BIT: Designing & building a home/shop

[blackeagle603]

On a simple rectangular structure ICF's are (can be) mostly a one man operation. Total system cost is low compared to traditional poured walls considering you get insulated walls out of the deal and don't need to buy/build/rent traditional forms.

A buddy rebuilt after a wildfire in the mountains here with ICFs. Really nice/simple to work with and yielded a really nice finished product.

[HTRN]

I've worked in places so close to residential housing, I could look out the window and see in someone's kitchen.

Sound Attenuates rapidly. About the only place I'd be concerned is if you were operating something like a big punch press where the shock wave can travel a surprising distance. The biggest transmitters of noise from interior to exterior is windows, something that tends to be rather less of than a house.

ICF is easy to do, but I'm not sure on costs. Also something that you may have a hard time making it aesthetically pleasing - the neighbors may be willing to tolerate a little noise, but nobody wants to live next to a warehouse.

A stick built structure, made to look like a barn is easily done in small increments, straightforward, and can be made to blend in. Insulation is easily done with either Fiberglass batt, or better yet, spray closed cell foam(there are a number of DIY sources for it online).

[TheIrishman]

If you're building a house, ICF's are great because you can do the basic exterior framing yourself. Stack the form, insert re-bar, and have trucks pump cement(using a vibrator to work out air) and you are done. My parents house is concrete block, NOT CINDER BLOCK, but solid concrete block on a slab. The apartment on the first floor stays cool in the summer(takes a long time for heat to soak in) and warm in the winter(takes a long time to radiate heat). ICF is as close as you will get to solid block or filled cinder block, for less labor cost and easier DIY. For a work shop, go with a "pole barn" structure having 6" walls and insulate accordingly. My sister just put up a 50x50 pole barn for 7k in NJ. Labor costs being less in almost any other part of the country, with a poured floor and insulation you could easily build a work shop for the same price. Even if you farm all the work out, doing the general contracting yourself will save a lot.

[Termite]

This thread needs renaming. Building a man-cave is definitely NOT a Bad Idea Thread.

[Mud_Dog]

This thread needs renaming. Building a man-cave is definitely NOT a Bad Idea Thread.

Indeed, I was referring to the idea of using Sand Bags. I'm next to Ft. Bragg so picking some up at a surplus store might be easy & fairly cheap though I haven't looked around. Definitely going to be a fun build if I ever get it going.

Thanks guys for the suggestions on the ICF & concrete, looks fairly easy to do but I'll have to price pouring the concrete wall construction. Did not know about the 2 layers thing, makes sense though! I'll probably have about 10k or less to spend on this project, don't need to get too far into debt since I don't plan on staying here for more than 5 years. Especially if they kill the Gunsmith Dept.

You know, it's quite possible to make a short indoor range VERY QUIET to someone standing outside about 100 feet away, especially when most of it is underground.

I was actually looking to cut a ditch out to the the sand, and then covering that for a mini plinking range that would be fairly quiet. But I do like the idea of putting it partially underground, not sure how well that will work in Eastern NC.

Speaking of which, there was a Murder/Suicide not 20 yards from me a week and a half ago in the duplex next door. I was home at the time and heard the shots, sounded like someone threw the plastic trashcans down the street. The guy was using a .30 '06 from what I was told. I thought it was some kids playing a prank or something.

I didn't realize they were gunshots until I later went outside to walk the dog and saw the ambulance/police cars.

[308Mike]

Speaking of which, there was a Murder/Suicide not 20 yards from me a week and a half ago in the duplex next door. I was home at the time and heard the shots, sounded like someone threw the plastic trashcans down the street. The guy was using a .30 '06 from what I was told. I thought it was some kids playing a prank or something.

I didn't realize they were gunshots until I later went outside to walk the dog and saw the ambulance/police cars.

When I was still in my LATE teens, I had a ND in the apartment I lived in with my future spouse (she was also present and we were arguing about the commie traitor), and I used punctuation from a .308 rifle (HK-91), while pointing it at the TV as that commie traitor bitch Jane Fonda was on the screen (I shot my TV to death in our apartment). And amazingly, NO ONE called the police to report the minor explosion in our apartment (which faced an open courtyard and pool with BBQ's). I FULLY expected the cops to show up and was surprised when nothing happened after 1/2 an hour. I could have created diamonds that night if my fiance had shoved lumps of charcoal up my ass.

I can only guess that the shot didn't sound like a shot in the apartment, especially with the heavy-sound-attenuating-drapes we all had (which also kept the heat and cooling bills down), and the lack of any other loud sounds like screams, fighting, the sounds of other stuff breaking, etc, etc. And had the cops showed up to the complex, all they would have found is a broken TV in the dumpster. I was VERY surprised (and VERY THANKFUL) the round didn't pass through the TV and hit anything else. The TV absorbed ALL the shot energy; and we needed a new TV anyway, so everything worked out for the best!!

I've not had a ND or AD since then, and the feeling I had when it happened made me want to vomit. Although NOT recommended, having your own NON-INJURY (preferably by all means) ND or AD will certainly help to ensure it NEVER happens again (and don't clean your firearms while commie traitor bitches are on TV and you're also having something to drink - NOT a good combination!).