Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[FairfaxStu]

I hope Mrs. Clausen and her friends are beyond wearing high heeled shoes at her house get together's, unless they all use the garage for entry.

I don't really think that is an issue. My Mom is even older and I have not seen her wear high heels in 20 years.

I have one of those 12' pole trimmers with a small chainsaw on the end for trimming but I'm always needing to stretch a little beyond the comfortable length and get out of balance.
Time for lunch and a good nap.
Ron

Yep, I have a Stihl pole pruner that extends to 16 feet. In my case, the motor is mounted on the opposite end which balances it better, but it still a serious upper body workout to run. Inevitably, you find yourself trying to reach that next higher branch so you have a very out of balance 16 foot tool trying to reach above your head with it. That is my least favorite piece of OPE to run.
-Stu

 

[pclausen]

Day 96

They got the driveway mostly done with the gravel that was left once they completed the septic drain field. The whole driveway and parking area will get a top layer of white crushed stone.

Septic field is done. Here's a shot of the distribution box. Each drain line outlet has a cap in it that rotates so that each drain line will get exactly the same about of waste send down it.

Connection between the house and septic tank. I wouldn't worry about damaging the tank by driving a tractor over it.

Shot from the deck showing the the whole septic system

The concrete guy came and rinsed off the stamped concrete. Still not really showing the contrast. That will come with the sealing (I hope). He didn't bother hosing down the siding on the house, I guess that is not his job.

I started raking up the loose roots and what with this little Ford tractor that I recently picked up and touched up a little (it was a rust bucket when I got it).

Inside, they completed the T&G, and put up the trim. I had hoped they would have waited until after sanding the rest. Will need to discuss with the super who will be doing that and when.

Zooming in of a few areas that I would deem less than perfect. I'll have to take some pics of mom's current house to see how her T&G ceiling trim was done.

Heading back to my house on the Ford 1700.

 

[FairfaxStu]

Peter:

I actually like the forward firing muffler look on the 1700. However, I think that is generally pointed it up so you don't breathe in all of the CO and die from it. Hopefully this is just a temporary thing.
-Stu

 

[pacerron]

Peter:

I actually like the forward firing muffler look on the 1700. However, I think that is generally pointed it up so you don't breathe in all of the CO and die from it. Hopefully this is just a temporary thing.
-Stu

Peter,
Not only what Stu said, but the lever arm created by the muffler and pipe hanging sideways is putting a lot of force on the casting at the engine as you bob up and down doing work.
If you don't like the muffler vertical, you might be able to get a down tube bent at a muffler shop and then back at 90 degrees so the muffler is going back and down with some support brackets. A lot of orchard tractors are made that way. You may not have room for the muffler under there though.
Ron

 

[Don87]

Peter, recently you started timbering, recently you started clearing for building, recently you started babysitting the finish crew, and most recently you started clearing even more...........when did you find time to make that Ford look so good?

 

[J F]

Just recently.

 

[Don87]

Just recently.

To use your words............Quit it..........:laughing:

 

[pacerron]

Peter,
If you look at your next to last picture of the peak of the ceiling end you will see your guys didn't even rip the two pieces of stock to the same width..:thumbdown:
There is a lot of waviness in the way the pine planks are attached at the ends. ( Probably excessive glue or a very uneven mud joint ). It might help to use a small size crown molding along the end walls. The grooves will always show as holes above any molding but crown usually takes your eye away from that.

Now that the ceiling is all on go back and stand with your back against the orange wall, level your camera side to side while standing in the middle of the room width. Take a picture of the ceiling from there like you did a day or so ago when the sun was shining in the deck windows, your day 95-14. I thought at first your lens had a lot of distortion, but after putting guide bars on that image the back ceiling line is straight and the window trim is straight, after I straightened the picture, but the unfinished part of the ceiling sloped edge starting point and the row edge of the boards they had put up showed that you had a considerable bow up in the ceiling between the can lights.
Nothing can be done now if it is, and not distortion, as the trusses were not made or installed correctly there. I just want to see if it was an illusion from the lighting.
Ron

 

[FairfaxStu]

Peter,
If you look at your next to last picture of the peak of the ceiling end you will see your guys didn't even rip the two pieces of stock to the same width..:thumbdown:Ron

You know, I noticed the same thing but thought it was just the fact that I have been indulging a bit on pivo. Peter, grab a spare piece of T&G, bring it over to your shop and show these boys how to use a tablesaw:drink:

 

[pacerron]

The bright light from the flash on the the sidewall in 96-14 really shows the training the boys who didn't understand English have had.
It even shows up on the low lit wall in 96-12.
Perhaps you might want to consider having someone that knows how, to do a texture coat on all the walls, as Eddie Walker described earlier, but not these guys.

I can understand why contractors really don't spend money training these guys because as soon as they do the guys will quit and get a higher paying job.

But that is not the real problem. It is the lack of supervision by someone with skills being there all day.
In these times of "political correctness" and everybody passes or gets an "A" because they tried and did the best they can... the 2 word combination that
people think is not nice, or gentle enough is.. "Command and Control"
If it were not for "Command and Control" the military would fall apart, and so do businesses.
It is quite a comparison to look at how well 20-30 folks with no previous building experience, without any pay, under the constant supervision and direction of a skilled person/manager
can turn out a complete house in 5 days, that has very few flaws, under the Habitat for Humanity Program.