rlf715

The $22,500.00 figure quoted was for a group of people not just Mitch. That is just one of the many mistakes in the article.

The only water penetration issues we had were during hurricane Ike. The water blew thru the mortar in about 4-5 places, but it was just drips nothing big. The outside is sealed with a penetrating sealer. The inside walls do not have sheet rock on the block. The interior side of the block walls are also sealed. The efflorescence appeared during construction. While we were building the house it rained almost the whole month of January. I think that cause mot of the efflorescence. I had not sealed anything at that point. I tried cleaning it in my closet where nobody could see it and it looked worse. So I just left it alone.

The interior we did. The house was designed by Brooks Broyles & Thacher Focke.

We are selling the house due to a divorce. The big FORD sign has to due with my last name. The Craftsman tool cabinets are because I am a car nut.

The house has not been staged because I still live there. The lavender room was my grand-daughters room. Any other questions.

The total square footage under the roof is about 3,200 sq/ft of that 2,600 sq/ft is house & 600sq/ft is garage. The 1,000 sq/ft was my old house that was just moved out to give us a side yard. The ceiling is about 16' on the high side & about 10' on the low side.

nice house

I'm currently using the same construction materials in designing a garage apt in montrose

if it's not a bother, could you PM your commercial contractor contact for the CMU shell work

(assuming std #4's @24"O.C.)

cheers~

I checked with him & he is not interested in doing anymore residential.

Thanks! I'll check out the metal panel site.

I'm not sure how to compare your electric bill and ours, since we're in rural Arkansas, and you're in Houston. It sounds high from here, but maybe it's not bad in that area.

Where did you find the textured, re-inforced blocks? Are they hollow or solid...if hollow, did you leave them that way, or are they filled after laying?

Is your roof structure self-supporting over the entire span, or are there trusses, beams, or structural interior walls?

I'd love to see some more pictures, maybe some you took, instead of those taken by the critics.

Jim

The electric bill is twice what I was paying for a in a 1,000 ft wood frame house. My wife also likes the temperture set at 68.

The C.M.U. are called split-face and are pretty common. Ours came from Southwest Concrete Products here in Houston. The blocks are 50% filled with concrete and 50% filled with styrofoam beads. Every 4th one is concrete.

There is a central i-beam running front to back with bar joist running side to side. The bar joist are welded to plate in the top of the block wall.

There are no structural walls in the interior, the i-beam is held up by 4 steel post. Here are a couple of pictures. The fist shows the bar joist the 2nd shows the kitchen wall & roof from the front door.

Was the bungalow next door moved or torn down? It's gone. The sewer disconnect permit was issued on the 6th, but was labelled "demo res" (unless all disconnect permits are issued as demo even if they aren't going to be demolished).

The house was moved to a lot in the Heights.

We designed the house from scratch with help of two architects. The real problem we had was finding someone to build the house. The residential builders wanted too much and the commercial builders did not want to build a house. We got a commercial builder to build a shell and subcontracted out the interior construction our selves. The roof is a metal SIP panel with a standing seam exterior panel with 5" inches of foam insulation & a white metal textured interior panel. The panels are from Metlspan (http://www.metlspan.com/)

The electric bills are running about $400.00 a month.

Good afternoon neighbors & others. I am the person who owns & built the house you have been discussing. I have found your comments amusing & funny. I would have responded earlier but I have been building a house and did not know about this forum till someone told me you were discussing our new home.

If you have been watching the house under construction I am the big fat guy with gray hair. I bought the house next door twenty five years ago & was born in Heights hospital about fifty years ago so I have been in the neighborhood for a long time. I bought in an area with no deed restrictions so one day I could build what I wanted.

Sorry it bothers your children. I suggest blind folds(just kidding) or go down another street(still kidding). The children that have been to the house have thought it was cool.

I built our house the way I did for several reasons. The main two are not to have to paint it ever or to have to deal with termites.

I will try to deal with the comments & question the best that I can.

There are windows on three of the four sides of the house. The windows on the front are up high to maximize the wall space to place furniture, but still let in light. The stainless steel French doors will open onto our side yard as we own half of the lot to the east.

The walls are 8" split-face concrete blocks. The white blocks are burnished or polished. The roof is a metal SIP panel with a standing seam exterior panel

with 5" inches of foam insulation & a white textured interior panel. All the exterior walls are left exposed on the inside of the house & sealed, as are the concrete floors.

There area was very eclectic before I built. There are two condos & a two story traditional brick home across the street and a metal roofed contemporary down the street. My brother has not seen that the Disco-teca hair salon has been turned back in to a house.

I had someone design the house & paid them, so I would say it was professionally designed.

We still have a lot of things on our to-do list. One of which is to do some landscapping. The numbers on the house will change. We had to have to pass our final building inspection.

If you have any questions ask them here or stop by the house. I will check back from time to time.

See you on neighbor's night out if someone can tell me when it is.

ps

If you know any one who wants a Heights 2-1 wood frame house let me know. The door with the flames on the old house goes in the new house.