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Old 03-24-17, 05:46 AM   #81
Fordguy64
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So my fiancé freaks out every time I mention building a house. She currently is the one that I have to get to cross to the other side lol I have been crunching numbers and I think we can pull it off. It's going to take a year or two to complete paying as we go(I think that's the part she really hates) .we had actually stopped thinking about building and were just looking at houses. We can find houses on property that we like but they are all in the 250-300 range.. Somehow I just can't find it in myself to spend that much on an old house that's going to cost a lot to heat and cool every year. I would rather spend that money on a well insulated house that we built. Hopefully I can talk her into it. I've come up with a huge network of people in skilled trades that I think I can get to help me on the side. I have multipule plumbers electricians framers hvac and so on..



So I've been reconsidering the "pole barn framing" idea.I've been looking into passive house standards and I must say those are pretty amazing walls. But I don't think I'm going to take it that far. Current thought is 2x6 walls on 24" centers r23 batts wth 2-4" of rigid foam wrapping the house. Should bring me up to r33-43 and I will be pretty dang happy with that. Along with that insulation I will obviously air seal everything to the best of my ability..

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Old 03-24-17, 11:30 AM   #82
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While running a route installing and servicing satellite TV systems, I saw a WHOLE lot of the "barndominium" and "steel chalet" homes that people just like you had built from the ground up. Every single one of the homeowners was absolutely fanatical about the structures they had completed. Many of them were surprised at how high the county set the taxable value of the improved property prior to granting occupancy. Many stated they could sell their property for double or triple of what they invested. Few stated they would ever even consider leaving the place come hell or high water.

My territory spanned a large region south of Louisville. It was bordered by I-64 on the North between Corydon, IN and Shelbyville, KY. Southern edge was Mammoth Cave Park. Pretty much all of these homes were located wherever the Google street view could not see. The only reason I knew they existed was due to the appointment scheduled. But they are literally popping up everywhere out in the country.

Modern country-style pioneers, not stereotypical dumb white rednecks, is how I would describe most of the owners. Lots and lots of meticulous planning done prior to construction in most cases. A good portion of the homes had 9 foot ceilings and vaulted lofts on the second story, as well as what appeared to be poured slab ground floors. Many of the homes had poured concrete basements without windows. Completely undetectable from outside, the underground level was pretty much built like a vault or bunker. Gun vaults/armories, trophy and war rooms, man caves, doomsday survival zones, and the like were not uncommon.

There are a lot of metal building firms in the region that cater to this type of construction. Most of their profit is made in the commercial sector, supplying turnkey solutions to all types of businesses. The type of firm you want to look for has experience in "barn conversion" projects. These building professionals have huge resources at their disposal to provide materials and support your project at every phase. Like anything useful, their services aren't free, but worth every penny. If you plan on being your own GC, these guys take a lot of the pain away in planning and finding stuff. Lots of the owners commented that the firms put up their "shell and basement kit" for less than they could source the materials on their own.
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Old 03-24-17, 03:31 PM   #83
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Also consider your age. My dad was in Ina store and there was a window sales person there... They were touting save x amount of energy and lower your bills. My dad explained to the girl I'm 74 and I won't live long enough to even recover half that amount. She took took a second and said oh I understand. I would do the windows for them but even at that it isn't worth it unless it's a damage or comfort issue. And LOML and I aren't really that far from that point either.

I'm all for making things all efficient as possible but be smart about it and look at the big picture.
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Old 03-24-17, 06:37 PM   #84
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I'm almost 30.. I should recoup the added cost of the insulation
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Old 03-25-17, 01:44 PM   #85
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so many choices.. i still cant decide on how to heat and cool this place. forced air is great but the duct work will be costly. radiant floor is really nice but the cooling side leaves me not feeling good. would probably have to add some duct work to dehumidify the house. now i have another idea.. DC Solar Air Conditioner Heat Pump | Solar Air Conditioning | Solar Heating | Manufacturers

maybe 2-3 of these. we plan to install a wood stove also. we love heating with wood. these would actually be the cheapest way to do it i think. even with buying solar panels. still cheaper than radiant floor and forced air

THOUGHTS?
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Old 03-25-17, 09:10 PM   #86
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I really like radiant floor heating however you don't get the air circulation in the house and the big issue is dust as you won't have that air filter collecting the dust and in the end the radiant floor heating leads to an increase in dust around the house. If all your floors are hard surfaces it'll be more noticable.

I really like minisplits but for cooling a whole house they do not work well in a HOT climate as every room needs one as in every room so a 3 br house would need 7 to 8 units when you add in bathrooms kitchen living room etc. That said they may do what you need in your location.

I have found in our climate even with a well designed conventional system you really need a minisplit in the kitchen. Typically here in tx when it gets hot people limit their cooking and go out to eat allot more because the man j does not provide adequate cooling for houses when you cook. Remember you are cooking at the hottest part of the day or during the thermal lag time so if you system is sized right it will already be running non stop and cooking just adds to the heat.
We are about a month away from that time starting. I do most of our cooking on the grill until it gets too hot outside...
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Old 03-26-17, 09:26 AM   #87
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My gf has radiant floor. I have to say it is the nicest heat I've ever lived with. Something is right with the world when your feet are warm. The dust, well keep a dust broom handy. The HX (her house is well sealed) moves air nicely and distributes heat well.

I like ashp. The DC one you point out looks very nice. Any good ashp will do (imho). With a solar system (are you going grid tied?) a simple No Grid Export inverter will reduce electricity costs. Or grid export if you have that option.

I also like barn/pole framing. I did a small barn/washroom. And when you put the rigid foam (polyiso) between the girts you get a very solid wall. i have 25sqft of south windows. And the "shack" stays warm pretty much with solar. R25floor/wall. R35 roof. In a very cold winter I used 300 lbs of propane. The last two winters, being quite warm, the use is much lower. Last year I didn't get through 200 lbs.

I imagine you're building something a little bigger tho?
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Old 03-26-17, 04:49 PM   #88
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Just got a quote from these guys https://ecowarmradiantheat.com

Roughly 7600 shipped to the door. That's just for the subfloor..
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Old 03-26-17, 05:11 PM   #89
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Their boards are plywood with aluminum tape. Imo all of those systems are pricey for what they are. I'd probably make my own... Rip a bunch of ply and run them through the router table then decide what to coat it with. Course if you start with roofing plywood you already have a face with aluminum and just need to coat the grooves.

My next shop will have in floor heating. I wish mine did now as I'd run well water through it in the summer to cool it as the slab has gotten up to 100* in the summer.
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Old 03-26-17, 05:44 PM   #90
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Found this site with some info from a dirt cheap diy install. Might be some useful info for you. The Radiant Heat Experiment (on a seriously low budget)


I would much prefer the heat coils be closer to the finished floor than using those retrofit aluminum panels.

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