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grover posted:This was called "Fast-clic" which I can't find referenced anywhere else on the internet. I have this stuff in my bathroom, and it looks wonderful. ![]() This is awesome. I love seeing DIY threads... the house looks great!!
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# ? Apr 6, 2007 20:04 |
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grover posted:I was going to just wrap them in white flashing for trim, when I happened upon hardiplank in the siding section- hardiplank is high-end concrete siding; it's quite literally concrete molded into a board, and ended up being absolutely PERFECT for this. That's what I used to side my garage. I scored it with a carpet knife & broke it. wanted cedar shake, wife said no. I wanted cedar clapboard, the wife said too 'spensive. I swore I would never go with aluminum or vinyl, I hate that shit. Then we found Hardiboard. Lasts a hundred years.
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# ? Apr 6, 2007 20:18 |
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PainterofCrap posted:That's what I used to side my garage. I scored it with a carpet knife & broke it. wanted cedar shake, wife said no. I wanted cedar clapboard, the wife said too 'spensive. I swore I would never go with aluminum or vinyl, I hate that shit. Then we found Hardiboard. Lasts a hundred years. ![]() grover fucked around with this message at Apr 7, 2007 around 10:35 |
# ? Apr 6, 2007 20:22 |
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grover posted:Thanks Not a chance, keep the updates coming! Finding this thread every month or so is definitely a treat.
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# ? Apr 6, 2007 22:11 |
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Wow amazing work. I plan to DIY my future house when I marry and settle down. This is very educational. Also I find it funny how you americans use wood to build your homes. ![]()
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# ? Apr 6, 2007 22:41 |
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grover posted:I ruined a big patch of my vinyl siding breaking in the grill last week. Was cooking cheap 70% lean burgers (hey, 99 cents a lb!) and the grill was too close to the wall; I learned the hard way that the new siding I bought is apparently much less heat resiliant than the older siding You could claim that under your homeowner's insurance. If you push them the right way, they'll pay to re-side the entire house. How old is the siding? Is it faded? AdamAntz posted:Also I find it funny how you americans use wood to build your homes. Yeah, well, lumber is stil relativly cheap here, 'cause we still have lots of open land & forests! When I lived in Zurich a million years ago - even then, everything was poured reinforced concrete. Wood was restricted to styling treatment. The rate we're going, we'll be following Europe's lead before long... PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at Apr 6, 2007 around 23:36 |
# ? Apr 6, 2007 23:32 |
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PainterofCrap posted:You could claim that under your homeowner's insurance. If you push them the right way, they'll pay to re-side the entire house. How old is the siding? Is it faded? PainterofCrap posted:Yeah, well, lumber is stil relativly cheap here, 'cause we still have lots of open land & forests! One thing this HAS effected is the quality of lumber- since the trees are so fast growing, they tend to be weaker than the denser old-growth timbers and full of knots, but building codes have been modified to compensate. (Modern building code tables allow a lesser span on modern lumber than older codes- not because they're stricter, but because the lumber is weaker!) Engineered lumber products- plywood, strand-board, I-joists, LVL, etc- have really made an impact as well. grover fucked around with this message at Apr 7, 2007 around 10:35 |
# ? Apr 7, 2007 10:27 |
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Just read the part about your air conditioning. Im an Air Con engineer myself from England and noticed you're using R-22 gas. I don't know what the rules and regulations are over the pond, but this gas is very harmful to the atmosphere and is being phased out over here to be completely phased out and illegal in a few years time. This is why every system i get to install comes with R-410a and R-407c gas nowadays. Do you know why this isnt replicated over in America? Id be interested to know.
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# ? Apr 7, 2007 11:22 |
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Rossy posted:I don't know what the rules and regulations are over the pond, but this gas is very harmful to the atmosphere and is being phased out over here to be completely phased out and illegal in a few years time. This is why every system i get to install comes with R-410a and R-407c gas nowadays. ![]() Present law requires R-22 models be phased out, and no new models manufactured after 2010. Limited quantities of R-22 can be manufactured for repair/replenishment, but all production must cease by 2020. My other heat-pump is R-22 as well. So long as neither springs a leak, it will never be an issue; if it ever does, R-22 will cease being manufactured soon, but stockpiling from present manufacturers, reclamation & recycling will ensure replenishment R-22 is availible long to come. Honestly, that's 15 years down the road and I really doubt I'll have to worry about it. grover fucked around with this message at Apr 7, 2007 around 12:13 |
# ? Apr 7, 2007 12:09 |
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Very impressive thread. I've always wanted to learn the framing stage of a house, specifically how to connect to the concrete section. I know the basics of electrical and plumbing.
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# ? Apr 7, 2007 18:57 |
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So you were able to do all the calc's and title 24 on the project yourself? I work in house design and love to see people side step contractors. But not everyone is cut out to build their own addition. Ive had clients try this and succeed of course, but the people that fail almost always get reemed by the contractor they hire to clean up the mess. Also, construction materials must be cheap over there. Here in southern California I'd advise my clients to expect to spend at least 150k for materials alone on a project that size. And a contractor would bid that project somewhere between 200-250$ a square foot.
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# ? Apr 7, 2007 19:58 |
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simcole posted:Very impressive thread. I've always wanted to learn the framing stage of a house, specifically how to connect to the concrete section. I know the basics of electrical and plumbing. Block wall, with anchor bolts in place, but before creating the shear-wall bond-beam Here are some other methods: http://www.strongtie.com/products/c...ASP-MAB-MA.html - I used 3 MAB-15s on the 4.5x5.5" concrete post between my garage door and door into my garage, but just used anchor bolts everywhere else. You can see the anchor bolts through the sill plate here. You can also see the MAB-15s. Elguapo posted:So you were able to do all the calc's and title 24 on the project yourself? But yes, if anything came up in the inspections I couldn't fix, my fall-back was to pass the PE exam and stamp it myself, lol... grover fucked around with this message at Apr 7, 2007 around 22:38 |
# ? Apr 7, 2007 21:17 |
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Wow great work Grover! I have to say, coming from an assistant superintendant from multi-family, i have to commend you on the quality of your work. Only of subcontractors did the work you did. You could totally start a business with your friend seeing as you have your first project for your portfolio.
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# ? Apr 7, 2007 22:21 |
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chechnya posted:Wow great work Grover! I have to say, coming from an assistant superintendant from multi-family, i have to commend you on the quality of your work. Only of subcontractors did the work you did. You could totally start a business with your friend seeing as you have your first project for your portfolio.
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# ? Apr 8, 2007 12:42 |
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Just out of curiosity, did you ever get your AC charged up and ready to go? I'm doing a gut-job rehab on a house, and was looking at doing some of the HVAC work myself (heat pump). I can either go partial and just install ductwork, or go full-blown and try to do it all myself. I found http://epatest.com which apparently lets you get a basic HVAC cert, or you can get their study kits and take a full-blown universal cert. Since it would be useful to have, I'm not afraid of studying and taking the test(s), but I wasn't sure about all the equipment needs to charge an HVAC system anyways. Also, I've read that there has been some concerns about air quality when using ductboard. (fiberglass inhalation, etc.) Did this come up as a concern for you? We were looking into either bending the metal or seeing if there is some available flexible ductwork, as is used with the hi-velocity systems. Any thoughts from the experience you've had? clockworx fucked around with this message at Apr 11, 2007 around 10:38 |
# ? Apr 11, 2007 10:33 |
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clockworx posted:Just out of curiosity, did you ever get your AC charged up and ready to go? I'm doing a gut-job rehab on a house, and was looking at doing some of the HVAC work myself (heat pump). I can either go partial and just install ductwork, or go full-blown and try to do it all myself. I found http://epatest.com which apparently lets you get a basic HVAC cert, or you can get their study kits and take a full-blown universal cert. Since it would be useful to have, I'm not afraid of studying and taking the test(s), but I wasn't sure about all the equipment needs to charge an HVAC system anyways. ![]() I think the dangers of ductboard are overblown. Any fiberglass that's going to be blown loose is going to happen right at the onset and during testing & before you really move in- after that, there's really no difference, and the fiberglass matte is an excellent sound absorber, reducing duct noise transfer. If you're going to need high velocities, you'd really have to use metal, though. Fiberglass has a lot of duct loss. Flex duct has higher duct loss than metal duct, about twice as much, even if installed straight and taught. This isn't a big deal, though, as you can reduce this loss simply by upsizing- if you need 6" metal, use 8" flex, etc, and flex ends up being every bit as good as metal. Loss in bends in flex duct is high, too- it's best to use sheet metal fittings for any sharp bends.
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# ? Apr 12, 2007 18:15 |
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the DIY thread was one thing. This is fantastic and it looks great you have talent!
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# ? Apr 22, 2007 20:36 |
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Great job man. You'd certainly make a killing flipping houses.
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# ? Apr 29, 2007 19:38 |
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Neat thread, man. I keep seeing little things and going "tsk, tsk" but then I remember that you're not in Southern California, where building codes are fucking insane. Heh. Wish we had a house and property we could do this too. Some day ![]() Foppish Yet Dashing fucked around with this message at Apr 29, 2007 around 22:18 |
# ? Apr 29, 2007 22:10 |
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Thanks guys ![]() Satorr posted:I keep seeing little things and going "tsk, tsk" but then I remember that you're not in Southern California, where building codes are fucking insane. Heh. Although I did put in a ton of light outlets without dimmers OR occupancy sensors! bwahahahaha
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# ? May 11, 2007 10:19 |
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sorta off topic, but what cad program did you use? looks pretty cool
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# ? May 11, 2007 10:27 |
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teh_c0w posted:sorta off topic, but what cad program did you use? looks pretty cool
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# ? May 11, 2007 21:06 |
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Do you have any input on your costs versus going with a panelized package? I've seen dried-in exteriors with roofing, siding, windows, doors and floors for about $30 - 40$/sq. ft. excluding labor (and foundation etc.), and I'm curious how that stacks up with your experience stick framing.
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# ? May 11, 2007 23:20 |
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Here's my cost breakdown. Total square footage is 2270 square feet measured externally, including a 500 square foot garage. $ 2,000 Permits $ 7,400 Materials for the structure (including stairs, floor joists, sheathing, etc) $ 2,500 Roof (including trusses, shingles, etc) $15,500 Foundation & slabs, including labor $ 2,000 Insulation $ 6,300 Doors & windows $ 5,600 Siding, including labor $ 1,800 Electrical $ 900 Plumbing, including bathroom stuff $ 1,900 Lights $ 3,600 HVAC (including $250 labor for hookup/charging of the heat pump) $ 6,000 Drywall & plaster, including labor $19,300 Kitchen (materials only, except the counter installation labor which was included in the counter price) $ 2,200 Misc (paint, garage door openers, landscaping (incl backhoe labor), etc) Yet to go, estimated: $3,000 ("finished" stairs and railing) $2,500 Floor covering upstairs, trim Total price is $36/square foot, if you go by the exterior dimensions, like the real estate appraisers do. For just the dried-in exterior (siding, windows, doors, roof) it was about $11/square foot. I priced out ICF (was really gung-ho for the concept), but it was going to be an assload more expensive than just stick framing it. grover fucked around with this message at May 12, 2007 around 10:31 |
# ? May 12, 2007 09:05 |
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I've always had the utmost respect for people who do this kind of stuff themselves. My dad was always like that too. Why hire some guy, just get down in the dirt yourself and do it. Half the time it turns out better anyhow, the pros sometimes cut corners and shit...after all, its not THEIR house. But when it's your baby that your working on, you know you'll commit maximum effort. There really is something to be said for looking at your handiwork, when it's all done, and saying "I fucking built that." I think it's super cool that you had the balls to do this to your house, and the results look fantastic! ![]()
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# ? May 12, 2007 09:45 |
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Grover, this "addition" is awesome and makes me wish I knew how to use tools and do math and stuff ![]() ![]() Seriously, this looks beautiful -- and my wife would love your cabinet/countertop choices!
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# ? May 12, 2007 11:50 |
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This is impressive! AutoCAD has come a long way in the last ten years; the last memory I have of tinkering with it involved what looked more like Visio, and rendering wasn't anything involving base color skins, usually for reference. Oh wait, they had a brick pattern too. I'm with Child's Letter. Once I tried to build a drafting table (ironic), and it was so miserable that I took an ax to it and we used it as firewood on Independence Day, 2000.
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# ? May 12, 2007 12:04 |
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Oh this thread makes me wish we took a lot of before pictures of our house before dumping in about 70K into it. It was a fixer upper, and we replaced EVERYTHING. The roof, doors, windows, brand new kitchen, water softner/water heater, air conditioner, master bedroom & bathroom addition, garage door, block wall surrounding the property, and all new stucco. It looks excellent now, but I'd hate to post pictures because of not having any before pictures. We have done everything our selves with the help of family members (Yeah for construction families!!) But its a LONG process. 3 1/2 years later and we still are not done.
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# ? May 12, 2007 12:15 |
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I've read every update you've posted, grover. It's been a pleasure seeing someone who doesn't half-ass jobs or contract 90% of it out. Nice job, can't wait to see all the finished photos.
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# ? May 12, 2007 12:53 |
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grover posted:Why is the wall cabinet above the OTR Microwave not flush with the rest of the cabinets? That looks like a 30x18 wall cabinet and it's sticking up about 5 inches, but then there's also a 5 inch gap between the bottom of the microwave and the bottom of the other cabinets, which looks very off. You appear to have more than enough room above the range for it to be mounted flush.
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# ? May 20, 2007 15:18 |
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That was done intentionally to break up the line of the cabinets and look nicer than if it was all in a row. And yes, we could very easily have left it flush if we wanted. Once we get all the trim up, it should look awesome! Code generally requires 18" between counters and the bottom of the upper cabinets, but 24" over the stove. In practice, it depends on the UL listing of the appliance; this microwave is listed for as little as 12" over the stove, IIRC, but that would be impractical to cook on. I actually had accidentally measured to put the bottom of the microwave flush with the bottom of the cabinets when I installed the receptacle and vent for it, and went to a LOT of effort to punch and patch a big hole in the wall and move them both 6" up to where you see them in that photo. grover fucked around with this message at May 22, 2007 around 16:10 |
# ? May 22, 2007 16:05 |
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This thread gives me a lot of motivation... and a reality check too. Now I know which parts I don't think I'd be able to or want to undertake, but it makes the things I want to do look simple now that it's explained with pictures. We're thinking of redoing the bathrooms in our house. Both bathrooms share a wall, which should make things easier (right? eek). All we want to do is replace the shower and vanities in both bathrooms, and perhaps the flooring. We'll definitely look into that Fast-clic because the rest of our house is light colored laminate. Still amazed at the progression of this project.
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# ? May 26, 2007 20:08 |
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just THINKING about undertaking a project like this myself makes my head want to explode. I don't even want to imagine what it'd end up looking like.
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# ? May 26, 2007 20:36 |
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I just found this thread, you did an incredible job. we did about 100K to our farmhouse and I wish I'd had the smarts and guts to do it myself rather than paying a contractor.
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# ? May 26, 2007 21:02 |
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grover posted:I ruined a big patch of my vinyl siding breaking in the grill last week. Was cooking cheap 70% lean burgers (hey, 99 cents a lb!) and the grill was too close to the wall when all the grease caught fire; I learned the hard way that the new siding I bought is apparently much less heat resiliant than the older siding ![]() Damaged siding cut off the wall. I saved the "good" pieces to try to reuse some of them. ![]() Damaged pieces replaced The bottom piece doesn't fit as tightly as the other joints on the wall; I think there was damage to it that wasn't visible to look at it, which makes it not fit well. Maybe I'll cut it back further someday, but for now, eh ![]()
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# ? Jun 7, 2007 17:43 |
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That is one hell of a project and it looks great. Thanks for documenting it for us!
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# ? Jun 7, 2007 18:02 |
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That's very cool, I'd love to build a house one day. Watch those trees- the ridge pole is what gives a roof much of its strength, and since you used trusses, you don't have a ridge pole, and your roof isn't as strong as a stick built one. Not a big deal really, just don't let any branches fall on it. If a big one does fall on the roof, it can break the sheathing right there at the top where the two sides come together, since there's no beam under the ridge to take the weight. But very good work! More people should do stuff like this, instead of plonking down too much money on a shoddily built McMansion in a soulless subdivision full of shoddily built McMansions.
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# ? Jun 7, 2007 18:14 |
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I spent $30k having someone add on about 400 sq ft to my house. This makes me wonder what I could have done if I had a DIY attitude.
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# ? Jun 7, 2007 18:23 |
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EvilDonald posted:Watch those trees- the ridge pole is what gives a roof much of its strength, and since you used trusses, you don't have a ridge pole, and your roof isn't as strong as a stick built one. There is one section that's a bit spongy from the shingle guys dropping bales of asphalt shingles from hip height right onto the unsupported top edge of the plywood... Lazy ass fuckers ![]()
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# ? Jun 16, 2007 22:39 |
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grover posted:Finally got around to doing the trim & weather seal around the garage doors! Since I'm a tad inexperienced, I had made the mistake of framing the door actually 7' high and 9' wide like the garage door instructions said, when I should REALLY have framed them 3" wider, to nail 2x6 pressure treat boards up inside it, so I wasn't able to do it the "normal" way. The siding guys refused to touch it and just put up trim flush around it. Here's how the door looked before, with just the bare studs and housewrap exposed: ![]() But the REAL good news is that my dad's going to fund the new staircase ![]()
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# ? Jun 23, 2007 19:19 |