First time post: Delivery in the Middle of Nowhere

[djhorne]

This is my first posts here, so here goes.

First let me echo the thoughts of earlier posters, this is the only forum I have found so far that is not filled with professional contractors telling you to hire a professional contractor.

My wife and I have bought some land in Nevada, and by my estimates are about 200 miles from the nearest Lowes/Home Depot. There are a few small building supply places closer, but not that close. I am planning to retire early in a year or two and start building then.

I originally started looking at an ICF basement however with redimix concrete over 80 miles away I have my doubts. It may also be too difficult to get enough help and/or the concrete pump to do a single pour. I'm looking at a CMU basement as an easier DIY alternative. I will have lots of time and less money and have no fear of hard work.

So... can anyone share their experience on buying CMUs, bags of cement etc? If you can get the smaller places to deliver, will they deliver 100-200 miles away? If so, am I going to need to hire a rough terrain forklift to unload? Assuming an alternative method of buying from Home Depot (I'm thinking of getting a 10,000lb trailer, should be good for 8,500lbs material) how exactly does one buy over 1000 blocks? Will they sell by the pallet? It would take a few trips but you have to go into town once in a while anyway.

I am assuming that cold joints in ICFs would disallow concrete mixed by the batch, even with retarder added. Pity.

Thanks in advance for any tips and war stories,
David

[John Raabe]

Those distances do put you in a special situation. I can understand why such locations are often home to modular and manufactured buildings. How is the infrastructure at the site? Will you have to develop water, power, septic and communication (landline or cell)?

[rick91351]

   From Rick and Ellen in Idaho......

We are building 45 miles from Boise and about that much from Mt. Home.  Love your chosen state and location.....  Sort of got old roots in Reno in a round about way.

I very seldom use HD or Lowes.  I find I get as good or better price point for the small lumber yards and building supplies.  Drop in and talk to them and explain what you want to do.  Most are pretty receptive.  Everyone assumes that the big box stores give huge discounts.  Small Ma and Pa lumber yards deliver and unload.

Cement is a real heart burn to me.  Flat work mud is hard to work unless they ice or retard.  Hot mud in footings is no problem little harder in walls.  Cold joint I would try to avoid but you can pour around them lots of times.  Most ready mix companies have enough truck not to worry anyway.  I am always more concerned when to many show up.  When I drove ready mix truck that was oh my word almost 40 years ago - we would unload a truck while the contractor was busy just the way it was done.  Don't count on that now.

Our project:  Rick and Ellen's Homestead

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=12965.0

Those distances do put you in a special situation. I can understand why such locations are often home to modular and manufactured buildings. How is the infrastructure at the site? Will you have to develop water, power, septic and communication (landline or cell)?

John it is so hard to get to where we are and because Homeland Security we could not get a modular in here after we bought it.  Then they wanted to get us to buy a triple section home.  So we lost $2000 stick built and got exactly what we wanted and saved money.   

   

   

[djhorne]

Well, there is some infrastructure; there are roads - not paved but they are county maintained, and there is electricity. I'll need to install a septic system (there is a guy in the valley who can do this) and drill a well (there is at least one company that travel that far). Communication will have to be a Hughes satellite dish. There is cell phone service (a little patchy). So, not the big city, but not totally isolated.

David

[djhorne]

Rick and Ellen,

Thanks for the post. Your property looks beautiful, it'll take me a while to read through all the posts though.

I will certainly try the more local stores first, and I'm glad to hear that I've got a shot at getting stuff delivered. I'm currently living in Ohio and around here companies don't like to deliver very far.

I'm basically at the budgeting stage (so we can tell when the time is right) and Lowes/HD do at least give a way of figuring out the worst case scenario. Hopefully we can do better.

We'll be out in Nevada this summer and I can check out some businesses a little closer to us, I much prefer face-to-face for this sort of thing over using the phone.

Once I figure out how I'll post some pictures of the area, in the meantime the first dozen or so pictures here are relevant:
https://picasaweb.google.com/100867931752751920059/NevadaSeptember2008?authuser=0&feat=directlink

David

[Patrick]

About CMU's we called a few places and one company charged per hour drive time loaded or unloaded so I found out where they where getting them from and called them. They made the blocks and delivered for free I think we ordered 1000 12" block and corner block and jamb block 2 truck loads they are delivered on a truck with a crane and they can put them almost anywhere. The 12" block came 50 to a pallet and they charged a 15$ deposit on each pallet refundable but I had to bring back.We paid 93 cents per block where the local menards wanted a dollar more for each block they also delivered mortar but that was 2.50 more a bag than the big box so I brought that myself.the block company is pretty far away 2 hours or so. Where we are everything is a drive they are just used to it. Block is heavy 50lbs each corners and jambs are even heavier. Building my block walls myself was some of the hardest work I have done and 100% worth every second I spent doing it.

[djhorne]

Thanks for the info, Patrick.

It looks like there is a company called Cind-R-Lite in Las Vegas (for those who know the area, they mine that redish colored cinder cone to the NW of Las Vegas in the Amargosa valley - you can see it from Rt 95). I'll some how close to the source I can get.

Our land is in earthquake country so rebar is a must, I'd like to shoot for H blocks so they can be threaded around the rebar rather than over it, a serious consideration if we are looking at 50lbs. I'm thinking 10" or possibly 12", with backfill height limited by the block I choose. For a 9' wall with 10" blocks it looks like I can go up to 6':
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=12374.0
(thanks, Squirl).
I'm pretty sure the soil will be the left hand column (SP), the actual USGS soil survey is "541—Veet very gravelly sandy loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes".

Regards,
David.

[Patrick]

I used 1/2" rebar vertically every 32" and within 18" of the corners I tied these together on a top bond beam course then filled the corners,cores that had rebar and the top bond beam course with concrete. The walls are 8' tall with 6' of sand backfill I used a uv stable rubberized waterproofing on the exposed courses and a primer/membrane on the backfilled portion. I have some pics here how I did it. I have never built a basement before.http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=12988.0

[djhorne]

Patrick:

I love the look of those 12" blocks. They don't look like they are going anywhere.

Re. the picture of setting the first block... did you "wet set"? I had planned on letting the footing cure before adding block but I can see wet setting might be nicer. On the other hand maybe that's just how the picture looks.

Slowest foundation ever? Only until I get started.

David 

[Patrick]

The footing was wet, I wont do that again it got aggravating the corners where sinking and had to reset them I had 3 people with me that weekend and it was rain in the forecast so we where trying to get as much done as possible. I'm adding on here next month hopefully we'll start and I'm going to let the footing dry 1 day this time. Maybe a tip for you ,I got really bad tennis elbow doing this from all the troweling I'm not used to doing so I would wear those straps around my forearms It helped a lot. Good luck with your project! oh also get the aluminum style string stretchers (or whatever they are called) not the wood ones and use the really heavy duty mason line for your string.