12/7/11 - Exterior Siding is complete (Finally)

Well after a year of green zip wall we finally have siding on the house.  Just in time for the snow.  We used a combination of maple plywood and pine ship-lap for the siding.



Just about done.  There is Eli up on the scaffolding, that has to be an OSHA violation.

View from Northwest corner

View from West

View from South

12/7/11 - Drywall finish and painting is done

During the last month and a half Kristin has knocked out a ton of work. First she finished all the drywall, a job that she says we should definitely hire out next time. She also primed and painted all said drywall. Lastly she oiled all the interior plywood. Now all thats left on the interior is floors, electrical finish, bathroom and kitchen build out.

10/26/11 - Plywood siding complete (almost)

The whole south side of the house is now sided.  As we stated in an earlier post we used finish grade maple plywood treated with a natural oil.  The horizontal seams are defined with Z flashing that matches the roof color. 

There is one small area on the North side of the house that will also get plywood siding.  This should be completed over the weekend as long as the weather holds.  Next step is the ship lap board siding that will cover the rest of the house.

10/16/11 - My First Deer

I killed my first deer this Sunday in the lower part of our field with a bow.  It was the second day of bow season and the young spike buck yeilded about 25 lbs of meat.  I butchered and processed the deer myself and the boys helped with some of the grinding.  We ate the tender loins and the heart within the first few days and they were absolutely delicious.  I am hoping to harvest 1 more deer before bow season ends.

10/1/11 - Siding

I finished siding the entry-way bump out today.  We are using finish grade maple plywood treated with a weather resistant oil.  The horizontal joints have an exposed metal flashing strip that is the same color as the roof (see detail photo below).  Exposed screws are used to attached the panels.  This type of siding will continue around the south side of the house and stop at the screened in porch.  The rest of the house will be ship lap pine boards. 

9/1 - ZIP LINE!!!

Grandma B and Grandpa Jim bought the boys a 150 foot zip line.  We just installed it last week.  Its really fun!!

9/5 - Sofits and Facia

The past week I have been busy on the sofits (space under the eves) and facia (face of the eve).  The sofit material is 1/4 inch maple plywood attached with stainless steel screws.  The facia is locally milled pine.

8/27/11 - Siding work & drywall finish continues

Metal siding to cover exposed foundation is complete (pictures below).  We have also been slowly working on finishing the drywall and building the shower stall.



7/26 - Drywall hanging complete

I have finished hanging all the drywall.  Kristin's parents have finished the the drywall upstairs and some down.  Kristin is going to tackle the rest.  I am now moving to the outside of the house to work on siding.



Drywalled kitchen

I also built permanent stairs to the basement.  It is so much nicer then using the ladder that has been there for a year.

Super steep basement stairs.

The start of the siding.  The exposed basement will be covered with the same material we used for the roof.  The wall will get a mixture of finish grade plywood and pine siding.



5/3/11 - More drywall and plywood

Enjoy some pictures of the wall progress

Plywood on loft wall

Plywood on ceiling

Kids room drywall finishing (thanks grandma and grandpa Richards)

Upper wall dinning room

5/16/11 - Drywall and Plywood

Now that the toungue and groove pine is done we are starting on drywall and plywood.  The east and west walls along with most interior walls will be drywall.  The loft wall, both sides, and the ceiling under the loft will have finish grade maple plywood.  

Finish grade maple plywood going on loft wall

Drywall in kids room

4/27/11 - Video pine installation

This is a short video of pine installation on the south wall.

4/24/11 - South wall complete

The South wall pine is finished. The Mudroom and small area in the bathroom remain. Then its onto some plywood and drywall

4/21/11 - More Interior Walls

Its spring break week so Kristin and the kids have been in Florida visiting her parents. I have been able to get a bunch of pine put up. The entire ceiling, along with with the skylight jambs, is done. Additionally the North wall of the loft is done. All that remains of the pine work is the downstairs South wall and the mudroom, which will be all pine.

Main room ceiling looking into loft

North wall of the loft
North wall loft (kids room)

4/10/11 - Interior Walls

The jamb extensions are done except for 2 sky lights. Those will be added as the ceiling is finished.

We are now putting up tongue and groove pine boards (milled locally). These will be the finish material for the ceiling, the north and south walls, and the bump-outs. The east and west walls will get drywall. The pictures below show the work on the bump-out in Kristin and Grey's bed room. The kids room is next.

This will be the detail for all the windows. No trim!!

Bedroom Bump-out

3/12/11 - Jamb Extenstions

Now that the insulation is complete the next step is to install jamb extensions on all windows and doors. Jambs are the part of the window or door that extend from the actual window out to intersect with the finishwall material (drywall, wood, ect). Windows and doors typically come from the factory with jambs that are made for 2x4 or 2x6 framed walls. Our walls are 7.25" deep so this requires custom jamb extensions. I am building ours out of 5/8" clear (no knots) pine and using pocket screws and glue to attach them.

Backside of jamb extension with pocket screw visible

Finished side of jamb extention

Using the pocket hole jig

In this video I have a horizontal component of a window jamb extension. I am using the jig to drill a series of angled pilot holes in the backside of the extension. I will then attach this piece to 2 vertical jamb extensions and another horizontal piece (using pocket screws). This will result in a 'picture frame' box that has the exact dimensions of the window. This box will be aligned with the existing factory jamb, glue is applied between the two, and pocket screws are inserted in the pre-drilled holes on the back side of the extensions and screwed in.

3/12/11 - Insulation inspection complete

We had our insulation inspection a couple weeks ago and passed after 1 minor correction.

2/9/11 - Side wall insulation

I took the day off work today. Our friend Andy, Kristin, and I worked on insulation for the entire day. Now that the rough plumbing and electrical are complete and all the insulation mesh is up (nice work Kristin) we can get serious about the insulation. Its dusty and dirty but fairly rewarding. Each stud bay is injected with cellulose until it feels like a firm mattress.

Andy filling the insulation blowerGrey filling the stud bays

2/6/11 - Rough Plumbing complete

The rough plumbing is finally done. All waste piping and supply piping is complete (even though we don't have a well yet). Now its full-on side wall insulation time. The blue and red pipes are supply lines. They are a material called PEX (cross linked polyethylene). It bends so no elbows or soldering are required. Great for a novice plumbing like me.

Bath sink plumbing.

Shower Plumbing

1/3/10 - Side Wall Insulation

We will be using dense pack cellulose for the wall insulation. Although the R value per inch is lower (R=3.5) then spray foam (R=6) it is much more environmentally friendly. It is 85% recycled newspaper (the average house will contain about 40 years worth or newspapers) and 15% Borate (a naturally occurring chemical that imparts mold, insect, and fire resistance/retardant properties).

We have borrowed an insulation blower (for the cellulose) from a friend. I can be seen here reaching into the hopper. Eli, Asa, and Grandpa Jim are collecting some cellulose that will be placed in the hopper.

Once the hopper is full it is turned on and 2 spinning mixers break up the cellulose. Asa can be seen here monitoring the hopper. A blower motor at the bottom of the mixer blows the cellulose through a tube and into the wall. Eli is operating the blower switch. We experimented with several methods. In the method above we screwed ply wood to the stud bays, drilled a hole in it, snaked a tube behind the plywood and filled the bay with insulation. The insulation packs so tight that you can remove the plywood and the insulation will remain. We decided that this method would require too much setup and too much wasted plywood. We opted for the method below.

This method requires stapling a special netting material very tightly across the studs. Then the insulation is blown between the netting and the exterior sheathing. This will allow us better visibility to ensure we achieve the proper insulation density. Eli operating the stapler, hey where's that kids ear protection. This process has just started and the upstairs is almost complete. Insulation won't happen for another couple weeks.

1/3/10 - Plumbing Rough-In

The plumbing rough-in is currently in progress. I have completed the waste piping and venting, which had to get done before the spray foam insulation. I have started the supply lines and should have those done in the next week or so. Sorry no pics right now.

1/3/10 - Roof Deck Insulation

In early December we had closed cell spray foam insulation applied to the roof, under the entry and bedroom bump-out which over hang the foundation, and on the rim joist. Although not the most environmentally friendly insulation it was a good choice for this roof. It not only provides high R value per inch, but creates an effective moisture barrier for our un-vented roof with big sky lights (always a leak potential).

Asa testing the foam with his new hammer

Ceiling of the great room

1/3 - Electrical Rough In Complete

In the beginning of November I completed the electrical rough-in. This consisted of placing all the outlets, switches, and lights; pulling the wires through the wall; making wire connections in each box; and connecting all the circuit breakers in the main panel. This was quite a learning experience since I had never wired an entire house before. This phase of the electrical work required an inspection and I was nervous he would find lots of errors. Fortunately I passed my inspection with only 2 corrections. If you look closely at the picture you can see blue boxes and yellow wires in the walls.

1/3/2011 - New years resolution......

.....is to update this blog on a weekly basis. Sorry to all (5 of you) who have been following this blog only to see no posts for the last 2+ months. I will catch everyone up in the following posts.

Thanks for you patience.