. You've been truly dedicated to this thread with regular updates and have had some extreme patience with questions, some that you've answered more than once. I've had a few true laugh out loud moments and a few groans (the rebar caps debacle that seems to pop up again and again lol)
I've also been encouraged by your wife's support and I'm hoping my wife will be as supportive when I start my build. I myself am a concrete cutter, and have done some placing and finishing as well. I'm amazed that you have such a long standing crew. Where I'm from, the guys in concrete are mostly Gypsies, jumping from company to company.
You mentioned the thread fading away, but I am quite certain your thread will be reviewed and referenced for a long time to come.
All the best to you!
JordonMusser
Well-known member
What he said ---^^
xtremek
Well-known member
Many days of skimming through this and I have to say WWOOOWWWW!!!!! I am so not a fan of new builds, but this is outrageously cool. Please keep us updated on everything to the very end. Thanks for the education and entertainment. And yes, I did subscribe.
Cemoto
Well-known member
How about some pics of you cooking burgers by the riverside?
Lol
So far we have had a great summer down here in MA.
Hope all is going well . . . .
Regards,
.
Lol
So far we have had a great summer down here in MA.
Hope all is going well . . . .
Regards,
.
Oggy
Well-known member
I'm jonesing for a fix... anything man.... just one pic... come on man, you know I'm good for it...
I think he just saw the threads on the "wood" houses that popped recently and how quickly they are doing them, took three steps back from the monitor and after 3 days he is still holding that same position.
Or at least I am.
Or at least I am.
signcrafter
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 9, 2012
- Messages
- 12,317
The last update showed lots of stuff going on and lots of materials on site. Did work come to a stop?
Summer is winding down, are you going to be in before the snow flies Doug ?
mikefromme
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2009
- Messages
- 266
BTT, time for an update
Mpower5266
Well-known member
More!!!!!
jriltex
Member
I can not resist...;-)