well I bought 5.3 acres last year after building an covered Pergola and outdoor kitchen at my house that my girlfriend helped with.
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/PA100001.jpg)
We sat around bored with nothing to do, but drinking Margaritas and decided to go look at land again. Long story short.....
Now Memorial day we started with internet plans, building a barn styled shed on concrete blocks. It (on paper) started out as a 12x16 and quickly progessed into a 16x25 2 story and a quick estimate of 12k in materials without well, septic, power. This was double my budget! And from storage building, to a live in cabin for a couple years till we build a house with Autoclaved aerated concrete. (a local experianced builder with this material lives right down the street, how cool is that) Anyway ive built most of this myself on weekends and it has again morphed from a (looking a my receipts) from a shed, to barn, to cabin to cottage. Im now planning on making it livable again. Im trying to workout ideas for bath, kitchen, plumbing, wiring, and spray foam insulation, etc.... So Ive found many of ya'll very imformative and articles helpfull. Wishing Ide had decided to stay with a habitat first for things like floor plan and joist size. So know trying to figure out the best way to add on a bath to the the back and get plumbing, sewer, PEX etc in....Any way here are a few in progress pics.....and 5k in materials later:)
Bill
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/P5250005.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/P6120006.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/P7020037.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/P7170011.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/P7020038.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/P8070033.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/P8210005.jpg)
w* Nice work
THANKS, right now Im working on a lighting system using LEDS and a couple batteries from work. Ill hook a solar panel up to keep the batts charged and run all the light(DC) off them. The company that was linked here though has NOTHING in stock. Anyone else have current info on DC lights and power......our area rep at work runs all the lights in his house off LEDS and a single battery with 2 small panels. 1 on each side of the roof to catch the sun throughout the day. His neighbors hate him when the power is out in north Dallas since theyre using flashlights and he's watching movies on the laptop and all the lights on in the house:)
So far I have not met an LED light that I can use to read by comfortably. And for general illumination most of them don't cut it for me as they tend to be too focused. We have found clear/white LED Christmas lights to be very useful for outdoor illumination between buildings on our off grid mountain property. They could also be used for low level general indoor illumination.
I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT TOO DON. MY SOLUTION WAS TO TAKE EITHER OPAQUE DIFFUSER FOR LEDS SPOTS. OR MAKE MY OWN. BY TAKING A SHEET OF EITHER LEXAN OR PLEXIGLASS AND SANDING THE BACK SIDE. I THEN INSERTED THEM INTO A LIGHT CAN TO USE WITH SPOT LEDS. IT FOCUSES DIFFUSED BRIGHT LIGHT ONTO WHERE I WANT TO READ. IF USE A SWIVEL LIGHT FIXTURE I CAN MOVE IT WHERE I WANT. I COULD ALSO USED COMPACT BUT USES MORE POWER THAN THE LEDS I GOT OUT OF TAILLIGHTS AT WORK :)
w*
I like the gambrel roof. It looks like great work. More pictures are always appreciated. ;)
As far as DC lighting, I would look into CFL too. A little while ago I compared the cost per lumens. IIRC, the cost of a LED equivalent of a CFL costs over twice as much. So if a 12v CFL puts out X amount of light the LED equivalent would cost double. The amount of energy saved between the two is negligible. If a cfl uses 7 watts and an LED uses 3 you are saving a total of 4 watts per hour. That is tiny. In many cases it would be cheaper to upgrade the capacity of the system over the cost difference lighting. They just featured this on a show "this new house" on the DIY network last night. Although on the show was AC lighting, the LED lights were 11 watts to put out as much light as a 75 watt incandescent, which is equivalent to a 13 watt CFL. The cost difference though was $30 for an LED light or $1 for a CFL. $29 to save 2 watts.
I light my place with one of those harbor freight solar kits. It comes with 3 panels, 2- 5w lights, and a control box for $150 with a coupon. In my book, it is a good deal for a shed. It is just enough for a light use 12v system.
Love the roof! [cool] Looking to use it on my 1 1/2.
Are the stairs code?
well I dont have to worry about code where Im at. But I want things correct, theyre 7 5/8" rise and 9 1/2" tread. I couldnt tell you about the winder. you do have negotiate the center of them when useing. but they put 3 steps in the place of 1. Since theyre just like a small piece of a spiral case I dont see how they wouldnt be to code ???
Quote from: Squirl on September 01, 2011, 02:44:16 PM
w*
I like the gambrel roof. It looks like great work. More pictures are always appreciated. ;)
As far as DC lighting, I would look into CFL too. A little while ago I compared the cost per lumens. IIRC, the cost of a LED equivalent of a CFL costs over twice as much. So if a 12v CFL puts out X amount of light the LED equivalent would cost double. The amount of energy saved between the two is negligible. If a cfl uses 7 watts and an LED uses 3 you are saving a total of 4 watts per hour. That is tiny. In many cases it would be cheaper to upgrade the capacity of the system over the cost difference lighting. They just featured this on a show "this new house" on the DIY network last night. Although on the show was AC lighting, the LED lights were 11 watts to put out as much light as a 75 watt incandescent, which is equivalent to a 13 watt CFL. The cost difference though was $30 for an LED light or $1 for a CFL. $29 to save 2 watts.
I light my place with one of those harbor freight solar kits. It comes with 3 panels, 2- 5w lights, and a control box for $150 with a coupon. In my book, it is a good deal for a shed. It is just enough for a light use 12v system.
I was there last night and theyre out of stock till tues. but as useal I pick up other things I uh...needed, yeah I needed those items honey. after all Im a Master Jaguar tech honey and need them for work
I've never seen pink lunber?
FWIW, stairway winders according to the 2009 IRC
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q305/djmbucket/construction/StairwayWinders2009.jpg)
Later today I'll stick this in a reference topic along with other stair info. Make it easy to find.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150237819597582.327348.751732581
HERES A LINK TO MY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT WITH NEW PICS FROM THIS WEEKEND. WORKED ON THE DRIVERWAY. PUT UP MORE HARDIPLANK AND GOT THE KIDS PAINTING......:)
well this weekend I finished the wiring I wanted upatairs and SPRAY FOAMED with Green Stuff spray foam. Worked very well.
A little messy, but it dries in 30 seconds and I just scraped off the foam when I finished. I covered the windows with clear plastic to let light
in while I sprayed.
I did 3-5" along the eaves and gables. the opeings I first blocked with 1/2" foam board cut to fit. Most of the rest I spraying 1" or so, and then will follow up later with fibreglass batting. By the time I finished it already was deafly quiet, and felt like inside a Igloo cooler.:)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/PB060021.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/PB060007.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/PB060026.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/PB060030.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/PB060034.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/PB060035.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/PB060039.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/PB060038.jpg)
(https://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb20/brutal2005/Damon/PB060040.jpg)
That looks great! Nice job.
How much material did you buy. Where did you get it. How much did it cost. How do you like it. HA! Basically I want a review of the product.
We will be doing the same thing. We are currently looking for land and will build a garage first, live there and then the house.
thanks
Austin
Ilike it alot, and I really wanted something to create a air tight space. the R value is R7 per1". From there Ill use regular insulation batts. This makes it very cost effective. But since I don't have a vented attic space since its basically the upstairs bedroom, I need something to seal well and cost effective. (DIY) instead of $3-5k for a contractor. It was very easy to use and the only problem I had was I wasnt watching the hoses closely and after turning a couple times spraying I kinked 1 and if you look at the 1 pic with me in it spraying youll notice the differance in color. This is another thing I liked about this companies product is the included dye to easily see if mixing in the nozzle properly. I spent $1400 shipped for 2 kits which will do approx 1200sq ft. it includes the suits, goggles, gloves, booties, and like 10 extra nozzles and fan tips. the upstairs took 1 kit and was the most sq ft of spray needed. I still have the other kits for when I do and finish the 8x12 bathroom addition. Her's the website with Q and A plus videos.
http://www.sprayfoamdirect.com/
That is great. How hard was it to keep the thickness to 1"?
I worried more about even coverage. Then took a break and went back over areas if need be. It was pretty easy really. Its more about having everything ready and planned. It comes with about 10 nozzles, I used 2. If you stop spraying longer than 30 seconds, you need to pop off the nozzle and replace with another. The foam is 2 part and mixes in the nozzle. The foam hardens in 30 seconds. All in all, yes its more than fiberglass batting. But You can't beat the air tighteness and sealing. And just worked perfect for my needs. ANd like many others here, I wanted a trial run and test of differant things to see how it worked out before doing a larger scale(house)
Im going back this weekend to batt the remainder and then sheetrock. The eaves and gable ends i went over a few times to build the foam to 3.5" as those areas are hard to get anything into. Ill let you know how it feels this weekend since itll be in the 30's and we dont have Heat yet other than a tent heater. so it better be warm:)
Cool outdoor kitchen! And your cabin is coming along nicely :)
Thanks Sassy, Ahh the mistakes we make on things we don't do for a living. I went and and started putting in the batts. and realized I forgot to install backer boards or nailers on the end walls. Now that I ve filled those areas with 3.5" foam thats gonna be tough. I was gonna sheet rock to save a few hundred dollars. but I dont know. originally I wanted to use tongue and groove 1/4"pine planks for a more rustic look. It wont crack if theres cabin movement since its on skids. But i may go back to that idea since its only a 5"span in the end walls to cover and no nailers in the corners.
We came back last night since I didnt finish the insulation and I have the beds covered. Plus I wanted a good hot shower to get any fiberglass off and not get it in the bedding in the cabin. That would make for some inchy nights long down the road:D)
QuotePlus I wanted a good hot shower to get any fiberglass off and not get it in the bedding in the cabin. That would make for some inchy nights long down the road:D)
Something I learned from a friend about itchy fiberglass- COLD shower! Hot showers open the pores and allow the fibers in, cold water closes pores and lets you wash them off. Not so comfy, especially this time of year but it really works!
Looking good by the way!
Nice Dug, could have used that advise last NIGHT d*. Actually we're fine, minimal ichyness.
The lady down at the local feed, convienience, gas station, pizza parlor, beer joint, and hardware store, told my girlfriend to use babypowder on any exposed skin. I guess it keeps it from sticking, cause once I started sweating.......
The biggest issue I had was I couldnt wear goggle and particle mask at the same time without fogging the google up. So last night on the way home I picked up a differant kind of mask that has a exhale valve in the front that should keep our breath from fogging up the goggles.
1 downside to the spray foam insulation I found out yesturday. I USED to be able to easily push the door closed and it closed and latched so easy. NOW, I have to push it closed all the way. Nice to see how airtight the foam made the cabin, I havent even done the down stairs yet.
w* BRUTAL!
nice looking place. I really like the gambrel roof and the spray foam info is interesting.'
good luck!
i think i may try that spray foam. i think i would fill the wall with it though. you could build 2x4 wall and get same or better r value then fiberglass in a 2x6 to offset some of the cost.
Quote from: CjAl on November 13, 2011, 06:10:12 PM
i think i may try that spray foam. i think i would fill the wall with it though. you could build 2x4 wall and get same or better r value then fiberglass in a 2x6 to offset some of the cost.
they have a slow rise foam and video on how to for closed wall cavities too. the R value per inch is more than twice that of Fiberglass. 2"of foam equals 3 1/2"
of the Batting I used. But the cose is more than triple too. This is why I did a mixed install per their recommendations on best value. Yes if you take out cost Ide love to do the whole cavity and trim with a serated knife even with the studs. Unfortunatly I now realise how poorly insulated my house is in comparison to the cabin. :(
im living in a double wide. poorly insulated 1x3 walls really make for a eratic power bill. i will go from running the ac to running the heat in the same day at times.
i'm a strong believer in the best insulation you can get. it will pay off in the long run.
i looked briefly at the site. it seemed the slow rise had less r value for not much less money
yeah Cj, thats why when I build the house, Im gonna do Aerated autoclaved concrete for exterior walls. And then either stucco finish or Hardi plank. My ex'x dad built a ICF concrete house 2000sqft with a heat pump and ran $60-70 summer ac bills in Houston when we were running $400 a month for 2700sqft. Our ac thermostats go up during the day when no one is home, and theyre retired so there all day. He said their house gets cool at night with air exchanger and then stays that cool all day with about a 1-2 degree rise in temp at most when its in the 90's outside. My temp goes up 10 degrees inside by noon. Theres 1 thing for sure, utilities are never going down and it may be more upfront to spend on a really efficient house. But as you aid the payoff comes every month, year after year. plus Ill be able to use smaller HVAC unit and Ill get alot cheaper homeowners insurance by useing a masonry product over stick built since it doesnt burn. And that proven a big deal with all the wildfires around here this year and the fact that the land I bought used to have ahouse on it but it burned to the ground before the fire dept got there 20 minutes away.
Even though foam has more R value per inch you don't get as much increase as you'd think over cellulose or fiberglass because of the thermal bridging of the studs and other framing (which can take up to 25% of the wall space). It does very well at stopping air movement though.
Not saying it's good or bad. I have no personal experience, just what I've read. Just wanted to throw it out there since there was some discussion on it.
Building Science has a great research project on wall insulation that can be downloaded here:
http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/information-sheets/high-r-value-wall-assemblies/high-r-wall-08-spray-foam-wall-construction/reports/rr-0903-building-america-special-research-project-high-r-walls/view
Or just skip to the section on spray foam:
http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/information-sheets/high-r-value-wall-assemblies/high-r-wall-08-spray-foam-wall-construction/?searchterm=high%20r%20value%20walls
Good job on doing your own spray foam though. I imagine that saved a ton of money and it's nice to be able to do it yourself. It will certainly be toasty and you don't have to worry as much about detailing the sheetrock or whatever wall covering you go with to be the air barrier.
Alan
Thanks for the links Alan. A ton of info. I just have to remember to do work to or I dont get paid and then the money I save by DIYing, is just offset by not making the money d*
I was looking more to foam in the air sealing qualities over R value. Every winter here in Houston Im reminded how poorly constructed in energy efficiency my 30 yr old house is. You can always feel the drafts of cold air and even though Ive put alot of effort into reduction it still is terrible.
I was reading on Greenovation(sp)TV a few months back about the average house has enough air infiltration equal to opening a door or large window.
Keep up the good work I like following your thread too, and was just talking to my GF the other day about your house and the reuse of the previous houses material and 10" thick cellulose in the walls [cool]
Well now that we've been getting rain in south texas the burn ban has been lifted. So Ive been burning alot of trees cut down and pruned last year....Im so ready to start back and get the covered deck done. But we're going rock crawling in may in Moab Utah so Ive got that on my plate right now too.....Always something
Wow following this thread with a grin. Wonder what you and your GF could do if you got serious???
you meen if SHE got serious ;D
She likes to watch me work, not that she doesnt help, but if I have to explain it.................
Well lets just say she enjoys a Margarita while Im working