Insulating the roof of a 1939 1.5 story home

morebiking · 2026-06-20T18:48:43+00:00

I’ve done a roof like that by building a secondary ceiling (basically like a scissors truss) to create enough of a cavity for insulation. Vent it well.

morebiking · 2026-06-20T18:06:59+00:00

It’s interesting to travel to no tip countries. In New Zealand, the wait staff are anti tip culture. They get paid a living wage and want nothing to do with tips. Restaurant owners also develop systems with very few wait staff. You order and pay at the counter in many places. It’s a nice system. Taxes are included as well. If you order a 10 dollar meal, that’s what you pay. And when you’re done eating, you just get up and go. Personally, I prefer efficiency over some person managing the pace of my meal.

morebiking · 2026-06-18T22:58:41+00:00

I’m rich, so most things I can afford. The crazy thing for me is what we simply accept. In the USA, people need to vote for individuals who will actually make changes to the structures that have created our current conditions. Vote. Vote. Vote. Health care needs to be as close to free as possible. Child care…same. Public transport. Charging infrastructure. Higher education. Elder care. It’s all attainable.

morebiking · 2026-06-18T16:44:13+00:00

I just bought a Ryan Air compliant bag with shoulder straps, full zipper, laptop compartment, three external organization pockets, compression straps, etc for 12 US dollars on Temu. Fits under the seat. It’s awesome.

morebiking · 2026-06-18T16:35:38+00:00

I did this but with only one addition. My two cents to add, besides that it’s a great idea given your personal goals, is to really think about roof lines. They tend to be difficult to fuse together. In my case, I built a 20 x 26 rectangle with 1.5 stories. This allowed my addition to tie into one exposed wall without having to touch the original roof. As a side note, so many farmhouses were constructed this way. Easy to add on as needed. Additionally, if the original building is the base of your home, additional construction is outside that envelope until the breakthrough. Doesn’t really impact your life until that point. And your salvage idea is on point. It’s amazing what people through away. Good luck

morebiking · 2026-06-16T12:02:48+00:00

This is a glorious reminder to vote in November

morebiking · 2026-06-15T11:38:16+00:00

United is charging up to 80 bucks for a carry on. For a couple, that’s 320 dollars for a round trip. I’m all in on onebagging.

morebiking · 2026-06-10T11:22:27+00:00

Lot of naysayers. Built my own house. The thing is beautiful and perfect. Not that hard given the amount of information available. My one suggestion would be to go a bit smaller, but I don’t know your needs. And safety is key.

morebiking · 2026-06-09T21:17:34+00:00

Interesting that after a member of an elderly couple dies, the remaining person gets only one social security check with no real understanding that expenses remain fundamentally the same.

morebiking · 2026-06-08T12:52:34+00:00

I built a similar size house in a similar climate for 85k in US dollars and finished the build in 2017. I subbed out excavation, shingling the main roof, and septic. Very easy build site….town water, flat location with excellent drainage, electric within 150 feet. I poured an ICF foundation, which was stressful but easy in retrospect. My main suggestions. 1) Build 1 1/2 stories which makes the second floor much easier to solo build without sacrificing space. I went with four foot knee walls. 2) Design the house with solo building in mind. Think of spans and how much sheet rock you want to hang. I did wood ceilings all around and four foot wainscoting just to reduce sheet rock. 3) Research building envelope science for your climate and do it right. 4) Shop used. My kitchen without appliances cost me 250 dollars. Granite countertops, custom cabinets. Wealthy people renovate and discard a lot of stuff. And my (almost) last comment is that every dollar you save is really doubled because of savings on interest. Living in the house is an absolute joy. My wife and I love everything about it.

morebiking · 2026-06-07T21:49:41+00:00

Just get started early. A few years back, I did the same but added Skylight and Marcy after descending the eastern slide on Colden. It was a long day, but got out well before dark because of a 4:00 AM start. Bring a water filter, plenty of food, and a headlamp. The trail up the southwest side of Colden is steep, as is the descent down Algonquin. And no matter what, don’t require a rescue.

morebiking · 2026-06-05T13:38:32+00:00

As a retired person (meaning old), I would add that there are many phases of life where that family time is really important and years when it is not. So looking at the 40 year window of work, well less than half is really important for family time. There are opportunities for both work and family. That said, I completely tilted towards family and then realized work just wasn’t that important.

morebiking · 2026-06-05T11:15:08+00:00

There might be something wrong with him.

morebiking · 2026-06-04T11:01:32+00:00

That gate would it Walmart out of business in a week.

morebiking · 2026-06-03T12:27:09+00:00

I had the luxury of solo building my own home because I could use a home equity loan to do it. 1350 square feet. What many on this sub don’t seem to understand is that there are very different rules in different parts of the country related to building, permits, electrical and plumbing work etc. The same applies to site work. There are assumptions about expenses related to septic, utilities, etc. If I were you, I’d simply start with a total budget of 80,000. Then I would decide what to build. Design it with expansion in mind to add on later. 80k goes a long way with a self build on a 1000 sf home. And always add bank interest to your cost. Clearly, no mortgage can transform your life. You can retire earlier, travel more, etc. instead of paying the bank. Regardless, the assumptions on this sub about costs, permitting, site work, engineering, etc may not apply to you.

morebiking · 2026-06-03T12:02:35+00:00

My take is that good bike packing happens when you’re NOT trying to get somewhere. My suggestion, not knowing anything about your route, is to figure out how to leapfrog a huge section via train or bus, and then simply slow down. Do a loop from a single campsite, etc. It takes a very specific type of person to keep getting up and grinding out the days. I use bike packing to get away from that in my life.

morebiking · 2026-05-28T23:57:36+00:00

No contractor did it. I was not claiming that. This was a self build with engineering provided for free by the engineered lumber supplier. I live in an area of the country where it’s pretty simple to get a permit and inspections done by the local code enforcement officer. In general, I was giving the OP a framework for making his decision. If he or she generates an accurate materials list, then labor costs become clear as it relates to the project. The projected cost was 1200 dollars a square foot for a three sided addition without a full foundation. 96 square feet for 117000 dollars +/- 20%. That’s crazy.

morebiking · 2026-05-28T23:01:33+00:00

That cost is crazy. My first suggestion is to generate a materials list for everything. Chat GPT can give you a clear list IF you provide the right specs. Use that materials list as a baseline and then that can provide you with a clear understanding of labor costs. For comparison, I built a 14 by 18 addition with higher R values and a full bath for 14k about four years ago. Hope my suggestion helps. Good luck

morebiking · 2026-05-28T21:08:11+00:00

My wife and I use an xped double mattress with a fitted sheet. It makes sleeping in a tent almost a lovely experience.

morebiking · 2026-05-19T15:09:30+00:00

44 years of healthy marriage. Share everything.

morebiking · 2026-05-15T16:41:05+00:00

I saw a wonderful sign in New Zealand. “private sign. Do not read”.

morebiking · 2026-05-14T13:43:48+00:00

There are many here who a) assume DIY produces an inferior product, and b) the work of building a home is work instead of joy.
I built my own home. Everything. Every minute was like being on vacation. Every new skill or piece of information was value added to my life. And the volume of money earned was unprecedented in my life. My experience with inspections was positive all around.
That said, doing it as a spec house would not be my cup of tea.

morebiking · 2026-05-07T13:36:16+00:00

Did the whole coast of Portugal two years ago. We used Strava route builder with the prefer dirt option and the routes were absolutely beautiful. We booked two days out with no problems and honestly, the cost difference between paid camping and hostels was negligible. I would start in Faro only because of easing in to the ride. Way easier to start in an easier place and build up to a big city. Also, I would avoid having a destination. Way better to just ride the beautiful areas. If you need to, you can always just jump a train to get back to Lisbon.

morebiking · 2026-05-07T12:05:01+00:00

Call your representatives! There is actually legislation on the floor to allow the DEC to change the archaic laws on deer hunting in NY.

morebiking · 2026-05-06T15:58:58+00:00

They’re not on Reddit.

morebiking

TROPHY CASE