If I remember correctly you are going with a thin coat plaster system in the house. We used this system in the first house we built in 73. The plaster contractors brought in there own personal heating system for the process including a 7 to 10 day drying period. The rough in for the cold air returns should have a removable cover on them to prevent construction dust from entering the new heating system. This would also prevent you (by design) from using the Geothermal System until the construction process is finished and they return to do the system start-up. You really do not want all that construction dust in your new system.
As a thought you could set a low end propane forced air unit, and have the mechanical crew vent it out a window opening. When you are through with it, sell it, as a free standing heating unit for an out building.
We wish you the best with your project. Enjoy reading the updates.
If I remember correctly you are going with a thin coat plaster system in the house. We used this system in the first house we built in 73. The plaster contractors brought in there own personal heating system for the process including a 7 to 10 day drying period. The rough in for the cold air returns should have a removable cover on them to prevent construction dust from entering the new heating system. This would also prevent you (by design) from using the Geothermal System until the construction process is finished and they return to do the system start-up. You really do not want all that construction dust in your new system.
As a thought you could set a low end propane forced air unit, and have the mechanical crew vent it out a window opening. When you are through with it, sell it, as a free standing heating unit for an out building.
We wish you the best with your project. Enjoy reading the updates.
The temp furnace idea, vented out the window, is what we are leaning toward. We could fire up the gas fireplace, but even with R-30/R-49 insulation in place the 20,000 BTU's would unlikely be sufficient. Plaster contractors here not familiar with using their own temp systems, so it will be up to the HVAC contractor. The covers are in place on the returns, so we are covered there, thanks for the tip. Now to find a window we can use to vent. The awning/fixed windows in the great room are not suitable. Leaning toward a basement installation, but not sure if we can get enough heat carried upstairs. Not sure how to make propane available, either. We need sitework before we can set a tank, and the ground is frozen and snow covered. Stay tuned...
Thanks for your insight.
Thanks also for all the good wishes and prayers for Nancy. This should go fine...same talented doctor as the other hand. I only hope he doesn't have to search for a usable tendon again. On the right side the ones normally chosen were too deteriorated. Arthritis takes a toll...that's why she has needed surgery in the first place. It's rough to get old, but it beats the alternative.
Carpenters finally back on the job today. They made good progress in thge morning. They back wall above the deck may even be completed, but I left after lunch so I'm not sure. I shoveled all morning, so I was tired, and they were in the way of the other job on my agenda...running some audio wires. Besides, they were using my ladder. I expect they will start on the front by tomorrow. Worried about the weather forecast for Friday through Monday. We'll see what happens.
-Scotty 2011 Spyder RTS-SM5 (mine) 2000 BMW R1100RTP, motorized tricycle & 23 vintage bikes 2011 RT-622 trailer, Aspen Sentry popup camper, custom motorcycle trailer to pull behind the Spyder
Insider Information..... XXXXX XXXXXXX is running 20% bonus packages of insulation for distribution through Home Depot. We will try to get more specific information of sizes. Not sure when they will be available in the stores. All the major building supply company's are stockpiling inventory for an anticipated building boom in 2014.
You may have chosen the right time to build. We all know that increased demand leads to higher prices.
We wish your wife the best of luck with her surgery.
Praying Nancy's surgery goes well. Bummer about all the delays on the house. This winter has hit hard early. Can't imagine trying to continue construction when it's cold. Hope you solve the heat problem in the house while geothermal on hold so inside work can commence. Sounds like Nancy won't be cast free until spring. I hope the surgery solves her thumb issues.
Well, we got the carpenters for a couple of days and made some progress. They have completed applying logs to 5 of the 7 walls. They finished the back wall above the deck, and did the front of the garage yesterday. Unfortunately, the weather kept them away today...or at least the threat of weather. There was freezing rain a couple miles north of the house, but just rain at the site. The rain is no fun, but it beats the two feet of snow I shoveled these last two weeks. Hopefully Monday will be better, and they can finish the front facade before they take an extended break for the holidays. The walkout wall below the deck will have to wait until January.
Have a great Christmas!
-Scotty 2011 Spyder RTS-SM5 (mine) 2000 BMW R1100RTP, motorized tricycle & 23 vintage bikes 2011 RT-622 trailer, Aspen Sentry popup camper, custom motorcycle trailer to pull behind the Spyder
Nancy's surgery went well. She is in considerable pain, but her fingers are not very swollen, so the pain should improve fairly soon. The doc said it went like clockwork. Last time they had to open up a second incision on the opposite side of her wrist to find a good tendon to steal. Thus time they didn't. Thanks for all the good wishes and your concern. She should be ready to ride again by Spring. The family survived my cooking tonight...first of many times to come, including Christmas Eve and Christmas. We did our grocery shopping before heading to the surgical center, so I am pretty tired. I'll start the baking for Christmas tomorrow, instead of tonight as I planned.
We are among the more fortunate for this Christmas. Thousands in the area are without power due to ice storms from Thursday through yesterday morning. They are saying most power won't be restored until Friday or Saturday in our county. Folks are scrambling to adjust their Christmas plans. Having to adjust who does the cooking is a very small divot, by comparison. Our prayers go out to all affected.
I don't know if they worked on the house today. I hope to get there after Christmas. I'm hoping that they did so and finished the logs on the front facade. The remainder will have to wait until January, when they return...if they do. Our lead carpenter is considering going to work in a trailer factory. If so, I may need to bolster my inventory of tools and finish the logs myself. I may also have to do the T&G, trim, interior doors, and cabinets. He is our trim carpenter, too. If he leaves us, I will miss him and his family greatly. He and his son and nephew are fine craftsmen...and nice people.
A Merry Christmas to all! Enjoy your holiday and remember the meaning behind the day.
Last edited by NancysToy; 12-23-2013 at 07:59 PM.
-Scotty 2011 Spyder RTS-SM5 (mine) 2000 BMW R1100RTP, motorized tricycle & 23 vintage bikes 2011 RT-622 trailer, Aspen Sentry popup camper, custom motorcycle trailer to pull behind the Spyder
We haven't been out to the house for a while, since the carpenters and other trades were supposed to be off until after the first of the year. I went out Saturday to check on things, and to do some cleanup and shoveling, and at that time there was no progress, as expected. Imagine my surprise today when I got a text message from my carpenter with two pics of the logs they had applied this week. The irony of all this is that my carpenters are Amish. They can't drive to the job, but they use their power tools very happily. My builder, who can't even read his email, doesn't have a smart phone, but his Amish carpenter does, and sends me progress reports and pictures. Makes me giggle every time I think about it...and don't think that I don't give my builder a really hard time about it. Anyway, the logs are almost done...probably one more day of work, much to my relief. We expect a lot more bitter cold, and another seven feet of snow before winter ends.
There is still a long way to go. We have to come up with a temporary heat source, insulate, plaster, install the tongue & groove walls and ceilings, install flooring, install cabinetry, trim, finish the geothermal, install the generator, and finish wiring, HVAC, and plumbing...among other things. I also have to caulk and stain come Spring, and build a pole barn for the toys. We are behind, and I worry about beating the deadline on the construction loan, but hopefully we will see substantial progress again soon. This project started a year ago, but we had to fire our first designer/builder/log provider. Finding a new builder and log supplier, doing the prliminary drawings myself and then letting a draftsman clean them up, and securing the financing took way longer than anticipated. We didn't break ground until September, instead of the originally planned March or April, and we have had a few delays during construction. I guess we will be OK, but I know the clock is ticking, so I get nervous...especially when I have to stand by and let others do work I could do myself. I'd be a lot more calm if I could just take a Spyder ride.
Nancy got her surgical dressing off Monday, which was replaced with a thermally molded cast. The hand looks pretty good, at least as far as the swelling goes. They did a carpel tunnel release while they were there, in addition to the trapeziectomy and reconstruction, so she has four incisions. She will get the stitches taken out next Monday, and will spend four weeks in the cast before she can start PT, and at least four more afterward. At the rate we are going, she will be out of the cast well before she can ride. This was our seventh snowiest December ever...and January looks to be more of the same. We expect five more inches tomorrow. Meanwhile everyone survived my cooking and baking for Christmas and our additional celebration at Nancy's parents'. The two big loaves of banana bread I took up there didn't have a crumb left. I baked those with bananas from a fruit basket our builder dropped off Christmas Eve. That was thoughtful of them to do for us.
We hope everyone has a Happy New Year! See ya in 2014.
-Scotty 2011 Spyder RTS-SM5 (mine) 2000 BMW R1100RTP, motorized tricycle & 23 vintage bikes 2011 RT-622 trailer, Aspen Sentry popup camper, custom motorcycle trailer to pull behind the Spyder
Don't send the St. Bernards out to look for me, I'm still here. I have been very lax in reporting...mostly for lack of progress and lousy weather. I guess that is an understatement...like many others, winter has hit us hard in West Michigan this year. Between the -15 temperatures, below zero highs, wind chills as low as -45, and a foot and a half to two feet of snow in just a few days, it's been tough. My son and I finally took the snowblower to the project, when we could finally brave the roads. I had actually gone for a couple of days prior to the big dump of snow, and the roads were insanely treacherous. The hour trip home took over two and a half hours one day. The slide-offs were too numerous to count. Last weekend it rained on top of it all, creating some flooding problems.
We had our framing inspection last week, the day after we had finished snowblowing through the two feet of snow and drifts to three or more feet to the house. He did have a couple of deficiencies to note, but gave us a green sticker anyway. I started to address the deficiencies the next two days. I am a pretty decent carpenter, but I find I am getting a bit old to scramble around in the rafters all day. I am also pretty out of shape to handle a seven pound nail gun instead of a 20 ounce hammer. I was plenty tired between the shoveling, snowblowing, carpentry, and bailing (I told you we had flooding) that comprised the week. Too busy to take pictures and too tired to care to post them if I had. I hope you can understand.
As expected, our lead carpenter went to work in the trailer factory last week. I was contemplating having to buy a couple thousand dollars more of additional tools to finish the logs, but his son and nephew showed up Friday to finish the exterior. After working out some details with them, and making them rip off one partial row and start again, they got things handled nicely. It looks real good! They then manhandled 14 sheets of 3/4" OSB to the garage attic and began installing it for me. It was technically my job, but it was better suited to more than one person...and a couple of robust youngsters at that. Lifting those sheets to the high attic was no small task, even with my help. In return, I installed some of the fire blocking the inspector wanted, and some truss braces that were missed. That would have been better with two people, but I needed to get it done, so spent all day Saturday doing so.
The boys showed up again yesterday and finished the fire blocking and garage attic. That was their last day on the job, and I was sad to see them go. When I arrived Saturday, while we were getting rained on furiously over 24" of snow pack, and the chimney chase was leaking like asieve! Water soaked the floor and lots of water traveled to the stacks of tongue & groove stored in the basement. I'm not sure yet if there was any damage. Yesterday afternoon the builder and I climbed to the roof to look at the chase after I raked off the snow in the AM and let the remaining ice layer thaw. It turned out the carpenters and the roofers had a communications glitch, and had left some things unsealed and had left exposed flashing at the chase. The top had not been covered with ice & water shield, even though I was assured three times that it would be and another couple of times that it was done. My builder, who is deathly afraid of heights, and I spent a long afternoon sealing things up until the masonry and cap can be completed in the Spring. I am hoping we took care of the leaks. Fortunately all the delays had also delayed the insulation, so at least that was not ruined in the process. The electricians took care of some more rough-in that was needed before we insulate, and some other loose ends.
Today I did some fire caulking, moving of materials, clean-up, and installed a couple of nailers we needed. I moved things around to prepare for the fire-resistant wallboard on the common wall to the garage tomorrow, and wall insulation beginning Thursday. We still haven't found an affordable temporary furnace yet, so I'm not sure how we will proceed from here. I worry that any substantial delays will cause us to run past the end of our construction loan. At least we are making progress again, though. This last two months have been incredibly slow. That's one of the reasons I asked for a framing nailer for Christmas (Thank you, Santa!)...I can forge ahead if nobody shows up.
I'll try to trudge through the remaining snow (still pretty deep) to do a recap video if weather permits. Thanks for being patient with me. As a reporter...I make a good carpenter.
-Scotty 2011 Spyder RTS-SM5 (mine) 2000 BMW R1100RTP, motorized tricycle & 23 vintage bikes 2011 RT-622 trailer, Aspen Sentry popup camper, custom motorcycle trailer to pull behind the Spyder
Always heard that snow on the roof was a sign of good insolation, or no insolation and no heat in your case. Glad you're making progress even if it's not what you had hoped. Global warming sucks...
Mark & Mary Lou Lawson
Snellville, GA USA
'10 RT-S PE #0031
'10 RT-622 Trailer
'08 Yellow SM5 #2332
'01 Black GL1800A Goldwing #0930
"Remember in the darkness what you have learned in the light." - Joe Bayly
Thanks for the update. I have been following since the beginning. I designed a home and had it built back in 1987. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I did not do any of the work. Mostly because I have no ability, and secondly, I was still working full time. That all took place back in Missouri, where I spent most of my life, and thought it had bad winters, but after following you on this project, they were nothing compared to what you have up there. I have lived here in Central Fl. for over 16 years, and I do not miss the winter months from up North at all. I hope you get the work done in the timely fashion that needs to happen for the construction loan. Been there done that!!! pressure for sure. Maybe you will get an early spring this year. I think 2014 is going to be an improvement over 2013 in many ways.
I will be watching and wishing you the best in your construction project. Also, I hope your wife's hand is doing well and healing thoroughly.
Even though I traded my Harley for my first Spyder the first week of Feb. 2013, I placed a deposit for a 2014 the first week of Oct. and took delivery of my 2014 RT-L SE-6 Platinum with a Burgundy seat. on Dec. 28th. It is a great improvement IMHO. I have been able to put some good miles and smiles on my face during the last three weeks.
Scotty & Nancy....your home is gorgeous...even tho the glitches can . Before long you will be sitting by a roaring fire saying "well now that really wasn't that bad!!!!"
My Motto Is: Live my life in such a way that when my feet hit the floor in the morning...Satan shudders & says "Oh, crap, SHE'S awake!"
Red Stallion: 2016 F3t SE6 (from Pitbull PowerSports/ Springfield, MO)
White Knight: 2014 RTS SE6 and matching 622 trailer (from Pitbull
PowerSports/ Springfield, MO)
Ms Spydee: 2010 RT SE5
I worry that any substantial delays will cause us to run past the end of our construction loan. At least we are making progress again, though. This last two months have been incredibly slow. That's one of the reasons I asked for a framing nailer for Christmas (Thank you, Santa!)...I can forge ahead if nobody shows up.
I'll try to trudge through the remaining snow (still pretty deep) to do a recap video if weather permits. Thanks for being patient with me. As a reporter...I make a good carpenter.
Scotty:
You picked a tough year to undertake this project. I'm no expert but surely the inclement weather in your area is a valid reason to request an extension on the construction loan. I'm assuming you have already checked that out.
Penny and Rick have owned many motorcycles starting in 1974 with Hondas, then to Suzukis, Gold Wings and ultimately Spyders.
74 Honda 360T (pair); 78 Suzuki GS 1000 (pair); 82 Honda Aspencade; 84 Honda 400; 87 Yamaha 1100; 99 Honda Valkyrie; 01 Suzuki Burgman(triked); 02 Honda GL 1800(triked); 10 Spyder RTSE; 11 Spyder RTSM; 12 Spyder RTSL (pair); 20 Spyder RTL (current)
With the exterior being done for the most part, it is time to get started inside. Yesterday I finished the remainder of my fire-blocking, and did a bunch of clean-up to make room for the board hangers and insulators. Today the plasterer showed up and hung the board on the common wall between the garage and the house. We need this in place so we can install the last door and begin insulation. This is either the last exterior wall...closing in the house proper, or the first interior wall...being wallboard and being inside the garage. All they did was hang the fire-rated blueboard so we would have something to spray the foam insulation and cellulose against. They will tape the wall and plaster it later.
Nancy spent most of the day vacuuming and sweeping up sawdust and other assorted crud. The place looks better now. I shoveled the driveway again. I swear it gets longer every time...about 10,000 feet from the way I feel today. We had about 4 more inches there overnight an inch here), but the drifts were much higher in the majority of the driveway. Unfortunately the snowbanks shoveled up on each side make a great environment to deposit windblown snow in the center of the driveway. BTW, the driveway is really about 300 feet long (when there is no snow). Friday they will spray a couple of inches of foam in the walls, then next week they will spray cellulose over that to achieve an R-30 rating. The ceiling will be boarded and the cellulose blown in later...probaly in a week or two. Still no sign of having temporary heat. We have a plan, but no equipment. If anyone in Michigan has a scratch & dent 90% efficiency (direct vent) furnace cheap, give me a shout.
-Scotty 2011 Spyder RTS-SM5 (mine) 2000 BMW R1100RTP, motorized tricycle & 23 vintage bikes 2011 RT-622 trailer, Aspen Sentry popup camper, custom motorcycle trailer to pull behind the Spyder
Sorry, no video that would be meaningful. We have made a little progress. Friday they sprayed 2" of foam insulation on the walls to seal them, and they caulked the sill plate and installed chutes, batts and baffles to prepare the ends to blow in the ceiling cellulose. They put up cardboard on the knee walls leading to the vaulted ceiling, and blew that 4" full of foam. They also insulated the basement band joists and joist ends, as well as foaming the walkout wall. They installed fiberglass batt insulation on the garage walls. They did a nice job covering all the windows and doors with poly before they sprayed. We moved a little lumber, shoveled, and then got out of their way. Can't be around when they are spraying foam.
Saturday I hauled out some lumber to prepare for the garage door installation, then I finished the garage attic floor installation and bailed. Still not feeling real well, so my stamina isn't up to par. Monday we both went out. I shoveled the drive that had drifted in while Nancy did some cleanup inside, then we cleaned up some speaker wiring after it was sprayed, and rerouted one wire. I installed some wallboard where they forgot an insulation baffle and firewall, then we went home pretty early again.
Today I extended the attic scuttle for the extra deep R-60 ceiling insulation, installed a wallboard firewall, caulked a sill plate they missed, and installed the remaining threshhold riser pending installation of our last door. That one has to wait until they get the walls sprayed tomorrow, since the rest are sealed with plastic right now. Not looking forward to installing it without the carpenters...it is a 20 minute fire door weighing 135 pounds! I took my kerosene torpedo heater out today. I hate those smelly things, especially with the walls sealed so well now, but it was 4 degrees this morning, and our high was only 10. The heater didn't get things toasty, without much of the insulation in place, but it did take the edge off and make things tolerable.
Still no leads on a temporary furnace. Between that and needing 7-14 days lead to get a propane tank, I am a bit worried. We really need some heat to move on from here.
-Scotty 2011 Spyder RTS-SM5 (mine) 2000 BMW R1100RTP, motorized tricycle & 23 vintage bikes 2011 RT-622 trailer, Aspen Sentry popup camper, custom motorcycle trailer to pull behind the Spyder
It's looking good. With a project this size there will always be a few problems to take care of.
If it was me doing the project I would consider electric for temporary heat. I would guess you have a 200 amp service, if so lots of power. Electricity is expensive but the equipment is cheap. I bet two 240 volt 5500 watt garage heaters would keep it up to temp after the insulation is installed. You may even be lucky enough to find some heaters you could borrow.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by MarkLawson
Anyway, the logs are almost done...probably one more day of work, much to my relief. We expect a lot more bitter cold, and another seven feet of snow before winter ends.
