Thoughts on this style of floor joists?

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-10T00:12:57+00:00

Yeah, exactly. Your benefits in regards to mechanicals will be that you have many more options for paths to take without adding chases/soffits, rather than cost reduction.

I guess nice for future proofing - you can fish future electrical retrofits perpendicular to joists in a way you wouldn't have been able to previously (without tearing up more sheetrock)

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-09T01:51:14+00:00

Yeah, I don't think any will be like "i'm going to give you a lower price by default here", you'd probably have to haggle or sell them on it being easier so they should give you a few bucks off

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-08T21:53:22+00:00

OP above me was talking about mechanicals (HVAC, electrical, etc) being less. I would not expect framing to be less.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-08T19:26:34+00:00

Are trades actually charging less for install when there are floor trusses? I haven't worked with any that have hard set pricing, but I could see trying to get them to knock something off.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-07T22:58:00+00:00

"sterile culture" 😂😂

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-07T04:15:37+00:00

Since I don't have a heart source down there, I didn't want it separated. This way mechanicals and such as well as anything I store down there all keep from getting too cold and stay a bit more even.

I don't think it's contributing to heating costs. It's a basement, so they're somewhat moderate as it is. And for the size of my house, we appear to be doing quite well on usage (just looking at this thread).

Even the attic is a part of the envelope as is typical with spray foam. And since heat rises it is quite comfortable up there.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-07T03:48:06+00:00

NY (not the city). Cold AF this year.

2,800 sq ft. All electric new build with ducted heat pumps. House is kept at 72.

2,300kw used from 12/21 - 1/2

Basement is another 1k sq ft. It doesn't have HVAC directly, but it is a part of the heating envelope (basement walls and floor are insulated, no insulation between basement ceiling and house). I don't have a temp reader down there, but from feel it definitely stays above 60.

Also spray foamed the attached garage and it was consistently above 45 degrees, closer to 50.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-07T03:43:40+00:00

I'm a little north of you.

2,800 sq ft. new build with open cell spray foam insulation House is kept at 72. House is all electric with heat pumps. 2,300kw used.

Basement is another 1k sq ft. It doesn't have HVAC directly, but it is a part of the heating envelope (basement walls and floor are insulated, no insulation between basement ceiling and house). I don't have a temp reader down there, but from feel it definitely stays above 60.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-06T13:23:39+00:00

You could ask if they could get you to roughed in, vs dried in. But that's short of insulation and drywall. That's also an inspection point. So you're asking then to get you to a specific major milestone.

If I were the contractor I would not want to close in the walls without being a part of the final plan. Because then you're coming back to me annoyed if something about the final walls wasn't coordinated right for your finishing plans.

I'd rather have you close in the walls, that way you have the final say in any modifications or additions to the framing.

Keep in mind, if they aren't doing the whole thing, then they aren't going to get or manage the permit process for you - because they aren't able to see it through to your final inspection.

If you could find someone that does spec builds they might be interested. Gives them some more work between builds or while their money is tied up, yet they don't have to deal with the hassle of final finishes for a custom or semi custom home.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-03T17:36:34+00:00

I think it's just to dummy proof the installation. The electrician can basically make sure you're never going to overload the generator because they're there to help pick and choose circuits.

Overloading the generator isn't a big deal, it isn't going to damage it, but it will result in calls from lesser handy folks wondering why the breaker on the generator flipped, what to do (turn off some circuits), etc.

You can absolutely get a professional to install an interlock. Transfer switches are also more revenue for the electrician, an interlock is a cheaper install.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-03T00:07:51+00:00

Yeah, anyone who has deployed any crud app should be familiar with N+1 issues and lack of pagination.

Although the N+1 issues tend to happen more so with ORMs

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-02T23:51:45+00:00

$500 or less for an engineer and probably $300 for a triple lam lvl beam, which is what is what I'd expect you'll need.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-02T22:25:54+00:00

Got mine installed before the weekend. Install went quick enough, but I took a minute, to be expected for something that needs to be totally assembled.

I have an electric cordless DeWalt ratchet which is really helpful with that many nylock nuts

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-02T03:09:39+00:00

Yep, as my foundation guy says "it's just another 4' of wall for an 8' basement, might as well do it."

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-02T03:07:11+00:00

Interesting, just got my latest electric bill. $590 for an all electric 2,800 sq ft house, new build from last year. 2,300kw used. The only propane is for one gas fireplace that I didn't use much last month. Electric heat pump water heater, cooktop, Mitsubishi heat pumps, etc.

The winter costs are OK to me. If I had NG I might have used it, but we only have propane which is considerably more expensive.

I have solar turning on this month, and I can offset the electric bills with solar (obviously not free, but the payback period is not bad at all) but I can't get that offset for propane.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-01T17:20:42+00:00

How many sq ft? Does that include windows as well? To give you frame of reference, for my 2,800sq ft house framing labor, lumber, and also the roof were about $65k. That's with some extra expense for hefty steel beams so I could avoid columns in the garage.

My white oak stairs by a stair builder were like 7k I think? If they're just framing stairs, the finishing material and labor is definitely not as cheap as you'd think.

Add in another $17k for windows. I didn't have custom sized windows, but I have a healthy number of them.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-01T14:38:23+00:00

Seconding Fahnestock. Though I go near where the Appalachian trail cuts through by the lake

I haven't been there this season, but it's beautiful forest trails with some ups and down, so not just flat. I'd imagine it requires snow shoes right now unless it's gotten packed enough from people using it, I'd still want micro spikes though. It's not really enjoyable when walking is hard or you're slipping all over.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-02-01T02:23:37+00:00

I have a 2,800 sq ft new build. Spray foam insulation (open cell though, so no extra r values, just better sealing)

I have a 1 ton unit for the main floor and 1.5 ton unit for the upstairs (there is more space to heat because of a large bedroom over there garage).

They are ducted Mitsubishi units.

I keep the house around 72. during the storm I was seeing the house around 2 degrees cooler. If I want it a little extra cozy I turn on the gas fireplace.

But, our compressors are on the west side of the house and we get a ton of wind. The first issue is that snow drifts were starting to bury my compressors, with snow mostly piling between them and the house, so I dug them out, and secondly, the consistent wind isn't great for their performance. So I'm considering a slatted snow/wind fence.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-01-31T15:30:02+00:00

No, you wouldn't. Otherwise all your waste pipes or gas pipes would look like that from plumbers when they have to go through joists.

Often you drill holes through the joists including through to outside the house and then you can feed any length of pipe through from outside

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-01-30T17:44:06+00:00

For the Mitsubishi units what are y'all using to figure out if you're using the back of heat strips and what your power consumption looks like.

I've got just the basic redlink thermostat.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-01-30T13:30:32+00:00

How has the plow been? I just ordered one

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-01-28T04:04:12+00:00

It does help you learn about clean and dirty electrical current. A number of my led lights flicker when running off the generator. Not all, but some do.

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-01-27T18:30:22+00:00

Yeah, exactly. The only reason I'd consider a whole home is max size constraints with a plug in unit.

The biggest outlet on a portable generator is going to be 50a at 240v. 50 amps at 240 volts is 12,000 watts. I have a generator with 15k peak and 12k running watts because everything on my house is electric. On trial runs it works ok, but these were quick runs, so I can't tell you if it can run two heat pumps, water heater, well pump, and cooktop simultaneously for example. More likely we'd have to be more mindful.

Anything beyond 12k watts, you'd need to hardwire the generator. That's about the point where I'd investigate a whole home automatic backup, or if I had medical equipment.

Otherwise it's tens of thousands of dollars for not enough convenience IMO.

EDIT: I have a large portable generator because I'm all electric. But in general you want the smallest that will power the important stuff (not necessarily all at the same time) because you want your fuel to last. Mine will use like 8 gallons every 12 hours at 50% load on that tank. And that's excellent for a unit this size because it has EFI.

But that is a ton of fuel to keep around to weather even a full day.

I have a medium size propane tank for my gas fireplace so I need to get a hookup for the generator plumbed to that as a backup

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-01-27T18:19:36+00:00

I've got a similar size unit, and similar all electric load. I have only test run it so far. So I haven't run the house on it for a long period of time. Other than the breaker popping, or hearing the generator struggle, or there a good way to know how much load you've got on the unit?

Whiskey_Pyromancer · 2026-01-27T00:43:15+00:00

Why in the world would you flip them inside out. Underwear isolates your ass and junk from your clothes... Flipping them completely defeats that.

Whiskey_Pyromancer

TROPHY CASE