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Living in basement while building house above

Started by TGofWNY, January 03, 2008, 09:38:26 PM

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TGofWNY

Hey yall, I'm trying to figure out a way to build a house or have one built within the next 5 years without having to get a mortgage. A tall order , I know. My question is : If I can have a walkout basement put in, could we live in it while building the house above? This would allow us to sell our current house and save some money while slowly building as we got the money. I am in western NY, so cold winters and snow would definitely be a problem. Are there any reasons not to do this? (besides the wife killing me? just kidding - I got lucky w/ her - she's very understanding.) What type of basement walls do you all prefer? Any thoughts/concerns/advice would be appreciated. Thanks- Tom

GHRoberts

Depends on the size of the house.

Twice I have closed up a 2000sqft house in a summer - working alone and holding down a full time job.

Finish part of the basement and a bathroom and you are good to go. Cook in a microwave or electric fry pans.


TGofWNY

GhRoberts- sounds like you have some experience . I have zero (experience or money!). It will take a while, i'm sure.

Furby

Just a thought, but if it's going to take several years, you might be better off building a garage to live in and build the house next to or around it.
That way you can have a roof on it and keep your stuff dry. Easier to heat as well. ;)
After the garage foundation is in, it can be up and dry in a week or so if you and a helper or two can go at it full time, even with litte experience.
I'd pay to have the whole foundation done at once if you can and then build the garage.
Work on the house as you can.

Some areas the city or township won't allow you to do any of this, so check with them first.
If they won't allow it, build a "barn" or storage shed to live in. ;)
Still other cities and townships won't allow septic permits without a building permit and plans submited.

For now, I'd see what the city/township allows and go from there.

Brad_S.

If they have zoning ordinances there, I think the town will put the brakes on that idea. Around here, you must have a Certificate of Occupancy to be able to stay in a structure and there are a number of criteria that need to be met to receive one. Perhaps out there they aren't as much of a bunch of sticklers. I have heard of people living in mobile homes on the site while they are working on a permanent structure. I've even heard stories about living in campers but I think that's considered a temporay structure with time limits on it.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." J. Lennon

Onthesauk

Don't know anymore, but was common when I was a kid in Montana.  Any given winter there were a dozen families living like that in the area.  Even a couple that never did finish the house, lived in the basement for as long as I was in that area.
John Deere 3038E
Sukuki LT-F500

Don't attribute irritating behavior to malevolence when mere stupidity will suffice as an explanation.

WDH

When I built my house, I drilled a well, had power brought in, installed the septic system, and bought a 12 x 70 trailer to live in on the site.  You could walk out of the trailer, take 5 steps, and walk up the back steps into the new house under construction.  That made it easy to work on the house in the evenings after work because you were already there.  When we had the house far enough along to move in (with still much finish work to do), I sold the trailer for more than I paid for it.  That process sure saved me a lot of money.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

badpenny

   Ditto on what WDH has said. In the county I live in, one used to be able to build at your own pace. Too many people got a permit, built the basement, lived in it, and in some cases, never built the house. Since the dwelling was not finished, it never got added to the property tax rolls. Just this year, changes have been made, and one now has 2 years from issue date of permit to finish the house, and get a certificate of occupancy. All driven by the tax dollar.
Hope and Change, my foot,  It's time for Action and Results!

Larry

I did exactly as WDH described one time...no regrets other than heating a trailer was quite expensive.

Did the basement thing one time...put a tar paper roof on the sub floor and pulled it up when I got the top dried in.

We are at present living in the future shop while I build a house...best solution if it is in the budget...I think...not done yet.

The only obstacle that I can see is insurance.  Most companies want you to start a house and have it completed within a year or so.  If your not done they can get cranky and cancel you...happened to me. :o >:( :o
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Raider Bill

TGofWNY
If I were you I'd look into ICF's to build with. Being originally from CNY I know the type of winters you experiance. They go up fast and easy, are super insulated and very adaptable to timber frame interiors.

I bought and moved to my build site a repossessed doublewide to live in. When done I'll either sell it or keep for a guest house don't know.

Actually this brings up something that I have been wondering for myself.

Next week I'm heading back to Tenn to lay my sub floor then stack and pour my living space walls. I will have to leave the sub floor exposed as in no roof until a later trip so how do I prevent water intrusion? Plastic? Tar paper? Hopefully the floor has no slope to it for run off. Joist are TJI's and I'm concerned about the water getting to the glue.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

iffy

We sold our house and moved into our camper last March. Poured an icf walkout basement and am building a 9" swedish cope house on top. Intended to have a roof on by September and into the basement by October. Missed those dates. Have half the log rafters up now, rest should be up in another week, then sips and finally 30# felt, and I can move in downstairs. Had to get a little creative on freeze proofing my water hoses. Had an ice storm last month that killed power in a large area. Our furnace still ran all night on batteries, but they were all used up by morning. Refrig switched over to propane, so we were actually better off than many permanent residents.
Wife gets a little testy now and then, but she's been a pretty good sport about it all. The laundromat was her idea.

Radar67

Bill, I used plastic on my subfloor during my shed build. It condensates and retains water. I wonder if Tyvek would work to keep the floor dry?
"A man's time is the most valuable gift he can give another." TOM

If he can cling to his Blackberry, I can cling to my guns... Me

This will kill you, that will kill you, heck...life will kill you, but you got to live it!

"The man who can comprehend the why, can create the how." SFC J

faronskid

All of these ideas sound much better than what I did....we lived with my in-laws for six months while we built.  :(   My father-in-law could figure out why there was so much laundry and dishes and why I couldn't  keep the house clean all of the time.  I had a 3year old, 2 year old and a six month old and I was pregnant with number 4 at the time.  We made it through it but I wouldn't do it again.
5 rugrats = no dull moments here

Raider Bill

Quote from: Radar67 on January 04, 2008, 09:07:46 AM
Bill, I used plastic on my subfloor during my shed build. It condensates and retains water. I wonder if Tyvek would work to keep the floor dry?
That's what I'm afraid of. Maybe tarpaper under plastic?
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Radar67

That might work. I would place some 2x4s on edge under the plastic to keep it off the tarpaper. I did that with the plastic and it seemed to help keep some of the moisture off my plywood.
"A man's time is the most valuable gift he can give another." TOM

If he can cling to his Blackberry, I can cling to my guns... Me

This will kill you, that will kill you, heck...life will kill you, but you got to live it!

"The man who can comprehend the why, can create the how." SFC J

snowman

House I'm in now I built as I could afford it and lived in the basement.I put the shell up and roofed it though so rain wasn't an issue.It took nearly 20 years of working on weekends to finish this thing and if I had it to do again I guess I would because at the time it was my only option. Right now I'm building another house and will not move in until its 100% done.Once was enough for living in a construction zone.

Raider Bill

Another thing I was thinking of is using a waterproofing on the sub floor not thompsons as I don't like it at all but simaler to it.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Radar67

Bill, is your subfloor elevated (above the concrete floor)? If so, I would be concerned about the waterproofing not letting the material breath and it may create a condensation problem underneath the floor.
"A man's time is the most valuable gift he can give another." TOM

If he can cling to his Blackberry, I can cling to my guns... Me

This will kill you, that will kill you, heck...life will kill you, but you got to live it!

"The man who can comprehend the why, can create the how." SFC J

Raider Bill

Slab is basement floor. Wooden sub floor is for living space and is 12 ft higher.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

bull

I don't know your situation... Job or financing ?  Do you own the land ! ?
you can borrow against the land using Construction loan.

I built my house an 1175 sg ft ranch 3 bedrooms 1 and 1/2 baths full basement in 68 days from excavation to finished landscaping.... $ 75,000 contruction loan moved in on my birthday 9/8/92..

5 years to build a house seems out of the question, especially if you aren't planning on a mortgage..

more info needed !!

rebocardo

> What type of basement walls do you all prefer?

ICF, I would prefer it for the whole house.

When I was working at HFH in MA, all the houses we put up had ICF for the basements.

Michigan Mike

If the local building codes of inspector will let you I would build a workshop garage first. I live in a house built as I could afford it. I built the barn first it is built into a hillside so the hayloft is at ground level (nice for loading hay) the downstairs is concrete block. We put in a small bathroom and kitchen in the main room the room that became two stalls was the bedroom for us and the kids. If you dont have a lot of experience doing it this way allows you to learn on a smaller project. When  I built mine I had to go before the township board and get a varience to allow us to live in the barn as it lacked the square footage to be a legal residence.

Cowboy Bob

    Around here most of our YOUNG MARRIED AMISH live in eather the basement, or under the strippin room of the tabacco barns. You wouldnt belive how nice they fix them up
just by framing and some t1 11 . They even put down carpet and runnin water.
Some of them live there for as long as ma and pa build a new place so they can have the old
one for them selves. Be suprized what you can do in them places, Keep us posted on your
doins. GIT ER DONE...... aint it so,
Creek Dairy Sales~Owner/Operator
Cows or Bulls~You want em, we buy em, I sell em
Quality not Quantity

Don_Papenburg

Icf walls     Make sure that the ICF has plastic ties not metal. 

I would use rubber roofing on the floor deck run it up the wall a bit and flash good then put in the toilet flange hook up to drain . That will get rid of any exess water on the deck . Or put in a shower drain even if temperary .   Make sure that no water enters the basement .  Poly plastic does not hold up well and seams cant be water proofed . It is also very slippery when wet.  Tyvec will hold the water down onto the deck. Water can get under it but for some reason not get out. The rubber roof can be used on something else later ,so it is not a total loss.
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

Handy Andy

  My folks built a house like that, I don't remember much, was 1 when they started it.  But they put in a basement, built the floor system and then put a tar roof on it.  Then about the time I was 6 they started framing the house.  A couple neighbors helped and they had it dried in in about 2 weeks.  Took my dad about another 5 years to finish it.  Remember my folks laying oak flooring at night  for a month or 2.  The house did not have a mortgage.  Took them a while to save the money, hence the gap in time.  Nowdays the county would give you some trouble, they would inspect the job and tax you on the % finished, but no inspectors so far to keep you from doing it that way. 
  I'm hoping I have another house in me, plan to build the shop first, fix it up enough the wife will put up with it, then start on the house.  Plan to build the shop before selling the old house, then move and start on the new house.  Don't care if it takes 5 years, going to do everything my own self.  Jim
My name's Jim, I like wood.

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