38x30 in Iowa

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

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nysono


Alan Gage

Two guys are gone at work this week so I'm stuck having to put in some real hours so I'm not getting to spend as much time on the house as I'd like. Did manage to get out of there around 3:00 today and finished getting the patio ceiling strapped and the attic access done. Got up 5 pieces of the ceiling before it got too dark (no pics).


20111012_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20111012_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The plan for the attic hatch is to cover over it with the ceiling material and then cut it out with the circular saw. Hopefully I can manage to mark it correctly and saw a straight line so it will blend in nicely. Hopefully I can finish the ceiling tomorrow, or at least get close.

Alan


Alan Gage

The outline of what should be the attic hatch after taking some careful measurements:


20111013_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Triple checked everything before firing up the saw:


20111013_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

And the moment of truth. What a relief!


20111013_006 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Finished up the patio ceiling on Friday and got it trimmed out too:


20111015_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20111015_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Not a whole lot got done over the weekend. There was an auction for an old woodworker Saturday so I spent a few hours there, picking up a radial arm saw for $45 and a bunch of clamps for a couple bucks each. Finally got around to installing my recessed outlet boxes and did some caulking as well.

Today I felt pretty lazy. Tidied up some electrical, installed an outside faucet and cleaned up and organized the inside of the house since I'll be moving inside to work now. It was really getting to be a mess. Didn't do anything very fast. Spent a couple hours messing around with the radial arm saw too. The switch is bad. Pulled it apart to find burnt contacts. Cleaned them up and am having a heck of a time getting it back together correctly. Everything feels and sounds like it's working but still no go. Guess I'll have to drag a meter out to see what's going on.

The electric company finally made it out Thursday to remount my meter and the electricians came out Friday to trench it in. They've got it hooked up in the house but still have to finish up outside on Monday. Fingers crossed for power!! I've been waiting over a month since I got the rough in done. Hoping for rough in inspection in the first half of the week.

Alan

Barry Broome

"The press, like fire, is an excellent servant, but a terrible master."

Rob_O

Lazy guy trick... I have a 1/8" by 12" drill bit I use to *exactly* mark the corners of a cut like that.
"Hey Y'all, watch this..."


MountainDon

Yep, I have an assortment of long bits from 1/8 to 1/2"  Invaluable for stuff like that as long as you can access the other side.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Alan Gage

Let there be fire!! And a doggy bed.


20111017_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Starting to get pretty cold so I needed something to help warm up in the mornings. Cut the chimney through the roof a couple days ago. It can be a little bit of a motivation killer though. Hard to leave the heat and go to work.

Not much else big going on. Still waiting on them to finish hooking up the electric and the inspector to show up. They said by mid-week. Let's hope so, it's really starting to get dark early, especially inside the house.

Got a lot of blocking done today. Kitchen cabinets, book shelves, coat racks, and other shelving/cabinet possibilities. I might be getting a bit carried away but it's going to make life easier in the future.


20111018_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20111018_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Alan

Sassy

Very nice!  That woodstove looks inviting, too  :)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

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

Alan Gage

Quote from: Sassy on October 24, 2011, 03:55:38 PM
Very nice!  That woodstove looks inviting, too  :)

Thanks. Not much going on the past 4 or 5 days on the house. Nothing to do until I can insulate and I still haven't been inspected for electrical. Supposed to happen tomorrow though. So I've been working on the shed. Cleared everything out of it, swept it all out, got all my canoes (well most of them anyway) moved inside and hung up for the winter, wired up 6 fluorescent lights (no lights before), new breaker panel, and a few new outlets. Tomorrow I'll start putting stuff back into the shed and getting it set up as a makeshift wood shop, which it will be over the next couple months. Need to get the wood stove hooked up in there as well since it will be getting cold soon.

Alan


Alan Gage

After nearly 2 months the electrician finally got the inspector in and I passed without a problem. After he gave the thumbs up the electricians connected the power and after a few switches and fixtures I had lights. Finally!!


20111027_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Now that electrical had the A-OK I could finally get around to insulating. First step was putting the insulweb on the walls.


20111029_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I'd been reading how to install it and it's either put a staple every 1 1/2 inches or glue it on with watered down Elmer's. Glue sounded considerably easier but after a test wall I decided to staple. I had to staple the edges as I stretched it tight anyway and the glue didn't go on real fast. I already had a pneumatic stapler anyway and it ended up being faster than gluing. It took about 20,000 staples.

My friend Sarah came down for the weekend to help with the insulating. I went with dense packed cellulose in the 10" thick walls. Started by loose filling all the walls by just dumping through the top plate and then went around a couple more times, packing it harder each time. For the initial fill I just pumped it out of the 3" hose. For the dense packing I first stepped the 3" hose down to a 2 1/2" hose and finally to a 2" nozzle. Once we started stepping it down we started running into lots of problems with getting clogs, which ate up a lot of time. We kept the blower at 100% and cut back the flow so that we still had decent flow but kept the clogs to a minimum. Other than spraining my ankle badly things went smooth. It took all day Saturday and a good part of Sunday to get it done. I'm happy with how it came out. It certainly gives a different feel to the house.


20111029_006 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I put in 120 bags of cellulose, about 2700 pounds worth. Pretty sure at least 250 pounds of it found it's way onto me. It didn't get too messy until the final round of dense packing when it started blowing back out the holes into my face.


20111029_009 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I hope to start getting some sheetrock up on the ceilings this week.

Alan






KWillets

It looks like a nice tight building envelope; are you planning on an outside air kit for the stove?

Sassy

Hey, that would've made a good Halloween costume  :D

Looks like you're moving right along!
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

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

duncanshannon

Looking good!  can you tell us about that insulation more? I havent seen it on CP before... looks interesting. Is it common in your area?

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

Quote from: KWillets on November 02, 2011, 10:47:06 PM
It looks like a nice tight building envelope; are you planning on an outside air kit for the stove?

Yes, outside air for the stove.

Quote from: duncanshannon on November 05, 2011, 04:02:20 PM
Looking good!  can you tell us about that insulation more? I havent seen it on CP before... looks interesting. Is it common in your area?

Not common around here at all. Pretty much all anyone uses in fiberglass. I only know of one person that uses wet blown cellulose. I talked to an installer a few months ago who said he could do dense pack but in the end I decided to give it a go myself. Took a while but it wasn't too hard. I was worried about getting the correct density but it all feels firm (supposed to feel like a firm mattress) and I used more bags than I estimated from the charts based on wall square footage. Actually there are a few soft spots but I've marked them and will top them off when I get the blower back for the attic.

If my walls weren't so thick (10") I probably would have gone with wet blown cellulose but I was a bit worried about the cavity being able to dry properly.

Some dense packing information:

http://www.nationalfiber.com/docs/DirectionsforInstallingDensePackCelluloseBehindInsulweb1210.pdf

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/how-install-cellulose-insulation

Alan


Alan Gage

It's sheetrocking time!

The ceiling is done except for one hole in the hallway that I'll fill after blowing insulation in the attic.

My dad came out one night to help for the first few pieces but I was on my own after that. Getting 14' pieces of 5/8" up on the drywall jack alone was a bit of a challenge but not as hard as the one piece I had to take back off the jack. That didn't go so smooth.


20111106_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

It's nice to have the house finally holding some heat.

Alan

BRUTAL

You've done well Alan, and I like all the "by yourself" tricks. God knows Ive had to come up with a few too.
I was never so glad to hear you say take off the beater doors to the outside. I didn't think they fit the house and doors have such an impact but didnt want to say anything... ;)
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=11116.0
making mistakes along the way and wishing Ide been here sooner :)

Alan Gage

Quote from: BRUTAL on November 11, 2011, 02:01:21 PM
You've done well Alan, and I like all the "by yourself" tricks. God knows Ive had to come up with a few too.
Quote

Yeah, necessity is the mother of invention. Had to hang a 10 1/2' piece of sheet rock on the back of a closet wall tonight and there was no way to get the drywall jack in there and no one to help. Just measured down 48" inches from the ceiling and screwed a couple blocks of 2x4 to the studs. Lifted the sheet up and set it on the blocks. Worked line a charm. It was actually easier and faster than the drywall jack. I'll have to try it on a couple more walls.

QuoteI was never so glad to hear you say take off the beater doors to the outside. I didn't think they fit the house and doors have such an impact but didnt want to say anything... ;)

You're not the first person to be relieved to hear they're just temporary. I didn't even realize it was an option when I ordered the doors but the guy at the local building supplier suggested it. I'm glad he did since they've taken some knocks so far. I just paid a $150 deposit, which I'll get back when I order the real doors.

Alan

Alan Gage

Been making slow but steady progress on the house. It's been quite busy at work so I haven't been getting out early, which means it's dark by the time I get off work. So I've been trying to spend 3 or 4 hours doing sheetrock every night. I'm certainly not breaking any speed records but it's coming along nicely. Probably have 3/4 of it done now.

Last weekend was nice outside so I spent pretty much the whole weekend on the tractor moving dirt and gravel around. Had to scrape up a lot of gravel that built up around the house during the foundation work and then spread dirt that I'd saved from digging footings. I've had 2 big piles of dirt and gravel right behind my house all summer and it was great to finally get rid of them so I can finally get a view from my living room windows.

This weekend my friend Sarah came down to help insulate the attic and just in time too, it got down to 10 degrees last night. It took most of the day Saturday to get it done. I insulated to R-75, which is about 2 feet worth of insulation. I sure hope I never have to crawl up in that attic again! It made a big difference in the house though. The wood stove is heating it up nicely now. No more big temp drop when you walk to the back of the house and no more cold spots. I think it will probably take a day or two for the house and slab to all come up to temp.

I spent most of today out in the shed hanging some cabinets, making some countertops and organizing. I decided to try making my own kitchen cabinets so I'll need a good workspace. Just need to get the wood stove hooked up in there now.

Sorry, no pics today. I'll try and get some for next time.

Alan


Alan Gage

Finally done hanging drywall. Well, almost done. Still need to do the bathroom after I figure out for sure how I'm doing the shower.  Sheesh, that took forever!

But even without the bathroom being done the house finally has its final shape inside. I was afraid some places (like the entry) would feel small and cramped but I'm really happy with all the rooms and the general layout.

Today was cleanup day. Put up the last of the corner bead, went around and set any proud screws I could find, and moved everything out of the house so I'll have room to throw some mud starting tomorrow. It's nice to have a clean(ish) house again. It's been a mess for a long time.

Entry (living room to the left):


20111204_009 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Living room:


20111204_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Kitchen:


20111204_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Main bedroom (nook for desk on left):


20111204_007 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Another of the bedroom:


20111204_006 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Bull nose bead around the windows. Square everywhere else:


20111204_008 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

We've had some cool weather the past couple weeks (lows in teens, highs 20's and 30's) and the house has been doing great. My little wood stove (1.1 cu. ft) has been the only heat and it hasn't even broke a sweat. It's nothing to bring the living room and kitchen up to 75 degrees (which is way too hot for me). It took quite a while to bring the slab up to temp but now that it's there it's holding heat very well. A couple days ago when I got to the house in the morning the air temp was 63 degrees and the slab temp was 65 degrees. Perfect! One of these days I'll shut the stove down and see just how well the house really holds heat.

Alan


Alan Gage



Sassy

Nice work!  Getting close  :)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

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

speedfunk

 I really like the way the house looks from the outside.  I really like your siding and how that came out .  Also nice job and the metal roof.  Tricky stuff to work imho.

good job..

Alan Gage

Last week I mudded for a few hours after work every night and pretty much all weekend. This week I took off work to hopefully finish up. It's going good but, sheesh, I can't believe how long it's taking! Finally got the whole house first coated yesterday. Started second coat today, which so far is going much faster, both because I don't have to embed any tape and I'm getting a better feel for it. I'm really glad I didn't build a bigger house.

Quote from: speedfunk on December 07, 2011, 05:57:31 PM
I really like the way the house looks from the outside.  I really like your siding and how that came out .  Also nice job and the metal roof.  Tricky stuff to work imho.

good job..

Thanks, Speedfunk. I'm really happy with the siding too. Like most everything else on the house the decision about what to use was made at the last minute. Cedar wasn't even on my radar at first but when it came time to order the siding the more I thought about it the more I liked it.

I was surprised what a hassle the roofing was. Seems like such an easy method, screwing down big sheets. Actually putting down the sheets wasn't so bad but flashing around the penetrations and ridge was sure a pain. I'm not a real big fan of the rubber boots over the penetrations that are just sealed to the roof with adhesive but I couldn't find any other good alternatives. If I had it to do over again I probably would have gone with something else. But being unfamiliar with building I probably would have had some trouble no matter what I went with.

Alan

Alan Gage

Man, I am so ready to be done with drywall. The first week of mudding wasn't too bad, but now it's getting old. Almost finished up the second coat on the whole house this morning. Only thing left is the other half of all the inside corners, so still a good bit of work. I'm happy with how it's coming out though. I'd hoped to completely finish mudding and possibly even get some primer on this week. Not gonna happen.

A week or two ago we had real winter weather with snow and below zero temps but this week has been pretty mild and today is downright balmy at 45 degrees. I'm going to spend the afternoon taking advantage of it. Need to move wood up from the pile and stack it under the patio roof and climb on the roof to put on some chimney supports. Too bad it's really windy today as well.

Alan

Alan Gage

Chimney supports went well. Used a couple lengths of 1/2" conduit smashed flat on both ends. Screwed to the roof and clamped to the chimney.


20111218_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Also brought up a little under 1/2 cord of firewood and got it stacked under the patio. No more groping through the dark trying to find pieces small enough for the new stove. I was surprised how much this little act made it feel like a home.


20111219_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

It was dark by the time I got done with firewood so I went inside for more mudding.

Alan