Build Thread (how much, new house, construction)

[Misterperfect]

CDF,

I probably just missed the info when i searched but is there a dedicated 'Build Thread' sticky somewhere where i should post the pictures of my projects?
(biochar reactor / container house / raised bed garden / etc,. etc.)

Dont want to violate CDF policy...

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,
MisterPerfect

[leilaniguy]

Show us what you have, we are interested, not so complicated here.

[Misterperfect]

Ok.

There is NOT a dedicated build thread.
Got it.
That would explain why it was so hard to find other build projects. LOL.
Thanks Leilaniguy for the info.


Just Curious.
1) How would I go about creating a build thread where everyone can post their Big Island projects?
2) Would it be convenient to have them all in one spot? (Id like to see how others have solved problems.)
3) Or is there another site that caters to the diy crowd?

So many questions, so little time.

Thanks,
MisterPerfect

[hotzcatz]

Generally folks discuss each project separately. Bio-char and raised beds would kinda be gardening subjects, while container houses would be a different subject.

So what's your current project?

[Misterperfect]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

So what's your current project?

I usually have a couple two three projects going at once like most people but yesterday it was cleaning the lava rock wall.

I tried everything i could think of but finally settled on using the Mauryama string trimmer and turning it into a lava rock wall power brush. BTW - really impressed with the Mauryama quality.

I needed to clean the lava rock wall of all the small (and big) plants that were growing out of it since the plants roots were splitting the wall apart and its easy to string trim since im doing it after i mow anyways so it just kinda made sense.

I cant figure out how to post my pics (i haz the dumbs) so ill substitute emoji instead.
Please use your imagination.

#1)
I usually use the Mauryama with one medium strength string per side for general purpose trimming but switch to a single thin string for mowing grass. This technique works great because the single string really lets the engine rev quickly, is very controllable and it cuts the new shoots super clean but i thought, it could get better.

#2)
Went to Home Depot (HD) bought several different thicknesses of string to do a few experiments.

#3)
Used one thin .080 string and that was good.

#4)
Used two thick .095 string and that was better.

#5)
Then noticed that the commercial style string head had large / larger holes that could accommodate more than just one string per side. AWESOME SAUCE!

#6)
Used three .080 strings per side, then four, and that was even better.

#7)
Used a combo of one thick .095 and three thin .080 strings per side.

#8)
The trimmer head now has eight string total and that gives me sixteen string tips.

#9)
Now its a power brush!

#10)
It went so fast i had enough time to wax my ... Ferrari, yea, my FERRARI. (Jon Lovitz reference)

#11)
Just check out this before and after picture of the lava rock wall.

If you have a project please feel free to post it on this thread, with lots of pics and descriptions, so we can all see what you guys are building.
Or not.
Ok either way.



Thanks
MisterPerfect

[Misterperfect]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

So what's your current project?

Next project will probably be a homestead gas station.

A) I need a safe, locking, 'flammable' cabinet.
B) Id like to create a safe place to store all my haz-mat supplies.

A few cases of motor oil, i NEED a decent set of gas cans, diesel, gasoline, LPG tank, variety of mix-ins (2 cycle oil, fuel stabilizer, gas treatments, Murphys Mystery Oil, grease and lube storage, engine oil changing), oil measuring cups, paint thinners, petrol based cleaning supplies, homemade diesel/SVO production, homemade ethanol making set up, ethanol washing set up (to remove the ethanol from premium gas for my gas powered small engines, genny, mower, trimmer, cement mixer, etc., etc.)

Im liking a small 10' - 20' shipping container but not sure yet.

Lots of research first.

* Please feel free to point out how removing ethanol from gas will ruin the planet and cause global warming if thats how ya roll...
Any constructive debate on responsible fossil fuel use is welcome.
No name callers please.

[67Cam]

Originally Posted by Misterperfect

I cant figure out how to post my pics (i haz the dumbs) so ill substitute emoji instead.
Please use your imagination.

Thanks
MisterPerfect

Pictures worth a thousand words;

[hotzcatz]

Concrete floor, concrete bricks and a tin roof should be fireproof. Also, if it explodes, the force should go up especially if the roof isn't attached all that well. Or leave a lot of vent space at the top, in any case, I'd expect you'd want it to go up instead of outwards, should it blow up, of course.

A lot of folks opt for diesel since it stores longer, but they put something in it to keep some sort of fungus thing from growing in it. The marine supply stores should have the diesel stablizer if you're going for long term storage.

You'll want ethanol free for your small engines, especially the two stroke ones. There's something in the ethanol that screws up the carburators. But, you'd probably find all these things out eventually.

[Misterperfect]

Hey Catz,

Now that you mention a poured concrete floor, whats up with all the slab on grade?

I see a whole bunch of new construction on my drive home and dang near every one is a cheap 3/2 house kit built on a slab on grade. Not one house built off the grade. Somehow that hurts my spirit. It just seems so mainland and out of place.
I love that Tahitian style.
Am i wrong about this?

I haven't looked in a while so i guess i better brush up on the codes.

Im not a fan of slabs. Let me amend that statement, im not a fan of thin slabs with inadequate footers on top of an unstable aggregate base, so im not a fan of slabs.
I imagine the earth rumbling and the slabs failing as i drive by.
Maybe the makers of RAM-JACK lobbied for it.
Prolly not a big problem here because the T-111 hides the wall cracks unlike the stucco used on the mainland.

But seriously ill prolly just put my fuel in a lockable shed.
Im really not anticipating fire ... or other ... but that IS ... why im ... making a lock up.

Dang, now you got me thinking about building a concrete fuel depot.

Now lets see, Ill need 14 yards of concrete, 1200 block, 10 bags of....

Just curious Catz, are you getting paid to post on CDF?
Does anyone get paid / compensated to post on CDF?
If so how much per post?


Thanks in advance,
Misterperfect

[hotzcatz]

General construction in Hawaii foundations are either slab on grade (min. 4" thick and the required footing size has doubled in the past few years) or post and pier. Now that there's all these requirements for braced walls, there will probably be more slab foundations. Which are not my favorite either, but on a contractor level, they're cheaper and faster to build.

The slab footings only have to addess weight and earthquakes, there's no frost or freeze line here.

Residential codes are 2006 International Residential Code as amended by Hawaii County, at least for Hawaii Island, I've not done any projects on Oahu for about a decade so I'm not precisely sure which codebook they're using. Finding the 2006 IRC in hardcopy is really tough, but you can see online versions pretty easy.

No T1-11 hiding the wall cracks, the T1-11 plus the 2x4's is the walls. I prefer 1x6 T&G pine on the interior instead of drywall.

Used to be new house construction started out with a pair of 'tofu blocks'. Those were concrete blocks, a big 16"x16"x8" block with a smaller 8"x8"x6" on top. Add a termite pan (just placed there, not attached in any way) then a 4"x4" post braced with 45 degree angled 2x4's up to the bottom of the floor joists and that was your foundation. The 4x4's could be as high as ten feet and nobody seemed to care about total load on them.

Now I'm starting to see where the engineers want all the footings to be poured in place, honking big Simpson fittings and have connecting concrete footings between the actual footings. It's a lot stiffer construction, but is that a good thing for earthquakes? Flexible buildings seem to do better, IMHO. There's also the 'braced wall' requirements which seem overkill as well, but I'm not in charge of making up the building rules. If I were, I'd outlaw using Simpson fittings to face nail floor joists to the side of beams. That, to me, just seems wrong. But, not my circus, not my monkeys.

Nope, nobody gets paid to post on City Data although City Data does occasionally have contests where folks can win money. They sent me an email once telling me I'd won $500 and it took me awhile to believe the email since most times when there's an email telling you you've won something it's bogus.

Folks post here for mostly their own reasons, not particularly for money.