The Log house Project begins........

[ultraglide62]

RR, sorry.......I was Helter Skelter yesterday. AM- had a 16 roll Hay delivery, so I went to hook up the 20' bevaertail. Rats...I forgot that the last time I used it to haul the rafters up to the house site I broke 6 forward welds from the bed to the frame. Over to the shop, used the tractor to flip the trailer up on it's side so I didn't have to weld upside down.....which I really despise. Put the welder up and load the rolls, deliver hay...yap with customer for 45min. Got back to the shop and had to clean it out(in laws are inbound tonight from Manitoba). Just closed the shop doors and see the roof helpers arriving. Dash up to the house, harness up and get on the scary man lift. We finished it at dark...and I ummm, er...ahh... plumb forgot the camera

Ok, I have the camera in my mitts.....concrete is arriving at 0900 hrs:thumbsup:

Thanks Tony, the walnut stain is for the bathroom only,,,she wants that with a dark slate floor in there. Clear Tung oil for the rest of the interior and a natural colored translucent stain for the exterior.

Kyle that's actually his daddy he's snuggled up against. Mama and Daddy did give me the third eye so I used the zoom lens...I'd rather not get freight trained by a "Mad Cow". I am kinda concerned about coyotes, so will have to sleep light tonight & keep the rifle handy.

It may have something to do with the potential settling of the house. A tempered window will handle the stresses a little better.

Mike, it's 32' & made the turns easy.

Andy, glad you could stop by and let me know how those .22's run when you get a chance to shoot them.

Fox, yes I should have cut those Poplars back in the summer. These were late fall and they refuse to peel so I left the bark on for now. I think once the stove is in and I heat things up the logs will shrink & that bark will drop off. If not the wife really like the rustic look, so I might just end up spraying Tung Oil on them.
As for the cantilever, it will have a 10' roof over it with 4' of overhang on the ends & 2' off the back. Your right, there will be times when the North wind blows water onto the deck so I will just have to deal with it. Even with no roof yet I am only getting a small amount of water in the basement from a couple of the the beam slots which are no yet caulked. Do to the sequence of construction(translates to the sequence of the money trail) I had to do it that way because I had to have the deck in place to work on the roof.
You peeled tie poles look awesome!

What type of moisture meter do you have ? What did it cost? On the beach in Kauai marvelling at what you have accomplished! I will be back to you with more kudu's when I get on a big computer and back into the NW rain! Your the man! My new idol!
Ultraglide62

 

[MotorSeven]

IPlay, good idea, I'll kick that around!

Arrow, I used the highly scientific "calibrated arm wrap measurment":laughing:. Your right I think it is about 21"-24" diameter @ deck height of 30'. So, you agree that a 6" clearance probably is not enough which is what I suspect too. Before the tin goes on, I will try and do a little re-designing.
As for the health of the trees, well about 2.5 years ago when the basement was dug, we had to pile slate on the base of these 3 trees that are on a 45degree(or steeper) slope. Anywhere from 1 to 4' deep depending on how far away the trees were. I know this is not good for them(had no choice), but like I said I could not bring myself to cut them down because their beauty and proximity to the house add a lot to the place. It's a roll of the dice that they will continue to thrive, but so far so good.
This pic's shows how close we were to the trees:

Trees are to the left in this one:

Odd thing, I have a 80' White oak in the front of the house that roots or base we didn't touch....it stressed out and started dying less than a year after site work was done. The top 20' is dead, and it's going to come down shortly.




Arrow, it's a Delmhorst G-22. I do need to post updated pic's of the door. Even at 15% it has dried out more and I can see daylight through a couple of the seams. So I will need to re-seal it when it is done shrinking.

 

[MotorSeven]

The North porch is done, and tin got ordered today:

There is at least a 10 degree temp change under the insulated porch roof from the sunny West deck:thumbsup:

 

[MotorSeven]

Tree clearances:

 

[MotorSeven]

Purlins on top of the 2" High Density foam:

Roof cross section:

I started on the front porch today, had to "cut off my tail" to make room for the floor header:

 

[arrow]

There is an odd anomaly about tree removal in terms of their aesthetic impact. And I am not telling you this story for you to change any of your present attitudes. I am just sharing as a topic of conversation. For certain you'd notice the tree gone making close friends with your house if it were removed. I once was called on a job that had many large oaks around the house probably much like you have. The wife wanted this one particular tree taken down but that was all. The husband however had a different plan. He wanted them all taken down and as his wife had left for the day, he thought it as a perfect opportunity to totally eliminate his leaf raking duties in the fall. The house was on about an acre of sq footage. So as to not create a very sad woman when she came home, I persuaded him for me to do some selective cutting that would greatly cut down his raking but at the same time, have the place adorned with oak trees. I stood back and from the driveway entrance, I scoped the grounds as to which trees I would remove. We took out 14 good to medium sized trees. Loaded them on the truck, chipped up the slash and we were gone by 4 pm. The next day the wife called and thanked me for taking out "that pesky oak" and went on to say how her husband wanted them all out and that would never happen while she could draw breath. Rick, she never noticed the other trees gone. We had cut the stumps to ground level and there were a couple of old stumps that were there that we also cut and she actually thanked me for taking those out. I'm not sure if she ever walked the yard or if her husband ever told her how many trees were removed. All I know is that she did not catch on when she talked to me. I cannot tell you how many times people thought specific trees were making such a large visual impact and upon their removal couldn't believe they were gone. Trees are kind of funny that way. They seem to be like sharks teeth: when one goes, another visually steps in to take its place.

 

[arrow]

IPlay, good idea, I'll kick that around!

Arrow, I used the highly scientific "calibrated arm wrap measurment":laughing:. Your right I think it is about 21"-24" diameter @ deck height of 30'. So, you agree that a 6" clearance probably is not enough which is what I suspect too. .

Rick, I thought you were measuring this tree at ground level which would make it closer to a 28"- 30" tree at DBH. This is a hunkin oak with tremendous damping capabilities. I do not know how large a crown it has but if it moves more than 6" at even 50 mph, I'd be surprised. I do not think you get 70-90 mph winds there as hurricanes get kind of petered out before they reach you if they happen to track that way at all.

 

[MotorSeven]

Rick, I thought you were measuring this tree at ground level which would make it closer to a 28"- 30" tree at DBH. This is a hunkin oak with tremendous damping capabilities. I do not know how large a crown it has but if it moves more than 6" at even 50 mph, I'd be surprised. I do not think you get 70-90 mph winds there as hurricanes get kind of petered out before they reach you if they happen to track that way at all.

Ok, thanks, that makes me feel better. I will just monitor it's movement every time we get a storm.

I hear ya on the tree "presence", but these guys are so big and so close, the place would definitely have a different feel. If, in the future I have to hire an arborist to climb one or more and take them down then I won't complain a bit.:drink:

 

[Obed]

I decided on this side to go with the High Tensile 14 gauge aluminized steel Horse wire. 4' tall with a line every 5". I will drill holes through the 6x6's for the wire

Rick,
We are getting close to starting work on decking and railing our back porch. We plan on using wire railing similar to what you are doing. Where did you get the wire? We have seen galvanized wire but not "aluminized steel" wire. My wife is concerned that galvanized wire might rust. Aluminum coated wire sounds much better. Any help you can provide on your source and manufacturer and model would be of great help.

Thanks,
Obed

 

[MotorSeven]

Rick,
We are getting close to starting work on decking and railing our back porch. We plan on using wire railing similar to what you are doing. Where did you get the wire? We have seen galvanized wire but not "aluminized steel" wire. My wife is concerned that galvanized wire might rust. Aluminum coated wire sounds much better. Any help you can provide on your source and manufacturer and model would be of great help.

Thanks,
Obed

Here ya go:

Fi-Shock Aluminized Steel Wire, 12-1/2 Gauge, 1000 Ft. - 3616258 | Tractor Supply Company

FYI, if you grab it or handle it much the aluminium will rub off on your hands....once it's up just don't go sideswiping it with white britches.