20 X 36 1 1/2 story in north Georgia

[Redoverfarm]

Christina looking real good. Good progress as well. Wish mine went up as fast as your did.  I like the carvings.

[williet]

You're REALLY good with carving tools. The house looks GREAT!

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

My husband wants to know when we can move it.  He loves the house, too... it is really a work of art.

[CWhite]

Hi WillieT, carving is what I do, so I had to incorporate it into this house too.  There will be many carved details.
Thanks for noticing.  I'm hoping it will be an inspiration for commissions from folks visiting my gallery, and seeing the house.

Homegrown, thanks, but this one's mine!   I am so ready to move in.  That's probably the worst part about building codes.  We CANNOT move in until we get the occupancy certificate. 

I found out that the cost of putting the electrical connection from the telephone pole will be one of those unpredicted costs that I can do absolutely nothing about.  They charge $7.00 per foot to bury the cable to within 200 feet of the house.  From there, we hire another contractor to ditch it the rest of the way and install the conduit to provide underground service.  Over budget is not the right description, but my "guestimate" was just a number I pulled out of the sky. 

On a better note, the fiberglass insulation was put in today, and we're on schedule for the spray in stuff tomorrow. 
Christina

[Redoverfarm]

Christina the underground power will be more of an asset even if the cost is a little more.  I had underground service to my house for 450 ft from the overhead lines. That was fairly cheap compared to the 2500 feet of construction that I had to foot just getting it close to the house.

There is less chance of trees falling on the lines, icing up, shorts  and fire hazzard.  I was thinking "Kids flying kites" when I put mine in. But my kids have never flow a kite near the house. Have pasture for that.

Sometimes it just pays to go over budget on some things. The problem that alot of people have is they go over on too many things.

[CWhite]

Yes, I agree with you about the benefits of underground service.  I just wish I had guessed closer to the actual cost.  There is no changing it, so I won't dwell on it at all.  I posted the information to share the knowledge I've just today learned for the sake of others knowing possible costs.  I don't remember where I came up with the information that made me guess so low.  I missed it by about $2000.00.  :O

I have had a builder and contracted labor for this house, so saving money has been a challenge compared to the house my x husband and I built from salvaged materials and did all of the work about 25 years ago.  I have successfully used craigslist.com to buy quite a few things that I've saved thousands of dollars on.  It is a real slap in the face when something as unyielding as the power company eats up so much of my hard earned efforts at saving money. 

It is a pretty house though.  , and it gets closer to being done each day.
Christina

[CWhite]

I have insulation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in the roof. 

They came today in a big truck and sprayed it into the roof.  It was fun to watch, smelled kind of weird, and went quickly except for the tow truck adventure after the "flat-landers" got their truck extremely stuck and tore up a good bit of my driveway.  They didn't leave until 9:22 this evening.  I'll call the gas company tomorrow to put the propane tank back where it belongs and relevel it (it got slightly involved), and spend the day shoveling dirt back into the huge ditches rutted out in my driveway. 

But, I have Insulation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   
For the curious, I put images on the snapfish.com picture file.
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=244101197321181693/l=333239845/g=85820999/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Now, the inspectors get to return....
Christina

[John Raabe]

I grabbed a few images from Christina's Snapfish gallery:



Spraying expanding foam into a roof rafter cavity. Note metal roof on 2x4 skip sheathing. This will all be sealed.



Batts in the walls and sealed unvented foam rafter insulation.



The feed tube from the foam truck. (Now you know why this is not a DIY project. ) Hint... the truck is big and the equipment expensive.

PS to Christina - Nice House!

[cbc58]

so there's no air channel at all between the roof and insulation?  kind of like the way a strutured insulated panel system works?

[glenn kangiser]

Yes - that stops condensation by not allowing room for warm moist air to get against the underside of the cold metal.

[CWhite]

It also acts as a nice sound barrier.  Rain on a tin roof isn't nearly as romantic when you're trying to sleep under one. 
The purlins are 2X4's so there is a substantial amount of that foam in there.  The installer explained to me that this is NOT the closed cell type.  This foam stays softer to expand and shrink a bit with the metal during temperature changes.  It is the correct application of this stuff, and should save fuel bills for folks who live in extreme climates.  I don't see this paying for itself anytime soon considering where we live with the mild temperatures, but it will make it more comfortable, and kept us from having to go to worse measures to pass our inspections. 

My driveway is a horrible mess this morning, and I have already had the gas company come out and put the propane tank back on the footings after it's altercation with the insulation truck.   
I have a lot of shoveling to do.

Thanks for the kind words, John.
Christina

[williet]

Christina,
If you don't mind ....what's a ball park figure on this stuff....installed. The house is wonderful. I like it more each time I look through the pictures.

Mark

[CWhite]

Mark, it cost $2.00 per square foot.   
It hurts just to write is down.
Christina

[glenn kangiser]

...but now you have a Cadillac, Christina.  Hurts a bit now but it will be worth it in the long run.  It will save against both heat and cold.

[John Raabe]

Probably makes the roof system not only quieter but longer lasting as well. Virtually glues the whole thing into one structural system (and a bit of give to the material is a long term bonus to handle the heat/cold expansion cycles). Also, structurally, it is likely to be as stabilizing as sheathing the roof with plywood or OSB, so that was an AVOIDED cost.

[williet]

Mark, it cost $2.00 per square foot.   
It hurts just to write is down.
Christina

The house is beautiful and ya'll will love it.....don't think of the price right now!

[williet]

Christina,
IF(and I hope it never happens) there is a leak in the roof....How do you fix it with this spray-in stuff? Has anyone addressed that with you?

[CWhite]

Mark, you're really a "glass half empty" kind of guy aren't you? 

I guess if it leaks someday, I'll deal with it.  So far, it hasn't, and it has been through a few stout test storms.  Tornadoes happen, fires happen.  Insurance might help.

I do have confidence in the materials used, the crews involved, and results.  I researched a lot, and learned a lot.  I guess, that's all I can do.  If it breaks, I'll learn more.

On a happier note, the inspectors came again this morning, and even with the shark music from JAWS playing in my head while they were walking down the drive towards the house, they gave us a thumbs up.  We're good to the next step. 

Also, I have water lines hooked up, ditches dug for the power up to the power company's committed entrance point, and the hope of sheet rock installation next week. 

Plus, the mud is thawing out, so temps are more agreeable to work outdoors.
Christina

[Sassy]

Great!  I look forward to seeing your continued progress - you will certainly have a nice home - you can tell a lot of planning & love has gone into it 

[MountainDon]

I wouldn't worry about "what if" myself. A properly installed metal roof has a very long life. The most liely places for any sources of leaks, as I've been told by the roofer who installed my home's new metal roof is around the roof perforations. He told me he'd call five years after and offer to do a (paid) inspection and re-caulking wherever necessary. Sounds like something I'll do myself as long as I'm able to get up on the roof.

We do have a number of perforations, vents, chimney, skylights. However, the original asphalt shingle roof never experienced any leaks in the 22 years it was up there. I did re-caulk a few of the vents, a few times, as precautionary maintenance though.

[williet]

Mark, you're really a "glass half empty" kind of guy aren't you? 

I guess if it leaks someday, I'll deal with it.  So far, it hasn't, and it has been through a few stout test storms.  Tornadoes happen, fires happen.  Insurance might help.

I do have confidence in the materials used, the crews involved, and results.  I researched a lot, and learned a lot.  I guess, that's all I can do.  If it breaks, I'll learn more.

On a happier note, the inspectors came again this morning, and even with the shark music from JAWS playing in my head while they were walking down the drive towards the house, they gave us a thumbs up.  We're good to the next step. 

Also, I have water lines hooked up, ditches dug for the power up to the power company's committed entrance point, and the hope of sheet rock installation next week. 

Plus, the mud is thawing out, so temps are more agreeable to work outdoors.
Christina

Not at all...My brother and I grew up repairing rent houses that were given to my father by his father. I've done more than my share of house repair work and I just try to think ahead....As I've said before...I love your house and I really hope you have nothing but happy times in it.

[williet]

Mark, you're really a "glass half empty" kind of guy aren't you? 

I guess if it leaks someday, I'll deal with it.  So far, it hasn't, and it has been through a few stout test storms.  Tornadoes happen, fires happen.  Insurance might help.

I do have confidence in the materials used, the crews involved, and results.  I researched a lot, and learned a lot.  I guess, that's all I can do.  If it breaks, I'll learn more.

On a happier note, the inspectors came again this morning, and even with the shark music from JAWS playing in my head while they were walking down the drive towards the house, they gave us a thumbs up.  We're good to the next step. 

Also, I have water lines hooked up, ditches dug for the power up to the power company's committed entrance point, and the hope of sheet rock installation next week. 

Plus, the mud is thawing out, so temps are more agreeable to work outdoors.
Christina

Not at all...My brother and I grew up repairing rent houses that were given to my father by his father. I've done more than my share of house repair work and I just try to think ahead....As I've said before...I love your house and I really hope you have nothing but happy times in it.

The best way to find a leak in a roof is to look at it from inside. As many people read these threads, I was questioning as to how one would find the leak with this method of insulation.....I thought you might have ask the folks who do the insulation work......or maybe someone else might know.

I wasn't trying to be negative or wish you bad luck with the roof..... Just trying to learn and plan ahead.

[CWhite]

Now, now, Mark,don't go taken my teasing too seriously...., I was just funnin ya. 
I appreciate questions on this board as much as everyone else does.  The answers are worth seeing. 

I do have to just wait to see if leaks appear over a lifetime.  I think watching the process of the insulation going in took a lot of the mystery out of it.  I am confident it could be fixed if needed. 

I spent my youth as slave labor to my father who also had rental property (apparently, it had the effect of being interested in some form of construction later in life), and learned that just about anything can be fixed with hard work. 
I suppose that's why I just choose not to worry until it's time. 

I love the house already, and hope that the next 8 weeks or so, really show some intense changes so we can move into it.  I'm getting real tired of living in a chicken house and a camper.  Winter is getting to me too.  I want spring. 

Maybe you'll get to come see it someday.  When do you plan on building yours, and have you gotten close to knowing what you want  yet? 
Christina

[Willy]

Christina,
IF(and I hope it never happens) there is a leak in the roof....How do you fix it with this spray-in stuff? Has anyone addressed that with you?

That could be a problem sorta like fishing in new electrical wires in sprayed foam or blown in insulation in walls It is hard fishing them in regular insulation let alone packed walls or foam. Mark

[williet]

Christina,
IF(and I hope it never happens) there is a leak in the roof....How do you fix it with this spray-in stuff? Has anyone addressed that with you?

That could be a problem sorta like fishing in new electrical wires in sprayed foam or blown in insulation in walls It is hard fishing them in regular insulation let alone packed walls or foam. Mark

In the past when I've worked around the sprayed in stuff, I always liked it...BUT Kinda like doing wiring for a log house, it seems to me that you'd have to give a lot of thought to the where-a-bouts of all your plumbing and electrical. Not so much a problem in this space...but I ran electrical in walls that were then sprayed and it took time to plan and any later changes were a pain. Commercial storage buildings for chemicals.

I really like the stuff.....but...unless you look down the road and leave pleanty of open conduit, I'd not use it in walls.....This looks good in between rafters though. I wonder if it can be used directly on the wood if sprayed under decking???Would there need to be a vapor sheet somewhere other than between the metal roofing and the decking??

The best log house that I worked on (circa..1985) was insulated with two 2" layers of 5x9 sheets of uthane. These were stacked with staggered seams and taped. They were on top of felt paper that was on top of 5/4 tongue & groove pine decking...exposed as the finished ceiling on the underside. ..on top of the insulation we nailed 1" furring strips in line with the rafters (air space) and then....decked with 5/8 plywood sheathing...all this was nailed in place with gutter spikes (8") driven into the 8"log rafters...then more felt paper and metal roofing.

This roof was pretty thich, but in the winter...the house almost never needed any heat other than a small fire or the clothes dryer running...and in the summer, it was almost always cool. EXPENSIVE...but the best roof I've ever seen.

Roof specs came from the log house manufacturing company. I guess it was OK, because the last time I saw it...a couple of years ago...there were no signs of problems inside or out.