Building a new house and shop (2 Viewers)

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Epro is a great product, that is what we use as a base for waterproofing below grade for foundations.
It gets sprayed on by the installer/applicator. Never used roll on in our projects.
My worry with the 10Mil poly would be a small rock or something sharp that gets to puncture the poly in the back fill process.
It's thick poly but who ever is doing the back fill must pay super special attention to soil being placed on the poly.
That is why we use the delta drain mat.
Remember that the fill will settle unless you do compaction.
When you have back filled with the 1' of fill try to create some slope so that poly would shed water.
Would use some birds eye gravel 3-4 inches on top of the poly so it would become free draining.
Then 20' wide commercial filter cloth then the soil.
Went trough my Fine Home Building magazines . Issue No 2 April May 1981 (yes I still have the magazines) there is a good article
on waterproofing Earth Sheltered Houses by Charles A Lane. Little dated but all the principals are still relevant today. Its a good read.
Can take pictures and forward if you like.
Hope that helps.

Thanks Rugy. We will make a slope on the back side to drain water away from the house. Also putting another french drain all along inside the front parapet wall to move water away from the front of the back fill. We are also using a rotating drum sieve to screen-out rocks from the soil, so the first layers over the poly sheeting will not have rocks to punch through it. The gravel and the filter cloth are good ideas too, will try to incorporate those if we can afford it.
 
Where can we donate? I want to see this thing accomplished quickly!

:smokin:

Thanks for the thought! Unfortunately, it needs more than a few thousand here and there to finish - I am working on building my business back up to generate some more income, but it is a slower process now than in years previous. Will be dipping into my retirement funds for some of it too, just can't do too much of that in a single year because it increases my tax bracket.

The builder will be back next week to spray another coat of waterproofing; hopefully we can continue back filling soon after.
 
Here is something that I did last week, that may be of interest to anyone with a water well (or who's city water is very hard). I knew from having lived for a long time with a water well only four miles from here, that our water would be pretty hard. So I paid to have it thoroughly tested by a large commercial lab. In some ways, it was good news - very low iron content for example, and it's perfectly healthy water. But it is quite hard, at 376 mg/L (22 grains). We knew it was, from the film on dishes in the dishwasher and etc. We've been using and drinking it as is for the 11 months we've been living here and it doesn't particularly bother us, but it is hard on appliances, dishes, and clothes.

We didn't want a conventional salt softener; I've lived with those before and didn't like them, so I did some research on other kinds of softeners and decided to try a chelating softener. These work by chemically binding the calcium and magnesium ions so that they can't precipitate out of the water as sulfates, bicarbonates, or chlorides and wreak havoc on your plumbing and appliances. Instead of having to back-flush and replace the salt as in a salt system, you just replace a large filter once every 6 months or so (the filter is good for 50,000 gallons). After reading a lot of reviews and recommendation, we decided to go with the Nuvo system. NuvoH2O Systems We bought the largest one they have, because our one water well and pressure tank will serve both the new house and the shop apartment we are living in now.

Installation was pretty straightforward and I did it myself. All you have to do is identify which pipe comes into the pressure system from the well, and which goes out to the house(s). You install the filter in the "out" line of course. The water well driller ran 1" PEX line from the submersible pump in the well up to the pressure tank, and the plumber that plumbed the apartment used the same from the pressure tank to the apartment, so all I had to do was buy a couple of 10' lengths of 1" PEX from Lowes, some elbows and unions, and two 1" barbs with 1" NPT male threads to fit the filter housing.

I have done all kinds of home plumbing before, including sweat-soldering copper pipe, but using PEX is a whole 'nother world of easy and quick. This was my first time to work with it, but it won't be the last. You can cut it straight with a cheap and quick razor-blade cutter made for PEX. Then you piece it together, using copper band rings at every connection. The copper bands are cheap compared to other clamps, $20 for a bag of 50. You do have to have a special calibrated clamper/crimper to squeeze the bands. The commercial plumbing supply house I bought the bands at had the tool for $200; Lowes had one for only $100. I bought the cheaper Lowes one and it works fine; if I was a plumber and was doing this every day, the more expensive one would probably be worth it. One squeeze with the tool is all you need to make a water-tight connection every time. So fast! The tool gives good tactile feedback; you know when the clamping is done, without guesswork. I spent way more time measuring and fussing over doing it right than it actually took to plumb the thing in.

The filter housing itself needs to mounted sturdily to a wall, as it has to hold the weight of the filter full of water. I used a convenient metal brace/stud for the well house. A wall stud in a conventional house would also work.

Here is the installed system. The 86-gallon pressure tank in the second photo gives you an idea of the size of the filter:



We have only been using it for a few days, but we can already tell the difference in the dishes from the dishwasher. There might be a slight difference in taste, though I didn't mind the taste of the hard water so I might not be sensitive to it. I guess time will tell how well it really works, but we're happy for now.
 
wow, this is some house! Now, ive been building my share of concrete projects, huge barns with complex waste managing in the concrete, bridges for heavy equipment and so on. Looking at the rebar and concrete work for the domes is super cool, they have it figured. Hopefully that thing will be waterproof and you can move on.
The shape and size of your shop is somewhat similar to the one i'm building here after fire took my previous one.
i've quit concrete and housebuilding due to health and back issues, now only doing woodworking and logbuilding, taking up my passion.
The cruisers will need their fair share of workspace and parking, (5 cruisers at the moment) but trying to plan an simple but optimal solution for woodworking and wrenching/welding in the same shop is a hazzle. i've just got my workshop somewhat raised and sheltered, gates and interior next.
Do you have a planned layout for your shop? always interesting to see what experienced people do with their shop, layout and solutions for workbenches and storage. I've read your whole thread here, but what is your main trade? or will the shop be cruiser-land?

good luck and cheers from Norway
P
 
The shape and size of your shop is somewhat similar to the one i'm building here after fire took my previous one.

Sorry to hear about your fire! Hope you didn't lose too much.


Do you have a planned layout for your shop? always interesting to see what experienced people do with their shop, layout and solutions for workbenches and storage.

I haven't got any firm plans yet. Currently, it is full of all our furniture and belongings from our last house, waiting to be moved into the big concrete house when it is finished. So frustrating, not to have any space to work on any vehicles.

I did plan the new shop to the extent that I knew (from my last shop building) how much space I wanted, where the best location for the 2-post lift was, and where to put electrical outlets including 230 volts for a welder and etc.
The workbenches and etc. will have to wait until the shop is empty again, after the house is completed.


I've read your whole thread here, but what is your main trade? or will the shop be cruiser-land?

I'm in the oil business. My shop will be leased to one of my corporations, as my business requires 4WD trucks to get to out to the drilling rigs - so I need a place to be able to work on them and store tools and equipment. But the business is just me, so the shop space will be all mine.


good luck and cheers from Norway
P

Thanks! My great-grandfather emigrated from Hjørring in Denmark. I need to get back there one of these days.
 
Sorry to hear about your fire! Hope you didn't lose too much.




I haven't got any firm plans yet. Currently, it is full of all our furniture and belongings from our last house, waiting to be moved into the big concrete house when it is finished. So frustrating, not to have any space to work on any vehicles.

I did plan the new shop to the extent that I knew (from my last shop building) how much space I wanted, where the best location for the 2-post lift was, and where to put electrical outlets including 230 volts for a welder and etc.
The workbenches and etc. will have to wait until the shop is empty again, after the house is completed.




I'm in the oil business. My shop will be leased to one of my corporations, as my business requires 4WD trucks to get to out to the drilling rigs - so I need a place to be able to work on them and store tools and equipment. But the business is just me, so the shop space will be all mine.




Thanks! My great-grandfather emigrated from Hjørring in Denmark. I need to get back there one of these days.

I did loose the shop after my grandfather, with a near rebuilt hj60 in it. It was heartbreaking, but got back on the horse again with a HJ61 soon after. so now its been 4 years of getting things back up and running after fixing the house.

also thinking about doing a 2-post, still have not decided what will be the best placement for it, as it wont be used daily. maybe in a inner corner so the posts arent much in the way when im not using the lift.
How do you plan to place yours?

been cruising around Denmark a few times, and but i just drove trough Hjørring in a late night looking for a campsite near the beautiful beach. Took the hirtshals ferry back to norway the day after. Denmark is super easy to explore, fast roads take you anywhere in notime, and the winding country roads takes care of the scenic exploring. will definately go back a few times.
There's a few pictures from that area in first page of my build thread: HJ61 Cruiser build
 
also thinking about doing a 2-post, still have not decided what will be the best placement for it, as it wont be used daily. maybe in a inner corner so the posts arent much in the way when im not using the lift.
How do you plan to place yours?

Mine is already installed; photos of it in post #64 in this same thread: Building a new house and shop

Mine is an assymetric lift, so it can go forward of center in the shop bay. I do plan to use mine a lot, so I have it centered laterally in one of the shop bays and overhead doors. It does not take up much floor space - even less if you disconnect the lift arms, and you can still park a truck in between the uprights when you are not using it.
 
Builders were back yesterday and today, and laid a whole 'nother coat of polymerized asphalt on the roof, and also patched a spot on the south retaining wall that was leaking because the dirt contractor had scraped it with a track steer. Good weather for it to cure this week, then we need another good rain to test it again. Would sure like to get on with back filling! Surely this time will do it (make it completely waterproof).
 
Definitely worth it to take the time now to get it right. Being in the industry, everyone wants it to be like on TV - done in a week or even a weekend. I tell people a building has the potential to exist for hundreds of years. In the long run, a few extra weeks (or months) will be forgotten when you aren’t replacing things or fixing problems years from now.
 
Definitely worth it to take the time now to get it right. Being in the industry, everyone wants it to be like on TV - done in a week or even a weekend. I tell people a building has the potential to exist for hundreds of years. In the long run, a few extra weeks (or months) will be forgotten when you aren’t replacing things or fixing problems years from now.

Great perspective, thanks!
 
I just cringe watching those shows…
Hmmm…
  • No primer? Guess they’ll be repainting soon.
  • No flashing? Guess they’ll be replacing that when it all rots out.
  • Pouring concrete yesterday and enclosing it today? That’s going to cause mold.
  • Etc, etc, etc...
 
I just cringe watching those shows…
Hmmm…
  • No primer? Guess they’ll be repainting soon.
  • No flashing? Guess they’ll be replacing that when it all rots out.
  • Pouring concrete yesterday and enclosing it today? That’s going to cause mold.
  • Etc, etc, etc...

Mrs. 1911 watches all those Homo & Garden TV shows. It always cracks me up, when some poor sod buys an old house to fix up, and apparently does not spend one dime to address ancient plumbing, electrical, lack of insulation, no A/C in the south, and etc.

We once a owned a solid house that was built in 1964, but we were plagued with cast-iron sewer pipes, haunted wiring (with few grounded outlets), old plumbing, etc. Can't imagine what some of those houses on tv way older than that would be like.
 
My own house is a 1920’s Craftsman Bungalow. Yes, there are some issues - a few cracks in walls I have to patch every now and then, still some knob & tube still in service, and so forth. But then I see houses built within the past five years that are many, many times worse than anything I’ve ever dealt with here.

The most common issues I see are lack of detailing (proper flashing being a major one) and cutting corners on things that really don’t add to construction cost - both more just that the contractors don’t want to be bothered.
 
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The neighbor installed vinyl siding over his wood clapboards about the time I was stripping and painting my house. Since then, he’s replaced the faded vinyl and I’ve touched up the paint. ;)
 
Well, the latest round/layer of waterproofing seems to have done the trick, we had 1.5-2" of rain over two days last week, and the inside of the house was nice and dry. So I signed-off on the waterproofing and paid the balance on it. Dirt contractor was out again yesterday to go through the plan again, though he can't start on it for two weeks. Looking forward to making progress again.
 
Progress, finally! Tried to lay out the 10-mil plastic sheeting over the top of the house three times this week, each time, the wind was too much (even at only 10-12 mph). This stuff is HEAVY (145 lbs. per roll), and each roll unfolds to a 20' x 100' sheet - but with any kind of breeze, it quickly turns into a 20' x 100' sail. Even if you can get it laid down, the breeze just picks it up again, almost no matter what you weight it with (tried rebar, clay, rocks...). Looking at the weather forecast, some wind was forecast every day this week - except in the wee hours of the morning today. So, up at 1:45 am, out laying plastic by 2:00 am. It was dead calm, and it went down easy. Had to cut holes for the vent stacks and solar panel support pillars. Overlapped like shingles; laid the valleys between the domes first, then all of the parapet wall, then the ridges (domes).



There was no moon to speak of, so we rented a Generac portable light plant.

3.5 hours later, it was complete, and we started putting soil on top to hold it down. The dirt contractor rented a cool track-mounted conveyor belt that is self-driving by remote control. Puts soil up on the roof without having to drive equipment up there yet (you don't want to ever drive on the bare concrete - only after a foot or so of dirt has covered it).


You feed the conveyor at the bottom with a track steer or similar:


Another 2.5 hours work, and we had enough soil piles on the overlapped seams to keep the sheet plastic in place for the remainder of the back-filling process. A light wind came back after the sun was fully up, but everything is holding so far.
Rain is forecast for tomorrow, that's why I wanted to at least get all the plastic sheeting on by today. Hopefully there won't be enough rain to wash much of the soil away. Less than an inch is forecast, last time I looked. Back-filling will resume again in earnest on Tuesday.
 
Wow, what a cool story you'll have to tell the grandkids. A lot of work now, but down the road it will be fun to think back about all of it.

Keep at it man!
 

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