# Float House Update



## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

The house is framed up. Roofing is happening this weekend. I was there this morning laying out flashings for the roofers. They're doing the torch-on on the top roof tomorrow. I'll start DWV aboveslab on Monday.

Front View:










Back/Side View: Sure doesn't look like it would float, let alone with 20" of freeboard, but it will. Water is dense stuff! 










The restaurant has fallen behind a bit. Just framing now. Here's a top view of the back (with the roofers in the frame):










And a view of the front:


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

How does the floating foundation work?


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Protech said:


> How does the floating foundation work?


Here's a rough quicky diagram (drawn from memory, so probably not 100% accurate). All walls and the slab are concrete with lots of steel. Sheer walls that don't hit stiffener walls are handled with grade beams. The lift points are so they can put it on wheels that support at the lift points - later they lay rails across the yard and roll it right into the river.


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## LEAD INGOT (Jul 15, 2009)

The engineering is awesome. Very cool job.


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

Why not just make the bottom like a boat... to displace the water


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

OldSchool said:


> Why not just make the bottom like a boat... to displace the water


Heh :laughing: A box displaces water very efficiently. No point in making it streamlined - it isn't going anywhere, except once. A box fits a house and a riverside lot better too, and is cheaper to build.

Or do you mean hollow? That could leak, causing your house to sink. The foam filled box is unsinkable.


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

futz said:


> The foam filled box is *unsinkable*.


I think we've heard that before. 








Paul


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

rocksteady said:


> I think we've heard that before.
> 
> Paul


:laughing:


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Lots of interesting stuff going on at the Vito yards lately. This float is about to go into the water and get towed to Lake Union in Seattle, where it will have a house built on it.










Today I learned how they lift them to put the wheels underneath. There are lift points on the sides of all these floats, each with four large threaded holes.










They bolt one of these thingies on each lift point and put special hydraulic jacks under each one. All the jacks connect to a single pump and controller so they lift evenly.










Then they lay rails underneath and put the wheels under the lift points. Then it's ready to roll over to the ramp and into the river.










They're doing some large floats for B.C. Ferries. They're building them one at a time directly on the barge. All that foam is for them. The bottom has been poured already - didn't have my camera on Saturday or I would have posted pics of the steel. LOTS of it, every 6"! These things will be strong. I guess they have to be, since they're in the ocean - not open water, but still a hell of a lot rougher water than the river.

I guess when they're done they just tow it over to the Island (Duke Point, I think) and fill the tanks on the barge so it partially submerges and the float just floats off.


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

The restaurant is jacked up and ready for wheels. Some poor slave spent half the day under there today cleaning and sweeping to get it ready. Pic shot through my dirty windshield.









The float on the barge got more steel today. It's coming along nicely.









While I was shooting that a pretty good sized barge went past. Heading for Vancouver Island? Or maybe headed for one of the smaller islands? I don't know. Loaded with semi-trailers - probably way cheaper than going B.C. Ferries and paying all those drivers to sit on their a$$es while crossing.









Some waterpipes - that's the main valve/PRV location.









Had to cross this beam with waterpipes. Worked out perfect that the HWT sits right above that beam. Up, feed the tank, and back down.









Test day - in the laundry.


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## Plumbworker (Oct 23, 2008)

cool stuff.... is the electrician on crack :laughing: the wiring looks crackheaded


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Plumbworker said:


> cool stuff.... is the electrician on crack :laughing: the wiring looks crackheaded


I think he's a friend of the owner/builder. I don't think he's a "real" electrician - probably somebody's employee. Shows up only on weekends. The owner did some of the work too (he's not an electrician either :laughing.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Are the walls getting built out in the laundry. The trap looks like it goes around the stud to get to the santee.


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

plbgbiz said:


> Are the walls getting built out in the laundry. The trap looks like it goes around the stud to get to the santee.


Couldn't drill that double stud. It's carrying a fair bit of weight, transferring it down to a grade beam, so I went around. It's behind the laundry tub and washer so it really won't show much. They can paint it wall color if it bugs them (it won't).


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Do they make them with a yard?

Maybe big enough to play catch, bocci, maybe some other games... :laughing:


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Redwood said:


> Do they make them with a yard?
> 
> Maybe big enough to play catch, bocci, maybe some other games... :laughing:


Just water polo and of sea horse shoes


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Redwood said:


> Do they make them with a yard?
> 
> Maybe big enough to play catch, bocci, maybe some other games... :laughing:


If you got the money they'll build you anything you want. :thumbsup:


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

I see a whole bunch of unneeded 90's on those water lines.

Might as well of used CheaPVC :laughing:


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Cool stuff. I am from the desert, so I am not familiar with anything like this. I take it once it goes in the water there will be a place it stays. If so how does the water/sewer/electric connections to the shore work or flex with the water movement.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

DesertOkie said:


> Cool stuff. I am from the desert, so I am not familiar with anything like this. I take it once it goes in the water there will be a place it stays. If so how does the water/sewer/electric connections to the shore work or flex with the water movement.


:laughing:


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Protech said:


> I see a whole bunch of unneeded 90's on those water lines.


Heh :laughing: *I* needed them, and therefore they were not unneeded. I do pex my own way and I don't care what other people think.


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

DesertOkie said:


> Cool stuff. I am from the desert, so I am not familiar with anything like this. I take it once it goes in the water there will be a place it stays. If so how does the water/sewer/electric connections to the shore work or flex with the water movement.


Check out the first thread. Some of that stuff is discussed there.

Yes, it will most likely stay in one place for its whole life. Water, sewer, electric/comm and gas all have to be flexible at pier-to-top-of-ramp, bottom-of-ramp-to-float and from float-to-house. The river is tidal where the house is going. House goes up and down something like thirteen feet between high and low tide.


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