Pennsic House

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Chris Gilman
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Pennsic House

Post by Chris Gilman »

Those who have traveled to Pennsic most likely know of Casa Bardicci.
Last Pennsic I was asked to camp with the Baron in his fabulous Casa. I could not take this invitation lightly. So, as a result, I have decided to make a house fitting the Barons incredible Pennsic casa.
I thought folks may be interested in the progress of the house I have designed.
The goal is to produce a house that once set up looks like a real 16th century Italian house, but using modern materials and is easy to set up and is relatively light weight. Given I will have a commanding view of the lake, It needed to be two stories, with a balcony to have breakfast and enjoy the view.
Here are the drawings I created to build the “portable houseâ€
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Post by Heath B fraychef »

WOW!
i seriously wish i had not only the time to do something like that but the skill would be nice as well
thats seriously amazing.
keep the progress pics coming.
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Post by deflagratio »

Wow there's a new Pennsic business right there. Rent a house for 2 weeks. just add a propane water heater, stove, and oven and a generator to operate a small washer and dryer and people would probably pay big bucks for that.

Also what is the inside going to look like. Inquiring minds want to know.
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Post by losthelm »

That looks very close to the 16 foot limit.

What are you going to do for leveling?
A number of camp sites have low spots from sumps or showers.
Even a soft spot can make things intresting during a rainy Pennsic.

Joist brackets may help speed construction. Anyone with a Box brake can fabricate custom sizes for engineered lumber.
The hooks may have a fitting problem as the lumber swells with humidity.
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Post by Maeryk »

Hey Chris, not sure if you are aware of it or not, but there is a yahoo group called pennsic_homes that is peopled by folks who have built, or are building, houses for the War.

Some good info, people who know the "regs" inside and out, etc, can be found there.
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Post by Tailoress »

Fantastic, Chris! I hope I get a chance to admire your villa in person come August. :) Looking forward to your updates here.
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Post by AEiric Orvender »

Maeryk wrote:Hey Chris, not sure if you are aware of it or not, but there is a yahoo group called pennsic_homes that is peopled by folks who have built, or are building, houses for the War.

Some good info, people who know the "regs" inside and out, etc, can be found there.
It's a good group with great info... my advice build a wagon! :wink:
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Post by Chris Gilman »

Thanks for the info about the Yahoo group.

The house is near the 16 ft. limit. I’m not sure what joist brackets you are referring to, as I have made my own joist attachment system. I also don’t see what wood swelling will affect, as my joist hooks clip into steel fittings. The box beams are being fiberglased in the interior and foam filled to keep them straight and warp resistant, as well as stiff and light. If I am missing something I apologies.

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The “foundationâ€
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Post by Charlotte J »

Oooh, this one's going to be fun to watch! I love the design!
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Post by Maeryk »

So this is going to be a collapsible structure, kinda like the "Castle in a box" shadowclans uses? SWEET!

Just be ready to explain what you did.. some of the "inspectors" are really good.. some are.. uhh.. questionable and will say things like "I don't like how that looks" and "I don't think that's safe"...
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Post by Jeff J »

deflagratio wrote:Wow there's a new Pennsic business right there. Rent a house for 2 weeks. just add a propane water heater, stove, and oven and a generator to operate a small washer and dryer and people would probably pay big bucks for that.
Forget Pennsic. If you can fit it in a shipping container, with the support and installation equipment, FEMA would like a word with you, Chris.

With all of that foam, it should be nice and temperate inside with only a small heating/cooling load.

The foamed gutters is a durable option, but may appear a bit modernistic. Is that also for expense/ease of fabrication over faux foam wood-grained beams?

How are you attaching the ends of the box beam to their clip ends? Carriage bolts? I see you have added reinforces inside the box in that area. It looks as if the clip channel is sandwiched between the exterior box boards and these reinforces. Will there be a rigid material or sleeves inside the reinforces for the attachment bolts/rivets through the box?

For inspectors -> perhaps a video of you load-testing it, and a posted maximum capacity....

Really cool.
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Post by Sean Powell »

Oh this blows my bridge plans out of the water. I need to forward this to friends who always attend Casa parties. The Casa is just accross the street (or it was until the Pirates merged with Vlad and Bardichi got squeezed onto some swamp land.) :(

Sean

Side note: based on your measurements you are 277ish sq-ft. for the structure alone. Fire code (from memory) is a minimum of 3' between flamible structures. Within my camp that means when calculating footprint 18" is added all around and often 3' on the front if the tent owner wants direct access to common space. Also we like a large common party area (as does Casa Bardichi) so a hefty portion of everyone pre-reg goes to party, coking, shower space etc.

I recomend clearing all blueprints with the good baron and thinking about registering "Caspar Gilman" as your visiting friend who decides not to attend at the last moment.

Sean
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Post by Chris Gilman »

Jeff J wrote:
Forget Pennsic. If you can fit it in a shipping container, with the support and installation equipment, FEMA would like a word with you, Chris.

With all of that foam, it should be nice and temperate inside with only a small heating/cooling load.
I have thought of this.
Jeff J wrote: The foamed gutters is a durable option, but may appear a bit modernistic. Is that also for expense/ease of fabrication over faux foam wood-grained beams?
I was going to cast faux wood beams, but as I want to fully paint and decorate them, I settled on the gutter material as it is a cheaper “skinningâ€
Last edited by Chris Gilman on Mon Feb 15, 2010 5:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Gerhard von Liebau »

Does this count as carry-on, or loaded luggage?
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Post by Jeff J »

[quote="Chris Gilman"]

I was going to cast faux wood beams, but as I want to fully paint and decorate them, I settled on the gutter material as it is a cheaper “skinningâ€
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Post by Chris Gilman »

[quote="Jeff J"][quote="Chris Gilman"]

I was going to cast faux wood beams, but as I want to fully paint and decorate them, I settled on the gutter material as it is a cheaper “skinningâ€
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Post by Hugh Prescott »

"As for leveling I have earth anchors and cribbing. The six main supports are held in place by 30 to 40â€
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Post by Alexander Younger »

Chris Gilman wrote:I have been working closely with a couple of people at Casa Bardicci as to the design and construction.
I may be thinking a little far ahead, but if this method is successful, is this something that might be adopted by the rest of the Casa? Your construction looks like it would be much faster to assemble.
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Post by Jestyr »

Words cannot express the awe that I am experiencing right now.
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Post by LR of E »

As someone who camps next door to Casa, my only question is, where ya gonna build it? The only land open is the slope leading to the road or on the lake itself.

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Post by Kilkenny »

Maeryk wrote:So this is going to be a collapsible structure, kinda like the "Castle in a box" shadowclans uses? SWEET!

Just be ready to explain what you did.. some of the "inspectors" are really good.. some are.. uhh.. questionable and will say things like "I don't like how that looks" and "I don't think that's safe"...
As long as Dave doesn't say it's ugly, you're good.

Seriously, share your specs and plans with the Pennsic staff and Dave Cooper in advance and I can't see you having any problems. You know what you're doing and it shows.

And I'm excited to see it come July ;)
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Post by Chris Gilman »

Thanks for the input, I will make sure the powers that be see the designs.
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Post by Chris Gilman »

Todays progress:
I made a prototype of the box beam/joist hangers and the mating slots in the 4x4 support tubes.
Image

Once it's in place it makes a nice tight joint.

Image

The top 4x4, once bolted in place, traps the hanger in the tube.

Image


The tube and the "hanger" are made from .125" (1/8" or 3.18mm) steel.
I'm getting a quote to have the hangers laser cut from 304 stainless. If it's to exspensive, I'll just cut them myself.
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Post by Sean Powell »

DAMN that's beefy! Do the joist hangers get welded into full box joists or are they U shaped for their entire length? My gut reaction is that these are over-kill as well as inefficient. You could use I-beams and cut the locking shape into the web and have a stronger and lighter structure.

Also, you are distributing your load over a pair of 1/8"x1/8" contact surfaces. (2@ 1/64 in^2 each) If a box beam is rated at 50ksi and the hanger is 36ksi => 1,125lbs per connection with no safety factor and no consideration for stress concentrations from the manufacturing process. It's an overhead load so I would be cautious about having a pair of heavy dukes on the 2nd floor in the same space. The beams won't fail carastropicly but you might experience some material flow at the connection that could make it difficult to disconnect the beams later.

I hope you don't mind if I swing by and check out the work at Pennsic. This is inspiring me to do all sorts of cool things in our camp. :)

Sean
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Post by Chris Gilman »

The box beam joists are constructed from 1x6 pine constructed into u shaped channel with ¾â€
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Post by Chris Gilman »

I did a load test Sat. and your calculations are close. At about 1500 lbs I got some metal flow. At 2000 lbs it was enough that if the slots where too narrow, the clips would have "riveted" themselves in. The slots were only .180 and I was going to open them to .250â€
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Post by AEiric Orvender »

Damn! and I thought I over-engeered things! That isn't going anywhere!!
I will have to stop by this Pennsic and see it all up!
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Post by Sean Powell »

That's a good solution to prevent metal flow. I'm looking forward to seeing this complete.

Sean
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Post by Chris Gilman »

Todays progress:
I completed one test upright assembly.
All of the parts needed (1 of 12) for the 4x4 upright and the 2x10 frame.
Goes together in less than a minute and needs only one tool. (If you don't count me)
The bottem of the 4x4 is wrapped in galvanized steel to take up some room and stablize the end.

Image

Here is it assembled:
Image
Image
I'm getting a quote to laser cut these. But I suspect it will be too pricy and I'll just cut them myself. The whole assembly takes about an hour / 90 minutes to make.
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Post by Heath B fraychef »

hey chris,
any progress on this project.
im extremely intrigued.
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Post by sha-ul »

Chris, I may have missed it, but what are you planning on using for the wall panels?
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Post by Chris Gilman »

Progress:
Last week I received my glass (bull’s eyes or Roundels) from my friend Jason Klein for those in the SCA "Arab boy". I made an RTV silicone mold on the 5 bull’s eyes and cast about 25 plastic copies, so I would have enough for one window “paneâ€
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Post by sha-ul »

I had wondered about using a 1/4" luan type plywood for a wall panel, as it should be very light in weight & reasonably cost effective. any idea what the approx cost is for your foam core panels?
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Post by Chris Gilman »

We have been pretty busy at the shop (Pirates 4, Transformers 3, True Blood….) so I have not gotten all of what I’d hoped done.
But here is the window progress:
This is the master pattern for the windows. To the right is the master (1 of 4) glass bullseye made for me by Jason Klein. The pattern is made up using plastic copies of the glass masters and assembled using lead came.
Image

Due to my lack of experience/ skill with large solder joints, I chose to clay up the joints to improve their appearance, while I was claying up any gaps or spaces the mold material could creep into. I have also completed the parimeter of the panel with a piece of 3/16th Black Centera.

Image


After applying a wax release, the mold was made using a Bondo-Resin mix and backed with 2 part rigid urethane foam. I then vacuum formed PETG clear plastic into the female vacuum form mold. Once the 2 sides where formed, I sealed them together and filled the void with a clear polyester resin. It had a slight green tint, which I wanted, but when it cured the green went away. I’ll tint the material in the future.

I also made a master of the window catch from brass and a steel stamping I had. After studying the painting, I realized what these looked like, and how they worked. Although I would have preferred a “wrought ironâ€
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Post by iaenmor »

Looks good Chris. You are right the glass would look better with some green tint in it. I know I have seen glass roundels like that from the 1700's with air bubbles in them. So they might work. Looking forward to seeing more progress.
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