Around here (central Florida) hurricane protection and such is the big thing. Also “green building” is being promoted by alot of folks.
Any trends in your area or any aspects that you are getting alot of calls on?
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Does 3500 condo's going into a downtown location over the next 7yrs count?
That's in Bellevue Wa BTW.
“When politicians and journalists declare that the science of global warming is settled, they show a regrettable ignorance about how science works.†Nigel Calder, editor of New Scientist
3500 condo's into downtown
Oakland CA too
opposite here (washington DC suburbs) -- apartments. They hadn't built any apartments in the DC area in 20 years. There's a couple of new developments starting and a couple of developments of condos that were already built but weren't selling are going rental.
That's scary. The country is full of recently-finished and almost-finished condos on which buyers are screwed--they signed contracts a year or two ago when the market was up and now have to move in and start making payments as the market falls. Lay pipe while the sun shines.
Portland is shifting back to high end rentals , just saw that in the paper last week. First high end rentals in a few years.
I think it all goes in cycles.
Mid to late 90's highrise rentals was the ticket.
Then the dot carnage, & 911 hit a lot of highrise investors went bust. Then the single family went threw the roof, now it's condo's.“When politicians and journalists declare that the science of global warming is settled, they show a regrettable ignorance about how science works.†Nigel Calder, editor of New Scientist
new hockey arenas are pretty big at the moment.
aside from that ... nope.
Nice being behind the times ...
no "boom" ... no "bust".
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Generators.
We lost power again today on and off. The news said that just east of here a lot of folks are still out. Heavy heavy snow.
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
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69 deg high on Tues ...
one of the main highways shut down tonight leading into town due to ice!
didn't wear shorts to work today ...
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
depending which was the temps o tonight, we will have ice or slush tomorrow. 18" of slush is no fun. I lost count how many times I had the plow truck stuck today. I'm awake right now 'cause shoulders hurting from all the shoveling.aside -
While driving I was talking to wife on cell and she says, oops - wait a minute.When she gets back on she's laughing. The dog was on the porch having fun chasing all the little fist sized plops of snow sliding off the metal roof.
She caught one!It was wheelbarrow sized though. Had her up-side down with her little legs pawing the air from under it all.Funny mental pictures help get through the day!
LOL
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That is a funny picture!
We just got our power back on in Portland this morning at 9, out since early am Thursday. 12" of heavy snow. Yuk! Life in the city...with no backup heat source....
We ended up with about 18"
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
That's what they got in China (ME) too.
Funny, 12" and power out all around here, but when I got to my job on the beach in Saco there was only 4" and the power was on.
down island at one job, I had to use chainsaw where limbs fallen off the pines as big as 8"Dia had things blocked. Snow there was already melted down to 6-8" while close to 12" still up island.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I'm procrastinating going outside now to cut down the 25' Arborvitae hedgerow that fell apart--one tree leaning on my house, one leaning on the neighbor's house, one layin on the sidewalk.
Wish I had a chainsaw. How well do you think a Sawzall will work? Maybe that's why I'm procrastinating.
Damn, I thought it sucked here. But we dinna get no snow. Okay, we got a flurry the other day but nothing bad.
Just 35F for the past four days with nearly constant 25-40MPH winds. Ah, the plains...
Jason (15F tonite - coldest since '36)
I'll have you know that Portland (Or) was 78 degrees today. Had my air conditioner on for a bit
Generators.
The power went out at 7 AM and by 7:05 we were discussing that very purchase. Still talking at 3PM when it finally came back on. Ah! life in the country!
Edited 4/6/2007 9:26 am ET by smslaw
I live on an island on the west coast though it's 300 miles long and about 80 miles wide. We constantly lose power out here (plus on all the other smaller island) all the time but usually due to wind knocking down trees on power lines. Not that the winds are stronger out here than out east it just seems to cause more damage. I have noticed lots of places selling new space age looking generators that do not run on gasoline or diesel rather than propane or natural gas.
I've often wondered that if a person didn't manually flip the main breaker as he was running his generator wouldn't power from the generator also go the other way and send power into the main grid . Wouldn't that possibly give a linesman or a neighbour a jolt?
I've seen guys hook their generator up to their house wiring through a dryer receptacle and it worked fine though I didn't see them flip the main breaker to keep it "in house".
roger
"I've often wondered that if a person didn't manually flip the main breaker as he was running his generator wouldn't power from the generator also go the other way and send power into the main grid . Wouldn't that possibly give a linesman or a neighbour a jolt? I've seen guys hook their generator up to their house wiring through a dryer receptacle and it worked fine though I didn't see them flip the main breaker to keep it "in house"."DANGER WILL ROBINSONS.This has been discussed and cussed many times.Alkinds of potential problems doing that upto and including death to either lineman or the people in the home that don't understand that they have a hot male plug with that arrangement.Either use a proper transfer switch or interlock breakers for system connected to the house wiring or strech out extention cords to the generator.But even more common is CO posioning from the generators placed in side (even open garages) or near openings in the house.
.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
There are special switches made for tying a genset into a house that cuts the main out.Doing it the way you mention is both illegal and can and often does kill linemen by backfeeding the grid they are working on.
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The usual way to call out these is GENTRAN, for "generator transfer switch."
I call it -"Four circuit transfer switch"or
"six circuit transfer switch"etc
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
In case your interested. Home Depot has instant rebates going for generators as well as tools. You can get yourself a 10,000kw standby for $2700 and then get an instant $500 rebate.
We lost power for 4 days right before christmas. I know if I buy one, we'll never lose power again. But, if I don't buy one now, they'll never be discounted again. I hate these dillemas
Is that CMP? ......who trim the trees once a century. Brother's power seems to go out once a month ........ says the P stands for something else besides Power- not repeatable here.
CMP
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Forclosures and one way trailer rentals.
There are lots of new condos being built in Portland, Maine too.
People want to know about "green."
We're installing synthetic decking for the first time ever, synthetic railings too.
Lots of customers want cable railing.
Fantechs in every bathroom.
Houses wired for built-in speakers.
Laundries near bedrooms.
Double dishwashers or at least dish drawers.
Flat screen tv's all over the place.
Built-ins all over the place.
Hot thing here is foreclosures. Dayton, Ohio.
Mark,
Hey...here too! And a lot of guys losing their jobs in construction...
A lot of the laid off auto and manufacturing workers would be working construction, cept it's drying up. The mexicans came here and are doing all the lower wage labor now.
Where are you?
Mark,
Tampa, Florida.
One trend here is non- vented attics that is starting to catch on.
Oak River Mike,
ICF homes are starting to be built.. It used to be that less than 2% of all housing was not traditional stick framing, in 2006 it amounted to 4.3 % of all homes built were ICF construction.
Frenchy,
ICFs huh? If I recall, you are in the North correct? (Canada, Michigan, Minnesota?) Interesting as I thought they would have been more popular already?
Most of the homes in my area are concrete block but I guess I could say about half of 1% are ICF. Not sure why there aren't more aside from the cost and the cost of the concrete. A guy once told me labor was the issue but I would figure if you can lay CMUs, you can do ICFs? Maybe I'm wrong?
OakRiverMike,
If you can put together leggos you can build with ICF's
I'm not kidding!
When I damaged my back from a long trip in a car with bad seats my sister-in-law finished my foundation.. her prior experiance? Well she painted and wallpapered her house once.. No experiance other than that, Oh and I gave a her a twenty minute explanation of what to do and how to do it.. I don't remember exactly what I told her I was pretty stoned on pain pills..
It took her a whole afternoon to do it, I think I had the first layer in place and maybe a few blocks of the second layer started..
The process is set the leggo (er ICF) in place, spray a little foam at the inside of the joint, drop in a rebar and repeat, actaully you drop the rebar in when the whole row is in place. Used to be required to metal tie the rebar in place. New instructions don't call for that.. When you get to a window/door/ opening you build a wooden buck and foam that in place.
Bracing is simple. My place rents braces, I use my own..
Costs.. Here in Minnesota you can build with ICF's for the same price you can build traditional stick building.. Our forms come put of Omaha Nebraska so if you have a place closer your costs will reflect the lower cost of trucking..
I just checked, the most recent list price of these forms is an 11 inch form that is 4 feet long and 16 inches high lists for $18.00 (corners are the same price) one yard of concrete will fill 10 forms.. so if a yard of concrete sells for say $105 than you can build and insulate 53.3 sq ft of wall for $285 plus rebar and labor ( that's list price, I've heard numbers 40% off list so we could be talking about under $4.00 a sq foot.
I don't think that's concrete block wall territory is it? I know it's not stick built pricing, at least not around here (AND YES I'M IN MINNESOTA)
Here are some numbers regarding ICF's ,Actual R value, R 22 effective R value R32, air changes per hour .04 to .09 (claimed 50 to 80% savings on energy costs. Wind tested in excess of 200 MPH
Complies with every code I know of fire ratings are 3 hours for the 11 inch forms, 13&15 inch forms have a 4 hour rating.. all forms are self extingusing
There is a tie every 6 inches for putting up sheet rock etc.. all sorts of differant foarms are available to do pretty much whatever you want..
My next project I'm building in the round.. just because I like the challenge, I'll post some pictures if you want..
If you can put together leggos you can build with ICF's
I'm not kidding!
Frenchy you are the eternal optomist.
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
Brian,
Well, thank you I fully admit that and am very proud of it.. As for how basic ICF's are I wasn't kidding..
I meant it, you are very positive, optimistic and eager to share what you have learned building your beautiful house.
But I've done ICFs too, I like them, recommend them, it was easy, but legos are way easier.Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
Brian,
I'll admit that the last time I did leggo's I was about knee high to a grasshopper (or there abouts) ;-) however The principle is the same. line "em up and press 'em together.. you can't complain that they are heavy or difficult to assemble..
I will grant you that the hose the pump truck uses is darn heavy, and I made the classic mistake of filling one area too much before I moved on, luckily the pump guy noticed it and kept me from making a mistake (although the wall bulged a bit) But at least I didn't have a blow out.. I did use much more rebar than the manual calls for but that's my nature.
All in all It wasn't a difficult job and like I said I will be doing it again as soon as the road restrictions are removed from our roads.. (kinda hard to get a cement truck down a 4 ton rated road)...
Since the last time wasn't a disaster, this time I inrtend to really risk the rath of the gods.. I will be cutting the blocks apart and foaming them back together in a semicircle.. If that's not a recipe for disaster I don't know what is..
On the semicircle - you just kerf the inside of the radius, and leave the outside half of the block untouched, right?
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
Brian,
No, you cut the thing into trapazoid shaped boxes, foam/glue everything back together and use the rebar to keep everything steady during the pour. actually the bracing plays a major part because if you don't figure your bracing correctly you wind up with a concrete blowout and now the trouble really begins.
It's best if the semi circle is part of a bigger pour because then you can pour in say 3/4 a form and go on to pour some in the rest of the foundation or whatever. that will allow the first bit to stiffen up enough to add some real stability to the wall.. then you come back and pour another 3/4 of a form and go one to the rest of the pour etc..
By slow small buildups like that you won't have a cold joint because the concrete hasn't set yet but you will gain a lot of stability.
IN my case All I'm doing is the semi circle so I've resolved to take it very easy, normally I could pour something this small inside of 30 minutes but I'm paying for 4 hours of time (the minimum a pumping truck will come for) so I intend to take nearly that full 4 hours.
I'll play with additives to both keep it from drying too fast while getting stiff as possible quickly.. Additives add dramatically to the cost of a pour but since I'm talking about so little concrete (total including the floor of 12 yards) it's not going to be a terrible burden.
Frenchy - have you seen these?
View Image
Amvic makes them, other companies probably do to.
Your method will get you a segmented wall, not a radius, unless you will go back and shave the thing, which could get you into webs... Frenchy - the ICF Cooper.
Plus getting the little lego nibs to line up could be a nightmare.
I think I would screw sheets of lauan over the whole deal as added bracing if I were doing this your way, or maybe fiberglass packing tape.
Are you aware you can buy raw foam and webs green at the mill for .15 s.f.? <g>
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
Brian,
Yes I am, the place I bought my SIP's at sells them,, however the way they lock together is extremely weak in my opinion. As for the Amvic, they look interesting I think I'll do a little research on them..
To me the way forms lock together is critical. I've seen and heard of too many blow outs with poor wall joints.
As for segmented wall, first it doesn't matter, it's a foundation and with a brick ledge in it the stone will be segmented to a degree yet the overall effect will be a radius. (8 foot 6 inches)
The forms I use have ties every six inches clearly marked on the form so finding the tie is not a problem. I suspect I will be cutting each 4 foot form into about three segments. Since each block will yield the same number of segments lining up the ties shouldn't present a problem.
Basically I will make each cut on the Table saw at 11 degrees. Then when I put the bracing in place I will take two pieces of wood and bevel them at 11 degrees nail and glue them together and then screw them into the ties.. that will prevent buldges, braces let into the wood will prevent wall movement. the combination should prevent blow outs..
Frenchy:
Buy the segmented radius bloc and pre-curve , then stack.
Will make your life a lot saner.
ericicf,
Very interesting.. they look like there is a good joint connection, who makes those? What details can you share with me, do they make an 8'6" radius? or can I get there somehow?
Those are Nudura.
Logix and Amvic make segmented blocks also.
You have to give them your radii, preferably in plan, and they will customize for your design.
Make a radius jig,preglue your blocs & stack 'em.
8 ft 6 in radius should be no problem.
Edited 4/9/2007 6:14 pm ET by ericicf
Well this thread made it to 6 posts before drifting.
Generators as Piffin said.
European showers with no door. Take up a lot of space and often need to be configured strangely to keep the water in.
Mirrors instaed of cabs above vanity.
[email protected]
Eric,
Well, 6 is a record! I had posts years ago that would stray after the FIRST response!
But hey, its all good as its not like we're getting a Pulitzer for these snipets.
Mike
ICF's are a hit with the "this is the last home we will ever own" crowd.
The hot trend here is to put your new spec house on the market at a stratospheric number like a few saw at the absolute peak of the craze, maybe two years ago, then sit and wait, while no one even looks at it, then never even consider reducing the price, then waiting . . .
Some have sat this way for almost three years now. Others get completed and go on the market the same way, and just continue to clog up the nobody-wants-them-at-those-kind-of-prices inventory.
here on the oregon coast every house has to have wood shingles and white trim, have to look beachy or cape cod, The theme has to be the sea
Im thinking trailer parks might come back into style.
You guys paid for several thousand and they parked them in Arkansas when the people in other stares needed them but didnt get them. Weve still got them .
Im waiting on the sale . We are paying big money to hold them.
Their gonna have to sell them , its too much red tape to give them away. Goverment at work for us. I wish I had the pics on hand of them sitting in fields .
Tim