Just wanted to return and touch base with all the helpful peoples here, I have learned a lot and a buddy of mine who is going to assist me build next year has joined here, I haven't asked his handle yet, but he's learned a lot already. he's going to be my castellan and have a hideout on the property Here's a few views of the initial design. The main body will be 50 x 30 feet, full parking bay basement with tower basements as well, the basement and ground floor will have 12 foot ceilings, the upper floors 8 feet. The towers are about 24 x 24. We will build a huge hothouse on the main body battlement, greenhouses also and on the East tower cedar raised beds, the West tower battlement will eventually have wind and solar. AR500 heavy plate door entrance and an AR500 drop down cover for the garage door. The site is up on a ridge overlooking and facing South over a pastural and timbered valley, Salmon bearing streams, deer and grouse, and behind us there's 50K acres of timber co land. Been dreaming of this for near 25 years. The best part is we are doing it with cash and will be debt free! My backyard looks like a construction storage depot, sheds also packed to the gills, have bought an incredible amount of awesome building materials this year off craigslist
You'll have to drop by sometime for a game of pool and a few cold ones, in the pool hall/wetbar on the main floor of the West tower. I have antique teak beams ready to use for the deck (floor) and the tools to cut it up and T & G it. Bought the teak for 1 buck a BD foot, if you can believe that. The room will have a tall ships/pirate theme.. the entrance door from the great hall will be made from an old schooner's mast, old growth mahoghany at least 3 inches thick (the finished door, which will have a speakeasy grille) Fun stuff
That looks like a fun project!! Are you installing a well within the walls of the castle... or do you have another plan for water?
Are you a stone mason? Have you considered the insulated foam forms that go up similar to legos but with a rebar grid, and then you do a concrete pour. Goes up about 4 ft per pour. Super strong, and you can also put conduit and plumbing in wall before pour, or in subfloor, dropped ceiling, and or subwall for better access. Heating? Solar panels for electric? Well that's enough questions for me. I also look forward to seeing how it goes. Moat, or wild hog enclosure around outer wall? .... enough already. Happy building!
Not sure where the well will be, but worst case is a stone well house within the eventual curtain wall, which will be ICF, like the castle. The hill has artesian water, so we may or may not get water pressure. We are also going to build a stone smokehouse. I am a pro tile setter and stone mason (used to be a contractor) but the design is indeed Insulated Concrete Forms, which goes up fast and is extremely rugged. 8 inch cores and very little rebar, with the new Helix Nano admixture to the crete. We haven't decided on whether to use rubber foms and concrete for the finish, or the long and time consuming but authentic rock face. There is a nice quarry here with blue/grey stone, have used it before. The roofs will be poured slabs, as thick as possible. We will start out on the grid, but we will pre wire for off grid and work our way off, including a basement log burner, since we have timber galore. Solar, wind and hydro power, with backup generators. I already bought one of these this year for my shop, so we will have a starter generator when we move in Generac Power Systems | Portable Generator | GP Series | GP17500E | Generac Power Systems There will be no ground floor windows, but there will be windows in the upper floors, with AR500 plate shutters for the Zombie Apoc The eventual plan includes a pool house with steam sauna, hot tub and a small guest room. It will be heated by it's own log burner (I already have several) I have been scoring all sorts of goodies for the build off craigslist this year, including a new Briggs and Stratton 30 amp transfer switch, cheep. It's a start..
Thanks, bro. We paid the land off over 10 years ago, and we have patiently waited for the cash to build, so we won't ever have to worry about losing our dream retreat
Have you seen those nano wire reinforcements up close? If it's steel, I can't help thinking it'll show and rust on the finished surfaces. I've known about it for years, but never seen it up close and personal nor even been on a project that used it.
It will be inside the styrofoam forms, never to be seen again I think they are poly coated, too As to the basement and roof, epoxy paint and a little fine silica sand will fix er up.. except for my black and white racing flag theme (tile) for the hotrod corner
Another view, from the SSW. This is the above basement view, but there will be an excavated driveway valley, and the garage door will be at the bottom left
Yes, we will have a gravel driveway ending in a slab area with a large drain grille outside the garage door, and 12 inch poly culvert pipe drainage, and in the rainy season the tank it will drain into will feed a hydro generator 150 feet down the hillside
You could, with intent, use the entire driveway surface as a watershed, if it were something like concrete. However, drains do clog, so make sure there is a quick access clean out.
The soil has clay layers and indeed the entire driveway will be a water shed culminating at the drain. The drain will have a leaf screen (Bigleaf maples everywhere) and will have to be watched. We get up to 100 inches a year, the Hoh rain forest is West of us and gets 300 inches per year
LOL, you might consider something along the lines of (not sure of the exact name), a extended cattle grate gate (no gate). Like a big sluice trench (concrete lined n reinforced). If your grate sections had quick pins than could be pulled to release them, and grate in sections, these could be pulled with a bit of effort to have the sluice trench act as a wheel trap for non tracked vehicles.
They are made. One of many types and styles. Grated trench drains - All architecture and design manufacturers - Videos
There will be lots of such tricks up the castle's sleeve, one will be a drawbridge in the incoming driveway valley. It will be deep and full of water in the winter, and the drawbridge will be on a skid similar to your idea, so we can pull it inside.. Before that there will be an electric portcullis with remote control
