Jun 25, 2011
Jun 8, 2011
day 144: final door
Uncle Paul drove his 4-wheeler over and installed the door between the garage and the house. this was the final exterior door. since the place was now closed in completely, dad and mom ran a dehumidifier for a few days. the drywaller had called to request that we lower the moisture content of the wood framing downstairs before he started installing the drywall. otherwise we might have problems later on with cracking, seam separation, and nail pops.
Jun 5, 2011
day 141: garage + insulation
finally progress!
it was a relief to see the mud dried up and the garage with some backfill out front. Dad and Mom and I met the excavator the talk about how to grade the remaining part of the driveway and backfill around the house.
Bob the excavator filled the garage with gravel... a lot of gravel. once we get a pair of floor drains installed it will be ready for a concrete slab. the last exterior door is on site but needs to be dragged up from the basement and installed.
it's starting to feel like a house. you can actually walk right in without climbing a wall and balancing on a plank of wood to get into the foyer.
this will soon have a concrete porch and steps. you can see the outline cut into the siding along the side walls. and the wiring is in place for exterior lights, door bell, and power outlet.
the interior has started to look a little more solid now that the place is insulated.
the exterior walls and main floor ceilings are insulated for heat loss, and the bedrooms and bathrooms are insulated for acoustics. the return air for the furnace runs through an open stud bay that become a plenum of air - like a built-in duct - once the drywall is installed.
this basement bedroom is temporarily pink with insulation.
i guess this one strip of insulation was flipped over because there are air ducts in that joist bay.
this single strip of insulation is a curious sight. i'll have to give them a call.
the well is installed just north of the house. water and power for the well runs along the west side of the house and enters just before the plywood wall you see here. the well driller installed this water storage tank and water filters and softeners. next in this line will be the water heater.
Uncle Paul installed vents on the house. here you see the fresh air intake for the fireplace and the vent for the basement bath exhaust fan. Another bathroom exhaust fan vent is on the north elevation, and there is a dryer vent on the west side.
it was a relief to see the mud dried up and the garage with some backfill out front. Dad and Mom and I met the excavator the talk about how to grade the remaining part of the driveway and backfill around the house.
Bob the excavator filled the garage with gravel... a lot of gravel. once we get a pair of floor drains installed it will be ready for a concrete slab. the last exterior door is on site but needs to be dragged up from the basement and installed.
it's starting to feel like a house. you can actually walk right in without climbing a wall and balancing on a plank of wood to get into the foyer.
this will soon have a concrete porch and steps. you can see the outline cut into the siding along the side walls. and the wiring is in place for exterior lights, door bell, and power outlet.
the interior has started to look a little more solid now that the place is insulated.
the exterior walls and main floor ceilings are insulated for heat loss, and the bedrooms and bathrooms are insulated for acoustics. the return air for the furnace runs through an open stud bay that become a plenum of air - like a built-in duct - once the drywall is installed.
this basement bedroom is temporarily pink with insulation.
i guess this one strip of insulation was flipped over because there are air ducts in that joist bay.
this single strip of insulation is a curious sight. i'll have to give them a call.
the well is installed just north of the house. water and power for the well runs along the west side of the house and enters just before the plywood wall you see here. the well driller installed this water storage tank and water filters and softeners. next in this line will be the water heater.
Uncle Paul installed vents on the house. here you see the fresh air intake for the fireplace and the vent for the basement bath exhaust fan. Another bathroom exhaust fan vent is on the north elevation, and there is a dryer vent on the west side.
Apr 10, 2011
Apr 9, 2011
day 85: electrical
the electrical rough-in is almost done. lucky for us they are still working. dad bought a few antique sconces he couldn't live without so i had to find a place for them and ask the electricians to install gem boxes and a switch. here are some pics showing the progress.
electric meter on the west side of the garage + sealed conduit over to house. the power company will come and install permanent power after we trench over to the utility pole and have it all inspected. i will try and get the telephone/DSL line installed at the same time.
the electrical panel in the basement.
electric meter on the west side of the garage + sealed conduit over to house. the power company will come and install permanent power after we trench over to the utility pole and have it all inspected. i will try and get the telephone/DSL line installed at the same time.
recessed light housings in the the kitchen; boxes for outlets and switches.
lights in the hearth area
living room
master bedroom lights + fan, outlets, switches
Apr 8, 2011
day 84: clean up
the house was absolutely filthy. the floors looked almost like they were just made of dirt. that's what happens when the site is mostly just mud. also the electricians and plumbers drilled holes everywhere leaving a wake of sawdust. and the crew cut a lot of the cement board trim inside the house. so it was bad.
sawdust and electrical scraps are even between all the studs.
so i bought a broom and started sweeping.
this shows just one room's dirt and debris. the dirt filled in the cracks of the OSB subflooring, which was not easy to sweep. and sweeping out the stud walls was tedious. i woke up saturday with a crick my neck from too much sweeping on one side. i still can't look to the right.
but it made a huge difference, right?
here's the living room all cleaned up.
the basement was probably filthier than the main floor, but the smooth concrete was easier to sweep. before.
after. i'm sure the house won't remain this clean for very long, but at least i was able to get rid of all that dirt.
sawdust and electrical scraps are even between all the studs.
so i bought a broom and started sweeping.
this shows just one room's dirt and debris. the dirt filled in the cracks of the OSB subflooring, which was not easy to sweep. and sweeping out the stud walls was tedious. i woke up saturday with a crick my neck from too much sweeping on one side. i still can't look to the right.
but it made a huge difference, right?
here's the living room all cleaned up.
the basement was probably filthier than the main floor, but the smooth concrete was easier to sweep. before.
after. i'm sure the house won't remain this clean for very long, but at least i was able to get rid of all that dirt.
Apr 7, 2011
day 83: progress
there has been some progress in the past two weeks. some.
the Hostetler crew installed some of the snow guards.
it comes as long stainless steel bars that had to be cut to fit between every standing seam clip.
they installed the east side of the house and the north end of the west side of the house.
and the north side of the Link.
here's the overall view of the snow guards, S-rail type. the fire took care of the scrap wood and cardboard boxes and misc garbage.
the crew also started drilling 4" holes for the eave vents. i ordered these nice vent caps that just slide right into the holes. they look nice when you look up at them, but mostly they go unnoticed. the east side of the house is complete. hopefully they'll come back soon and finish. they found it easiest to drill them from the interior, and soon we will be insulating and installing drywall.
the well driller started once the excavator helped him get his rig over to the north side of the house. he hit water 65 feet down but needs to go a little further. then he'll test it and see if he should stop or drill deeper.
i met the well driller and talked about how the ground might be graded near the well cap, how to run the water line to the house, and a where to place a reservoir tank inside the mechanical room.
the Hostetler crew installed some of the snow guards.
it comes as long stainless steel bars that had to be cut to fit between every standing seam clip.
they installed the east side of the house and the north end of the west side of the house.
and the north side of the Link.
here's the overall view of the snow guards, S-rail type. the fire took care of the scrap wood and cardboard boxes and misc garbage.
the crew also started drilling 4" holes for the eave vents. i ordered these nice vent caps that just slide right into the holes. they look nice when you look up at them, but mostly they go unnoticed. the east side of the house is complete. hopefully they'll come back soon and finish. they found it easiest to drill them from the interior, and soon we will be insulating and installing drywall.
the well driller started once the excavator helped him get his rig over to the north side of the house. he hit water 65 feet down but needs to go a little further. then he'll test it and see if he should stop or drill deeper.
i met the well driller and talked about how the ground might be graded near the well cap, how to run the water line to the house, and a where to place a reservoir tank inside the mechanical room.
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