38x30 in Iowa

Started by Alan Gage, April 03, 2011, 05:07:57 PM

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KWillets

Great minds think alike -- I've got an EMT chimney support on mine too.  I didn't feel like springing for the official version. 

Alan Gage

Quote from: KWillets on December 20, 2011, 01:01:24 AM
Great minds think alike -- I've got an EMT chimney support on mine too.  I didn't feel like springing for the official version.

Or fools seldom differ. :)

Alan


Alan Gage

Sheetrock is done....finally!!!


20120102_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20120102_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

And now the primer is up:


20120104_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Now I need to get my concrete floor sealed, get to work on the batrhoom (which hasn't been sheetrocked yet), and then move onto the hardest part of the build...picking final paint and cabinet colors!!

One of these days I might even get to move in.

Alan

metolent

Wow!  Looks amazing Alan.  I tip my hat to any one that does their own sheetrock... yours looks great! 

Alan Gage

After getting the priming done a big cleanup was in order. It felt great to get all that dust and mess out of the house. To celebrate I started sheetrocking the bathroom! It was quick and easy though. The ceiling was already up, there were no closets, and about 1/4 of it will be hidden behind the shower so who cares if those seams are pretty or not?

For months I've been trying to figure out exactly how I'm going to do my shower. I'd originally planned on a 3x4 so that's where I placed the drain when I poured the slab. But one interior wall got moved a couple inches and I realized I might as well make my shower 5' wide (width of the bathroom) since the space would just be wasted if I made the shower 4' wide (what would I do with an 8" wide space?) All that meant that my drain was in the wrong spot so I couldn't just slap down a factory shower base. I really wanted to avoid breaking up the concrete to relocate the drain so I thought about floating my own sloped mortar bed and doing a tile shower or buying an oversized Schluter base and cutting it to fit. I don't know how many hours I spent thinking about my problem and researching different options. Then one day as I was standing there looking at the drain it suddenly dawned on my that what I'd been trying to avoid, breaking out the concrete, really wouldn't be hard at all. Much easier (and cheaper) than the other options. So I bought a masonry blade for my circular saw, cut out around where I wanted the hole, and started whacking away with a sledge hammer. In 15 minutes I had a nice hole for relocating my pipe.


20120108_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

This opened up all kinds of options but I chose to buy a shower base and surround rather than do a custom tile shower. Much easier and cheaper. I've got enough big projects coming up so I needed to buy some time. The base was a very tight fit (no slop) and I couldn't figure out how I could glue the new drain in place and have it hit the hole in the base exactly. So I decided to use rubber elbows instead of gluing on PVC elbows. This would give me plenty of movement to line up the drain as the base was being set in place.


20120110_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Now I just needed a way to keep some movement in the pipe after the concrete was poured. So this is what I came up with:


20120110_005 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The plywood is placed so that it's sitting about 3/8" above the horizontal part of the drain. Spray foam will keep concrete from running down the big holes. Plenty of foam wrapped around the vertical section of pipe along with some plastic sheeting (added after the picture) for a little more circumference.

After the concrete had cured I just pulled out the foam. So with the foam and plywood no concrete was allowed to touch the pipe. Which gave me plenty of movement.


20120111_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20120111_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Alan



Alan Gage

Finally time to seal the concrete floors. When I was in Sioux Falls getting my shower surround I also picked up some concrete sealer. Water based doesn't affect the color or tone of the concrete. It also doesn't smell bad or catch on fire. Solvent based sealer provides more of a wet look to the concrete. Darkens it a little and brings out the colors. It also smells really bad and burns really good. I went with water based since I was pretty happy with the current color of the concrete.

After lots of cleaning and scrubbing I had the floor in the spare bedroom all ready to go:


20120115_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Tried rolling the sealer on with a short nap roller but it was a disaster. The stuff was pretty much the consistency of water and it started to get all foamy the more I rolled it. So I quick grabbed a lamb's wool applicator and that went much better. Didn't take long at all to coat the floor. Gotta move fast because it starts to set up in a matter of minutes:


20120115_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I was happy with how it came out at first. But then I started cleaning up the other floors in the house and I could see in direct comparison how much better the wet floors looked next to the sealed floor. Richer in color, darker and it evened out all the imperfections in the floor (small stains and trowel marks from finishing). I started to worry that with the water based sealer the floors would be too light, especially if I decided on a darker color for some of the walls.

Here's a picture of the bathroom floor after it's been washed so it's still a little wet. In the upper right hand corner is a small test patch that I'd already sealed with the water based sealer. You can see the big difference in color and tone.


20120115_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

What to do, what to do?

The next day I left work a little early and took a 4 hour round trip to Sioux Falls to trade my water based sealer in for solvent based. Never going to be an easier time to do it.

Alan

mobilesport

#106
How much did it cost to have the stem walls and slab poured and concrete block walls installed?
I cant think you enough for posting all these pictures and video !

Alan Gage

Quote from: mobilesport on February 07, 2012, 03:13:52 AM
How much did it cost to have the stem walls and slab poured and concrete block walls installed?
I cant think you enough for posting all these pictures and video !

I did all the form work and reinforcement for the grade beam so the crew just showed for the pour. Then they laid two courses of block (which was the form for the slab. I did all the prep work for the slab pour too (grading, plastic, foam, etc). They did some work getting everything setup for their screed.

The concrete itself cost $2000. Concrete guys charged $3000. The tint I added to color it was $500.

Alan


Alan Gage

Long overdue update. Between my actual job and the house I've been putting in 12-14 hours most days so haven't had much time to download and organize pictures. I'll get some uploaded later.

Floors are all sealed. Ceilings are all painted. Bathroom and main bedroom are painted. Shower is in. A work shop is all setup in my shed, and I'm well underway on the bathroom vanity. That's what's been taking most of my time this week. It's my test cabinet before I start on the kitchen cabinets and so far so good. Box, end panel, and drawers are all done. Door is cutout but still needs to be glued up. Stained tonight. Tomorrow I'll start varnishing.

Moving in this weekend but still lots of work to go. Interior doors, trim, painting, closets, etc... Still having fun though.

Alan


mobilesport

I was curious , if your dad didn't buy the tractor how much work would've it been to shovel it in ? , I ask because I'm going to go with this same type of foundation and i dont have a tractor , mine will be 1144 sq ft .
What i was thinking was that i could call the gravel company and when they unload the first load i tell them i want it in a couple different piles spaced out and then when the second load comes i tell him again to dump it in seperate piles and spaced out around but close to the trench , by doing this i wont have to haul it as far in the wheel barrow.
I'm looking forward to seeing some end result pictures, especially that living room ! love that living room with those thick walls and wood stove.

Alan Gage

If I had to do it over again I'd probably do a more standard foundation. The rock and gravel cost a lot more than a thought it would. Around here trench foundations are really common. Someone comes in with an 8" or 10" trencher and goes down 4' deep. Simply fill it with concrete and add some block or a grade beam on top of that. I don't think it would have cost any more to go that route and it sure would have been quicker and easier. A lot easier to add on in the future as well (how do you tie a new foundation into an existing gravel foundation?).

Just think about it anyway.

Depends on the size of the rock you get when it comes to shoveling. The 2 inch stuff I got would have been miserable to shovel. The 1 inch stuff wasn't bad but it's gonna take a LOT of rock.

Alan

Alan Gage

Here's the long awaited photo update. I'll try and keep the text to a minimum.

Wrapped the pipes for the shower and toilet in foam and a thick layer of plastic before pouring the slab so that I could put female fittings over them.


20120106_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Just the right clearance:


20120117_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

But how to cut if off below the level of the concrete? After some head scratching:


20120117_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

And ready for the toilet!:


20120117_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The room I'm in was done with water based sealer, solvent based beyond. Not much difference but enough. It's more obvious in person.



20120118_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The living room floor after being sealed. It was still a bit damp so it didn't dry with quite this much "pop." I'm quite happy with them though:



20120123_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Now it's time to start on the cabinets, but first I need a work area and a new table saw. Built a 6x8' work area/outfeed table in the middle of the shop. The clutter is clearing out as more stuff is moved into the house:


20120203_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I've got my old wood stove installed that is able to keep the very drafty shed about 20 degrees above ambient. Thankfully it's been extremely mild.

Starting with the bathroom vanity as a primer for the kitchen cabinets. Drew up full size elevations to be sure it would all fit as planned. Managed to cram in 4 drawers for good storage.


20120203_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20120203_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The box:


20120208_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

And drawers!:


20120208_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The door and end panel after being finished:


20120212_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

My first try at tiling. After a shaky start I'm happy with how it came out. It will be the back splash for the vanity:


20120212_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The almost finished bathroom (complete with cat):


20120212_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Finally straightening out the water distribution. The water heater has since been installed:


20120211_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Brought out the cats and bed yesterday. Last night was the first night sleeping there. Felt great.

Alan






duncanshannon

nice update... and congrats on spending a night there! that must have been great!
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

Alan Gage

Thanks duncanshannon.

Been in the house a couple weeks now and it's very nice. It's still pretty much a construction zone though. As I feared productivity has tapered off now that I have a comfortable place to sit. Still been working steadily but it's a lot of little things so it doesn't feel like I'm getting much done.

I have finished the bathroom vanity and am very happy with how it turned out. Much easier than I thought it would be and I learned a lot. I was just sure that once I started putting on the finished door and panels nothing would fit right and that it would look terrible. I was pleasantly surprised. There's definitely room for improvement but I feel pretty confident about tackling the kitchen now. Been spending my evenings sketching out kitchen cabinet layouts and elevations. Think I've pretty well got it figured out so I need to get started on it soon.


20120227_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20120227_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20120227_005 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The animals are enjoying the house (and wood stove) as much as I am:


20120219_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Alan



duncanshannon

those are fantastic looking. Better than lots of commercially avail. stuff if you ask me!  [cool]

Whats your secret? 
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

germangirl

Can I ask where you got your shower? We need to replace ours and have had trouble finding one like yours. Every style we see has benches including our current one. We do not want that but rather the shampoo shelves like the one in your new home.
Thanks,
Liesl

Alan Gage

Quote from: duncanshannon on March 02, 2012, 12:37:36 AM
those are fantastic looking. Better than lots of commercially avail. stuff if you ask me!  [cool]

Whats your secret?

Thanks! I sure am happy with it. Started cutting out the kitchen cabinets the past couple days. All the sides and bottoms are cut and dadoed for the backs. Tonight I'll start edge banding and cutting out rails. I'll start screwing the cases together this weekend.

Secret? I don't know if you'd call it a secret, it's just how I do anything I decide to get into. Read, read, and read some more. Lots of research online and think about it constantly. Draw out every detail. I've already made lots of mistakes in my head and on paper. Hopefully I'll keep catching them before they get transferred to real wood.

QuoteCan I ask where you got your shower?

It's made by Sterling. I bought it at a plumbing supply store in Sioux Falls. I also see my local Ace Hardware is starting to stock them as well. I was impressed with the quality and have been very happy with it so far.

Alan

walkabout

Alan,
Nice job on the vanity.
I have build my entire city kitchen cabinets, including making my own arched raised panel doors before, but my wife and I decided that we really like the cleaner look of your cabinets, so we are looking at doing something similar for our cabin this summer.

Do you mind giving us a few more details on your bathroom vanity?
-Rails and Stiles are 1x3 oak?
-Panels are 1/4" oak ply?
-Drawers are 1/2" ply? what kind?
-Boxes are melamine?
-I assume you used kreg joints throughout?
-What size strip/veneer did you put on the exposed edges of the melamine?

Alan Gage

Quote from: walkabout on March 09, 2012, 09:43:18 AM
Alan,
Nice job on the vanity.
I have build my entire city kitchen cabinets, including making my own arched raised panel doors before, but my wife and I decided that we really like the cleaner look of your cabinets, so we are looking at doing something similar for our cabin this summer.

Do you mind giving us a few more details on your bathroom vanity?
-Rails and Stiles are 1x3 oak?
-Panels are 1/4" oak ply?
-Drawers are 1/2" ply? what kind?
-Boxes are melamine?
-I assume you used kreg joints throughout?
-What size strip/veneer did you put on the exposed edges of the melamine?

The rails and stiles are Poplar 1x1.5" I did narrower so I could get two strips out of a 1x4. This worked fine except that the regular 35mm cup hinges are too big so I had to get 26mm hinges.

Panels are 1/4" Baltic Birch.

Drawers are 1/2" Oak laminated plywood. It's all they had in town other than regular AC. Drawer bottoms are the same 1/4" BB used in the panels.

Yes, boxes are melamine with a separate base made of plywood and 1x scraps so the particle board isn't in contact with the floor. The base went down first and was leveled, then just drop the cabinet on top.

Very few pocket holes. I actually used more than I needed because I wanted to play with the new toy. Since one side of the cabinet is against the wall and the other is behind a finished panel I just ran screws through the sides of the box. The door and drawer panels are mortise and tenon. The finished end panel is pocket screwed together since you'll never see the back.

The wood veneer edge banding is just the thin stuff in rolls with hot melt adhesive.

The hardest part was getting started. It reminded me of when I started planning my house. I'd read framing books and nothing made much sense because I had no idea what a rim joist, cripple, jack, etc... was. It finally started to make some sense though and drawing out full size elevations was a big help. There was sure a lot of time involved but I was surprised how easy it was.

To tell the truth I was amazed that everything came out right. I've always said I could be a framer but never a finish carpenter. I always fall down on projects when it comes to the details, I just don't have the patience so I rush through and it's usually a disaster. I had the box put together and the drawers installed but I hadn't installed the door or end panel because I was waiting for the 26mm hinges. I hadn't cut out the finished drawer fronts either because I wanted to take final measurements after the door was installed. I was super excited after getting the box done but everyday that I had to wait for the hinges my good spirits dampened. I just new that when I went to hang the door and put on the end panel that something wasn't going to come out right. Same for the drawer fronts. Something that started out so promising was just going to look like crap when I hung the finishing details. When I finally installed everything and saw that it came out just right (well almost, one drawer front got cut 1/16" too narrow) I couldn't believe it.

The kitchen is a lot bigger project though with more opportunities to overlook or miscalculate something. I feel pretty good about it though, let's hope it continues. Last night I cut out all the rails and cut biscuit slots in all the sides and bottoms. Today I'll decide how I want to cover the exposed box edges and go to work on that tonight. Either the glue on veneer or cut out 3/4x3/4 strips for an inset look.

Arched raised panel doors sounds like a lot more work. I'm glad I have simple tastes. When I look at door samples I always prefer the simple cut (Shaker) design. But maybe that's because deep down I know I'm the one who has to build it. :)

Alan

Sassy

Beautiful job on the bathroom cabinet! 

Your animals look quite content  :)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

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


Alan Gage

Been working on the kitchen cabinets the past week or so.

Here are the cabinets all cut out:


20120309_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

And the rails:


20120309_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Planning everything out ahead of time and sticking to a plan is a new way to build for me. It seems strange to cut out all the pieces and do as much work as possible to them before actually putting them together. I'm still amazed every time it works out.


20120315_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20120315_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20120315_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Not shown are the two small cabinets next to the stove. I put everything else in place first so I could get a good feel for how much space I needed between the counters, how deep of an overhang I needed, and how close I could put the overhang to the doorway. 4' between the counters felt pretty good but I didn't need as much overhang as I thought (14" will be fine for this 36" tall counter) and I could bring it a little closer to the doorway than I thought, so this will give me an extra couple inches between counters. After figuring this out I built the two narrow cabinets.

Next up was cutting out the drawers. I spent quite a few hours making up a detailed cut list and figuring out the most efficient way to cut them out of the material. It took about 2 1/4 sheets of 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood and there was virtually no waste.

All the drawer parts:


20120314_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I used a dado blade on my table saw for the drawers on my vanity but it was recommended to me that a router worked much better. I'd been looking for an excuse to buy one anyway so I got a nice 2 1/4 hp Milwaukee with both standard and plunge bases. Then I needed to built a router table for it. There was an junky little bench in the shed when I bought the place that made a suitable base so all I had to do was build the top.


20120315_006 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

It's a 2 piece fence that can slide apart to accommodate larger or smaller router bits


20120315_005 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20120315_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Now that the table was built I could get to work cutting all the joints in my drawer parts. I'd need a dado on the sides and front for the bottom to slide into, a rabbet for the back, and tongue and groove for the front. The t&g was made up of a dado on the drawer sides and a rabbet on the front. In order for the drawer slides to work properly the drawers need to be 1" narrower than the cabinet opening. And that 1" needs to be within 1/16". I realize that 1/16 is pretty big in cabinetry work but it still seems pretty small to me, especially when I have to take into account the joints and the slightly undersized plywood.

After lots of thinking, measuring, and test cuts I was ready to start rockin' and rollin'. I started routering away and about 10 pieces in I pushed a little too hard and broke the 1/4" router bit. So that put on end to my night. Had to drive 1 1/2 hours round trip the next day to get another one (bought 2 this time). I figured I'd be ok with a Bosch bit but it was quite dull and slightly undersized in comparison to the Rockler bit I broke. It was slow cutting with the Bosch bit and it got fairly hot but I made it through the job without breaking another one.

One of the sides:


20120316_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Groove the bottom will slide into:


20120316_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Tongue and groove for the drawer front:


20120316_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

And a rabbet for the back:


20120316_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I'd originally planned for the back to be in a dado but since the plywood was undersized I couldn't just do a single cut with a 1/2" bit. Instead I'd need to do 2 cuts with a 3/8" bit. And by the time I got to cutting that joint I was tired of fiddling around so I decided that the back really doesn't get much stress anyway so I just cut in a rabbet. I would have just done a butt joint but the backs were already cut 1/2" long to fit into the 1/4" deep dado that I'd planned. So it was either cut a rabbet or cut down all the backs 1/2" for a butt joint. After all the joints were cut I sanded all the pieces before assembly.

I spent all day yesterday cutting out the drawer bottoms (1/4" melamine) and assembling all the drawers (17 of them I think). It took longer than I thought it would. Everything fit together perfectly though and 1/32" off was the worst drawer I measured so I was pretty darn happy. This afternoon I put on the first coat of water based poly. Here they are laid out after the first coat.


20120319_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20120319_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

There are 4 or 5 that wouldn't fit on the table that aren't shown.

When I get done posting this I'll head back out and if they're dry enough I'll sand them down tonight so I can put on the final coat tomorrow.

Alan




kenhill

Handsome cat

and

good looking cabinets!

germanbird

I'm impressed.  The cabinets are looking great.

Just curious:  What did you use when assembling the drawers?  Glue?  Nails?

Alan Gage

Quote from: germanbird on March 23, 2012, 01:00:38 PM
I'm impressed.  The cabinets are looking great.

Just curious:  What did you use when assembling the drawers?  Glue?  Nails?

Thanks.

I used glue and staples for the drawers.

Alan

alex trent

#124
Boy, I got to tell you, you have a lot of talent. Did almost all the stuff I hired out.  I did plan and honcho, but a long way from actually doing it. Mine was quicker but I bet yours  is more satisfying.  Hats off!

at