2012 Fish House Build

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

That is exactly the type of connection you need if you don't want to pay a ridiculous amount ($100+/roll). I used 10 rolls on my house. I was fortunate that I found a supplier selling a case on the auction site, and I got (9) rolls for $13/each. But then I needed a roll of seam tape, couldn't wait for something to pop up for a discount, and paid $150-200 for that one.

[Bonecollecter44]

Nice looking house Lip Ripper..I see u used the 9 led recessed lights on the ceiling, did you go with the warm white led or the cool white that has has the blueish tint to them?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Warm white.

[SnowGuy73]

House is done, finally! I don't have all the final pics yet, but I should tonight. For now, please excuse the mess in some of the pics.

Just before the carpet went in...

All the interior lights are recessed LED from super bright LEDs. I have 9 in the main part of the house, 3 have separate switches to turn off.

I hate noise. Especially from the forced air furnaces. I wrapped the entire inside of the cabinet and underside of the counter-tops with this duct insulation from Menards. It made an absolutely incredible difference in sound level.

Here's the front of the house. Under the front bench is the hydraulic pump with it's own battery, and the (2) 6-volt batteries which power the house. This is the first house I've used the 6-volt setup in, but most of the RVs use it.

The top center white handle is for the crank-up satellite & (powered) off-air antenna. It seems to work well (Winegard RM-DM61). I get 29 channels at home.

I don't currently have a front upper bunk, but the TV is recessed into the wall so I can add one in the future without moving the TV. For now, I think I'm going to do a wire shelf.

I built all the cabinets and counter-tops in this house as I mentioned previously. They turned out pretty good, IMO. Cedar is really hard to work with, as it is very inconsistent. I probably wouldn't do cedar again.

More to come.....

Awesome build!!

I wish I had your drive and talent to build my own. I especially like the duct insulation in the heater compartment, great idea. Did you use the thinner, self stick insulation or the thicker stuff?

Thanks in advance.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Thanks! I really enjoy building these. In fact, I have the itch to build another, but there won't be time this year. I may come out of fish house building retirement next year...

The insulation I used is a self stick. It has foil on the outside and the insulation has the consistency of play dough.

[SnowGuy73]

Looks great, if you do come out of retirement I can't wait to see the next one!

I will have to check around for the insulation, I was at menards on Friday and didn't really see what I thought I was looking for. I definitely need to do something with the heater compartment. The furnace kicks in at about 02:00 and darn near knocks me out of bed its so loud...... and that's even with half a case of Coors in me!

[SnowGuy73]

Oh, and thanks again for the info. Much appreciated!

[harvey lee]

Look's great, very nice job.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Looks great, if you do come out of retirement I can't wait to see the next one!

I will have to check around for the insulation, I was at menards on Friday and didn't really see what I thought I was looking for. I definitely need to do something with the heater compartment. The furnace kicks in at about 02:00 and darn near knocks me out of bed its so loud...... and that's even with half a case of Coors in me!

Get in to that other half and you'll never hear it!

I think I got my insulation from Home Depot. It might be this:

E/O 12 in. x 15 ft. Self-Stick Foam/Foil Duct Insulation

[Hawg]

LRG, Is it time for my speech about direct vent, even if it's supplemental? Kind of nice to see the Ice Forum picking up again.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Direct vent is fine, I just don't like the 4' x 4'+ of wall space it takes up, or the 95 pounds. For me, I'd rather put up with a little noise to have a furnace that tucks into a base cabinet, and have the heat come out at floor level to dry everything out, circulate, and help keep the floor warm and holes open.

[SnowGuy73]

Haha, sometimes I do tear into that other half too!

Thanks, I will check into that later this week.

[SnowGuy73]

Direct vent is fine, I just don't like the 4' x 4'+ of wall space it takes up, or the 95 pounds. For me, I'd rather put up with a little noise to have a furnace that tucks into a base cabinet, and have the heat come out at floor level to dry everything out, circulate, and help keep the floor warm and holes open.

This, and that they are hard to regulate. My old house had a direct vent and I was either dripping with sweat or freezing.

Maybe I just never found the sweet spot.

[Hawg]

I bet you didn't have a ceiling fan either, that's the difference maker.

[SnowGuy73]

I bet you didn't have a ceiling fan either, that's the difference maker.

You are correct.

[sx2]

You did an awesome job on the house. I think you should start to take orders and selling them!?

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

You did an awesome job on the house. I think you should start to take orders and selling them!?

I'd love to, and I've had plenty of people ask, but there's very few people willing to pay for "above-Ice-Castle-quality", and I'm not willing to cut any corners. That's why I build my own. And that's not to say Ice Castle doesn't build a pretty good house, as they've gotten a lot better in the last few years.

[sx2]

Hey, rip ripper I'm adding some mods to my wheelhouse and I was wondering what was the best mod you have done to your house that was very use full? I'm just looking for some ideas that I could do to mine this summer.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Hey, rip ripper I'm adding some mods to my wheelhouse and I was wondering what was the best mod you have done to your house that was very use full? I'm just looking for some ideas that I could do to mine this summer.

Since it is a custom build, there aren't really any 'mods' in the traditional sense. Here are a few of my favorite features that would be great additions to any fish house:

1) Insulated furnace cabinet-since it was a recent topic.

2) All LED interior lighting-very low power usage.

3) Electronic outside heated 'rattle reels'. No getting up to check your tip up every 2 minutes. No freezing.

4) Ceiling fan.

5) Lots of exterior lights.

[Mid-Lake Rock]

Another "mod" or thing I wish I had done was an exterior light one or two feet above the propane tanks. I simply wear a headlamp when switching tanks at night, however the light would be nice. I have a light above the door and two above the ATV door.

[SnowGuy73]

L R G, I got the insulation roll today. Might be interesting, this stuff looks like it could be a bear to work with.

[SnowGuy73]

L R G, I got the insulation roll today. Might be interesting, this stuff looks like it could be a bear to work with.

I was wrong, went very smoothly!