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mike597
New Member
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| 02 Dec 2011 12:49 PM |
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Well, the township isn't moving as quick as they stated they would, still no building permit. I was told 3-5 days about 3 weeks ago. We have a hole dug and contractors lined up waiting for the green light and blankets laid out to keep the frost off where the footings will be poured.
I received the first materials list from a building supplier that was much higher than we expected so we checked out another company. They introduced me to Serious Windows and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. The U and R values of these windows are substantially better than the other brands we were looking at and the pricing is coming in better than we expected. Turn around time is only a week! They make some crazy high end ones, but to keep things reasonable we are looking at the 525 and 725 series (depending on placement).
Just for fun we decided to order a time lapse camera to record the construction of the house. Last weekend I climbed numerous trees until we found the view that looked best and mounted it as high as possible- should be fun to check out when it's done. Nothing like watching an 8 month project happen in 10 minutes. |
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mike597
New Member
Posts:30
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| 06 Dec 2011 04:15 PM |
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WOOHOO!! I received building permits today and footing forms are going in! IFC walls start this week! |
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ICFHybrid
Veteran Member
Posts:3039
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| 06 Dec 2011 08:14 PM |
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How do you plan to hold the block walls down to the footings? |
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mike597
New Member
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| 07 Dec 2011 12:55 PM |
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Posted By ICFHybrid on 06 Dec 2011 08:14 PM
How do you plan to hold the block walls down to the footings?
To be honest, I have no idea. I received a call a little while ago from the guy doing the concrete work that we passed our footing inspection and that the concrete should be arriving this afternoon. I plan to swing by after work and see how it's going for him and will ask how he plans to do this. I can't believe it's finally happening! next step for me is renting a trencher for the electrical utility. I had planned on trenching this and the gas line at the same time, but received a call back from the gas company saying I can't trench it- they have to. The way they charge for the work is great for the home owner- no cost for the trenching or the pipe, just a flat install rate that is so reasonable I thought it was a mistake. I told the lady I can take care of the trench if they like since I know where the service is starting just to help them out but she said no. Oh well, less work for me I guess. |
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Farmboy
Basic Member
Posts:356
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| 08 Dec 2011 11:39 AM |
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Mike, Are you snapping photos along the way? If so, would you mind posting a few showing key steps and workarounds for problems encountered. Best wishes, Dave |
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mike597
New Member
Posts:30
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| 08 Dec 2011 12:33 PM |
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Posted By Farmboy on 08 Dec 2011 11:39 AM
Mike, Are you snapping photos along the way? If so, would you mind posting a few showing key steps and workarounds for problems encountered. Best wishes, Dave
We have a time lapse camera set up to record the entire entire construction and my wife and I take pics of pretty much everything that goes on (she has a blog her friends and family follow). We started back when the grading began and plan to continue until we are done. I got there a little late last night to take pics, got dark out quicker than I had hoped... I plan to get there earlier today and will take more pics. We had a small delay with the ICF blocks not being ready until Tuesday. Working on drainage until then. |
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mike597
New Member
Posts:30
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| 20 Dec 2011 06:20 PM |
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Our footings went off without a hitch and walls went up pretty quickly. We passed inspection today so the basement walls and garage frostwalls should be poured tomorrow. We've gotten a little rain that made some of the work sloppy but the cold has really held off thankfully.
The plan moving forward is for back filling to happen next week and the first floor to get set the second week of January. We have another delay with the truss company but I think it's for the better as it gives us a chance to confirm everything after the pour is complete, plus they have a 7-10 day lead time.
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mike597
New Member
Posts:30
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| 20 Dec 2011 06:26 PM |
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Ready for pre-pour inspection!
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jeepster
Basic Member
Posts:153
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| 20 Dec 2011 06:47 PM |
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Project looks nice!
I wouldn't backfill anything until you get your floor system in. There's no lateral support without the floor in place. Don't let the contractor tell you that it's OK. That's simply too much pressure on an unsupported wall that still pretty green. Although I will say that you have plenty of corners and angles to help reinforce the walls. Either way, if I were you, I'd wait to get that floor system installed.
Beautiful property, BTW
Sean |
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Alton
Veteran Member
Posts:2164
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| 20 Dec 2011 09:17 PM |
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I agree with Jeepster about the backfilling needing the floor. |
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Residential Designer &
Construction Technology Consultant -- E-mail: Alton at Auburn dot Edu Use email format with @ and period .
334 826-3979 |
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mike597
New Member
Posts:30
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| 21 Dec 2011 04:21 PM |
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My excavator was on site today and we talked about this extensively. He had the same concerns (40 years experience, I'm really confident in him) and came up with a few solutions. First, he will not be using any of his larger compactors unless both sides of the wall are buried ( like the walkout basement frostwalls). They will be back filling to cover the footings next week to avoid any heaving the cold weather can cause but the final back fill and compaction won't be until after the floor systems are installed. He is also coordinating with the ICF company to add supports behind the garage wall shared with the basement. He said that's the wall that makes him the most uncomfortable.
The pour was completed about an hour ago, other than one of the cement trucks getting stuck (bull dozer to the rescue) everything went pretty smooth.
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jeepster
Basic Member
Posts:153
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| 21 Dec 2011 07:49 PM |
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That makes more sense. You definitely want to protect the footing from frost. Plus, it's also a good idea to get some rock and fabric around your footing drains asap, so if the trench collapses from rain, you won't clog your footing drains with silt.
Out of curiosity, I have a couple questions. What kind of waterproofing are you doing. Are you planning on pumping the basement floor in after the first floor system is installed? Or are you planning on getting your basement floor poured between now and January. Is your rough plumbing already in? I just ask because it seems like you are in a hurry to cover it up, which generally makes it more expensive and difficult to do some of the things afterward. I'm sure things are weather dependent. |
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mike597
New Member
Posts:30
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| 22 Dec 2011 09:53 AM |
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Posted By jeepster on 21 Dec 2011 07:49 PM
That makes more sense. You definitely want to protect the footing from frost. Plus, it's also a good idea to get some rock and fabric around your footing drains asap, so if the trench collapses from rain, you won't clog your footing drains with silt.
Out of curiosity, I have a couple questions. What kind of waterproofing are you doing. Are you planning on pumping the basement floor in after the first floor system is installed? Or are you planning on getting your basement floor poured between now and January. Is your rough plumbing already in? I just ask because it seems like you are in a hurry to cover it up, which generally makes it more expensive and difficult to do some of the things afterward. I'm sure things are weather dependent.
Ironically my excavator brought this up yesterday too, so this morning they are putting socktile around the exterior of the footings as well (already done on the interior side of footings and run to sump crock). He mentioned although he highly doubts we will need it, it's cheap insurance if it's done now. The waterproofing is being done by the ICF company. I can't remember the name of the product they are using (will ask when I see him) but I noticed the large rolls and was told its for waterproofing. As he explained it they put a rubber-like adhesive on the ICF walls then apply this waterproof sheeting that is one continuous sheet from top to bottom. We are pretty lucky with the site, we are building on top of a hill with decent slopes down in each direction in sandy soil. High and dry. As for the basement floor, I finished the rough plumbing over the weekend for the basement and am ready for them to pour any time. We aren't in a hurry to get the basement floor poured, just to move along with getting the main floor trussed and sheeted so the main floor walls can begin. That also lets me get to work on plumbing, duct work, electrical, etc. We plan to pump in the basement floor later, and you are right- it's mostly weather dependent. We came to the agreement that if everything goes well and the concrete guys are being held up by the framers then they will probably pour the basement floor at that time (most likely while waiting for the second floor to be trussed and sheeted. I really appreciate the ideas and feedback- thanks! |
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mike597
New Member
Posts:30
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| 15 Jun 2012 03:21 PM |
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We are getting closer to being done with the house- hoping for occupancy by the end of July. Lots of things have happened, lots of delays, but we are getting there and I think we've done pretty good for being our own GC and building a 4000 sq ft home in under 8 months.
First off I would like to state the obvious that the biggest factor is the ICF contractor you use. Ours was a joke. He came in with a great speech, was extremely confident, and yet for some reason was completely incompetent with a tape measure. I would post who it was here so others know to be cafeful but it's not my style to trash someone behind their back. Problems we had with him: I measured the footings just before he poured, found them not square (8" off), and not to the right size. His walls were never straight, I spent weekends putting up bracing he wasn't using and we still ended up with walls slightly bowing in (shimming the drywall took care of this). I understand 6" thick of concrete is heavy, but come on. I have to blame myself here for not getting on him harder and/or not firing him mid-project. Then I let him talk me in to having him do the basement flat work. It is seriously the ugliest flat work I have ever seen. The other company I hired after seeing his work did the garage and we are talking night and day. Can't wait to cover that nightmare in carpet.
Another thing I learned is the electrical in the exterior walls took much longer than I anticipated. I started out with a Hot-Wire tool, got sick the first day for not using a good enough mask and breathing the fumes. With the right mask I had no trouble, but still found it very slow and the blades aren't cheap. Had much better luck/results with a Ryobi 18V chainsaw. Drilled a hole in the bar, mounted a bolt as a depth gauge, and it flew compared to the Hot-Wire. The Inspector wanted wire supported every 4ft even if in the tight channels the chainsaw cut, so drilling and using wire ties with tapcons everywhere also took much longer than I planed. Glad I did most utilities myself, labor would be have substantial.
The drywall is all hung and the finisher is there now, hopefully I will be able to get to start painting the second floor this weekend. Overall we are really excited with the house! We had a pretty brutal storm blow through here last month and we didn't know it until we went outside. Branches were down, everything was soaked, and we never heard anything. Nice bonus!
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ICFHybrid
Veteran Member
Posts:3039
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| 15 Jun 2012 05:09 PM |
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The Inspector wanted wire supported every 4ft even if in the tight channels We poked in small chunks of foam for support and if that wasn't good enough, gave it a shot of canned foam. |
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mike597
New Member
Posts:30
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| 15 Jun 2012 07:07 PM |
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Posted By ICFHybrid on 15 Jun 2012 05:09 PM
We poked in small chunks of foam for support and if that wasn't good enough, gave it a shot of canned foam.
We offered to do this too, but he said no. Never know what to expect w/ inspectors, but once we anchored everything he approved us. He also required 2 anchors for every box, which I had already done. They were pretty nice about everything, I think it was new to him so he wanted things done overkill. We did go around with foam and fill all the channels we cut. I plan on getting a blower door test done when we are done, just have to find someone that does it here. |
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robinnc
Advanced Member
Posts:586
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| 15 Jun 2012 10:43 PM |
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Mike, do you have a pic on how you modified that chainsaw?
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Lbear
Veteran Member
Posts:2740
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| 16 Jun 2012 12:49 AM |
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Posted By mike597 on 15 Jun 2012 07:07 PM
Posted By ICFHybrid on 15 Jun 2012 05:09 PM
We poked in small chunks of foam for support and if that wasn't good enough, gave it a shot of canned foam.
We offered to do this too, but he said no. Never know what to expect w/ inspectors, but once we anchored everything he approved us. He also required 2 anchors for every box, which I had already done. They were pretty nice about everything, I think it was new to him so he wanted things done overkill. We did go around with foam and fill all the channels we cut.
I plan on getting a blower door test done when we are done, just have to find someone that does it here.
What kind of windows did you go with?? |
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Lbear
Veteran Member
Posts:2740
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| 16 Jun 2012 12:52 AM |
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Posted By mike597 on 15 Jun 2012 03:21 PM
First off I would like to state the obvious that the biggest factor is the ICF contractor you use. Ours was a joke. He came in with a great speech, was extremely confident, and yet for some reason was completely incompetent with a tape measure.
With ICF, the contractor should have at least a dozen builds under their belt. Doing ICF walls is not for amateurs. Apparently this contractor did not know what he was doing. |
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ICFHybrid
Veteran Member
Posts:3039
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| 16 Jun 2012 09:52 AM |
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Posted By ICFHybrid on 15 Jun 2012 05:09 PM
We poked in small chunks of foam for support and if that wasn't good enough, gave it a shot of canned foam.
We offered to do this too, but he said no. That's just nasty.....or stupid. There is every bit as much "support" doing it this way as there is any other. I cut the chases for the sparkies using a hot knife with a sled attachment and a bent wire that was the shape and size of a single gang electrical box. To cut the chases, you just drag the wire edge-on through the foam, varying the angle of the drag to change the width of the cut. After the first few minutes, you get good enough that you can keep the cut fairly consistent, but not consistent enough that the wires don't get pinched tight in places. That makes for a really tight, firm install. You don't have to change attachments when you come to a box cut-out. Using the chainsaw method gave us a larger minimum cut size than the hot knife method and there was no question that the wires were not as tightly tucked in there. Pluswhich, I don't like the mess you get with the chainsaw. I don't like "wiggly" electric boxes, so when the sparkies started using shallower metal boxes with two tapcon anchors per box, I was really pleased. |
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