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Concrete leaks. That is an ugly truth. I tried to waterproof the roof as a DIY project initially. Not good. Eventually, I hired a professional roofer to redo the waterproofing. Turns out that was not so good either. Roof leaked. Roofer now out of business. Me out of luck. So, maybe the answer is a DIY repair of a professional job!
Speaking of DIY, more and more I am putting the family to work. Here is Will attacking the basement. Only later did he tell me the roller fell on the dirty floor while he was ‘helping.’ So much for the smooth wall finish!
Thought I could save a few nickels by doing my own electric trim. I really do understand the basics. I even understand when a box has double wires. But, what the heck does the red wire mean, when there is no corresponding neutral wire???
Another way to save money on the trim is to buy online. Eleven mocha trim pieces and seven are actually bronze, but with the same catalog number as the mocha. AARRGGHH. There is a reason for the bricks and mortar stores like HD and Lowes. And maybe with an eleven foot ceiling, nobody will notice.
For the bar counter, which is poured in place concrete, I used a couple of belt buckles for decoration. Covered in caulk during the pour, then avoided during the grind/polish sequence. The pictured buckle is Smokey the Bear in acknowledgement of the fire dangers all around our area, and our own effort to be fireproof.
Our dining room table was going to be a poured concrete project. We built the legs with block and mortar. But then, we decided to go with a marble top from Precision Waterjet in Wenatchee. Good choice. Seats ten. If we ever sell the house, the table is included! All that is missing is the turkey.
Steve
The siding is finished and our third color try at paint seems to be the right one. For a house to blend with the earth, it is a challenge where sometimes the earth is all brown and green and sometimes all white with snow.
One good thing about the crappy economy, sheetrock install pricing has gone from $1.05 per foot to $0.80! And so we are getting that done.
Debbie’s office will get a concrete countertop.
The railing work is done and meant to look like a cable bridge.
We started construction in July 2007 and never expected to be this long in getting it done.
The roof is growing in nicely. Weeds save money over other roofing materials
The waterfall is getting pieced together. In the field, I can only go about one level at a time so I have a firm surface to bond to.
In between, I used one inch glass tile to finish the wine cellar. Lets see, the movie room is done and with wine cellar is done. What are my priorities?
The granite countertops are installed. And do they ever look good!
Can you see the mountain through the window next to the fireplace? That is the image formed into the fireplace.
Siding is covering the last of the foam block. Honestly, it will be nice to cover that block forever!
Slow and steady, its getting done.
With the earth placed overhead, and the sprinkler system installed, the grass seed is already taking root. The house really is disappearing back into the landscape.
Inside, work advances slowly on multiple fronts. Kitchen appliances came out of storage and were wrestled into place. 32” appliance into a 30” opening. Hmmm. So it goes.
The unfortunate passing of Joe was memorialized in a plaque mounted at our granite cabin. It was nice to see Joe’s daughter again up from California and to share stories of Joe. He is really missed.
Finally started the entry waterfall. Each rock gets cut at least once. They laid out to get a good flow. Then mortared into place. Lots of guessing on how the water will flow. Too little, and the rocks are dry. Too much and it splashes out to the floor making it slippery. We’ll see.
Steve
Just one of many issues with a dirt roof is HOW to get the dirt onto the roof. Especially with a multi-level 4,200 square foot roof in need of six inches of fill. That is 2,100 cubic feet. That is 78 cubic yards. Or, to put it in visual terms, that is seven dump truck loads of dirt.
I followed a lead on a conveyor. It only reached twenty feet and was designed for shovels full of dirt in each segment. More for digging out a crawl space then for adding tons of fill.
I tried the guy that can shoot material with precision upwards of 70 feet. Sounded good. But at $145/hr for travel time between loads the math suffered. Then I thought about filling his truck with the material on site. But I had nothing to reach the 9 feet height to clear his truck sides.
Then somebody suggested a ‘fork lift’ with a bucket attachment. And here it is. They make them long enough to reach the whole roof, but none were available locally. So I settled on a 36’ reach and a couple of guys with wheelbarrows.
Already, it is looking dirty. And I like it.
Steve
The roof condition continually worsened. Turns out the roller applied membrane was not UV rated and was not even intended for a horizontal application. The distributer tried to make good with some patching material, but my confidence level deteriorated along with the roof.
A plan to apply two layers of heavy plastic seemed good, but the issue of friction slippage worried my engineer. And that worried me.
In the end, we hired the guys with the painted truck to apply a 45mil EPDM rubber sheath over the whole thing. Basically condomed the roof to protect against natures evils.
Katie sits on a rock at the rivers edge and wishes the house to be done.
Miller Stoneworks put together a time lapse slideshow of the fireplace project. It is really a fun two minute watch. Click on this link to watch it http://millerstoneworks.com/html/slideshow.swf
Steve
With the deep window wells, we went with custom cut granite on the sills. No maintenance. No worries of condensation. The fact that it takes millions of years for granite to form is, ahem, not a reflection on how long it takes me to build this house.
Dining room ceiling looks like a million bucks.
Living room ceiling better reflects the nature theme of the fireplace. Another million bucks. Look that is.
Kitchen cabinets are filling in. plenty of room for the paper plates and plastic ware.
Only room really close to done is the movie theatre. There is son Will; living the good life.
Debbie rakes for screws and nails with a large magnet. And asks why don't all tools perform so well.
The roof should be ready for the next layer, but, the inverted lunar landscape is causing concern. Just another of the million issues to be dealt with.
Steve
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