Building first wheel house.

[Greenhornet84]

In the process of building our first wheel house a 6.5x12 with a 3'v. Here's a few of the many questions to come. What is preferred for stud spacing 16" 2'? We'll be using 2x3s. We're using pink foam board insulation for the floor is it best to sandwich it in plywood or glue it underneath and hold tight with furring strips? Thanks for the help!

[rocky]

How thick of pink board are u planning to use for the sandwich floor

[clayton08]

I used 1.5 inch foam and sandwhiched it in between i had green 2by4 in the floor above all my crossmembers on my frame also. I used 2by4 24" centers on mine which next time i will use something a lil bit smaller. I have the same size house and I made mine 7 foot 4 tall just so I could have a ceiling fan and use a regular door for an entry door. You will learn what to do and what not to do by the time your done. Im a framer by trade and there is a couple things on my wheel house that I will do different on the next one.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I wouldn't personally do a sandwich floor for the following reasons 1) You increase your height off the ice 2) Extremely heavy 3) A very good place to hold moisture 4) Cost

Sandwich Floor:

(8) Plywood @ $30

(4) 2" Foam @ $30

(6) 2x4 @ $3

(2) PL 300 @ $5

(2) Cans spray foam @ $5

Total = $398

Spray Foam

(4) Plywood @ $30

Spray Foam @ $250 (estimate)

Total = $370

Spray foam is a little cheaper, and probably 150-200 pounds lighter.

[Greenhornet84]

Our latest thought on floor insulation is to glue it under and put some latts under to hold it in. Anyone tried that? We will be welding the frame up on wendsday if you got any good tips for that also. Clayton did you mean you would use smaller lumber or spacing on your walls?

[Hawg]

What do you guys think of a regular door like Claton used? I put a RV door in my last house and thought it was very poorly made and cold. I'm thinking regular door also, any drawbacks?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

A regular door is better than the RV/fish house doors, but it'll swing in. If you check with Ice Assault, they have some high quality doors that aren't too badly priced.

[Hawg]

LRG, I'm sitting here wondering if a door that swings in is such a bad thing.? I'm at that point also and a rv doors can get up to $350 for 1 3/8 thick door. That just seems obscene to me. I saw in an old post you recommended the guy in Brainerd but they don't answer the phone.

[jerkbait]

I used a regular door and it swings in. I put it in the corner so it swings to the back wall. Works fine.

[Smoker]

I got a nice RV door on that bay store.$150 total and it has a screen for summer use. It had one little scratch in it but it buffed out.

[auger394]

Our latest thought on floor insulation is to glue it under and put some latts under to hold it in. Anyone tried that? We will be welding the frame up on wendsday if you got any good tips for that also. Clayton did you mean you would use smaller lumber or spacing on your walls?

I am thinking of doing the same thing in my current wheel house that does not have floor insulation....Has anyone tried this? Is there any issues with moisture sitting between the insulation and floor? Or will it fall through the insulation to the ice?

[JakeJ_Mn]

The floor in my wheelhouse has 3/4 treated on the frame - 1" pink insulation with another 3/4 treated on top with marine grade carpeted glued. My frame is 3". I use 3" blocks to keep the house off the ice. Gives me 8 1/2 inches of height. Perfect for an 8" sleeve. The floor is warm enough to go barefoot and my sleeves don't freeze in. It does add some extra weight and I have had no problems with moisture.

[Larry3760]

I was driving by Ice Assault sat night and seen they were open and stopped in to see what they had, they seem to have a good inventory on most items needed to build a fish house and some things were actually cheaper than the items you find on fish house supply, I would check them out, I bought many products from them a few years ago, now they have many items with a good price point I would check there for items you may need, seems like someone is usually around whenever I drive by. I did the 2012 Fish House Build 6.5x16+V that can be found on here and used one of Lip_Ripper Guy's builds as a guide along with a few products from ice assault, the only 2 things I wish I had done different were not placing the 2x4's on the walls how I did and not getting a better frame.

[Greenhornet84]

Larry, I tried looking for your build but couldn't find it. I'm about to start framing my walls 2x3s 2' on center. What did you do with your walls that you didn't like?

[BartmanMN]

Link to Larry's build

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2740146/2012_Fish_House_Build_6_5x16_V

[Greenhornet84]

Thanks Bartman. This site is about as good as it gets for getting ideas on our build. Larry sweet house.

[Larry3760]

thanks bud I did mine 16" on center, personally I wouldnt go any wider IMO, also to everyone building do not place 2x4's sideways as I did, they have bowed and flexed. if doing forced air it is best to place vents in direction to circulate the air rather than all blowing in the same direction

[Greenhornet84]

Walls are up windows in and the wall steel is about 80% done. About ready to insulate we're going to use the pink polystyrene between the studs and spray foam around the edges. For the bottom it will be glued to the bottom and the screw some 1x2 s to help hold it up. Is 1" thick enough or should we go thicker? Our walls are 2x3 studs and we wanna run our wiring on the inside of the insulation. That is the plan anyway any better ideas or tips?

[Swiftswamper]

I think that one inch works great Hornet. Spray foam helps be forgiving with sloppy cuts

[Swiftswamper]

Nothing better than a nice ice house

[Greenhornet84]

All insulated. Who's got some wiring tips? Is it worth the extra cash for LEDs? We plan on having the generator with most the time. wiring all lights 12v. Wire the house with 4 110 plug ins and keep the charger plugged in under the cabinets. Will a regular on board charger like on your boat work?

[Larry3760]

I went led on everything, I can go up to 3 days without charging my battery how ever I usually bring a generator with me for backup power or if I wish to watch tv, I ran all the wiring through 1" holes I drilled in the ceiling 2x4s and dropped them down the wall where needed, worked great, you should have a power inverter distribution center it holds all your 110 and 12v connections and has a built in charging wizard, if I remember right mine was only like 200 from ice assault

[worm_54]

This is a little off subject but...I too am building my first wheelhouse. The trouble is at the DMV. My trailer itself was homemade in some guys back yard shop and I'm building the rest on top of it. DMV is telling me I have to find him to register it first or lie on the affidavit and say I built it. Plus, anything over 3000lbs gvw, they want all original receipts. (tires, axles, frame, brakes, bla bla bla)

Something doesn't sound right here, I bought a homemade utility trailer years ago and registered it with the receipt.

Any insight or suggestions would be helpful

Thanks

[leech~~]

This is a little off subject but...I too am building my first wheelhouse. The trouble is at the DMV. My trailer itself was homemade in some guys back yard shop and I'm building the rest on top of it. DMV is telling me I have to find him to register it first or lie on the affidavit and say I built it. Plus, anything over 3000lbs gvw, they want all original receipts. (tires, axles, frame, brakes, bla bla bla)

Something doesn't sound right here, I bought a homemade utility trailer years ago and registered it with the receipt.

Any insight or suggestions would be helpful

Thanks

I bought a used trailer with no Lic on it and just went in and said It was built home made. They never asked who built it. It's all registered now!

[low277]

I just did the title and license on one yesterday. I filled out a one page form on the home built trailer stating it was under 3000 lbs GVWR and a estimate of how much I had into it.

Paid the fee, received my lifetime decals and they told me my title should be mailed in a couple of weeks.