Several Newbie Questions - Could Really Use Your Help!

No tunnels, I should NOT! Not to a butcher either.

Did you ever bother to have a look at my Gallery? You would notice I have seen some wood before I posted the first word here..............................

 

Some practical stuff:

Your rent is slightly cheaper than here. Heating however, sounds expensive to me. Do you guys insulate buildings?

Here R=3 is the norm, but preferably better. You could opt for a bunch of bubble wrap film, and create a tent. No idea of the size of what you will be able to rent.

Problems with shrinking wood are also depending on building method used. Large chunks of wood tend to go everywhere, small and thin pieces, burried in epoxy tend to be quite stable.

Oh, and about the girls: I was talking about FL girls, not CA girls.

With California girls I think: "and where do YOU have a piercing?"
With Florida girls I just think of the "Golden Girls"... (I probably have been in the wrong place... Is Ft Lauderdale the wrong place?)

 

Great post, Herman. Both educational *and* entertaining!

We do insulate buildings, but those are new buildings. The rent on those is much more expensive. I am looking at buildings from the 1940's, 1970's, etc... Many are metal buildings without much insulation.

The type of construction is not cold molded or anything with little pieces of wood. It large, scarfed pieces of thin plywood the size of half a hull which are then vacuum bagged, stitch and glued at the keel, bent into shape using a deck jig and so on. Deckhouse and decks are normal cored construction. Mostly, there is a lot of plywood and a lot of coating plywood with epoxy. There is also fiberglass on the outside of the hulls.

Herman, I'm afraid it may have been some years since your trip to the States. Now, ALL the girls have too many tattoos and piercings. Half the female population looks and acts like Amy Winehouse! They are good for a quick bit of fun, but you wouldn't want to spend any great length of time with them. Thankfully, I'm already married. ha ha ha

All in all, it sounds like as an amateur, I might be better of with more climate control. Maybe this will help me focus on some of the other problems at hand without other worries?

 

Then try and build a tent in the old building. One of my clients bought a pile of scaffolding, the stuff where warehouses park their pallets in. He set them up around the place where the boat will be erected, with some wood and EPS foam insulated the back, and with large width sheet (agricultural) covering the whole lot, creating a tent. With a water heating system (radiators) he could reach 50 degrees C (some 125 F ??) easily. On top of that, you can create working space easily (some horizontals on working height) and you have space for your stock. Over here there are several companies doing second hand material like that, for very little cost (I buy with them regularly).

 

Nowadays they(the girls) remind me of shower curtains, they have so many "grommets" or other apertures.

 

Digging this thread back up...

My building options (renting a building) have started to fall through up north.

One building had a neighbor or co-tenant. This person stores wood in the warehouse next to where I was going to build. They would not allow the building owner to locate a boat building project next to their precious wood piles. So.. that is out.

Next, I have a space that is 27' x 60' to build a 25' x 45' catamaran in. Very tight, but doable. However, one entire side of the building needs to be torn down to remove the catamaran. Also, when pulling the catamaran out of this open wall, there isn't enough space between the building and a fence. The fence (which belongs to another property owner) will have to come down and some bushes need to be cut down as well. For this project, there are electricians to hire, building fabricators to hire, fence company and then to move the boat over to the water by hydraulic trailer, then hire a crane to put it in. Rent? $1000-$1200/mo.

In FL? Build in a tent right at the water's edge with a travelift of the appropriate size right there in the yard with me. Rent? $0/mo

It almost seems that it would be cheaper to buy and run air conditioners in FL. I'd have to pay for $5000/yr in heat up north anyway on top of all that other stuff.

So FL guys... what does it cost to cool a 30' x 60' fabric building down there? How much a month? Also, what size air conditioner would you need? I'm thinking if I just run a big AC unit in the tent, I can take care of humidity AND temperature issues at the same time. Is that doable?

I will wait to see what the cost is for all those complexities with my last building up north before I start to seriously consider FL at the end of the week. Any tips on FL building in a tent with AC would be very helpful. I guess that goes into my other thread, but these two threads seem to have crossed a bit.

 

Unfortunately that is tooo true. (and really annoying)


I say it again, no matter how many members may contradict, there are more than enough builders in FL doing exactly what you are planning. And they earn a living with it. Many of them do not run a AC unit in their shops.
Ask there how they handle the moisture issue, it is NOT that big problem!

Regards
Richard

 

Lack of insulation means ac works harder and longer. 20' x 50' insulated cinder block home in central Florida cools for about $100 to $120 per month during the hottest months. Probably double that for tent. Bear in mind, you only need A/C just days before, during and after laying on resin.

 

It sure would save us a fortune to build there. It would be like getting free rigging or free engines!

I agree, it is a problem that can be overcome, just like building in sub zero temperatures in the north.

Only problem is I will be away from the wife since she is confined to working up north during the build. This is one of the major issues, but it may be necessary to build in FL because it is so much less expensive.

Sorry about the annoying thread crossing. I have a small forum also and it is very difficult to keep it from happening sometimes... but I feel the pain.

 

Many boatbuilders just work in big warehouse type buildings with good ventilation. Humidity has less effect during hottest time of day in sunny weather.

 

Wow! That's nothing compared to the cost of heat up north! I was estimating a similar cost, but I thought my understanding of air conditioning expenses was somehow off. I used BTUs and cost of electricity in FL.

I will glady pay for double that price to have a comfortable and dry working environment all year round, allowing me to be more productive as well. Thank you for the real figures here!

Now are you talking about temperatures and humidity in northern FL or down south, where paradoxically it is cooler in the summer (but where there are more hurricanes)?

 

I am talking about 25 miles northeast of Tampa in central Florida, home to many snow birds between October and April. December through February are our driest months when humidity is lower and fire danger is higher. Google Florida climate map.

 

In 2004 the eyes of 3 hurricanes came within 70 miles of my house. Check the trails.

 

Thanks, Hoyt. My spot is a little further north (and east) of your area, though I did look a lot in Tarpon Springs. I have a spot up the river from Jacksonville. Fairly similar climate, I'm sure.

Thank you very much for all of this information. If I can make it through the hurricanes in a tent, it sounds like it might be a good place to build when looking at the alternatives up here.

 

We usually only get hurricanes between June and December.