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    • daleD Offline
      dale
      last edited by

      Anssi
      Our mason told us this exact ritual, although apparently the schnapps in Germany had to be accompanied by the monies owing, or the glass remained.

      Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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      • daleD Offline
        dale
        last edited by

        We got a spell of great weather at the end of the fireplace construction, so we managed to get the steel roofing on as well.
        Unloading the pallets. Screen shot 2011-10-19 at 6.49.26 AM.png
        Flashing detail.Screen shot 2011-10-19 at 6.49.56 AM.png
        Laying the steel.Screen shot 2011-10-19 at 6.47.16 AM.png

        Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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        • daleD Offline
          dale
          last edited by

          Yesterday was a big day, as with the main floor hydronic pipes in place we poured the upper floor.Screen shot 2011-10-19 at 7.02.38 AM.pngScreen shot 2011-10-19 at 7.02.55 AM.png


          Screen shot 2011-10-19 at 7.03.17 AM.png

          Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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          • daleD Offline
            dale
            last edited by

            This house has had its share of wildlife incidents.
            On the way back from picking up our plumbing fixtures we saw this wolf on the highway.
            Maybe these are good omens.Screen shot 2011-10-19 at 7.11.02 AM.pngScreen shot 2011-10-19 at 7.11.09 AM.png


            Screen shot 2011-10-19 at 7.11.15 AM.png

            Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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            • daleD Offline
              dale
              last edited by

              We did a gridwork of 2'x2' cuts with a diamond saw in the concrete floor,Screen shot 2011-10-24 at 7.33.41 AM.png
              And then applied a Padre brown Scofield acid stain yesterdayScreen shot 2011-10-24 at 7.34.27 AM.png
              And washed it down last evening.Screen shot 2011-10-24 at 7.34.43 AM.png
              The recommendation is to let the concrete cur for at least 14 days, but I have found you get a deeper richer color if you stain quite quickly after placement.
              The color doesn't really show its potential until the clear finish is applied, and I am waiting until I can warm the floor with the hydronics before I do that, which should be complete today.
              Cheers!

              Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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              • daleD Offline
                dale
                last edited by

                Another from SketchUp to Reality shot, or how I work things out with skp.
                We would like to put in a concrete counter top in the small main floor guest bath, and we would like it to wrap down, come across the floor, and come up to form a bench in the shower.
                I modeled it in skp and rendered in Thea, so we could play with the idea.
                Why I love SketchUp (and Thea).Screen shot 2011-10-25 at 6.57.30 AM.png


                Screen shot 2011-10-25 at 7.10.25 AM.png

                Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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                • daleD Offline
                  dale
                  last edited by

                  We're in the slogging process now, with things like electrical and plumbing rough in completions, all the hydronics completed and in place, final little framing bits, and insulation and vapour barrier.
                  Not the stuff that is greatly photogenic, but part of the process.
                  Framing and electrical rough in.Screen shot 2011-11-09 at 6.25.50 AM.png
                  Temporary stairs Screen shot 2011-11-09 at 6.25.27 AM.png
                  Geo-exchange unit in and running. House is warm with only two small zones on.Screen shot 2011-11-09 at 6.26.02 AM.png
                  Insulation to R-44 in the roof, and everything above the ICF walls will have a staggered stud system with a combination of R-22 and R-12. Although this photo doesn't show it, all the headers are also insulated.Screen shot 2011-11-09 at 6.26.28 AM.png
                  This is the point where everything seems like it's taking too long, but I know I'm just impatient to move in the tools and start to do the finish work. So we just keep on plodding along!
                  Cheers

                  Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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                  • simon le bonS Offline
                    simon le bon
                    last edited by

                    Dear Dale,

                    Excuse me for not coming back earlier to watch the progress of the building.
                    I just have read all the five pages and 71 posts of this thread!!
                    It was quite difficult to follow because of the technical language of construction. At the same time it was nicely instructive and exciting as a true story.
                    It's amazing the work you have done. 👍 👍 😮

                    We can easily imagine how you will live in harmony with the house. Making a home is perhaps the oldest thing in the world but that no one does anymore, except you. 😉

                    • I had particularly be attracted by your kitchen project: original and beautiful.
                    • I had loved the house made for birds: like a reduction as strong and neat of the big one.

                    I have been surprised all along by the techniques used in the building process and by some design principles that I have never seen applied at home.

                    As I believe to understand, the key word is this:
                    "We Can Get down to -40 here"
                    All these techniques are playing in the fight against the cold!

                    • The Quad-Lock system like Lego to make a perfectly insulated walls:
                      "Quad-Lock has the highest available insulation" " A Quad-Lock building is Ultra Energy-Efficient because of continuous EPS Insulation"

                    • Everything above the ICF walls: the upper floors are made with wood, also well known as a good insulator. I never see that melting for the walls here. Why walls are not completely done with icf?

                    http://forums.sketchucation.com/download/file.php?id=74866&t=1

                    • "The ground source Geo-exchange system was a big project"
                      An incredible project I would say! Pipes under the ground:
                      "We put in 1800 lineal feet (548 m) which required us to dig trenches about 6'(1.8 m) deep x 10'(3 m)",
                      and how many lineal feet of pipes have you put inside the concrete floors..?
                      You had to strongly believe in this technique to invest such efforts and money ! May be I have to consider this at home?

                    • The insulated roof covered with galvanized sheet metal rather than tiles, I presume to withstand the snow and allow it to slip.

                    • by the end, the incredible nice construction of the fire place, built almost like a separate building. the chimney built outside the house (I don't know why: don't you lost some warm by this way ?). I only find strange you haven't installed an insert as heat recovery.

                    About the technique "to acid stain the floors" I've never seen this practiced at home. It sounds quite simple, beautiful and cheap.

                    What I also find human and beautiful with your story is that everything is underlain by the arrival of winter. It's a race against time.
                    "Winter strikes hard and fast here, and I am really pushing to not get caught."

                    Dear Dale and Judy, what you do is great and I wish you all the best in your house and the land surrounding it.

                    very friendly as you know,

                                           simon.
                    
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                    • pilouP Offline
                      pilou
                      last edited by

                      From dreams to reality! 😎 😎 👍

                      Frenchy Pilou
                      Is beautiful that please without concept!
                      My Little site :)

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                      • daleD Offline
                        dale
                        last edited by

                        Hello Simon
                        It is always a pleasure to have your input.
                        You make some very good points, and one, about why walls aren't done completely with ICF is one of those choices that you make on a building.
                        The reason I chose this route is that it there are two complications with any of the walls that rise above the roof on this building. The first is there are lots of windows in them, and because of the groupings of windows particularly the front Living room (steeper pitch) section it ends up mostly windows. In a situation like this it is really important to get the concrete to completely flow around and encase the window. In some of the small spaces that I had to deal with this would hve been next to impossible.
                        The second is concrete lintels. These are the "beams" that run over the windows. Again given their size, and the amount of reinforcing steel required, as they are holding the roof loads, it makes them very difficult to do.
                        Having said that in retrospect, I would most probably have brought the wall at the front of the Kitchen up, if I were to do it again, as there would have been enough room around the windows to have done this, and it would have saved some complex framing.
                        The pipes within the floor are run at 6" intervals in most of the house, and 12 in areas that we didn't want a lot of heat.
                        There is well over 3000 lineal ft (914 m) of pipes in the floor.(at about 70 cents per foot)
                        This is recommended when using the geoexchange system, because the warmer the water returns to the machine, the more efficient the machine is. Given the efficiency of the machine, and the cost of electricity, I expect to recover the difference in cost over the system I would have put in in 4 years.
                        The fireplace actually has a layer of 2" styrofoam which connects to the exterior Quadlock, and encases the fireplace between the rough in concrete blocks and the finished stone.
                        WE had to argue quite hard to be allowed to do this as code does not allow combustible material within 1" (2.5cm) of the fireplace. At the closest point the styrofoam is 2' (.61m) away from the firebox, so I don't think this would burn. I won't deny though that having the full masonry in the house would have been better. Although we look at several different interior locations, in the end this worked better for us.
                        We tried several different placements of the fireplace, but in the end.
                        I am currently designing a house for a client that will be Quadlock (#21 Quadlock house I believe)
                        and I will be adjusting things from what I learned from this one.

                        We are awaiting the drywallers, and I can say this thread will get quite active at that point, as I will move my woodshop into the house and start building the doors, cabinets, and millwork.
                        That in my mind is truly where the fun begins.

                        Cheers Simon and Pilou and thanks for the kind thoughts.

                        PS Simon... Been to any good concerts lately?

                        Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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                        • simon le bonS Offline
                          simon le bon
                          last edited by

                          Dear Dale,

                          So nice to meet you again 😄
                          Thank you for your precise explanations. They help to participate to your project (you are a bit too far to lend you my arms 😉 )
                          The reasons you had made the upper floors in wood are very instructive ++ Can we say that the concept of passive house(Passivhaus in German) is maintained by this way?

                          This is something I like deeply in my inside to understand and ear explanations about architectural (and mechanical) choices. May be in another life I would had been an architect!! This probably come from my family consisting of a line of building engineers.
                          The most famous of them was my great-grandfather from my father side, Armand Considère which was one of the inventors and great promoter of reinforced concrete construction...

                          here are some links dedicated to him:
                          Armand Considère

                          http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/Spendauballet/generalPicts/considere01.jpg

                          http://en.structurae.de/photos/index.cfm?JD=62
                          http://www.planete-tp.com/article.php3?id_article=1282
                          [url]http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_Considère[/url]

                          And here is a beautiful family picture which shows him accompanied with his daughters (one is my grand mother 😄 )
                          [url=http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/Spendauballet/generalPicts/MretMellesConsidere_enbateau.jpg:19p3sf3o]
                          http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/Spendauballet/generalPicts/th_MretMellesConsidere_enbateau.jpg
                          [/url:19p3sf3o]

                          @unknownuser said:

                          PS Simon... Been to any good concerts lately?

                          Here is my last one, dedicated to you 😉
                          [url=http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/Spendauballet/generalPicts/2011-11-21_201358.jpg:19p3sf3o]
                          http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/Spendauballet/generalPicts/th_2011-11-21_201358.jpg
                          [/url:19p3sf3o]
                          [url:19p3sf3o]http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=21899&p=367194#p367194[/url:19p3sf3o]

                          ++ simon

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                          • daleD Offline
                            dale
                            last edited by

                            Well, after buttoning of the poly vapour barrier, and sealing all the seams with Tuck Tape, (actually the nice tapework is Judy's, I did the 'Frankentape').Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 6.31.54 AM.png
                            Windows are time consuming.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 6.32.56 AM.png
                            But the nice thing about building your own place, is you can at least have some nice ambience 😄Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 6.34.50 AM.png
                            Well the truth is the plants have been living on the downstairs windowsill, and Jude moved them up to clear the way for the drywallers.
                            This picture does show the fireplace stonework after Judy cleaned it with muratic acid, and put a finish on, which really brings out the character of the stone.

                            Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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                            • daleD Offline
                              dale
                              last edited by

                              But at last.... The drywallers, (Todd and Tim) are on the roll 👍Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 6.36.45 AM.png
                              This is a really small town in the mountains, 2 hours from the nearest major centre, so having a real drywall tradesman like Todd is just pure luck.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 6.37.39 AM.png
                              They are a really heads down, nose to the grindstone team.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 6.37.09 AM.png

                              Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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                              • daleD Offline
                                dale
                                last edited by

                                Meanwhile, upstairs on the main floor Jude and I are laying the stone floor.
                                First we prepped the bathroom by laying down a skim coat of concrete to the top of the hydronic pipes, unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of this.
                                Then we lay down a rubber shower pan which clamps directly into the drain. WE put a pan throughout the whole room, as we don't want a curb at the shower entrance, just a level walk-in.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 6.50.15 AM.png
                                Then place aluminum expanded metal lath on the pan to help reinforce the mortar.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 6.50.37 AM.png
                                The start the stonework.
                                The stone is a silver mica, about 1/2" (1.3 cm) thick. I have already burnt out one diamond blade that I use to cut it because it is so extremely hard. The full floor depth is 2"(5.1 cm)Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 7.01.16 AM.png
                                Then when it has set overnight Judy cleans it with muratic acid to get the excess mortar off, and washes it down.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 7.04.25 AM.png

                                Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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                                • daleD Offline
                                  dale
                                  last edited by

                                  The stonework will be in the small guest bath (with the shower), the master ensuite, and the kitchen.
                                  Each floor has a thermocoupler sensor that connects to a programable thermostat which will allow us to set the temperature of the floor.
                                  In the areas other than the shower, there is no rubber pan, so the lath is place over the hydronic pipe, and the stones laid directly.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 7.12.37 AM.png
                                  Me laying stone.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 7.14.48 AM.png
                                  And if I go out to make another mix of mortar, Judy just keeps going.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 7.17.31 AM.png
                                  Each of the bathrooms took a full day, with cleaning the next morning, and the kitchen will take about 3 days.Screen shot 2011-11-26 at 7.15.44 AM.png
                                  So it's back to work on the kitchen.
                                  Cheers
                                  (Oh and yes that is a laundry chute in the top right of the last photo)

                                  Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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                                  • simon le bonS Offline
                                    simon le bon
                                    last edited by

                                    Dear Dale and Judy,

                                    Things are really going on!!
                                    Each step is carried out with great attention to detail, in a spirit of perfection. It's so pleasant to watch 👍 👍
                                    I continue to be amazed by all the techniques that you implement..
                                    -I didnd't know we could revive the stones with Muriatic acid (Historically called muriatic acid, and spirits of salt, hydrochloric acid was produced from vitriol (sulfuric acid) and common salt. The earliest suggested discovery of hydrochloric acid is attributed to the alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan (c. 800 AD).

                                    • "we lay down a rubber shower pan which clamps directly into the drain." 👍 👍
                                    • "Then place aluminum expanded metal lath on the pan to help reinforce the mortar." 👍 👍
                                    • "Each floor has a thermocoupler sensor that connects to a programable thermostat which will allow us to set the temperature of the floor." 😉 nice..
                                    • "(Oh and yes that is a laundry chute in the top right of the last photo)" that is top 👍 😎

                                    Oh! and now that's it: The cold is arrived ❗ ❗ ❗

                                    http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/Spendauballet/generalPicts/thScreenshot2011-11-26at63256AM.jpg

                                    Have you win the race, or does some works are lost under snow for this season?

                                    Cheers,
                                    Simon.

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                                    • daleD Offline
                                      dale
                                      last edited by

                                      Hey Simon
                                      Fickle weather here.
                                      Last week we dipped to minus -19(C), yesterday was +6 (C) and rained a lot of the snow away, and the went to below 0, and snowed like crazy.
                                      But winter can be sooo beautiful.Screen shot 2011-11-28 at 6.12.17 AM.png
                                      I will still do some exterior work, even in the cold, but we plan on a mixed set of siding which will include stone and stucco, so that will not be until spring.
                                      By the way I really appreciate all the links you post that take me on interesting paths, and a real vote of thanks to your Great Grandfather. Structural concrete has allowed some of the great beauties of architecture to be built, and I'm sure in his time it was scoffed at by the Status Quo.

                                      Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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                                      • simon le bonS Offline
                                        simon le bon
                                        last edited by

                                        @unknownuser said:

                                        By the way I really appreciate all the links you post that take me on interesting paths, and a real vote of thanks to your Great Grandfather

                                        Dear Dale, I'm so pleased you appreciate (and sorry for bumping this way your thread). Searching to find more in order to give some powder to this reply, I have found very interesting things (and especially a book written by my great grandfather which I didn't know). I have found also that the real big men around reinforced concrete at this time were Eugène Freyssinet and Albert Caquot. So would you please let me bump a little more and for the last time your thread with these last links, mostly in french. ( no comment: just in the case people be interested)

                                        PELNARD-CONSIDERE-CAQUOT 1994 035
                                        http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/camt/fr/egf/donnees_efg/1994_035+2007_048/1994_035_INV.pdf
                                        Experimental Researches on Reinforced Concrete (1906) by Armand Considère
                                        http://www.archive.org/details/experimentalres01consgoog
                                        Albert Caquot portrait: [url=http://sabix.org/bulletin/:27vfjpjp]bulletin[/url:27vfjpjp] de l'école polytechnique ([url=http://sabix.org/:27vfjpjp]Sabix[/url:27vfjpjp])
                                        [url:27vfjpjp]http://sabix.org/bulletin/b28/28.html[/url:27vfjpjp]
                                        [url:27vfjpjp]http://sabix.revues.org/370?lang=en[/url:27vfjpjp]
                                        Les chocolats Menier, le pont Hardi et Armand Considère
                                        [url:27vfjpjp]http://pone.lateb.pagesperso-orange.fr/pont hardi.htm[/url:27vfjpjp]
                                        http://pone.lateb.pagesperso-orange.fr/armand%20considere.htm

                                        Cintre du pont la Caille sur le ravin des Usses, en Haute-Savoie (1928).

                                        http://sabix.revues.org/docannexe/image/370/img-2.jpg

                                        Le pont de la Caille sur le ravin des Usses (1928), record mondial à l’époque

                                        http://sabix.revues.org/docannexe/image/370/img-3.jpg

                                        end of the bump 😉
                                        ++simon

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                                        • T Offline
                                          tim
                                          last edited by

                                          Hey Dale, isn't it fun doing the inside 'details'? I've been doing trim on my self-build timber frame for what seems like forever and it still has a want to go. I think the trick is to make sure you make some progress every day and just keep at it.

                                          I have a build blog athttp://www.rowledge.org/tim/building/building/blog.html for anyone interested - including full SU and LO files.

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                                          • daleD Offline
                                            dale
                                            last edited by

                                            Simon
                                            What a beautiful structure! As usual you have snet me on a really interesting exploration.

                                            Tim
                                            Thanks for the link to your blog.
                                            What a beautiful house, and I really admire your attention to detail, but given your background in computers and code, I'm sure detail is second nature.
                                            We seem to have a lot of similar taste ( ICF, Douglas Fir )and influences (Tedd Benson, Sarah Susanka) plus a love of woodworking (and tools) and time in the hallways of Colleges of Art. Not to mention the "From SketchUp to Reality" path of house building.
                                            I hope you don't mind... I poached one of your Illustrations in SketchUp to encourage people to visit your website and blog. Well worth the visit and really inspiring.Screen shot 2011-11-30 at 6.12.06 AM.png
                                            Here is the link againhttp://www.rowledge.org/tim/building/building/blog.html

                                            Keep on trimming!
                                            Oh and I still consult for a Nanaimo Company, and do make it down to the Island from time to time.
                                            Maybe we can meet sometime, and I can buy you a beer.
                                            Cheers

                                            Just monkeying around....like Monsanto

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