I am so grateful that I have this site to write on. You guys are great encouragement. Rachal in Janesville, CA

Douglas's Forum Posts: 1
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Moved In - Still Working!

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 6/5/2009

Moved in May 1st - more out of necessity than readiness. Our temporary rental was sold, and they wanted us out, so March and April were dramatic, stressful, and very, very busy getting everything up to code for temporary occupancy. We finished the main level and temped a bunch of stuff in to be able to live in the house, and are finishing them one at a time.

Photos

Front stoop	Hailey's bath	Formal dining - temporary table set up
Nice two-panel doors	Siding slowly going up	After yet another rainstorm - nice eerie view from the front deck

Roughing

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 11/25/2008

Now that the HVAC is complete, we started pulling electrical mains through, setting gang boxes, and have the main breaker panel and emergency power transfer installed. After two weeks of prodding and calling, the plumbers finally wrapped up on their other work and got started running lines today. Gas hooked up to the utility last Friday; we're also setting brick where we can and working the exterior finishes. We're using Novabrik - mortarless brick siding, and we LOVE it. Once the layout is marked off and the furring strips are installed, the brick just hangs on the wall - screwing in every fourth row. It's pretty amazing not to have to hire a mason ($$$$$ saved!).

Still waiting for the plumber to top out his vents so we can finish shingling the roof. Today we got the last of the wall board on the north side and gable of the garage - every time we tried in the last two weeks it was either too wet or too windy (the gable is 28' above the current grade. The neighbor still has not put up the retaining wall on that side, so really we're working 40' above his driveway with about 10' of level ground out from our garage before falling off the earth.

My question to you readers is since the neighbor cut 10' deep into the side of our lot, does he legally have to provide a retaining wall? His complaint to me is that we should have cut down another 4' of our lot so his wall is not so high, but I say it's our house and our plan, and he needs to fix that side of the lot before my lot and garage end up on his driveway. Any thoughts out there? Do I have any legal right to force him to build a retaining wall?

Photos

Back side looking north	Novabrik coursing	Main electrical panel
Jet tub deck	Fireplace and hearth (yet to frame in the mantle and surround	Main entry doors
More brickwork

Moving On to Rough-Ins

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 11/9/2008

Now that it has gone from summer straight into winter (75 and sunny last week, to 25 and freezing drizzle today), we have an elevated urgency to get our project insulated and heated. The HVAC trade moved in on 11/6 and should be roughed in by 11/12, the plumber is coming in next week and if I can reach the electrician, he can start anytime now as well. The gas company is not happy with our lot and wants me to trench for the NG service - something I was not planning on, but will have to comply or pay dearly to get it done. We've relocated the meter placement to accommodate an easier reach and installation. The issue with this is that the grade is not within the required 4" of final, and it's too muddy to get equipment where it is needed. 

Frost is also going to become a quick problem, and could jeopardize getting the gas service in as needed. We also need to pour the garage pad and stoop ASAP. Time to start calling on backup plans and spend more money to get it done? Probably. At this point we are about 2% over on budget - mainly due to the ICF and foundation issues (hidden costs and long delays that were not foreseen or accounted for). Lower materials costs have helped, and some power shopping has helped, but only a couple of percent off the big picture. Other issues creeping up are stresses between getting what we want and getting what is practical and affordable, defining and scheduling priorities as the weather shifts, and a quick mention to the mortgage mess (which is really quite stable in this area... for now).

Photos

Roofing work	Closing in the gables	Sealing up the basement
Plumbing fixtures delivered	HRV unit	94.5% Eff furnace
Main HVAC trunk

Framing Almost Complete!

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 10/15/2008

Time flies when you're building a house. I can't believe it's been two months since my last entry. Must be busy.  Actually very busy, we're so far behind with the spring weather and untimely rain events, that I actually have had to get back to working more on my other contracts so not to lose them or get too far behind. So here it is... the framing is completed except a few truss bracings, the gable rakes, and some minor interior work. The roof trusses were delayed once due to weather and again due to staffing and crane availability. We had a pretty serious mold issue in September following three straight days of rain. That has pretty well cleared up with the help of drier weather and lots of bleach and disinfectant. The walkout side got so bad it was literally starting to rot right in front of our eyes. All of the unused lumber got replaced (at the vendor's expense), and a couple of walls were rebuilt with better lumber. All told, it cost about two week's work and quite a bit of cash to get rid of it. Not a good way to start a home. Once the roof is closed in and we get the moisture levels down, they're (the "experts") telling us the mold won't be an issue (unless there is a moisture problem). So enjoy a few photos from the past few months!

Photos

	Mold

Making Progress

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 8/16/2008

The foundation work is complete and the basement floor was poured last week. Now we are getting into our element with the framing work, and it shows with a lot of progress over the past few days.  Other than getting hammered with a surprise rainstorm that dumped over 1/2" of rain (in about 10 minutes) on us Thursday afternoon, we've been getting things done quickly. The basement walls are all but complete, except for the bathroom, which is waiting on the shower-tub unit - which wouldn't fit through the door - so we'll frame that one up later. Floor I-Joist system is delivering Monday 8/18 and we have the subfloor decking ready to place. Our goal is to have the main-floor walls up by the end of next week, and roof it the following week. 

Photos

Prior to pouring the floor

ICF Poured

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 7/25/2008

Well, like most everything on the project, we delayed on the pour - but only one day. The ICF rep was by on Tuesday and said everything looked good, but on Wednesday morning before the pour, the tech man came in and wanted more bracing and strapping to shore up the empty walls - a LOT more. So we rescheduled the pour for Thursday and went back to work on shoring up. We also backfilled the garage walls by hand to sturdy those walls. When the pump truck arrived on schedule Thursday I thought we were set, BUT the driver got out of the truck and shook his head and said a few choice words regarding the slope of the street and getting into our driveway - then called a smaller truck in. Actually, the trucks are the same size, they just have different booms. Two hours later the smaller pump arrived and that driver proceeded to cuss the first driver "why the @%*! couldn't he do this?"  So now we're nervous about having a steamed pump operator at the helm wanting to get done ASAP - and blowing out our forms in the process (by now it is 4P M). The ready-mix plant was getting nervous as well because those drivers already had a long day in, and were ready to get home. The pumper company's rep came out and calmed things down, and from that point it was by the book. The pour was almost flawless - there were just a few issues with window bucks not filling in underneath, and rookie mix drivers not able to negotiate the hill and driveway. We finished the pour in two and a half hours, with another hour of plumbing walls, setting anchor bolts and cleaning up. The last of the garage walls was plumbed just as it was getting too dark to see the string line. 

Photos

Now it's ready!	Getting the outriggers set	Crane technique
First load backed in	Pouring walls	Finishing up at dusk

Pour-Ready

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 7/22/2008 8:13:33 PM

ICF forms are in place and we are ready to pour at noon tomorrow.  All that is left is to brace the window bucks, brace the non-factory ICF joints, straighten and plumb the top of the walls and pour.  After four days of pumping rain (3 3/4" of rain and about three-feet deep) water and digging MUD from the walk out trench, we finally had enough time to re-build the underground forms and get them backfilled before more rain.  Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, 80 degrees.  It feels like it already, just getting to this point in the build!

Photos

	Future front porch view.	From the back yard.

Lego Land

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 7/16/2008 8:20:35 PM

Probably the most notable progress since digging.  Our house is growing up from the footings.  IFC delivered last weekend and after spending several hours cleaning the footings of mud from the last rain and getting our base rock inside we are now building.  Seeing something come up off the ground and resemble walls of a house is the most rewarding feeling I've had in a few months.  Keep it coming.  If you all haven't seen the website please do so -- those who have checked again -- we've built that up as well and made some improvements. 

Photos

Footings

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 7/4/2008 5:34:51 AM

"Why didn't you get a pumper?"  That's what I was asked as I manually wheeled 6 yards of concrete to the back side of the garage (another 10 yards was cake with the skid steer).  My reply was more or less left as a mumble as sweat stung my eyes and pebbles inside my concrete boots pierced my feet.  I guess that's the "sweat equity" part of building your own.  Next time I'll sweat out a little extra cash for a pumper truck.  So, footings are in and ICF blocks are in transit.  Another step complete...

Photos

Detour

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 6/15/2008 11:01:50 AM

A bit of a detour here in light of the recent events in Cedar Rapids.  I know at least 4 out of the many, many families that now are homeless due to the flooding here.  The water problems up at the lot are NOTHING at this point and I have no immediate need to run up and even see it.  There is complete devastation all around the city, there is literally no way even out of the city southbound without detouring hundreds of miles, severe clean water shortage, intermittent electrical power, no showering or washing clothes, no dish washing, etc., etc.  The impact is simply numbing.  For those of you who have not seen this on the national news, here are a few pics, and we have dedicated a page on our website to the flood.  Please check it out at dshomeanddesign.com/FLOOD08.aspx It is just unbelievable, and makes one's selfish intentions and issues disappear pretty quickly. 

Photos

Mt. Mudd gone, Lake Mudd still persists

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 6/5/2008 5:03:55 AM

The anxiety and frustration is turning to more of a feeling of impending defeat.  You win mother nature, you win.  But we're still fighting.  Set up a temporary sump pump a couple feet deep to handle the surface water.  Not sure what help it will be without trenching and tiling the area, but at this point any help will do.  The recent frequency of wet weather is just astounding -- picking up where winter left off.  In the last month we have had maybe three or four days without rain or clouds.  Not enough.  Not nearly enough...

Photos

Posted by Brett in Logan, UT on 6/5/2008 Brett's Forum Posts: 2 Journal Entries: 11 Interview Answers: 169 Average Forum Rating: 4.00 Image from Brett's blog 6/5/2008

Same weather out here in Utah.  Driving me nuts!!!!  Good luck with the water problems.

Welcome to Mt. Mud

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 5/25/2008 6:26:57 AM

Rained again and here we sit.  Friday I could barely walk up the drive and was ankle-deep in wet clay.  On Thursday we did get the lion's share of fill moved, some of it off-site.  That is a another "why is this dark cloud over my head" story, and to keep it short we rented a brand new 3.5 ton dump trailer that had battery issues and leaked hydraulic fluid.  So instead of getting the 30 or so loads dumped we only managed about 12, and the rest we stock-piled along the rear of the lot.  The rental dealer promised to get the thing working so we can try it again, and only charged us for a couple of hours instead of the whole day.  The frustrating thing is the work could have been done before the heavy rain on Friday morning, during which I tried to get the last load off with an almost dead battery (it was plugged in to charge all night and still couldn't fully lift the load).  And if you've ever tried to shovel wet clay you can imagine the anguish of trying to get the trailer emptied during a rainstorm.  The bottom line is now we're holding again for dry weather so we can get the footings and foundation started.  Once those are in the rain won't be such a problem. 

Grading and earth moving

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 5/21/2008 5:03:25 AM

We've got the website going with our updates now.  The url is: dshomeanddesign.com/applewoodhills.aspx 

Aside from trying to find more time to get the work done it's going well.  Slow and steady is the word of the day.  Our rubber tire skid steer wasn't up to par so we've brought in a cat-track loader and it can move some ground.  We gained more in two hours with it than the previous two days with the tire loader.  The cat will run wild rain or shine so we can get caught back up to only being 6 weeks behind! 

Finally Dug-in

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 5/12/2008 5:54:47 AM

We have a basement!  After all the delays on the money end and three weeks of weather delay clearing timber we've got it done -- a full basement.  The deal with our excavator did not include hauling fill away -- anyone need some good quality fill?  The developer actually has a stash up in the timber and is allowing us to dump and fill in a ravine area, we can only get a five-tonner up there so it will take some time to get it moved (probably 50-60 loads).  We had another 2" rainfall the other night so here we sit again waiting for it to dry up - a sprinkle can ruin any activity up there for hours.  It just gets too wet to move around.  The driveway is slowly taking shape and is not as steep as we feared -- kudos to the excavator for a fine dig and placement.  Aside from moving the mud mountain, we have two soft spots on the floor that need de-watered and some trenches to dig for the walk-out and garage before moving on to the footings.  With more rain forecast for mid-week we'll probably be sitting wet all week twiddling our thumbs again. 

Photos

Timber clearing	Driveway taking shape	Basement getting there

Delays, delays, delays

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 3/8/2008 7:06:05 AM

I'm generally quite patient with most issues, but this is getting to a point of frustration.  It would appear that the appraiser ordered by the bank (three weeks ago) has been hampered by the weather.  This seems odd to me since he is working from a print.  So here we sit again.  The latest word is that we'll close on the 15th for the construction loan, but the appraiser is to contact me to walk the lot and this has not happened yet and knowing several appraisers I would say we'll be lucky to get going by the 21st.  The general attitude I'm hearing is: "What's the hurry?  There's still snow on the ground, anyway -- you won't be able to do anything."  Excuse me, but snow means nothing and can be removed, and there is plenty of prep work that can be done in advance of an impending thaw.  Besides, a determined excavator can break through the frost line and get it done. 

Design complete

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 2/9/2008

We took the advice of The Owner-Builder Book and hired a designer instead of an architect.  We have an established builder and former city inspector as a building consultant and with his referral the designer inked our plans for minimal fees.  With the plans complete we are now awaiting the pre-build appraisal.  Pending a satisfactory appraisal we'll start taking out trees on March 1.  Ok, pending the weather too.  If the current trend continues (14" of snow the other day and below zero cold this weekend) we'll be lucky to dig in by April! 

Finally moving forward

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 1/6/2008 6:09:48 AM

As the housing market crumbled and our ability to obtain an O-B construction loan in 2007 severely dwindled we finally struck pay dirt with a private investor.  We will close mid February on the construction loan and start digging March 1 -- "only" 15 months since our first thoughts of building were inked.  Looking back over the past 12 months is a bit painful, however, each setback had it's embedded lessons -- most importantly never give up.  So here we are ready to close and begin the building process.  Three major hurdles already cleared are 1) Sold our old house (FSBO) slightly above it's market value, 2) Got the development/covenant approval, 3) Financial approval.  Financial approval came at the cost of re-working our floor plan -- mainly to contend with the cliff leading down to street level.  Our initial plan simply did not work within budget.  So heed the blogs that suggest not designing your home until you have your lot, it would have saved us a lot of time and anguish re-working the floor plans.  And we go forward with a new "L" ranch design that sets the garage 64' off the street and a mild 1% grade on the driveway -- which is still 50' shorter that the old plan.  We have also changed to ICF for the basement foundation, reducing that budget by about $5,000 (mostly labor). 

Photos

The latest rendering...

Posted by Rich in Suffolk, VA on 1/8/2008 Rich's Forum Posts: 38 Journal Entries: 18 Interview Answers: 68 Average Forum Rating: 4.03 Image from Rich's blog 1/8/2008

How did you create the graphic above?  Did you use Professional Home Design?  It's a program I've been looking at lately and was interested if anyone on here has had any success with it. Either way, that is a nice way to 'envision' your home!

Posted by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 1/9/2008 Douglas's Forum Posts: 1 Journal Entries: 21 Interview Answers: 69 Average Forum Rating: 4.00 My Construction Website Image from Douglas's blog 1/9/2008

3-D Home Architect Deluxe version 8, along with Landscape Design Deluxe 8.  The program provided a very nice working model of our vision, and eliminated the need for an architect.  We took the drawings to a draftsman/designer and he is working them into full scale plans for under 40 cents sf.  The program can be very time consuming to get the look you want (especially when you start adding trims, elevation contours, finer details) and there are limitations, but I use it regularly for remodeling work and landscape ideas.  You won't get any cross sections or engineering details but for colors, materials, and design ideas its a good program (the newer version looks even better).  I have not tried any other 'brands' so I wouldn't know how they compare, but I've heard the newer "Punch" softwares are the way to go for speed and versatility.  Most of the latest versions for home design are using punch now.  Thanks for the comments!

Site work, kind of...

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 7/15/2007

I went in and cleared a lot of debris and small tree growth from the front of the lot and it was not as bad as first thought.  No Poison Ivy so far... and the issue of the steep driveway is looking better -- the brush and undergrowth visually added height to the slope and with that gone the picture is not so bad.  The frontage of the lot will allow for the driveway to sweep across with a landing.  Picked up some good landscaping ideas just driving through the neighborhood.  Check out the view from our front yard...

Photos

Land Ho!

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 7/7/2007

We secured our building lot -- 100' wide, 130' deep, great neighborhood, all newer homes (less than 10 years). The area is hilly and there is sufficient slope for a side walk-out without a lot of excavation, but the main area sits 10' above the street, which will cause quite a difficult driveway.  I'm searching other posts to find a good solution, if you know of any point me to it! The house across the street has marks on the driveway where cars bottom out. Any ideas? We'll be about 35' from street to garage and final grade will put the garage about 6 feet above street level.

Photos

Posted by Anonymous on 7/9/2007 7/9/2007

As far as the difficult slope goes, do you have room to go sideways across the lot at a easier angle, then have a turn and go up again across the lot to the garage? Kind of like a stairway with a landing. Either that or a large circular drive, in one corner of the lot, out the other. The longer you can make the driveway, the easier the slope.

Planning update - month#4

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 4/21/2007

We've done a lot since January...

Lots. Searching lots has been enlightening. Most of the lots within our early budget were engineering nightmares - filled in, very small, pie shaped, or steeply sloped (advertised as "gentle rolling" hills). We've found one now that fits the budget and is workable with little engineering. The lot is 100 x 140 and the house footprint sits nicely in just about any orientation, plus it slopes a nice 8' across the front for a nice side-walk-out. The driveway will be a bit steep, but the house would be the last on a dead-end street and at the top of the hill overlooking a vast timbered area along the Cedar River.  Adjoining the backyard is another few hundred acres of timber. There are three empty lots left on the street with about a dozen homes already there - all similar (but each one unique) to our size and design. That gives us a very good resource for valuations and what to expect from our pre-build appraisal. 

Floor Plan. We are building a Ranch-ish style single-story frame, wide open Kitchen, breakfast bar, four-seasons, formal dining, and living area w/fireplace. 12" wide stub wall and arch leading to the dining room w/columns, 2 BR's, 2 1/2 bath main level + office and mud room, 1 BR, 1 bath lower level plus wood shop, mechanical, laundry w/cabinets and drying racks, storm shelter (under stoop), home theater, fireplace, and wet bar w/cabinets and cooler. Outside we have a three-stall attached garage, two decks flanking the four-seasons room, and a paver patio at the walk-out level. 

Estimates. We originally started out with President Homes in mind - they do have a nice support program, unlimited architectural, and we know the local rep. However, as a carpenter I do have a lot of excellent resources and as building estimates started to trickle in we found that our budget was better off without using the President program!  (We're under that estimate by at least $20,000 already). Unless we find an architect that upcharges us by 20 grand, I think we're better in the long run to use that money in upgrades or savings. 

The O-B Book has been a great help for us so far, and we're just getting started with the fun stuff. We're in month four of planning and devoting at least two to three hours per day to that.

Intro

Posted to CastleHeims by Douglas in Cedar Rapids, IA on 1/14/2007

Our new house is just in the planning stage. We're looking at floor plans, and checking on available building sites and budgeting tools. Our main goal is to have more space than our current house and get away from the busy street we're on. 

Our time line is to have all the pre-planning done by summer and start building early in the fall.