The Color

From amidst the 1000 colors available, I've selected a color that's (1) close enough to my house color, and (2) compatible with white, which is what I've decided on for trim, so it will match white roof somewhat harmoniously (I'm hoping for synergistic).  Resulting color light yellow beige color has just a bit more pop compared to house color, so it doesn't become bleak looking next to white.

Resulting color choice is named Lyndhurst Estate Cream.  (Other choices included things with Woodrow Wilson or Churchill in the name, glad I didn't have to choose those.)

So what is Lyndhurst?  Originally built by the 1826 Mayor of New York City, one of the occupants was the infamous railroad robber baron Jay Gould, in fact he was the one who changed the name from Lyndenhurst (after the nearby Lynden trees) to Lyndhurst.  Now, it's a museum open to the public (it was donated by Gould's daughter).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lyndhurst_Tarrytown_NY_-_front_facade.jpg

The designer, Alexander Jackson Davis was one of the most influential architects of the 19th century, mainly associated with the Gothic Revival style.

Breach of Contract

I had been very pleased on Friday night, but on Saturday morning, when I opened my blinds, I was horrified to see that instead of the contract specified 30# felt going up on the sheathing, Lowes brand housewrap was being used.

A little research (I got samples) determined that Lowes housewrap is not Tyvek or something like that.  It is a perforated house wrap.  Generally this is considered inferior to name brand products like Tyvek and Typar which use engineered plastics.  However, right on the Lowes website, it says "meets code".

I had chosen felt because it is a time proven material that many contractors online say lasts longer than the plastic wraps (75 years, for example) and which many contractors choose to use on their own homes, if not the ones they build.

I called the Supervisor and he said he would make a call to change it.  Seeing no change after 45 minutes, I called again.  He said he would call again.  Then I noticed that on the north side they were putting up felt on top of the Lowes wrap.  I'm not sure that's for the best.  They stopped using the felt, however, after wrapping around to the west side.

So the result is the north side has felt over plastic wrap, and the other 3 sides have just the plastic wrap, so far as I can determine.  I took a careful look at the south side, and it's clear because no felt comes around the corner, it has plastic only.  I didn't get a chance to look at the west side before it was trimmed, but I suspect it has felt just in the corner that wraps to the north side.

Rafter spacing uneven

On Friday morning, the Supervisor pointed out that the rafters had been installed to 24 inch centers, instead of specified 16, and weren't long enough to support 18" eaves, so both would be taken care of.

On Friday night, there appeared to be too many rafters even for 16 inch centers.  I was wondering if they had simply added new rafters, leaving the old ones in place, but on quick inspection, I couldn't tell.

I suppose this means the roof deck has even better support, which is a plus in my view, but the downside would be degrading the thermal performance by thermal bridging.  More of the under deck is filled with wood rather than more foam.

I texted the Supervisor on Saturday morning asking about whether this would be a problem for the insulation and he said he would have the foam people look at it.

I think it will work, but with slightly compromised energy efficiency.

Not a big deal, but not exactly what I wanted.  Worse was to come...

Just the right size after all

Coming home late Friday night (actually Saturday am), I took a look at the now completely plywood sided building.  It was beautiful!

Looking from Bedroom window, the view is awesome, but not overwhelming.  Laying all the way back on the bed, I can still see the sky over the rooftop.  If the buidling were any larger, which would have to mean it would come closer to the house, it would entirely block the sky view.  Alternatively, if the building were made larger by rotating on my lot, making the long side parallel to the back of my house, the roof ridge would block the sky view.

So the building is just as large as it can be without blocking the sky view.  Also you can still see (from the bed) the side view to the north side, including neighbor's trees.  If it were significantly wider, that would be blocked.

Small is beautiful

Now that I've conceded (in previous post) that I should have made building bigger, maybe, I want to add some thoughts about the house bigness obsession of most Americans (and perhaps others).

Big houses give an ego boost.*  I've been to quite a few, and always feel envious, and can imagine the reverse feeling.  But that may not be actually worth the cost (unless you are figuring on swapping...oh wait people don't do that anymore) in itself, and there are actually lots of downsides:

(*ego boost if you're completely comfortable about the costs...and who does that apply to actually?  Everyone is worried about some aspect of the costs, the risks if nothing else, such as the risk of losing huge money when you sell!  So the ego boost is partially, entirely, or more than completely canceled out by the worries!)

1) Larger environmental impact in acquisition (ok, up to 3000sqft or so I wouldn't feel too guilty) just in the house materials, labor, and land coverage itself.

2) Larger environmental impact in climate control and maintenance (I start to feel guilty about that quite a lot actually, it was a major consideration in the design of my workshop, even though calculations might show #1 larger for a big house in a temperate area).

3) Larger monetary cost of acquisition.

4) Larger monetary cost of climate control, maintenance, taxes (the unending cost flows).  Somehow people don't often consider these costs.

Living in San Diego, for example, no one seems to consider the cost of climate control, though I would at least need heat some portion of the year.  But here in central Texas, no one ever forgets the need for climate control.  If you don't have some kind of climate control strategy you don't survive long.  And it's quite simple, a larger building (and particularly one with more windows, which typically larger buildings have in abundance) costs more to heat and cool.

5) Larger personal effort in maintenance, including cleaning.

But what about the upsides (other than ego boost, which I've already discounted quite a bit):

1) potential appreciation (well, that's kind of shaky now, and was disasterously in reverse between 2007 and 2010).

2) More place to put stuff (how much stuff do you actually need?  If you aren't using it, why not sell it or get rid of it somehow. I have lots of junk myself, and I already know I would probably be better off without most of it, but given the ways I think and do things, it's just too hard to get rid of.  More space lets you put this off, perhaps not for the best!)

3) More space for entertaining.  (Somehow people I know with the biggest houses may not actually do the most entertaining.  Maybe the least because they can't afford it.  How many people meet my level of one party per month?  I'd love to have about 50-100% more space in living room for my parties.  Most other houses I've looked at would make me get lots of extra rooms I don't need in order to get that.  And the comparatively small space in my living room (about 15.5 x 13.5 feet and 30% filled up with stereo equipment) may help weed out spurious guests and keep my parties more personal.)

Many people are into the small as beautiful chic.  Sometime I remember reading about multimillionaire Steward Brand living on an 82 sqft houseboat parked in Sausalito.  Of course he promoted the "small is beautiful" idea.  It's a lot easier to live in small space when you can just step out into one of the nicest communities for restaurants, entertainment, and such, or hop on a jet for something nicer.  Most of us can't afford to live in Sausalito or hop onto jets at whim.  Still, it's obvious small living space works, and some people even prefer it.  I think previously I may have linked "Tumbleweed Homes" for example, for which someone can pay $50,000 or so for a glorified 100sqft trailer (for code reasons they are towable, they say, but also they are built on mobile platforms) and some gladly do.

My 165 sqft workshop is about the same size as my master bedroom (and twice as large as Stewart Brand's houseboat) and slightly smaller than my living room.  It does increase my climate controlled space about 15%.

Bigger would have been better

165 interior sqft, 187 exterior.  I'll freely admit, I should have built this building at least 100% larger.  Beyond that, I would start to get into problem with using up too much of my yard, and not to mention cost.

It wouldn't have been too hard to go to 100% larger 320sqft.  Guessing this would require about 360 exterior sqft, I could increase it to 20x18.  About 5 feet longer (it's currently spaced about 20 feet from house, so that would make it 15, still plenty of room for my dreamed 12 foot deep patio), and 5.5 feet wider.  Not much loss in the useable yardspace to the north.  Biggest aesthetic issue is that then the workshop would be pretty much *all* I could see from the master bedroom, other than sky.  Maybe that's not such a problem, though I would probably loose some tree views, and I think it would be ever so slightly claustrophobia inducing, like the "views" from the small bedroom windows of my house which view nothing but the neighbor's house 10 feet away.  That might be a fairly minor loss.  I rarely open master bedroom window anyway.

How much more would this cost?  The slab size and roof size double, of course, while the sidewalls only go up about 35%.  Worst case would simply be to apply these factors.

Additional Slab cost: $6600
Additional Roof cost: $1800
Additional Wall cost:  $600

I figure, all inclusive (!), I will ultimately pay about $28,000 for the current building and basic amenities.  That's including lots of stuff not paid to contractors (total contractor bill is only around $22,000) like AC unit, french door, Fleetwood window, and tile.  For $38,000 I could get double the interior space, still built to the same specs, and still subject to the same misjudgements on my part (like dealing with my first contractor, I should have spent about $2000 less for what I got, I let him steal from me).  Of course I'm already pretty strapped paying for what I am.  Perhaps a wiser person could have gotten the larger size built just as well for the same price.  But that's not something we can assume.  Instead, about 30-40% additional cost for 100% more space is the safe assumption.  It would be worth it in the long run, maybe.  Or another alternative would be lower standards, and bigger for the same price, but I don't think I would be happy with that.  Having nice stuff is more important that having more space to me.  This building isn't a big barn or metal shed, it's the jewel of my estate (built nicer than anything else) and to me that's the most important thing about it.

It was interesting to do this estimate, and makes me feel a little less bad about what I am getting.  $10,000 additional cost...I could do a lot with that.  And that would be about the limit.  I'm SURE I wouldn't want to spend more than $38,000, even if it did reduce my cost per square foot.

Anway, coulda shoulda woulda.  It can't be changed now, and in fact I was pretty well locked in by the time Ronnie got the engineering and dug the hole, sometime in June, psychologically if nothing else.  I had paid $4000 and was hoping to get the job done for about another $4000 (now I know it would have been unlikely, and wouldn't have been sufficient either, since it didn't include electricity or A/C).

How I happened to choose the current size is a long story, which started with the original 10x12 plan from Tough Shed in 2009 which would have cost about $10,000 two years ago (counting amenities again, the actual estimates added up to $7500, including upgraded slab and siding, but didn't include french door, AC, etc).  That size was suggested because back then it was the max size w/o permit.  Then Ronnie convinced me to go to a larger size, within the new no-permit limit of 200 sqft.  Then I was afraid to make length longer than 15 feet for fear Ronnie wouldn't build the slab strong enough, and 15 feet is about the limit for no-expansion-joint slab, and it couldn't be squarer for acoustical reasons, given one side 15 feet the other simply has to be around 12.5.

I could actually get a cheap 10x12 metal shed to store garden tools, fertilizer, and such.  Stuff that people normally put into their sheds that don't have climate control or even very good insulation.  The only problem would be where to hide the shed (I'm think about putting it onto the easment, since it could be moved if needed anyway, or simply tossed).  Another alternative is a plastic shed placed right behind the house...so it can't actually be seen from the house windows.  Those options would give me more space in the workshop for the stuff that needs climate control.

Photos after first day of construction

The diagonal beams are just temporary braces until sheathing is installed.

The following photos were intended to show stud spacing for later reference.  I also recorded measurements from front.

Friday December 9

Supervisor called me for a meeting at 9:45 am.  I had texted him at 3am that I wanted AC unit mounted 14 inches lower so I could easily reach controls.  He asked if AC had remote, and if so, suggested the approx 6 foot height he had chosen for AC was good, better air circulation and efficiency, as well as being out-of-the-way.  I decided after a bit to go along with that since AC does have remote.  Later I determined that AC has filter that needs cleaning, so I will need a stepladder for that.  I checked blogs and that seems like standard advice for wall units with remotes.  In fact my builders did what is now typically done, mount AC so top of unit and top of nearby window are at same level for neater visual appearance.  Some suggest AC should not be too close to ceiling to cause condensation on ceiling.  That is not a problem because I have 9 foot ceiling and insulated roof deck so attic (small anyway) is basically at room temp.  And I plan to keep room temperature controlled, not blasting AC just during occupancy.  I'd just as soon leave the controls set to one setting with timer.  That way, it won't be accidentally turned off or to some other setting.  If it's not cool enough, people can open windows.

Also noted he was getting the plywood for everything (as contract specified).  I asked about if there was an issue of the weight of the sheathing.  Framing supervisor then said it was no problem.  I also asked if sometimes Hardipanel was mounted w/o plywood sheathing.  He said that yes, that was sometimes done, but it was not the best way.  Plywood sheathing was the best way, but not always done because of cost, he said.

Supervisor had noticed that eaves had not been extended to 18 inches as contract specified, only 12 inches (common cheapo practice).  He also noticed that roof framing had not been done on 16 inch centers as specified, only to 24 inches (standard practice). So for both reasons, the roof framing would have to be redone.

Strangely, my cheapo house seems to have 18 inch eaves.  It has slanted soffit however.  Framing supervisor asked if I wanted it that way.  I said whichever way is best, and he said flat was best.  (So many issues I've never even though of, after already having read 10 books worth of internet posts and written my own book as well.)

The Fleetwood window was carried by supervisor and one worker from junk room inside house to back yard where the box was finally opened.  It is beautiful and flawless.  Screen was removed and put back in junk room, window was measured by framing supervisor.

I needed about 3 hours more sleep at that point.  I rested at least 3 hours but didn't sleep particularly well with all the sawing and nailing noises.  But I was very glad that so much progress was being made.  By 4pm the building had the sheathing and the fascia board was being installed.  The plywood is beautiful and looks like it would be decent siding on it's own.  The little building looks like a chapel from the bedroom window.  I've come up with a new nickname, "the museum."

I saw the french doors arrive sometime in mid afternoon.

December 8: Framing Up

The workers arrived with correct 2x6 framing around 11:30am and by 4pm (they were still working) the sidewall framing was up and they were working on the roof framing.   (Above photo taken by supervisor before work had finished.  By the end of the day, the roof framing had also been done.)

After months of delay, it's moving fast.

It's very impressive looking from the master bedroom window.  I'm glad I went with 9 foot sidewalls, it's not too high to block sky views from master bedroom as I feared it might be.

Supervisor texted me with photo and asked me to buy french doors I wanted at Lowes and tell him which store they could be picked up at on Friday.  I did so during my dinner break and texted Supervisor about location, and also bought a keyless entry lockset.  I'm going to have to extract my Fleetwood window from my junk room tonight also.

Before leaving for work at 4pm, I noticed the sheathing on my front lawn was OSB.  I had intended not to use any OSB, only real 5/8 plywood because according to many plywood is better.  In fact, the contract (which the contractor read aloud to all assembled this morning) specifies 5/8 plywood.  I mentioned this to Supervisor when I called at 5pm.  I told him the roof decking, at minimum, must be real plywood, because I am concerned about long term sagging.  He said he would check out the cost, it was no problem to do so, but he wasn't sure if it had been figured into the estimate.  His excuse: OSB is often called "plywood" and that was what he had assumed.  (The contract itself says plywood, however I have a long paper trail of emails where I insisted on "plywood not OSB.")  (See update at bottom.)  OK, minor error, shows you have to watch every step.  It does basically bug me that even top rated contractors are always looking to save a dime on materials.  My approach is that I always look for the best quality you can get, without making the price astronomical.

One can guess that even the fanciest homes (I was just looking at a $10M home on Zillow) are full of second class materials underneath the super fancy surfaces.  Well I can't afford the super fancy surfaces, but having good quality all the way through just makes me feel good.  It turns out, it's not extremely expensive to add extra good quality materials to a project.  Often it's amazingly cheap.  It's just a hard to get a contractor to actually use them because they're always trying to save a dime here or there with slightly inferior materials, and that is what they are so used to doing it's very hard to get them to do otherwise.

I have a paper trail of emails in which I repeatedly asked the contractor to use "plywood not OSB" and the contract was revised twice to remove the word OSB.  Plywood gets written into the contract, but the construction supervisor interprets it as "OSB, just another kind of plywood."

If I were building something for myself, I would not only use the higher quality materials, I would drive an extra 40 miles to get nicer looking material of the same general kind.  That's the kind of thing I do (and moreso) in my audio equipment.  I'll spend days online trying to find the best capacitor, within reason, for a given project.  It's like being a master chef, though I don't much cook as such.

But I don't get many projects like that done (most often, the nice parts just sit around), and if I were building a building it might never get done.

Update:

The supervisor brought plywood (nice looking too) on Friday morning, no more questions asked.  I intended to send email showing paper trail of discussion about plywood, but never figured out how to get the wording right.  And best of all, it wasn't necessary anyway.

December 8: New Construction Begins

During October, I interviewed 4 contractors.  In November, I selected one and hammered out some additional details, signed contract, and paid $500 deposit.  After he had been selected, the contractor said he would begin work around December 8.  On December 7 I got an email saying he would meet me at 9am on December 8.

And today, December 8, the contractor, supervisor, framing supervisor, and 2 workers showed up. We went over construction details, selected and marked positions for door, window, and A/C.  Window is now to be 8 feet from front inside wall, with AC unit closer in, separated by 18 inches.  I paid $2500 additional deposit.

They plan to start work today, but it is quiet now because they have gone back to lumber yard because contractor got 2x4 studs instead of the 2x6 specified.  They plan to work on Saturday.  Supervisor suggested I make appointment with electrician for Monday or Tuesday to do electrical rough in.  I've made appointment with electrician for Tuesday.

Temperature is 45 degrees.