Framing Week #6

July 13 - July 17, 2009...Finally able to upload photos from this week's work. I love the look of the naked framing right now. The great room seems like it could've been part of Noah's ark. We have plans to create faux beams that will wrap around these not-so-finished-looking roof supports. We will hang a ceiling fan from the center beam, and 4 recessed lights in the ceiling on each side.

These walls at the back of the great room reach from floor to roof. I'm already imagining a quilt or two gracing these expansive spaces.

There is some unusable space here where the rooflines intersect. (Not sure what we'd store there or how we'd access it, anyway).

Looking up from the second floor to the third floor hallway skylight. Ray framed this out to carry more light down into the space. He continually goes above and beyond what we expect. He is not afraid to suggest things that will add to his work load, if he feels the finished result will please us.

J-Bird standing in his bedroom.

In each of the upstairs bedrooms, there are 2 crawlspaces between the kneewalls and the roof. The spaces aren't huge, but we'll find some things to store in there, I'm sure. The boys are already insisting on a hidden play area...

The skylight in J-Bird's bedroom. I'm really glad we didn't omit these due to budgetary concerns. They really bring in a lot of light to the upstairs bedrooms. And, so far...no leaks!

The roof is done! We're really happy with the color, and look forward to seeing the siding go on next week.

Friday, July 17, 2009...Sewer tanks were scheduled for delivery. The excavators arrived bright and early to cut-in a road for the trucks to access the tank locations, and to dig the holes for the tanks.

Here's Jesse manning the trackhoe:

The hole in the front will accommodate the septic tank...the one behind will hold our fancy-dancy peat bio-filter tank.

Don from ECOFLO, the peat bio-filter distributer, was on site most of the day to supervise the preparation for and complete the installation of the tank.

This green monstrosity is the peat bio-filter. It will process our liquid effluent after leaving the septic tank.

Jesse bringing in stone for the peat tank, while Don and Alan the excavator look on.

Several tons of stone are loaded into the tank.

Don climbs in to level the stone.

And..."Ta-Da!" The product of a hard-day's work. Our only choice for sewer on this parcel of land was to install a "small flows system." (That's not entirely true...we could've opted for a sand mound IF we brought in sand, waited for 4 YEARS, and had it tested. IF it passed, we'd be good to go). We were limited because of the steep terrrain, and because there is a stream at the bottom of our property, what gets discharged must be as pure as possible. It is a three-phase system. The gray tank in the foreground is the concrete septic tank. Plastic septic tanks are also available, and much easier to maneuver, but cost more than twice as much as concrete. Solids stay in this tank...liquids move on to the peat bio-filter...the large green tank. This tank is filled with...you guessed it...peat moss...which will filter and clean our liquid waste. The last leg in the journey is a UV light...(not installed yet) which further purifies and disinfects our effluent, which will then flow through about 200 feet of PVC pipe and discharge into our stream...as clear, pure, drinkable water. The ultimate in recycling, don't you think?

We also talked (begged...pleaded...) the excavators into using their trackhoe to position our outdoor furnace. What we struggled with for hours before with the builder's Skytrac, took a matter of minutes with this machine. So glad that is in place and ready to be hooked-up when the time comes.

Looks a little wonky here, but I know it's level! (Must be the camera angle).

Here's the loading door. We positioned it on the uphill side so we could use gravity to our advantage. Plus...c'mon...how about that view?

Stay tuned,
Kris

Framing Week #4 (Lots of pictures!)

Monday, June 29, 2009...Work continues on the third floor rafters. Daniel (on the right) and his helper (left) are installing the roof overhang supports. I don't know how they work up there...not only it it 3 stories high, but the driveway is so steep that it makes it feel more like 5.

Daniel at the peak. The weather was beautiful...as was the view, I'm sure.

Ray out back working on the third floor bath bump-out:

Continuing on the overhang supports:

Perhaps Daniel had too much roof work for now...they've traded places:

Sheathing begins on the front side of the third floor...Ray and Daniel combine strength and agility 3 stories high...not for the faint of heart!

Hubby took this week off to get started on a few of our projects. First up...constructing the box that will support the outdoor furnace. We used some of the treated lumber that was on site...hope they don't miss it!

My dad was on hand this week as well...to help out where needed and to evaluate the plumbing situation. He thinks we have a few challenges ahead...has that ever stopped us before?

Once the box was constructed, we prepared the location and set it in place. We prepared the box to accommodate corrugated conduit, which will carry the PEX tubing that carries the heated water into the house. But we realized our measurements were a bit off, so the conduit was removed and will hook into the furnace from outside the box. Here hubby is bringing in a load of 2B stone:

The box is filled, and we're placing deck blocks in the corners to support the furnace legs. Leveling the blocks is crucial...we don't want the furnace tumbling down the hill.

Ahhhh...a thing of beauty. You don't think so? Well, if you'd worked as hard as we did putting this thing in place...you WOULD think so, I'm sure.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009...Rained a lot this morning. No work at the homesite.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009...Of all the days to forget the camera...this was NOT the one. Perhaps the most excitement so far took place today...and we didn't capture it. Moving the furnace into place proved to be a huge challenge. Ray thought he could lift it into place with the Skytrak...but the combination of incline and soggy ground from the day before prevented us from completing the job. He got stuck...Hubby had to pull him out with the Magnatrac...he nearly tipped his machine over...and ended up setting the furnace down rather rapidly (though skillfully) so this is where it ended up...it's propped up and tied to a tree for now...waiting for our excavator to try his machinery next week:

Thursday, July 2, 2009...After that excitement...we were ready to attempt something a little less stressful...backfilling inside the footers. Hubby purchased this steel ramp at university salvage a year or so ago, and it really came in handy for this job.

Hubby was cautious entering and exiting the garage...there were only a few inches to spare:


The ramp allowed Hubby to bring the stones right into the basement and dump them where needed...A LOT faster than using the wheelbarrow!

As always, J-Bird jumps right in to lend a hand. He is learning to find satisfaction in hard work, and for that, we are thankful.

Hubby on his way in with another load:

Hubby maneuvered around the many obstacles with ease:

Looking from the ground floor bathroom towards the garage area...you can see the clearances are pretty tight:

J-Bird working at breaking up several chunks of excess concrete, poured out onto the ground (and basically wasted) after the footers were completed. We should've thought ahead to build some forms to capture any extra material...we paid for it...now it'll just become expensive fill.

I-Bird perched in his future bedroom window...watching his brother?

Meanwhile, the building crew is installing rafters in the great room. The rafters are cut from 2" x 12" x 22' boards...they extend from the peak of the roof out over the porch. They cut one rafter to use as a pattern and used that pattern to mark all the others. The pattern piece was the last one to be nailed in place.

Another view of the great room rafters...looks like a giant ribcage:

This is looking from the far end of the great room towards the center hall. You can see the roof line (with the black felt paper adhered) extending down into the great room. We think there will be a section of vertical wall built and installed here (so the angled roof section will be hidden).

The peak of the roof overhang on the deck. Someone...some time...will have to get up there and stain that treated roof support beam. Any volunteers?

This is the view roughly westward out of my future kitchen door. There will be a small landing here and steps down to the yard on this side of the house. The garden will be on the other side of the rock piles in the foreground.

We decided not to spend money on a dumpster. We've been sorting and stacking the scrap wood...there's quite a lot leftover so far. The boys will have lots of project fodder! We're bagging the unusable trash and will dispose of it at the local dump.

Panoramic view. The felt paper is adhered to the third floor roof, and bathroom bump-out is sheathed and ready for finishing.

We finished installing rigid foam to the back wall, but still have the sides to do. We removed 2 bracing boards to use for leveling the wood furnace, and those foam panels came loose. We're not sure what happened, but the rest of the foam seems to be sufficiently adhered.

Looking up towards great room...front porch posts and roof supports are in place...it is HIGH up there!

One day soon there will be a different vehicle parked in the garage...and we'll be able to call this place HOME. We can't wait!