First Wheel House Construction (Advice Please?)

[Fuzzbient]

Nice looking shanty! Where does a guy get the rest of that song in that video you took? thanx arcmaster67

That's the Amboy Dukes, Ted Nugent's early group.

[Fuzzbient]

Got the pine up on the ceiling.

Here's a picture with the diamond plate on the front.

[Charlie kempf]

your doing a great job, Im getting ready to build me a condo ice house, I spend alot of time on the ice and I plan on being confortable, with a grandson spending alot of time with me this coming winter Im keeping it all simple fast and easy, and of course safe, as I seen in them pictures of a little one, I encourage you to consider some kind of useful fishing covering for the hole, so I put together a deal you know the wire shelves in your refrigerator, I put hinges on them plus I can fish with them covering the hole, no lost articles that seem to flop in the hole especially when your not looking, if I catch a fish I just lift the cover, Ive built several ice houses and learn alot from each one, I own a roofing co. also you will want to put terminator bars on your roof to prevent the wind from ripping it off plus you will never have any leaks, screwing a 2x3 is only asking for leaks in the long run, no need for any caulk on the roof as long as its gued down, what about a roof vent man your gonna cook in there, I dont use rubber no more epdm I use torch down, but you had better know what your doing or you set the place on fire, dont forget carbon monoxide detector, and a fire extinguisher.

[Mcfin]

I used 3/4" treated floor with 1/2" pink ridged foam and thin louan plywood on top. I carpeted mine and am happy with it.If you don't carpet it, I would use thin treated plywood instead of louan.I made my ceilind too high which caused more weight and is more difficult to heat.

[Mcfin]

I wish I would have had the advantage of all the advice when I built mine. I could have built the perfect fish house.

[Fuzzbient]

your doing a great job, Im getting ready to build me a condo ice house, I spend alot of time on the ice and I plan on being confortable, with a grandson spending alot of time with me this coming winter Im keeping it all simple fast and easy, and of course safe, as I seen in them pictures of a little one, I encourage you to consider some kind of useful fishing covering for the hole, so I put together a deal you know the wire shelves in your refrigerator, I put hinges on them plus I can fish with them covering the hole, no lost articles that seem to flop in the hole especially when your not looking, if I catch a fish I just lift the cover, Ive built several ice houses and learn alot from each one, I own a roofing co. also you will want to put terminator bars on your roof to prevent the wind from ripping it off plus you will never have any leaks, screwing a 2x3 is only asking for leaks in the long run, no need for any caulk on the roof as long as its gued down, what about a roof vent man your gonna cook in there, I dont use rubber no more epdm I use torch down, but you had better know what your doing or you set the place on fire, dont forget carbon monoxide detector, and a fire extinguisher.

Good advice Charlie! Post some pictures when you build your condo ice house, I'd love to see how it will work.

[landscaper]

so take the treated plywood then pink foam board then anyother sheet of plywood. then the carpet right??

[Fuzzbient]

so take the treated plywood then pink foam board then anyother sheet of plywood. then the carpet right??

I decided against the sandwich method. I'd hate to be that far off of the ice plus I don't like to add all that extra weight. What I did is put the 1 1/2 inch foam sheets right in between my frame braces and then layered on top of the frame right on the foam with 3/4 inch treated. This way I'm only 3/4 inch off the frame for the tops of the holes. The plywood is attached directly to the frame. So far with just a tiny heater during construction the floor stays plenty warm.

[landscaper]

Fuzzbient

how does the 1 1/2" sheet stay on?

[Fuzzbient]

Fuzzbient

how does the 1 1/2" sheet stay on?

I cut them to be a very tight fit in the frame and used PL300 as an adhesive to glue them to the frame and to the bottom of the floor. That PL300 is amazingly strong on foam board.

[gregg52]

this is just a thought of mine i didnt read everypost on here

but the one thing i've found in these bigger houses is the way

the heaters are installed

my gf had a ice castle 8 x 18 plus the nose

the heater was on one end of it and rather than blowing out the long way it blew out the other way right toward the bunk on that end so at night that person cooked the persom on the other end froze bad bad design in my opinion

she sold that one and bought alittle smaller thinkin she could get on the ice sooner

and this one had a heater kinda the same thing one end to warm the other to cold and was controled by a thermostate the wasnt really to good either way to warm or to cold

i think i'd try to find one that had like hi..med..low

i would put some thought in it for sure

[Fuzzbient]

Good points Gregg. I was planning on getting a small direct vent and putting it across from the door. It's only 6.5 x 12 so it shouldn't take much to heat it. I'm sure it will still have issues being evenly heated. It will be nice to have the windows that can be cracked open on each side. The top bunk will still likely be much warmer than the bottom bunk.

[trapper001]

We have a 7x16. We put in a forced air vented furnace. It came with 2 air outlets, but we actually teed off one and we now have 3 ducts. The furnace is located in the middle of the house, under the counter. One duct blows to the front, one blows out in the middle, and the 3rd blows directly under my bunk in the rear. Ahhhh, nice and warm...This is hands down better than radiant heat. It still gets warmer for the guy on the top bunk, but that is hard to control...

[Fuzzbient]

Got the knotty pine done on the inside. I'll probably start on the bench on one end and the beds on the other end next.

[Eelpout08]

Man, makes me wish i could build another one this year!

[landscaper]

very well put Eelpout08!!!!!!!

[Fuzzbient]

Ordered up an Empire 20,000 btu Ventless and the catch covers from Fish House Supply Today. Things are getting close to ready to hit the ice!

[JumpStart73]

Fuzzbient are u interested in putting in a bunk for sleeping or anything. I bought a ice castle and one of the bunks in the house i turned into storage right away. So i have a mattress thats never been used (92"x30"x4") if you are interested shoot me a e-mail [email protected] (I live in North Branch)

[Fuzzbient]

92" is a bit too long since it's only 6.5 wide. Dang! That would have been nice.

[JumpStart73]

hey Fuzz. It doesn't have to be a permanent bunk it can run lengthwise and can be folded up. Make a box the size of the matress out of 2x4's(plywood on the bottom) and lay the mattress in the 2x4 frame and when not in use fold it up on hinges and it should only hang out of the wall at the most 4" when hinged against the wall.

[Fuzzbient]

hey Fuzz. It doesn't have to be a permanent bunk it can run lengthwise and can be folded up. Make a box the size of the matress out of 2x4's(plywood on the bottom) and lay the mattress in the 2x4 frame and when not in use fold it up on hinges and it should only hang out of the wall at the most 4" when hinged against the wall.

Would be possible, but for the layout with the door and heater and windows, I will be building stacked bunks on one end and have a bench with storage already built on the other end. I plan on fishing while I sleep so this layout will work best so I don't cover the holes with a bed and will have good seating on both ends during non-sleeping hours. If I put a fold up bed on the long wall it might fold up and cover the window or heater too. I need a space where I can stack two bunks so there's room for family or friends to camp as well. It's a little shack, more of an ice-cabin than an ice castle. :-)

[Fuzzbient]

Got it pretty much done. Still have a few girly things to add like window treatments, but it's ready to fish. If you see me on the lake, stop by and say hi, but don't guarantee I'm actually on any fish. Thanks to Fish House Supply for the great service and prices on the heater and the propane lamp!

[eyehead]

Nice lookin house ya got there Fuzzbient!!!! I think im gonna have to build me one next year.....

[DuckBlind]

Fuzzbient nice work! Very nice! I just started my first perm fish house project, a little different (turning a pop up camper into a 12ft x 6ft fish house). Wondering if you can help me out w/ some advice...

How tall should the house be inside?

With the rubber roof, was it pretty easy to install? I saw your pics, wondering what the process is...looks like you had it up right away (wondering how that connects to the siding, etc.).

How did you connect the house to the frame? Did you bolt it to the trailer?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Again nice house!!!

[bassislife]

Nice job!! Looks great, but would look even better on ice!!!!!

The ice will be here this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!