30x40 Earth Berm Passive Solar in Maine

[Bishopknight]

Thanks for the heads up MountainDon.

I have another place I can put the panels, inside the office. I still might put the batteries to the left over the washer dryer and the inverter to the right.

There is no electrical inspections required where I'm building my house but I want to conform to code as much as possible.

[Bishopknight]

Sunday update:

MaineRhino visited saturday with his heater and tried to help melt the ice on my slab. Being a rookie, I thought both of our heaters would be enough to melt it........err, um, It barely put a dent in it with 170k BTUs blasting! Soooo, that meant plan B, insulate! Luckily I had that delivered yesterday morning. R38 fiberglass bats to the rescue!

M.R. installed all the vent plastic for the eaves and then helped me insulate a couple rows. Here's what we got done. It was a huge help! Thanks again M.R! I owe ya.





After I was spoiled with M.Rs help, I decided to bring up the spare hay bail I had to my neighbor. That way I could I could offer her boyfriend a little work today. He accepted and we finished up the rest before it got dark. I didn't take any in-progress pics, just ones at the end shown as below. I still need 1 more roll of insulation to fill the ends but it will be ready to heat next weekend. I'll probably also build the new door opening and move the remaining window to the current doorway after I fix its rough opening.







p.s: I bought scaffolding and It was worth its weight in gold!

[Redoverfarm]

BK that should make a world of difference when you put heat into the space now.  It might take some time to get it all defrosted but it should soften it up and with the aid of a barnyard scraper you should have a ice free floor before too long.  Not to mention a more confortable work space dispite the outside temps. 

[soomb]

Looking good.  Insulation question:  Will your home have the EPS foam (same as under slab) on the exterior of the walls prior to the earth being bermed against the home?

[glenn kangiser]

It's great that you guys were able to get together and work on this. 

I always enjoy meeting other CP members and getting to work together or just have conversation with like minded people.

[Redoverfarm]

Glenn you are welsome to come and work with me if you are feeling left out. 

[glenn kangiser]

I'd really like that, John, if it wasn't that little 2700 mile gap between here and there.

[Bishopknight]

Glenn, The like minded part is a scary thought  

John, I could already tell a difference!

Soomb, yep, once the exterior is waterproofed, I plan on insulating it with 2" of XPS foam as well.

Btw, if I had to guess right now, the whole house has cost close to $20,000 so far. With another $20k, it will be finished, I guarantee that........ Just doing my part to "stimulate the economy" 

[glenn kangiser]

Glenn, The like minded part is a scary thought  

Break the mirrors, BK.  You won't want to see yourself like this...

[soomb]

to 20k and 20K is construction cost only (not land)?

[Bishopknight]

Right Soomb, construction cost, not land.

Slab (total cost) - $5000
16" Blocks/SBC - $1700
2x/ply/nails - $1500
Anderson 400 series windows ( craigslist ) - $1300
Premade Trusses - $2500
Advantech 5/8" sheathing - $1000
I/W Underlayment - $320
AR Shingles - $1200
Tool rental - $200
R38 Insulation/strapping - $1100
Labor - $4000


$19,820 roughly so far.

The large purchases ahead are the kitchen cabinets, appliances, stove, exterior foam insulation, bitumene membrane, drywall and interior doors. If I do most of it myself, I should be able to finish the house a little under $30,000 ( around $25 sq ft ). I buy from a local lumberyard so they give me contractor pricing. Often times, its cheaper than Lowes and the wood is straighter and the delivery is free.

Note: I do not include tool purchases in the cost, like a scaffolding or reddy heater for example. Since I will use those when I build the garage.

[Sassy]

You've really moved along quickly - lookin good!  Keep posting pix as you progress 

[karnf]

Hey Bishopknight,
Let me first say thanks so much for all your info on building for you are an inspiration to all of us and have
been so helpful to others building their their little paradise.
From a cajun living in Maryland but would love to be so lucky to live in your part of paradise; I visited twice
your beautiful state a couple of years ago and swear I left a part of my heart there and long to go back.
We are building a 12x20 pole barn cabin in western Maryland and are looking for exterior siding. I noticed
your 12x16 has red cedar shakes and I really like the look for we have a green door and metal roof and like
the rustic look of yours. I wanted to ask you about the pros and cons you have experienced so far with the
siding. On craigslist, someone was selling 11 bundles of grade #1 red cedar medium shakes for $500. Is this
a good deal in your opinion and would it cover my sq footage? I am confused for he stakes that one bundle
covers 100sq ft. But on cedar websites it states that 5 bundles cover 100sq ft? Can you offer any info?

[Bishopknight]

Hi Karnf,

My pleasure. Sometimes I think I am divulging too much information but it really is with the intent to eliminate the guesswork for people considering these projects. When I hear how much its helps someone, I know its worth it.

As for the cedar shake siding. Here's some additional details. First of all, that craigslist ad doesn't strike me as a good deal. I was buying #2 grade at around $20 a bundle and was very happy with the quality. Yes there are imperfections but I would be happy to use it on my main house. The #1 grades at the Lowes/Home Depots around Maine are in the $40-50 range per bundle and the pre-stained were slightly more.That's why I don't feel its a good deal, especially if prices are the same down there. I think you could probably get a better deal through a lumber yard, since you will probably be buying 20 bundles. Another thing people don't know is that the quality of lumber at Lowes/HD is not very good compared to Lumber yards. They buy the cheapest stuff in bulk so they can hit their margins. Lumber yards have to deal with contractors who have higher quality standards. As for the amount you'll need, I think I bought about 10-12 bundles for my little cabin alone. If I was you, I would call 2 lumber yards and compete one against the other. I sometimes call Hammond Lumber here, find out their lowest price, then call my lumber yard and see what they'll give me. If its higher, I'll tell them what Hammond can do it for and they usually beat them to keep my business.

A trick with laying shingles flat and fast is to nail a 12-16' straight 1x4 board below the next rows snapped line and then lay the shingles on the board as you shoot them. A friend helping makes it go much faster as well.



As for attaching the shingles. I used a cordless Ryobi One brad nailer with 1 1/4" brads. It worked pretty good most of the time. There are the occasional brads that needed hammering down because they hit some tough wood.

Anyways, I hope that helps a little.

[karnf]

Whey,
Thanks for letting me know before I regret my purchase and your constant wealth of helpful info.

[glenn kangiser]

I think the taboo on divulging prices etc. stems from the old days and trade protection by not giving out knowledge.  My BIL used to drive me crazy with his unfounded superstition or whatever it was on not giving out price information.

So it will help someone.  Big deal... lets talk about it.  Thanks BK.  The trades are pretty well done anyway and serve no useful purpose for most of us for our own use.  Yes - I'm in the trades, and I may reserve info from the people who are not smart enough to show up here.

[MountainDon]

I've never understood companies with policies that prohibit giving prices over the phone. I hadn't run into that for a long time until a couple months ago. I was checking the price of refilling a 20# propane bottle. The local station that actually refills bottles, not just an exchange station, refused to price over the phone. To me, refusing a price quote over the phone removes that business from the list of places to do business. I figure they have something to hide and it's not their low price.

[karnf]

Sorry BK,
I think I may have worded my response wrong. I THANK YOU for your constant wealth of info. I didn't
want to regret a purchase that may have been a bad deal. The guy emailed me back and said he paid
$220 a bundle of shake with a 20 year warranty. Must be REALLY Gold Cedar Shakes. He seemed to
think I would have enough to cover the 12x20 cabin.

[karnf]

BK,
The guy just emailed me and dropped the price of all 11 bundles to $250 for all to get rid of. Seems
you have to use a lot of nails. How many do you use for each shake or do you just place the board
over the shakes and nail that as you showed in the pic you sent.

[Bishopknight]

That sounds like a good deal at that price.

The nails are around $10 for a 1000 brads. Very cheap. I think I used a couple thousand so if there's a 5000 pack, get that. They say to put 2 per shingle but on the wider ones, I put 3 or 4 sometimes. Make sure you get the galvanized kind.

[Jochen]

Karnf,

No, the board is just a guide which Bishopsknight used. It will be removed after you have finished that row. I think you will need two nails per shingle. Take a look at the following link: http://www.cedarbureau.org/installation/wall-manual.htm which should give you some helpful informations.

Jochen

[HomeschoolMom]

BK, I too really appreciate your breakdown of cost.  The unknown is the scarry part and when we have an idea of what it is costing, it seems so much more manageable.

I love coming here on Monday mornings for your updates, especially with pics!

[soomb]

BK, I want to add my kudos to your willingness to discuss cost.  It has been a great help in seeing what things cost vs what we pay for when we buy what the builder is selling.  The budget numbers I had in my head (no basis in fact) were way off.  Thank you and keep up the good work.

[Bishopknight]

Thanks Homeschoolmom and Soomb 

Btw, I learned today that scissor trusses indeed halve the pitch on the interior of the roof. So in my case, my 6/12 pitch becomes a 3/12 interior cathedral ceiling. This is also useful when using my speed square to calculate diagonals for the interior framing.

This picture shows a 6/12 pitch example. (I'll be using the 3). The side where its labeled "plumb cut" is where you would mark and cut. Sean and Runar taught me this 2 weeks ago.

[speedfunk]

good job BK.  I'm liking the ceiling.  As far as trusses go you def made a good choice.  It still has that nice open cathedral feel.