We're building an ICF house

Some lurker harassed me yesterday and said I needed to post pictures.

I'm using a 3 step sealer for the countertops and did the first two steps today. Here's a couple pictures from that. This last coat hasn't cured yet so it may look a little funny.

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5pkIKeGa7hsOF2-90zhUhNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Wzpga9nR8bg/UeHISJ7qePI/AAAAAAAAAwo/Fp3abxa5lr8/s640/P7130072.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/115670853405340716908/20130713?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2013-07-13</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ygLpeF3x3Syoj7qOaO38rdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dIChpBxy_e0/UeHIU0nwUII/AAAAAAAAAwo/Y9GDefJcB8c/s640/P7130078.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/115670853405340716908/20130713?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2013-07-13</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2tfLI8skJB56eCTDAPo5EdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-szwzASSwlnc/UeHIV--u-3I/AAAAAAAAAwo/tKi0GwLr49c/s640/P7130079.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/115670853405340716908/20130713?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2013-07-13</a></td></tr></table>

Last night I tiled the master bath and I grouted it this morning. One of my least favorite things in the world is getting rid of the grout haze.
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JlZ87V0R2vp5dlLgVBeZ3dMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-VOytzbIC4rQ/UeHIWpR-tbI/AAAAAAAAAwo/gOdysUpMF5o/s640/P7130081.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/115670853405340716908/20130713?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2013-07-13</a></td></tr></table>

In the entry and laundry/bath I put down a 12x18 slate tile. I REALY like the look of this stuff after the enhancing sealer went on. So much so that I think we're going to finish all the concrete floors with the same stuff.
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/n45UT-ZhCTCn_7Ir_vBKG9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZOcH432jst8/UeHIXFlp03I/AAAAAAAAAwo/FTTbOfvhVm4/s640/P7130082.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/115670853405340716908/20130713?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2013-07-13</a></td></tr></table>

Put ceiling fans in the bedrooms. They seem like nice units and move a good amount of air. I'm having a switch issue with one of them (not the fan's fault).
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bmDvnqt4UlKMCrgtrMLd49MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OsZIwTjQxO8/UeHITuFAW4I/AAAAAAAAAwo/jKaCs8TBmgQ/s640/P7130075.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/115670853405340716908/20130713?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2013-07-13</a></td></tr></table>

VERY NICE A!!!!

I"ll swing by and see it in person soon. Of course, if you were home when I did stop by:ddog

Hand surgery slowing things down?

Yes. I'm sitting here looking at what has become a massive punch list and there's not a thing I can do about it. Just got back from the home depot with switch and outlet covers and I'm going to see if I can do those left handed.

We basically just need to seal some of the concrete floors and clean up the landscaping. The GC has to do the main stairs. So- we're close, but I've been saying that for months.

And I'm bored out of my mind so visitors are welcome. Beer in the fridge, etc.

I do electrical work with my left hand all the time, and it is easy as pie. Maybe its cuz I'm left handed or something.

Need any help while you are crippled up? Just sent you a PM with my new cell # if you start ripping your hair out with one hand.

Can I steal your GS and go for a ride? I hear you about being bored. It is tough when you are active, see lot's of things that need doing, but can't do them at present.

In all seriousness please do. I wish E would ride it but she can't find her helmet. Who loses a red helmet?

Wiseass!
My left hand is pretty worthless. I hung a door with the wife the other night and she finally yelled at me and told me to get my worthless left hand out of the way. She'll find a new man with two working hands soon I'm sure.

My house is ICF and SIP construction and all floors are concrete with in floor heat. All geo-thermal. We acid etched all the floors and then sealed them. They look great and people ask what the floors are as they are standing on concrete. I very highly recommend this.. You can do all sorts of cool things with it. Make it look like tile with tape etc. We just went simple. And, like you said, you can always tile over or????

Yup- we have some variations in the look of the concrete, so we're trying a tinted sealer. It will essentially darken it up a bit. Apparently if we hate it we can go back (with added work) and acid stain it. Being gimped and wanting to be done I don't want the added steps of acid staining at this point- but we're open to it down the road.

It is stupid easy even left handed. Stain in a plant sprayer and spray CLEAN concrete down and let it etch. Clean and seal. That is it. Our floors look kinda like dark/med. brown leather.

Been a while. Haven't gotten a whole lot done. My hand is getting better, but it's still fairly weak and I'm limited in what I can do.

My wife and I got the concrete sealer down and I think it looks awesome. We didn't like how the sprayer was working so we switched to an applicator pad. That was leaving behind "brush marks" and since we were going for a random splotchy acid-stained look we just sort of mopped the stuff on. After two coats we got the look we were going for. A few coats of floor wax on top and we're golden.

Our GC has been working on the stairs the last couple days and they're turing out awesome. He is extremely picky and it shows.

I'm glad we put in the air conditioning. It really makes a difference and it doesn't take much to keep the place cool. The machine just sort of idles along on it's lowest setting- can barely tell it's running.

We got the driveway finished and lined it with some rocks to create a break between the driveway and the house. My wife spread some 1.5 inch round stone between the driveway and the house. It sits a bit lower, so to keep water from accumulating there we put in some under drain and directed the water away from the house. Works pretty slick and looks nice too.

I'm having trouble with my photo hosting site. If I can figure it out I'll put some pictures up later.

We're thinking of a party in late September, early October for anyone interested in coming. We should have a decent turnout and of course all you ADVers are welcome. Stay tuned.

So things are wrapping up on the inside. Punch list stuff. I'm pretty busy with school work (and other things). For the moment I think I'm done with pictures unless anyone has specific requests or questions.

Housewarming Party
October 26th 2:00PMish
We'll have food and beer.
16 acres of rugged wooded terrain to camp in, you're welcome to crash on or under the deck as well. Who knows what the weather will be like. Indoors will be pretty cramped with family members- but you're welcome to find floor space. All the flooring is concrete, so if you want to go that route bring a thick thermarest at minimum.

Please send a PM if you want to come- I can give directions, and it'd be nice to have a head count.

Bump for the par-Tay next weekend. I like the sound of "we have beer"

I ordered 3 small kegs today...
Angry Orchard Crisp Apple
Magic Hat # 9
And my favorite American Macrobrew.... Coors Light.

I am sure that many folks who followed this would love to see pics of your work to date.

Congrats on the new house

Dave

That's true. I know folks get busy but when you spend hours reading a thread, and get really interested in seeing the finished product, it's frustrating.

I'll work on it. Busy doesn't even begin to describe my life right now. Just come to the housewarming party and save me the trouble!

I just re-read the thread, looking at the pics on my new Nexus 7, after keeping up on my phone in the mean time

The work the site and septic guy did really stands out, it looks as excellent as you described. I've been thinking about a icf garage. Might be a nice place to get stuff done.

Congratulations on the housewarming party!

Well, we won't set any records for late parties, but we had a little over 80 people show up, including several ADVers... Nikons, A-bone, UrbanCowboy, Goingcomando... We had a lot of fun and I wish I had more time to chat with folks. And I probably had a bit too much to drink. Someone kept feeding me some sort of liquor....
GoingCommando wins the prize for leaving last.