House

[DVerbarg]

Re: First Floor Deck

Rob,

Did not see any response to your comment last month regarding the one contractor's comment around cellulose being flammable. You've probably seen the literature where blow torches are applied to the cellulose and it will not burn. The flame retardants work pretty well. Also tried it burning it myself and it performed just like it did in the brochures. Have not tried it in over a year. Maybe I should try it again, its been a year since the house was finished. Wonder if time affects the flamability.....?

 

[Thomas]

Re: First Floor Deck

Hope your going to have a deck to set on to watch that peaceful sunset at the end of the day.

 

[MarkV]

Re: First Floor Deck

Rob,
Looks like things are starting to come together. The framing phase is exciting because it moves pretty fast and each day you can see more of your vision become reality.

I think doing a little something for the framers is a great idea. I know I am flattered when someone even offers water on a job. The picnic table would be nice for breaks and offers a good place to lay out plans. You are still a bit cold up your way, so I would think coffee or a pot of chili or soup, maybe a cooler full of soft drinks, would be greatly appreciated. That sort of thing can get you the little extras that you would most likely never even recognize but make a big difference down the line. A few more minutes are spent making sure things are square or the extra blocking is added for a hand rail. You are showing them that you respect them as pro’s and they start taking the attitude that they want to prove that respect is justified.

MarkV

 

[JJT]

Re: First Floor Deck

Rob, It looks like you have a real nice site and a good start this earlier in the season.

Here are a few of the things I did to keep my carpenters happy:

Make sure they have access to bathroom facilities, even if you need to rent a portapot. We were living onsite so we always left the mobile home unlocked.

Once the house is closed in spring for a reddy heater - keep the place warm.

Spring for lunch every now and then.

Almost every tradesman I know enjoys a cold beer at the end of the week. Stop by at quitting time on Friday with a six pack or 2.

My wife always made sure they had coffee and cookies.

When mud season arrives make sure you spread some hay to keep the guys out of the mud. This will also keep them from tracking in an awful lot of dirt.

Keep things picked up, if they leave odds and ends laying around it's not safe. Framer's get paid to frame, cleanup often is not in the job description....

I was the GC and on the job sun up to sun down on the weekends and put in a few hours every day during the work week. If the guys showed up on the weekend my wife made sure they had a decent lunch. Even though we built 10 years ago I'm still friends with many of the guys that worked on the house.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: First Floor Deck

Good start. Beautiful Saturday, isn't it!

Anytime I have been involved with family building projects, we always made it a point to clean up the site every few days. Like the other folks said, it helps the workers focus on work and helps to keep the mud out, etc... They appreciate it as well.

We always stacked all of the shorts and scraps next to the dumpster in piles of 2x4, 2x6, 2x12, plywood, osb... whatever, you get the point. That way, if they needed a short, they could find it easier and were less likely to cut a long piece if one was readily available. Saved them time too.

 

[MDNY]

Re: First Floor Deck

RobS, it looks great. Can't wait to get started myself. I remember when my parents built their last house and talking with the framers (we lived onsite in a trailer home) and it was summer. Helped out with the general cleanup and got to enjoy the work. But that was 20 years ago and now I work all day like the rest of us.

So for me I will make it a point to meet everyone and bring out some cold drinks and such. The contractor has his own crews so the framing guys will be there for a while and I want them to be happy.

The deck sure looks big, until the walls go up then the rooms don't look so big. Just a few more weeks and we start.

 

[RobS]

Re: First Floor Deck

I spent quite a bit of time at the property yesterday. Graded out some of the ruts, though it was still too muddy in some places. Picked up a 55 gallon drum and collected up all the trash. Put scraps into a pile for the crew to burn if they want. I gathered (with FEL) all the concrete waste and built a walkway across a really muddy section to the temporary power connection. They should appreciate that /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif Finally, I transplanted the rose bushes and several other divisions/sprouts from our current house. If all goes well, we'll have a decent start on our landscaping out there /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: House - Foundation Capped

Been busy lately, hardly enough time to visit the house or TBN /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif This working for a living sure can get in the way of fun! Of course, with the new house I guess I'll be working for a lot more years /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

Heres a shot of the foundation capped off. I took the trusty 790 out there last weekend to do some grading for the crews and generally have fun. Not sure why, we've had a foot of snow since then, all sorts of trucks stuck and lots more ruts /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: House - First Floor Walls, Front

Here's a shot from this evening of the first floor walls nearly complete. View is from the front. Quite the muddy mess. Yesterday there was a lumber truck stuck so the framing crew brought out the telelift which will stay on site throughout framing. Nice piece of equipment /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: House - First Floor Walls, Rear

Also from today, view from the rear. You could say this is my end of the house /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif One door for the truck, one for the van and one for the tractor /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif