Step 18b – Complete the Deck Frame
Thanksgiving break was the perfect time to give the concrete a few days to cure, and although it takes about a month to cure fully, it is already at about 60% strength now and that will be plenty to support …
Category: Building Your Own Home
Step 18a – Deck Ledger and Footing Forms
I figured that the most accurate way to position the footings for the deck would be to assemble the frame, ensure it is level and square, and then hang a plumb bob down where the center of the post will …
Step 18 – 2nd Story Walk Out Deck
Since I moved out on my own, I have had the opportunity to live in 7 different houses/apartments. I would say all of them except the first one (you’ve got to start somewhere, right?) had a really nice feature that …
Step 17d – Wiring the Panel
For some reason, I experience an immense pleasure stripping wires and making them look good, so making up the main panel was a very enjoyable task. I spent a great deal of time ensuring that it looked as clean as …
Step 17c – Securing Wire and Making Up Boxes
After all of the wires have been run between the main panel and the outlets, all the wires must be secured to the framing. The wires must be attached within 6″ of the outlets and at least every 54″ until …
Step 17b – Wiring Lighting Circuits
Lighting circuits are by far the hardest ones to wire. Modern LED lights use very little power, so I only used two lighting circuits for the entire house. One powers the first story lighting, and the other takes care of …
Step 17a – Running Appliance and Receptacle Wiring
With all of the gang boxes nailed into place, it was now time to run the wires from the main panel to each individual outlet. Bear in mind that what we refer to in English as an electrical outlet is …
Step 17a – Running Appliance and Receptacle Wiring Read more »
Step 17 – Electrical
Some people argue that you can build a net-zero home that uses fossil fuels but I am definitely not in that camp. My net-zero home will be all electric in the hopes that someday I can move from net-zero to …
Step 16d – Final Touches to Complete Dry-In
Door installation began by first checking that the rough opening was the correct size. I caught a mistake that I had made here, as my rough opening was unfortunately one inch short. I had to either install a smaller door …
Step 16c – Sheathe/WRB the Gable Ends
The last section of the house to be dried in are the gable ends. The gable end trusses cover an area of the house that is not heated, so it doesn’t need to be insulated. For this reason, I won’t …