Owner-Builder Journal Entries
Posted to Heart-of-PA by Patrick in Lewistown, PA
on 1/6/2009 10:48:56 AM
cabinets are in, hardwood and tile is completed, interior doors come on Friday and appliances come next Wednesday.
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| future kitchen |
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| install progressing |
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| all done! |
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| Franke granite sink w/oiled bronze faucet |
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| oiled bronze faucet and light fixture
Autumn Maple Cabinets
Bruce Gunstock oak 5" flooring |
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| Bruce Gunstock oak 5" flooring |
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| oiled bronze fans |
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Posted to Tanglewood by Steven in Colorado Springs, CO
on 1/5/2009
We decided shortly after choosing the ICF product that we were going to use for this project that it might be a good idea to have at least somebody with some experience with it. Since I had to go back to work after a nice long winter vacation to earn the money for this silly project, we chose to have Colleen go down to the annual Buildblock class in Oklahoma City this week.
Her first class was today and she seems excited. She's picked up a lot of tidbits and hard information, come across what looks like a better alternative to V-Buck for the windows and doors, and has generally been able to learn a lot about working with the product. She's getting a good chance to talk to folks who work with it every day and it seems like it's very much been worth the (rather steep IMO) cost. When she gets back I'll have a General Contractor and co-builder who will be familiar with the product and be able to keep me from making rookie mistakes (well, at least when she's around!).
Very positive experience so far. And it seems like she's having some fun too!
Steve
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| Stack of materials at the Buildblock class.
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Comments (2)
Posted to Back-Home-In-Crisp by Bob in Ennis, TX
on 1/4/2009 10:42:23 PM
Finally the rain stopped & the ground dried enough to allow concrete trucks to drive on it... Reset the forms & reebar, put the sand back that had washed away & then - Aaahhhh - Soild concrete! Soooo nice!
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| 7-11-2007 |
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| 7-11-2007 |
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| 7-13-2007 |
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| 7-11-2007 |
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| 7-13-2007 |
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Posted to Naperville-Webster-St by Patrick in Naperville, IL
on 1/4/2009 9:43:55 PM
Progress continues on the teardown in Naperville, IL.
Hope to start framing shortly...
http://1126webster.blogspot.com/
Comments (0)
Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 1/4/2009 2:57:25 PM
Since I am waiting for the new stair treads, I decided to start tiling the upstairs porch. It wasn't as hard as I thought. After working with the travertine, anything is easier! I spent the better part of the morning measuring and mapping out where to lay the tile since the porch wraps around the house. My poor knees are taking a beating, though. I got my husband to mix the mortar, which helped a bunch. I can only lay 100 sf a day before I give out, and the porch is 600 sf. I figure three more weekends and I should be done. I will be eating Ibuprofen for dinner tonight.
'til next time,
Whitney
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| Before the fun begins |
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| My first two rows. Took about five hours! |
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| Day two |
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| I'm calling it quits for now! |
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Posted to Back-Home-In-Crisp by Bob in Ennis, TX
on 1/4/2009 12:02:10 PM
At 4:00 AM the morning we were going to pour concrete for our driveway I was awakened by Thunder... The rain storm that followed washed away most of the sand & some of the forms. The rain lasted for weeks! Almost exactly one month after the rain started we were finally able to pour our driveway. After walking through the forms & reebar in mudboots for a month, we were estatic! Even though she didn't so, I have to say it was pretty funny to see my wife walking to her truck to go to work in a dress & mudboots...
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| 7-4-07 |
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| 7-4-2007 |
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| 7-4-2007 |
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| 7-4-2007 |
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| 7-4-2007 |
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Posted to OwensNewHome by Justin in Chandler, AZ
on 1/3/2009 10:06:04 PM
I wasn't going to post again so soon but today our cabinets were hung. So we still need a few toe kicks, crown, and scribe moulding, not to mention relocating the microwave exhaust vent and figuring out how to but a cabinet front corner right next to a toilet cleanout - but the cabinets look great.
It was a busy Saturday. The stucco guys were out making a few changes to the window pop-out headers. I asked them to add a drip edge so the rain (when there is no wind) will not run back against the window creating more to clean each time it rains. As we had a lot of rain recently all the junk from the roof and stucco ran over the windows and we have a lot to clean up - glad it happened now rather than later.
The tile guys were back at work - as the references said he is slow but a perfectionist. The living room is completely laid - they just need to grout. They also started finding tiles with more character and color. The tiles in the crate they are working on has a dark vein in it. I like it! It has character and spunk!
The cabinet guys finished all they could with the materials we had. Audra did a great job with the deal she got on the cabinets. The crown detail looks great. The hardware will make it look even cooler once it is all on.
We did pick up pizza for everyone (except the stucco guy, he finished and went to another job). We got a lot of work done on a Saturday.
I spent my time securing the suspended seating for the island and building the walls to conceal the suspended seats and trash cans. It looks rough now but wait for the finished product - it'll be worth it.
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| We spent a lot of time at the house this weekend. Our children like to borrow our tools for their "projects". This is how the cordless drill was returned to me on New Year's Day. |
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| They look great |
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| Even the computer center (right) has stacked cabinets. They look expensive! (They're not). |
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| Crown detail |
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| Kitchen sink window |
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| Laundry |
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| Laundry |
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| Kids bath |
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| Travertine - I'm loving it |
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| His master bath cabs |
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| Her master bath cabs |
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| Island |
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| Island |
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| Island - it'll look better once it is finished - just wait |
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Comments (2)
Posted to Dennis-Dream-Home by Gabriela in Readington Twp, NJ
on 1/3/2009 9:16:13 AM
Happy new year to all!
As the holidays were fast approaching we buckled down to get several very important "utility" things out of the way. In 1 day the electric trench, water trench and all the lines were laid. Then inspections happened the next day and we were able to backfill everything. Our yard looked like Frankenstein for several days and there are permanent trenches across our driveway, but all very well worth it. On Dec 30th our power was turned on by JCPL!!! We quickly proceeded to call the electrician, the propane tank testing company and the HVAC guy, and as of Dec 1st, I am so happy to report we actually have heat!! We also had all the drywall installed and spackled starting on Dec 16 and ending on Dec 24th (some minor touch ups had to happen but nothing too alarming). The painters started priming on Dec 31st and are out there today (Jan 3rd) to finish. I cannot believe how great it looks. The stucco application continues to be a thorn in our side. We made the mistake of going with a "new" company -- actually it appears they are an LLC that recently got out on their own. The problem being they actually already have full time jobs working for other companies and took this job just to sub it out to another crew that show up on their whim. Not only that, but their workmanship leaves quite a bit to be desired. They seem to work very sloppily and we've brought that to their attention at which point they've had to remediate and are just taking even longer. They also nailed a 2x4 brace through our new roof causing a leak of mass proportions which they proceeded to blame on our poor roofers. It's been a circus out there. I just pray they finish soon and without further damage to our new house. My hubby is ready to fire them, but we are so far in the hole, its almost not worth it. I am pleased to report the trim and expansion joint band we selected are just beautiful. I think it's gonna look great with the final color coats, if those ever get put on before we move in.
I ordered our tile (Arpa in Palace Blue) for our kitchen, mudroom and powder room. It should be arriving on Jan 8th. Additionally, our toilets (Toto Ultramax) and tankless water heater are on their way scheduled to arrive next week as well. The base molding, door casings, and all interior doors are on order, coming next week, but our brother in law also just purchased a home that needs alot of work so the hubby and his bro are over there doing a lot of much needed demo-- so needless to say our trim install will be on hold until after they get settled a bit in the new house.
I have had little luck settling on paint colors throughout the house, so I am off to Benjamin Moore to buy a zillion little sample bottles today and start testing palettes. Otherwise kitchen cabinets are coming on Feb 13th and lots needs to happen this month before any cabinet installs can actually happen. Between starting back at work and coordinating all the deliveries these coming weeks, not to mention color selections galore, I should have many sleepless nights ahead!
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| Window Trim |
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| Front of House |
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Posted to Tanglewood by Steven in Colorado Springs, CO
on 1/3/2009
Even though I've decided a while back to go with solar as my primary (and only unless the propane generator kicks in) energy source up front, I'm still gathering weather data from my nifty weather station. It's helping me judge the potential for possibly adding a wind turbine down the road after Tanglewood is built, and besides--it's just plain geeky fun.
I thought I'd spend some quality time crunching wind numbers today and came up with some interesting (well, to me anyway) statistics. I decided that since there's some question as to the validity of the numbers I'd been getting earlier in the year (since the anemometer might have been damaged and reading low), I would look at data collected only since 12/02/2008 when the new anemometer went online. I plotted two sets of numbers into histograms (and the raw data is attached if folks more skilled with Excel than myself want to have fun) and the results were illustrative. Bear in mind that these numbers are from an anemometer that's four feet off the ground about three feet back from a sheer cliff--not an ideal location (it should be up high) but not bad either since there are no obstructions for hundreds of feet in any direction.
The Average Wind Speed histogram is probably more relevant, since it's what one would base power generation potential from. Using data collected (and averaged) over five-minute intervals I have some 8,016 data points between 12/02/2008 and 12/31/2008. Of those 2,505 (or ~31%) came in between 0 and 1 mph; that means that even if there were some slight gusts during that time frame, it wasn't significant; and so the overall average was still in that bucket. Even more interesting was to compare the Bergey Excel's kick-in speed (the speed at which it starts producing some power, 7 mph) against the number of data point between 0 and 6 mph (~62%). This means for nearly two-thirds of the time the turbine would be producing nothing whatsoever--it might spin a bit but other than looking pretty that would be about it. Not particularly good for wind prospects.
The Bergey also rates its "operating speed" at which it's more or less maximizing its output at 31 mph; it'll start to furl to avoid damage at 35 mph. Looking at the charts we can see that it would be in its operating regime for ~33% of the time, with speeds that would cause it to shut down coming in for the rest (about .1% total) on average.
Note that these were average speeds over five-minute intervals--the anemometer also records maximum wind speeds. These are more likely to force the turbine to shut down even if it's not for very long. That happened nearly 11% of the time (I recorded one gust at 60 mph that lasted for about 2 1/2 minutes--that's windy!).
Mind you, this is all only based on essentially one month's worth of data collected during the start of the winter season. I'm curious as to whether or not they'll hold roughly true throughout the year or if there will be wider seasonal variations. Once I get a better sampling of numbers I'll plug them into the Bergey's power generation spreadsheet and see what the manufacturer estimates it might generate; it won't be zero, but it probably won't be more than a moderate percentage of what the solar does either. Since I'm not planning to go with wind up front I've got more time to gather data and ponder what any wind turbine I put up is likely to provide--and of course that will give the things more time to come down in price too.
Geeky, geeky fun!
Steve
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| Average wind speed histogram; average mph along the X axis with bins along the bottom. |
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| High wind speed histogram; the axes are reversed on this one. |
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Files12_31_2008.xls
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Posted to TheHoskensProject by Brian in Melbourne, FL
on 1/2/2009 4:04:38 PM
Jan 2nd, 2009, and we're throwing cement at the dome again. Got another 15 feet of bottom seam, a window and the front entryway finished in cement. It's really nice to see a finished SOMEthing. Got about half the dome's bottom seams to go, 2 more entryways and 4 more window dormers. It's really fun to try to get cement to stick to the underside of a window dormer. You should try it sometime. Make sure you are looking up when it's falling off onto your head, and going down your shirt. Oh, well, not much left. Goal is to get all the cement DONE by the end of January, and that way we can apint the dome in the first part of March. The cement has to cure for 30 days before you paint it.
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| Front entryway |
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Posted to Back-Home-In-Crisp by Bob in Ennis, TX
on 1/1/2009 8:32:56 PM
The septic system was more than I wanted to tackle, so I hired a plumber (family friend) to do it. To say the least, it was not a good experience... It rained a lot. The person I dealt with mostly was actually a distant cousin (the owner) he was just an A**. The biggest problem was getting them to finish the job. It turned out in the end they were out here finishing the job the day after we moved in.
The system actually woks fine. I just chose the wrong contractor.
I just try to write it off in my mind as lessons learned.
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| 5-29-2007 |
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| 5-29-2007 |
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| 5-29-2007 |
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| 5-29-2007 |
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| 5-29-2007 |
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| 5-29-2007 |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 1/1/2009 6:24:09 AM
OK. So I must admit I hate my new stair treads. The hard rock maple would not take a deep stain, so I ended up using an air paint sprayer for a car to put a last final mist on them to darken them up. Although it looks OK, it now looks like they were painted:( I will remove these and start over.
I have ordered Brazilian Cherry treads that I will just put a few coats of polyurethane on. I should have done this from the beginning!
Hard lesson learned.
I have moved on to the upstairs porch. 700 sf of tiling to do this weekend. I am not looking forward to this... my knees are ready to fire me. On a lighter note, my husband built the garage shelves, and we are finally getting organized out there. It was beginning to get dangerous to walk out there.
A recap of what is left to do:
Fireplace mantel and surround, upstairs wraparound porch tiling,
downstairs back porch tiling,
downstairs front porch tiling,
courtyard pavers,
caulk and paint remaining trim,
shoe mold on kitchen cabinet toe kicks,
stair treads, newel post, railing (again),
laundry room cabinets and table,
laundry room tub sink installation,
kitchen tile backsplash,
porch ceiling crown molding and fans,
windowsills and trim, and
television bracket over fireplace.
We have many more projects after that, however, that should keep us busy for the next 6 months since we are doing it all ourselves.
Happy New Year!
Whitney
Comments (0)
Posted to Back-Home-In-Crisp by Bob in Ennis, TX
on 12/31/2008 10:03:10 PM
After we poured the slab, we scored grout lines and came back after the framing to stain the floors. The problem I encountered is that I bought the wrong product. I purchased something that was more like paint rather than stain. IT LOOKED TERRIBLE!! It apparently was good paint though, it was pure Hell getting that stuff off the floor. I ended up having to sandblast the entire floor to remove the stuff.
After that learning curve ... I found what I actually needed. We used H&C acid concrete stain. WOW, what a difference! After the stain we put two coats of sealer. The floors turned out really nice.
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| 4-2-2007 The mess-up... |
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| 4-2-2007 mess! |
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| 4-2-2007 Mess! |
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| 4-2-2007 Mess!
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| 4-24-2007
Starting over with the right stuff... |
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| 4-25-2007 |
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| 4-27-2007 |
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| 4-27-2007 |
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| 4-27-2007 |
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| 4-27-2007 |
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Posted to Back-Home-In-Crisp by Bob in Ennis, TX
on 12/31/2008 8:58:21 PM
We're taking a break from the 30' x 40' building & working on getting the 40' x 50' building weathertite. We have someone intrested in buying our house so we may be living in the building soon...
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| 2-17-2007 |
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| 3-31-2007 It rained alot! |
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