Been working on a Scandinavian-style tiny home right outside Pigeon Forge looking towards Gatlinburg. Making sure we keep as many trees as possible. Also building a hiking trial off to the side that will lead to a lookout point.

For those inclined it is a 1 bed, 1 bath 550 sq ft. Well was about a 1000 feet and we have to have a storage tank on site.

Two separate structures with T1-11 sheathing and Tyvek vapor barrier on the exterior, 2 x 6 construction. I recently had the walls insulated.

I’ve noticed that in south facing walls during the afternoon, hot sun - moisture develops on the plastic vapor barrier next to insulation.

The structures are closed during the daytime. I’ve noticed that in the mornings or cool days, there is no moisture on the plastic paper barrier. It only happens when it’s hot and sunny outside.

It has not rained thus no water entering structures and could not be moisture coming into the building. I’m thinking this could be moisture that may end up being in the fiberglass insulation.

Has anybody else experienced this or seen this?

Hey folks,
Is dinning table ok here or move to
Upper corner behind the sofa ? Also do I need to add some lighting ?
It’s a TH. Any suggestions will be helpful.

Does the window needs to be caulked to brick wall? It looks like it has a little flashing on the edge. These 2 replacement windows dont have sealant on and it has been like this for 12 years already

What material would you use to achieve a flat facade on the triangular temple portion of a new build that is designed to look like a historic Greek revival style home? I have considered Hardie architectural sheets or something similar. But none are big enough to completely span the distance without a seam (which presents another problem—filling them to appear seamless and avoid cracking from climate expansion/contraction).

I assume on historic homes, they used some type of interlocking shiplap or tongue and groove to minimize the gap and create a flat appearance. They may have used stucco too. But I’m looking for a minimal maintenance, paintable option that won’t warp or oil can as the years go on.

Any suggestions?

I bought two of these today to use in a shed for a temporary kitchen while we build our home. Once we’re done, I’d like to move them into our new pantry and potentially add a few more and top with a butcher block counter.
They’re just unfinished oak. My first thought was to stain them, but stained oak plus butcher block is a little much, and I will probably go with alder cabinets for our new kitchen so I don’t want the tones to clash. So I’m considering painting them but am worried about the upkeep of painted cabinets. I have a painted island in my current home but it was painted after being varnished or whatever was applied to the cabinets originally, so that finish hasn’t held up well.
Is painting raw wood easier to maintain? Any suggestions on products or techniques to make them last longer without needing to be redone? They’ll be in a shed for now and then in a pantry, so they won’t get the daily abuse of a kitchen, but I’d still like whatever I do to look good as last.

I'm in the early beginning phases of a custom high performance home in the metro-Atlanta area. My plan is to hire the build and design team simultaneously so everyone can be on the same page from the start. I've talked to a few builders specializing in high performance homes. Some say architect is the way to go; others suggest going with an architectural designer. Code does not require one or the other.

Architect comes with an official seal obviously but we'd still have to hire out for engineer's stamp and mechanical design (at least HVAC). Architectural designer comes with a significantly lower cost but no architect's stamp obviously. We would still have to hire out for the other aspects.

No matter what, we aren't hiring someone we don't trust to do a great job. So the question is, with all else equal, what is the benefit of hiring an architect? Is it simply the official seal and more of a project manager than just a designer? I understand the legal difference between and licensed architect and unlicensed designer but what is the practical difference in services rendered.

If you have ever been through this process yourself, I'd appreciate your wisdom.

Does anyone have experience working with Ironwood Modular in Spanish Fork, Utah? I like what I see on their website, and am seriously considering a modular home as an alternative to on-site, stick-built construction. The new construction costs in the area I want to live are astronomical.

I'm in a situation where I've had a terrible GC doing all sorts of things wrong. After I finally confronted the builder, asked them to fix the issues before the next payment, they packed up their stuff and abandoned the jobsite. Now I'm playing GC to get the project back on track.

I'm at a point where I'm preparing to finalize insulation and start drywall. I had my new insulation trade contractor do a site walk with me today. We peeled off some flimzy plywood around the entrance to my cold cellar and noticed the image below.

The prior contractor had dimple mat on the existing foundation walls, not mechanically fastened, and simply sprayed on top of it. The dimple mat bent and flexed to create a non-unifor bonding layer. Some spots have foam, others simply look like they've foam.

From my brief research, you should never spray ontop of dimple mat to begin with and this was done all wrong.

What do I do? The current trade suggested simply spraying the ends to seal itand adding more on top where it looks like there's little.

Do I have to rip it all out? There's a lot of wiring in this part of the basement as my electrical panel isn't far from here.

Will I even notice that much of a difference if we try to patch this up according to the current contractor's suggestion?

Edit:
Location is Toronto, Ontario

How do you finish around this electrical box cover with vinyl siding? Are you supposed to use a mounting box? J? There's a gap between the hinge part and the wall.

Siding will be vinyl d4.

Tomorrow the utility company will be placing natural gas pipeline placed into my house (built 70 years ago). Seems like a straight shot from street to where I’d want it placed, might need to go through mulberry trees. One of the guys (not the boss) said they are going to use a 2 inch pipe and try to bury it 24 inches. Anything I need to be thinking / asking / verifying? Just want to make sure everything goes in safely / etc.

I am getting ready to close on some land that has an existing LPD septic system that will be sufficient for my needs and home size. There used to be a manufactured home on the site that has since been cleared. All remnants of past hookups are gone. The power pole on site has the service line cut and there is city water that is already tapped, but like power, no meter.

I plan on having a modular home put on the land, but the build will take around 3-4 months. At what point should I start prepping the land and in what order? I'm planning on financing everything through a construction loan and want to reduce costs where possible. The modular builder said they will handle foundation and hookups and any trench work needed, but if there's anything I can do in advance, that'd be great to know.

Anyone have photos or diagrams that show the internal studs and wiring for a Clayton single wide home?

We are at the stage of construction where Sheetrock is up. We have trim, tile, and paint lined up next. Our builder asked if it’s okay to turn on the A/C since it’s still warm/humid in Southwest PA. He said he would add filters to all the returns that would be vacuumed daily. All cutting of trim would be done in the garage or isolated to one room. As we head into fall the HVAC system would not be used as much. I told him my concerns about using the new home HVAC and contamination of the system with dust and debris. He got quotes to bring in temporary heating/cooling at $20,000 for 3 months. Another option is to rent air scrubbers for $8,000 for 3 months. What are your thoughts on this? While temporary hvac would be ideal, $20k is more than I was expecting.

Area has a bit of crime, looking for concealed hinges or interior hinges. Having a hard time finding anything at big box stores, recommendations would be appreciated.

Hello everyone, I need some advice.

New house build in a neighborhood by a production builder.

The home inspector recommended to have a structural engineer come out to evaluate.

The builder does not seem intent on doing so.

Check out these photos/video and let me know if this is “typical” cracking or something worth investigating and fighting the builder on.

Video is in the comments.

We are funding a house build bit by bit as we save money, we are building in Ireland, cavity wall with 4 inch concrete blocks, 150mm cavity on strip foundations. We are planning on pouring the concrete slab before winter.

My question is, how do you protect the foundation blocks from frost? The area immediately above our footings fills with water when it rains because it is dug into the ground. That means there is sometimes 3 or 4 inches of water between the outer leaf of the foundation blockwork and the ground.

We didn’t fill this area because we wanted to lay plumbing and waste pipes in there at some point, but now I am thinking to protect the foundations we will have to fill it.

Area highlighted in yellow on the picture id what is excavated and partially fills with water during heavy rain (which we get a lot of)

Location: Oregon

Contractor: Custom Home Builder

Project Cost: $575k (1,500 sq ft addition, ground-up build)

I hired a custom builder for a full 1,500 sq ft ground-up addition. His framing crew framed the structure, and his own direct employees did the luxury vinyl plank (LVP) installation.

After noticing excessive squeaking and dips as I walked, I checked the floor with a straightedge. Across several 10-foot spans, I'm measuring as much as 1/2" of deflection / dipping.

The manufacturer installation guide explicitly states the subfloor must be flat within 3/16" over a 10-foot radius, so the current state is more than double the allowable tolerance, and (I think) voids my product warranty.

Is it unreasonable or outrageous to expect the builder to pull the LVP back up, properly prep/level the subfloor (grinding high spots / pouring self-leveler), and reinstall?

What is the best way to handle this conversation with him without completely putting him on the defensive?

Any specific technical red flags I should watch out for if they try to offer "quick fixes" instead of a proper tear-out and leveling (example: I know they put down tar paper in a few low spots already, I feel like paper is a questionable long term fix).

honestly starting to wish we just bought a standard fiberglass front door off the shelf. We designed this massive 5x9 foot solid wood pivot door for the entry and the structural prep has been an absolute nightmare. The framing crew completly ignored the extra blocking requirements we put in the plans for the overhead load

I ordered a heavy duty floor pivot system from abesco forever ago and its just been sitting in my garage while we fight with the GC about ripping into the subfloor to properly support the mechanism. The markup on custom homebuilding is a joke considering nobody actually reads the architectural notes unless you literally stand over them and watch them work

kinda wish I could go back in time and tell myself to stop looking at pinterest. My wife is stressed, im exhausted, and we havent even poured the driveway yet. Building a house is just paying for anxiety tbh

These are the final floorplans for the 1st floor of our home. Our builder will be framing soon, and has asked for last minute input. One thing is bothering me -- the kitchen sink placement.

I am planning on installing a pretty wide sink -- like 39" (with 42" clearance required), which is bigger than what is drawn in the plans. Looking at the plans, if we were to go with a big sink, it would basically start at the corner of the cabinet. That feels awkward, and also creates a lot of wasted pace with the corner.

I am wondering how we could adjust the sink placement. Do you think I should move it a few inches to the right (up) along the wall? We'd also have to move the window to the right to keep the sink centered along the window -- this would cause the window to be off-center from the outside, but more centered from the inside. We'd lose upper cabinets to the right of the dishwasher (could maybe install some floating shelves for decor / plants), but I think we have enough cabinet space elsewhere that it wouldn't be a problem.

The concrete where the garage door tie down is has sheared off. It’s also cracked and loose pretty much all the way to the first anchor bolt.

My GC said the concrete guys are waiting until framing gets done to fix.

Any of you framers think that concrete should be fixed before the sill plate gets attached or is this pretty standard? TIA

Building a 1750 sq ft 3 bed/2 bath house next summer in PNW with detached garage. Our mechanicals will be in an unvented/encapsulated 42" crawlspace. It is a monoslope roof with exposed 6x14 rafters and exterior roof insulation. The one thing I've been thinking about adding is a door separating the bedroom/closet. Any thoughts?