I devoured your book, and hit every spot on your website. We're in Brevard County, FL and we got it kicked out of us by the hurricanes here. I'm amazed at the amount of information on your website. There is so much motivation for owner-builders there. Michael B., Satellite Beach, FL

Tim's Forum Posts: 8
Journal Entries: 7
Interview Answers: 66
Average Forum Rating: 4.14



Image from Tim's blog

Subscribe to this journal...

Foundation and Septic

Posted to NorthPoleHome by Tim in Anchorage, AK on 7/20/2010 11:44:29 AM

I took two weeks off to finish the foundation and install the septic. Since the wife, myself, and an occasional paid helper did everything, it took us a full two weeks to get that done. Definitely longer than expected. We took advantage of our long summer daylight and put in a minimum of 15 hrs every day.

Since I had the Bobcat, I did the rough grading and backfilled 90% of the way around the foundation after the cement cured for a week. I kept the dirt about 1-2 feet away from the wall until I get the subfloor down later, so the soil doesn't push on the wall just yet. I wanted to install the mud sills and all the floor beams as well, but we only had time to get this done. I'll go back in 6 weeks or so and put the beams and subfloor down. Enjoy the pics.

Tim

Photos

ICFs erected and ready for the pour next morning.	Making the second trip around with concrete.	Walls poured, waterproofed, and protected for back fill. We also added rigid foam for a frost-protected shallow footing.
Leach field and tank installed, lots of hard work!	2" of rigid foam will reduce the top soil cover to two feet.	Another beautiful day in Alaska, with a double rainbow!

Poured footings

Posted to NorthPoleHome by Tim in Anchorage, AK on 6/9/2010

We took a road trip north and put our footings in. The process of completing 260 lineal feet of a 10-corner foundation and 23 post pads took four days to lay out, square, level, rebar, and pour concrete. My wife, a friend, and I worked long hard days but we couldn't ask for better weather. The footings tuned out decent, but a couple of the porch-post pads we worked right at the very end were kinda stiff. We used a boom truck, but in hindsight I should have hired a couple more hands for the pour. Oh well, lesson learned.

I also installed a wood stove in the cabin/workshop for heat when I build in the fall. We leveled out the forms with a water level, partly to save money, but also for the challenge of using an old technique. We're going back up at the beginning of July to put up the ICF foundation walls, septic, and some other odds and ends. I have free access to a Bobcat, so I'll do a partial backfill on the foundation by pushing dirt up, to but not touching the walls. This will save me some time during full backfill after I install the subfloor in Sept. Here are a few pics attached.

Tim

Photos

Batter boards in place, moving gravel around and compacting to level out low spots.	2x10 form boards up and rebar going in.	All rebar in place and boom truck getting ready.
Starting the pour.	My wife working on her screeding skills.	Footings complete, and boards stripped for reuse as laminated beams.

Spring preparation trip

Posted to NorthPoleHome by Tim in Anchorage, AK on 5/14/2010

My son and I made the 8-hour drive up north last weekend to knock out a few things and prepare for footings. Most everything else was accomplished, but the final compaction couldn't be completed because the final gravel layer was too water-saturated from spring snow melt and the water wasn't going anywhere, since the ground was still frozen down to 3 ft. But we did take a load of materials up with us including all the rebar I pre-bent for my corners. We made sleeping bunks in the shop, so I don't have to drag the travel trailer up every time we make the trip.

I rented a backhoe and had a buddy dig a test hole for the engineer to see the soil conditions where the septic will go. Once he sketches out the septic plan, I'll put the septic in (this summer). I took the required training to install my own septic. I also met with the well driller and he drilled the well this past Wednesday. He drilled through gravel down to 92 ft to hit good water; the last 40 ft. was permafrost gravel. The drilling, casing, pump, and temp. water setup cost $6,660. Just a little dent in the savings... Since he drilled and brought more water on top, I'm having a buddy pump the foundation hole out this weekend so the excavator can compact next week, hopefully. Then we'll go up at the end of this month for about 10 days to lay/pour footings and a myriad of other odds and ends. In August, I'll put up the ICF and install the septic system, and return in Sept. to put down the first floor and garage, and cap it for the winter just before the snow flies. 

Still trying to decide if I want to retire next year or wait until the following year. I badly want out of my current career and location. If I retire next year, I'll have just enough cash to get the shell up with no windows or doors. If I wait until the following year, it will give me enough cash to plumb, wire, and install windows and doors, and build the masonry heater. I guess I'll wait and see how much cash I go through this summer...

Tim

Refining plans/budget

Posted to NorthPoleHome by Tim in Anchorage, AK on 2/12/2010

Well, I'm still chomping at the bit to get building but we're still in scrimp and save mode since we'll be building this with cash only.  Since we're 350 miles away and I have another two years until I can retire from the military, there isn't much I can do right now but study construction methods, surf forums like this, refine the budget, hammer out exactly which materials we plan on using, and seek out deals on tools/supplies. I may try to volunteer as an apprentice to an electrician or plumber this summer just to pick up some practice on two trades I'm only a little experienced in so I can do my own later. The summer of next year I'll have enough cash to put up the shell. The plan is to put the shell up summer/fall 2011 and retire spring 2012 with all summer to finish it.

By my budget/savings forecast we'll have enough cash to build a weathertight shell with water, septic, power, insulation, siding, and masonry heater. This summer we are going to install our own septic tank/field and have the well drilled. As much as I'd love to put in the crawlspace foundation, I'm leery of doing anything this year that can be damaged by time or weather. Frost-jacking is a problem up here.

Our engineer is finished with the final plans, but is having trouble printing them out so I don't have them in hand yet. I'll be using advanced framing techniques as much as possible to not only save on lumber but to maximize the thermal efficiency of the exterior wall. I'm also putting 2" of  EPS foam on the outside with 1x3 strapping to attach the fiber cement siding to. I snagged a deal on the EPS, 106 4x8 sheets at only $12 each!  In order to eliminate almost all penetrations in the vapor barrier, we're strapping the exterior walls inside horizontally with 2x2s every 2' O.C. to run/mount all the electrical and fill the 2' gaps with 1 1/2" EPS (I got 50 4x8 sheets of these for $10 each). This should get me about an R-35 wall with the R-21 batts in the stud bays. I figure the added cost of the extra insulation/strapping is about two to three years' worth of heating oil, which ironically is more expensive in Alaska than the lower 48. Anyhow, just giving an update so my journal doesn't go stagnant and get deleted.

Tim

Greg's Forum Posts: 0 Randomly Selected Image 4/18/2010	Tim, To be clear, the 2" insulation will cover the entire exterior over all studs? How will the 1x3 strapping be attached? Screws, nails? From what I've been reading, rigid insulation should not exceed 1" to mount cement siding. I hope your engineer is correct. I have an older 2x4 home and I want add 2" Dow Blue Board and fiber-cement siding for the remodel. Any links or resources would be greatly appreciated. Greg
Tim's Forum Posts: 8 Journal Entries: 7 Interview Answers: 66 Average Forum Rating: 4.14 Image from Tim's blog 4/19/2010	Greg, The EPS sheets will cover the sheathing and 1x3 strapping over the top of that held with 4-5" screws. The extra foam and strapping will align vertically with the ICF blocks on the foundation. The siding manufacturers do recommend foam 1" or less when installing fiber cement directly over the foam. I discussed this with them and my engineer, and as long as I strap it with long screws, it will be fine. A similar strapping technique is being use for REMOTE Wall Systems and can be read at cchrc.org where they install up to 6" of foam under the siding. Some houses have been retrofitted like yours with success in the US and Canada. With a quick Google search for "superinsulation retrofit" you can read about several people who have done just like you wish to do. I'm using EPS, but the DOW Blue Board has even better compression and insulating qualities.  Here's an informative retrofit article as well: ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/facts/RetrofitBestPractices/homeownerguide Good luck, Tim
Greg's Forum Posts: 0 Randomly Selected Image 4/20/2010	Tim, Thanks for the quick reply and info! Now, why North Pole?? (FYI I'm born and raised here in Anchorage) Greg
Tim's Forum Posts: 8 Journal Entries: 7 Interview Answers: 66 Average Forum Rating: 4.14 Image from Tim's blog 4/20/2010	Greg, I was stationed up at Eielson for 6 years and my family likes it up there. The people are hardy but friendly, and we like the small-town atmosphere of Fairbanks/North Pole area. I don't really like the hustle and bustle of Anchorage, even though it's nothing compared to lower-48 cities. The interior summers are much nicer too.  Tim

Excavation/gravel base

Posted to NorthPoleHome by Tim in Anchorage, AK on 9/19/2009 5:44:39 AM

Well, this summer we had a contractor finish the excavation to match the footprint.  He excavated to solid gravel at 4'.  Then he brought in and packed 2' of gravel to raise the elevation a bit since the area I'm in is all flat and next to a marshy plot. I wanted to be 1' higher than the neighbor because they had 4" of water in their crawlspace during record rainfall last year.

Photos

Base for footers.

Base for footers with shop in background.

Making a base to work from

Posted to NorthPoleHome by Tim in Anchorage, AK on 3/9/2009 9:37:52 PM

Here's a few pics after the hole was dug for the foundation. I also built a 12x20 shop to work out of when construction is in full swing.  The shop will be my woodworking shop when the house is finished, and as last resort, temporary residence until the house is livable inside. 

Photos

Excavation progress	Our workshop ready for roofing.	Since this will eventually serve as my wood shop, I took the time to insulate and put up an vapor barrier. Building the shed was good practice for my rusty carpentry skills.

Planning stage

Posted to NorthPoleHome by Tim in Anchorage, AK on 11/19/2008 12:14:05 PM

This will be our future home in North Pole, AK that we will start building in summer 2010.  We have already bought, paid for, and cleared the land ourselves.  75% of the excavation is completed also.  I put the driveways in myself and built a 12x20 workshop on the property as a base to work out of during construction.  I will be putting up pictures of the current progress soon.

We plan on building the house as energy efficient as reasonably possible to keep operating and maintenance costs low for the lifetime of the house.  By installing a masonry heater, radiant floors, extra insulation, triple-pane windows, and solar panels we hope to drastically reduce our dependency on oil as much as possible.  Natural gas is not an option in the area and the power company uses oil to generate electricity.  Still considering boiler options. We've snatched up some end of construction season clearance deals as we seen them to help save on overall costs.  So far we picked up 2,200 sq ft of Kahrs' Linnea engineered hardwood flooring for $2.99 sq ft. It's $4.90 in some stores. We also purchased many quality lighting and plumbing fixtures at deep discounts at the local box stores.  Hopefully I'll be able to locate my pictures soon and post them.

Photos

Front rendering of the house. We bought plans from Donald Gardner and we're pretty happy with them.	1st floor reversed We're installing a masonry heater in place of the traditional fireplace.	2nd floor reversed
Rear of house reversed