Hobbit Home Progress.

What brand/model toilet are you installing?

Matthew Nistico wrote:What brand/model toilet are you installing?

Cheap home depot one.  😁

Edit :  checked my phone for a picture ....

Dave Lotte wrote:

Matthew Nistico wrote:What brand/model toilet are you installing?

Cheap home depot one.  😁

Excellent choice!  I bought a Toto toilet at 3x the price, which even my plumber commented on when installing it, noting that I'd picked a pro-quality brand.  I chose it because it is fully glazed throughout the interior plumbing, whereas in cheap toilets the glazing extends no further than at the bottom of the bowl; beyond where you can see it, the porcelain is left unglazed.  Thus, mine is less likely to clog.  Okay, sounds like a good thing to have and worth paying extra for.  Mine is also dual flush and low flow (i.e. water saving).

It has turned out to be terrible : (

I'm sure having a fully glazed toilet is a good thing, but it has so not been worth the other drawbacks.  First of all, I don't know if this is a feature common to all dual flush toilets, or all low flow toilets, or perhaps mine was somehow just installed wrong - though I don't see how that could be the case - but there is practically no pool of water inside the bowl.  That is important, because the pool of water serves an important purpose!  Without it, literally every other time I use the toilet I must spend 15 seconds with the toilet brush or else have a very dirty bowl, as anyone might well imagine.  I cannot conceive that Toto thought this was a worthwhile trade off in order to save water.  At least, not in my market area - I live an hour's drive away from a temperate rainforest; water here is in no short supply.  I suppose that in desert climates they may have stricter regulations requiring such toilet features, but here I would NOT deem the inconvenience a good trade off.  (I plan to soon transition to a compost bucket toilet, so it will no longer be an issue!)

But the worst was when, after many years, the toilet started to run continuously.  The fill valve had failed and needed replacing.   Nothing unusual, and certainly no big deal, or so I thought.  But it was then that I realized how poorly designed this toilet actually is.  The bulky dual flush selector mechanism is dead center of the toilet tank, meaning that the fill valve is crammed to one side leaving little room for your fingers to get to it.  What is on the other side of the tank?  Nothing.  Meaning that Toto could easily have offset the dual flush selector mechanism to one side, leaving plenty of room to service the fill valve.  But they didn't.

Further, and far worse, this toilet is designed around a "streamlined aesthetic," so that the pedestal merges seamlessly with the tank.  Those pretty, clean lines result from eliminating the tank overhang on either side of the pedestal, like in a normal toilet, as can be seen in the photo of your cheap-but-actually-functional toilet from Home Depot.  That overhang is where you would normally reach under to access the nut and washer securing the water line up into the fill valve.  In my model toilet, since there is no overhang, you have to access it from the back of the tank.

First, the obvious: most people have never even seen the back of their toilet.  Why not?  Because toilets are ALWAYS installed backing up to a wall!  I could ONLY even attempt to access it because the wall behind this toilet happens to be skeletal, being in an unfinished house.  Otherwise, you would need to drain and detach the entire tank just to gain access.  But it was still a miserable job even with fortuitous access to the back of the toilet, because there is only a small hole in the back of the porcelain tank through which to access the water line connection to the fill valve.  You cannot get a tool through that hole, and only a small child could easily get their fingers through.

In short, I successfully replaced the fill valve and repaired the toilet, but it took hours!  In a finished home with a solid wall behind the toilet, any professional plumber on a service call would take one look and determine that the labor would cost more to replace the $20 fill valve than to replace the entire $300 toilet ($300 when I purchased 15 years ago; probably more today).

So, Toto has managed to design and market a very expensive, disposable toilet.  This could only be intentional - you cannot convince me that their engineers, who design toilets for a living, are actually this ignorant of the process to complete even the most basic toilet maintenance.  How has Toto managed to maintain a good reputation as a top-of-the-line brand?  I cannot guess.  Except that perhaps it is because the same plumbers who determine that reputation are the ones who sell and install expensive, disposable toilets!

Matthew Nistico wrote:

Excellent choice!  I bought a Toto toilet at 3x the price.

It has turned out to be terrible : (

Agreed.  I picked up one of those high efficiency washing machines - that does everything but do what its supposed to.  6 different settings 8 different washing motions.

Throw in a load of dry bed sheets on " normal" and it tries to wash them while they are still dry.  Does not add enough water.
Throw in a load of dry bed sheets on " bedding" setting, and it fills it right to the top and the sheets - sit there and float the whole time.

Throw the damn thing out and get one with low, medium and high water level switch that I can set.
Save more water than washing bed sheets three times in a row.

150 meters of 12/2 wire ready to go.

Temporary bathroom countertop is in its place, toilet flange in place, marked where the water lines will need to go.
Since i needed to check the new toilet for damage, as well as figure out the placement of the water lines....  the toilet and sink have now been repacked for safe keeping until a later date.

Temp Kitchen counter has water lines roughed in, all it needs now is hydro and sewer.

Bathroom water pipes roughed in, forgot the washing machine pipes...
Power panel ready for wiring.
Needed to drill a straight line of holes - time to set up the laser level.

One step at a time.

Hello all.

Been a while since i posted, as i am working hard towards the occupancy permit.

Found this door at the Habitat for Humanity Restore.  
Don't  really need a door going into the back porch, but would like to isolate the temperature zone - a door thats not a door ? - this works 😁

With some feedback that a translucent glow,  in the dark dragon door knocker- door handle may be considered a bit tacky .  I am trying a custom approach for the door handle.

Using the backer plate from the dragon head door knocker and adding a bit of a handle, this is what i came up with....

It is printed a bit too small in Aztec Gold ( the first picture is the right colour, other pictures are with no flash )

May have to try the translucent idea anyways.

Thoughts ?

Well.  First off i will say, when the building inspector says i need doors to get occupancy permit,  i don't  argue - yup, o.k.  no problem.

First test run of building my own door jambs and framing.  This being a custom build in an 8 inch thick wall makes it all the more interesting.

Mini sky, blue, translucent dragon head was just a fun side trip while i was at it.  All hard work and no play .... yada... yada ... yada.  I have both made,  only this one has lights so far.

Door jamb has been air sealed and fitted will foam gaskets.  Rare earth magnetic latches top and bottom so there is no "door handle"  to turn - just push or pull open.  Just clicks into place.

Camera makes the dragon look glaringly bright.  It is not.

No sanding or finishing as of yet,  when the door is open,  the dragon would hit the chair rail.  May have to raise them both just enough to clear the chair rail.  Which means blending and covering the old door handle hole and outlines....

Thoughts ?  Have to redo the door stop frame  - magnets look ungly, screws too long.

With the back porch isolated from the main house - it is only glass, but still a barrier....

Almost a 10 degree difference overnight. Between the back porch and the main room.
Will have to add a bit of heat in there to keep things from getting to cold for now.

On the plus side, 15 F or -9 C last night and the main house dropped from 56 F down to 55 F (12 C) with the dehumidifier running.
Not bad.

3 degrees F (-16 C ) overnight, and the house dropped from 55 (12 C ) to 52  ( 11 C) ..... not bad.

Back porch with the new door ?  Down to 47 F (8 C )
Dehumidifier is still running other than that .... no heat aource at all.

54 F on Jan 26.  11:30 pm.
8 F  (-13.3 C)  that night.
52 F on Jan 27.  8:32 am.

A regular house with no heat and just a dehumidifier running would lose that in an hour or less.

Yes, the humidity in the old house is really dry ( about 15 %) not the 1 % in the picture.

I have had some people say,  i am "preparing for world war 3" ... "a prepper" ... building " the bunker"....

When in fact there are a variety of reasons i am building this type of home.

1.  Storms :  The weather is getting more and more unpredictable, as mans impact on the ecosystem becomes more apparent.  Lasts nights - 27 cold snap proves this.
The summer heat is the same.
Let me ask you this.  What would happen if the power went out last night ? OR... If my heating system broke down ... i would need to pay extra charges to get it fixed NOW at 3 am !
With this home, i will have a few days to react ( at least )

2. Insurance :  Any time there is a severe wind storm... hail storm... you have to make a claim to the insurance to get said items fixed and repaired.
Not so much in a storm proof home.
Hail ? Non issue.
Wind? Non issue.
Side note here...
I have seen a house fire, that burns so hot, it melts the siding off adjacent buildings.
Exterior fire ?  Non issue.
Since this particular home is built in a gravel pit, with one of the sump pump pits built into a verticle sand bar - flooding is a Non issue.

3. Building materials : Almost all building materials fade and fail in sunlight ( U.V) .
Shingles need to be replaced, siding dulls and cracks....
Earth sheltered ? Non issue. Grass gets greener.

4.  Extra insulation :  living in an old farm house,  the first thing i wanted to do was renovate, add more insulation to lower heating bills.
With a regular house this is major construction...  how do you add 10 inches of Styrofoam and still nail on the pretty siding ?
Earth sheltered homes,  you can add 6 inches or you can add 6 feet.  Your budget is your limit.

5.  Unstable government :  now that the government is really pushing the electric mandate,  how many more brownouts, blackouts and power failures are coming our way ?
Super cold outside ? You are using to much power to heat your homes, and charge your cars.. Its our fault.
Super hot outside ? You are using to much A/C and charging your cars for the grid to handle ...  Its our fault.

So, when someone says " your just being paranoid and building a bunker"....

That person missed the point entirely.

Well, i did not expect that.

You are familiar with my new back door from the Habbitat For Humanity ReStore in Stratford for 60.00 $ ?

Went into the London - Habbitat For Humanity ReStore - looking for a set of 3 matching doors.
Since the 2 bedroom doors are off the living room as well as the main bathroom door - should be all matching.... right ?  Walking through the store ( keeping in mind i need closet doors as well )  and i come across 8 doors 24 inches wide - filled with glass panels.  Did not think much about them - other than they are too narrow for my 36 inch wide openings - untill i also came across a 48 inch door slide kit for 30 $.
Quickly went back to the 24 inch wide doors, and selected 2 that were 80 inches tall, ( 60 $ each ) and took them home for my master bedroom closet ( did not find a matching set of 3 -  36 inch wide doors in London.)

The sliding closet doors installed rather nicely in the rough opening - i will fine tune all the doors and door trim after occupancy - for right now, get em in and get em working !
Yes, i need to cut away the floor 2x4 - but since the doors are hanging from the sliders - very easy to remove and adjust/ fine tune.

The sliding doors worked so good, i wanted to go back and get another set for the spare bedroom - but first - swing by Stratford, and see if they had a set of 3 doors i could use ( still need em).  Went into Stratford Restore, and - yee haa !  3 matching doors ! 36 x 80.  ( 35 $ each )  Picked up 3 sets of hinges ( 3 $  each ) and brought it all home.

After that trip, headed to the London ReStore, picked up 2 more glass doors, ( still 4 there ) but had to go to the home depot to get the slider track ( twice the price of the ReStore @ 60 $ ).

All in all a good day.  Both closet doors are aquired, 3 matching main room doors are aquired back door and mechanical room are installed with a solid wood door for the ensuite bathroom.  All for about the cost of 3 brand new doors at the store.

Building inspector wanted doors ?  I got doors.  😁😂  i have some work to do.

The building inspector is just doing his job - no whining! He doesn't make the rules.

Dave Lotte wrote:

When in fact there are a variety of reasons i am building this type of home.

And I agree with *all* your reasons.

My son needs to build a home. I would have liked some of the types with lower embodied energy, but my Municipality is not at all willing to consider alternatives.

Like you, it will have much more concrete than I would have liked, but it's being designed to be fireproof and as earthquake proof as we can manage. We're trying to build on a high spot, but with the type of rain the wet coast has been getting, I'm going to have to be creative with rain gardens, redirection, artificial wetlands etc. to encourage the water to go where we want it. That said, if we flood, we'd be talking inches not feet due to the topography for at least the next 100 years. We will likely drop if the Cascadian Subduction lets go, and coupled with sea level rise, things will get iffy. Hoping the family will be waterfront but not flooded, but I won't likely be here to see it.

We are definitely getting a certain amount of pushback from his wife's side of the family, but we've got our priorities straight. Most homes built in our area will be unlivable if there's an earthquake higher than Mag 5.

So I totally get what you're doing.  

Great score on all those doors!

In my last post, I had picked up all the doors i needed for the Hobbit Home.

Now for the bad news.  Lesson learned...  MEASURE EVERYTHING !

When i went into the Stratford ReStore,  they had 5 doors marked at 36 X 80, but only 3 of them were 36 inches wide.  The other 2 doors were 32 inches wide.  Not a big deal, very noticeable - picked out the 3 I needed and went home, after notifying the staff ....

Then went to the London ReStore picked up the 2 glass doors and took them home, only to realize that one was 5/8 th of an inch shorter than the other !  All of the glass doors had the same label on them ( 24 x 78 1/4 ).

Luckily,  after taking both back to the store,  they still had a couple of these doors in stock,  and was able to exchange the shorter door for the matching size.  The replacement door did have a door knob hole drilled through it,  but the large round slider handle fit in nicely...

It all  worked out in the end, but i could have been stuck with mis-matched doors....

Spare bedroom closet doors installed , locking bathroom door installed,  locking master bedroom door installed - spare bedroom door ready to hang after routering out hing points.

Now... to get walls 😁

There's often a reason stuff gets donated!!!

For Christmas, my request to Hubby was to find me a 12-16 ft combination metric/Imperial tape measure narrow enough to fit in my back pocket. He found some at Canadian Tire and they were even on sale so he picked up several. They had metal clips for belts, but I find on the farm, belt clips aren't secure enough and just get in the way. We unscrewed the clip on one, making it even narrower by 1/8th of an inch. Having one easy to take shopping was also in my thoughts!

Glad you managed to fix the door problem - just a shame it took extra time and driving to accomplish!

Yes, if the Inspector wants doors to give you a residency permit, I expect walls are also on that list! And easy safe egress from the bedroom!

Its starting to make sense now....

I have been told by " alternative builders " that there is up to 600 gallons of water in my new floor that was poured not too long ago.
Now that the build is progressing and i can run the dehumidifier with the on board storage tank ( not draining into the gravel floor ) I am getting about 1 gallon a day ( dumping 8 litres every 2 days ).

Edit :  The humidity levels are holding steady at 41 % - no lower.

Now, contrary to the advice from ALL of the " normal" home builders - who are telling me it is o.k. to lay flooring on top of a freshly poured concrete floor - i will give it a bit more time before that next step.

Estimated 600 gallons - 1 gallon per day = 600 days.

This makes sense now, as the general ( but not followed ) rule is it takes about 2 years too dry out a concrete floor.

Still here.

Sick as a dog for the last three weeks, so not much accomplished.  Did find out that with a constant below freezing temperature outside, and nothing running inside,  the minimum temperature so far in the Hobbit home is about 44 F or 6.6 C

Will have to go out and warm things up just a bit though.... - to be on the safe side.

From everything I keep hearing, the last month of Ontario weather can be summed up in one word: abysmal

Get well soon and stay warm!

Did not know this....

Ever since i enclosed the Hobbit Home,  and started dehumidifieing, there has been a spot on one beam - and only one beam - that was turning silver - about 12 inches long....
Of course, me being the home owner and concerned with mold, mildew or rot, had to look into this more closely, as the silver colour has now spread to about half the bottom of this one beam.

Turns out, it is a natural process, and highly sought after, as it adds character and a certain beauty to the wooden beams overhead.

Will have to keep an eye on this - but all info points to leave it and love it.

So much for that idea...

Nice warm spring day out, and in a regular house, open up all the windows and let the warm fresh air in.

This year - this house not a chance.

You see, the house has been slowly cooling off - despite my on and off - part time heating attempts - the lowest it has reached was a cool 43 F ( 6 degree C).  Keeping in mind there is no full time heat source out there and it takes time to heat up 100 tons of concrete once it gets cold....

Now.  For confirmation.

All my research is telling me, that it takes about 100,000 BTU's per hour to heat up the entire house by 1 degree.  - want to warm it up by 3 degrees ?  100,000 BTU FOR THREE HOURS  ....
Spent the weekend out there finishig off some details - one big time consumer is the wainscotting - burned through an entire 20 lb. Tank of propane - 500,000 BTU  was used up ( estimated ) - the temperature in the house ?  Is now 5 degrees warmer.
Now.... back to opening up the windows....  i can't.

Nice warm - HUMID day outside - say 60 % humidity outside with the house sitting at 45 % humidity - if any windows were opened right now, all that moisture would hit the cold concrete - condense and collect.  My walls would be dripping wet.  
I am already getting condensation on the OUTSIDE of my windows - warm moist air condensing when it touches the cold glass outside.

On the plus side - now that it is warm outside, every time i go out to work on the house - it is getting warmer in there, and i can stop heating it when it reaches about 65 F  ( 18 C )  for the summer.
At that point, i have the option of opening the windows, but then if it gets up to 34 degrees this summer, i kinda want the house kept cool, so why loose the cool by opening the windows ?

Side note - 20 pound propane fill up ... 20 $  wainscotting all cut to size for dining room and long wall of master bedroom.

Still working on it.

While i wait for the inspectors schedule,  i am still working on the wainscotting.
3 largest walls in the back porch are mostly done, bit of fine tuning and trim needed - but so far so good.

I have had some people tell me i should throw out the cut off boards of wainscotting putting in part boards looks ugly - about 18 - 20 inches off EACH board.
I do not agree.
Figure the back porch is the best place to use part pieces.
So far, 28 - 37 inch verticals done with cut offs - which equals 86 feet of board - or 9 - 10 foot planks.
Severely reduced the amount of garbage being thrown out as well, and suitable for a workshop or storage room.
Main house is all single planks.

Now to number each board and take it all down for the inspector - but it is ready to go !!

Had to put a new top on the "Meighan" wall.  Probably spelt it wrong too. 😂😂

New top, all 4 walls in back porch are done,  all thats left is the living room wall.  Final trimming out will be done later.

Dave Lotte wrote:

I have had some people tell me i should throw out the cut off boards of wainscotting putting in part boards looks ugly - about 18 - 20 inches off EACH board.
I do not agree.

That would be such a waste. I had a similar discussion with a neighbor recently. Acquaintances of my mother had a similar sort of situation decades ago. They used trim to cover the join. The trim looked intentional.

In the industry, they finger joint the short boards and paint the trim so it doesn't show. But the project my neighbor and I were discussing wasn't going to be painted. I had suggested that the board pieces be joined like "puzzle" pieces - I would use a scroll saw to cut out shapes out of scrap material, and matching "sockets" in the ends of the boards.

Just think, you could do a line of Hobbits walking along, each on a different board!

Putting them just as you have in your porch would be far less time consuming!

Thanks for your miticulous detailing of the project for all of us to follow.  Such a cool idea!

Good thing the chair rail is basicly a half wall...

Gives me a solid place to store the leftover wainscotting pieces.

Later on i will decide if i would like to surround the entire dining room or living room instead of just the exterior walls.

Going to be very interesting moving into the Earth Sheltered Hobbit Home....

During the last month,  since it is May,  the temperature has swung up and down.  For one week, its nice and warm,  next week it is 0 C and then the next week it is 27 C  then its back to nice and warm....

In the old farm house whenever the temperature changes you feel it the next day.

Nice and warm -  yeah ! Turn the heat off,  enjoy.
Next day, freezing.  Darn.  Turn the heat back on for a week.
Jumps up to 27 ? Turn the heat off again, and the humidity rises and the house gets hot enough to affect sleep.

The new home ?

With the dehumidifier still running,  it is holding at 66 F ( 19 C )  ..... constantly.  No change all month.  The humidity has finally dropped belkw 40 % - concrete is drying out.

0 C ? For a week ? 66 F and it feels warm when you go inside.
27 C ?  For a week ? Feels cool and dry inside.

Today i noticed it went up 2 degrees to 68 (20 C )

Nice.

With the rough in inspection for the electrical inspected and PASSED, time to cover everything up !

All the pre-cut wainscotting has been reinstalled,  now getting drywall put up.  Some trim pieces of wainscotting yet to install....

With the humidity dropping to 36 % in the house it is now time to start cleaning out each room, sealing the floor, so it is waterproof.
Hopefully this penetrating sealer will seal the last bit of moisture IN as well.

As for the temperature, dehumidifier running 24/7 - still emptying it twice a day - holding at 72 F (22 C).

Late afternoon, tried to go into the house and burned my hand on the door.

Outside of door 160 F (72 C)
Inside of door 68 F  ( 20 C )  ( back porch )
Around door handle is a bit warmer ( see pics )

OK, so it sounds as if the door insulation is doing a fair job of keeping the heat from getting through it, but burning your hand is *not* a good thing!

Is there a temporary spot you could place some sort of shade to keep direct sun off the door? We've been known to hammer in a piece of rebar into the dirt and slide a large beach umbrella over it (less tippy than stands) to provide shade where needed.

Jay Angler wrote:OK, so it sounds as if the door insulation is doing a fair job of keeping the heat from getting through it, but burning your hand is *not* a good thing!

I am thinking the same thing: that situation is in need of a permanent solution.  Is the whole outside face of the door sheathed in metal or something?  Is it just the doorknob that got so hot?  And why?  That is certainly not typical.  Perhaps it could be as simple as rigging up a doorknob replacement out of a non-conductive material, like wood or plastic, and painting it white.

Matthew Nistico wrote:

Jay Angler wrote: burning your hand is *not* a good thing!

That situation is in need of a permanent solution. .... painting it white.

Agreed.  When i do not have 15 things that need to be done last week, i can paint the standard grey door - white.  Other than that ... it is one of the hottest days of the year...37 C in the shade.

Anything more than that would have to be acceptable by a better half - if i had one 😁😁😁

Still cool in the bunker though 😁

Dave Lotte wrote: Anything more than that would have to be acceptable by a better half - if i had one 😁😁😁

Assuming your "better half" is Gandalf, a sunshade made in the shape of Gandalf's hat, might just get approval! Maybe made out of a metal mesh frame covered in fabric?

Jay Angler wrote: Maybe made out of a metal mesh frame covered in fabric?

Not even on the list right now 😁

One of the little things on the list is window blinds.
Since the windows are not properly framed in yet, what to do ?

I just found out about " temporary blinds".
Folded paper, cut with sharp knife, peel and stick up.

Do all 8 windows for the cost of one good blind.

Things are looking up.  Humidity is at an all time low of 34 % max temp is 79 F.

With the main bathroom, living room, kitchen and part of the dining room floor waterproofed and sealed, the humidity in the house is coming down nicely.

Even after opening the windows to vent the fumes of the sealer - raising the humidity up to 60 % - the next day ? Back down to 34 %.  Of course, the temperature in  the house never changed with the windows open for 3 hours ( it will take more than that to make a difference 😁)

Spilled a bit of water dumping out the dehumidifier - one side is sealed the other is not.

If you are thinking of sealing your basement floor to reduce humidity, do lots of research first, as this floor is not constructed using standard practices and i would not want you to make your situation worse.