Alternative home Questions

[Raider Bill]

Good Morning Gentlemen and thank you for taking my call,

I just found this forum and thought that I might pick some brains about my newest project.

I have purchased acreage in SE Tenn. My plan is to build a 50 X100X 16 metal building shell then divide it in half with one side my living space 3/2 and the other side my shop with additional shower and WC.

I have a brain full of ideas and many more questions.

In that I will have many trees at my disposal, I am thinking of buying a small portable sawmill so that I can do the living space to look like a cabin with a post and beam look to include self sawed wood walls.

1, Does anyone have experience buying/using a saw mill? I have been considering the Timber King 1600.

2, If and when I'm done can I make any side $$$ with one or would I be better served selling it.

3, In that my shell will be completely metal I plan on attaching my wall boards to the purloins with insulation in between. I figure I can work inside rain or shine. Post and beam will be for looks on the inside exterior walls and support for the loft area.

4, The living space floor will be stained and cut concrete over Styrofoam insulation. This will save me $$$ on either tile or carpet. I can use either in critical areas if I decide later.

5, I plan on insulating living space walls and the entire building roof. There is tons of insulation available to include batts, foam etc. I'm not sure what I will use at this time.

6, down the road I will face the exterior with natural wood or rock for aesthetics.

whew, just the though of it makes me want to take a break!

Thanks for the help

Raider Bill

LArgo, Florida

[mbailey]

Greetings Bill,

My family and I live north of Knoxville, Tn. We hope to build a log home in Grainger County just notheast of Knoxville. Sounds like you have a good plan. Any time you have trees availble you can save dollars and have the satisfaction of doing it yourself. I have thought about a metal building but we do not have the cash and I don't want to go into debt. I have a fellow just down the road with a sawmill and I hope to get him to cut much of my lumber. Do a search on this site and there will be some good info about sawmills.

Happy milling,

Mark

[Raider Bill]

Thanks for the reponse, My property is between Englewood and athens Tn.
I put this question out there on several boards. A couple of them quickly answered back that my idea to use a metal exterior is not smart. Condensation and insulation being tyhe major issues.
So now I'm back to a wood barn house idea.

Any Idea how long you have to air dry wood after milling before you can use it? I would cover it.

The actual mill I end up with is still undecided. I'll probaley end up building a much smaller metal garage to work out of and in that I have so much space I can hide it around back of some trees.

I'm really looking forward to this project! :roll:

[mbailey]

Raider Bill,

I would not completely throw out the metal building idea. I know of several offices and churches that are in metal buildings and they do quite well. We are considering a pole house using pressure treated poles. Much like you would build a barn, but the poles for the house would have to be closer together. We want to build something small and affordable so that we can move onto our property and then can start our log home. We have 4 children so a small mobile home will not do. Besides, my wife says she would rather live in a barn than in a mobile home. I can highly recommed 2 good books on pole building construction, Practical pole building construction by Leigh Sheddon and Low cost pole building construction by Ralph Wolf. They are both excellent and easy to follow. So either way you want to go it should be quite an adventure.

Take care,

Mark[/u][/url]

[Raider Bill]

Thanks I'll take a look. Actually, I chatted with a Arcitiec, [can't spell] the other day. He said that he has been involved in several metal building conversians and that they were very costly in the long run. I'm back at a wood frame house idea which I guess will fit in better as I have a lot of timber on the land. I've always like the barn look. Something like a 24x40 great room with split plan bedrooms on either end.
Total square footage of 2000 I think
decisions decisions

[greenthumb]

I helped my dad build a 60x80x16 metal building with 3" fiberglass insulation and epoxy sealed floors. We had problems with water condensing on the floor coating while we were working on it- until the doors were installed. Now there are no problems- it stays dry on the inside just fine. I have seen a number of 'apartments' built inside metal building hangars for folks who have a love of flying, and can't afford the nice house next to a huge hangar on a small local air strip. One guy I've talked to used the floor plans from a double wide to make it easier to work with. I don't think they've had problems with condensation. Now, mounting wood siding on the metal exterior might be problematic.

As for building a smaller shop, just keep in mind that you'll run out of room just that much quicker. :wink: We managed to fill up the 60x80 in no time, and I've barely begun collecting building materials.

[Raider Bill]

Run out of room, No Way!~
I've got a attached 2000 sqft shop at my house now in Florida, I've been out of room since the day I moved into it. Just the old HArley's take up most.
What area did you build the metal home in?