fresh home build coming soon

[skyking]

My friend got his footings poured and then he's single-handedly stacked the ICFs.
I played hooky for one day from work and I went over to help him pour the walls.



On the way home from there I saw huge flocks of wild turkeys. They were difficult to get a good picture of so I figured it out. I saw some that were trying to cross the road and they turned back when they saw me coming so I just pulled over. They're pretty savvy. They were like. Thanks man.
My friend lives near the town of Addy on one of the many Addy roads.
That's the title of this picture, Addy road the fab Four.

 

[herm0016]

The turkeys here are taking over, they for sure outnumber people in our valley and will strip a large veg garden in a few hours.

 

[skyking]

my plan review letter came back a couple of weeks ago from the city. Lots of issues to deal with.
The storm water and downspout water seem to be the biggest ones, along with a 580' long paved or concrete driveway.
I spoke with a local civil engineer and he sounds like the guy for the job. I'll be drawing new site plans with the new driveway location and scanning those on Monday to send him. I may go make a video on the property, describing the cuts and fills I have in mind for that. I have pioneered lots of roads in by eye so I can see what I want but I need to convey that on paper.

 

[skyking]

The lower 2/3rd of my lot drains exceedingly well, comprised of barely covered big river bottom rock.
That also makes such a good base for the driveway that the roadway specs eliminate 6" of the base course requirements.
The upper 40% of that driveway is over nicer soils, so I will have to craft a base of larger rock and then 4" of CSBC ( Crushed Stone Base Course) that is typically 1.25" minus.
I can eliminate the CSTC ( Crushed Stone Top Course) for a concrete pour.

I can "hard way Jones" the whole thing in with the excavators, or I can rent a dozer for a day over the weekend and rough it in. I am quite comfortable either way, having built many roads over the years.
After I rough it in I will stake it very carefully. The rock placement is going to be critical, as I will not be putting base rock in that 3' wide strip that will get vegetation to promote infiltration. Gravel base is also considered an impervious surface in the storm water manual.
The mini has a 42" wide smooth bucket and the big machine has a 4' wide one. I will make each runner base out of 2~4" crushed rock at least 6" thick, and fill in the gap with some of those well draining soils. That rock will be pricey, figure about $2000 for the big rock if I go get it and $3000 if I get it delivered.

When I excavate the ~300 CY for the basement I will grade and separate that material for various uses. Some of it will be perfect to go between the runners.
When I get the sub grade done it will be 10' wide with 4' wide runners and a 2' strip that will drain well. That will be my construction road for bringing in the concrete, pump trucks, and construction materials.
After I am done beating that surface up building the house, I will tune that up, and use the 4" layer of CSBC to build a perfect grade. I will have offset staking down the one side of the subgrade that is set to grade every ~50' and is 2' away from the edge of the runner. I will set that grade with a combination of the slope laser and swedes.
The flatwork will be done all around the house before that, and no more need of heavy trucks.
We will start at the carport apron slab and use 2x6 for the most part and bender board if needed for the curves.
My brothers and I will set the forms on painted lines as we drive the truck down the driveway. We'll place bar in there that is pre-tied and dobied, and cut crack control grooves every 15' or so with the groove trowel.
If I am on my own it will be one truck a day.
After we cream it up nice, I think we might stamp it, maybe color it.
I think it would look cool as cobblestones, for example.
Or I could be tired enough to give it a quick cross broom and be done

The runners are probably narrower than this sidewalk. If I do a truck a day that means finishing about 75' a day of two runners.

 

[AndImSinging]

that's awesome!!!

 

[skyking]

Meeting with the civil engineer on Wednesday to walk the property and make a plan. I am hoping to get something from him In January, and break ground in February.

I'll go out early Wednesday and stake a centerline for the driveway, stake a retaining wall, and freshen up my elevation marks on the steel posts on the house corners. Then he can visualize what is what.
I got a quote for $1300 to rent a D3 over the weekend. That's delivered and picked up, etc.
https://www.cat.com/en_US/products/new/equipment/dozers/small-dozers/106100.html

Once I get the permit I'll get the dozer, rough in the road, get the PUD going on the power.

 

[skyking]

I've had time to ponder some of the structural elements a little more closely.
I got some quotes last week on the I-joists, beams, subfloor and sheeting products.
The longest joist spans were acceptable per code with the minimum strength of joist, but I was not thrilled with them. After running them through BC Calc , the Boise Cascade software, I upsized them two grades of strength.
The cost was $1.39 per lineal foot. I did this with 22 joists for a total difference of $550.
The peace of mind is priceless.
A partition wall sits on 11 of them, and in turn assists the joists in the floor above.
That opened pandora's box and I gave the beams another look. They had all met the minimums, but I found a couple of things that I want to change. One of them was using glu-lams to hold up the roofs, rather than the versa-lam strand products that I used everywhere.
It turns out that a deeper glu-lam was less expensive per foot, and I could finish it and leave it exposed to help with my ongoing wood fever. The versa-lam I would have covered with sheet rock and painted.
The glu-lams will look good next to the T&G cedar ceilings.
I can't find a great picture to represent it, but it will be a ridge beam that peeks out here and there alongside the T&G.

It will be alongside the cupolas with wrapped beams with light coming through similar to this effect.

 

[Greenman]

I had no idea they still made glue-lams. Haven't seen one called out on a plan in at least 30 years.

 

[herm0016]

I had no idea they still made glue-lams. Haven't seen one called out on a plan in at least 30 years.

maybe is a regional supply thing? we see them here still in new construction.

versa is the veneer lumber which we don't encounter often at all, we do get some LSL strand products though. oddly maybe my pole barn is LVL for all the larger beams. it came from a company in MN though.

as a sparky i prefer glulam, much easier to drill a hole in. haha.

 

[Greenman]

Could be a regional thing, or it could be that LVL is simpler for the engineer to specify. I know the architects I worked with didn't like them as a finished element, so that could have also been a reason they weren't used.

 

[skyking]

the structural report out of BC Calc says it well.
11 7/8" versa-lam @ $35.25/ft
Total Load Deflection L/310 (0.592") 77.5%
Live Load Deflection L/423 (0.434") 85.2%

13 1/2" glu-lam @ $33.64/ft
Total Load Defl. L/418 (0.434") 57.4%
Live Load Defl. L/572 (0.318") 63.0%

I get the appearances, it's significantly stronger/less loaded. It is comparable or less expensive. That's not bad for another 1 5/8" of depth that won't affect the installation in the least.
I could make the roof ridge beams work at 3 1/2" wide and taller, but I am so not feeling it.
I am much happier landing my roof joists on the wider beam.
I'll rip wedges to go on top of the beam to get proper contact, I have a table saw that can make them easily. Same thing at the wall plates.

 

[Greenman]

You lost me at making wedges at the wall plates, I can't picture how that would be necessary.

 

[skyking]

That's okay. I'm using I-Joist for my roof, so they're going to interact with the wall at a 3:12 pitch.
I rip a little 3:12 wedge out of what have you.
Then I don't have to dink around with bird mouthing the tail where it hits the wall.
I'll make a soffit cut beyond the edge of the wall so the soffit is flat to the world.
I've got two foot overhang so that makes about a 6-in fascia.
We'll build a template so that we can make that soffit cut and the plumb cuts quickly.

 

[Greenman]

Avoid the seat cut, got it.
I assume that soffit cut gets a 2x4 stiffner?

 

[skyking]

something like that. I'll V-notch the blocking for vent. It has to go outside the top plate for insulation.
Then I'll rip a slot in the soffit plywood and install a screen there.
Typical fascia overhanging the soffit a tasteful amount. I'll have some can lights in it over the cantilevers.
I am not big on light pollution, so no area yard lights that look like a supermax prison. Everything will be a down light or some really subtle LED under the handrails.

 

[herm0016]

I am not big on light pollution, so no area yard lights that look like a supermax prison. Everything will be a down light or some really subtle LED under the handrails.

one of our neighbors put a fence up their driveway with a light atop every post. It looks like a runway at DIA. We all hate it. its tempting to use them for target practice.

 

[skyking]

Clueless people. The stars are out there many nights and we like to see them.
LED's are so handy for local lighting. I want little lights at the outside stairs. It used to be a 40W in a watertight for a whole bunch of light.
Now I can put together something where the whole string is DC low voltage and put it on a motion detector at the top and bottom of the stairs.
I could use the under rail lights the same as I want around the handrails for everything.

I'd only have the stairs and a small can light by those upper doors on motion detectors. The rest would be on demand only.
The carport gets motion for a portion of the cans and then fill in with switched cans for activity.

 

[skyking]

The last day or three has been playing 3 dimensional chess getting the plumbing vents through the house, getting the stacks set that go in the concrete.
The vents are a little tricky compared to a typical build.
I have those two cupolas on top, and want the option of opening those windows. You can't have a vent stack within 10' of an operating window unless it is 3' above it.
I'll have a pair of 2" vents poking 2' out the top of each of the cupolas, at least until after we get a certificate of occupancy
There is also a dedicated 2" vent coming from the pump chamber. I have that one figured out.
I am probably going to set it all low with some covers over them so the finisher has an easy time power troweling the slab. I want to get a slick finish on it from the start, nice enough that I won't be tempted to have it ground and polished afterward.
The equipment room is the exception.
It has a floor sink in it.

Those are handy for everything. Condensate drains from HVAC go there, the pan drain from the water heater, the T&P valve pipe from the water heater, any little service work on the hydronics can be dumped in there.
If I wanted a soft icemaker those drain water all the time. I seriously doubt that would happen though.
People put in a floor drain and then put tripper pipes over near it, and it still looks like ass.
Put that near the exterior wall of the basement and then run the condensates and drains around to it on the adjacent wall.
The HVAC condensate is the only thing that makes water regularly. I'll set a moisture alarm in there on the other side. If the water heater leaks, the T&P blows off, or most importantly the sewer backs up, it will trip that alarm when the problem is not a big deal.
The alarm can be integrated into a smart water shutoff valve.

The hydronic manifold is in the equipment room too.
Radiantec makes a nice box set for slabs.

 

[Greenman]

I've never had a problem getting vents out of a structure, I have had major issues with HVAC ducting. The solution is always minisplits.

 

[skyking]

Those are not on the plan for this house. They are great for retrofits and remodels.

 

[Sukhoi]

I thought you said soft ice cream maker

 

[skyking]

oh yeah

Just kidding.
If you had a big party house, one of these soft ice makers would be the bomb. They need to drain and in a commercial setting they drain into a floor sink.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TITTLA-...eozsAmt-URNaYlZQuloaAq9tEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Sukhoi]

That's too much ice. I'd feel obligated to use it, probably by creating injuries.

 

[Greenman]

That's too much ice. I'd feel obligated to use it, probably by creating injuries.

The price isn't bad at all. If you had a pet Penguin this would be a must have item.

 

[skyking]

I have enough potential bedrooms that I could consider it a hotel expense.
Get some of those little plastic tubs with lids and the bags to go in them.