The Log House Project

[NancysToy]

Busy Day...and Winter Arrived, Too.

It was not only a busy day for the construction crews today, but for me as well. Nancy stayed home to get some things done around here, so I was solo. The sun was shining when I left, and I considered riding the Spyder, even at 34 degrees, but I would have had to pull the trailer to carry all the stuff I had to have with me. It turned out taking the truck was a wise move...so was the long underwear.

When I landed at the house the carpenters and roofers were hard at it. The back porch beams were up and they had started rafters. The roofers were well along on the shingling. The first order of the day was to look at the chimney location so the carpenters could get that built ahead of the roofers. Yes, the carpenters and not the masons. In this day and age of zero-clearance fireplaces the chimney is just a chase to house a metal chimney pipe. At least this way we don't have to build it all the way to the basement. It will get the stone veneer later. The carpenters finished the rafters and sheathed one side of the screened porch before getting pulled off for the chimney. The roofers got a lot done, but the weather changed after lunch. Meanwhile the mechanical contractor showed up unexpectedly. After a walk-through they got busy on the rough-in for the HVAC and ventilation systems. They kept me busy all morning.

Just before I had to leave it started to snow. Well, it was rain mixed with large snow flakes. By the time I was a mile down the road it was snowing steadily with one inch flakes. It alternated rain and snow all the way home...sometimes quite hard. I wish we had gotten the roof done, but we will manage. This 25 degree below normal weather can't last. We need a few more dry days and another week or so and this thing will be dried in, windows and all.

 

[NancysToy]

Snow In October Is Just WRONG!

The site was a mess today. As I said, yesterday it was snowing when we left...sometimes quite hard. Lake effect snow is like that, it comes in bands and can be intense in one spot while the sun can be shining a mile away. During the night we had only a dusting at home, but the construction site got a couple of inches of heavy wet snow. There were power outages in the area, but we don't have power yet so it was no problem for us.

The mud and water was, however, not to mention the snow itself. Hard to do roofing when there is snow on the roof. Roofing is dangerous work even when there is no slippery snow. The whole site had lots of water, and the clay soil was a lot slimier than even what we had seen in the rain, since the snow sticks and doesn't run off...saturating every inch as a result. I spent several hours digging ditches to drain water, as it snowed and rained most of the day.

The roofers did show up, however, and after they couldn't wait out the weather they brushed off the snow, set lots of roof brackets, and finished the back porch valley and got that roof sheathed. They were even able to get started on shingling the valleys, until the snow intensified after lunch. We hoped to be dried in by now, but we aren't quite there, thanks to the weather. They did get the deck railing posts set, however, so we are still gaining slowly on other things. The HVAc guys got things roughed in yesterday, and I marked locations for the plumbing rough-in Monday.

Snow isn't unheard of here this time of year, but it isn't too common. We are about a month too early in that regard. Our highs today were less than our average lows, so this isn't what we expected. Our logs arrive in the morning, a few days early. It should be fun trying to wrestle with them in the snow and mud. We expect a couple more inches tonight. We will get things whipped, but it is turning into a bit of a struggle. I just hope the windows don't arrive tomorrow, too.

 

[NancysToy]

The Logs Arrive

Yesterday our logs arrived. That was the good news. Other than that it was rough.

The truck was slated to arrive at 7:30 AM. It is dark here at 8:30 right now. The truck arrived a bit earlier, on a dark morning in an area with no street lighting. We were up at 5:30, out the door shortly after six, and arrived before the truck. The log provider's rep arrived just after the truck landed. Unfortunately, neither the builder nor the "lots of people" he said would be there, showed at all. After several frantic phone calls we arranged for an alternate crew, but we only had two hours of unloadfing time, so we incurred late charges while the trucker had to reschedule his next loads.

When the other crew showed, it was only two people. They unloaded the logs, moved them off the street, then bailed before lunch. Nancy had to leave, too, so that left me and the log provider's rep to move all the interior wood under cover by hand, and to move an entire pallet of stain and hardware inside, box by box. After our rep left, I met Nancy at Home Depot in a nearby town, bought some plastic and tape, and went back to the site where we proceeded to cover the logs ourselves. This being the builder's responsibility, and with us being old and tired, I was not a happy camper. We will have words come Monday...and he will get the bill for the truck when it lands, too. I am pretty understanding, but you only do this once to me on a project. I did this stuff for a living for many years, and I can't be buffaloed.

 

[Phil]

Spot on Scotty. And with the rep being there, no excuses.


Phil, Tyler TX- from my iPad 7.5 using Tapatalk HD

 

[Bob Denman]

Sometimes; you just want to bury them in the yard... :gaah:
But then you remember that the neighborhood dogs have that marvelous sense of smell! :shocked:
Roger's right; catch it now, and prevent more of it later!
:lecturef_smilie: And be careful of that thumb!! nojoke

 

[Pennyrick]

If we were talking about Spyders we may suggest a new dealer but I don't think it's time for a new builder.

Michigan was one of our eleven states..... I don't miss the snow at all.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: Eleven?? :shocked:
Why'd you stop? It seems as if you had a pretty good collection started! :2thumbs:

 

[Pennyrick]

:shocked: Eleven?? :shocked:
Why'd you stop? It seems as if you had a pretty good collection started! :2thumbs:

Eleven states and three provinces... moved 23 times since we've been married. I just couldn't hold a job

Seriously... I gained a reputation for fixing sick operations and once you get tarred with that brush you are stuck with it.

We did turn-arounds on companies in Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, California, New Mexico, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia before I retired.

I don't recommend that type of touring.

 

[Bob Denman]

t sounds as if we could use you up here in New York... nojoke :2thumbs:

 

[bruiser]

I think I'd be breathing fire.

Looks like the truck driver got an unexpected cold shower. :yikes:

 

[NancysToy]

I think I'd be breathing fire.

Looks like the truck driver got an unexpected cold shower. :yikes:

Yes, he was pretty surprised.

 

[NancysToy]

It was dry all weekend and so far this week. We really needed the dry weather so things could drain and firm up. Still messy, but better. I found an excavator who can sneak in tomorrow and grade a bit and lay some gravel down. That was an unseen and normally unnecessary expense, but it seems to be needed so we can make it through winter. Can't work on the hosye if you can't get near it.

Yesterday the carpenters were here, albeit late, but we had no roofers. The carpenters closed in the screened porch gable, built the fireplace chase, put in some partitions and extra studs in a few places, and generally took care of inside details. The plumber began the rough-in installation. We drained away water (as usual) and cleaned up. Nancy served our lunch in the dining area...we sat in lawn chairs and put the plates in our laps. I din't take any video.

This morning the roofers were there so early that they had to set up lights to begin work. They got the roof completed, except for some of the ridge vents. The carpenters were on another job, they will be back tomorrow. The builder had to chase some materials for them. The power company set the pole, but they were called off before they could set the transformer and pull the wires....maybe tomorrow. The plumber continued the rough-in. The water heaters and one tub are on site. He saw our name on the invoice and said to my wife, "I had a teacher named VanLeuwen in second grade." That was Nancy. Small world! He couldn't wait to tell his mom. I ran around like mad. In the morning I had to travel to Kalamazoo to get a new wireless router for the house, and then to speak with the flooring supplier. I chased excavators for two days, but got hooked up with one who can clean up the site and bring in some gravel. Thank goodness for cell phones! How did we ever survive without them? I cleaned up trash the rest of the day as it rained down from the roof. Roofers are a messy lot.

 

[NancysToy]

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!

My apologies to Jerry Lee Lewis, but there was an amazing amount of stuff going on yesterday with an amazing amount of people doing it. When we got to the site just as the sun was coming up, there were already four crews there working. They were busy doing plumbing rough-in, installing deck boards, and beefing up the screened porch beams and support posts. The windows and doors showed up about 9:00. We promptly unloaded them and the carpenters began the installation. The roofers finished the roof, installing the ridge vent, then worked on deck boards. They added a small section of deck, and built some deck stairs. I had a local excavator come and grade the heavily rutted site before the rains came, and they brought in 80 yards of gravel to build a temporary drive so we can make it through winter. I graded under the front porch roof by hand, then filled with some of the gravel so we can build the porch over the top of things. I won't be able to get in there afterward. The electric company came, set the pole, put up the primary, ran the secondary, and backfilled. The meter guy must have come very late. I left at 6:15 and there was no meter, but it was there by 6:30 this morning. All-in-all an extremely productive and exciting day. To top it off, I rode the Spyder out. It was 40 when I went and still 60 after darke when I came home. Nice ride...well worth having to park way up the street due to the traffic on site...and some remaining mud.

It rained all night and continued all day today. The plumber and electricians were there bright and early, however, as were the carpenters. The driveway grading had too little slope and no dike where it met the garage, so the garage flooded...no harm. The rain came down in buckets. Nancy and I did the walk-through with the electrician, then that crew began the rough-in. The plumber worked in the basement all day, so nobody ever saw him. He finished the drain lines, however. Nice to be on house power at long last, and not have to listen to the generators, BTW. The carpenters installed the remaining door and windows, built some soffits inside, and did some other detail work. Two doors were damaged in shipment, and we ordered one additional window late, so that work will be finished later. The kitchen designer showed, after we had cancelled an appointment elsewhere, due to having to meet with the electrician. She showed us her preliminary design, we tweaked some things, and she headed out about lunch time. We were so busy we never even got to give her a tour. Our carpenters are done for now, so they hauled off their trailer...after getting the truck stuck in the new drive. The electrician came to the rescue with his FWD truck, pulled them out, then pulled their trailer to the road. We left late...tired, but thankful for another productive day. It is beginning to look like a house.

 

[MarkLawson]

Scotty, it's been almost a week...:dontknow:

 

[NancysToy]

Scotty, it's been almost a week...:dontknow:

I know, and I apologize. It's a combination of bad weatehr, working mostly inside (no lights and gloomy weather makes for poor videos or photos), and working our fannies off to try to stay ahead of as many as 15 workers (5 contractors) on the job at once. Ten hour days at a breakneck pace don't allow much time for photo ops...please forgive.

Work has continued with the electrical and plumbing rough-ins, which are complete for the moment. We changed our fireplace selection and ordered the fireplace. The front porch has been built and is almost decked. I graded below it by hand last week, and spread some gravel. The back deck is framed and decked, but the stairs need to be finished. They started soffit and facia today, but the mud stopped them when they couldn't get their scaffold close enough. The concrete crew was supposed to pour the garage floor today, but the rain flooded the garage again so they could not do anything, not even spread and compact the fill sand. We have met with the kitchen designer and have a plan and proposal. The well driller should be there tomorrow. The concrete crew may come back this weekend. I have to travel to Wisconsin Friday to exchange the vertical corners, the wrong ones were ordered and I did not catch it on the invoice. Nancy and I dug ditches all day today (again), and moved lumber. We were soaking wet by day's end...it rained hard all day. The contractors would have moved the wood, but I asked them not to, to avoid tearing up the ground with their heavy skylift. Hopefully tomorrow we will get some dry weather and some sun, and I can catch everyone up with a proper progress report.

 

[Bob Denman]

How is your thumb feeling with all of this damp weather and exercise? :shocked:
Take care of it!

 

[NancysToy]

I'm Baaack!

Today they drilled our well. The found a good water bearing formation at 143 feet, after hitting 40 feet of solid clay from 70 to 110. They had never seen that much clay that deep before. We are mostly sand and gravel SW Michigan. At our current house, we hit rock at 80 feet and set the well in sandstone at 109, but closer to Lake Michigan where the new house is the glacial till is several hundred feet thick. It is premature to set a well just yet, but we need heat to do the plaster and the geothermal guy needs water to do the borings. They should set the pump tomorrow.

I won't be there. Today we loaded the round log corners, ordered in error (and not cuaght by yours truly), and tomorrow we will drive to Wisconsin to trade for the square corners we wanted. Long day, but our son is going with me. He helped load the corners today. I wish he had come earlier, when we were shoveling, or yesterday, when Nancy and I moved lumber for several hours.

 

[MarkLawson]

And then...

 

[cuznjohn]

just a thought

when i had my well drilled many years ago i had them put a valve on the well head so i could drain down from the house to the well head when i closed up the house and i also had heat tape done on the pipe from the well head to the house so on really cold nights i didn't have to worry about the line freezing

 

[NancysToy]

when i had my well drilled many years ago i had them put a valve on the well head so i could drain down from the house to the well head when i closed up the house and i also had heat tape done on the pipe from the well head to the house so on really cold nights i didn't have to worry about the line freezing

They haven't hooked up the electric to ours yet, but we can't drain it back to the well reliably, as the tank is in the basement. The insulated basement is holding heat well, and we intend to insulate the tank and pipes, too, for now. We likely also will drain the tank when the weather gets colder, but we should actually have insulation and heat by then.

And then...

:roflblack: Give a poor guy a chance! We worked out there in the rain and snow all day, came home to fix dinner, and just finished eating. I'll upload the video progress report as soon as I can.