Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[dhagood]

What you are seeing is my handy work using MS Paint. There is no hardy plank installed below the fake beam yet.

lol. i've lost what has really happened after the flurry of virtual house updates.

 

[jdonovan]

5. Dig hole and trench for propane tank (500 or 1000 gallon)

Go with the 1000. You can always choose to fill less of a big tank, but you can't put extra into a small tank.

Also make sure you own the tank. If the local propane company leases you the tank, they are the only ones that can fill it.

 

[ljnelson109]

Go with the 1000. You can always choose to fill less of a big tank, but you can't put extra into a small tank.

Also make sure you own the tank. If the local propane company leases you the tank, they are the only ones that can fill it.

I would have said the same thing before I built this last house. I intended to buy. It has been 2.5 years since I made the decision but the numbers were hard to argue. They wanted $3000 for the tank. Or, if I leased for 7 years, I pay a premium of $.20 per gallon. Even if I burn 15000 gallons in those 7 years, I still had to come up with the $3000 up front. Plus, with a leased tank, they are responsible for the 2 regulators outside and the line in the ground. At my old house, I had a neighbor lose the diaphragm in the regulator at the house. She lost around 300 gallons of propane. The propane company (who owned her leased tank) not only replaced the regulator but covered the loss of fuel due to "their regulator".

They did put in a 1000 gallon tank, which as it turns out has also been overkill. I am sure that I will appreciate the extra volume, though, if/when I ever install a standby generator.

After my 7 year lease, I will re-evaluate. They will sell me the tank at a reduced cost, or I may just continue the lease.

Food for thought.....

I would encourage you to discuss the actual cost delta between leasing and owning. I was really surprised how the numbers came out.

 

[jdonovan]

Or, if I leased for 7 years, I pay a premium of $.20 per gallon.

Around here we hear lots of tales in the winter of the local big company that has lots of leased tanks being .30 higher than the other company, and then you still have the .20 premium on top, so they were paying $0.50 more per gallon.

Perhaps the industry has gotten less nasty about the leased tank situation, but I still dislike being 'locked' in to a company for 7 years.

 

[BuilderML]

Looking good Jay! Can't wait to see what the real thing looks like when I come home tomorrow.

BuilderML, I'm not sure what you mean by elliptical stone in above the garage?

Look at your picture of the garage door itself. You see how the glass has a curve to it take the same curve and connect the two ends of the garage door opening with the same curve.
https://www.schwakestone.com/products/face-brick
Kind of like you see above this garage door. The opening doesn't have to be framed that way just running the stone. Again if you can do it with both pics that would be great.

 

[ljnelson109]

Around here we hear lots of tales in the winter of the local big company that has lots of leased tanks being .30 higher than the other company, and then you still have the .20 premium on top, so they were paying $0.50 more per gallon.

Perhaps the industry has gotten less nasty about the leased tank situation, but I still dislike being 'locked' in to a company for 7 years.

I totally agree with the concern. I was shocked by the numbers I was given. My former propane supplier had a huge delta between owned and leased tanks. It was upwards towards $1.00!!!! So, I was determined to own my tank again. But, these guys don't seem to be as hateful about it. I did, however, do a price lock last year. With any luck, I want to do a pre-buy this coming year which will save me another $.10 per gallon over their lock-in agreement. I am paying $2.49 per gallon this year. That price covers the "leased tank" fee. Comparing notes with others in my area, that is a competitive price.

As always, these discussions can often be locality based. I am honestly still shocked I went that way!

Lee

 

[Diamondpilot]

Around here we hear lots of tales in the winter of the local big company that has lots of leased tanks being .30 higher than the other company, and then you still have the .20 premium on top, so they were paying $0.50 more per gallon.

Perhaps the industry has gotten less nasty about the leased tank situation, but I still dislike being 'locked' in to a company for 7 years.

All 4 companies around here give you a free 500 gal tank as long as you buy 800 gal of propane per year. They maintain everything outside the house.

I also evaluated buying a tank but its a losing proposition.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

I totally agree with the concern. I was shocked by the numbers I was given. My former propane supplier had a huge delta between owned and leased tanks. It was upwards towards $1.00!!!! So, I was determined to own my tank again. But, these guys don't seem to be as hateful about it. I did, however, do a price lock last year. With any luck, I want to do a pre-buy this coming year which will save me another $.10 per gallon over their lock-in agreement. I am paying $2.49 per gallon this year. That price covers the "leased tank" fee. Comparing notes with others in my area, that is a competitive price.

As always, these discussions can often be locality based. I am honestly still shocked I went that way!

Lee

Boy, your prices are nuts. I pay $1.76 with tax.

Chris

 

[ljnelson109]

Boy, your prices are nuts. I pay $1.76 with tax.

Chris

I miss those days! People around here are paying $3.00 in places. When I started buying propane (in quantity) back in 2001, I was paying $1.11

 

[pclausen]

No kidding! I'm paying over $3/gallon! This is part of the reason why mom is going with a heat pump w/ electrical backup and electric water heater.

Just spoke to Amerigas (both mom and myself have accounts with them), and they are emailing me the paperwork today, so I'll check out the options.