Frank P house pix

[Ixolib]

Frank - Looking good!! Is the front of your home squared up with Hwy 90, or is placed at an angle? Hard to tell in the pic...

BTW... Love to see those ENORMOUS headers. And straps on EVERY stud!! Where they meet the headers, it looks almost as if they wrapped all the way around!!

Will there be any extra bracing/reinforcement at the sill as well?

[Audrey2Katrina]

Man, that's coming along REAL nicely, Frank! Congrat!

And BTW... you're right--that view is something nobody can put a measure of worth to--it resides within the soul, and it's spectacular.

A2K

[Frank P]

thanks much George and A2K....

Per the FEMA code for piling construction you have to put 1/2 in bolts with 3 in washers to connect the sills to the piles... I used 5/8 in hot dipped galv bolts... we put 4 in the first and last two rows of the pilings.... you have to make two cuts in the these pilings to run the sills both east/west and north/south.... the three middle rows of pilings only have sills running north/south so you only need two sets of bolts.... the corp of engineers was taking pictures yesterday of the house to show as an example of how to build an elevated house... we've had numerous other contractors and engineers come by to see what we are doing... since this is the only house on the beach the builders are interested in what we are doing and how the new codes are effecting the construction...

actually my lot, and my neighbors lots are all about a 2-3 degree angle off 90, but just looking at the house driving by one probably wouldn't be able to detect such a slight angle... but George your eyes might be better than most.. if you look at the picture from inside the great room, the highway parallels the leading edge of my porch pretty much... but technically its probably about 88 degrees or so...

I got interviewed late yesterday from an independant news reportor who was free lancing for Good Morning America.. he took about 20 minutes of video and some interviews about what I was doing... I'm not sure if it will make it on air but it shows you the level of attention that the only new beach front home in Biloxi is getting... (also got interviewed by the Associated Press a couple of weeks ago, and a HD news team from Chicago last week, I have no idea when the stories will be printed or aired, if ever)

[Dionne]

Nice to see the hurricane strapping on every stud run over the top plate and all the way to the bottom of the headers. I also like the porch beams being cantilevered back into the long walls. Every little bit helps.

[Frank P]

Nice to see the hurricane strapping on every stud run over the top plate and all the way to the bottom of the headers. I also like the porch beams being cantilevered back into the long walls. Every little bit helps.

Thanks Dionne, coming from a pro builder I appreciate your comments...

[Jagno]

Isn't it a great feeling of hope once you begin to see something that begins to look like a home again? I know that for every single 2x4 that was put up I felt just a little more hope in a really bleak situation. Keep up the great work. You'll be sitting on that porch to usher in the New Year soon.

[Frank P]

Isn't it a great feeling of hope once you begin to see something that begins to look like a home again? I know that for every single 2x4 that was put up I felt just a little more hope in a really bleak situation. Keep up the great work. You'll be sitting on that porch to usher in the New Year soon.

THANKS.... and I so hope you're right about new years... I hope to have it all blacked in by end of next week, weather permitting... will post some updated pictures later this weekend... they are pouring the slab today....

[Lindaloo]

Awesome about the slab. Are you going to have a house warming party?

[Frank P]

Awesome about the slab. Are you going to have a house warming party?

Hi Liinda, Yeah I probably should for all the storm2kers providing all the positive comments on the project...

here are some updated pixs









we should be framing the hip roof over the front of the house on Sat and installing the round 12 in fiberglass columns on the porch...

WLOX TV came to the site today and did an interview and filmed the work crews... they told me they were going to run it on the 6:00 pm news... I told them I wouldn't do an interview with them unless they filmed my bassets... they also said it would be available on their web site... so they told me... Marcia Hill was the reporter... she was very nice and a lot of fun ... I made all the framing dudes put their shirts on... hehe...

[gtalum]

Looking good!

Will you have enough room under the house to park cars and store stuff?

[Frank P]

Looking good!

Will you have enough room under the house to park cars and store stuff?

yeah gtalum its going to be 2400 sq feet of space on the first level under the raised house ..... I can park 6 cars if I wanted... I am pouring a drive way on the west side 18 feet wide and a small 6 foot apron on the east side of the house...

we plan to make the first section a covered patio, the second section a screen in porch.. and the rest a two or three car garage, workshop and storage areas... maybe throw in a rec room... but its unlimited because its all above the flood zone and I can do what I want with it... one of the advantages of building up on piers...

[cag1953]

Frank,it's going to be beautiful! I've always wanted to live right on the water,but because of prices,and then Ivan and Katrina,I've changed my mind.But I've got to admit I got chills when I saw the beautiful view of the gulf from your house. We were over there last month and I looked for your house but couldn't find it. However,I think you were just starting,so there probably wasn't much to see. I bet I could pick it out now! We are making our first overnight trip over there since Katrina,at the end of September and I'm going to try to find the house again(It shouldn't be to hard this time!). Congratulations and good luck.

[Frank P]

Frank,it's going to be beautiful! I've always wanted to live right on the water,but because of prices,and then Ivan and Katrina,I've changed my mind.But I've got to admit I got chills when I saw the beautiful view of the gulf from your house. We were over there last month and I looked for your house but couldn't find it. However,I think you were just starting,so there probably wasn't much to see. I bet I could pick it out now! We are making our first overnight trip over there since Katrina,at the end of September and I'm going to try to find the house again(It shouldn't be to hard this time!). Congratulations and good luck.

thanks

Hey just give me a day or so heads up and I'd love to take you on a little house tour when you come down in September... its pretty easy to find... the only house on the beach on pilings so far, just east of Edgewater Mall... heck its still the only new construction on the beach in Biloxi... but I'm sure more will start after the Grants start kicking in and the peak of the hurricane season is over... at least I hope they start building...

[MSRobi911]

Hey Frank,

Just saw you on WLOX TV13 I'm sure that if the people want to go online later they will probably have a video clip of you and your house

Great going! We're still waiting on insurance and stuff like that before we start again just one house off the Beach in Pascagoula so we will see...............

Good luck on being in your home on December 24th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Mary

[Frank P]

Hey Frank,

Just saw you on WLOX TV13 I'm sure that if the people want to go online later they will probably have a video clip of you and your house

Great going! We're still waiting on insurance and stuff like that before we start again just one house off the Beach in Pascagoula so we will see...............

Good luck on being in your home on December 24th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Mary

thanks MS.... I'm not sure if I can be of much help since you live in Pascagoula but if there is anything I can do to help yall to rebuild let me know... I am making some great contacts on contractors, and have done a plethora of research on how to make one's house as wind resistant as possible... a friend of mine recenty came by and saw my house and is going to build one very similar in construction... going to use the same framer that I have and several other contractors as well...

and good luck with your new home, you're be starting before you know it......

[O Town]

Wow, house is coming along quick! Starting to look like a house now. lol. I see you have a few of the trusses up, can't wait to see it in a few more weeks. You guys are doing an awesome job!

Just curious about the pylons, I would think concrete would be alot sturdier than wood, and since I know you have done a ton of research I was just wondering why wood instead of concrete? Is it just cheaper or is there another reason behind it? Thanks.

[MSRobi911]

Thanks Frank!

I would be interested in your contractors and getting some quotes, etc. We bought "substantial housing" as my husband calls it up in Moss Point because we couldn't stand that dang FEMA trailer any longer. I know right now, its virtually impossible to get contractors to do anything and I'm not up to messing with them right now but I do want to rebuild but we will have to go up at least 12 feet to comply with the City of Pascagoulas new Flood Plains (yes Pascagoula already adopted the suggested flood plains) not that going up 12 feet would have stopped my home from being damaged during Katrina as the house next door was up 10 feet and still was just about totally destroyed and had to be torn down.

Mary

Oh I forgot to post a link for wlox that should take people there to see the video clip.

wlox.com

[Frank P]

Wow, house is coming along quick! Starting to look like a house now. lol. I see you have a few of the trusses up, can't wait to see it in a few more weeks. You guys are doing an awesome job!

Just curious about the pylons, I would think concrete would be alot sturdier than wood, and since I know you have done a ton of research I was just wondering why wood instead of concrete? Is it just cheaper or is there another reason behind it? Thanks.

O Town... I have a couple of problems with concrete... one I couldn't get a builder to even give me a price on building them... two, in my tours of all the destroyed houses along the beach from Waveland/Bay St Louis to Ocean Springs I saw more wooden pilings standing than anything else... yeah the houses were gone but not the pilings... one friend in Bay St Louis is rebuild his house on the same wooden pilings, they were in that good of shape, perhaps the worst performing pilings were the ones made of concrete blocks... I also saw many solid concrete pilings that went down, primarily because they didn't use enough rebar in the piling, and the piling was attached directly to the slab and not deep into the ground... also the concrete pilings are expensive... quite

an advantage with wood is that it gives and flexes... concrete doesn't.... that being said I think I will be just as happy with wood as concrete if all I have to worry about is flowing water under my house... I also did some other exceptional things to make sure I have a solid foundation... the pilings are rough cut 12x12 treated heart wood pine with a .80 cca treatment... so they should last a lot long than me and my kids... I also put them into the ground 10 feet and encased in concrete with rebar about 5 feet below grade.. then at the surface I have two foot trenches with rebar that interconnect all the pilings with steel, added to that is a solid 6 in slab... all in all I have 97 yards of concrete holding down these 12x12s.... so I'm quite confident no pure water or wave action is going to hurt them, or no amount of wind is going to pull them out of the ground... now if I have a casino barge floating in with the wave action then its a different story all together... the guy installing them has done it for years and a lot of people are going in this direction .. those that can't afford 12x12's are using 10x10s... I also liked the fact that I can work with wood on my first floor, building rooms and such, much more easier than concrete... after I dress them up you will never know they are wood... this is a common building practice and approved by FEMA for elevated homes... I had a Corp of Engineers Engineer touring my house this week and was taking pictures of the house to use as a good example of how to build a house to mitigate flood hazards...

would I have liked to have concrete, probably... but then again I probably would still be trying to find a contractor who can install them... are they better than wood... I think that's all depends on the application... since I'm already 18 feet above sea level I think the wood will work just fine for me... I think you have builders in both camps, some promoting concrete and some wood.... you see these 12x12s in person and I think you'd be OK with them, I am...

but it was a good question and one I pondered on for many days...

Frank P

[Frank P]

Mary, when you are ready for some contractor contacts or building material information just email me at fjpell2@bellsouth.net... I will give you my phone number and you can call me anytime....

one thing you might want to consider is building up your lot with dirt a couple of feet, then perhaps going up with 10 ft pilings like I did... I have a pretty good contractor/framer that can do that and frame up your house... and he's very reasonable... he doing work in Bay St Louis so I know he would go to Pascagoula.... but he only specializes in wooden pilings structures... if you're interested you might even want to come and see how he is building my house.... actually its not all that bad right now getting contractors... it might get much worse once that Grant money kicks in... I can also give you some cost estimates about what I'm spending

[O Town]

Thanks for the explanation Frank, my hubby works in the concrete business and I was showing him how your house was coming along, and he asked the question, we were both curious. Sounds like you made the right decision to me. His eyes bulged when he read you have 97 yards of concrete for your foundation, footers and pylons. lol. I agree I don't think those pylons are going no where with water alone. Again great job.