Bruce,

I purchased the Rustic Tuscan cabinets from them and am satisfied... but you do get what you pay for! The cabinets are from China and the ready-to-assemble videos on their site do explain how to put them together fairly well. It takes a little longer than the few minutes they advertise; I guess if you do about a hundred you could get good enough to do them faster. Anyway, some pointers if you decide to go this route: if you use a power screwdriver (recommended) set it on a very weak setting, the china screws are soft and will either strip out in the plywood sides if you go too fast or they will break the heads off in the solid wood face/drawers.

I did have a few with slight bow and they required care when putting together. As someone else mentioned, one or two brackets had to be repositioned. Of the 20-odd cabinets I bought, one had two left sides and no right - I didn't catch this right away since that cabinet wasn't opened until yesterday, the others were done in September and were all OK. Funny that the last one I opened had the biggest issue... Anyway, I was able to use it, since I was "customizing" it.

They actually have a couple of different websites and I would suggest checking both since prices are sometimes different. I don't remember the URLs. Also they are fairly easy to scar during assembly. Take your time and be careful. I would recommend using wood glue and a finish-nail gun/hammer to make the assembly even tighter. I may not go this route in the future, but on this build, they are working out OK for the money spent, about a third or more less than already assembled and IMHO cheaper quality available at the big box stores. Remember, buyer beware, and you do get what you pay for. By the way, no particle board in these; although some of the solid wood components are "fingered together" smaller pieces and the sides, back, shelves are plywood.

Regards,

Bret

Heidi,

We bought a stock 3/2/2 single-story all-steel 5.5-in. exterior/3.4-in. interior walls and all roof trusses, a little over 2,000 sq ft, from Rhino Bldg. for just at $20,000 delivered. One labor quote was $12,000. We did it ourselves, but it has taken many months of Saturdays to get it done. A crew of about five with the right equipment could have had it framed and trusses up in 5-7 days. The walls come as panels (no insulation); just tilt them up and screw together.

By the way, we did it for strength (tornado alley) and cost. Green is just a side benefit for us.

Bret

Jon, check with your local utilities providers, generally electric goes in first, then backfil (can't remember depth, been too many years since I did it, probably at least a foot) then phone and cable each in own conduit.  Strings are placed by installers, if you specify, used once to pull cable through by attaching to string so now string is out and cable is in, one time use. Hope this helps.

Bret

Michelle,

Make sure your rough plumber is aware that you are going to use downdraft; they need to place conduit before slab is poured, assuming there is no basement or crawl space.

Bret

P.S. We are using a downdraft cooktop, but haven't got it installed yet; so can't comment on its effectiveness yet.

We are building approx. 2,000 sf slab, single-story; bid from plumber for rough-in, top-out and final connections (no fixtures supplied by plumber, just connect the one we get) was about $5,000. It has a laundry room, master bath, another full bath and a kitchen sink. We are in Wise County, Texas (north of Fort Worth) Any comments on this price? Oh yeah, using Wirsbo/PEX pipes.

Regards,

Bret

Jessica,

Where did you get the idea that in Texas you can't build your own home? I've been planning mine for several years and all the GCs and subs I've talked to have never said anything about Texas not allowing someone to build their own home. Are you referring to a state law or some city ordinance?

Regards,

Bret

Steve & Jeff,

I looked into ICF and will probably build my "final" OB house using it, the one I'm currently building is all steel framing from a kit, three truckloads of walls and trusses. I look at a nail and it bends, so steel and an electric drill with self-tapping screws was the way for me to go, I subbed out the slab/rough plumbing and actual asphalt shingles on roof, but everything in between has been me and the wife and a helper periodically. I've got 18 months into it and am dried in, in the process of doing electrical. At about 95% of elec finished, I never built anything except pole barns before this. I wouldn't recommend doing it my way unless you have time, I only get to work on it about one day a week, but I did not need a loan to build and so I have no time constraints. Anyways if I would have had about five guys and a four-wheel drive booming fork lift the whole house could have been framed including trusses in about three to four days.

Bret

  Click here to download attachment...

Thanks dcg,

   I think I'm fairly in compliance with the newer code, I put arc fault breakers in all bedroom circuits and used the ground fault breakers. Why would you need both GFCI outlets and breakers on same circuit? That seems like something the manufacturers would lobby for, just to sell more expensive stuff! Anyway, good luck on your build - I'm not gonna worry about the TRCC for now. Worst case - I get a lawyer and plead that my house was finished (mechanical, anyway), before the September change).

Thanks for the info,

Bret

dcg,

   It looks like you're replying to Mike, but your comments got me thinking, I did most of my electrical in 2006/7 based on "above code" recommendations from the book By Pros for Pros on Wiring a House, what has changed in the 2008 code that is costing you?

regards,

Bret

Greg,

My roofers did it. I had Lowe's supply the tar paper, shingles and vents. I put the decking on and did the HardiBoard siding after the roofers finished the shingles. The roofers did the flashing and the drip edge. If your roofers say they don't do it, I'd look for a different roofer maybe.

It doesn't seem like a tough job, in fact I was going to do it myself, but the roofers assumed it was up to them when they came out to see the job. It hadn't been done yet, so they added the flashing material to the list of materials. The labor was included in the price per square, which was quoted before they even saw my house. If your roofers won't do it, check out the For Pros by Pros book on how to do a roof. It has the information you will need. I was going to do it all myself at first, then decided their crew could do it in a day and I'd be dried in. I'd probably still be putting shingles on if I hadn't used a sub.

Can't hardly see it but the flashing is under the moisture wrap in the picture attached.

Bret

Ric, if it is a lot of mud on the floor, the stores sell a drywall scraper, which is basically a mud knife on a pole the size of a small push broom. we just poured water from a bucket on a 10-foot section, let it set a few minutes, work the area with the scraper, then used a mop and shop vac to pick it up. We only swept with regular broom once before doing the above and were able to get 90+ percent up, but then again, I'm on cement slab so it may not work as well if you are on wood subfloor.
Bret

I not positive on this, but I believe it is more of the lending institution that requires a builder of record, with or without the TRCC. Then again I'm not sure, as my build is being self-financed in an unincorporated part of county and I started before TRCC started requiring inspections. But that's my two cents, for what it is worth.

Bret

David,

if you purchased a "stock" plan, most of the ones I've seen and even purchased included a basic wiring diagram that usually met code (depending upon your local codes), but even the custom plan I had designed by an architect only initially incuded the minimum requirements. I had to send it back with additional outlets and other lighting requirements (he did not charge me for these additions). Any electicians that you get to bid on your house should know the code for your local are; if they can't work without a predefined print from the house designer, you don't want to consider using them.

My 2 cents.

Bret

Regina,

I'm not using panels, but if you look a little further into the different threads of each forum, I think you will find folks that actually used them. I kinda sorta remember reading these posts but didn't pay much attention since I was interested in ICFs, but ended up going with a steel framing pkg. instead and slab is being poured tomorrow!!

Look a little deeper into the forums - try a keyword search here, and also maybe someone with direct experience will respond, either way good luck!

Bret

Bob,

   I beg to differ, spray-foam insulation can be DIY!! Google Tiger Foam for instance. I and others have done it. Check out the general forums for posts. It can be messy, but definitely can be done.

Regards,

Bret

Getting bids for a slab foundation, lot needs some dirt work a little sloped, will also put concrete piers under slab per the guy I got first bid from. the slab is 2366 sf. I was wondering if anyone had a ballpark figure for what this should cost in Wise county, TX? I'm in unincorporated part of the county so only have inspection on spetic.

sorry Greg, I think it was 4.24, I'm traveling this week and don't have bid in front of me, total was between 13,000 and 14,000, I was thinking it could be done closer to under 10,000 based on other bids I got 18 months ago on original plan which was on different part of my propert which required much more dirt work, I guess prices are still going up!

Again, thnaks for the reply.

Thanks for the feedback, drove through Ellis county today on the way to Houston, How many bids have you gotten, I'm hoping to get a couple more in next week or so.

Regards,

Bret

I had my slab poured last December, right before Christmas and the total was about $16,000 on 2,366 sf. They ended up doing around 30 piers under the slab. Turns out I got a fantastic deal from my wife's client, all other bids were $8,000-$14,000 more. My wife does his payroll and accounting and he basically didn't make any money on us, just covered his costs; she saw all of the invoices including all materials and labor. Sometimes as an O-B, knowing people can help out a lot!

Bret

David, you may want to check out Rhino Homes in Denton, Texas. We bought a stock 3-2-2 single-story 2,300 sf steel-frame package for around $21,000 2x6 exterior, 2x4 interior walls, no load-bearing interior walls, 24" centers. I'm no framer, but found the steel easy to work with. Me and the wife and a couple of friend put the whole thing together, even the trusses, I'd suggest renting a 4x4 fork lift for that.

Anyway, I feel that my steel is maybe not quite as strong as the ICF but much stronger than wood and less expensive than both. I used closed-cell foam in exterior walls, only one inch, then put R-13 batts, using blown-in "green" material in attic. The batts will give me more than enough R-factor in conjunction with the closed cell, the HardiBoard exterior etc., as an example we had several days of freezing temps recently and the temp in the house never dropped below 55. HVAC was in but was not on; and attic not completely insulated yet. Anyway, something else to consider.
Good luck,
Bret

Drew - as Charles said, they do this because of cost, but usually OSB at the corners. They need the OSB for the strength that you don't get with foam, although I think the insulating factor may be better with the foam, another thing to consider is I've only seen them do the foam/OSB combination when there will be brick or rock on top of the foam. I used OSB for all of my house since I was using HardiBoard siding.

Bret

Hello everyone, My wife and I have both read the book and are now looking for plans and mostly for suppliers of All steel framing in Texas. I would like to hear from others that have built steel frame homes and your experience with the sources of the steel.

Thanks,

Bret

How do I contact you off the forum? I not new to computers, just new to this format. I  would have thought there was a link or do we go through the Owner-builder Connections?

Thanks

Bret

Hi folks,

Without getting into the whole Manual-J stuff, a few questions: 

1. If using a 3.5 ton split system all electric, what size main duct for supply side? 1,863 sq. ft. single-story ranch?

2. Anybody know what size connection coming out of air handler, or is it model dependent?

3. If using flex duct from main supply duct, what size flex?

Thanks for any help, it is really hard to get this type of info for the DIY owner-builder. I plan on having a licensed guy do the final connections and startup test, just don't want to pay $7,000 plus for a $3,000 or less system.

Bret

Tim,

I'm three years into it, and there is some light at the end of the tunnel. If you are doing a majority of the work yourself as I am, then this may be the way to go. You will need some up-front money; how much depends upon what you are building and what type of construction. We started with an all-steel framing kit and the cement slab with rough plumbing in it. My cost for this was about $38,000 which got the slab with plumbing poured and the three truckloads of steel framing, including trusses delivered.

The main reason for my taking so long is that I'm doing it all mostly by myself with the wife's help and only getting to actually work on it about one day a week. I already have a mobile on the same property and both it and the land are all paid for. If you are in a hurry or don't plan on doing the majority of the work yourself, I'd say just save up until you have enough and then get the loan (you will definitely will have to finish faster than me if you have a loan). Good luck whatever you decide. The forums here have been very helpful as I have learned each and every trade except the cement work and the roof shingles, which I did sub out.

Regards,

Bret

Oleg,

   You could also think about adding soffits to hide duct work, I know a guy that does HVAC and he wanted to use his attic for storage so he just built soffits to hide the duct work, it ran the length of some of the rooms other rooms were fed through an adjacent wall that had the hidden duct. The soffit actually added an architectural feature to the rooms they were in, something to consider.

Bret

Trevor, most of those questions will be answered in the book, I'd suggest asking again, when you have more specific questions, although you can find lots of useful information here in the forums and I'm not trying to discourage you from posting questions, it is just tough to answer something as generic as

"What are the different things that goes into the building process other than the obvious brick, wood, roof, windows, doors, flooring. "

Some answers to your question are permits, excavation, foundation, rough plumbing, financing and many other things go into a house besides brick, wood, roof, windows, doors, and flooring.

Enjoy the book, it helped us a lot, especially when it comes to planning and understanding all the things to consider.

Bret

Wow, thanks for all the detail, I am using the Pros for Pros book on wiring a house. I am also using 12-2 w/ground Romex for all outlets that do not require larger copper, i.e. the appliances I originally asked about. I've been told outside of this forum that 10-3 WG Romex would be correct for all my appliances that require 40-amp load or less (cooktop, double wall oven, A/C outside and inside units; these are all 40-amp per their data sheets). Electric dryer is 30 amp, dishwasher and garbage disposal just use 10-2 WG dedicated circuits.

I'm also looking at two wall heaters as supplemental in bathrooms, but they just need 240v 20 amp or less so 12-3 WG should be OK for them. I am planning on using 14-3 for three- and four-way lights and smoke detectors, the only applications the book recommends for using smaller gauge. I am doing most of the work you describe as what you did, although I will use an electrician to do panel and meter connection. With steel studs, most holes are pre-cut, so not too much drilling needed, only in top plate. I don't have a basement and only one story; inside HVAC goes in a closet with water heater. Anyway, thanks to all who have replied.

Bret

Do electric dryers, cooktops, wall ovens, and HVAC inside and outside units need a particular outlet box? I am doing all-steel stud construction and I purchased a large quantity of single-gang 22 CI with attached screws for metal studs. I will use these for all outlets and switch boxes, except I know I need special ones for ceiling fans and light fixtures, but am unsure about the appliances. Any help would be appreciated.

Bret

Thanks for the info, Dale. I replied in detail above. By the way, the Pros book says to never use the quick connects, something to the effect of a short waiting to happen. Always attach using the screws. He also said if they only have quick connects, then they are too cheap of a receptacle to use.

Again, thanks for the info.

Bret

Dale,

Thanks for the tip on hot water on demand and fan remotes. I'm going to wire for traditional non-remote fans even if the ones I buy have remotes. Yes, we are on slab and I did already buy the plastic grommets. The company that sold me the steel kit made sure we knew about them and even told me part number and local supplier.

Thanks,

Bret

Michael, thanks for the breakdown of what to use for what appliance, yours and others' inputs are a great help to me.

Bret

Mark,  

   Good Job!! I also used Tiger Foam and found it rather easy to do walls. I am not using on roof since I didn't design for unvented attic, but did spray my metal ductwork from ladder and it was messy. Your job looks good from picture. I am glad to hear from someone else who does more than just painting as DIY; I'm doing almost every trade myself and read these forums regularly and get tired of other owner-builders telling folks that they can't do this trade or that trade. We are all at different capabilities and I encourage anyone to O-B if they think they can handle it, but some on this board seem to think if they didn't attempt some trade, that no others should. Off the soapbox now, again I'd say you did a great job with the DIY of your insulation.

Bret