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Somebody get this man some goldbond, he earned it.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 18:41 |
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MrGunner posted:As a framer myself a lot of the framing you did amuses me as you could have done a lot less, or the same a lot easier, but I'm unsure what kind of codes you have to follow there. Everything looks really nice though and you did a good job for never really having done it before. ![]() Any hints/tips for next time (lol, yeah right!) or for anyone else out there who might try to DIY an addition? grover fucked around with this message at May 22, 2007 around 16:09 |
# ? Dec 30, 2006 18:44 |
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Really cool. My family is pretty into DIY; I've been bringing tools to my elders since I was about 6.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 18:44 |
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Male of the Century posted:How on earth did you not kill yourself having to do all the sheathign by yourself, and having it done all in plywood rather than celotex, and not sheathing the second floor walls before standing them up. I understand that this is a DIY project, a massive one at that, but my god man, your back must hate you so much now. I didn't nail them up on the ground because the walls were already bitching heavy for 2 of us to lift! We had pre-nailed the walls on our shed like that, though. Also, I installed much of the sheathing vertically with extra nails, to act in tension to transmit the wind uplift, vice using hurricane straps. I wouldn't have been able to do that until the studs were up. grover fucked around with this message at Dec 30, 2006 around 18:55 |
# ? Dec 30, 2006 18:48 |
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meatlock posted:i assume this is going to increase the property value more than the cost of the extension? One of the intangibles is that adding a 2nd floor REALLY changes the way our house is appraised- as a 1 story, it's compared to the shitty run-down 1-stories in the area that are depressed on price. As a 2-story, it's now compared to the new 2-story houses going in all the big developments. So, adding a 2nd story likely quite literally added about $100k to the value of our house by itself! At any rate, I've got $170k tied up in a 3200 square foot 6-bedroom/3-bath house, which I think is pretty good ![]() grover fucked around with this message at Dec 30, 2006 around 18:54 |
# ? Dec 30, 2006 18:52 |
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Awesome beyond belief. What kind of building permits did you have to obtain from whatever city you live in? Isn't there a time limit on those types of things? I'd love to build a two car garage but there's no fucking way, to put it mildly.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 18:56 |
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grover posted:WAY more! Of the $80k, about $70k is in materials. Rule of thumb is that labor is about as much as the materials- so, figure $160k. Then add on 30% for the general contractor- $210k. Added onto our last $145k appraisal gives a total of $355k, which is on the low end of what new houses of this size are going for. I wish I had the know how and ability to do a project of this magnitude, but I know exactly what's in my future. Make a phone call. Tell them what I want. Hand them money. Much like how I feed myself every day. *sigh* It ain't easy being green. ![]()
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 18:56 |
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grover posted:Lowes and Home Depot had some of the flex duct and fittings, but not enough to do any real work. I don’t understand it- any idiot idiot off the street can walk into any electrical or plumbing supply house, but the HVAC people only want to sell to licensed HVAC contractors? WTF? I went through this trying to get a contactor for my heat pump. I found a list of HVAC supplier web sites and started applying for accounts with a made-up company name. One approved me and I ordered parts off of their site, here: http://www.uri.com. Ignore the prices you see browsing through the catalog, they're designed to scare off DIYers from ordering. Once you get a login, they show the real price. When I ordered the contactor, the quoted price was $15-20, but when it arrived it was $3. From what I've found, they only restrict ordering sealed HVAC systems and refrigerant unless you have a license. Reading HVAC forums will tell you that both the suppliers and contractors are protective of each other. Suppliers will published exorbitant prices in their catalogs in case a homeowner gets a hold of a catalog so they won't be upset to find what the parts cost the contractor. Not saying that they shouldn't make money off the parts, but the secrecy annoys me. Which is why I found a way around it. I'd rather wait on the UPS guy than the HVAC guy. My labor is free.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 18:58 |
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All I have to say is that this is rather impressive.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:00 |
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That's awesome but the computer nerd in me wants to know what your plans are for networking. Are you going to run any ethernet, A/V, etc?
mod sassinator fucked around with this message at Dec 30, 2006 around 19:11 |
# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:05 |
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Dache posted:Er, good point, "throughout" was definitely the wrong word there. The foundations and main walls are brick though (or, I guess, more accurately they're breeze-blocks), and are covered on the outside with red brick. Are you sure that is still the case in the UK? Houses built in the Netherlands after 1970 or so are from outside to inside: Brick, insulation, Gaseous Concrete. Floors made out of prefab concrete (with hollow ducts for wiring and plumbing). Inner walls made out of gaseous concrete (usually, wooden frames do happen for non load bearing walls). Most houses must have concrete poles driven about 5 meters deep for a foundation (more a local thing because the soil sucks i suppose). I suppose most of it is massive overkill but i am also freaked out by these wooden houses without a "real" (roof tile) roof. Though i suppose it must work since 300 million people or so live in them.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:10 |
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Grover just became that much more awesome in my eyes. ![]() I watched my dad help build our house in California and even though I was 7 years old, I still had fun carrying nails and tools and whatnot. Nowadays I feel it's a chore to go to work.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:12 |
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MOD SASSINATOR posted:That's awesome but the computer nerd in me wants to know what your plans are for networking. Are you going to run any ethernet, A/V, etc? I mean come on, it's not even two full pages yet.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:12 |
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Jerk detected! This user is on your ignore list, click to view post anyway |
# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:16 |
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Chasie posted:Awesome beyond belief. ![]() Also, because I have a septic field, I had to get a permit from the health department, which was surprisingly difficult. First, I had to prove I stayed 10' from the field. Second, the health dept prohibited me from having closets. Health Dept: 2000 square foot addition? Oh, sorry, you can't do that, you have closets! Me: What? Health Dept: Yeah, sorry, that's illegal. Can't you wait until sewer comes? Me: No, I want to start now. WTF? What if I take out the closets? Health Dept: Oh, that's OK then! You're approved. Me: Ummm... OK. Thanks? Health Dept: Just don't put in any closets until you have sewer!! Apparently, they size septic fields not based on bathrooms, but on occupancy, which they assume is 2 people per bedroom. Take a bedroom-sized room and add a closet, it's considered a bedroom, regardless of what I plan to use it for because the NEXT guy might use it for a bedroom. No closet, and it doesn't count. I can call it storage/utility/sewing, etc, and that's OK. It's fucked up. Either way, my septic field can't even support 2 people, so it was academic to me, but not to them!
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:16 |
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As I said in another thread where you had mentioned your house, I thought I was a real badass for basically gutting my house, and teaching myself to build a new closet from scratch, flooring, travertine shower, etc. Then I see something of this magnitude. And you still work full time, probably more hours than me too. And you aren't a retired builder or anything, you had little experience with any of this beforehand. Jesus. I've met people who built their own houses, but usually it was something like an ex-carpenter and his wife and several kids taking 6 years to build. How did you learn all this? Just reading a shitload of books beforehand? I mean it's one thing to teach yourself tile from a book or something, but doing all the structural planning and whatnot for a first-timer seems mind-boggling. Oh and contracting out the drywall. As the old knight from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade says, "You chose...wisely." ![]() Did you ever look into using structural insulated panels (foam-core panels)? They look cool, I guess they come prefabbed from the factory and your house is up in a couple weeks, plus they're superinsulated compared to stick-built. The prices are not much higher than stick-built, but I think that's compared to paying a contractor; the panels are expensive but labor is way less. I guess that doesn't matter if it's your own labor though. BaronVonBigmeat fucked around with this message at Dec 30, 2006 around 19:21 |
# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:17 |
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MOD SASSINATOR posted:That's awesome but the computer nerd in me wants to know what your plans are for networking. Are you going to run any ethernet, A/V, etc?
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:17 |
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I wish I had the know how to pull something like this off. I'm still proud of myself for installing my shower massage. ![]() It looks great. I'd be curious to see how it looks inside when all is done, so make sure to keep us updated.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:19 |
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That is extremely impressive. It looks like you had a lot of fun doing it too.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:21 |
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Awesome work. I love threads like this, as there are really talented and hard-working DIY goons out there. I am eagerly awaiting more pictures, but I understand it will probably be a while ![]()
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:25 |
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BaronVonBigmeat posted:How did you learn all this? Just reading a shitload of books beforehand? I mean it's one thing to teach yourself tile from a book or something, but doing all the structural planning and whatnot for a first-timer seems mind-boggling. ![]() quote:Did you ever look into using structural insulated panels (foam-core panels)? They look cool, I guess they come prefabbed from the factory and your house is up in a couple weeks, plus they're superinsulated compared to stick-built. The prices are not much higher than stick-built, but I think that's compared to paying a contractor; the panels are expensive but labor is way less. I guess that doesn't matter if it's your own labor though. grover fucked around with this message at Dec 30, 2006 around 19:30 |
# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:27 |
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Wow. I've seen all the photos before (times a thousand. dear god, Dad likes his camera way too much...), but having them all in a line like that just makes it even more impressive. And I hadn't realised quite how much Lis had contributed before, either. No wonder she hasn't had time to do anything in the past year! (You wanna come do our boat as your next project? ![]()
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:29 |
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What's the tip the PLumbing Inspector gave you for insulating the new pipe you had to run? I'm a new homeowner and would love to be able to do something like this, but I don't tihnk my wife would ever let me attempt it ![]()
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:32 |
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Very, very impressive. My late grandfather built his house with the help of my parents, aunts, and uncles, and some other people in the extended family. It was an amazing, beautiful house. He had an accident while installing a skylight years after completion and broke his back. Had to sell the house to pay for medical bills -- it was heartbreaking.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:33 |
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Did you do a radiant barrier? I know two of the engineers at work won't shut up about what a difference it made on their a/c bills (compared to adding insulation). And that's just the stuff you add to the attic of an older house, they aren't able to retrofit the outer walls without tearing off siding.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:34 |
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My family is doing something very similar. We started with a two-bedroom, rather modest suburbian house in 1984. Before we moved in, we had another room added, which became the master bedroom (I was one at the time, but I'm pretty sure we paid a crew to do the construction). Then, thirteen years later, before my sister and I head off to college, my parents decide our house is half as big as it should be and we begin a gargantuan project that's been going on for nearly ten years now. We added eight rooms (including basement, attic and garage), and two of the rooms are frikkin HUGE. So far we've done all the work ourselves except the foundation and the heating/AC. I figure I'll post a thread about it when the job is done, but that may not be for another three or four years at least, so stay tuned goons! We currently have one room near completion (just needs a real floor instead of plywood), and all the rest are still in need of wiring, sheet rock/plaster, flooring, etc. Here's some teaser pics: These were taken a few years ago, so the exterior is a bit more complete now, but everything from the octagon (bay windows) and beyond to the right is new construction. Question for the OP: do your neighbors hate you? We have alienated all our neighbors, one-by-one, either out of jealousy, waking them up during the weekends with construction noises, building fences along the perimeter of our yard, or allowing them to succumb to senility (the old couple next to us literally calls the cops and the town on us every day. I was wondering if you've stepped on any toes in a similar fashion?
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:36 |
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ntd posted:What's the tip the PLumbing Inspector gave you for insulating the new pipe you had to run? What he suggested was to remove all the insulation from beneath the pipe, and pile up scrap R-19 or R-30 over top of it, essentially enlarging the conditioned space below, and leaving the pipe at room temperature. I thought this was brilliant! I haven't done it yet, but I've carted all our scrap insulation to the attic with that intent ![]()
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:55 |
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BaronVonBigmeat posted:Did you do a radiant barrier? I know two of the engineers at work won't shut up about what a difference it made on their a/c bills (compared to adding insulation). And that's just the stuff you add to the attic of an older house, they aren't able to retrofit the outer walls without tearing off siding. I was thinking about putting it in my existing attic, but I don't think my A/C bills are bad enough to waste the effort- plus, that stuff isn't exactly cheap! Should be though, it's just aluminum-foil-coated bubble wrap, it should be pennies, they're robbing us!
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 19:58 |
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flatman posted:Question for the OP: do your neighbors hate you? We have alienated all our neighbors, one-by-one, either out of jealousy, waking them up during the weekends with construction noises, building fences along the perimeter of our yard, or allowing them to succumb to senility (the old couple next to us literally calls the cops and the town on us every day. I was wondering if you've stepped on any toes in a similar fashion? The only complaint we've had was from our neighbor's landlord who was bitching about us for who knows what reason, but she she was an ass who evicted my neighbor on bullshit complaints with no notice so she could move in (messy divorce), but then instead left it sit empty for 3 months before selling it. The new neighbosr don't care either. And my neighbor on my other side (dreadlocked black guy with my kids in the one sewer pipe pic [Edit: that I haven't posted yet! oops! Will be in the next update]) is a plasterer who did all our plaster work, too! He's always hanging out over here, telling us how great we're doing ![]() grover fucked around with this message at Dec 30, 2006 around 21:19 |
# ? Dec 30, 2006 20:02 |
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Nice job, and it is interesting to see how you build houses over there! They seem to be just starting to build wooden ones in the UK, but im used to brick and breezeblock. How exactly do you find the time to do it all while working? I am having serious trouble finding time to work on my house (doing various things like wiring, bathrooms and garden stuff) whilst working and trying to play with a couple of cars!
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 20:04 |
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Tomarse posted:How exactly do you find the time to do it all while working? I am having serious trouble finding time to work on my house (doing various things like wiring, bathrooms and garden stuff) whilst working and trying to play with a couple of cars! Not that my wife has an adderall prescription, she'll go at it like a machine until 1 or 2am some days and get tons done. Right now, I think she's a bit upset because all I've done on the flooring all day is one tiny piece, which I finished, and then immediately took a 2-hour break, lol! Speaking of which, I should probably go put some more flooring in before she gets back from Lowes... (I've spent most of the last 8 hours composing and replying to this thread) I have had to take a few days off to work on my car, too. Had to change my in-laws' Escort's alternator, change the starter on my camaro, and change the oil in all our cars twice. I'm looking forward to having a garage for working on my car now! grover fucked around with this message at Dec 30, 2006 around 20:11 |
# ? Dec 30, 2006 20:08 |
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There is hope for me then! - I work in exactly the same way as you. Some days I can get up early and then work non-stop all day and some days I seem to fall into having lots of big breaks! I have trouble with the vacations too! I've actually managed 5 days this year (which makes it a good one!) and that was only staying with my parents 500 miles away. I also have loads of jobs on the go at once! I think i could do with taking a month or two off work and trying to knock some jobs off the list - though i'd probably end up buying something new to work on too! It makes me feel much better knowing what youve pulled off over 12 months!
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 20:33 |
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Welp, just reading this thread made my ass tired. There's no way I'm doing something like this ever. Good job though, looks like real quality work.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 20:33 |
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Can I ask which nailgun you borrowed and how much it sped up the framing?
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 20:34 |
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Withnail posted:Can I ask which nailgun you borrowed and how much it sped up the framing?
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 20:47 |
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I have to design a 2-storey house, despite having no idea about architecture (some studying abroad bullshit story). These pictures are a HUGE help. Thanks!
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 21:04 |
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Cool thanks. I want to buy a nailer and compressor but I can't decide whether to get one for roofing, finishing or framing. Which probably means I don't need one in the first place. Very nice work on the addition. I think your wife made a good choice by contracting the drywall. After a few diy drywall projects, I think it's one of the best parts to outsource.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 21:06 |
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Withnail posted:Cool thanks. I want to buy a nailer and compressor but I can't decide whether to get one for roofing, finishing or framing. Which probably means I don't need one in the first place. ![]()
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 21:10 |
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Grover, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: You are an inspiration. After I get out of college, I hope I'll be able to buy some land and build a decent house one it. So you really just learned everything from code books? I've never cracked open a code book, but it seems like there should be more to determining stuff like how to pour the foundation, or how to frame the thing so it doesn't fall down. I'm going to school for EE, though, so I guess the wiring stuff seems intuitive for me while someone else might just "get" framing.
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 21:23 |
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grover posted:Apparently, they size septic fields not based on bathrooms, but on occupancy, which they assume is 2 people per bedroom. Take a bedroom-sized room and add a closet, it's considered a bedroom, regardless of what I plan to use it for because the NEXT guy might use it for a bedroom. No closet, and it doesn't count. I can call it storage/utility/sewing, etc, and that's OK. It's fucked up. I'm no architect, but does this mean you can just build the room as planned, with a closet-sized niche in the wall, and then when you get the sewer hook-up you can just stick in a curtain rod and put a door on it to make it a closet? Interesting thread, and it's VERY impressive that you and your wife are doing this yourself. I admit what I'm really looking forward to now is seeing the finished rooms after they're decorated (or at least after they have flooring and wall treatments in there). Please post a full tour after it's done ![]()
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# ? Dec 30, 2006 21:37 |