Saturday, September 25, 2010

Framing

The skeleton of the house is going up at breakneck speed.  The framing crew came out on Tuesday and after a delayed material delivery and a lot of head scratching, got started.  Tuesday was productive with two guys but Wednesday was explosive in how much was done.  Six carpenters and their foreman were working in two teams with the foreman calling out dimensions and directions all in Spanish.  As if this was not confusing and overwhelming enough for me to watch, the added language barrier made it over the top.  I must admit I did pick up a few new words in Spanish like "dos por cuatro" (two by four) and "un poquito más" (a little more) and the Mexican workers had very nice personalities and attitudes about their work.  
The kitchen post and beam construction

The screen porch
As of Thursday

A few mistakes in framing were made and after some meetings with Tim Posey the architect and David the foreman, solutions were being found and corrections made.  The biggest challenge has been to get the correct material on the job.  It seems that we run out of everything.  Either I am a terrible estimator or someone in the area is building a shed or barn and is needing a little extra material.  Either way, I am continuously making trips to the lumber yard.


The windows have arrived and by the time of this posting the second floor will have been framed.  I expect the roof to be on by Tuesday and windows installed by Wednesday.  A few more days of detail work and it will be time for siding and roofing material. 

Friday, September 17, 2010

Here we go.......

Checklist:  The foundation is complete.  The cellar waterproofing complete.  Temporary power and underground electrical lines are complete.  The inspector is coming out to do his final foundation and waterproofing inspection this morning. 

Now we are off.  The material takeoff is done and the  framing contractor is lined up to start on Tuesday.  Windows are on order and I am now in the process of choosing interior doors, flooring, and other trim and finishes.  I am looking for simple clean lines which I try to describe as Appalachian Farmhouse Zen or maybe Shakerish or a kind of simple Arts and Craft style.  No fancy moldings for me but plenty of large square cut shapes.  Simple square two panel doors in fir or pine, square barge moldings around doors and windows, light natural wood floors, some dark slate colored tile for countertops is what I have in mind.

I am expecting the framing crew of five will only need a couple of weeks before the entire house is framed, windows installed and dried in.  Then it will be roofing and siding time which is what I am also selecting now. 

There are so many decisions to make in such a short amount of time.  Even though I have been thinking about this for years, when it comes down to the wire, decision time, it gets scary and exciting.  It's something I'll have to live with for years. 

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Winter approaches


My friend Devon offered to help me split firewood this weekend in exchange for some help at her house burning a brush pile.  We had not counted on the rain but worked through it getting soaked and muddied in the process.  I rented a 30 ton hydraulic log splitter, which got the job done.  Up to this winter I have always split all my firewood a little bit at a time with a splitting maul.  That process was not bad but this year I had tons of firewood to split from all the trees that came down during excavation of the house site.  What I learned is that it is much better to split it all at once with a hydraulic splitter and to have some help doing it. 
The work was quick, efficient and enjoyable with Devon's help and smiles.  She is one wood splitting woman, I must say as I had to hustle just to stack what she was splitting.  The wood was just flying off that splitter and into the stacking pile.  All in all we must have split two cords in about four hours time.
I'll be at it again tomorrow but will only get about half of my wood pile split.  The rest will be wood for next winter.

Friday, September 10, 2010

The Overview

Thought it might be helpful to include a few photos so that you could get an overview of the property.
Entering the property from the east end.
 

 



The waterfall on the lower end of the property.
The pasture looking east from the back of the property.

South Elevation of the Farm House

Moving Right Along

This was done in one day.  When I was told that they were coming out to start work yesterday on the concrete walls and pilings I figured a mason and a helper would come out and it would take them about a week.  What actually happened is that a huge crew of masons (don't know exactly how many) showed up each with his own laser.  The job was completed the same afternoon.  This morning we had an inspection which passed with flying colors and then by noon the concrete truck was out there filling the block holes.  The foundation resembles something that you might think of when you say "Fort Knox".  I think this house will stand for a long long time.  Unfortunately the crew did not want to be photographed, as I guess you can imagine why.  Next we have to pour three round columns to support the deck and a slab in the root cellar, where I'll store all my goodies from the garden and orchard.  Then it's on to framing the structure.  I'll have my third price by Monday and hope to start the following Monday once I get the materials assembled on the job site. Spending winter in the farm house is looking promising.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Footings

This is the foundation, the base of the house, that which supports everything above, like the arch in your feet.  This foundation could support a 4 story building I am sure.  It is full of 5/8" steel rebar and 14 yards of concrete, which is 40% more than was calculated.
Other than the concrete crew being an hour late and my getting very nervous and going 40% over on the estimate, it went off without a hitch.  The guys actually had to scrape the last of the concrete out of the concrete pump and use compressed air to get the last few crumbs out of the hoses in order to finish the pour.  Whew!
Tomorrow the mason is scheduled to start putting up the concrete block walls and piers.  We should be ready to start framing by Monday.  I really need to get to ordering windows before these guys get ahead of me.  Maybe I'll be in before the end of the year after all.

Friday, September 3, 2010

The Foundation under Construction

Digging the footings
Today the real work began.  Two very competent machine operators drove up, unloaded two Bobcat machines and commenced to digging courtesy of Marty Williams of Foundation Specialties.  In only an hour or so they had the basement dug, leveled out and deposited the fill over on the drive where I needed some extra fill.  After the surveyor came out and laid out the corners they started digging the footings.  I want to stress the adjective, competent.  Even though these two guys spoke five to six words of English between them, they were able to make clear their questions, concerns and give me advice as to what should be done.  I couldn't be more pleased with their work.  When I left the job site at 6:00 P.M. they were still happily digging.   We are scheduled to pour the footings on Tuesday.

Jerry Henderson doing the site work
Now I must also give credit to Jerry Henderson shown at right.  Jerry was the master at creating the finished graded house site from a wooded and rocky hillside.  This huge excavator made short work of those trees but did get it's track knocked off once by a larger than life boulder.  The most amazing thing was watching Jerry swing the boom, curl the bucket, while simultaneously spinning the carriage by tracking forward on one track and tracking reverse on the other.  The movements of the machine were only an extension of him.  It was if I were watching a large yellow prehistoric creature effortlessly careen through the forest knocking over some trees and delicately nibbling on some.  I have GOT to get the video camera out there if he ever comes back.  In addition to having the house site ready to go, I also have a gravel driveway and a temporary power pole courtesy of our fine electrician, Phil Price. 
We are now under way.

Fake Farmer builds a real farm house

As some of you know, I am what is known in Asheville, in some circles, as a Fake Farmer.  That means that I wear Carharts, drive a pickup and have bumper stickers which reference chickens and eating local, that sort of thing.  I often have dirt under my fingernails and use the words "sustainability, permaculture, chicken tractor and soil" more often than most.  In order to make my life as a fake farmer more full time, I have taken on the project of building a small farm house, not fake, to live in.  That will mean, more time spent in the garden, on my tractor and at the farmer's market, hopefully selling and not buying.
This blog is for the two or three of you out there that may be interested in seeing photos of and hearing about the progress of the house construction.  We are only digging the footings but already have stories worth telling about hitting huge rocks, unstable footings, the EPA, the Transylvania Permit Department, architects and structural engineers and the experiences of a flat-lander building in the holler.
Stay tuned for photos and stories.