The Log House Project

[Phil]

I pray that God will shower His RICHEST BLESSINGS on your new grandbaby!

X2!! From Bobbie and me.


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

[cptjam]

I figured it out. You have gone stark raving mad! Completely insane, due to hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning! Michigan is beautiful, briefly! The six months of yuck can never be replaced! I think the world of you, but, winter in Michigan will suck forever! We don't shovel sunshine. Yes, summer is hot. Pools and ac are cool. The difference is here, the sun goes down, and it is delightful. There, the sun goes down, and it gets mercilessly cold! No humidity means no rust! No snow means more riding.
When you need a break, we have guest rooms. You and Nancy are welcome anytime. It will be 70 on Wednesday.......

[NancysToy]

I figured it out. You have gone stark raving mad! Completely insane, due to hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning! Michigan is beautiful, briefly! The six months of yuck can never be replaced! I think the world of you, but, winter in Michigan will suck forever! We don't shovel sunshine. Yes, summer is hot. Pools and ac are cool. The difference is here, the sun goes down, and it is delightful. There, the sun goes down, and it gets mercilessly cold! No humidity means no rust! No snow means more riding.
When you need a break, we have guest rooms. You and Nancy are welcome anytime. It will be 70 on Wednesday.......

If we all liked the same thing, we'd all be crowded into about a fourth of the nation. To each his own!

Nice thing about working hard in this weather...you don't sweat onto your glasses.

[NancysToy]

Yesterday I took a much needed day off. I figured it was Saturday, so no work would go on, and I was going to have to go today to clear the snow that was falling. I was wrong! The board hangers snuck up on me and finished the blueboard in all but the garage. We now have walls that go all the way up. There are still exposed studs where the tongue & groove wood walls will be...whenever we see a trim carpenter. I filmed a quick interior tour to give you a better idea than the previous "skeleton" video tour showed.



I blew snow for two hours, then did a couple of hours of carpentry before coming home and shoveling the drive and patio for a couple more. Light, fluffy snow, so it was no big deal, even with 3"-4". The garage door casings are done now, so after we get wallboard we can install the overhead doors. I still have to fabricate double doors for the utility door opening in the back of the garage. I have been unable to do so until now, because it was too cold to use glue. The plasterers may be here this week, as the house that was ahead of us on their schedule has no heat yet. That's about the first break we have seen in the scheduling.

I didn't have the guts to attack icicle removal alone, near the windows. It needs to be done soon. I also have the rest of the deck to shovel. I figure I have removed about 5,000 pounds of snow from a four foot path on the deck last week, with 13,000 to go. Yes, it is being removed shovel by shovel, and carried to the end of the deck. I also have some blocking to change in the basement to accomodate the HVAC ducts, a small deck to build for access to the door from the garage to the house, and the garage-to-house door (fire door) to install. I also have to install the walk-in shower pan. If I can round up some help I may attack that heavy stuff this week.

[NancysToy]

I wish we could continue to progress at last week's rate. Yesterday we made good progress, but today wasn't so hot. Yesterday the HVAC crew finished up the ductwork. All our runs are in, and the equipment is in place except for the HRV. We still need to bore for the ground loops, and run them into the house. Unfortunately there is a pile of snow higher than my my head where the boring machine has to work, and the place where the pit needs to go where the pipes tie together and they bore to the basement, is under the cleared driveway...with a couple of feet of frozen ground. It will be Spring before we can go any farther. I did a little electrical work today, starting to extend the circuit for the single light in the basement, so they could do their work more easily, now that the supporting wall dividing the basement has been covered in wallboard, but I was in the way, so they brought in a big halogen light and I went home

They made a bunch of work for me. They had to knock out some critical blocking to run their ducts, so I replaced that today, and will have to extend it an additional joist as soon as I buy a 2x12. Today I also had to cover all the duct openings in the walls and floor, and build protective guards for the exposed toe-kick ducts. Those plasterers can do a lot of damage with their stilts and scaffolding, and their dust and plaster get everywhere. We certainly don't need it in the ductwork. I also replaced a GFCI in the laundry room. It became very dark in there when they closed the walls, so I swapped for a GFCI with an LED nightlight. The only hiccup to the day was when my lawn chair broke and collapsed while I was taking a break. It's getting so things just don't last more than 35-40 years anymore. Only one of those chairs that we bought when we were first married is left now.

Unfortunately, I worked alone today. No plasterers, no finish carpenter, no boardhangers for the garage ceiling and walls. I hope they don't take the entire week off. My builder is on vacation this week...I'd like for him to be the only one. If I don't see a trim carpenter by next week, I may take on that job myself. Tomorrow the cabinet supplier comes to measure for the cabinet order, so at least there is some progress...but I sure got used to last week's pace. I'd like that to continue. I have rounded up some friends to help me with a couple of tasks that need to be done this week. Without our framing crew or the trim carpenters, somebody has to lift a hammer. I guess that would be me.

At least there was no snow. I blew the drive Sunday and we got an inch or two since, but today there was none falling. The rest of the week looks to be reasonably good, too, although we may get a little of the white stuff. It is still plenty cold...single digits or below zero in the morning, with highs of 10-15. That may break next week, too...they are talking about being above freezing. It has been over three weeks since we saw 32 degrees. I have to carefully remove my icicles before we get a thaw. They are endagering my very expensive windows. Interesting thing about the icicles. On the leeward side of the house they are nice and straight. On the windward side they are curved, getting closer and closer to the house as they get longer, but curving back outward from days when there was little wind. It's pretty cool looking! I'll have to try to snap a picture of that before I take them down.

[NancysToy]

We have had a slow week. After the HVAC work Monday, we never saw a tradesman until today. There was some activity, apparently after dark from the lights they rigged to offload the plaster and distribute the bags throughout the house Wednesday. They bags have to be spaced out to spread the weight. I did some electric work and some carpentry, and Nancy cleaned. It was actually nice not to have to work around everybody...but don't tell my builder. I don't want it to happen too often. Nancy and I also visited the tile wholesaler to pick some additional tile, and met with the cabinet supplier to measure for the final order.

Today the crews made up for the lack of activity. The plasterers were there before I was, and they kept a crew of four hopping all day. It is a joy to watch plasterers work. They have such practiced hands and eyes. How they can trowel on those coats so evenly and so quickly is beyond me. A while after I arrived the board hangers showed. Their truck has been broken down, so that explained their recent absence. They started hanging the garage ceiling. From there they were to move to the garage walls, and under the basement stairs (to satisfy code requirements). The plasterers will be there about another week.



I shoveled! (What else is new?) I got the deck stairs and about half the deck completed. The deck had gotten ahead of me, even though we finally had two days in a row without snow and very little accumulation this week. I heard today that we have set a record for the number of days with this much snow cover. The deck snow rmoval was the same procedure as before...cut the snow into blocks and carry it to the end of the deck and throw it over. There was an added wrinkle, I had to dig out the icicles I knocked from the roof the other day, one by one. The icicles were formed when we started heating before we had ceilings or ceiling insulation. I blew a path from the garage down the hill to the walkout yesterday. The packed snow was as high as my snowblower in the lowest spots, and over four feet in others. In some places I had to use the shovel to break it down so the snowblower would carve into it. The path was handy today, with most of the entrance blocke by the plaster work. The main purpose of the path is to have a way to bring the tongue & groove planks up after the plaster is done. I also have some OSB to haul to the basement.

[bruiser]

At least you know the deck can take the snow load.

[NancysToy]

At least you know the deck can take the snow load.

Amen! But we have quite a way to go before winter ends, so I didn't figure it needed any more. It should be good for at least 50 psf, so we are good. I figure we are around 31 psf right now, so we can take a bit more. On the bright side, Lake Michigan is about 85% frozen over, so we don't get much lake effect snow these days. The open water is located near us, however, so we can still get some light lake effect flurries. Next week promises to be better, so we may lose some snow cover, but if it rains the snow could get real heavy, so I still want to get the deck cleared. We built some extra snow load capacity into the roof, so I am not really worried there...yet. Lots of roof have been collapsing around here lately.

[bruiser]

I've seen that on the news. They've had the same problems in the Mid Atlantic states with roofs collapsing. Even showed a building collapse from snow load. You understand what rain on that much snow will do. Some people don't understand that snow acts like a sponge and will soak up rain.

[NancysToy]

We've done pretty well this week, despite challenging weather. The plasterers continued their work Monday, while I cleared the remaing half of the deck of the 24" of hard packed snow, in anticipation of the next ration. We got 6" Monday afternoon and evening, so I was up at 5 to head out on the nasty roads Tuesday morning. I was at the property before 7, blowing snow under the light of my truck headlights. Then I shoveled the stupid deck again. The plasterers were smarter than I was, so they stayed home. The sun actually came out later, and we warmed above freezing for the first time in a month. That just made the snow heavier.

I shoveled the area where Nancy parks, while she was at the store, but I ran out of steam after six hours of shoveling and blowing snow. With the big snowblower at the project, I dug out my old Montgomery Wards (Gilson) Snow Cannon which had been hanging unused on the garage wall for several years. It started surprisingly quickly (thank goodness for fuel stabilzers), and did an amazing job with the half foot of wet snow and drifts to 15" on the reaminder of my driveway, walks, and patio. The snowthrower is patched together with hose clamps and baling wire due to a broken frame, but is worth every penny I paid for it back in 1978.

Today we got another inch of unexpected snow before the sun came out and it warmed up nicely. Lots of water running off the roofs, so I used a spud and digging bar to cut ditches through the thick ice to allow the water to run away, and blew a path through the accumulated snow piles to do the same below the deck...hopefully. We expect an inch of rain tomorrow, with temps in the high 40s, but we also expect serious flooding...after some freezing rain or sleet in the morning. Roofs are collapsing all over the area, so an inch of rain soaking into two feet of accumulated snow on the roofs won't help. The snowbanks won't let the water reach the drains, so it floods easily jyust with melt water. Hopefully ground is not frozen deeply inder the snow, so the water that finds its way might soak into the ground. We are keeping our fingers crossed and our galoshes ready.

Meanwhile the plasterers continued. It still amazes me to watch them work. So many variations in technique for different finishes, so many different materials for different applications, and they work so fast and get things so flat and straight. It takes practiced eyes and hands to do such skilled work. I am in awe! I do appreciate talent.

[MarkLawson]

I keep looking at the insulation in your videos and thinking that I need to add some in hour attic. I had about 6" or 9" added to the attic in 2004, but think I could still use more. The walls are what they are, & I have no idea what they are. Might have to get motivated and do some attic work.

Thanks for the new video.

[bruiser]

Mark, both Lowes and Home Depot rent blowers for insulation. Takes two people but easy to use.

[MarkLawson]

Mark, both Lowes and Home Depot rent blowers for insulation. Takes two people but easy to use.

Yes, at my old house, my neighbor and I rented one and blew both house's attics. Thinking maybe my wife and I could do it together this time.

[NancysToy]

Yes, at my old house, my neighbor and I rented one and blew both house's attics. Thinking maybe my wife and I could do it together this time.

Nancy helped me blow the eve below the dormer on our existing house. She did a good job.

The new house is well insulated...2"-3" of closed cell foam in the walls, covered by wet-sprayed cellulose to fill the cavity. The knee walls in the great room are 3"-3.5" of closed cell foam. The attic has 16"-18" of blown cellulose, and the Superior walls in the basement have 2" of integral foam and there is 2" of foam below the basement floor. The garage is merely R-19 fiberglass batts, by comparison. The only trouble is that the house becomes extremely tight that way, on top of all the other sealing measures. With the plaster application, the humidity is on the rise. It was 75% and raining down the doors and windows this morning. I cracked some windows while I was there, but I will have to bring out a dehumidifier for a while, I guess. The HRV hasn't been installed yet.

[SpyderAnn01]

So are the plasterers doing a smooth finish?

[NancysToy]

So are the plasterers doing a smooth finish?

We have a variety. Most of the walls (except the kitchen) are a slightly rustic, troweled finish...like venetian plaster but without the colore yet. The kitchen walls and ceiling are smooth, as are the bathroom ceilings. The smaller bedroom ceilings are a swirl finish...the typical sanded, fanned sort of thing. The closets, laundry, and pantry are troweled or swirled (I haven't looked closely and told them I didn't care). The master bedroom and the great room will be wood, as will most exterior walls and most of the great room walls.

[NancysToy]

Not much to report today from a construction stanpoint, but I do have to comment on the weather. What a miserable year to try to complete a construction project! We had some thawing yesterday, and some sun. It was a welcome change from a month below freezing, often much below, and very few peeks at the sun. The taste of better things to come was nice, though,...much needed and quite welcome. I was even able to pull out the grill and cook a steak. Today we were back to winter. We started with an inch or two of slushy snow in a short period. Visibilities were often nil, and the roads were a challenge. When you have thundersnow, you know it is a heavy storm. My trip to Allegan was early enough to avoid the worst of it, but the trip home was challenging, with slushy roads and often hard rains. Localized street flooding is pretty extensive. It has rained all day, with some thunderstorms. We had a dandy just a while ago tonight.

It was raining at the project shortly after I arrived...both inside and out. Well, not exactly rain inside, but water was condensing and sheeting down the windows and doors. The humidity has reached 75%-80% inside due to the plastering and the tightness of the house. Having the HRV installed would be handy. I cracked some windows while I was there, but I didn't stay too long...only a few hours, so I don't know that I improved things in that short time. Tomorrow I will take out a dehumidifier and set it up. I scooped the slush out of the ditches that I carved into the ice yesterday. They did their jobs and there are no lakes near the house. I also spent an hour correcting the installation of the fire door we tacked in place Saturday. It has been wandering around and becoming hard to close, despite daily adjstments. It needed to be firmly installed in place, unlike the other exterior doors. I guess the weight of it makes it behave differently. It worked well when I left, and hopefully will be stable now. It took a lot of screws and shims to stabilize it. These Trerma-Tru doors don't impress me. Despite their expense they are poorly constructed, with gaps in the muntins, frames out of square (wider on top than bottom or vice versa), hinge mortises that are cut inconsistently, and even cracked woodwork. I would not buy them again. Something that costs thousands of dollars should be top notch quality, IMO.

Back at home it was back to battling the weather. Scooping up a couple of inches of wet slush is a huge chore...especially for a geezer. I won't need that heart stress test this year. Push the shovel a foot or two, then use everything you have to lift 15-25 pounds or more of slush, and throw it over the piles that are still knee to chest high or better. It is getting old fast! It took a couple of hours to clear the sidewalks, steps, and patio. I left the driveway alone. The snowthrower (and perhaps even the big snowblower) wouldn't have handled it, and I didn't have the strength or the stamina. I hope we can get out tomorrow after this crap freezes. We are facing another week of temperatures well below zero. Spring can't come soon enough for me. I have had enough snow and cold to last until next December. It's time to turn on the heat...and ride!

[Magdave]

Scotty did you give any thought to doing some piping under the deck to keep the snow melted? My brother-in law did his rear deck and driveway in the mountains in Virginia with his system. He used tiles though not sure if that is doable with a deck like yours but sure would help keep it clear. Hope you get it done soon and can start to enjoy. Keep up the good work

[SpyderAnn01]

I sure hope the weather breaks for you guys soon.

[NancysToy]

I sure hope the weather breaks for you guys soon.

It's not looking good for a while. A week from now they expect it to be back below zero, with single digit highs. Two years ago we were riding by late February, although having the apples blossom in March did cause some difficulties. One thing we have is variety.....if you wait long enough. I don't know what I'll do when this is finally all over. I'll probably have to join a gym to get my exercise.

[NancysToy]

It looks like things will be slowed down on the house project in more ways than one. We are in a slowdown while we wait for things to dry out after the plaster work, then we will have to wait for the tongue & groove paneling and wood flooring to acclimate for a week to ten days...after the house dries adequately. We also have to wait 30 days for the plaster to cure before we paint. I had planned to do some work while we waited, replacing some studs and blocking they tore out to install the ductwork, building insulated doors for the attic scuttles, building doors for the utility door opening in the garage, installing the walk-in showet pan, and putting up the backer board in the showers, among other things.

Today, when I got home after buying a paper and eating breakfast, I fell in the driveway here at home. Despite taking baby steps on the icy driveway, both feet went out from under me and I fell hard! It knocked the wind out of me, and hurt me so bad I lay there for a few minutes before I could even reach my phone and call my wife to come out and help me get up. I have probably only cried a half dozen times in my adult life, but I cried today. A trip to the ER showed only one broken rib, and probably several that broken loose from the sternum (again), but I have a host of bruising and strained muscles. It hurts to breathe, move, or flex my left arm. I'm not going to be swinging a hammer for a while...or be shoveling snow. I doubt I can even drive for a while.

I knew things would be difficult with the ice build-up, and the cold following the rain Thursday. I was trying to be careful, and was actually headed into the house to get some more sand to spread on the driveway. I didn't make it that far. I hope all of you in the north do better than I did. Be careful out there!

[cuznjohn]

wow i hope you heal up fast. i went down on my bike a few years back and broke 4 ribs and my lest scapular and let me tell you i was in pain for a long time

[dancogan]

...A trip to the ER showed only one broken rib, and probably several that broken loose from the sternum (again), but I have a host of bruising and strained muscles. It hurts to breathe, move, or flex my left arm. I'm not going to be swinging a hammer for a while...or be shoveling snow. I doubt I can even drive for a while....

OUCH! No laughing, coughing, sneezing for you for a while. Avoid any thread that even hints at humor. So sorry to hear this, Scotty. Only time helps the ribs, and it takes a while.

[SpydermanCT]

I feel for you Scotty and pray for a fast recovery. It sounds like you have been down this road before so you know the better you follow the doctors orders the faster you will heal. Lots of rest and relaxation for you for a while ! You have to do it !

[Jim&Teresa]

I wish you a speedy recovery from your fall. We have ice everywhere here in Minnesnowta and I almost fell this last week....my driveway was OK when snowblowing it, but when I stepped on the road portion -- pure ice and almost went down.

Anyways, here's to better health and a finished home for you! Tough year to do just about anything up north! We will be in the top 10 coldest temperatures for our winter season ever recorded from 140 years they've had records...