The fact that you are being honest by letting us know your mistakes, makes your channel the most interesting and engaging. I promise you those people with negative comments can't wait for the next video.
I love your honesty with problems along the way. Not only do I get to learn and make less mistakes myself in the future, but transparency and imperfection are just so refreshing.
It's a humble person to admit his mistakes, that speaks for what kind of person he is and she is such a sweet heart, looking forward to watching their progress.
Glad you upload this 3 am EST. MY FIRST solution to adding horizontal rebar would to go straight thru one edge of the corner for your 8 inch from bottom, yes a small hole that could be duct taped over on the inside so when yo pour concrete it would not be an issue.
Alex K. It's all about the tolerances! By the way, if they plan on using Advantec tung and groove subfloor, that stuff shrinks about 1/4 inch per sheet in the 4' direction.
TROLL STALKER you are blinded by your love of these two. 1" off is not within tolerance on any construction project, not even a tree house. I am an engineer, and have been a project manager and quality control inspector for many US Army Corps of Engineer Projects at Fort Drum, NY. I am willing to bet that you will label me a "poser" though, because I too would comment honestly about what is correct and incorrrect. I like these folks, but they do make mistakes. You should get over it. People with real experience will keep offering their comments with good intentions.
Alex K. 1" may be considered "within tolerances" for a footing form, but where else in construction would this be "well within" tolerances? Do you have a degree in engineering? I have never heard an engineer say they worked in construction as an engineer.... nonetheless that is all it took for TROLL STALKER to qualify you as the first real engineer to make a comment. That was easy, just say something they did wrong is just fine!
'1" off is not within tolerance on any construction project, not even a tree house' What a load of BS. You obviously have not constructed anything bigger than a tree house in your 'career' as an engineer
Wow, some very impassioned responses here. In case anyone ever references these comments again, I'd like to clarify. For their type and size of project, 1" is fine. Probably on the outer end of acceptable, but for their wall lengths and their method of formwork, I'm not surprised, nor worried for them. If they were using industry standard equipment for large scale construction, they would be within 1/8" on these wall lengths, but not with these foam legos. But the cost needs to be considered too. So good choice on the foam, be a bit flexible. No "treehouse" or any project has ever been done to perfection. Anyone who says it has is lying or hasn't spent any time in the field. My childhood home was built an entire foot narrower than it was designed for god's sake (completely unacceptable, but still). Aim for perfection, just be prepared to be flexible. As for the question of my credentials, I've spent 4 years in construction, most recently on a project in downtown San Francisco and the specifications for an several billion dollar project allowed for 1/4-1" tolerances for concrete/rebar depending on the feature, and inspectors occasionally let things slide past that as well. Be professional, even if its only a youtube comment. Ask questions instead of rudely asserting your experience above others.
i work with concrete and ICF blocks and to put rebar in the first layer just take of one of the corners off and you can put the rebar in with out of cutting the plastic. but of course some time you have to cut the plastic. srry for bad english :D
Helped some guys building ICF, I was just carrying the blocks. They did exactly the same and for the corner they always connected one block to the corner before installing both together. This way they could place more bent rebar in there and match the codes for overlap. If all failed, instead of cutting the bracing they laid down the rebar first and later wired it to the lower levels. Not sure if they are always that careful with not cutting the plastic. In this project they chose to exceed the recommended maximum pouring height to use full truck loads.
I love the fact that they dont try and edit all their mistakes out. Showing everybody their mistakes lets people learn more about the products they use and what to look for. So many people come on here and rant about how they are messing up. Not that I enjoy seeing them screw up because i dont but I learn more about things when I see mistakes and how to fix them. :)
Just stab the rebar through the corner block at the level you need it and pull it through. No need to remove the corner. We do it all the time. If you really want to, come back and squirt some foam in the hole before you pour. The cutting of the plastic ties is not such a great idea.
@bowmana1978: building codes in my area require a bent section of rebar in the corner. You can't just stab that through the corner. @Koality of Life: That is right. There are some errors like unrolling the PVC where I think some research should have been done, but a lot of the small errors are just lack of experience. This is normal doing such projects for the first time.
Despite all the negative comments on this video, please do not cut us off from your videos! I for one love watching. You are pathfinders doing exactly what I hope to be doing soon! Building my own homestead and my own home! Keep up the incredibly hard work Do not get discouraged by any set backs. And especially not by any jackasses on you tube that want to tear you down, but do not offer advice and encouragement to build you up! You two are awesome! And I am sure, once you have the ICF pour done and squared away? You will have more problems to deal with on the next phase. It is the nature of a build. And I know you will keep at it and get it right! Do not let the negative comments get you down! You two are doing it. You are making your dreams happen!
"Despite all the negative comments on this video, please do not cut us off from your videos" Lol these videos and affiliate blogging is literally how they pay for their lifestyle
Do not let the haters and the nay-sayers get the better of you. You are doing great and you will end up with a house that, unlike so many American homes, is properly insulated. My sister and my brother in law built their home out of ICF blocks and have been living in it for 20 years. Yes, they had to deal with blowouts and warping during pouring, but it came out nicely in the end. Good luck to you both.
This is why most folks hire a Contractor. I admire your ability to learn from your mistakes without blowing a gasket. Looking forward to learning with you as this amazing project continues to completion.
Great advice from your brother about imperfect building supplies. We are currently building our first home and my wife is building all the cabinets. She's stressing over 1/32" out of square on her boxes, and then we put them up to a wall that 3/4" out of plumb in places (framer's fault!). And thanks for the honesty about the oversight that you experienced. Planning my own ICF home, so watching you closely!
You never learn unless you make mistakes. Fortunately it isn't one that is going to cost you a lot of money. I'm glad to see you guys took the time off to relax and enjoy yourself after such a stressful time with the last few videos and your footings.
You were right to stop at the point when thing weren't working, if you are loosing the battle, best to retreat, regroup and advance again refreshed, and you guys deserved the dip in the river. Thank you for the editing you do each day to put up a great video :)
Agree with others on rebar; either put it in before you put the corner on or heat a short piece of rebar to melt a hole in the end which can later be filled by spray foam later. That said, keep up the hard work, but slow down and triple check. Very proud of you guys and thankful for the life lessons! God bless!
Ya'll did a great job! Just remember when reading the negative comments...the pros make mistakes all the time and learn from the mistakes, but, they never tell anyone what they screwed up on. I suspect that you can now look at other peoples jobs and notice some of their mistakes. Thanks for the honesty!
The single vertical cut from top to bottom is exactly how you do it. its your stack joint and its function is to allow you the wiggle room to dial in your dimensions. You would fill it with a high expansion foam afterwards to seal it back up once you've positioned it.
well one thing I will say is that its great that you stopped when you got off of your marks instead of pressing on, you guys are amazing...so many things to know....makes you understand why everything is done the way its done...great job, glad you took a break, loving watching the process
Glad you've got help. By the sound of it, you're not the first one to make that mistake. Keep making progress guys. That water looked cold. Tanks for sharing guys.
Seeing y'all do all the stuff with rebar here recently reminded me I had 200-300 lb of rebar in the barn loft so today I welded a brush guard for my farm truck from square tube and rebar.
The Haterverse is strong with your channel. It's construction guys. It's the art of close enough. You are not building furniture. You are building a house. Mistakes will be made... a lot of mistakes will be made. Don't listen to all those that never built anything other than popsicle houses. One thing that 40 years of nail banging has taught me is that you will never build that exact structure on the blueprint. Something(s) will jump up and not work exactly as they are supposed to. You learn to work around them and modify it to get it to play right with the rest of the structure. All materials have errors. Actually, I'm pretty impressed with the both of you for jumping into this as amateurs. If you get frustrated with something, walk away from it if you can. "Never Work Frustrated!" Trying to work through frustration will lead to more frustration, and really jacks your tude out of sorts. One thing, well two. Method and process. Once you find a method and a process that works for you. Stick with it all the way to the last shingle on the roof. it will help you see problems before they become problems. Ignore the Haterverse. You two are doing a lot better than you think. I am glad that no one was chronicling my work. You wouldn't believe. Allez Vous!
I love going in freezing mountain water, it truly is rejuvenating! They are so lucky those mistakes were easily corrected. Slow down and plan a little better is what i learned from this
Problems are apart of every job, great to see you guys solving them. It's better to work hard on your dreams then to work hard for someone else on there's.
you first set the corners on each wall then work to the centeer of the wall from each end so you only have one cut to do at the cente of the wall. that way all stays on line.
Hey guys even tho we are human, we all make mistakes, so what as long as we learn from them. Your sticking with it and working out problems as you go. I had issues while building our home too. Hang in there. When you get it all finished and move in, there are no words to express the feeling of a major personal accomplishment that you guys did together.
Good segment. ICFs were new when i was in school so i never saw anyone working with them. It ws a good expository discussion you did and educational. Human beings always learn from each others mistakes, not their own. Good work.
Good on ya, showing your mistakes and explaining how to do it right. Jessie you are a well adjusted person, even though you seem wound a little tight. Keep it up, guys. This is fun to watch.
So many in the comment-section is borderline pathetic, here these two are sharing their journey with us and all some of you guys want to do is spewing your hate all over them. Be grateful someone is sharing their failures and successes with us, this is for you to get inspired and learn from it. I'm just very inspired with these two. The consistancy is beyond impressive.
no! that hammock aren't even on both ends. do you even use a laser level to check those ties? how are you putting that fire pit there? it's 1" too close and that's not within tolerances, because i'm a fire pit expert for 25 years. roar!
I have only delt with the ICF blocks Once. As soon as I heard Jessie mention them I was thinking it was gonna be an interesting time. You guys are doing great accomplishing what I can only dream about pay no attention to the trolls. So excited for the pore seeing you guys in your home will make me very happen Ive been watching since the beginning.
Hey, thanks for sharing the mistakes, and helping us see the "how" of why it happened. This kind of stuff is what stops many in their tracks. You'll get this all done, don't worry.
Well deserved rest break, that water looked very refreshing and I think you two deserve more time like that. You push yourselves much too much. It will get done and you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor before very long. Just have to take time to smell the roses along the way
When I want to revitalize my faith in humanity I come to this channel to watch the newest video, when I want to remind myself of the present societal decay of the world I scroll down to the comments. Please keep doing these video, you are a beautiful force in this world .
Don't listen to all the negative so called experts making comments. They have made many mistakes in their lifetimes, but the difference between you and them is that they won't tell you about theirs. We had the house we now live in moved. I measured the the house with all of its corners and came up short on one jut by about 2 inches. The styro foam had to be 4 inches thick there on the foundation wall instead of 2 inches elsewhere in order to make it look right. I have seen the best contractors goof big time. We are only human. Smile and carry on with heads held high. I realize you came out fine and this was shot more than 10 days ago, just want to encourage you.
Been playing with Legos for over 30 years. That is not how you build a foundation wall. You need to use grey 2x4 Legos. Also use a green base plate so people will know it's grass. If you use blue people with think your house is coming up out of the sea.
Congratulations on the progress and great job with the editing Alyssa. I'm not even 3 minutes in and I just realized this is a RU-vid channel not a "show" on HGTV. You guys are doing an awesome job all around and your videos/editing are really looking polished and professional. Great angles and again, great job!
Good video. Glad I found this Channel. I watch all the time now. We all have wishes and Dreams. Mistakes Happen. Good luck with the Build. Lucky two you are.
In the military we have a saying. No plan survives first contact. You adjust the plan and keep moving. Enjoying the process guys, keep it up. Just got the underlayment finished on my build yesterday, feelin good.
If you didn't know already, anytime you string a line for a reference, like what you did to straighten the walls, add say a quarter inch shim to the ends of the line to hold the line off the surface. Then go through with the same size shim and true it up that way. Otherwise you may get a hump in a spot that screws up your reference line.
Great video guys, thanks... Not sure if you're already planning to do so or not, but after the build is wrapping up - I think it'd be a good idea to compare some of the alt methods you guys researched and cost factors/other reasons you decided to use the materials you did. (just a thought)
Thanks for the regular updates - these daily peeks into the process are so addictive. Well done to you both - and the helpers. I've never seen the ICF block system and have to admit - it looks like a terrific approach. Regarding the 'can't get the rebar in without cutting the ties' issue - it's too late now, but maybe you could have simply drilled a hole in the side and passed the bar through without bending. Excuse the back seat driving - I'm not there in the heat and with the camera rolling. I've got to think that once the concrete is filling the structures, none of these problems are going to be real. I'd be nervous too though. I've never seen a house with straight, vertical and square walls though, so your expectation of getting it just right seem to be setting your standards unreasonably and unnecessarily high. Good luck to you both though, and thanks for letting us come along for the ride.
I see a lot of Monday morning quarterbacks in the comment section. I have to applaud you for doing all this work. If homes were so easy to build we wouldn't have so many contractors. And from my experience, many of the contractors today are little better than the home owner. I'm in TX and there are millions of homes built poorly by "So-called" professional. The horror stories abound. Of things found in remodels and such. You're getting a valuable lesson in how to construct your own home. And you will know every inch of it before you're done. And can be sure that it's built properly and there are no surprises buried inside a wall that will come back later and bite you in the rear. I always wondered why home builders only give you a year's warranty? Maybe because they're afraid that the shortcuts they took will come back to bite them. Off my soap box now...LOL Congrats on the work and the vids. Too many complain about this and that but don't have sites of their own. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see the next one. I look forward to seeing a vid from you folks. Thanks for all the hard work.
Great southern engineering job. Take a break Monday and check out the eclipse 1pm central. Should be good partial eclipse. Wow, the directions must be read to the letter. I thought you were doing it right but the center of wall makes sense. Keep up the great work.
Good job. Enjoy the videos. Forget the so called experts comments engineers, etc. Was in construction all my life never found an engineer or architect who ever used a hammer a nail. Whats on a plan doesn't always work in real life. That's why there are the planners and the actual doers contractors who do the work. You have an engineer who's a resource great, but may also want a real contractor too. Your going to be off and inch here and there throughout this project it's nothing to lose sleep over. It happens million times a day in real construction. Nothing life altering. Keep the videos coming👍👍
Glad to see you started laying the ICFs. Maybe Lightform should print a sheet explaining that you start at the corners & cut for a centre of wall common seem & include it on every stack of blocks like what you show on the video Well done anyway
I love all the negative comments when they called the company and their engineer and found out they are fine despite the mistakes. Go team! You guys are doing great.
Why is it that so many "expert"s feel so driven to make malicious, hurtful and utterly demotivating comments. You miss the whole point of this couples expertise, sharing philosophy and "adequacy" of results. Remember the professional creed of Fit, Finish & Functionality. What surely matters most; are they learning, are they safe, & do they satisfy building codes and practices. Why can't you all share experience and pass comments on as Constructive Information. Jessie and Alyssa have done a pretty good job given their resources and expertise. Folks, if you don't like the approach and can't make positive, supporting comments; say nothing! Have we all forgotten what we were like back in our 20's and 30's? If they were my children I would be exceptionally proud of them in what they are doing and what they are achieving. Regardless of the likelihood of personal and relationship stress they endure, they are happy, have a goal, want to be independent and even still love each other after this far into their project.
Wow, super cool. Great job guys your videos are very raw and honest, I love it. Nobody is perfect and the key to success is learning and managing your mistakes, not to go about thinking you were born educated and experienced and calling everyone else out like alot of the commenters. Don't ever let the naysayers get under your skin or let them change the way you edit your videos, perfect just the way they are. I'm subscribed !
Foam expands when heated just like everything else, that is causing the different measurements (3/32) . The gap created if there is one can easily be fixed. The rebar could have been placed into the ICF as it was installed. It's also made of Styrofoam and can be cut at one end to slide the rebar through the structure, Do not cut the support for the ICF!!!! Do not be afraid to send everyone home and take an extra day or two to get the information you need to do the job correctly!!!!
Jesse and Alyssa, Thanks for keeping it real! You're gladiators in the arena and the other 99% are sitting safely in the stands. You're getting bloodied and bruised but you are in the fight!
Lots of people correcting you lol, it's all a learning experience. That foam squeaking had me cringing really hard, I had to mute a few times ahaha. Great video, I look forward to them
You guys are perfectionists. I want you guys building my house because I know that the guys that do this for a living honestly don't care. They just throw it together and often it is so bad you have major headaches later. Details are important though.
I am glad you discovered your mistakes before any concrete was poured, ICF is easy to work with IF you know what you are doing, and a nightmare as you noticed, if you don't. Good recovery though, can't wait to see the next video :)
Are you building the front wall then cutting out the garage doors? I thought you were bending over the rebar to tie into the floor slab? Looking great other wise. Running in the lower rebar, I'd have used a hole saw to poke a hole in the corner piece to run them in, you can patch the hole with the slug from the hole saw and your foam glue.
My approach would have been to let the building grow half or 3/4 of an inc and to hell with cutting blocks.........Also I would have bent the re bar on the corners out the way half an inch rather than cut the black bracing ties too!......I guess its easy to be critical when your not on site....Great job and love your togetherness and the whole project.......Cheers from Kiwi in New Zealand
If you have a spare ICF block, I would be curious to know what it measures in the winter. I bet it's 1/16 shy of four feet when it's cold. And you mentioned in this video, or another, that you spend a lot of time just cleaning up. That's a very important thing to do, because it obviously creates a safer work-space. But it also allows you time to ponder your next moves and make the actual hard work a little easier. It's always worth it to keep a clean job-site. Safety First! Mike's Hard Lemonade soon after!
A problem maybe. A mistake maybe. You had the knowledge and skills though to adapt and plan. That is what your whole project is about. I understand your frustration. Its not a showstopper. The sole factor that made it time consumming was that it was at the weekend and you could not phone the company. We can argue if this and if that. I see this as a success. Not just physical but mentally. welldone.
I will continue to watch all of their videos, I hope with the haters, trolls, pros, and fans, they can buy three new trucks and get their future kids through college. Their have been mistakes, but it is their home, this is entertainment, and they do make well edited videos. I think its brilliant that the haters and trolls watch these and contribute to thier youtube income. They are entrepreneurs in this digital age and more power to them, thats America baby! Keep watching haters and trolls, mo money for this beautiful hard working couple. I also really apreciate the pros chiming in, thats where people can gleam some educational aspect out of this channel.
Doing something for the first time always takes longer and involves more mistakes. The reason the professionals do it faster and with fewer mistakes is they have been there, done that. Stay with it and YOU will do it!!!
Man! So many negative comments! You are doing the best you can to do the perfect build. And when it doesn't go right instead of pressing on, you are on the phone with your engineer! And you figure it out! And I know you will not pour another drop of concrete until you know the ICF forms are all correct and able to stand up to the pressure of the concrete! I have no experience to offer. But for those that do? Why not be more helpful or positive instead of jackasses! These two folks are doing the best they can to build their own home. They are working their asses off to do it right! Instead of tearing them down? Build them up! I think they ought to be pretty proud of what they have accomplished so far!
Jim Gillespie love your comment I feel the same way and I don't understand those jerks that keep dumping on them thank you so much I enjoyed your comment have a great day
