Peace River Canada house

Started by tigrr, April 02, 2012, 10:17:29 PM

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tigrr

Hello We love this site and we decided to share our adventure.
The house was designed and drawn by the mrs, built by the mr and mrs.
We bought the 159 acres of land (half old growth trees and half pasture) in 2010 and have been doing most of the work ourselves. Hired a concrete company to pour the garage slab and then my wife and I built the 24X40 garage on it and moved in it with a 28 foot travel trailer. It has been quite the adventure from there on and we will try and describe it all in the next little while.
The garage has 10 foot high walls so the travel trailer fit in it.  3 inches to spare above the air conditioner.  We set up a big woodstove in it to keep us warm, during the winter.  We have two 4 foot by 5 foot windows where the 9X10 garage door is going.  2 lazy boys facing the wood stove beside the windows.
Getting rid of the old house that was on the property. It was a hot fire.  Broke windows 25 feet away.


Then starting the new foundation. All done by hubby and wife.


Loading the hole as they say. After hubby and wife poured footings. I used a concrete pump truck instead of wheel barrow. I (hubby)broke 2 ribs 2 days before pour, thank you Ibuprofen creator. 1800 mgs that day. Then 10 days of doing absolutely nothing but reading Mac Bolan.
 

Forgot to put all the rebar inside for easy access. Picture shows to the 2nd level of blocking.  After the 4th level I have to build all the scaffolding supports and install them. Then I can continue on with the wall building. All the rebar is overlapped 2 feet. The corners are 4 foot pieces bent to 90 degrees.  Each level of blocking has a row of rebar in it.  There are 8 bent to 90 degree pieces of rebar for every level. The top and bottom level have 16 pieces of 4 foot long bent to 90 degree rebar in them.


I will put up more pictures and let the betterhalf narrate.
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

MushCreek

You have my undivided attention- I'm just about to start an ICF build myself! I'm using Fox Blocks, and am going ICF all the way up (basement and main floor). Looking forward to watching your progress!
Jay

I'm not poor- I'm financially underpowered.


NM_Shooter

Wow... that looks great.  Can you post some pix of the property? 

That fire picture looks pretty dramatic.
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

tigrr

#3
That's great MC, all the best with your build.  We used Advantage ICF blocks.  But just for the basement.  Standard 2x6 above ground.

Thanks NMS.  Yes, the fire was quite the sight.  It was amazing how quickly it consumed the structure.  We salvaged what we could from it prior to the burn.  The building was far past any rescue.  We will post more pictures of the property when we find them (or take them).

4 blocks high   At this point the scafolding has to be installed and we went with stick built instead of renting the metal ones. The reason for stick built scafolding is we're slow and the rent is by the day!!  The vertical wall straps are a 2X4 nailed to a 2X6,  find straight ones!!  All the wood is attached to the foam blocks using 1 3/4 for plywoodand 3 inch deck screws for the 2bys.   There is a 1/4 inch thick piece X 1 inch wide tough plastic strap inside the foam that holds the screw.  The bottom row and the top row of foam blocks have 2 pieces of 1/2" rebar installed in the holders.  In the remaining rows of foam blocks is a piece of 3/8" rebar.  All the corners on each level, have a bent to 90 degrees piece in them as well.  Every 4 feet there is a vertical piece of 3/8ths rebar 8 feet tall.  All the rebar is wired together in 2 spots of the 2 foot overlap.  Each block end is held together with a zip tie, the above block is zip tied to the lower one on each end of the block.  500+ zip ties.  One cool feature of this company is you send them a floor plan and they figure out what you need.  The thing I would try to do next build is a plan that has no block cutting involved.  Any areas with cutting and you have to trim off the locking cubes with a knife.  Then extra strapping is required so it doesn't come apart. 



6th and final row.  Each of the window openings are lined with pressure treated 2X12s on the top and sides and 2 2X4s on the bottom so you can see if concrete gets all the way in.  If it doesn't, you can stick the hose of the concrete pump truck in the space between the 2X4s and fill the wall up.  The window box also has a couple of nails crossing each other on the outside every 5 inches apart on the top and sides to insure the window box doesn't shrink and slide out.  The nails get embedded into the concrete.  Hmm picture 2 nails driven side bye side every 5 inches down the middle of a 2X12 board.  Bend one 45 degrees one way and the other 45 degrees the other way. Slide into the ICF blocks and continue building wall.


The strapping is installed all the way around the outside edge. The wall is leaned in 3/4" in the middle because as soon as it is filled with concrete it bows out.  We checked the wall after the pour and setting the walls in 3/4 of and inch they were plumb after the pour. The corners are reinforced with special metal straps. The places where the blocks are cut for special wall lengths are reinforced with 3/4" plywood.  You can see the big zip tie down in the block. A few more corner pieces of rebar and then ready for concrete.

Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

NM_Shooter

That is pretty amazing looking.  Would you mind telling us what the cost of the forms were for your build?

I'm guessing in that last picture that the forms are indeed straight, and it is just lens distortion of your camera?

This looks to be very nice work.  Have you done this sort of thing before?
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"


tigrr

#5
The advantage forms were $4200
Nope not the camera.  The top of the wall is actually pulled in an inch before the pour and with the weight of the concrete, it settles and plumbs the wall.
This is our 2nd time using foam block forms. 
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

alex trent

Keep posting...this is great stuff.

Is there anything on here about an ICF done all the way up?


tigrr

#7
For info on going to the trusses with ICF go to www.plastifab.com  Somewhere is a place to request a CD.
Some of the reasons we didn't go to the trusses is it costs more than stick built.  Wiring you have two options pre-wire the forms, or after the pour attaching all the electrical boxes and grinding a groove for the wire and I know first hand this is no fun.  We didn't like the idea of paying taxes on 13 inches of house we couldn't use. 24 inch icf walls minus 11 inch 2X6 walls =13.    The really wide window sill means ripping sheets of G1S plywood for the wells.  I'll upload some more pics Wed. 
 
I should also add that if it is typed by someone who paid attention in english class its my betterhalf at the keyboard. If it doesn't well I was building radios in my head during engrish. LIG
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

MushCreek

I'm thinking about lumber braces as well. I was quoted $800 a week for bracing rental, and my contractor estimates it will take me 3 weeks working by myself. I think I could brace it with lumber for less than $2400! If I'm careful, I can probably re-use some of the bracing for internal walls, etc. The manufacturer recommends leaving the bracing in place for 3-4 days after the pour. Meanwhile, the meter is still running on the bracing rental.

I find it interesting that the wall always bows out during the pour- How does the concrete 'know' which way is out? Or is it something specific to that brand of block? I don't recall Fox mentioning that in their literature; only that the wall may need to be re-plumbed immediately after the pour. Maybe that's why my contractor recommends rental bracing- a lot easier to adjust on the fly. Maybe rent less bracing, and use a hybrid of both? Being a machinist, it also wouldn't be hard for me to cobble together adjustable struts out of all-thread and lumber, either.

As for the thick walls- I'm wondering if it could be successfully argued that the 'heated square footage' should be measured inside the structure. I'm certainly not heating all the way out to the siding! I think I already know the answer, though.

I'll be starting my build soon, and I'm going ICF all the way up. I'm hoping that stacking 7 lb. blocks will be less wear and tear on my aging body than trying to clean-and-jerk walls into place.
Jay

I'm not poor- I'm financially underpowered.


tigrr

#9
Mushcreek a later pic shows how turnbuckles were installed into the wood braces, these are recommended in case minor wall leveling is necessary after the pour.  We rented them for a week.  Insure the top of the last course is protected from damage if you continue with another complete wall above.  Tuck tape or good quality duck tape is needed to protect the interlocking pieces from damage.  The sound proofing and insulating quality with going all the way with ICF is incredible.  I just would of had to build a bigger house (and have a bigger budget) so the interior design would have fit.  Maybe the next one!!
The tax man agree to taxing only heated space?!! rofl
I think you're right in assuming the "bow" instructions may be specific to this brand of block.  We are just following manufacturers instructions.

Oh and my way of avoiding clean and jerk, minus 11 F that day. Can't do that heavy lifting anymore either.

This is a boat winch on a 14 foot 2X6, that usually has a 2X4 t'd to the bottom for stability.  3 inch pulley with a 1/2 inch hole fastened to the top of the 2X6.  There is a big barn door hinge on the bottom screwed to the floor.  This is a 40 foot 2X6 wall and it lifts the wall quite easily. Double plates on topof the wall.  I can lift a 40 foot wall myself this way.
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

flyingvan

I really like your winch set up.  There are quite a few times I could have used that solution.....
Find what you love and let it kill you.

NM_Shooter

I gotta hand it to you Canucks.  You guys don't mind a little cool weather huh?  Probably prefer it to the mosquitos :-)
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

tigrr

I shut it down when it hits minus 5 F now because the air tools freeze up.  Not to mention me freezing.  There were some times that the air compressor was in a heated space and when you pulled the trigger on the nail gun outside in the cold, a large cloud of fog hid everything.  I think the term 10 months of winter and 2 months of poor sledding was coined here.   Bugs aren't too bad here.  There are times when you don't want to be outside without a shot of deepwoods off, on exposed skin.  The highest temp reached this spring so far is 49F. Night time temps are still in the 20s. 
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

tigrr

#13
Concrete is in the blocks.  We used a concrete pump truck again and it was slick.  Now the fancy metal strapping is visable on the corners.


All the gravel is shoveled by hand around the foundation, after the moisture or damp proofing is stuck on.  There is a perforated 4 inch pipe buried under there.


Inspector gives the OK to backfill.  It took me 3 days to backfill with my 95hp John Deere.


Waisting no time to get the floorjoists in.  The last house we built I didn't back fill right away and had to bridge the gap to the wall.  Way easier to work on when its filled up.  The betterhalf cut all the joists while I laid out the plates and nailed the girder together.  An old carpenter told me to build the girder on the outer wall and slide it over and slip it into the pockets.  I like him.  I used to build it in place!!  The black tubes sticking up are filled with gravel and this drains the window wells.  It goes all the way to the lower drain tiles, but not attached into the drain tiles. 

LIG
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.


tigrr

#14
Starting to put down 3/4 inch fir plywood floor.  It is glued and screwed down.


Sorry I had to post a pic of my fancy 2X10 blocking in the 2X10 floor.  Problem is the plumbing and furnace stuff goes right through the same space so I have to knock out all the offending ones. :(


First wall on the bump out.


The easy way to lift walls.  The problem is it lifts the whole wall and slides it out of alignment.  Then sledge hammer to re-align it.  Notice the supervisor in the back corner.
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

tigrr

My other passion, this is a target that is 1 mile away from the shooting bench.  At the end of the day there was 52 bullet impacts on the 4X8 foot sheet of steel.  All the marks on the sheet are from that day.  The 30 targets are spread out from 100 yards out to 1760 yards. Nothing for 5 miles behind that 1 mile target.  LIG
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

Sassy

Interesting to watch your build - making good progress - nice area  :)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

tigrr

#17
Thanks Sassy.  I've been spending some time looking at the older postings.  There are a lot of interesting projects on this forum.  It's great to see all the contributions and we're glad to be able to share our experience as well.
Just a little more information, because I don't believe we've posted it yet.  The house size is 24x40.  It will have 2 bedrooms and 1 3/4 baths.  Tigrr is currently working on finishing up the plumbing and wiring.  We are able to do most of the work ourselves, but everything requires a permit.  The property tax assessors have been out here 5 times since we started the project to keep track of our progress. :P
Rafters going in with the help of a ramp and a JD tractor.  We would load about 5 trusses on the bucket at a time, slide them off , one at a time, and secure them in place.  This was totally a husband and wife effort.  I'd let Tiggr do the truss walking.  My knees would have been shaking to much and toppled the truss over. ;D


East side


South side


First east porch
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

duncanshannon

Quote from: tigrr on April 02, 2012, 10:17:29 PM
Hello We love this site and we decided to share our adventure.

w*  Thanks for sharing.

Quote
We bought the 159 acres of land (half old growth trees and half pasture)

...drool.... thats awesome. congrats!  I'd love that much land. 

Thanks for all the photos. I've been curious to understand ICF's better... so excited to follow your thread for that part alone!

You guys are are going incredible fast!  You must have professional experience in the industry?

Do you have any plans you can share?

Duncan
Home: Minneapolis, MN area.  Land: (no cabin yet) Spooner, WI area.  Plan: 20x34 1 1/2 Story. Experience Level: n00b. 
Build Thread: http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10784.0

tigrr

#19
Appreciate the welcome Duncan!  Following your thread as well.  9 acreas of adventure.
Yes, it is kind of cool having the extra acres to play on.  Most of the neighbours in this area have the same or more, so it's quiet and private. 
It may seem like we're going ahead a warp speed, but maybe that's because we are showing the pictures from when we started over a year ago.
No, we are not professional builders.  We know just enough to make us dangerous! ;D
We've built and renovated in the past mostly for financial reasons.  Most properties/homes in our price range aren't worth the price they are asking.
Yes, there are plans, but they're "homemade".  I really enjoy drawing up house plan/ideas.  It scares  Tiggr sometimes, but he has said I can draw all  I want, as long as he doesn't have to build them all. :)

Sheeting the roof.  I sheeted it with 3/8" fir plywood and then strapped it with 2X4s for the metal to be screwed to.  Makes for a really quiet metal roof too!  Walking on the top of the 1 1/2" wide truss.  Some people can't watch.


Back porch will be screened in.  Sheeting is all on.


The view down the valley, through the south windows.  Its cool watching the various animals, deer, moose, coyotee, wolf and black bear.  Some you see the tracks of, but not the animal are cougar and bobcat.  I've learned to not get too attached to the deer, even if the twins were born in your front yard(looked like chihuahua's). Neighbours 12 year old grandson took one to the butcher in hunting season. sniff


Some windows in, tyvek on.  Still trying to put tin on a snowy roof!!  Short on some valley flashing and it took 6 weeks of waiting to get some delivered that wasn't all bent and the center rib cracked.  Any brown hair I still had turned grey in the last year. 
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.


tigrr

The south facing windows.


The interior walls going up, after the doors went in.  So this would be lock up stage.


Yes that reads -45F or -43C. Jan 17 2012
When it gets that cold we just stay inside the shop with the woodstove going and relax with a book. 


The view inside facing north.
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

RIjake

tigrr,
Nice looking build.

Curious as to what you shoot?  I fancy myself a bit of a marksman myself but nothing as far as a mile.  That's quite a poke.  It's tough to find a place that far to shoot in New England.

tigrr

#22
Hey Jake
I use a made in the USA Savage model 12 F-Class 6.5-284 Norma.  With a NightForce 5.5-22X56 scope.  It has 30 thou in shims under the rear base on the scope.  Burris signature Z rings with 10 moa inserts.  http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/models/  click on the target rifle series

I also use a Savage model 12 F/TR IN 308CAL.  It has the same scope on it, with 45 thou in shims under the rear scope base.  I opened a shooting event with 14 hits out of 25 attemps last February, using my 308.  Couldn't see my hits till we drove down to the metal target.  There was a bottle of whiskey riding on the first person to hit the 1 mile target, with a 308 cal.  White Owl Spiced Rye tasted good.   
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.

RIjake

Ahh yes.  I've heard some very good things about the Savage rifles.  Many guys at my club swear by them. 


tigrr

#24
Well after reading posts from page 32 forward I've noticed we left out our humble beginings.  So here is some of it.
This is the garage slab that has a thickend edge.  The slab has a engineers stamp on it.  It is 24X40 feet with a 15 inch thick by 24 inch wide edge around the perimeter and a 5 inch thick slab, all full of rebar.  That is the "me" shed that I built to store tools and generator in while we built the garage.  The idea was build the garage, live in it in a 28 foot travel trailer, while the house is being built.  Thats the 28 foot trailer behind the "me" shed.


Different view of it all.  The excavator dug the hole for the house at the same time it cleared the garage spot.


The bottom plate is pressure treated, so I have to nail in galvinized nails.   I later found galvinized nails for the nail gun, after it was all done. d*  The walls of the garage are 10 feet high, with 3 inches clearance above the air conditioner on the travel trailer to the ceiling of the garage. 


Yahoo no more generator for power tools.  6 weeks wait for these guys to show up and do their thing.  Real happy to see them though.


Buried cable with code required colored flagging buried with it.
Long range shooting is my passion, house building keeps me out of mischief.