In reply to newrider3 :
Cool! When were you there? Judging by your photos, your kids are similar age to my kids... I was 2009 Physics (holy E36 M3 11 years ago). My roommates and close friends were mostly civil and geology.
Although, if you're talking about EPICs, I think we had that as freshmen and that may have been changed to a sophomore class later on.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Those fans do look interesting, thanks for the tip. They are indeed expensive though.
Unfortunately our internet options are satellite or fixed wireless. It sounds like fixed wireless speeds are pretty decent though.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
My wife was '14 Mechanical, I was (late) '15 Metallurgy and Materials. When we were there there was EPICS 1 for freshmen, EPICS 2 for sophomores, but it sounds like they switched it back to only one EPICS again.
You only pay for the fans once but you'll be living with them for a loooong time. Almost all ceiling fans suck badly. At the very least, do some preliminary shopping, sign up for their mailing list and be ready to strike if they come up with a good offer on Memorial Day or some such.
Big Ass Fans are the best!
Looks like you are making a beautiful home!
The view is spectacular!!!!........the house is YOUR house love it and live in it....the method of construction is unlike anything I've ever seen.....way cool!!!!!....dig the radiant heat too....now I see by your profile the Grand C is gone ......what 4wd conveyance has replaced it?
In reply to 759NRNG (Forum Partidario) :
That would be the old (1990) Grand Voyager that was replaced by the 2013 Grand Caravan you see in some of these pics.
4x4 is actually not necessary to access this house or the neighborhood, if the driveway is snowy enough to get stuck in a 4x4 will get stuck too. The county does a good job of plowing the main neighborhood road from what I saw this winter.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
My wife was '14 Mechanical, I was (late) '15 Metallurgy and Materials. When we were there there was EPICS 1 for freshmen, EPICS 2 for sophomores, but it sounds like they switched it back to only one EPICS again.
Mines '02 Mechanical checking in here. In Portland now but plan to retire back in CO. Great project!
Dormers have been framed up, and loft subfloor partially installed. I've been trying to work on air sealing the outside of the house and installing the air/water barrier and window flashing - I'm using liquid flashing and a roller-applied fluid housewrap, but it's not quite as easy to install as the video demos would have you believe so it's taking quite a while.
That loft would make an excellent play room for the little guy who keeps showing up in the construction pictures :)
This place knocks me out.....how many acres?
The baby is indeed an excellent helper, usually she helps me clean by finding sketchy stuff to put in her mouth :)
The loft is going to be multi-purpose, we're calling it the library because it will have built-ins to hold our many tons of books, and probably a reading nook in the dormer. I'm also going to build in a small desk that can be used by my wife when she works from home or by myself when I need a desktop computer, or as a spot to work on soldering/electronics projects or sewing. And I'm sure it will function as a playroom as well.
In reply to 759NRNG (Forum Partidario) :
The lot is 23 acres, but the flat spot with the house and shed is about the only usable area, the rest is quite hilly and rocky. Though it all serves as a nice buffer between neighbors and the highway.
And the Milky Way is always available for your viewing pleasure.....sweet
enjoy.........
I love the idea of a library loft. That sounds like heaven.
Framing is mostly done, just need to get them back for a day or two for punchlist items.
Stairs are built with rough-in treads, and a wall next to the stairs that I will be changing myself because I asked them to remove it twice and they rebuilt it just as ugly.
And an access door to the unfinished garage attic. Still waiting for them to actually open the door opening and put down subfloor in the other space.
Meanwhile, I've been slowly working on the exterior trying to get ready for windows. The window frames first get a 1x4 buck to push the window out 3/4". This is because I will be using a rainscreen siding system, where the siding is held away from the sheathing on furring strips to allow for a vented cavity that speeds drying of the exterior wall system. Then everything gets sealed and flashed. I'm using Sto Emerald Coat for the housewrap and liquid flashing, with Sto Rapid Guard applied at the corners and seams of the rough openings first. I also ran a course of StoGuard Tape around the base of the house where the wall sheathing meets the foundation, for further air/bug/water sealing. The tape has a fabric top layer that gets embedded into the final layer of Emerald Coat. So far it's been a lot of work and pretty expensive compared to normal housewrap, but I'll be much happier having a monolithic fully adhered air/water resistant coating, and this won't rip off and blow away in the gusty wind before siding goes on.
I need to finish prepping the butt joints between each piece of sheathing, and then roll the entire rest of the house with Emerald Coat. I expect this is probably going to take all weekend, there's a lot of area to cover.
I've always had a hard time wrapping my head around the floating wall framing in Colorado. Is that a code thing? It doesn't seem like it would be needed given your foundation.
Everywhere that a wall is over slab-on-grade (not a bearing wall resting directly on foundation wall) is floating so that if (when) the slab heaves or settles, the wall doesn't crack. We have one bearing wall with corresponding foundation wall in the hallway, but otherwise the rest of the interior walls are resting on (non-structural) floor slab.
It's code in Colorado because a lot of the state is expansive clay soil that makes slab movement a guarantee, not just a possibility. Luckily on this site I have mostly decomposed gneiss bedrock with little clay content, and little potential for expansion.
I'm just popping in with Colorado love, and love of this house/land. I spent the late 90s and early 00s in CO. Durango, Newcastle and Aspen. I built homes for the super rich in Aspen-they had to have steel columns and beams for the snow load. Your pictures take me back to a really nice time in my life.
I lived in a passive solar house in Durango. Wood heat only, and only a swamp cooler for cooling in my New Castle apartment. I love the idea of no AC. Totally doable where you are.
Quick progress on a spectacular domicile.
I'm probably going to end up hanging the siding and trim myself, but I hired out the soffit and fascia so I could get the roof on sooner, and because I don't enjoy ladders. Still working on the rough opening flashing and the WRB coating, it's taking a damn long time. I should have just bought Zip System sheathing instead.
Hopping around all over the site installing windows and doors today. I decided to belt-and-suspenders the window sill flashing with some Henry butyl tape. The Emerald Coat and RapidGuard combo is technically all the flashing I need, but I had a sample roll of tape so I threw some on anyway.
I had my friend who works with sheet metal brake me up some 20ga stainless flashings for door sill pans. Super overkill and not terribly necessary at the front door, but might as well. The back patio door was the place I really needed custom flashing to prevent water ingress, I'll get some more detail pics of what I did there later.
Also got a nice mess in the van after a panic stop coming down the mountain yesterday. Guess the screw bucket lid wasn't sealed :(
newrider3 said:Hopping around all over the site installing windows and doors today. I decided to belt-and-suspenders the window sill flashing with some Henry butyl tape. The Emerald Coat and RapidGuard combo is technically all the flashing I need, but I had a sample roll of tape so I threw some on anyway.
I had my friend who works with sheet metal brake me up some 20ga stainless flashings for door sill pans. Super overkill and not terribly necessary at the front door, but might as well. The back patio door was the place I really needed custom flashing to prevent water ingress, I'll get some more detail pics of what I did there later.
Also got a nice mess in the van after a panic stop coming down the mountain yesterday. Guess the screw bucket lid wasn't sealed :(
Why are all the headers at the underside of the top plate instead of directly over the framing for the door/window...etc???? my rough carpentry flashbacks are front and center seeing this ....just curious
I'll ask my framer why they prefer that orientation when we do the final punchlist, but as far as I know it doesn't really matter if they're at the top of the wall or the top of the opening.
Though I did look back at that picture and notice the missing cripple stud above the door I thought I already told them about, but keep forgetting.
I love everything about this down to the Sto WRB and rain screen siding. Not sure I understand the floating wall framing... but curious. Also - what kind of insulation will you use in the walls and roof?
sincerely,
architect and building science nerd.
OHSCrifle said:what kind of insulation will you use in the walls and roof?
Walls and roof will both be closed-cell spray foam, R49 on the roof and as much as we can possibly afford in the walls.
759NRNG (Forum Partidario) said: Why are all the headers at the underside of the top plate instead of directly over the framing for the door/window...etc???? my rough carpentry flashbacks are front and center seeing this ....just curious
I've never understood why headers are installed just above the opening. The header is there to support the roof/wall above. If the header is low, the framing above is structural. If the header is high the fillin framing is not structural, just supporting the sheating, and allows for taller doors/windows to be installed in the future.
tomtomgt356 (FS) said:759NRNG (Forum Partidario) said: Why are all the headers at the underside of the top plate instead of directly over the framing for the door/window...etc???? my rough carpentry flashbacks are front and center seeing this ....just curiousI've never understood why headers are installed just above the opening. The header is there to support the roof/wall above. If the header is low, the framing above is structural. If the header is high the fillin framing is not structural, just supporting the sheating, and allows for taller doors/windows to be installed in the future.
the header directly above the door opening (window openings too)is the most sturcturally sound......this current executions lends itself to possibly future door misalignment....and no i didn' t sleep in a holiday Inn.....and Nrider3 is CORRECT that another cripple should reside above that door ......and all other voids similar to this should addressed be on you final 'walk thru' Plist (Nrider3)
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