Starting Construction Name Suggestions Gladly Accepted - Page 2

It is raining yet again, so instead of installing the exterior siding and front porch columns I will post the weekly update.

We finally got the framing finished, got the house weather proofed, completed HVAC and plumbing, and started wiring.

We are currently about 10 days behind schedule due to weather delays, but should be able to make some of that back up.

First update is on the framing of the basement.

When we designed the house, we didn't know exactly where the slope of the lot would be, and I was pleased to find out we had room to add another window to the basement to help bring in more light to the rec room/bar area.

Here is a picture of the basement framed per the original plan



And here it is after we added a new window.



This picture is taken in the rec room area looking towards the HT entrance. The bar is on the right next to the stairs.



This is looking at the front wall of the HT.



This is the opening for the equipment rack. The rack is recessed into a mechanical closet that will also be lined with DD & GG.



We then completed the underframing for the poured concrete stoop that acts as the ceiling of the safe room.





This is what it looks like from inside the safe room.



Next, the concrete porch was poured.



And the house is completely weather proofed.



I will post pictures of the mechanical work as well as an updated schedule in following posts.

The stoop is 8" thick at the front and side where it bears on the foundation wall. We drilled the foundation wall and inserted re-bar that was epoxied in place to tie the stoop to the foundation. To cut down on the amount of concrete needed and reduce the weight on top of the overframing, we attached two layers of 2" thick styrofoam sheathing to the framed deck so the stoop is only 4" thick in the center. The rebar comes up through the vertical face of the stoop, makes a 90 degree bend and runs horizontally through the top 4", and then was tied back into the foundation on the other side. I don't think there is anything that is going to move it.

We covered the underframing with a .60 mil rubber to weatherproof the space before we did all the concrete work. You can see it sticking up from behind the concrete in the picture.

I took a couple pictures, but they did not come out and you can't make out any of the detail in them. My neighbor also took pictures and I am waiting to find out if his are clear and if I can get copies.

It will have a solid core, steel door, and there is a passive vent that will allow fresh air into the room. I hadn't considered if the vent would be an issue, but I can't imagine it would be.

Thanks RTR. As a matter of fact, I have quite a bit of progress to update on and since it is raining AGAIN, I have lots of time to post them.

My last update ended with the completion of all of the framing of the house. First up after framing was the plumbing and mechanicals.



Had to plumb a "Chicago Loop" to vent the kitchen sink.



Got the wet bar all plumbed.



Installed Sterling "Ensemble" tub/shower combo units in the basement bathroom and kids bathrooms upstairs.

Not much exciting in the way of plumbing except for the Rinnai whole house tankless water heater which will be installed at trim stage.

Next up was HVAC. The install is pretty straightforward. The entire house got roughed in, but the theater only has a stub in for bot the supply and return air. The duct work inside the HT will be completed after the DD & GG go on the walls and ceiling. Here are the HVAC highlights so far.

Here are pictures of the thermostat controled zone damper before installation.





And here it is installed.



We added an air purification unit. This particular unit uses a MERV-16 media filter and anti-microbial lights to clean the air as it enters the unit. My daughter has asthma, and with this unit I don't ever worry about her having an attack.



Once all the duct work was installed, I built the bulkheads around the duct runs in the rec room.



Next post, electrical and low voltage wiring.

The electrical work started as soon as the HVAC was completed. There were a couple of things the electrician did/used that I think the AVS forum would be interested in.

First, I spoke to the electrician about using the Carlon adjustable boxes so we would be able to extend the box far enough out of the wall to allow for DD & GG and the wall treatments I am going to use. He gave me a puzzled look and asked why I wanted to waste my money on the adjustable box. I told him I didn't want to mess with extension rings and he told me he could set a standard electric box up to 2 inches out of the wall and I didn't need to waste my time or money on extension rings or adjustable boxes.

Instead, he used a Raco box that has the nails positioned farther back on the box than the Carlon boxes and he could set it up to 2" out. These boxes are made of a harder material and seem to be a bit more rigid than the Carlon boxes. Here is one installed.



Another interesting item that I had not seen used before is a Wago push in connector. This is used instead of wire nuts to make up connections in the box.



What is really nice about these, is that if I decide later to pull another outlet or switch from one of the existing boxes, I don't have to undo the wire nut and un-twist the wires and then twist it all back together again. You can simply strip the new wire and it pushes into this bar without having to take anything else apart. It also leaves a lot more room in the wall boxes than regular wire nuts do as you can see here.



I have not seen these at HD or Lowes, but found them on the internet for about the same cost as standard wire nuts.

He also used a different type of Raco metal box for the Grafik Eye. This box can be expanded by removing the end plate and attaching more "gang" openings.



Other than the ceiling outlet for the projector and the wall outlets, the electric for the HT is not complete. My can lights are going in the soffit that isn't built yet, so right now, there is just wire hanging out of the ceiling. I won't waste a lot of time or bandwidth on the rest of the electric because there is plenty of information about general wiring in other threads.

As the electrician was finishing his wiring, it was time to start doing the low voltage.

I hired out the plumbing, HVAC and electrical because I needed to get it done much faster than I could have done myself, but I wanted to pull all of the low voltage wiring myself so that everything would be exactly where I wanted it, and I would know what was going where when it is time to trim everything out and install equipment.

I started by installing the wiring for a complete security system pulling CAT 5 for a whole house computer network.

Next I installed speaker wire and remote volume control wires for audio in the rec room and on the deck. Music will come from A/V receiver which has multi room functions and driven by an amp.





I pulled RG-6 to the Satelite dish location so it would be inside the house and not running around the outside, and pulled 2 runs to each TV location in the house so I would be covered and could put a DVR anywhere.

Finally, I pulled the HDMI, Component Video and Cat 5 cables to the projector as well as run smurf tube for future upgrades.



All of the low voltage wire was run to the area behind the HT where the equipment rack will be.



The speaker wire for the HT has not been run yet. I have decided to run it in the soffits to limit the number of penetrations into the sound rated wall assembly, so that will be installed after drywall and the soffits are hung.

I passed all of my inspections on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, we sealed all of the ductwork,







And sealed all of the electric boxes and plate penetrations.





Insulation is going in today, and drywall is being stocked tomorrow. There is a 4 man crew that is going to start hanging the drywall in the house tomorrow afternoon. One of those guys is going to help me hang the two layers of drywall in the HT on Saturday, and the taper/finisher will start on Monday. I should be able to start my soffits, riser and stage by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, and pull the rest of my wiring for the theater by next Friday.

Got the insulation installed today. I am using a BIB (Blown-In-Blanket) system which is a much better product than regular insulation for thermal efficiency. It packs into the wall/ceiling cavity and forms a very tight, dense barrier. I had them blow this insulation into the theater walls and ceilings because its density will work as an outstanding sound dampener.

First, the walls are covered with a netting that holds the insulation in place.





Insulation is pumped into the house.



The installer cuts a small hole in the netting and fills the cavity with the loose fill fiberglass.





Here is the insulation installed in the HT.

Looking towards the back of the room to the opening for the equipment rack.



Looking at the ceiling at the projector location.



I did not know that the BIB system should not be blown into a wall that is open on two sides. I did not have any plywood or drywall on site to seal one side of the front and side wall of the theater, so we just installed regular batt insulation in those walls.

Looking at front right corner of theater.



Looking at front left corner of theater. Entrance visible on the left side of the picture.



I used the Owens Corning "Pro Pink" blown in insulation. There are several other similar products, the most well known being Certainteed's "Optima" BIB system.

Some HD stores sell the loose fill insulation and will rent a portable blowing machine. The loose fill fiberglass is a little less expensive than batts, but the cost of renting the machine more than makes up the difference. If you are insulating for thermal resistance as well as sound, I highly reccommend using this type system because it is much more energy efficient and pays for itself in a matter of months.

Hey Ryan,

I have actually been making good progress, but have not had much chance to post updates.

I have hit one HUGE snag in my build. The sale of the house I am currently living in has fallen through, so I have to slow this build way down so I don't get stuck with two mortgages. I will post pictures of what I have gotten done the last week or so later tonight.

With a 9' pour, I have 8'-8" of ceiling height over 90% of my basement, and 7'-10" where the bulkheads for the HVAC runs are. The costs for pouring a deeper basement grow significantly the deeper you go. On my house, the cost to go from standard 8' pour to 9' was about $1,200. To go to 10' pour would have been over $5,000. Code requires that a wall taller than 9' tall has to also be poured wider (10" wide vs. 8"), so there is a lot more concrete involved. Code also requires more steel the taller you go. For myself, I didn't feel the additional foot of headroom was worth the added cost. Also, keep in mind that the taller you go, the longer your stair run has to be, and I did not want to give up any more floor space for the stairs.

If you want 10' basement ceilings, you don't need to pour 12'. all of your electric and plumbing should fit in the floor joist cavity, and the only bulkhead you would have would be at the trunk line for your HVAC. With planning, you can locate the trunk line so the 1' you lose there is kept to minimum.

If you have the budget and the space, then by all means, go for as deep a pour as you want, but IMO, you hit a point of diminising return over 9 or 10'.

Thanks for the encouragement BFauska. I like the feel of a radiant heat floor. You get a very comfortable house heat wise, but you are correct, you still have to find another way to cool the home.

RTRose, the insulation is a great product. You are right that it does an awesome job insulating around wires and pipes. A typical batt needs to be split and installed around the wires and pipes, but you usually end up having gaps and areas of compression. While some of the accoustic experts on the forum have said that compressed insulation doesn't matter for sound, it does make a huge difference in thermal performance. I personally think that filling all the voids with a more dense product has to make some difference.

Cost wise, the material costs are about the same between this blown system and batts, but surprisingly, it is actually a little more labor intensive. It cost me about $600 more to use it on the entire house, but because the house is sealed more tightly, I was actually able to downsize my HVAC equipment and save some money there. Additionally, the better system will reduce my utility bills and will pay for itself in a year.

I prefer this particular blown system for a couple reasons. Blown cellulose insulation performs very well, but you have to add water to it as it is blown in, and that just goes against everything I have ever learned abut building. Plus, cellulose is the primary food for mold, so I prefer the loose fill fiberglass. The two part expanding foam systems work well if you have an installer that really knows what they are doing. I have done a couple remodels where we opened up walls that huge voids in the foam because it wasn't applied properly. The BIB system I used is so easy, even I could do it without messing it up.

Scientest, TF Ghost, and cobolisdead, thanks for the encouragement. I am exploring other possibilities if the house doesn't sell, so hopefully the build does not get sidetracked.

Got it, sent a response.

Thanks for the encouragement Tom. We have been feeling a bit bummed out the last few days because we were making really good progress and getting excited about moving into the new house, but I am sure everything will work out just fine in the end.

Even with this glitch, I should still be finished before you are

I have slowed down the construction schedule on the new house a bit since the sale of my current home fell through, but we are still making progress and I thought I would update everyone on what we have accomplished.

I got a lot of siding material delivered to the house.



After several days of dealing with cold, wet weather, we had the exterior siding completed



The masons will be out to install the stone accents this week and I should have the column material in by Tuesday to finish the porch columns and the exterior will essentially be done.

While we were hanging siding, I hired a drywall company to hang all the rock in the house.



This is looking at the theater with the wet bar on the right side of the room.



Inside the theater looking to the back right corner where the equipment closet is. The theater is double 5/8" drywall with green glue (2 tubes per 4x8 sheet). It is amazing how much more difficult it is to handle a sheet of drywall when you only have 2 inches on the edges to hold onto. The top sheet on the wall slipped, and you can see the green glue mess it left on the top of the sheet. It won't be an issue because it will be behind the bulkheads, but I am very glad it didn't get on one of the finished surfaces. This stuff is incredibly sticky. The two round sheetmetal sleeves are the HVAC supply lines for the HT. 6" round, insulated duct will be run through the bulk head to supply the HT.

After the drywall was textured, we installed the bulkheads.



I decided to clip the corners of the bulkhead to give the ceiling more of an octagon type shape.



Another view of the angled corner.



The hanging wires are the leads for the can lights that will be installed in the bulkhead.

The electrician is at the house today installing the cans and the electric meter to the house, and I started hanging the cabinets for the wetbar and kitchen.





The cabinets are Cherry with a light "golden" stain. The finish is not actually that glossy, the camera flash just makes it look that way.

I hope to finish the cabinets and start the riser over the next few days.