NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
I had to put the toothpaste on her toothbrush tonight. I don't know if that is treating her like a queeen, but I am her humble servant.
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The Log House Project
- Thread starter NancysToy
- Start date
I had to put the toothpaste on her toothbrush tonight. I don't know if that is treating her like a queeen, but I am her humble servant.
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Taken By Surprise
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.
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.
Attachments
MarkLawson
RT-S PE#0031
Thanks for the update Scotty. So glad to hear Nancy's progress. Will expect to hear as she continues to heal.
House is looking good! The odd quirks of the Amish do's and don'ts are interesting.
House is looking good! The odd quirks of the Amish do's and don'ts are interesting.
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Long Overdue Update
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. :roflblack:
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. :roflblack:
Attachments
MarkLawson
RT-S PE#0031
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...
Flash Gordon
New member
New Home
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.
Gordon
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.
Gordon
murphybrown
New member
Looking GREAT
Scotty & Nancy....your home is gorgeous...even tho the glitches can :banghead::banghead:. Before long you will be sitting by a roaring fire saying "well now that really wasn't that bad!!!!" :thumbup:
Scotty & Nancy....your home is gorgeous...even tho the glitches can :banghead::banghead:. Before long you will be sitting by a roaring fire saying "well now that really wasn't that bad!!!!" :thumbup:
Pennyrick
New member
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.
Bob Denman
New member
Have all of the Guest Bedrooms been spoken for yet??
It's looking like a million bucks! :clap:
It's looking like a million bucks! :clap:
ARtraveler
R.I.P. Dwayne
You will have a very beautiful home when all is said and done. :2thumbs::2thumbs: Wish I was able to do something like that.
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
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. :roflblack: 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.
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. :roflblack: 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.
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
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.
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.
Attachments
billybovine
Active member
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.
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.
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
We have considered electric as a temp. There are plusses and minuses. Electric is only a little more expensive than propane right now, but it would take 2-4 5500 watt heaters to do the job, even with the 20,000 BTU fireplace running. I could use the electric heaters later in the barn, but it isn't my first choice. I would have to buy them, the builder isn't interested, but he would be willing to pay for a propane furnace to keep for this purpose if we could find one. The other difficulty with the electrics is that they can't be fed through the ducts, so it is hard to locate them conveniently (we need to work on the walls and ceilings) and it is hard to distribute the heat throughout the house real well. Good news and bad on the electric service. We put in a 320 amp service, but only put in one 200 amp panel for right now. The geothermal is required to have electric supplemental coils, so we are near our capacity for installed electric equipment...meaning that any electric heater couldn't be installed permanently unless we add an additional 200 amp panel. Still wrestling with this one...right now the stinky kerosene torpedo heater is our only answer. It is fine to provide some heat, but won't dry out the house so we can do woodwork. Stay tuned.....
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Tight codes and building permits would not prohibit it, but they would stretch it out too long...and the insurance man would have a fit! That's one of the reasons we changed from a wood burning fireplace to gas.
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Progress Report
Hi, gang. Sorry for the lack of pictures or reports. We have been busy all week, but I was too tired or busy to even snap any new pictures.
Wednesday the insulators were back and they sprayed cellulose to fill the remaining cavity of the 2x6 walls. The combination should bring us up to R-30 for the walls, including the basement walkout wall. I provided a kerosene torpedo heater, so they had enough warmth for spraying, which is done with water to wet the cellulose. Unfortunately, there is no regular heat yet, so everything is frozen and will have to thaw and dry before we can put up the blueboard on the walls. I got them started, then left. I don't have the same protective gear they do to be around the spraying operation. It was starting to snow when I left. When they finished, they took down the plastic, foamed around the windows and doors, and cleaned up. It was my birthday, so I took the afternoon off.
Overnight we had snow. Although there was only an inch when I left home, but there was eight inches in Allegan. That puts us over seven feet for the season, which is barely half way through. I had just started to shovel my way in when the insulators showed up to finish the batts in the garage. I shoveled while they insulated...about four hours worth of each. I really wish my snowblower could be in two places at once. With no security at the job site, though, it is best it stays home. If I could load it on the truck by myself, I would certainly use it. The wind began to blow hard about lunch time, just as I was finishing. The weather report wasn't very promising, either. The basement floor is a skating rink. They had to run the water for their spraying operation, when their tank froze in the frigid temperatures. They drained the tank onto the basement floor instead of out the door through a hose. I'll have to heat it to be able to vacuum it up.
Friday I finished my shoveling. It was minus 4 when I got there, with stiff winds and wind chills around 30 below. No fun shoveling. Sometimes the snow just flew back in my face. I did a little bit of shoveling and some other things, running the heater while I worked. I never got enough heat in the place to do much good. When the ceiling wallboard is installed and the ceiling insulation is blown, next week, we should do better. I bought an electric heater, which I will use in the garage later, but I didn't have the time or a breaker to install it temporarily in the house...maybe Sunday. The builder said they have located a temporary furnace. We'll have that in by the end of the next week...if I can secure a tank and some propane. The propane tank won't be a waste, we needed it for cooking, the fireplace, and the generator anyway. Lots of slide-offs and jacknifed trucks on the way home. The roads were fairly good, so I expect it was the wind. I saw several drivers overcorrect when hit by the wind gusts. Add in that the blowing snow makes the road disappear, and it would be easy to overcorrect...especially if you were going too fast.
I'm headed back tomorrow. We had snow and drifting overnight and through the day today. Another few inches expected tonight, 5" tomorrow, and 5" more Monday, followed by snow and frigid temperatures through at least Wednesday. I expect I'll be busy. Nancy made me some lemon bread for my birthday. I seldom eat stuff like that, but I'm having no trouble working it off. I shoveled and blew 3" of snow and some pretty good drifts here today. Hopefully I can take the blower to the new house tomorrow, with my son's help, and get things taken care of there without the excessive manual labor. The piles are getting pretty high and hard to heave the snow over. Thank goodness it hasn't been heavy. The electrician has some work to do Monday, and the board hangers should show up soon to do the lids. I need to keep good access for them. Very inconvenient when it is 55 miles away over treacherous roads.
Hi, gang. Sorry for the lack of pictures or reports. We have been busy all week, but I was too tired or busy to even snap any new pictures.
Wednesday the insulators were back and they sprayed cellulose to fill the remaining cavity of the 2x6 walls. The combination should bring us up to R-30 for the walls, including the basement walkout wall. I provided a kerosene torpedo heater, so they had enough warmth for spraying, which is done with water to wet the cellulose. Unfortunately, there is no regular heat yet, so everything is frozen and will have to thaw and dry before we can put up the blueboard on the walls. I got them started, then left. I don't have the same protective gear they do to be around the spraying operation. It was starting to snow when I left. When they finished, they took down the plastic, foamed around the windows and doors, and cleaned up. It was my birthday, so I took the afternoon off.
Overnight we had snow. Although there was only an inch when I left home, but there was eight inches in Allegan. That puts us over seven feet for the season, which is barely half way through. I had just started to shovel my way in when the insulators showed up to finish the batts in the garage. I shoveled while they insulated...about four hours worth of each. I really wish my snowblower could be in two places at once. With no security at the job site, though, it is best it stays home. If I could load it on the truck by myself, I would certainly use it. The wind began to blow hard about lunch time, just as I was finishing. The weather report wasn't very promising, either. The basement floor is a skating rink. They had to run the water for their spraying operation, when their tank froze in the frigid temperatures. They drained the tank onto the basement floor instead of out the door through a hose. I'll have to heat it to be able to vacuum it up.
Friday I finished my shoveling. It was minus 4 when I got there, with stiff winds and wind chills around 30 below. No fun shoveling. Sometimes the snow just flew back in my face. I did a little bit of shoveling and some other things, running the heater while I worked. I never got enough heat in the place to do much good. When the ceiling wallboard is installed and the ceiling insulation is blown, next week, we should do better. I bought an electric heater, which I will use in the garage later, but I didn't have the time or a breaker to install it temporarily in the house...maybe Sunday. The builder said they have located a temporary furnace. We'll have that in by the end of the next week...if I can secure a tank and some propane. The propane tank won't be a waste, we needed it for cooking, the fireplace, and the generator anyway. Lots of slide-offs and jacknifed trucks on the way home. The roads were fairly good, so I expect it was the wind. I saw several drivers overcorrect when hit by the wind gusts. Add in that the blowing snow makes the road disappear, and it would be easy to overcorrect...especially if you were going too fast.
I'm headed back tomorrow. We had snow and drifting overnight and through the day today. Another few inches expected tonight, 5" tomorrow, and 5" more Monday, followed by snow and frigid temperatures through at least Wednesday. I expect I'll be busy. Nancy made me some lemon bread for my birthday. I seldom eat stuff like that, but I'm having no trouble working it off. I shoveled and blew 3" of snow and some pretty good drifts here today. Hopefully I can take the blower to the new house tomorrow, with my son's help, and get things taken care of there without the excessive manual labor. The piles are getting pretty high and hard to heave the snow over. Thank goodness it hasn't been heavy. The electrician has some work to do Monday, and the board hangers should show up soon to do the lids. I need to keep good access for them. Very inconvenient when it is 55 miles away over treacherous roads.
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NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
We had 12" or so of snow since my last visit Friday. Lots of drifts...some up to my chest and armpits. When it finally stopped after lunch, with today's 4" dose, I drove to Allegan and started to shovel things out. I was about halfway done when the neighbor came over with his tractor and loader bucket to help out. He had been widening the private street so the guy who plows it had some room to push the snow. It was a big relief to have mine pushed back, too. Unfortunately I was at the other end shoveling, and the neighbor headed into uncharted territory and found my well. He broke the top adapter for sure...not sure whether there is any additional damage. I should have staked the well, but it was in the middle of nowhere and I didn't think we would end up anywhere near it, with the dumpster on one side and a huge snow pile on the other. Murphy lives!
We haven't been able to install the last door yet, between the garage and house. The wind has been blowing through, despite my hanging a piece of plastic over it, and having the garage door openings closed with tarps. The door is too heavy to handle by myself, or even with one more person, or I'd install it. It is a 135 pound fire door. I hung a moving blanket over the opening today. That doesn't blow in the wind as much. There won't be as much air movement once we get the ceilings up and insulated, but for now the ceilings are open to the soffit and roof vents.
It was a little warmer this afternoon...it made it into the 20s for the first time in over a week. Unfortunately it is supposed to nose dive tomorrow, and stay there several days, with single digit highs, lows at or below zero, and wind chills around 40 below. I sure am getting sick of winter!
We haven't been able to install the last door yet, between the garage and house. The wind has been blowing through, despite my hanging a piece of plastic over it, and having the garage door openings closed with tarps. The door is too heavy to handle by myself, or even with one more person, or I'd install it. It is a 135 pound fire door. I hung a moving blanket over the opening today. That doesn't blow in the wind as much. There won't be as much air movement once we get the ceilings up and insulated, but for now the ceilings are open to the soffit and roof vents.
It was a little warmer this afternoon...it made it into the 20s for the first time in over a week. Unfortunately it is supposed to nose dive tomorrow, and stay there several days, with single digit highs, lows at or below zero, and wind chills around 40 below. I sure am getting sick of winter!
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