House building subcontractors

[deaner]

Ive been looking to do it on my own, from some rough calculation it would be about a third the cost versus a company doing them. I also have large countertops so I would need to do pour in place. I have been doing some research and a lot of reading and it doesn't seem that hard. Lots of options with edges and colors, so im guessing a few practice pieces would be best. Concrete counter solutions is where I have found a bunch of info and they seem pretty helpful.

Good choice. I looked at their stuff quite a bit and just about bought it. Kind of wish I had in hindsight. Their Z forms look amazing. I cheaped out and just built my own forms though because I wanted the square edges. Not sure if they mention this but make sure you do a good job of sealing off the joints between your cement board that you pour on top of. I have some hairline cracking on a few of mine because I just siliconed the joints. If I were to do it again I would cement some fibre tape over the joints. Another thing I did was screwed my cement board down from beneath. All the resources i seen showed the guys screwing it down from the top. This way a guy can still remove the tops if you ever want to.

 

[Lunch_Box]

Good choice. I looked at their stuff quite a bit and just about bought it. Kind of wish I had in hindsight. Their Z forms look amazing. I cheaped out and just built my own forms though because I wanted the square edges. Not sure if they mention this but make sure you do a good job of sealing off the joints between your cement board that you pour on top of. I have some hairline cracking on a few of mine because I just siliconed the joints. If I were to do it again I would cement some fibre tape over the joints. Another thing I did was screwed my cement board down from beneath. All the resources i seen showed the guys screwing it down from the top. This way a guy can still remove the tops if you ever want to.

Good call on screwing the cement board from underneath, I wouldn't have thought of that. I am wanting to go with square edge for everywhere but the kitchen, go with the rock/slate edge there. Did you do a solid color? Add anything into cement for looks; color, stain, ...? You add any drip trays or anything? I am thinking of added a drip/drying tray into the sink. Was going to do built in sinks if I had a company do the work but ill stick with a standard sink if I give this a go.

 

[deaner]

Good call on screwing the cement board from underneath, I wouldn't have thought of that. I am wanting to go with square edge for everywhere but the kitchen, go with the rock/slate edge there. Did you do a solid color? Add anything into cement for looks; color, stain, ...? You add any drip trays or anything? I am thinking of added a drip/drying tray into the sink. Was going to do built in sinks if I had a company do the work but ill stick with a standard sink if I give this a go.

Natural concrete is my favorite look so I just went with standard grey portland. No drip trays or anything. I thought about the cast sink as well but very glad I didnt. Did stainless undermounts and just like how clean they are.

Edit....Used 2" styrofoam for the forms. Did a cutout in the cement board around 3" bigger than the sink cutout, screwed a sheet of melamine from the bottom, then siliconed the styrofoam on top for the sink hole. Worked awesome and was actually super easy. The blue stuff sands down glass smooth so you get a really nice clean edge around your sink.

 

[puddle]

I have worked with high end custom homes for over 20 years and am well educated with the latest and greatest building materials for exteriors. I am a siding contractor who is very familiar with natural and man made products for stick frame, hybrid and timber frame homes. I’d be happy to look at your project or give you advice thru your build.
Send me a pm.

 

[Lunch_Box]

Natural concrete is my favorite look so I just went with standard grey portland. No drip trays or anything. I thought about the cast sink as well but very glad I didnt. Did stainless undermounts and just like how clean they are. Used 1 1/2" styrofoam on top of my cement board for the forms. Worked awesome and was actually super easy. The blue stuff sands down glass smooth so you get a really nice clean edge around your sink.

You happen to have any pictures of the progress and finished product?

 

[Lunch_Box]

I have worked with high end custom homes for over 20 years and am well educated with the latest and greatest building materials for exteriors. I am a siding contractor who is very familiar with natural and man made products for stick frame, hybrid and timber frame homes. I’d be happy to look at your project or give you advice thru your build.
Send me a pm.

Sent you a PM, thanks.

 

[skegpro]

Lund on here makes windows.

https://eurocladsystems.com

 

[Mach1]

I use Craig Olson at Durabuilt if you need another quote,

 

[deaner]

You happen to have any pictures of the progress and finished product?

I really wish I would have taken more pictures. I have two of the kitchen but no progress pics. I built the cabinets as well. Doors started as raw maple slabs. First time doing it so was pretty happy with how they turned out.

Only thing I wasnt happy with on the counters was my slurry mixture I used to fill pinholes on the edges. It dried a lot darker and I waited too long to sand it down so I have some bigger dark grey spots. Could always get a diamond pad to take it off if it really bugged me though.

See if these photos work

 

[Mach1]

Nice looking deaner��

 

[deaner]

Oh....one more tip. We went with LED disk lights that go into a normal Jbox. We are super happy with them. Costco.ca was by far the cheapest place for them. Around 1/2 price of anywhere else.

 

[Lunch_Box]

Nice work on those counter tops, and hell of a job on those cabinets deaner. I don't have the skills or patience for that, wish I did as our Huntwood cabinets sure aren't cheap.

What kind of flooring do you have? Im wanting to go with wide plank douglas fir, but a lot of the places are saying we should look into luxury vinyl plank due to fact we have a great dane and soon to be 2 kids under 2. We have seen the rustic wood vinyl flooring in person and it does look good and a fair bit cheaper then then wood flooring, but I just can't wrap my head around putting vinyl floor down in this type of house.

 

[Lunch_Box]

As for the windows we are wanting either a fir interior or something similar and metal clad exterior, so that really limits our options as most places dont give you many choice for interior colors. All Weather has a stainable PVC fir interior, so its cheaper then wood but can be stained to match our timbers. So far that seems like the best option but still checking out with Lux.

 

[deaner]

Nice work on those counter tops, and hell of a job on those cabinets deaner. I don't have the skills or patience for that, wish I did as our Huntwood cabinets sure aren't cheap.

What kind of flooring do you have? Im wanting to go with wide plank douglas fir, but a lot of the places are saying we should look into luxury vinyl plank due to fact we have a great dane and soon to be 2 kids under 2. We have seen the rustic wood vinyl flooring in person and it does look good and a fair bit cheaper then then wood flooring, but I just can't wrap my head around putting vinyl floor down in this type of house.

Honestly just a cheap laminate from Home depot. We love it. We have 1,3, and 5 year old boys so no matter what we put down it is going to get destroyed. It is basically a commercial quality laminate and I think we paid 1.60 a foot because we bought so much. Shopped around quite a bit and found this is something others cant even touch home depot on. I know laminate has a stigma to it, but I love the stuff. Cheap, easy to put down, holds up to a ton of abuse, and when you get sick of it its not a big deal to change it out. Another thing for us is our house is on a slab so real wood wasnt an option. I really dont understand the advantage of engineered hardwood. Have some friends that paid 12 bucks a foot for theirs and doesnt look that much different than my laminate.

 

[Mach1]

Yes I agree on vinyl plank but have done lots and there are a lot of new stuff out now and looks amazing. But gotta look at the upper end thicker stuff and would hold up great, what I can't tell you if it would bring the home value down over wood. It all comes down to the budget or what you really want. It looks like it's a house you and your family will be in for a long time so all I can say is go with what you want as your not gonna rip it out later, choices choices lol

 

[Mach1]

Oh just curious what time is it there right now, lol

 

[Lunch_Box]

Oh just curious what time is it there right now, lol

Over here in Ghana?

Its 6 hours ahead of mountain time, so 4am currently as I type this. I work 6pm-6am out here to stay out of the heat, just not built for that.

 

[Lunch_Box]

Ya we had engineered hardwood in the house we sold, hated every bit of it. Anytime anything fell on it and dented it you needed a stain marker to cover up the damage.

Budget is open for either type of floor so thats not really an issue. Solid hardwood has the advantage that it can be refinished as much as needed. But the whole house will have a rustic look, so knots, twisting, scrapes and such wont really bother me. If anything add to the look. The wife really wants the vinyl as its a good bit cheaper and she has been told by her "moms groups" on facebook how amazing it is.

 

[Mach1]

Ya we had engineered hardwood in the house we sold, hated every bit of it. Anytime anything fell on it and dented it you needed a stain marker to cover up the damage.

Budget is open for either type of floor so thats not really an issue. Solid hardwood has the advantage that it can be refinished as much as needed. But the whole house will have a rustic look, so knots, twisting, scrapes and such wont really bother me. If anything add to the look. The wife really wants the vinyl as its a good bit cheaper and she has been told by her "moms groups" on facebook how amazing it is.

I agree it has its place, I just did 3000sqft older ranch style home and do every sq in go home with no transition anywhere and they love it. Stay with min 3/16 thick and if ever damage one can replace if need to. I love solid wood but always worried to scratch it lol

 

[Mach1]

Over here in Ghana?

Its 6 hours ahead of mountain time, so 4am currently as I type this. I work 6pm-6am out here to stay out of the heat, just not built for that.

well not bad, almost bed time soon lol