Another major score: I got 20 sheets of 5/16 plywood for $4 per sheet. I also hit Repurposed Materials on the way home in hopes of grabbing some free tapered insulation. By the time I got there however, they were out of the free stuff. Still got a good deal. 4x8 sheets of 2-1/2 insulation for $10 per sheet. Not bad.
After a sleepless week of worrying that the original foundation design wasn't strong enough, I took the whole thing apart and started over from scratch. This time I doubled up each stud and made the space between them closer together. Also, screwed the studs together where the back-up to each other. Instead of just metal on the bottom, I used sheets of plywood coated with water-proofing stain ($7 per gal. oops paint from HD). EVERYTHING is glued with construction adhesive.
Here's a shot of the front section. You can see the doubled studs. The insulation sheets can be cut with a box knife and snapped, or with a hand saw. I prefer the hand saw as the edges are cleaner. Once the insulation has been placed, spray foam into the empty spaces, glue the top of each stud and install top sheet/subfloor.
Here's the finished back section. Very strong now! Seems like this would be a piece of cake looking at it, but there are a million sheet metal screws, glue and cuts.
Then I flipped the whole thing over to install the metal moisture gaurd I saved from the camper. Not a fun job and easy to get cut. Once I had the metal in place, I covered the whole bottom with some roofing cement I had laying around. This should keep it dry and, keep any creepy crawlers from getting inside.
Here's where I ended the weekend. Way behind schedule, but at least I know it's very strong now... and I learned a lot along the way. Next weekend I'll finish the foundation and if I'm lucky, start on the walls. In the meantime I need to track down a good deal on some recycled metal roofing.
The weather was too nice to spend working all weekend. Another beautiful day in Boulder. So spoiled!
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