Winter months inflect many construction challenges. Spring will come and everything will come together as planned. You and your wife take care of yourselves so you may enjoy the fruit of your labor.
Winter months inflect many construction challenges. Spring will come and everything will come together as planned. You and your wife take care of yourselves so you may enjoy the fruit of your labor.
We fully intend to be in there by Spring...in fact we have to, as the construction loan will have expired by mid-Spring. They only give you nine months. I am not complaining about anything but the fact that we are behind schedule. I worked construction for several decades and I fully understand. In the "old days" work would stop soon after the snow flew. These days the work goes on almost all year.
I feel for Nancy. I'm in a similar situation. My right thumb is really beginning to act up too. I haven't been back to the doctor yet. I'll probably have to have it done after the first of the year.
Before anyone sends out an all-points bulletin again, I thought I would check in. I'm afraid there has been precious little progress for a while, for a variety of reasons. The boring rig for the geothermal system is still out of business being repaired. Earliest possible return is the end of the week. Meanwhile the ground has frozen harder and we have had over a foot and a half of snow while the machine was down, so it may not be able to finish the job until Spring. They are looking at the possibility of a jackhammer bit attachment for the drill head, but they are also looking at the possibility of a temporary furnace as pPlan B if we can't achive the geothermal. Neither sounds good, and neither sounds cheap. Stay tuned for further developments.
The carpenters have not been on the job for the last 12 days, so the log application is stalled, too. I hope to have them back tomorrow, but we are expecting snow again and it could scare them off. For December, this year has been more like January. Normally we would not have seen this much cold or snow...especially as a steady diet. I figure we have 5-8 days more for the logs, plus a few punch list items on the framing. Getting the shell completed before New Years seems remote at this point, with more down time expected for the holidays.
I have been spending much of my time shoveling. The driveway is 300 feet long, and I have no equipment out there as yet...and no available help. Geezers really shouldn't work this hard! Today I took a break and and ran audio wires. Friday we chased to the other side of Michigan and found a dandy reclaimed barnwood mantle.
On a brighter note, we passed the electrical rough-in inspection. The porch ceiling was finished last week...with one casualty. The fireplace is also installed...except for the cap. We will leave that until Spring when it is safer to work on the roof. We have a few loose ends to complete the main floor mechanical and then we can get the mechanical and plumbing rough-in inspections and the framing inspection. At that point we can insulate and then begin the plastering...if we get heat. Unfortunately we are 2-4 weeks behind schedule, stuck in the middle of the holidays, and stalled on the heat and the logs. Things are going painfully slowly, but when I started in the construction business many years ago, we shut down completely for several months each winter, so this isn't as bad as it could be.
More about that casualty I mentioned. When the roofers were leaving the site they sideswiped my truck, creasing the side of the box and killing the wheelwell molding. My insurance says theirs has to cover, and theirs says it is mine's responsibility. I am stuck in the middle and will probably end up with nobody paying for it. Needless to say I am not happy. I expect to park in the road and hike in from here on out.
Nancy has to have hand surgery next week (two days before Christmas). She also gave a baby shower for our daughter last week and has been ambushed by Christmas. As a result, she hasn't been to the property since Thanksgiving or so. Now because of the upcoming surgery she is working feverishly to try to finish a baby quilt for our daughter for Christmas. It is mostly hand quilted and appliqued, so she needs that thumb. The surgery is just like what they did to her other hand a couple of years ago, before she retired. They will remove the trapezius bone from her left thumb, and replace it with a rolled up piece of tendon they will swipe from her wrist. 9-10 weeks in a cast after that, so she won't be helping shovel for a while. I have missed her on the road trips each day, and to bounce things off of at the job site. It's looking like a long winter.
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.
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.
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Originally Posted by Frank G
Today I took a break and and ran audio wires. Friday we chased to the other side of Michigan and found a dandy reclaimed barnwood mantle. 
