Archive for June, 2006
Finally — plywood is going on the roof. We’re using 5/8 inch plywood, attached with construction glue, ring-shank nails, and some big screws (the belt and suspenders approach to keeping the roof in place in high winds).
Originally we planned to do everything but the electric ourselves, but when the weather got hot I contacted a subcontractor about doing the roof. His estimate was $6,000 to roof my dinky little house … after I stopped laughing we moved ahead with doing it ourselves. Marshall brought along an extra set of hands, and Ed has been a big help.
We also have put Azek trimboards on the rafter ends. It is 1-inch thick PVC stuff that mimics wood without rot or painting. Seems to be a quality product. We attach it with the same 10d stainless steel nails I used on the porch floors.
June 29th, 2006
It’s friday, so I started the day by picking up some pecan buns and doughnuts from the Corner Bakery. Yum. Then I bought more Simpson Strong-Tie connectors from the local building supply.
I spent the morning nailing in hurricane ties, rafter-ridge straps and other metal connectors that will (hopefully) help hold the house together if a hurricane hits our stretch of the coast. They’re a bit of a pain because the nailing often has to happen in tight spaces. Such is life.
Marshall had to figure out how to trim the ends of the rafters. Not easy two stories up. He finally tried some cool scaffolding-thingees that hang right on the stud wall, which were supplied by my very helpful neighbor John. The metal platform brackets are placed on the outside of the wall and bolts extend past the studs to a 2×4 on the inside of the wall. Works like a charm — very stable and sturdy.
A massive thunderstorm put an end to our workday early in the afternoon. Photos of the storm approaching:
Next week — the roof goes on, one way or another.
June 24th, 2006
I got to the house early this morning. The sun was already bright and turning the water from last night’s thunderstorm into steam. Here’s the view of the house from the east — looks like it’s out in the middle of nowhere, but it’s actually close to the center of town –
The Onancock Carnival (my next door neighbor) should be open this time of year, but it’s not and it never will be again. Soon to be just another subdivision.
We finished framing the gable end walls today and began on the bathroom/kitchen wing roof. That will be the last of the framing (yeah!) and sometime in the next few days we hope to gather a few people for a “sheathing party” to get this thing covered in plywood (hint hint).
June 21st, 2006
We’ve had two days rained out this week and another day lost to a trip to Salisbury for supplies that we couldn’t get locally. So we were happy to have a sunny Friday to get back to construction. Today was porch roof rafters day.
First we built the little stub wall that extends up from the top-plate of the main east-side wall to meet the underside of the porch/stairwell roof rafters. Then Marshall did some quick calculations and cut the rafters. That was complicated by the fact that the stairwell extends out a little farther than the porch, but the roof over both will be the same plane. Anyway … he cut the “birds-mouths” on the rafters and it all fit correctly. Good job Marshall.
I hauled the rafters up to the second floor and installed some of them. I’ll try to finish the rest tomorrow.
Yours truly standing in the “loft” of the upstairs bedroom:
June 17th, 2006
As we build the roof, rain soaks my house-in-the-making every night. It rained so much on Monday that we didn’t work at all. That Advantech subfloor is getting a real test, and it’s holding up well. Each morning I sweep the water off the subfloor and we get to work. It doesn’t seem to be doing damage but it will be reassuring to get it all under roof.
All the rafters over the main portion of the house were finished on Friday. We also put most of the studs in one gable end. I’m still trying to finalize the design for openings in the gables. Put in a high window or a vent? And how are we venting the roof at the top? There’s nothing like making up your mind at the last possible moment, but that’s been our process so far. All the details are worked out as we build.
The roof ventilation question is difficult because the cathedral ceiling space in the bedroom has turned out to be very dramatic and I don’t want to mess it up. More thought is required.
Getting the 24-foot-long 2×10 ceiling joists up on top of the second-story walls was an adventure. Luckily the delivery man from OBS Building Supply went beyond the call of duty to help me and Marshall muscle them up there. Great service!
Two ceiling joists bolt to every other rafter. The reason the joists are so long is that we’re running them the full width of the house — including over the porch and stairwell. They tie it all together. It’s all 2×10 lumber and makes a heavy-duty roof frame. As always, click on my house building pictures to enlarge:
June 9th, 2006
We’ve finally reached the top of my new house — we’ve started to frame the roof. As you can see in the photos below, the ridge is supported by temporary posts and the first few rafters are up. The main portion of the roof is 12:12 pitch; which is the standard on older homes in town. The pitch will be shallower over the porch and stairwell.
Speaking of the porch — a close look at the photos will show that the floor for the second-story porch has been laid. Yes, it’s mahogany like the first-floor porch. The underside of the second-story mahogany boards are visible and are the ceiling of the first-floor porch. It’s gorgeous.
June 7th, 2006
Carpenter bees are trying to eat my house. They’re overjoyed to find all that unfinished lumber standing out in the open — ring the dinner bell! Two days ago I found 4 holes they’d started to dig. I squirted some subfloor glue in the holes and noticed a bee around them later, probably very upset. Yesterday I caught one digging a new hole next to a hole I’d glued shut. I grabbed a 2×4 and crushed the little bugger (actually not so little — carpenter bees are the Godzilla of the bee world). My house is offically now a bee-free zone.
Maybe the bees are attracted to European lumber. Has anyone else noticed all the lumber from Germany, Austria, etc in the lumber yards? It’s all that my local building supply company stocks. Sort of like “fine Corinthian leather” — my house is built from “fine German spruce”. Maybe we get it here because we’re so close to the port of Norfolk. Or maybe while the American lumber industry is protesting against Canada, Europe is taking over. I had assumed that the Old World ran out of timber hundreds of years ago.
June 1st, 2006
