DIY Home Building Project

A Modern Farmhouse in the Making

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Toil and Trouble

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Toil and Trouble

It was a beautiful day to pour concrete – cool and sunny.  All potential problems were cleared.  Our crew was ready at 6:00 am.  Nine trucks were ordered for a timed, orderly delivery.  All was routine.

The pump truck arrived.  Normally the lot is dry, but we’ve had rain recently.  A steady trickle of water was running across the front of the lot.  The pump truck drove onto the lot, and…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Report from the trenches.

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Report from the trenches.

Report From the Trenches

The good news is that we are pouring concrete at 7:00 am Monday morning.

The bad news is that it’s rained a lot, and we had some problems to address.

First, the plumber noticed that one of the foundation walls was slightly out of square….and the wall had to be taken down and redone.

Then a tractor needed to drive onto the foundation under-slab fill to excavate for the…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project - Plumbing Preferences

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Plumbing Preferences

Plumbing Preferences

Yesterday John Podolak, our plumber came over to lay out his sewer lines in the foundation.  The sewer pipes have to go in prior to pouring concrete.  Sewer lines are 4” PVC pipes.

Normally water lines today are made of PEX (polyethylene) material, and are also run through the slab.  However, we are using copper lines and running them through the walls.  Some folks might not…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project -Foundation, The Inside Scoop

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project -Foundation, The Inside Scoop

Foundation, The Inside Scoop

People often assume that a slab foundation is solid concrete.  But, as you can see from the photos, that’s not how they are made.  They are mostly a fill material.  Some builders use ordinary dirt and rocks from the site, but Jim-Bo will only use crushed limestone, or road base, as it is called.  Limestone is quarried in our area and is crushed into a mix of small…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project - Firewood Fun

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Firewood Fun

Some Firewood Fun

We try to keep as many trees as possible.  It breaks my heart to lose a good tree.  But there was a small oak in the foundation area that had to come out.  Rather than see it hauled away, we cut it up for some good firewood.  They say a man who cuts his own wood is thrice warmed.  On this hot September day Chris and Jim were more than thrice warmed!

Modern Farmhouse Series –…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project - Permit Playbook

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Permit Playbook

Permit Playbook

Some people say that you don’t need permits when you are not in a city, but that is not true – not at all.  Unfortunately, there is no one place where you can go to get a list of permits and inspections needed for your job.  It’s all a deep mystery.  We had to call each jurisdiction several times and hope to get a live being on the phone.  We set up a permit folder to keep us on…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project - Love Your Foundation

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Love Your Foundation

Love Your Foundation

The foundation on the front and right sides of this house is going to be tall.  A lot of concrete exposure on the front would not have been our choice – if we had a choice.  But you have to “dance with who brung you,” as I like to say.  The lot has a side slope and we don’t like interior level changes.  And that leads to tall concrete.

Concrete is usually hidden or…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project - To-Do-List

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – To-Do-List

Things-To-Do Today

There are some exciting moments in building a house.  OK, maybe just two exciting moments.  The slab pour is definitely one, and I’ll let you know if I think of another one.

Mostly building is just a long to-do list.  Here are some items we checked off lately:

Silt Fence.  (Shaun Tenber – 817-235-1713 –He put up the silt fence for us.)

PortaCan.  (We used Blue Chem – a new…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project - Exterior Color

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Exterior Color

Early Decision on Color

White siding with dark trim is all the rage in Austin.  It’s a clean, crisp style that looks great with a dark metal roof and dark window sashes. Here’s a good example:

White would not be a wrong choice for us, but the other exterior materials might look better if combined with a contrasting color.  We are planning a dark grey for these reasons:

This lot has a side…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project - Survey

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Survey

The Survey is Ground Truth, or is it?

In order to design the house in the first place, Jim took lots of measurements.  Jim draws all our plans.  That’s a gift he has.  He knows where the lot lines are, and every tree, and every change in ground level.  He’s not psychic – he goes out there and measures.

Now that the lot is open and walkable, our foundation guy came over and put up batter…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project - Hot Days

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Hot Days

Hot Days, Hard Work

  Tree Tom was our lot clearing guy.  He brought over his son, whose been clearing since he was 12, and a couple of other guys.  Plus a giant chipper, and small backhoe.

We paid Tree Tom’s crew for their work by the day.  This could not be done as a contract bid, since we made decisions on the work as we went along.  For three days, Tree Tom’s guys cut Ligustrums, dead…

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MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project - Good Boots

MODERN FARMHOUSE – A DIY Homebuilding Project – Good Boots

Papa’s Boots

So we needed a pair of tall boots for Jim-Bo to wear as part of his chigger avoidance program.  This required a fun trip to Cavenders Boots, in south Austin, next to Central Market.

We selected these:  Ariat International, Inc. – Impact II 8-in. Lace-Up Boots

Later, Jim was reading his copy of Fine Homebuilding, and saw that these very boots were noted as a great construction boot. …

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Ligustrom Forest

Our lot had some big cedar elms, oaks, Texas Persimmons.  But, there were plenty of trash trees too.  A whole lot of a Ligustrums had grown in over many years.  The hardwoods are “pruned” up high because the Ligustrums choked off light to their lower parts. 

We checked with the Wildflower Center and Mr. Smarty Pants agrees Ligustrums should go!  

Mr. Smarty Plants stands solidly with your arborist and applauds you enthusiastically for getting rid of those nasty, invasive Ligustrums. They do provide shade and privacy but at the expense of beautiful native trees that can do the job as well or better. Believe me, you'll be glad those Ligustrums are gone!

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A Tiny Problem

We all came home with chiggers after a hot afternoon of chopping down Ligustroms.  Of course, none of us want to get chiggers, but Jim, Sr. is allergic to them.  So that’s a problem we need to solve, or he just won’t be able to tramp around on the lot.   

Jim looked up the US Army’s Chigger Specs, and followed them to the letter (as he always does with any directions): 

1.   Get a pair of tall boots

2.   Wear pants tucked into the boots and tighten laces

3.   Treat pants and boots with Permethrin Repellent 

Permethrin was found at Dicks Sporting Goods.   

So far it has worked perfectly.  No chiggers on Jim-Bo.  The rest of us just spray a little Deep Woods Off on our shoes, and still get an occasional chigger.  When Jim comes back from the lot, he puts his pants and boots into a box, since they have that Permethrin stuff on them.

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