I decided to build a house.

[southpaw]

We got all the paper work and permits taken care of last year. This year we started. It was a slow start since it rained most of april. Free time is a thing of the past. I have 3 new molds (2 from Al and one from Mihec) that I won't have time to use for quite awhile.

It is mostly my Dad and I working on it. My older brother is helping on the weekends and my father in law is helping when he can. It will all be worth it when it is done. Lets see if I can get some pics posted. I should note that my Dad has been doing this the past 50 years or so. I have been helping since I was about 12. He has easily forgotten more than I know.

I don't like to brag about it but I can lay blocks fairly fast (about 2-3 a minute if the mud is right) and my Dad still lays them faster. By the way they are 12" blocks and weigh about 55 pounds sitting there (about 100 when you pick them up).

I will post more pics as we progress.

Jerry Jr.

[geargnasher]

I'm still building on ours, done it all 100% by myself, and I'm an engineer and mechanic by trade, NOT a carpenter. Just do one thing, DON'T move in until it's DONE, because what isn't finished will never get finished!

Have fun and keep us posted. BTW, where's the reloading room going to be?

Gear

[PatMarlin]

Awsome Jerry. Good to git her done.

I've got one more to build yet. I don't want to wait much longer, but may have to.

[southpaw]

BTW, where's the reloading room going to be?
Gear

Congrats on doing it yourself. Not many people can say that.

I get the basement. The wife gets the rest of the house. LOL.

I am all too familiar with the "laters". I helped my older borother build his house 15 years ago. He is still working the "laters".

Oh yeah I forgot. The dimensions are 28'x40' and 2 stories with a gambrel roof (steel of course).

Short shooting range (out to 50 yards) will be on the east side ( the right side of the pics of the blocks). For the longer range stuff it will be on the west side or I will just go out to the cabin, where I have been doing all my shooting anyways and it is not too much past where the house is going.

Jerry Jr.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

It looks great southpaw. I used to have my own carpentry company until my knees gave out. I wish I would have known how to lay blocks. I had to have that done by others. Are you going with a 4/12 roof? Common trusses around here are pretty easy to get.

[Bret4207]

Wise move going with steel. I'm a helper, not a builder. I can do it, but it takes me forever and I never get things in the right order or looking quite right to me. I envy you having your father there to help. Cherish the time with him.

[frkelly74]

I never built my own house, but have rebuilt every on we ever lived in. Looks like a satisfying project.

[44man]

I remember those days. I needed a large addition, 20X22 if I remember, so I sat in the basement for weeks drawing it up on large sheets of paper, right to scale. I had to change the roof pitch to meet the old roof perfect, 5/12 to 4/12. I made a large bathroom and closets, the rest is a family room. The entrance to the crawl space is under the rug in a closet.
I had a neighbor dig a hole for a 4' crawl space and that is scary as hell. I made the footer but never laid a block in my life. I had a hard time with level and did most with a string level. I laid over 300 blocks myself, built the whole thing, put in a French door and fancy windows, built a nice deck, did all the plumbing and wiring.
When I put up the dry wall I found I was 1/8" out of square! [smilie=l:
I am not a builder, electrician, plumber or anything so to this day I don't know how I did it.
It took most of the summer and looking at the piles of lumber and gravel in my drive was very strange.
My hat is off to anyone building for themselves, the shooting community has to have the smartest people.

[frkelly74]

1/8" is nothing. Drywall mud comes in all sizes.

[white eagle]

Oh my aching back
I have laid 12" block so many times I could puke
when ya get the line and the scaffold rite you can one hand em
the concretes aren't bad try split face or bond beams
I am going to be building myself one day soon
best of luck to ya
btw did you also pour the floor or did you sub it out
thats one detail I am not fond of

[MtGun44]

Built one house myself, with help from family and wife, helped my Dad on two. No magic, but a whole lot of work.

Keep moving forward and you will get there one day, and YES on finish it before moving in
no matter what.

Bill

[southpaw]

Thanks to every one for all the kind words and advise. We got the outside walls on the first floor and one room inside framed out today. My Dad had to help my younger brother on a job today till noon so it was me and the FIL till Dad got there.

Lets see if I can answers some of the questions.

Charlie- You didn't miss anything not learning to lay blocks. The laying part is easy, its the setting your leads (corners) that is the trickier part. It is time consuming making sure they are level and square. Not to mention the strain on your back. I will have to check with may Dad about the pitch but I know it will be at least a 4 if not a 5/12 and I am not sure what the lower part will be.

Bret- One thing that my Dad taught me is that it doesn't need to be perfect to look pretty darn good. I am cherishing every moment with him. I hope I can be at least half the man he is.

frkelly74- You are right, it is the most satisfying job I have ever done.

44man- Come on!! an 1/8" I thought you were better than that!:kidding: Seriously, that is a fantastic job that you did.

white eagle- :holysheep I can lay blocks left or right handed but I can not lay them one handed. We poured the footer and the floor. Dad and I poured the footer (about 5 1/4 yards) and for the floor there was about 5 or 6 of us and it was about 12 1/4 yards. I have been on jobs that we poured over 100 yards, not fun at all.

MtGun44- With all the regulations that we have you pretty much have to finish it before you move in. Aside from the finishing work (painting, putting your flooring down) its gotta be done before they will let you move in. I plan on having most of it done before we move in. Thats what are laters are for, right?:-P

I have been up for about 26 hours now. I think it is time for a cold one and some R&R.

Jerry Jr.

[Mal Paso]

Wait 'till you get all the walls up, then the real work starts.[smilie=l:

[geargnasher]

At least you know what you're doing and have someone helping you who does, also. I had Monte Burch's book on pole building, some hand tools, and a lot of ambition. Wish I'd had someone show my "how" to do it to begin with, would have saved a lot of headaches later.

Keep pluggin'!

Gear

[SciFiJim]

You are making a memory of a lifetime for the little one in the last picture. Make sure he gets to pound some nails (and get pics) so the he will remember that he got to help as well.

[dk17hmr]

I have done it all from digging to roofing with the exception of electrical and hvac....Im no longer a carpenter because there isnt enough work to keep my family feed and insure Im not working the rest of my life, I do however miss the work.

I have always thought if we ever build a house I will pour concrete walls and form a safe/reloading room into the basement.

[PatMarlin]

The only block work I've done was for my shop foundation. One side is built over an incline. What was a pain was the deer flies that year. I remember them constantly buzzing my face when setting those blocks... :roll:

http://www.patmarlins.com/3blockandfooters.jpg


http://www.patmarlins.com/4Fillin2.jpg


http://www.patmarlins.com/8finshs.jpg

[PatMarlin]

http://www.patmarlins.com/1overall.jpg


http://www.patmarlins.com/1niteinside.jpg

[MtGun44]

I assume you will be using 2x6 walls. With 24" stud spacing, vertical strength is identical to
2x4 on 16" centers and the lumber board feet is nearly identical, actually slightly less labor due to fewer studs.

I developed an better lintel system for 2x6 stud walls,too. Same strength, lighter, lower cost
and much better insulation. PM me if you are interested.

Bill

[44man]

I have a bug problem with the old part of the house. Box elder bugs and some stink bugs get in the basement. When I did the block filling on the addition the concrete shrinks so I used mortar on
the top to make it dead flat so the sill seal really sealed. Then before the house wrap I caulked all the plates.
My house never gets cold. There is an oil furnace in the basement but we never used it. I pulled all the oil from the tank and gave it to an older woman in town. We use a little wood stove and even in the worst winters we use less then a cord. I make a fire at night, it is out in the morning and stays out until night unless it gets below zero.
I cut my own wood so our heating bill is almost nothing.
The guy down the road put solar panels on his roof and brags about selling electric he does not use. He keeps turning stuff in the house off. All he does is watch the meter! :veryconfu
It cost him $30,000 and he will die of old age before paying it off.

[Boz330]

I built mine back in 87 to 89 with the help of a good friend who was a carpenter. I got big crews of friends for the outside framing and the roof. One thing I found was do not supply unlimited beer Saturday night if you are planning to work Sunday morning:shock: it don't work. Almost 2 years of my life every hour that I wasn't working my regular job or sleeping. I still marvel at what I accomplished "with a little help from my friends".:D Many thanks to them.
I to have remoldeled a couple houses and it is twice as much work as building from scratch. You have to tear everything out before you can build it back, and NOTHING was square or plum. A carpenter once told me the sign of a GOOD carpenter was being able to camouflage his mistakes or others.

Bob

[cajun shooter]

I have been in the building business for most of my life. Even when I was a LEO for over 15 years I helped my Dad on week ends. My entire side of men on my fathers side were all Brick Masons. My wife has been a Draftsman drawing house and light commercial blueprints for over 35 years. I know the North and South are different but here we are now building homes with as much as 16/12 roofs. A standard home will be at least 9/12. We have rain and you have snow. A 4/12 roof will not shed one flake of snow and the load would be very heavy. You should go much higher on your pitch.On custom homes we use all 2x6 exterior walls set on 16". Same with our roof systems as we have those things called hurricanes. Those 12" block become very heavy at around 3:00 pm when you start at 7:00AM. When I first came home from the army I was helping my family do a Ford Dealership that had 12" block. My wife asked why I was going to sleep so early. I was 21 and she wanted to stay awake for fun and games. I brought her a 12" block home and told her to pick it up and walk around the house with it till noon. Take a 30 minute lunch break and then start again until 3:15 at which time she could wash her hands and be ready for me to come home. She said, what are you trying to prove and I replied, I promise you will be asleep before me. Ha!! Ha!! Congrats on your new home and I hope you have many years to enjoy it. I built two and it does make a difference when you sit down in your favorite chair

[BD]

There are few things in life as satisfying as building yourself a house. I've built quite a few, and I'm never truely happy living in one that I didn't build. I still own the first one I built by myself, and wish I was there, even though it's not "finished" yet, (25 years later).

I'll never be able to afford one of the houses that I build for other folks, and I'm pretty certain I wouldn't want to. However, given the time and money, I wouldn't mind building myself another one, knowing what I know now.
BD

[southpaw]

I figured I would give everyone an update on the progress thus far.

We got the first floor done, put the deck down for the second floor and back filled. Should have had more done but it has been raining off and on here every day this last week. Get all the tools out, start working, cover all the tools and wait 20 minutes for the rain to stop, work another hour or two then repeat.[smilie=b:

I believe the roof will be a 5/12 on top and the 12/2 for the lower part (gambrel roof). Steel of course.

I will see if the wife has gotten any recent pics of our progress (sorry, I am bull headed and refuse to get a cell phone).

Jerry Jr.

Ps. My older brother and fil now know the proper distance one must keep their hand from the boars they are nailing together. Nothing major just a little blood and a lesson learned (nails don't always go straight in :-x).

[oneokie]

being able to camouflage his mistakes or others.

Bob

That is where a good drywaller really shines. ;)

[Boz330]

That is where a good drywaller really shines. ;)

A lot easier to do with drywall than wood. That is one of the jobs that I can do but would rather take an a$$ wuppin than do, so I subbed that out. I feel the same way about painting.

Bob

[southpaw]

Drywall is the only part that we will be hiring some one to come in and do. It is not that we can't do it, it's just that our time would be better spent doing just about anything else:). The guy that did my parents house last year is really good and is (as my Dad said) cheap.

Undate on the house. The second floor walls are all up, most of the sheeting is on and we got the truss rafters up today. We will be putting the purlins on on Monday. We went with a 4/12 for the roof (about a 12/3 for the lower gambriel part). Mostly because if you wanted anything other than a 4/12 it was a 2 week wait.

I have to brag a little about my Dad here. At the tender age of 72 he still has no problem standing on the outside walls (or the inside walls either) and standing up the rafters. Laying blocks- no problem. Try to keep up tho. You need that wheel barrel full on cement down in the basement? Watch out I will get it. What, you think we need another guy to stand this wall up? Come on grab the end. The guy just doesn't slow down. I hope that I am in as good a shape as he is when I am his age.

Getting closer!! It is actually starting to look like a house!

I will get some pics posted if I can get the wife to send them to me or put them somewhere on the computer that I can find them.

Jerry Jr.

[Boz330]

It looks like you are really getting somewhere when your standing up walls,roofs, etc and then comes the slow stuff. I spent 8 hours one day doing trim work and my wife walks in after work, looks around and says what the hell have you been doing all day? ARRRGGG!

Bob

[Superfly]

I only wish i could build stuff It seems i have no skills for anything like that I would love to lean and build my self a new house instead of this old farm house i have now.

you people are Lucky

jaime

[southpaw]

Steel is on and all the plywood is on. Tomorrow the house wrap goes on. Siding, windows and doors are all on order and will be in next week. This works out good since I have all of next week off.

It's actually starting to look like a house. It sure is nice to see a dream come together.

Here is one of the more recent pics.

Jerry Jr.

[white eagle]

very nice
something to be proud of
I have o build a cabin in the woods myself
more like a retirement home for me and the Mrs.
my trouble is all I know how to build with is brick and mortar

[Boz330]

Looking good Jerry! As I said above, things really start looking like they are going slow once you get inside. This is the part where it looks like you are really achieving something. Really gives one a sense of accomplishment. Building a house is a pretty daunting challenge.

Bob

[southpaw]

IT"S DONE!!

Well, for the most part. We moved in a little over 3 weeks ago. Lots of stuff to unpack yet. Still some little things to do (shelves ect). Also need to start on the gun/reloading room and casting room in the basement. Been too busy cutting and splitting firewood. We almost have enough for my Dad, brother and myselft to make it through the winter.

I will see if I can get the wife to send me some pics.

Got it done just in time too, the wife is due with our third in march. Only one more room left to fill!

Jerry Jr.

[winelover]

Congrats on the new house and pending new addition to family! We moved into our new home the beginning of September. Still not fully unpacked yet!!

Winelover

[**oneshot**]

YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe now you can come over and shoot with us. ha ha. Ooops, sorry, hunting season started. We may have to wait for winter shooting.

Tom

[captaint]

Way to go, Jerry. You did really well. I was involved in one of those, 20 years ago. My BIL. He moved in about this time of year also. enjoy Mike

[PatMarlin]

AWEsome Jerry...!

What a great accomplishment. One that you can look back on and say "I did build that".

Even while having to endure a president like the one we have on his way out and high fuel prices.. :mrgreen:

[Boondocker]

Way to go Jerry I know the work you went thru and kudo's to all that helped. I started mine in early 83 and we moved in late 85. All my help quit early on, so after the shell was up it was all me and my wife with sporadic help. We got it done and raised a family in it and hope to never sell it tho the wife wants to go south. Twelve in block also and what a job. What better place to live then in the woods of NEPA. :drinks:

[southpaw]

Winelover, glad to hear that you moved into yours aswell.

Tom, now that things are getting back to "normal" I should have more time and look forward to a get together.

Pat, I am starting to wonder what I was thinking buying an f350. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Hovers right around 12-13 miles to the gallon. Seems like every where I go it is up hill.

captaint, Thanks. Tho I will say that I don't want to do it again!

Boondocker, we did it about the same. We had help with the big stuff (concrete, walls, roof) but the rest was my Dad and me. We should get together some time for some shootin. My range is pretty much right outside my door.

Thanks again guys!

Jerry Jr.