The Floor Joists

Descriptions to come... for now enjoy the pictures!

Money Spent: $949
$ 889 2x8s
$   50 20 lbs screws
$   10 3 3/4" 1 lb 1 5/8" 2hc drywall screws 250

The Misc Building Materials

We all have a miscellaneous drawer...

Money Spent (so far): $2288

$   10 2 lbs CRS drywall screws

$ 502 portland cement, flashing, drawer slides, etc.

$ 11 3 lbs GR5 bolts

$ 75 caulk and glue

$1265 plywood for forms, subfloor, and roof

$ 14 table cut-off wheel

$ 26 screws, clear sealant

$ 28 latex paint and outdoor dryer vent and pipe

$ 10 rollers and drill bits

$ 71 2x6s and a bolt
$ 250 thank you meals and gifts
$ 26 drywall screws

The Windows

We bought several windows at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, but our best windows were given to us by our neighbors Melanie and Andy.

Before the second pour, Ben hand mixed concrete to make solid window-hole bottoms. Ben glued sills out of 2x6s. After he installed the sills--plum, square, and flush with the future wall surface--he and Sam set in the windows. Then they stopped up the gaps with insulation.

Frosty!

Our views are amazing.

Money Spent: $317

$220 vinyl windows

$  47 windowsills (6 2x6 12 hem fir)
$  50 2x6x12 SEL struc df

The Preparations for Working in Winter

We plugged the big holes in the walls with plywood, cardboard, fiberglass, and blue-board. We plugged little holes with more fiberglass, caulk, and empty mortar mix bags.

Oscar, the stove Ben built for his boat, heated the house with scraps, venting his smoke out one of the window holes.

The Electricity

Once there was a place to hang a meter we applied for our electrical permit. We then had to mount the meter on the wall using brackets Ben welded up and bolts through the wall holding 2x4s. We dug a 50' trench from the wall to the power pole; we then laid the conduit with a pull rope inside and grounded the meter. Finally, the power came. Goodbye, generator!

Money Spent: $1200
$ 200 electric permit
$ 125 Flathead Co-Op Deposit
$ 356 Flathead Co-Op Balance
$  92 materials for electricity
$ 133 meter box
$  15 breaker box
$   4 coupling
$   5 breaker (wrong kind)
$   6 circuit breaker (right kind)
$ 171 copper wire and breakers
$  93 sched 40 PVC electrical conduit, 2 copper grounding rods

The Radiant Heat

I was super excited about the idea of radiant heat. I did a whole bunch of research and ordered the system way back in August (we thought we would be putting it in in September or October...it finally got put in end of December/beginning of January). It turns out that it was a lot of work because of the structure of the house and the stove and Sam admitted he wished we hadn't decided to do it. I have a feeling we will be glad for it when our feet are nice and toasty during the cold Montana winters.

We put chicken wire on the sand and then laid the radiant heat PEX tubing on top.

Our daughter inspected our work.

This is the console for the radiant heat.

We had to thread the PEX through the concrete foundation (Sam and Ben had made little holes throughout the concrete to accommodate this). The PEX got kinked here and there, so Sam ordered couplings so we could fix that.

PEX!

We can totally do this, right?

Right.

Money spent (so far): $2585
$2180 radiant heat system
$ 257 shipping for radiant heat system
$  58 PVC and threaded rod
$  30 wire mesh
$  42 couplings and shipping
$  18 copper pipe and fittings