Praying that you will speak with God's voice and for a positive outcome to Mike's health issues.

Glad your family is ok Dave. 

Great ideas, I think I'll do both!  Thanks!

I am taking lots of detail pics as well.  Not sharing them all here as there isn't necessarily anything interesting to see, but I will always have a detailed record of how the house is put together if issues do arise.

Here is a shot of the floor plan.  Getting a PDF copy was a great idea (my wife's) that has allowed us to make notes of changes and questions for our builder.

Intestinal Fortitude!

Yes, we elected to go with drains at the doors.  Much easier to get the concrete done right and I wanted enough drainage that I can wash a car or other equipment in the garage if I choose.

Quote from: TexasRedNeck on August 10, 2017, 11:05:10 PM

Kyle I'm surprised at DT in your area.  Mine has always been awesome.  I even had michelin pilot sports on a benz that were $1600+ per set and in 2000 miles my alignment guy could not get the car to stop pulling left.  He thought it might have been a bad belt in the front tires and DT warrantied the 2 fronts at no costs.  It didn't fix it but they still took care of it.

I have a dozen stories like that, which is why I keep going back.

They're nice enough guys, but 6 times in a month to determine 2 tires are bad, replace them, and I still have to pay money is crap. I've prob burned a tank of diesel just driving back and forth. Not to mention the bozo that "re-balanced" them told me they were perfect, and when I called him out and said no way, it shakes like crazy, he punted and told me and it was the suspension. Which of course Schwabs laughed at when I took it down there.

I'm going back to the Toyo A/Tii or the new R/T next.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kyle the R/T is a good tire. Loved them on my 2013 Ram Cummins. 

It's another Huber product.  The Zip System made by the same company that makes AdvanTech.  That green coating adds weather proofing and supposedly helps the joint tape to adhere.  That is what the rep told me when I ran into him with the builder on site.  They have a full line of sheathing.  They were discussing what to use on the roof.  There is also a brown coated version that is heavier duty.  They may use that one the roof. The rep is going over the engineering specs with our builder.

Good progress this week.  First floor interior walls are framed. Garage floor has been poured.  More support beams will be set next week and the second story will get framed.  Everything should be ready for trusses late next week. 

The left side is 14'x32' the two car right side is 22'x22'.

Looking really nice and quality construction!  Where are you building, somewhere in Missouri IIR?

Near Fort Leonard Wood, MO

We have walls! 

We had some severe weather this afternoon that cut the day short.  All of the small pieces have been cut and fitted.  The floor is complete and the wall locations have been marked.  Lumber is on site.  Looking forward to some walls tomorrow if all goes well.

Actually JR I need to check thickness.  I'm not 100% sure it is 1 1/8. 

More progress.  The floor will be completed today and we should see the beginning of walls.

Insulation sprayed on walls.




Floor joists are in along with additional insulation.








AdvanTech subflooring in and nearly complete.  All that hard work and engineering covered up, and I couldn't be more pleased.

I've seen a few that actually have concrete floors, but we won't be covering the vapor barrier with anything. Gorilla tape at the walls and seams and it's good to go.  The theory is warm humid air from outside can't get in to create condensation on plumbing and duct work which is no good.  Drains remove any water that collects around the footings and the foam insulation that was sprayed on the foundation walls also works as a moisture barrier.

I'm thinking 30x40 for the shop.  With a partial loft.  I want enough height for a lift on one side.

Time for an update.

Backfill and drains are complete.  More dirt work has been completed.  Plastic sheeting has been laid in the crawl space and framing has begun.  Floor joists have been delivered and insulation should be going on the foundation walls this week.  We are close to having a floor.

Thanks for the link Dave.

The tub is coming from a regional supply company.  I can get the make and model for you if you'd like.

Right now the plan is gray tones with white trim.  Similar to Dawg's.

I will continue to update as progress is made.  At this point framing should begin within the next couple of weeks.  The exterminator was on site late last week pretreating everything.

Our builder has given us allowances for what my wife calls, "The fun stuff." Cabinets, appliances, flooring, and large fixtures so we have been working on that.  I mostly just nod, add encouragement, and make sure to feed my wife to keep her strength up while she makes major decisions. 

She was able to find a tub that she likes and fits in.  A challenge considering she's nearly 6ft tall. 

Then they began forming up the walls for the crawlspace.


Water, sewer, electric, and drainage are being put in place during this phase as well.




Gravel going in the crawlspace along with additional footings.

We signed our contract back on April 1 and things started rolling along mid month.  Our builder is starting to wind down toward retirement and really liked the plans we had picked so he decided to take on the job.  We are looking at an extended build time due to the complexity of the build.

Footprint is staked out and a rough outline painted in the dirt.


Driveway roughed in.


Luckily they didn't hit solid rock until the corner near the garage.


Footings and crawlspace being dug.



This little Kubota with a rockhammer did a slick job on the rock.

My wife and I are leading a group of 20 youth and 4 adults on a Mission trip to St Paul MN.  Requesting prayers for travel mercies and that they will experience Jesus in ways they never imagined.  These trips always change me!  This is our 6th year doing this with our youth and it has transformed our lives.

Don, I think your biggest issue is that you've outgrown your tractor.  Your JD was fine for doing work around your well maintained property at your home.  Hauling mulch, lifting axles, doing smaller tasks on an occasional basis.  It is now being required to pull long shifts of reclaiming a larger parcel of land from years of neglect and mother nature's wrath.  I'm not defending Deere, I think their smaller tractors are Frankenstein put together junk.  They are built for suburban back yards and pretend hobby farmers.  A step up to the 100hp class of tractor will provide you better quality parts and less stress on your tractor as you abuse it.  Everyone gives you a hard time about being able to tear up a crow bar in a sand pile, but buying the right tool for the job is a big part of it.  I say find a dealer you're comfortable with and then size the tractor to your work plus about 25%. 

I see the HP ratings on these tractors and am amazed at how they've gone up.  HP goes up and physical size of the tractors goes down.  A tractor that had 25-30hp years ago now packs over 60hp but not the supporting mechanicals to accomplish the work that 60hp can do.  At least not for long.  That's my contribution.  Go as big as you can...

I would point out that Don hasn't broken that Grizzly Locker.  Good enough for me.