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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Properly done concrete shouldn't crack but if you're not up to doing it yourself then just the concrete could cost you $20K. :-(
But I have seen some awesome undergrounds and I might do one some day but then I've done a lot of concrete like floating barges, etc.
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J. Werlin
Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
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Don't waste your money on fiberglass batt insulation. Go with an open cell spray foam, preferably ICYNENE which is the only brand proven vapor permeable. The thick walls are unnecessary as after 4" of foam you are at 96%+ thermal efficiency already and at the top of a diminishing returns curve.
Pay attention to foundation insulation--2" of blue board in your rubble trench footers down to frost. Air tight (with a bath fan on an hourly cycling timer) will get you more efficiency than a truck load of fiberglass crap.
All the best for your project, scrounged houses are cool.
420 sq. ft. cottage we built last Fall.
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tomtom
Social climber
Seattle, Wa
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Head out to a failed housing development. Amazing what developers will leave lying around. The banks are stealing our tax money, and it's time to get some back.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there hobo_dan... say, great to hear from you here...
say, god bless and cheers to your new home project...
may it all go well, keep us posted... :)
sounds nice... have fun, too...
:)
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J. Werlin
Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
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Icynene foam is a castor oil base--no off-gassing.
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tooth
Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
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A buddy of mine is doing this in the Seattle area. We put together an alaskan chainsaw mill last weeekend so he can rip his own lumber/planks. He has been hand-peeling his own logs over the past year, and now has enough to build his small log home with walls as thick as logs, and I'm sure they insulate well enough. He's aiming for the 20K mark as well.
Make your own tools so you can make your own lumber, it will save you thousands if you can cut your own trees off of the property.
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Topic Author's Reply - May 8, 2010 - 10:45am PT
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This weeks "deal" is a Pella Storm door for $25- It has Aluminum cladding which I prefer over vinyl because it wont fade-crack from UV
I need to learn about the airtight risks- the windows I am using are not super super tight but still plenty good for my goals. There is a lot of wood in North Mn. so heat can be done cheap ly but I would like to build something that is just plain easy to keep running
Last November I go about 1800 sq. feet of 8"cedar siding that a gentleman had removed from his house. There is some cupping with the wood that was on the south side- the back side was not painted or treated-Any ways what I am wondering is what is the "best" siding? Cedar shakes and let them silver? Cedar siding like I have salvaged- complete with suburban beige color? I am not going with Vinyl Siding. i like the look of wood.
..........and she said.."for $200 I'll do anything you want.........and I said....."will you paint the house......."
ba dum bum
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slabbo
Trad climber
fort garland, colo
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Plumbing ? Are you using PEX stuff ? LP ? Gastite ? Spend time on the trench/drains. Any electrical ? I'm almost done with a 910' oval straw/cordwood house and it cost more than 20K.
Septic ? Water supply ?
john
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edejom
Boulder climber
Butte, America
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Cheap, but solid housing is the way to go--liking what I'm seeing so far upthread.
For non-builder types, just write a check for this house and be 30 min. (or less) to the might Boulder Batholith and Humbug Spires:-)
$20,000 - Single Family Home, 2 Beds, 1 Bath,
205 Crystal, Butte, MT
NOT my house, or interest, just a listing fitting the description of the OP title.
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mrtropy
Trad climber
Nor Cal
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I can not find it now but there was a video on youtube about a person who built many unique house in Oklahoma city, I think, for very little. Each was very inexpensive and interesting and had its own name.
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Ricardo Cabeza
climber
All Over.
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For plumbing, use pex off of a copper manifold, cheaper and easier.
I'm a carpenter, but it sounds like you've got it figured out so I won't discuss that.
Good luck and have fun!!
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rich sims
Trad climber
co
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Pate
Straw building a straw home is on my to-do list so far just drooling over book on what not and to do.
Hobo
I remember reading about a guy in Texas I think building small affordable homes out of mostly recycled materials. He had a waiting list to buy them.
My last home I built I scored 2’000 feet of oak flooring free , deals abound if you are open to it.
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J. Werlin
Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
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Sorry for the drift Hobo, but this has hit a nerve.
Strawbale r-values are more like r27.5 when tested under real conditions at the Oakridge labs.
The good news: this is plenty of insulation for any climate. I'm not debunking straw (I've built two now for folks), but the r-value thing in general is over emphasized and misunderstood.
Siding: after a good hardcoat stucco system my next choice would be a concrete board siding like Hardiboard. But that will break the 20k mark. Probably cedar would fit in nicely up in them woods.
//Home Energy Magazine Online March/April 1999
trends
in energy
Refining Straw Bale R-values
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Source: Commins and Stone, "Tested R-value for Straw Bale Walls and Performance Modeling for Straw Bale Homes," 1998 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings Proceedings.A new test of the thermal performance of a wall built with 19-inch straw bales laid flat revealed that the wall had an R-value of 27.5. While this relatively high R-value confirms that straw bale construction can decrease heating and cooling energy usages by up to nearly one-third over conventionally built homes, the new R-value is lower than those that have been previously reported.
The new test was designed to overcome problems that distorted straw bale's thermal performance in other tests. Staff at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conducted the test in their hot-box test chamber. The wall being tested was built using 19-inch two-string wheat straw bales laid flat and stuccoed on both sides. After a two-month drying-out period, the wall was put in the test chamber. The interior temperature was raised to 70°F, while the exterior temperature remained at 0°F for two weeks, in order to reach steady-state heat flow conditions. After this two-week period, the 19-inch wall had an R-value of 27.5, or 1.45 per inch.
In earlier tests, the R-values of walls constructed with 18-inch straw bales had ranged from 17 to 48 (see Table 1). The higher value resulted from a test of straw bale conductivity using a thermal probe. The lower value was thought to be due to air gaps between the gypsum board used to surface the warm side and the straw bales.
When weighing what R-value to use for modeling the performance of straw bale homes, the California Energy Commission gave the greatest weight to the most recent ORNL test but decided to use a slightly conservative R-value of 1.3 per inch (or R-30) for 23-inch walls. Using this value, the commission calculated total annual heating and cooling energy savings from building with straw bales in five California climate zones. The savings ranged from 12% to 22%, with an average energy savings of 17%.
//
--Mary James**
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cliffhanger
Trad climber
California
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If your land has lots of spindly conifers use them to build a double walled vertical log house. Space the walls 2' apart. Between the walls stuff in leaves, grass, moss, etc or even dirt for excellent insulation. Sort of like a survival debris shelter.
Install a heat exchanger where the stove pipe leaves the living space to capture the great amount of heat about to be lost. Break the pipe into many small pipes (ie 4-3" or even 16-1.5" 12' long), enclose them in a 2'x2' insulated fireproof tube, run a 4" pipe up with them to blow air up into the top of tube so that it will return back down into the house. I haven't worked out the optimums yet.
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 6, 2012 - 06:15pm PT
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An update--$20,000 will not make the nut but it would if I took out the well and the septic + the $2500 for the plumbing that I have to have a plumber install by Wisconsin law
So Far I've poured all of the 26 Footings and Plastic Cemetubes- I used plastic 55 gallon drums for the footing forms. The Cemetubes are like Sonotubes but way more durable. I was able to keep them up and out in the weather for 3 weeks as I set up the pour. Pour went well- 9 yards with minimal problems
I have picked up all of the insulation for about half price buying peoples extra left overs from big jobs
All of the windows are Pella and they are purchased
Siding is cedar- reclaimed
Trying to buy 20 gallons of paint tonight
Driveway went in for $1500
Permits have smoked me to the tune of about $1500- Brutal
The total for Cabin, Sauna, Privy will probably be around $40,000- 50,000 for everything completed. This includes $13,500 for land about $13,000 for well septic and plumbing.
Trying to get the Sauna up before winter so I can use it for a Nordic Ski base Camp by the Birkie trails
All of these numbers keep on adding up and up and up
$20 bills would have been cool but the family wanted a shower and an indoor toilet- Even then it would have been tough to keep it so cheap.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Rent a Backhoe. Build a roof.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Think straw bales:
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
The Illuminati -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Division
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But if it catches fire, you better watch out!
Burn baby burn!
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