Shouse

[T-Max]

Here is my first thread ever! I thought someone might find this helpful. My wife and I bought 5 acres adjacent to the family farm last year and built a “shouse” on it beginning last August that carried on through about April of this year.

We began by purchasing a post frame building kit through Menards. The plans from Menards include 2 garage doors. We only installed one garage door and framed across the extra opening to include more living space for now. The plan is to eventually build an actual house on the property at which time this one will be stripped and used as a garage. At that time we will already have the additional garage door framed in. Sounds like a plan right?!



Lets get started.

 

[T-Max]

First the building pad was prepped, and the trench footing was poured.


Next the base was compacted and we poured a slab. This building is overengineered in almost every way. J The footings are an extra 6” deep and the slab is almost 6” thick!

 

[T-Max]

In one weekend we started setting posts and by late Sunday night we had a frame! I love post frame construction.

 

[T-Max]

Over the course of the week we cleaned up loose ends, added bracing and got everything tightened down. The following weekend it was time for steel. We did the roof first so we had the wall girts to climb on. It really did go quite smooth. Next were the solid walls. They were a breeze. The hard part was the walls with doors and windows. After a considerable amount of cussing and bleeding we had a completed shell. I was feeling pretty proud at this point.

 

[T-Max]

We got a driveway and propane tank!

 

[T-Max]

Framing…

 

[T-Max]

We decided on spray foam insulation. It was definitely a hit to the budget, but I can attest to its efficiency. Our heat and air barely have to run. The guy who installed the propane tank joked that they are going to lose money on us. J It is 7-1/2” thick in the walls and 9” thick in all of the ceilings (except for the vaulted area. More on that in a moment).

 

[T-Max]

We decided to leave a truss exposed in the vaulted area. The idea was to wrap it in rough cedar to add a visual element to help break up the area. Next was drywall. This is one of the areas we contracted out as a bad drywall job can ruin a house…

 

[T-Max]

After some thought we decided to stain the rough cedar to match the wood floors.

 

[T-Max]

After the flooring was installed we went to work on the kitchen. We chose white to contrast the dark floors. They were a pretty easy install.

 

[T-Max]

We went with butcher block countertops. After considerable cutting, trimming, and fitting they were ready to stain and seal. We used Waterlox for the seal. If you haven’t heard of it it is worth a look. I found it easy to use and it looks good.

 

[T-Max]

Bathroom…

 

[T-Max]

We moved in in April, and are still working on trim and other odds and ends. We did most of the work ourselves and saved a ton of money doing it. It was definitely a lot of work, but we are now rural and the gate in my back yard leads to our 240 acre hunting paradise! Thanks for looking.

 

[blumsden]

Looks great. I did the same thing about 8 years ago. Yours is a little nicer than mine. We want a log cabin one day.

 

[gwm]

Looks great.

What convinced you to go with the spray foam insulation?

 

[strawhead]

That is a sweet, well documented build. Nice job.

 

[T-Max]

Looks great.

What convinced you to go with the spray foam insulation?

For me it was the efficiency. But to be honest it was the bugs... My wife wanted every little nook and cranny sealed. :D

 

[gwm]

I was curious as we have a contractor quoting us a build now. He didn't really recommend the spray foam insulation but wasn't really against it either.

 

[T-Max]

I've heard you can make a house too "tight" with it. I assumed meaning it doesn't allow it to breathe and you can have moisture problems. I don't know. A couple days ago we raised the thermostat from 72 to 80 when we left for work. The high was 97. When we got home the house was at 78 meaning the A/C never had to kick on. I like that... $$$ :D

 

[gwm]

It was moisture issues he talked about with it. I'm sure we'll end up discussing the insulation when the quote comes back.

I like the look of the butcher block countertops. Anything in particular as to why you went that route?