Long road to home.

ENG18LT · May 17, 2013

ultrarunner said:
Really would like to know your opinion of the perma-columns when it is all said and done...

I will be sure to let you know. Feel free to ask me if I don't cover something.

So far I am impressed with how straight and square they are. They are definitely and added expense. I like the idea of not ever having to worry about rot or twisting. When the inspector saw them there he couldn't stop raving about how highly he thought of them. I will post more tomorrow after we get some placed.

mjncad · May 18, 2013

Good choice on having the mixer truck come in versus mixing the stuff yourself.

ENG18LT · May 18, 2013

Good first day. We got three walls up. Checked corners for square and found they are off by 1/16". Not bad at all. Had some great help from wife's cousin and another friend from up the road. Hoping to get rest of poles in tomorrow.

Enjoy, I'm off to dinner.

ultrarunner · May 18, 2013

Wow... 1/16 is great and it is nice to know a few people that will help out...

My elderly neighbors... those 75+ are the most helpful and generous folks I know and anything I need is there for the asking and I seldom ask...

One fellow that is 87 goes around with a portable air tank I gave him years ago and checks every one's tire pressures... he asked me to bring him two pressure treated posts last week and this morning I woke up to find both of my cars washed and tires detailed...

Enjoy supper!

dave1949 · May 18, 2013

Is there some sort of bracket used to attach the lower girts to the perma-columns? How does that work?

1/16" inch across corners is great. A metal tape measure, the long wind-up kind, is good to have for those sorts of measurements. The vinyl and plastic types are too stretchy over a distance, especially on hot days.

mjncad · May 19, 2013

ENG18LT said:
Checked corners for square and found they are off by 1/16". Not bad at all.

When it comes to buildings, that's little RCH tolerances in my book! Good job! :thumbsup:

ENG18LT · May 19, 2013

dave1949 said:
Is there some sort of bracket used to attach the lower girts to the perma-columns? How does that work?

The splash boards are attached by drilling a hole using a hammer drill. Then driving a galvanized split drive nail through the wood and into the concrete. I thought I could use Tapcon fasteners, but the dealer said don't waste the money trying. Apparently the 10,000psi concrete just breaks them off! We are hoping to be able to start the splash board on Monday. Once I do I'll get back to you guys on how it went.

So far I am happy with the Perma-Column product. I would suggest having a way to mechanically lift and move them. We are using a boom that I built for the FEL QA.

ENG18LT · May 19, 2013

dave1949 said:
Wow, that's great progress. I was surprised to see the perma-columns were shipped pre-assembled. Hadn't thought of that way. But that makes sense for pole positioning and labor saving.

You can get just the bases, but then you have to build the posts yourself out of 2x6 boards. These premade ones are glued together and the butt joints are fingered jointed and glued. After that the posts are run through a planer to true up and square the posts. It would be very difficult to produce as quality a post onsite, even for the best guys out there.

ENG18LT · May 19, 2013

mjncad said:
When it comes to buildings, that's little RCH tolerances in my book! Good job! :thumbsup:

Thank you sir. I love the fact that when you stand at the corners and look down the wall everything is in a nice straight line in both directions.

ENG18LT · May 19, 2013

ultrarunner said:
Wow... 1/16 is great and it is nice to know a few people that will help out...

I certainly am blessed to have their help. I wouldn't be half as done without them.

bdeboer · May 19, 2013

Great progress, is there a gap where the concrete and the wood meet?

ENG18LT · May 19, 2013

bdeboer said:
Great progress, is there a gap where the concrete and the wood meet?

No gap. There's 3/8" steel plate.

ENG18LT · May 19, 2013

Day two of poles setting is over. We are finished setting the poles. All 29 are in. Very thankful for the help I received over the last two days. Going to shoot some grade marks later to prepare for putting on girts and splash boards.

ENG18LT · May 20, 2013

Day 3 of barn building is over. Was by myself today so not a lot of progress, but some is better then none.

I started the day shooting grade elevations to determine where the gravel is highest. Once that was done I marked the poles where the top of the splash boards needed to be placed. I am using 2x8 treated lumber for this. The siding will start 3" below the top. This keeps the siding about 4" off the ground. The 3" mark will be where all wall heights will be measured from.

Setting the 2x8's wasn't bad. After each pole was marked I used a couple clamps to hold it in position while drilling. The holes where made with 3/16" masonry bits. Then a galvanized "split drive" nail was driven to secure the board. Actually worked well. Wrist was numb after drilling 92 holes with a hammer drill, but it was worth it.

I spent the rest of the day hanging girts on the two 12' sidewalls. Only thing left is to put headers on them to support the mono trusses.

Probably could have got more done but I kept taking water breaks as the sun was out in full force today.

Hope I didn't ramble too much.

Scooter78 · May 20, 2013

Looking good! Also I would not worry about how many water breaks you take, I know it takes me several days in the sun to get my body back use to working in the heat as well. Keep up the good work, looks like you are having fun.

dave1949 · May 20, 2013

Looks straight to me Lee. Take all the breaks you need. Remember, you are on a "long road", you have to pace yourself.

ENG18LT · May 21, 2013

Thanks guys, I always look forward to everyone's replies and input.

I spent a few hours early this morning getting the mandoor posts dug and set as well as putting up some girts on the back wall.

Couldn't resist parking inside it and snapping a photo!

dave1949 · May 21, 2013

Lee, I forgot to thank you yesterday for the description of drilling & nailing the splashboards -- so thanks!

ENG18LT · May 22, 2013

dave1949 said:
Lee, I forgot to thank you yesterday for the description of drilling & nailing the splashboards -- so thanks!

You're welcome.

ENG18LT · May 22, 2013

Today we managed to set the 2x12 headers for the mono trusses to sit on. Then we tackled the 40' LVL's, two 14" and two 11 7/8". The 11 7/8" will support the "inside" end of the mono trusses. The 14" will get ijoist brackets and support the second floor. We laid out our elevations for the LVLs then added shear blocking to the posts. I made a boom for the tractor that we used to set the poles with and again for the LVLs.