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  1. #1
    Moderator & Team Gunsnet Platinum 07/2011 O.S.O.K.'s Avatar

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    Construction methods for DIY home building...

    I am still in the process of getting the land purchased - lawyer has the contract and will forward when OK'd - then I get that signed and all of the other stuff is done - title search, etc..

    But I'm thinking ahead. What kind of construction method will I use to build my house?

    I've thought of using traditional pier and beam/stick construction... but then there are so many other options.

    One that I'm looking at hard is to use conform compressed polystyrene blocks to make the structure - which is then fitted with rebar and filled with concrete. This can be used for making a basement and/or the whole structure. The advantages of this are many. The blocks are really light weight - you off-load them yourself. They are very easy to place and you can literally have the whole structure in-place in a matter of a long day or two. The interior is then laid-out with electical - you just route out the styrofoam to make room for the conduits and outlets and then using adhesive, you place your drywall - no worrying about lining it up with studs... The exterior can be finished in a variety of ways - non of which give away the actual nature of the construction - very cool.

    Keep in mind, that all of this is being done by moi. No labor charges. I am comfortable laying out the electric and plumbing - but will have professionals come in and finish off the jobs and inspect what I've done.

    My wife likes this idea as it gives her a basement. She's been watching the news and all of the tornados going through the area....

    I've been looking at all kinds of stuff - using shipping containers, compressed earth brick. log homes and concrete log homes (these are very cool but not cheap).

    The idea is to get something that leaves us with very little if any debt. We will be selling our place in Texas and using the proceeds to pay for the house construction... at least that's the idea.

    If all goes well, we should be able to get this all paid in full within 8 years or so.

    Anybody have any other ideas for alternative/economical construction methods?
    Last edited by O.S.O.K.; 05-03-2011 at 06:01 PM.
    ~Nemo me impune lacessit~




  2. #2
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    id just go traditional earth contact with a eco heat pump thingy,upgrade on your furnace and get a good woodburner to heat the house through vents etc.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Mark Ducati's Avatar

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    Hey... FWIW, since you mentioned that YOU are doing a lot of the construction work, if not all of it...

    Yesterday on our new land, I worked for about 4 hours on 4/10th's of mile on the road to the land.... I borrowed my BIL's gas powered hedger (the blade on this thing is about 30" long.

    I went up and down both sides of the road trimming all the mountain laurels that were overhanging into the road, my hope was to cut them back far enough so that I wouldn't scratch my truck up too bad with new pin-striping courtesy of nature.

    Anyway, I only got about half the job done... I still have at least 3/10th's of mile to do MORE!

    Last night at the soccer game, I was telling a nurse friend of mine (we both work in the same building) about my ordeal on Monday (my day off)... she laughed and asked why I worked so hard? I thought maybe she was referencing that I could afford to pay someone to do that kind of work...

    My guess is that the landscaper who bush-hogs the neighborhood's roadsides would charge me about $400-500 bucks (based upon what he charges the home owner's association), ... to be honest, I've got other financial priorities right now...

    What she was getting at, is she said I should have just gone down to the local ACE Hardware store about 7am... I asked why, and she said that there's always about 12-20 Mexican "day laborers" (don't know if they're illegal, but likely) ALWAYS standing out in front of ACE 6 days a week at 7am waiting on work... she said she got these guys to do all the landscape digging/planting for $10 bucks an hour for a recent job on their property!

    No Joke! Whenever it comes to this kind of manual labor, whether landscaping or cleaning my pool... Mr. Whiteguy, up here in Blue Ridge, always wants $30-40 bucks an hour for manual labor or he won't do it... The Mexicans will do it for $10 bucks an hour.

    $10 an hour? That sure as heck beats McDonald's... I pay in cash, they don't have to pay taxes... and before you start questioning my ethics and loyalty to our country... I have no problem hiring "whitey" and would prefer to do such... but "whitey" won't work for $10 bucks an hour.

    Its not like I'm only paying $3 or $4 an hour undercutting "whitey"... $10 bucks an hour is a pretty good wage considering GA min. wage is $7.25! And I'm not talking about back-breaking manual labor like house construction hanging dry wall... I'm talking about cutting some bushes down.

    I hope I didn't piss off anyone or you by suggesting Mexican "day laborers"... but I'd pay any man a fair wage to do this work regardless of their skin color...

    At 45 years of age, my arms and back are worn out! I'm sure many of you, even older are probably in better physical shape than I. But, I physically just can't do it... and doing so, risks me not being able to do dentistry because of potential injury.

    So, with all that said... what do you think of hiring "day laborers"?

  4. #4
    Moderator & Team Gunsnet Platinum 07/2011 O.S.O.K.'s Avatar

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    Sure, go ahead - show them your escape pod.

    Seriously, you really should just look into renting a tractor for a day with a brush hog attachment. Look into it - shouldn't be that much.
    ~Nemo me impune lacessit~




  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by O.S.O.K. View Post
    Sure, go ahead - show them your escape pod.

    Seriously, you really should just look into renting a tractor for a day with a brush hog attachment. Look into it - shouldn't be that much.
    I agree with the rental. Or better than that, If you have quite a bit of work get you a tractor. I have 80 acres with a 5-6 acre lake on it and bought one of the Kubota package deals that had a 4x4 30hp tractor with HS transmission and QD front end loader, 6' box blade, bush hog, landscape rake, a 62" QD deck mower and an 18' trailer. Man I have had some fun with that thing. Bought a Stihl chain saw, a pole saw and put a tooth bar on the Kubota. My neighbors tell me that my cabin area looks like a state park now.

  6. #6
    Guns Network Lifetime Membership 01/2011 old Grump's Avatar

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    Starting from scratch again if I had my druthers it would be poured in place cement or cement slabs brought in and set in place. Just make sure you know where the plumbing and electrical are going to go before you pour and have your chase pipe in place. That includes the drain in the basement.

    I'd forget the shipping container unless it is strictly above ground storage. Built to hold weight on the bed but not take the pressure of dirt on the sides and top and even if reinforced you still have a corrosion problem if you bury them.

    My basement is basically a stryo foam cement sandwich. so no leaking or cold infiltration problem. If I had gone all cement I would only have half the house I have and sometimes that would be a good thing when it comes to taxes, heating and cooling. My problem was x dollars, disability check for income and broke back limiting my sweat equity. If you don't have that problem write to PCA for their book on cement structures, you won't be sorry if you go that way.

    http://www.cement.org/homes/ch_homeplans.asp
    http://www.cement.org/library/lb_special.asp
    http://www.hgtvpro.com/hpro/di_desig...151909,00.html
    http://www.hgtvpro.com/hpro/di_desig...151909,00.html

    Roman Catholic, Life Member of American Legion, VFW, Wisconsin Libertarian party, Wi-FORCE, WGO, NRA, JPFO, GOA, SAF and CCRKBA


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