tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post8695827926256260459..comments2023-11-07T06:51:41.301-06:00Comments on The Beginning Farmer: Have You Ever Built a House?Ethan Bookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333115493519268802noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-48938379295364892272008-07-01T10:12:00.000-05:002008-07-01T10:12:00.000-05:00Rich, thanks for the idea on the boar and for the ...Rich, thanks for the idea on the boar and for the building tips. That is some great information!<BR/><BR/>Kwan, I'm so glad you are enjoying the blog. Keep up the great comments! As far as the trusses go they are now sitting flat (instead of bowed over the other material) and will hopefully be up by Thursday night!Ethan Bookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01333115493519268802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-70192064055951489192008-06-28T08:34:00.000-05:002008-06-28T08:34:00.000-05:00I've remodeled a couple houses and built a 20x25 b...I've remodeled a couple houses and built a 20x25 building from the ground up. One of the keys to building a comfortable and efficient building is paying extra attention to the insulating process.<BR/><BR/>The weak points in insulating a house are things like electrical outlets in the exterior walls, plumbing installed in the exterior walls, corners, and windows and doors.<BR/><BR/>Paying attention to little details while insulating will pay big dividends in the future. When I built the 20x25 building I placed small (4"x5") pieces of rigid foam insulation behind each electrical outlet box to eliminate the cold spots associated with electrical outlets (since the foam would retain a consistent R value throughout the wall). Rigid foam was also used to fill the spaces resulting after building headers, behind the electrical panels, behind plumbing in the wall, spaces in corner posts, etc.<BR/><BR/>Caulk and/or seal the edges of your vapor barrier (around windows and outlets), caulk the base plate of your exterior walls before installing your vapor barrier, make sure that your ceiling insulation extends past your exterior walls, use rigid foam to "beef up" the areas as I just described, and install a properly installed and sealed house wrap on the exterior of your building <I>(not sure if that will be possible with a pole building)</I>.<BR/><BR/>Just think of any extra time or effort spent building your pole barn as learning the skills needed to build a future house even better and more efficient.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-24269079609060403872008-06-28T00:33:00.000-05:002008-06-28T00:33:00.000-05:00Your blog is an inspiration, please keep it up. T...Your blog is an inspiration, please keep it up. The house building sounds exciting. Im sure you'll come across a few surprises, and hopefully it'd just be enough to make it interesting! The advice I can give is to have a good, detailed plan. For example, don't put in all your upstairs windows before putting in drywall, etc. Also a good square foundation avoids many future problems, and lastly, rent or get laser levels and surveying equipment because string lines and bubble levels aren't so dependable. I also would be careful with those trusses, they can be warped if stacked wrong or pushed around too much.<BR/><BR/>Good luck!Kwanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06702848907074136235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-53743942213099895492008-06-27T19:07:00.000-05:002008-06-27T19:07:00.000-05:00I wonder if your boar could have had nitrate poiso...I wonder if your boar could have had nitrate poisoning? Some of the symptoms of nitrate poisoning are labored breathing and collapse. <BR/><BR/>We planted some grain sorghum and I've been reading about possibility of nitrate poisoning when grazing the stubble lately.<BR/><BR/>More information with a list of typical high nitrate grasses and weeds can be found at:<BR/><BR/>http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_b/<BR/>b-807.pdf<BR/><BR/>Nitrate poisoning is usually associated with drought conditions, but cloudy days can also increase the possibility of producing a higher level of nitrates present in forages. It seems like I have heard something before about recently flooded pastures causing problems for livestock, so it is possible that high levels of rainfall and the resulting saturated soils could cause a similar problem. <BR/><BR/>Nitrate poisoning is usually associated with cattle and sheep, but pigs are less susceptible since they eat less roughage. But, a larger boar that is used to eating larger amounts of forage than a "normal" pig might be as susceptible to nitrate poisoning as cattle simply due to his higher consumption.<BR/><BR/>As far as I know, there is no way to be absolutely certain that nitrate poisoning was or wasn't the cause of your boar's unexplained death (and it is hard to treat when suspected). <BR/><BR/>Its one thing to lose an animal, but its even more disturbing when the death can't be explained (and is therefore harder to avoid in the future)Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.com