When to build?

[Lex]

When is the best time of the year to build in NH? Or do people build all year round?

[AlanM]

When is the best time of the year to build in NH? Or do people build all year round?

Provided you get the foundation in before the frost sets in you can build all year. I used to frame houses in the winter.

[Lex]

I'm planning on building a stone house using the slip-form method. The first house I build will probably not have a basement cus that seems a bit too invovled and i have very limited experience working with concrete. Although I've been reading a lot and have watched a few videos on it, I feel pretty confident about pouring a simple slab. (the most experience I have is helping my grandpa mix cement (both manually and with a mixer) and pour a walk way and a narrow strip around the house to help with drainage.)

I understand that you don't want the green cement to freeze but you also don't want it to be too hot and sunny as the concrete will dry too quickly and not cure properly. So what is the best month of the year to pour when it's not too cold and not too hot?

[AlanM]

In NH you need to have a frost wall that goes down at least four feet. Slabs are rarely used for homes, but when they are used, they still have the frost wall.

[KBCraig]

I understand that you don't want the green cement to freeze but you also don't want it to be too hot and sunny as the concrete will dry too quickly and not cure properly. So what is the best month of the year to pour when it's not too cold and not too hot?

The cement company varies their formulation and uses additives in response to the weather, no matter if it's winter or summer. Temperature, humidity, desired slump, distance from the mixing plant... all this stuff gets factored in before the truck is filled.

I wouldn't hesitate to pour a slab on my own, but I'm not about to tackle any kind of foundation where the frost line is a consideration, without a LOT of education from local professionals.

Here's an interesting product called DAC-ART, which amounts to big concrete blocks that are fillable (cement and/or insulation):

http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/DAC-ART/

Kevin

[Lex]

I understand that you don't want the green cement to freeze but you also don't want it to be too hot and sunny as the concrete will dry too quickly and not cure properly. So what is the best month of the year to pour when it's not too cold and not too hot?

The cement company varies their formulation and uses additives in response to the weather, no matter if it's winter or summer. Temperature, humidity, desired slump, distance from the mixing plant... all this stuff gets factored in before the truck is filled.

I wouldn't hesitate to pour a slab on my own, but I'm not about to tackle any kind of foundation where the frost line is a consideration, without a LOT of education from local professionals.

Here's an interesting product called DAC-ART, which amounts to big concrete blocks that are fillable (cement and/or insulation):

http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/DAC-ART/

Kevin

That DAC-ART stuff looks like a really neat idea, definitely an improvement over concrete block both structurally and visually. But it looks too institutional. I grew up in Ukraine and most of the public/federal buildings where built out of marble/stone that looked just like this DAC-ART stuff. It just seems too organized and clean.

The appeal of building out of plain old stone is that it has a lot more charachter, it's rebellious in that sense. Also has a very warm homy feel to it.



vs.

[Kat Kanning]

Oooh the stone/wood house is beautiful!

[KBCraig]

*ack* That's awful!

I love natural stone, but that one looks like fake rocks glued on the outside.

[Kat Kanning]

That's the one I thought so wonderful.  Good thing you and I aren't picking houses together 

[Lloyd Danforth]

I hope that boulder thing is a wall seperate from the house.

You will have no problem getting permits for slip form construction in NH.

[Lex]

That's the one I thought so wonderful.  Good thing you and I aren't picking houses together 

The house was build by a woman (with no prior construction experience) with some help from her 73 year old dad who the mixed cement.

Here is the whole story with pictures of how she built it:

http://www.hollowtop.com/cls_html/stone_home.htm

[Lex]

I love natural stone, but that one looks like fake rocks glued on the outside.

The rocks are real, but the rest is correct.

[Russell Kanning]

I also don't think there is a time in NH where it is too hot/dry/sunny.

[aworldnervelink]

I think that's awesome... I'd love to do something like that. The stone wall portion is 9" thick... it's not like a fake veneer thing.

[CNHT]

When is the best time of the year to build in NH? Or do people build all year round?

They are building houses across the street from me as we speak, much to my chagrin...

However, I DO think you will want a full cellar in NH.....you may regret it if you don't have one.