Going Off Grid in East Tennessee (new house, price, storage)

[bb5745]

Wow, what a promo thread for city-data.com - this is what this website should be about: sharing ideas, resources, and inspiring others. Thank you SO MUCH for your thorough documentation, pictures and step-by-step processes. Can't wait for more updates and pictures! Keep it up.

[younglisa7]

hammer- Thank you. Goood luck with your future build. One hint-"keep it small".


bb5745- Thank you. I am trying to keep up but I am very tired at the moment.

Lisa

[Tinman313]

"Dittie".... That's like a schosh... a little more than a tad. But less than a bunch
Looks great.....

[BobKovacs]

Lisa-

I've got a question, and please don't take this the wrong way- are their building inspections in your area of TN? If so, have they signed off on some of your methods? I ask because there are a few things that would be a concern for me:

- You mentioned that you were screwing everything together to "make it stronger" than nailing. Screws generally have horrible shear strength when compared to nails (unless you're using special screws like those from Simpson), and this could create some serious issues in wind conditions.

- There's no clearance between the wood structure and the soil on the high side of the structure. Well, now that the soil has settled there is, but you mentioned bringing more soil in to raise it back up. You're inviting termites and water into your home of you don't create some distance between the wood and the soil.

- You don't appear to have pressure-treated lumber where the walls are in contact with the concrete slab, which again is inviting moisture into the house.

- There's no water barrier behind the T1-11 siding, so there's nothing keeping your insulation and framing from getting water-logged when the siding gets saturated (and it will get saturated)- again, rot and termites will love this.

- You've got the patio doors fastened to the T1-11 with no flashing- once again- water will love this situation, and will cause problems in no time.

I bring this all up because I really do admire what you're doing (it's something I hope to do in the future myself), and the effort you put into the foundation and waterproofing details show a lot of forethought on those systems, but I'm not seeing the same thing with the work from that point forward. I'd hate to see you guys pour all of this work into your dream house, only to have problems shortly down the road.

[younglisa7]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Lisa-

I've got a question, and please don't take this the wrong way- are their building inspections in your area of TN? If so, have they signed off on some of your methods? I ask because there are a few things that would be a concern for me:

- You mentioned that you were screwing everything together to "make it stronger" than nailing. Screws generally have horrible shear strength when compared to nails (unless you're using special screws like those from Simpson), and this could create some serious issues in wind conditions.

- There's no clearance between the wood structure and the soil on the high side of the structure. Well, now that the soil has settled there is, but you mentioned bringing more soil in to raise it back up. You're inviting termites and water into your home of you don't create some distance between the wood and the soil.

- You don't appear to have pressure-treated lumber where the walls are in contact with the concrete slab, which again is inviting moisture into the house.

- There's no water barrier behind the T1-11 siding, so there's nothing keeping your insulation and framing from getting water-logged when the siding gets saturated (and it will get saturated)- again, rot and termites will love this.

- You've got the patio doors fastened to the T1-11 with no flashing- once again- water will love this situation, and will cause problems in no time.

I bring this all up because I really do admire what you're doing (it's something I hope to do in the future myself), and the effort you put into the foundation and waterproofing details show a lot of forethought on those systems, but I'm not seeing the same thing with the work from that point forward. I'd hate to see you guys pour all of this work into your dream house, only to have problems shortly down the road.

Thank you for your concerns. Let me try to clarify.
1. We are glueing and then screwing everything using exterior screws.

2. Sorry if my pictures are not clear but we are also not finished yet. The perimeter around the sides and the back of the house will have 4-5 inches of garden rock between the dirt and the wood on the house. We will eventually be planting gardens along the perimeter. No wood will be on the ground. We painted the bottom and the sides of the wood to protect it while we are constructing the house.

3. We are not using pressure treated lumber on the upper sills because we don't want the chemicals inside the house. It is also not neccesary for us to use pressure treated lumber because there is no water table at that level.

4. We are painting and sealing the T1-11 so it doesn't become saturated. We didn't use vapor barrier on the T1-11 because we will be doing spray foam insulation inside the house on the entire roof and walls.

5. The sliding glass doors are not done yet. They will get trimmed out with
1x4 trim and that will be painted and caulked all the way around. The patio doors themselves will also be caulked all the way around.

I hope that clears everthing up.

Thank You
Lisa and Mike

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Lisa-

I've got a question, and please don't take this the wrong way- are their building inspections in your area of TN? If so, have they signed off on some of your methods? I ask because there are a few things that would be a concern for me:

- You mentioned that you were screwing everything together to "make it stronger" than nailing. Screws generally have horrible shear strength when compared to nails (unless you're using special screws like those from Simpson), and this could create some serious issues in wind conditions.

- There's no clearance between the wood structure and the soil on the high side of the structure. Well, now that the soil has settled there is, but you mentioned bringing more soil in to raise it back up. You're inviting termites and water into your home of you don't create some distance between the wood and the soil.

- You don't appear to have pressure-treated lumber where the walls are in contact with the concrete slab, which again is inviting moisture into the house.

- There's no water barrier behind the T1-11 siding, so there's nothing keeping your insulation and framing from getting water-logged when the siding gets saturated (and it will get saturated)- again, rot and termites will love this.

- You've got the patio doors fastened to the T1-11 with no flashing- once again- water will love this situation, and will cause problems in no time.

I bring this all up because I really do admire what you're doing (it's something I hope to do in the future myself), and the effort you put into the foundation and waterproofing details show a lot of forethought on those systems, but I'm not seeing the same thing with the work from that point forward. I'd hate to see you guys pour all of this work into your dream house, only to have problems shortly down the road.

Interesting. Bob I know you and I grew up in a heavy policed state where there was an inspection for every step of the building game. I already read Younglisas reply. I would be surprised her township has any zoning or any inspections along the construction process. She didn't say. Are there any younglisa?

Lisa it dont matter if the dirt comes in contact with your sill plate. It dont even matter if it is a zoning requirement in towns that have no requirements. Painting that sill plate will last about as long as the paint or less. Cement/concrete sweats, it's the nature of the beast, and any wood in contact with it will absorbe this sweat. PT lumber should be used as a sole plate on any slab or block because it is rot resistant as well as termite resistant. The green look of PT or Wolmanized lumber comes from the arsenic it is treated with.

At least that is theory. Look at the past before codes at all the homes that used regular Doug Fir or Southern Yellow Pine in direct contact with cement and those homes are still standing a hundred years later.

No matter...you keep up the good work. You have inspired me to consider doing just what you are doing when we get to Texas full time. We have land on the big lake and we will be building on it And I just might open a daily log just like yours and report progress with pictures.

People love what you are doing. How do you think the old "This Old House" on PBS got so popular?

[younglisa7]

Bob and Desertsun,

To answer your question we live in a county that has no building codes. Our preference in building is to use the least amount of pressure treated wood in our house as possible and so should everyone else because of the chemicals.

Lisa

[Tek_Freek]

I am amazed at the progress you are making. Being a diyer myself I know how much effort you are expending to get things done this fast. My hat is off to you.

And I have a question about your well. We are a few years away from retiring and have a lot in Fairfield Glade, TN. Our plan is to build a home using ICI, metal roof, and Hardi Plank. We want it to last longer than we do!

We have been looking into geothermal and wonder about drilling a well (actually two for geo). Did you have to drill through rock? And if you paid someone to drill may I ask what it cost? Do not answer this question unless you are comfortable doing so!

This came up in conversation this evening and we've decided to look into having the lot cleared ahead of time and checking into perhaps having the wells dug a year or two before we build so they are in place when the house is started. This will give us time to pay for the clearing and drilling before we sell here and move. Of course this assumes they can or will drill where our lot is.

Appreciate any info you can pass along.

I love where you live!

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by younglisa7

Bob and Desertsun,

To answer your question we live in a county that has no building codes. Our preference in building is to use the least amount of pressure treated wood in our house as possible and so should everyone else because of the chemicals.

Lisa

My home and that of my neighbors all have heart Redwood sill plates... termites don't like it and I know homes built from Redwood in the late 1800's that are still around...

Now... if they only would have used better nails... the redwood has held up... but the 100 year old nails are failing...

[younglisa7]

Tek-Freek-
Just to drill the well with 6 1/4' casing it cost $11.00 per foot
We went down 300 feet(we hit water at 225 ft but we wanted extra storage capacity)
We get 15 gallons per minute.
We went down farther for extra storage capcity in case there is a drought. They can dry uo if you don't go deep enough.
We hit rock at about 100 feet down.

The drilling- $11.00 per foot
The casing- $230.00
Well grouted $300.00
Permit Fee $75.00

We haven't gotten the bill yet for the pump, the air bladder tank, and the set up.

Lisa