House Build 2023

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

More framing. This part goes fast! I know I promised Zip panels but i was talked out of them in favor of Tyvec. Residental and commercial builders, that I know well and trust, both said in this climate Zip is a waste of money, and the upgrade is pretty pricy.

 

[ruffdog]

No basement? Also, is that blocked in room a storm room?

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

No basement. They are not really a thing around here very very rare. I think that's because the water table is so high around here.

Yes blocked in room is storm shelter. Lots of 'naders in my area. In fact the reason this lot had no dwelling is because a tornado took out the place that was on it a decade or so ago.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

We had the dog trot house look for quite a while. They worked on both ends until they were basically complete and ready for rafters before they started on the great room section. Here is a little more close up. The beam seems a bit large for such a small vault... although later the roof is supported by it also.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

You have to air seal somehow, to say zip is a waste of money is a red flag to me. The more I see about zip, the more I like it. Make sure they tape the tyvek properly, including along the foundation, at the top, and at the openings and all seams. Sounds like a builder that just want's to keep it the way he's always done it.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Waste of money might have been my words. They might have said unnecessary. Builder would have used zip if I asked him to, no problem. It was a pretty hefty expense for the upgrade and i did quite a bit of research. Between the research I did that didn't show a great deal of improvement if both are installed correctly, the personal experience of the high end builders i talked to, the expense, and the necessity to tape every hole and imperfection, I decided to save that money.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

They finally started working on the great room. They spent basically a day building scaffolding before they started framing the high parts.

 

[deezler]

You have to air seal somehow, to say zip is a waste of money is a red flag to me. The more I see about zip, the more I like it. Make sure they tape the tyvek properly, including along the foundation, at the top, and at the openings and all seams. Sounds like a builder that just want's to keep it the way he's always done it.

I'm a huge zip fan. But if you build a super tight house (as you should), you also need to provide a means for fresh air ventilation, like an HRV or ERV - which most people still don't seem committed to doing. As a result I am a little wary of recommending everyone to build a super tight envelope if they aren't going to mechanically ventilate. A lot of humans in America are sucking down super stale air inside their homes, loaded with chemical off-gassing (from your cabinets, particle board furniture, plastic carpeting, and all the chemicals under the sink, etc). If you brought an air meter into these homes you'd find high VOCs, CO2 levels and possibly even low O2 depending upon occupancy and ventilation modalities.

Most homes I see built with tyvek are NOT taped, and it seems almost on purpose, no? Let any captured moisture drain out downwards, etc.

My 2c: If you aren't going to put in an ERV/HRV, then your house SHOULD be drafty, to keep the air cleaner inside. Sure, that absolutely sucks for your heating bill and energy consumption, even possibly your comfort level inside. But - in Central Arkansas, probably not a big deal with light winters and relatively manageable summers.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Started with a couple small beams. Of course i had to climb up there.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Getting a few rafters up.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Most of the great room rafters up. Starting the rest of the roof.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

@EddieWalker anything special you want to see on the framing? Framing is done except for some punch list stuff. I'm just behind posting.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Let's get a few more to try to catch up.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

All caught up.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

 

[EddieWalker]

Looks like you got a really good framing crew. I disagreed with the comments about Zip System, but, but with really good framing, you should be fine with what was used. Zip System is better, but I don't know if it's worth the extra cost in your situation or not.

For me, the first things I look for are properly sized headers and beams. If they cut corners there, then it's time to start looking closer at everything else. An Inspector told me once that when he goes to a job and he sees a mess everywhere, he's gonna look a lot closer to every detail. When he sees a clean, organized job, he just checks the basics because he's pretty sure they know what they are doing and it's going to be done right.

The last thing I wanted to see is how they sealed the windows. From what I can see in the pictures, they look like they used good tape. You'd be surprised how many builders don't seal their windows at all!!!!

 

[ruffdog]

How much sq ft will the living space be?

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I have been impressed with all the crews that have been here so far. My builder definitely has some high standards for the subs he uses. They have all been good at their trades and have seemed to be really good people. My house is on the lower end of what he usually builds. I'm glad I got him instead of stretching a builder that does mostly spec type homes.


It should come out to about 3150 sqft heated and cooled. We added a bunch of space in the room over the garage. We did that by lowering the floor in the garage and bringing the garage cieling height down to just a touch over 8 feet. That allowed us to lower the floor in the room above so the walls could be moved out, lower on the roof pitch. Not sure if that made sense.

 

[deezler]

A big huge beam just to hide it inside the roof assembly!?!? That is killing me, lol.

That is a crazy expensive attic, haha.

Congrats on the progress!

 

[ruffdog]

It's going up quick...keep the pictures coming!