Building a house, how small is too small?

[Fermion]

^looks great! I like the engineered floor trusses. Makes for some wide open spaces. You must be spacing them farther apart than 16” since you’re using 1-1/8” plywood subfloor.

Yes, 24" spacing. I was skeptical, but wife engineer/wannabee architect/wears the pants said everything is fine and makes installation easier.

 

[street]

Beautiful! Keep us posted those days bring back great memories of my home building years.

 

[sengsational]

Yes, 24" spacing. I was skeptical, but wife engineer/wannabee architect/wears the pants said everything is fine and makes installation easier.

I'm also a wannabe architect (just for my porch roof project), and want to have a hefty ridge beam and exposed, clean structure with beadboard. But I don't know how to size the structural elements and don't know where to source them either. If you or she has any pointers, I'd appreciate it.

 

[mountainsoft]

Crib walls done! Almost ready for the BCI engineered floor joists, which are sitting in the lumber yard. We are also getting a unit of 1"1/8" tongue and groove plywood for the floor. I love that stuff..it doesn't flex.

Looking great. Reminds me of building our own house which was an awesome experience. Be sure to apply construction adhesive to the tops of the joists before you nail or screw the plywood down. Makes a big difference to minimize squeaks.

It also looks like you'll have a nice view from your place. Somehow I was thinking you were building on a city lot.

 

[Hyper]

Nice job Fermion! What is the purpose of the stand pipe off the foundation drain pipe.. I've never seen that in the two states we've built in. One built in the E and the other in the W.

 

[Fermion]

Nice job Fermion! What is the purpose of the stand pipe off the foundation drain pipe.. I've never seen that in the two states we've built in. One built in the E and the other in the W.

Heh, that is for cleanout (I think it will never be used because I think the drain pipe will never have water in it based on what I noticed in the trenches during the 1" per day rainfall we had earlier this year). The stand pipe will be cut off closer to the ground and capped, but maybe would allow you to snake something into the footing drain system to removed a stoppage. I was actually thinking of making a little robot that crawled inside the pipe if it came to that.

 

[harley]

Heh, that is for cleanout (I think it will never be used because I think the drain pipe will never have water in it based on what I noticed in the trenches during the 1" per day rainfall we had earlier this year). The stand pipe will be cut off closer to the ground and capped, but maybe would allow you to snake something into the footing drain system to removed a stoppage. I was actually thinking of making a little robot that crawled inside the pipe if it came to that.

If you do, make me one too. With saw blades. I have a drain pipe that takes the water from the downspouts down to the pond. It has an overflow opening that blows out every time there's a heavy rain. And now it just stays full. I'm sure the 13 years of garden and tree growth have something to do with it being clogged, but I have no clue how to clear it other than digging it up. Which I don't want to do.

 

[Ronstar]

I have seen some places where standpipes were installed as inspection ports where the city can monitor storm water flow into a sanitary system.

 

[Sunset]

If you do, make me one too. With saw blades. I have a drain pipe that takes the water from the downspouts down to the pond. It has an overflow opening that blows out every time there's a heavy rain. And now it just stays full. I'm sure the 13 years of garden and tree growth have something to do with it being clogged, but I have no clue how to clear it other than digging it up. Which I don't want to do.

Maybe renting one of these, they have different teeth.
https://www.harborfreight.com/50-ft...n-cleaner-68285.html?_br_psugg_q=pipe+cleaner

 

[finnski1]

Heh, that is for cleanout (I think it will never be used because I think the drain pipe will never have water in it based on what I noticed in the trenches during the 1" per day rainfall we had earlier this year). The stand pipe will be cut off closer to the ground and capped, but maybe would allow you to snake something into the footing drain system to removed a stoppage. I was actually thinking of making a little robot that crawled inside the pipe if it came to that.

I had never seen that before either but my neighbor is building a new house right now as well so he told me what just was a few weeks ago.
Didn't do the clean out 22 years ago when I built mine,
It's been 22 years and my full basement has never been wet and is bone dry. I hate wet basements.

 

[harley]

Maybe renting one of these, they have different teeth.
https://www.harborfreight.com/50-ft...n-cleaner-68285.html?_br_psugg_q=pipe+cleaner

Not a bad idea. That arrow cutter attachment might just do it. I'm pretty sure it's roots. If I can find the blockage maybe I can cut through it. If not, maybe I can dig and route around it. Thanks. I'll put it as item 42 on my to do list.

 

[Fermion]

Got the middle 2x12 (x3) beams in and the BCI joists were delivered so we hefted them up there. Today we install some of them (pretty easy but it is hot today, 94 high)

We also had a unit of 1"1/8" T&G subfloor delivered. They delivered the whole thing on a tilt flatbed and just slid it off. I had visions of everything being smashed to bits but the guy knew what he was doing. Still, watching a (3000?) pound stack of plywood slide down a 24 foot flatbed is butt clenching.

 

[wmc1000]

Smaller house but not much smaller

We have been looking for a few acres to build a new home for a while now. Found a small neighborhood with a few homes already and the lots are sized from 2 acres to 16 acres. Made an offer on a 7 acre lot but decided against it as it had power lines running across the middle of it and didn't have any already level area to build.

While we were in that process we did see and existing 5 year old house on 2.5 acres that I felt was overpriced but when they had an open house we decided to see it. A few weeks later they still hadn't sold and had dropped the price a few times so we decided to make an offer 25% under original listing price and 10% less than current lowered list price since we had a list of changes we would start with in a new construction. Sellers took our offer so tomorrow we are having the inspections done!

Bigger than we would have built at almost 2900 sq. ft. but a couple of hundred sq. ft. smaller than our current home. We will like sitting on our front porch and admiring the view.

Has a horse farm on a 16 acre lot at end of road so we can take the GK's there or fishing in the large pond across the road.

Will be adding a detached garage or pole barn so I can have a large workshop.

 

[Ronstar]

^Perfect place! Better get started on that workshop soon so that you can spend this coming winter in it.

 

[mountainsoft]

Got the middle 2x12 (x3) beams in and the BCI joists were delivered so we hefted them up there. Today we install some of them (pretty easy but it is hot today, 94 high)

We also had a unit of 1"1/8" T&G subfloor delivered. They delivered the whole thing on a tilt flatbed and just slid it off. I had visions of everything being smashed to bits but the guy knew what he was doing. Still, watching a (3000?) pound stack of plywood slide down a 24 foot flatbed is butt clenching.

Looking good! I was originally going to use truss joists when we built our house, but opted for standard 2x10 lumber instead. I don't recall why now, probably due to costs, but old school still works great.

I had read about the way they unload a truck of lumber before it was delivered, but it's still scary to see a huge investment in building materials come crashing to the ground off the back of a truck. In our case, it always seemed like the boards we needed were at the bottom of the stack.

 

[Sunset]

Got the middle 2x12 (x3) beams in and the BCI joists were delivered so we hefted them up there. Today we install some of them (pretty easy but it is hot today, 94 high)

We also had a unit of 1"1/8" T&G subfloor delivered. They delivered the whole thing on a tilt flatbed and just slid it off. I had visions of everything being smashed to bits but the guy knew what he was doing. Still, watching a (3000?) pound stack of plywood slide down a 24 foot flatbed is butt clenching.

It is great following your thread on the home building.

I notice you are using what looks to be 6x6 posts for the basement poles supporting the beams, is there a reason to use that vs the steel poles I've seen often in my homes ?

 

[Fermion]

It is great following your thread on the home building.

I notice you are using what looks to be 6x6 posts for the basement poles supporting the beams, is there a reason to use that vs the steel poles I've seen often in my homes ?

Not really a reason...the steel poles are kind of special order and the 6x6 are plenty strong enough. The middle support, which is on the bigger (huge) concrete pillar is actually a 8x8 buildup.

 

[old medic]

We are in the process of rebuilding an abandoned house into our retirement estate... 960 SqFt, 2 BR, 1 Bath, open floor plan with Kitchen/great room with fireplace. No hallways, all 36 inch doors. 12 X 30 covered deck off the back and an attached 2 car garage with a laundry/utility sink.
Currently been living in 224 SqFt of camper going on 3 years.... this place seems massive....

As a medic I have had to deal with trying to bring folks out of there homes... its unreal some of what that has entailed over the years...
ever try carrying a 240 Lb person with a broken back down a spiral staircase on a back board....

 

[Fermion]

Got the joists in and subloor installed. Today I think we start the north wall of the first floor.

I recently turned 50 too....feeling the age

 

[street]

Beautiful!
I envy you, I enjoy building and is so rewarding to complete a home. My old body doesn't think it could do another one.

Please keep us informed on your progress.

 

[mountainsoft]

Got the joists in and subloor installed. Today I think we start the north wall of the first floor.

I recently turned 50 too....feeling the age

Awesome, congratulations! I was only 40 when we started building our house. It would certainly be a lot harder for me to do now at 56. Even small projects around here seem like a lot more work now.

I love the chairs on the floor. Brings back memories.

 

[aja8888]

We are in the process of rebuilding an abandoned house into our retirement estate... 960 SqFt, 2 BR, 1 Bath, open floor plan with Kitchen/great room with fireplace. No hallways, all 36 inch doors. 12 X 30 covered deck off the back and an attached 2 car garage with a laundry/utility sink.
Currently been living in 224 SqFt of camper going on 3 years.... this place seems massive....

As a medic I have had to deal with trying to bring folks out of there homes... its unreal some of what that has entailed over the years...
ever try carrying a 240 Lb person with a broken back down a spiral staircase on a back board....

Post some photos if you can!

 

[Ronstar]

Looks great Fermion!

 

[old medic]

Post some photos if you can!

I will look at starting a new thread..

Nice work Fermion

 

[Fermion]

We got up the first couple of walls yesterday. After scratching our heads a bit over the weight of a 16 foot long 2x6 wall that was sheathed in OSB (must be something like 400 to 500 pounds) we tried out these things called wall jacks. They climb a 2x4 as you pump the handle so you can use two of them to lift a wall. It is still scary but not quite as "here, hold my beer" as other methods I guess. We used a safety strap and stops to keep the wall from being able to keep going over, and we braced it well after it was vertical while we made final adjustments.