Icicle Earth Home

Turkey time

2009-11-19T20:52:00.001-08:00

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

Paint by the numbers

2009-10-12T08:56:00.001-07:00

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.

Priorities

2009-09-14T07:34:00.001-07:00

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.

Grass is always greener

2009-07-27T07:11:00.001-07:00

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

Dirt

2009-06-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

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

Like teenage acne

2009-05-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

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

Take nothing for granited

2009-04-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

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

Its been awhile

2009-03-25T17:12:00.001-07:00

And things aren’t quire the same without Joe. Nevertheless, the project marches on.

Sheetrocking hides a myriad of issues, ahem, and gives definition to the space. We pay for sheetrocking by the square foot. Not of the house, but of the number of sheets consumed. So, my job is to make sure nothing too large gets tossed out.

The wine cellar woodwork looks nice enough to be on a fine sailboat. The wood was a garage sale score. Strode made it sweet. The door, however, was ordered at 6’ tall and eight weeks later showed up at 60” tall. Maybe it would fit on a sailboat.

Many people never get around to finishing the garage, so we did ours first. Of course, who knows if we will ever finish the rest of the house!

Kitchen cabinets are piling up ready for install.

Our faux copper tin ceiling for the dining room is all done.

The living room ceiling is tongue and groove cvg cedar. Terry is prepping it.

Onward and upward.

Steve

A Good Man Gone

2009-02-27T23:21:00.000-08:00

Klaus to his parents. Joe to the rest of us. And no ordinary Joe indeed. February 27 marks the too early passing of Klaus Joseph Best. He will be deeply missed by many.

Joe came to me in response to a yard work ad. Not sure if I should hide the kids or my liquor, instead I gave him a one day try out. Four years later, I find it hard to imagine a work day without him.

Together we built the spirit trail to the waterfall. The next summer we built a stone cabin. Joe found a picture in a fancy magazine and was proud to see his rock work was equal. Indeed, it was better.

He had my back during the house project and looked forward to the day he could just show up to mow the yard. As money ran low, Joe would often say he would work for free just to make sure it got done.

And now he is going to have to work for free. ‘Cause I still need him on the job and I don’t know how to pay him in heaven.

We will miss the German Chocolate cakes he baked for our family. His devotion and loyalty never wavered. Joe was an irascible son-of-a-bitch and never politically correct. But we loved him for his honesty and, of course, his weather channel updates.

Today, the world lost one of the good guys.

Steve

Seeing stars

2009-02-26T18:41:00.001-08:00

The electrician forgot to schedule the inspection. Then we find out inspections aren’t regular anymore with all the layoffs. Then we finally get inspected, but don’t pass. So the sheetrocker was delayed, which I suppose excused the plumber for not getting his work done on time.

But then the electrical inspector showed back up early and passed us. So, the sheetrocker juggled projects and got things going.

Meanwhile my pet project has been the theatre room where you can’t see the speakers, but you can see the stars! The little LED lights randomly blink on and off.

Since we had to supplement the insulation, we made a grid over the dining room. Wait ‘till you see the tin ceiling Debbie picked out!

Course, if the economy continues south, we’ll be eating out of tin cans

Steve

Fire in the hole

2009-02-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

The fireplace masons delivered on the promise to have a fire by valentine day. It was a nice surprise for Debbie. Romance in the dust!

The kids expressed their individual personalities painting out the three garage locker rooms.

Steve

Now you see it; now you don't

2009-02-10T22:44:00.000-08:00

The inside rockwork in the stairway is nearly done. Buried behind is one of the leaks that hopefully is never to be seen again.

Joe doubts my low voltage wiring expertise as we string more and more cable of varying colors, thicknesses and codes. Riser, plenum, Cat this dog that. All will be forgotten if only the systems all work.

The pictured wall in the movie room has been primed and is ready for paint. Hidden behind are three large speakers. Its not what you see, its what you hear!

The County accepted my argument on the R-value of earth over the roof. Even so, we are insulating the sheet metal and exposed concrete wherever possible. Even in a warm room, the metal stayed cold to the touch. Better safe, then drafty.

Fireplace guys are reaching their own peak of sorts. Glad I didn’t pay for the fireplace by the pound.

Steve

Sound of music

2009-02-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the goal of less too clean, we opted for a built-in speaker system from Stealth Acoustics. More then built-in, when done it is invisible. No grill. They get dry walled flush and then painted same as the wall.

Course that means they sit kinda deep in the wall. And with concrete walls, well . . . I guess that is what rotohammers are for.

Snow Creek Wall as seen from our property. And Snow Creek Wall as seen in the face of our Rumford fireplace.

Steve

The Egyptians

2009-01-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

I don’t know how the Egyptians ever built the pyramids without the aid of a Toro Dingo. Rated to lift 700 pounds, we put it to the test with the mantle rock.

If it is still up there come morning, it will be a good thing indeed!

Steve

Miller Time

2009-01-27T18:03:00.001-08:00

Zachary Miller spends a whole day fine tuning the two pillar rocks to support the mantle rock. Glad I am not paying ‘by the rock’!

Although the pictures are all of the fireplace, Jarred is busy framing in the nooks and crannies, Travis continues to line and level the walls in advance of the sheet rockers. Terry, when not in court, drills for cable runs. Joe helps me with cables grumbling out loud what the hell is the point of it all. Strode is finishing the central vac install. And the sheetrockers are ahead of schedule. Lee is nearly done with the inside Eldorado stone work.

And me, well I just write the checks and take credit when things go well.

Steve

Contemplating and hanging

2009-01-24T18:19:00.001-08:00

The fireplace flue and block is done and now comes the creative part, as Michael and son Zachary contemplate our objective of a ‘spilled’ rock foundation for the Rumford.

Meanwhile, the sheet rockers are hanging the garage, which we hope to finish completely and then use as a shop for the rest of the house.

Steve

Evolution

2009-01-22T06:35:00.001-08:00

Building a house is an evolutionary process. The bottom flight of stairs were originally intended to be open, with a metal rail. That evolved into a framed pony wall to save money. That evolved into a full height wall. The full height wall evolved into a surface for extending the Eldorado stone effect. Finally, the bottom was converted to a column to complete to stone effect.

Evolution can be a good thing.

The Rumford fireplace will reach the ceiling today. Like east and west building train tracks to meet in the middle, we will see if the chimney flue set on the roof (in concrete) matches the flue being built up from the floor.

Wiring for the distributed audio/video/intercom/headache is underway. Where there is not just four cables, there will eventually be 64 CAT5 cables, plus other assorted wires. Makes me reminisce for a couple of cans and a string.

Steve

Best things are in life are free

2009-01-16T07:32:00.001-08:00

With the early snow melt, our fireplace masons strolled through the loose rocks up the hill. Eureka! The perfect rock for the mantel poked through the snow – just begging to be brought in from the cold.

Three guys, a couple of sacrificial sleds, and a helping hand from Sir Isaac's favorite topic and everybody is happy.

Steve

Rumford rises

2009-01-14T20:11:00.001-08:00

Count Rumford perfected the open fireplace two hundred years ago, and we were glad to find a local mason to tackle the project. 48” tall and only 18” deep. Looks odd. But who am I to argue with history.

The radiant heat is coursing through all floors and works almost too good. Terry is stripping (his shirt and the wall) getting ready for the entryway waterfall.

Lee is nearing completion of the stairway rockery.

Travis is line leveling the walls getting ready for drywall.

First to be drywalled will be the garage – starting end of next week!

Steve

Behind door number?

2009-01-02T18:52:00.001-08:00

The house itself is square and boxy in so many respects that we wanted to contrast with some circles.

The front door is magnificent. Only a single entry given the harsh weather. The other exterior doors carry forth the circle pattern.

Finally, we are weather tight.

I am also adding some arches before the sheet rockers show up.

Circles and squares. What could be better!

Steve

Window to my world

2008-12-16T20:30:00.000-08:00

With four guys, seven windows were installed the first day. 14 windows went in the second day. And then . . .

Then it was time for the really big window in the living room. So big, it was in two parts. It had to be pieced together, then taken apart. A two stage platform was built to support it and the workers. But with two days effort, it went in. and it showcases the magnificent view.

Meanwhile, we got the basement fireplace going beautifully, but the doors (that were on the truck) turned out to be as yet not fabricated. So we are heating the neighborhood while waiting on the doors.

But the windows are perfect. And that is a good thing.

Steve

Windows and door

2008-12-11T06:57:00.000-08:00

Windows (plural) arrived a day early. Door (singular) arrived, but not the six exterior doors that were due 11/14. Then 12/7. Now due 12/16. Aarrgh.

The circle in the entry door will go well, I think, with the compass rose circle in the entry floor.

It was pretty late into the evening before we finished transferring the windows from the semi, to the pick up, to the garage. By my preliminary count, we are missing one big window. Double aarrgh if that proves true.

At least the deck and firepit are done enough to host the Christmas family photo.

Steve

Looking up

2008-12-04T07:24:00.001-08:00

Day two of the elevator install. And the cab is being pieced together. It feels solid and is very quiet. Not sure of the speed.

Snow melt portion of the hydronic system was activated. Through a heat exchanger smaller then a shoebox, the hot water heat is transferred to the glycol and then pumped through the deck and driveway. The digital readout shows the temperature going into the deck (95.1) and the return temp (62.7). The return temp started at 45 degrees. At the heat accumulates in the deck the return temp should level off, although I am not sure at what temp. Pretty exciting!

Fire in the hole

2008-12-02T18:24:00.001-08:00

The first gas appliance to get going was the water heater. Not nearly as nice a photo op as the outdoor fireplace.

Elevator guys are half way done. I think.

And we went ahead and installed the basement NanaWall. It is an impressive set of doors. One opens to the left. The rest bifold to the right. The roller system allows for one handed operation.

Tomorrow we start heating the floors.

Steve

Bursting bubbles

2008-12-01T17:43:00.001-08:00

I thought the plumbing system could be contained within a 4 x 8 space. What was I thinking! The plumbing has grown around the corner and traveled down the wall. As sophisticated as it is, when it didn’t hold pressure all it took was a spray bottle of soapy water to track down the culprit.

Ever put together that Christmas toy and have pieces left over? That is kind of like how I feel when I look at all the rebar pieces left over. Hmmm.

Garage doors are in. we used the door type more familiar with mini storage. I really like the look, and we beefed up the actual doors with insulation. And check out the size of the motors!

Passed gas. Inspection that is. So, tomorrow I can fire up the firepit and start warming up the floors.

Steve
Www.icicleearthhome.blogspot.com

Off Track

2008-11-25T17:22:00.000-08:00

The other title I thought of was ‘up in smoke.’

Yes, I got the roof on. And yes we are making progress.

Always before, with the cost overruns and delays I could fall back on a good economy and rising real estate values. Now that cushion feels particularly thin!

Speaking of smoke, the chimney guy has put me off more times then I can count. Turns out he set a 4 and 8 pipe into the concrete, without noticing the fireplace called for a 4 and 7 pipe. Imagine trying to find a 4 to 4, 7 to 8 adapter! The pipe store suggested I get a different fireplace.

The focus has to be getting back on track. Chimney adapter is supposed to be here tomorrow. Elevator gets installed next week. Floor heat should be done this week. Windows and doors early in December.

Steve

Pipe dreams

2008-11-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

The hydronic heat system is taking shape. Five direct domestic zones. Two indirect snow melt zones. Eight pumps in all. If my plumber leaves me before its done, all is lost!

Leaks through the deck antagonize me. My headless workers are exposing from below with the idea to patch above and below. The goop for above is not just a sealer, it is a healer/sealer. You have to be well heeled just to buy it at $150/gallon. Hence the foam dam to focus all the healing directly into the cracks!

Agony is not restricted to leaks. The materials cost to bring the R value up to code is about $1.15 per square foot of roof space. Makes me wish I didn’t have 15 football yards of roofing!

Steve
http://www.icicleearthhome.blogspot.com

"R" U Kidding

2008-11-13T17:27:00.000-08:00

Here we are, building an entire house out of ICF’s (insulated concrete forms), and come to find out that the roof does not meet minimum code requirements for “R” value. Seems concrete has nearly zero “R” value and the roof forms feature one skinny foam area that brings down the overall rating.

If its not one thing . . .

On the bright side, we are still getting good midday sun in the middle of November. Our old house, on the other side of the river, had no sun at all for almost four months!

Steve
Icicleearthhome.blogspot.com

Getting the shaft

2008-11-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

Pictured from above and from below (can you tell which is which?) is the elevator shaft. We just opened it up for the first time and the sight was impressive. Hopefully it will pass muster with the building department without having to sheetrock it.

Nov 6th marked the first day of snow fall on our earth home. So probably won’t finish the earth roof until spring.

H2O issues plague the supposedly waterproof deck. Not good, but better now then after sheetrock.

Steve
http://Www.icicleearthhome.blogspot.com

Bringing the heat

2008-11-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

The bearded fellow is our senior fireplace mason who was on hand to guide the delivery of rocks (imagine that) for the Rumford fireplace. Foam removal continues on the host wall.

The outdoor firepit is ready for ignition. Just need a key from the plumber. Seriously.

The master bedroom fireplace is getting framed in. the basement wood stove was retrieved from the elevator shaft where is sat quietly for months.

The plumber is up to his eyeballs in pumps and valves helping me to figure out the hydronic heat.

One way or another, we will have heat!

Steve

Masterpiece

2008-11-03T20:18:00.000-08:00

Not my house, but instead the Frank Lloyd Wright house that serves as inspiration.

The Wenatchee World uses ‘Masterpiece’ in the article title but it is too early to say how our house will turn out.

Read the very excellent article at:

http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081103/BIZ/711039991/1001

Steve

Emulsify

2008-10-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

Def. “a colloid in which both phases are liquids”. Whatever the heck that means. But as it relates to the black goop on the roof, it means it has to be applied at temperatures above 50 degrees. So, each afternoon when the sun peaks around Wedge Mountain, we race to the roof to apply another coat of the waterproof membrane.

It has been a tumultuous week for sure.

The 4x4 shoring came down without a hitch. No sag, no give. Rock solid.

Or maybe not so solid. The rains came down and my waterproof deck leaked into the bedrooms below. Not good.

Also not good is the Nana Wall, or folding door product that I bought last summer after seeing it at a home show. Made in Germany, it is essentially a folding wall of glass panels. Very cool. Also very expensive. I ordered three of them referencing a 6’8” door. I agreed to increase the height to 6’10” when they said the cost was the same. What I didn’t know, was Nana’s measurement is of the ‘unit’, not the door. And a 6’10” unit is actually only a 6’4” door. Another problem to solve.

The regional daily newspaper came by to do a feature story on the house. Should be out on Monday.

In between this that and the other, I settled the last of the easement issues with the Irrigation District. Whew.

Certainly not a boring week.

Steve

How many

2008-10-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

Guys does it take to install a window?

Well, when it is 50+ square feet double pane fully framed and needs to go over a rock wall, it takes everybody!

And what a great visual step forward to have windows going in.

Steve

Plop, plop

2008-10-22T21:51:00.001-07:00

Fizz, fizz. Oh what a relief it is. Over a period of two days we plopped the last 70 yards of concrete on the roof. We beat the weather!

Brian tried his skateboard and gave it a thumbs up.

The guys all deserve a pat on the back. And that is about all I can afford to give anymore!

Next week we get to remove the shoring and actually see the clear spans. Anybody wanna buy a few thousand lineal feet of 4x4 material?

Steve

Glass half full

2008-10-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

The clouds parted, the mud flowed. And the building stayed strong.

With the exception of a concrete truck that broke down enroute, the pour was super smooth.

The walls and joists are officially done! Another 70 yards next week and the roof slab will be ready for dirt.

We scaled back part of the crew and will trim again in a few days.

Steve

http://icicleearthhome.blogspot.com

Gather all ye faithful

2008-10-15T20:30:00.001-07:00

It’s been a grind, getting the roof ready for concrete. Actually four roofs. And parapet walls suspended in mid air. Did I mention the high point of the roof is 44 feet above the ground?

The engineer swears he did all possible to simplify the design. All I know is the design calls for everything to be done before everything else. We had a site visit with the engineer. We had a site visit with the manager of the concrete supplier. We had a site visit from the pump truck managers. All these site visits so that Murphy does not pay a visit.

Thursday is pour day. 74 yards. That means we are dumping almost 300,000 pounds onto foam forms held up by scabbed together 4x4s. That’s 150 tons of wet mud.

So, gather all ye faithful and think positive thoughts for my crew.

Payroll

2008-10-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

We’ve borrowed two crews and added to our own. Payroll is running $10,000 per week. Holy moley. I am both amazed at how much work needs to get done, and how much work is getting done. And to think I was led to think this house could get built in the first year!

At least the economy is strong and credit flows easily. I offered to pay with my shares of WAMU. Hmmm. No takers.

Steve

Fiddler on the roof

2008-09-25T16:51:00.001-07:00

Its a mad rush before the weather changes.

I built a gas firepit for the deck. Yes, that’s real river rock. The plumber is old school and runs gas with iron pipe. Pictured is Ben with a tool that cuts pipe to length and threads it too.

The roof pitch, while slight, is making lots of extra scrap out of the foam. So much cutting that Strode invented an offset blade for the sawzall.

Debbie painted up some hardi-panel that we are going to try for soffit material. We really wanted metal, but it was cost prohibitive.

Tomorrow we meet with the engineer and finalize the plan of attack on pouring the roof.

Steve

Tether ball

2008-09-17T20:08:00.001-07:00

The electric utility installed a power pole today. All we need now is a rope and a tether ball. Most new houses get power underground. But, with 600 amp service, and the distance to get to the back of the house, underground was not affordable or practical. So, the power pole. Not sure if this counts towards my landscaping requirements . . .

Very excited to see some interior framing (Katie’s closet pictured here). We are committed to the roof being on, so it is full speed ahead.

Three crews working together. And so far everybody is getting along famously. Pictured are Bill and Lee, who not only work together, but are in fact together.

Strode forecasts four more pours to get it done.

Steve

Mission Accomplished

2008-09-13T17:59:00.001-07:00

Hey, if GWB can say that in relation to Iraq, then I can say it here. Besides, our recent mission has bee to hire additional crew. We got a dynamic duo from Stefanko and a terrific trio from Duncan. And we got a lot of work done this week.

The roof forms are in place over the garage and partially over the living area. Even with a slight pitch, the garage roof is tall enough for an indoor basketball hoop at full height.

With the determination that we will get a roof on before winter, we are gambling by also going forward on windows and doors. Hope for a mild start to winter!

Steve

Finally Finished!

2008-09-07T19:56:00.001-07:00

No, not the house. But, I scored at a garage sale and got enough used skis to finish the front of our granite rock cabin on the property. It feels good to mark something off the list.

Help is on the way. Two different contractors are sending guys in to work with our main guy. Parking and personalities will be touchy at the start. But at least our tools are organized and ready to go.

Also getting ready is our driveway. The dirt work guys make amazing visual changes in short order.

And the roof. The roof! Strode got a sampling of the roof beams in place. I can’t wait to see what a crew of 6+ new guys get done next week.

Steve

Steve (heart) Debbie

2008-09-03T06:44:00.001-07:00

And hopefully Debbie will still (heart) Steve when this project finishes. We are progressing on multiple fronts, but still no extra help as yet.

Bath tubs were delivered. Pictured is the cast iron 6-footer for the boys. We got this thinking it would be indestructible. Course, moving it to the lower level almost destructed us!

I am very pleased with the upper row of windows. Whereas the lower row opens to the river and trees, the upper opens to the mountain tops and sky above. Two completely different views.

Lee continues to impress with her veined rock mix of real and artificial stone.

A draining end

2008-08-29T21:48:00.001-07:00

After setting the propane tank, I called for our first County inspection since April. The County said it had issued a stop work order back in May when the USFS squawked about the easement encroachment. Oops.

And near panic. But I had settled up with the USFS, and had paid the ransom (excuse me “mitigation contribution”). So, a bunch of phone calls and faxes plus a pro active building inspector (thankfully) and things were back on track. We passed inspection.

“Oh, by the way your building permit is expired” was his departing comment. Geesh.

I didn’t pay much attention to the storm water engineer report until the called for dry wells showed up. 8’ tall and buried in a 10’ deep hole with yards and yards of drain rock. And I need two of them! All this to catch storm water from a earth roof and a driveway made with pervious concrete. But the code doesn’t recognize a roof that retains water. And pervious driveways are counted as impervious surfaces. So I expect the wells will stay dry.

My motley crew is plugging away. We interviewed (begged) three different contractors to borrow extra crew. No commitments yet, but hopefully . . .

Steve

Family affair

2008-08-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

Debbie, her dad, and young son Will helped remove shoring from the wall pour. We are all feeling the time constraints.

The septic drain field install only encountered one difficult rock. Bigger then a VW Bug. Heavier then a Hummer. We just dug it a bigger hole out of the way and rolled it with the aid of gravity.

The science of drain fields is way beyond the ol’ perc test. In this pressurized dose system, we actually measure the height of the liquid squirt before rotating the pipes to spray into the rocks. Wow.

I ordered a 1,000 gallon propane tank. What was I thinking? 16 feet long, but all underground.

Trying to find some more workers to speed things up. Cross your fingers for us.

Steve

There she blows!

2008-08-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Pour days are always tenser and more chaotic then any other day. There is so much time spent in anticipation and preparation. Then we have to schedule the special inspector, the pump truck and the concrete deliveries. So much is out of our control. And in the end, right or wrong, concrete is permanent.

We got off to a bad start. the special inspector was not aware of the need to inspect the rebar. Then our designated pump truck was delayed because the job it was doing earlier was delayed because of problems with a concrete supplier out of Cle Elum. Pump trucks are not a dime a dozen.

With the crew focused on pouring, it is hard to repurpose the guys onto other projects while waiting. So we wait. A half hour rolls into a full hour. The first hour rolls into the second. Pretty soon we are looking at the effect on the end of the day.

So we cancelled the pour. Then a pump truck came available. So we hurriedly qued it all back up. But now it had to go perfect to get five truck loads done by 5.

Perfection was not in the cards. Two blowouts and a mostly fault pump kept everybody hopping like mad. And left quite a clean up job at the end of a long day.

But we got it done. And so this week we start up again. One more partial wall pour. Three roof pours. And a driveway pour. With winter looming.

Steve

Rock paper scissors

2008-08-21T20:35:00.001-07:00

Or should I say braced scaffolding, independent scaffolding and scissor lifts. Turns out the scissor lift is pretty heavy. About 2,700 pounds. And with a small footprint, that makes about 300 pounds per square foot. Even though the suspended floors are concrete with reinforced rebar ibeams, the rating is merely 40 pounds per square foot. Oops.

So we quickly removed the scissor lifts from the floor they should have fallen through and just as quickly started cobbling together scaffolding to preserve the appointment with the concrete guys.

But wait (should I say weight). I weigh 200 pounds. My feet are about 12” long and less then 6” wide. Doesn’t that mean I am applying 200 pounds per square foot? Am I too fat for my own house?

Of course, nothing is easy. And point loads, live loads and dead loads are confusing enough before factoring in wheel loads, bending moments, mid spans, allowable spans, and so on.

On further review, the scissor lift can probably be safely used along the edges of the walls.

With walls growing to 17’, the great advantage of the scissor lift is combining the up/down with the forward/backward. Turns out, the up disables the horizontal movement. Thankfully the limit switches, safety locks and interlocks are clearly marked and easy to, ahem, adjust.

So the pour is still scheduled for the 22nd. Our first wall pour since LAST November!

Steve

Scissor lift

2008-08-20T07:21:00.001-07:00

The wall bracing comes with scaffolding built in. but that means the wall bracing is susceptible to movement while the scaffolding is weighted down with two or three guys pouring the concrete. The convenience of the built in scaffolding balances against the desire for straight walls.

Renting additional scaffolding that would stand independent of the bracing costs $3,000 per month. That puts money into the balance of straight walls. But wait, since the floor is already poured, why not rent a scissor lift for $500/month and just drive around the walls as we pour?

Friday is our scheduled pour day – 52 yards. I’ll know better then how the scissor lift balanced out!

Taking advantage of the concrete walls, I mounted steel brackets in front of the kid bedrooms so I can easily build benches after the walls get faced with stone. The benches will appear suspended over the deck.

We also started, finally, on the stone facing project. Here you can see some progress on the bottom level.

As big as the house is, it is blending into the landscape pretty much as I had hoped.

We are feeling the pressure of summer ending. Will we get the roof up before snow flies????

Steve

the buck stops here

2008-08-06T21:32:00.001-07:00

In stick frame houses, windows are framed in. No big deal. A window opening might increase the material cost by a couple of dollars for a header. In concrete homes, windows, and doors, have to be ‘bucked’. That is to say an opening has to be formed before the concrete gets poured. But, because it is concrete, the material used to buck has to be approved for wet contact. Standard framing material just won’t do.

One company has tried a vinyl material that is approved for concrete contact. (www.vbuck.com) We used it on the lower levels. It does not like to stay straight and it poses challenges at the end of the project for the finish carpenters.

The alternative is pressure treated wood. The standard width is 12”, which is really just 10 3/4”. Either way, it is not wide enough to form across the 13” foam block. So, each piece of 2x12 has to be ripped down and then fastened to 2x4 on either side. A 4x4 window thus consumes 16 lineal feet of 2x12 and 32 lineal feet of 2x4.

Pressure treated wood is prone to splitting and warping. It is also expensive. 2x12 costs $1.61 per lineal foot. 2x4 costs $0.52 per lineal foot. That means it is costing $2.63 per lineal foot to buck the windows. That’s enough to make one say buck no!

My main guy assures me the savings is in the end when the finish carpenters get to work with a squarer, flatter wood surface. We’ll see who gets what in the end!

I am pleased to have reused the fish templates in the middle level deck beam. I think I will leave it as photographed. The indent will reflect light and shadows different from the flat surface. Over time, it will weather differently. I like it.

Steve

grinding it out

2008-08-01T20:56:00.001-07:00

Overall, a good week or progress. Yes, that’s me pictured in the aftermath of grinding a vertical deck beam from a ladder. The devil is in the details.

Our original plan placed the pantry behind the kitchen, so no kitchen window. Our ‘as-built’ plan scrunched the pantry into a corner and plopped a big window behind the sink. Architects and engineers can only see so much in their crystal balls’ it helps to be on site and ready to make changes as warranted.

Next week’s goal is to have the walls ready to pour up to the height of 7’. I think we’ll get there.

Steve

Construction Update: unbearable

2008-07-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

It may be the dog days of summer, but we were visited by a mother bear and her cub. Fortunately pictured trotting away . . .

Still struggling with what to do about the pine needle floor. Just can’t accept the offer to shot blast it. So tired of going backwards when all I want to do is go forward.

We did focus on the middle deck that was only a single truck of concrete. You can see that we seeded it with larger aggregate and then gave it the exposed treatment. The pour went super smooth.

For this beam, I reused the wooden fish templates. When we strip the forms, I will fill the fish forms with a darker mud. Then the beam gets a quick grind. If all goes per plan, the beam will project the shadows of the fish.

$85,000 is the bid for a ‘green’ roof. That’s $20 a foot on top of a perfectly good concrete roof. Turned my complexion green, that’s for sure. More on that to come.

Steve

Construction Update: Deck

2008-07-24T22:30:00.001-07:00

While one crew tediously ties steel for the top level walls, another crew readies the middle level deck for the top layer of exposed aggregate.

We are tying both ends of this deck into the rockeries to help blend the house into the environment.

The pressure treated window bucks show the screws that will be covered in concrete and will then hold the wood tight. Downstairs we used galvanized nails, larger in size, but fewer in quantity. Turns out they didn’t hold very well.

What good’s a wheel, if it can’t be reinvented a time or two.

The Dingo was parked too close to a sprinkler and a leaky gas cap welcomed about a gallon of water to the gas tank. I hadn’t sucked a siphon hose since the gas crisis during Jimmy Carter’s regime. But, hey maybe I could put that talent to some good use in the current gas crisis . . .

To his credit, the head floor polishing guy saw the condition of the bedroom floors and agreed that three were not up to his standard. We are working out a strategy to keep everybody happy. It is refreshing for a contractor to accept responsibility.

Steve

Construction update: pine needles & windows

2008-07-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

Floor grinding is billed by the number of passes over any given square foot. The number of passes depends on the grit being used and the result being pursued. Even with 11 passes, we are still struggling with the pine needles that were blown into the floor last Fall. One suggestion is to say they resemble small fry, complementing the brass fish upstairs. Hmmm.

The window bucks are going in. this little bit of ‘framing’ is unusually expensive. The wood has to be pressure treated because of concrete contact. Then we wrap the opening with more PT to leave a wide nailing surface for window trim. Downstairs we used vinyl bucks, but finish trim is a concern.

The window buck pictured are just the first row. There is a second row coming. The wall height facing the river is 17’ tall. To guard against blowouts, we are going to pour that in two lifts. There is probably a good reason why most concrete stingers are only 10’ long!

Because of the large window opening, the front wall is more like a series of columns, as evident from the monster vertical rebar and the horizontal wrapping at 4” intervals.

Steve

Construction Update #56

2008-07-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

The devil is in the details. . .

We cut the window openings per the eng plans. And then noticed that the window tops did not align with the tops of the Nana walls. The arch plans show them symmetrical. So, leave ‘em uneven, make the windows taller, or raise the openings by 3”. Details.

I asked the guys to install mesh where we couldn’t before because of the shoring. When I checked back a couple hours later, mesh was being installed where I never planned it. Details.

The electrician showed up a day early, which was appreciated, but we didn’t have on hand enough of the special outlet boxes. Since I took Monday off (mtn biking at Whistler), I didn’t learn of the shortage until Tuesday. Details.

Like Strode said, his Tuesday is my Monday.

Steve

On the bright side of things, the floor coloring on the bedroom level is starting to come together

Construction Update #55

2008-07-10T16:21:00.001-07:00

Flooring Solutions from Seattle provided a color palette by actually applying dyes to the floor. Everybody got to pick room colors.

Those pads might not look like much, but they are embedded with diamonds for cutting the concrete. Debbie says I never buy her diamonds. Ha!

Katie just wants to get moved in so she can sit by her creek with her dog.

Because of the wide openings for the Nana walls, and the 14’ high ceilings, the rebar schedule calls for an intricate web of #5 bar to make columns.

Wall growth is waiting now on the electrician to run conduit for outlets.

Steve

Construction Update #54

2008-07-09T23:08:00.001-07:00

The steel railing guys brought welding equipment to add to the 100+ degree temps. They want vertical spindles, while I want horizontal cables. He calls it a ‘ladder’ for the kids. He also refers to the ATV to the outhouse as the shitter shuttle. My hope is his welds as as smooth as his vocabulary!

I just don’t get the younger generation with pants at half mast. If I forget my belt, I am constantly pulling up. At least I am not in the belt and suspenders group. Are you?

Met with the power guy. Voltage drop is an issue. There was a $5,000 fix, and then, with some conversation, we came up with a free fix. Feel the power.

The USFS came through with an agreed reprieve of the four trees on the inside corner. I paid the $1,310 and the Ranger assured me the money would remain dedicated to my roadway so as to be available if ever needed. Yeah, right. At least that’s done.

Seeing the walls go up gives real definition to the building. Course, now I am stressing about bracing, etc.

Steve

Construction Update #54

2008-07-07T21:02:00.001-07:00

With respect to the Great Communicator (Mr. Gorbachev, tear these walls down), I was glad to finally say, Mr. Strode, build those walls up! These are the first walls since resuming work four months ago. Whew!

We tore away the shoring under the top deck. The cantilevered concrete deck with massive front beam is visually intimidating. And very cool.

Debbie went front door shopping. Seems everybody makes the same generic styles. We are looking for something unique, but complimentary to the theme of the house. Hmmmm.

The three day weekend took its toll. Terry no-showed. The floor grinder guys late showed, and then fiddled with the electrics until very late in the day. Eric was expected but did not appear. I guess the 4th burnt out more then just the fireworks.

Progress nonetheless.

Steve

Construction Update #53

2008-07-03T06:30:00.001-07:00

The big news is our fist media coverage of note. The local paper, the Leavenworth Echo, did a front page feature story on the project emphasizing the green aspect of building. Read it yourself at:

http://www.leavenworthecho.com/main.aspSectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=1013

Some good reviews of the new ‘blog’. If I get all the email readers to subscribe I can start posting higher res photos. also, feel free to post comments.

We are still stacking shoring for reuse. One of the grinders has moved to the master bedroom to work out the pine needle blemishes that were blown in when we poured that floor last Fall.

The grinder guys are frustrated with power limitations. I rented a generator. That was a typical mess. One guy talks amps. The next guy babbles about watts. And the third guy speaks volts. Have we really evolved?

Seeing the saw blades revealed in the garage floor is cool.

The exterior deck has ZERO cracks. I am very pleased with that. Must have been the choice of Sam’s Cola!

Heat is hovering in the mid 90ies.

Steve

Construction Update #52

2008-07-01T19:27:00.001-07:00

It was an anti-climatic start to the week, after the excitement of three pours in three weeks. Shoring is being stripped and stored for re-use when the roof goes up.

Steve Strode contemplates and plots the next four moves. He is the chess player, always thinking ahead. I am more the checkers player, jumping what is right in front of me.

Son Will is making a few bucks working with the grinder guys. Both of them are former Marine Corp and served together in the battle of Fallujah. One brought home a purple heart. Will wants to bring both home to keep!

Strong back Terry, not pictured because of a court appearance today, is also listening to our Marines and has made an appointment with an Army recruiter. Losing Terry to the Army would be a good thing.

We seeded the garage floor with saw blades. The one photo shows them coming to light. Sharp!

One more thing. I have repurposed this written journey as a blog (my first). You can view it at:

http://www.icicleearthhome.blogspot.com/

If you subscribe, I will take you off the email list. Please feel free to share the story!
Steve

Construction Update #51

2008-06-28T06:10:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I was nervous about the flat work crew. Sure, they worked hard on the interior slab, but the cracking is beyond what I thought was reasonable.

But greater worries kept me from switching flat workers. The special additive that promises to prevent water seepage (the deck in parts is above living space) was ordered by me a month ago, but not ordered by the concrete provider until a couple days before the pour. Then the ‘chairs’ needed to hold up the mesh ran short. I ordered up a case by overnight FedEx. It went from CA to Memphis. Thank you , thank you very much – not. We improvised with ABS pipe. I think it worked.

Looking good for Friday, all things considered. Oops, somebody didn’t consider cleaning out the pump truck. The sledge hammers solved that problem.

Meanwhile, the floor grinders kept progressing on the slab work, bringing out the hidden rocks and the fish templates.

We continued the river across the deck. That’s me placing rocks. Oh yeah, that’s also me foreseeing old saw blades into the garage slab. When that floor gets polished, we should see the outline of the blades.

The day ended with the flatwork guy exposing the deck aggregate. Sugar is used to ‘kill’ the top cream and then it is removed with a pressure washer. We used Sam’s cola, because the price of molasses had gone up. Imagine that.

Three pours in three weeks. My main guy delivered the goods.

Now we tear out the shoring and start on the last set of walls.

Steve

Construction update #50

2008-06-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

Lots of cracking in the slab. So I got to learn about the different types of cracks. Crazing was the first diagnosis. Plastic cracking was the later predication. But, until we grind the surface, we won’t know.

Since the mechanical room was a late addition, I did not have water heat available. I used ‘home depot’ variety electric heat. Wonder if it will perform as well as the hot water tubes?

The compass templates within the template have now been poured. All waiting to be revealed by grinding. Those guys were supposed to start Wednesday, but arrived to late to do much besides check into the hotel.

Little details are so important when all is set in stone (concrete). Not the deck drain with rebar bent to match and more rebar stuck through it.

We are waiting on more special chairs to hold up the garage foam. FedEx has it set for delivery by 4:30 Thursday. We need it before pouring Friday morning. We are also waiting on the waterproofing additive for the concrete floor. I special ordered this weeks ago, but seems the ball got dropped by the concrete company. No stress for us! Not to mention, the temperature is supposed to be in the mid-90+ range on Friday. Not ideal for pouring.

The master-bedroom fireplace was ordered online. I tried to change the order before it shipped but was stonewalled. When it arrived I refused it. The credit card company backed us after a protracted dispute. Now I want to reorder the item with the change and , bummer, the price of the basic unit is now higher. So winning is costing more.

Everything is costing more.

But we’re getting closer.

steve

Construction update #49

2008-06-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Superstitious? What’s to be superstitious about a concrete pour on Friday?

The pump truck drive got lost. The same company that has been to the job site almost ten times already. And got lost.

The first concrete truck had a little environmental issue. Seems the doohickey that controls adding water to the mix broke enroute. So about 150 gallons of water was added to the mix. No problem until going uphill, and then the mud spilled out. Big problem is that the job site is about a mile uphill from the valley flat. We found a backfill place for him to drain off some excess, then sent him away to deliver his soup somewhere else.

In the middle of the mayhem, the granite guys show up early and unannounced to install the Sleeping Lady. As if I did not have enough to deal with. But they worked independent and ‘she’ looks great.

It was a chaotic day. We placed the fish and the cut rock . We tossed drain rock. We ‘think’ it will turn out great. Next week we grind and see!

Steve

Construction update #48

2008-06-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

Ready to rock and roll!

Plumber did his thing. We did ours.

Rocks are split and staged for placement.

Compass template is aligned to true north – some 17 degrees east of magnetic north. ‘Course the declination changes annually so if we are off a smidge, we’ll be spot on at least once in our life time. You know what they say. Even a broken clock is right twice a day!

Friday is pour day. My crew. Plus the flatwork crew. Plus the pumper. Plus the cement trucks. Plus the inspection engineer. Plus the grinder expert. Lordy!

Steve

Construction update #47

2008-06-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

Updates should be fast and furious now.

Or maybe not. The slab pour came up so fast my main guy wanted to put it off a week. I talked him out of the delay. Then the plumber came up short on some material not available locally but totally needed before pouring the slab. That pushed us back a day, but Friday is superstitious I am told so not a good pour day, and Mondays are never good pour days so Tuesday it was to be. But the grinder guy couldn’t adjust that late without then having to put me off until even later, so back to Friday we are (at least for the moment).

My engineer reminds me that 53 yards is not 50 tons; it is closer to 108 tons. Pretty amazing that we suspended that in old Styrofoam coffee cup forms supported by 4x4s.

Our second youngest worker quit, saying the job was too hard. I doubt his ancestors built many pyramids!

I am mid stream polishing the landing with the fish ladder. I photoed it ‘wet’ to get the intended end look. The rocks look great. The fish is perfect. The glass is supposed to look like white water, but maybe not so much.

Terry is busily slicing rocks like sandwich bread. We hope to place those as part of the main floor riverbed.

Now if only the plumber comes through on Thursday, and we get it all together, then Friday should be a good day.

Steve

Construction update #46

2008-06-16T22:48:00.000-07:00

Thursday came . . .
. . . And Thursday went

But the beam pour went off as scheduled. Yeah! You have to realize, we are pouring 53 tons of wet concrete onto what is essentially a Styrofoam form held up by two levels of 4x4. Was our ‘08 contractor nervous? Uh huh.

Precision water jet tested their template for the downstairs shower. The outline is of Sleeping Lady. The blue tape is not to be polite, but is to hold the template in place. Admired by one and all.

We backfilled the garage area using a sand throwing machine. Saved the backs of the workers. Stressed my wallet instead. Not sure about using that again. But it sure is efficient.

Next Thursday is the main floor pour with all the fish. I am testing the system and I poured the landing between the top floor and the middle floor. It has one fish template in it. You can make out the shape looking closely. I will grind this on Monday. I was going to call this the ‘fish that got away’. But my cabinet guy said I should call it a ‘fish ladder’. So I put the fish in pointing ‘upstream’ and I used tumbled glass block to create whitewater.

This week the slab. Next week the deck. Then the garage. Then the last walls. And then and then and then . . . .

Steve

Construction Update #45

2008-06-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

I am writing this just hours ahead of Thursday, the promised 53 yd beam pour. It is still scheduled, but I don’t get to be there as I am appearing in court doing my best Perry Mason imitation. Did my contractor plan it that way?

Our engineer came out for a site visit and gave the appropriate blessing. Although he stopped short of cracking a bottle of champagne against the bow.

Our windows arrived on schedule; but much earlier then we need them. It was my idea to combine several windows into one. So much easier to install. But oh so much heavier.

My father-in-law helped me install the deck posts. So when you visit and lean against the railing, well . . .

The electrical contractor took offense at all the black pipe (plumbing) and all the white pipe (HVAC) and so decided to make his own spaghetti puzzle out of gray pipe.

C’mon Thursday!

Steve

Construction update #44

2008-06-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

Maybe would have been cheaper to just pour molten steel for the main floor! The engineer keeps saying it is the hardest working floor in the house. Only in this house would the top floor work harder then the lower floor?!

But the light at the end of the tunnel might not be an oncoming train. My main guy set a date certain for pouring the beam channels. Next Thursday. Bank on it. Oh yeah, I already am. The slab itself would get poured a week later.

Trish from the plumbing supplier stopped by to finalize some things. Seems what I picked out for the master shower accounted for 25 gal/min. Not only would the hot water heater not keep up, but the 2’ drain would overflow. Our plumber, Ben, affectionately called it the car wash.

We are trying out a company that does water jet cutting of granite. They use a computer on-site to program a template that is EXACT, then bring back a finished product. The jets use water at 65,000 Psi, essentially doing the work of nature but in a few seconds what takes nature a millennium to do.

Working with mortar takes hands tougher then mine. But the results behind the fireplace look good to me.

Steve

Construction update #43

2008-06-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

Sweating bullets one day. Rain the next. But nothing dampens the optimism.

Wire mesh finally went onto the floor. Another layer done.

I sodded the yard at our other house, and with the left over I did the area outside Katie’s future bedroom. Bring on the umbrella drinks!

We chewed up the ‘riparian’ no buffer zone in front of the house. Planted seed and we will let it grow wild.

Met with a couple that wants to learn green roof landscaping. It would be nice to hire that out and not have to think that one through.

Until next time.

Steve

Construction update #42

2008-06-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

Two more weeks gone by of prep work. My contractor has started to refer to the floor as a ‘prototype’ as his way of saying it is complicated. As best I can observe, there is more steel in this floor then the two lower floors combined.

Communications with an engineer too far away to simply drop by involves emailing photos of sketches and lots of back and forth calling.

My fish are waiting patiently to find a home in the floor. My family is still smiling, or is that a grimace.

All the white piping is for an air exchanger system to keep the interior air fresh. That ‘sub’ is me since the several HVAC guys I talked to all said no way.

I finally settled with the contractor from last year. He didn’t get as much money as he thought was owing. I paid more then I thought I should. So probably it is a good settlement.

Thanks for following our progress.

Steve

Construction Update #41

2008-05-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my last update was just this morning. But since those photos were a week old, I thought I’d bring things current.

Truthfully, this floor is taking forever to get done. Everyday we get things done, then there are more things still to be done. Frustrating, but probably necessary.

The river is ripping and temps approached 100 on the 16th. The basement level stays remarkably cool. Speaking of cool, check out the tree I put in for accent. I went through 3 tanks of chainsaw gas to get it cut just so. It took 6 of us to lug it of the riparian bank and into place.

The sauna room shower is all glass blocked, and looking good. Just hope it survives the sheet rockers when they come in.

The first 30 boxes of Eldorado stone are staged for installation. I am thinking of also interspersing climbing holds with the rock walls. Hmmm.

Next week – more getting ready to get started to get going.

Steve

Construction update #40

2008-05-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

8 weeks since we resumed, and finally some mud flowed. We poured the garage footings. I say ‘we’ but you notice there are no pictures until after the pour was over. I spent my day in court fighting for truth, justice and the American Way.

I saved money not getting a pumper truck, but my crew was pretty whipped by day’s end.

Next pour is the beams and stem wall. Then after that the slab with our brass fish from the Caldwell studio. Very excited about that.

Steve

Construction update #39

2008-04-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

Three weeks since my last update. I feel like the kid gone to college who forgets to write home until chastised by the parents.

With each level of the house, it gets more difficult to get materials to the lower levels. The massive fireplace for the basement caused lots of head scratching and we settled on the idea of an electric hoist in the elevator shaft. Since I bought the hoist at a garage sale a few years back for $30, we also used the excavator with a safety chain. Better safe then sorry.

Speaking of safe, we rigged up the electric chain saw as a table saw for the foam. We even built in the vacuum for all the white dots. Better a straight cut then safe!

Leveling the garage area gives final shape to the entire house.

The excavator guy used a deft touch to make some steps in the rockery.

I wasn’t going to use wood on interior construction. But, with so much forming being done in wood, it seems a waste not to reuse some of it.

An amazing thing is how much rebar goes into the house. We get it delivered by the bundle and in 20’ lengths.

I installed the sauna and was very happy with the quality of the wood.

I floated some concrete at the first landing in the stair. Buried in the mud are a handful of glass marbles and a brass fish (a trivet bought on eBay). After the concrete cures, the idea is to grind the surface to expose the fish and the marbles. We will see.

We are going in so many directions at once, that it seems we are going slow. But on reflection the pace is pretty good.

Steve

Construction update #38

2008-04-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

A snow storm interrupted our stride. Hopefully, winter’s last gasp.

The excavator started backfilling the middle level and building more rockeries. Structural areas get CDF.

The 9’ 6” ceiling height is supposed to compensate for lack of windows. Not sure about that yet, but sure makes me feel short!

With learners permit in hand, Katie drove us to Portland to pick up a sauna kit and a wood stove. Saving sales tax wasn’t the primary motivation, but certainly was a bonus.

Next day we picked up the prefab shower from Seattle Glass block. Spending money is getting easy.

Steve

Construction update #37

2008-03-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

Another week of refreshing progress. But not without frustrations.

I flip flopped on the wood stove for the basement. Is it just me, or do most wood stoves pretty much look the same? i wanted a fully clad soapstone unit, but not only was it expensive; the shipping added $1,500 to the total. So I bought a different brand from a dealer in Oregon. Also from the Netherlands, but less expensive and no shipping. Oh and no sales tax. Looks like Katie will get some practice with her driver’s permit over Spring break. See, www.scanstoves.com for some wood stoves that can be viewed as art.

Problem being, the flue size is bigger. And the concrete formed hole through the middle floor needed to be enlarged 2”. It took a full day of drilling and chipping, with one $65 broken drill bit, but we got it done.

Meanwhile the top floor is coming together with a streamlined bracing system. No 3/4” plywood! Hopefully it will hold the wet concrete.

The excavator guy returned to extend the septic line. Yes, sh*t will flow uphill.

The rock photo? Look closely and you can see three mountain goats that frequent the rocky hillside in full view of our house.

Steve

Construction Update #36

2008-03-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

Our materials for laying out the top floor were supposed to arrive last week. With that delayed until next week, we focused on the stairs. And it took a lot of focus!

The crew from last Fall measured cut and formed accordingly. Unfortunately, one oops and lots of stuff gets out of whack. The new crew made a template out of plywood and put it in place. This revealed things needing to be changed. The standby time for the crane is $250/hr and one of the fixes took almost two days. Thank goodness for templates!

Even so, a slight twitch of a finger from the crane operator could have turned the 7000 pound stair sets into an instant battering ram poised to tear down a wall for rupture a floor. Or worse, to pin a worker. A very, very stressful day. But ultimately a success!

Now that we have the stairs going up, we will return to building the top floor.

Steve

Construction Update #35

2008-03-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

March 10th and we are off and running.

Removing the shoring that supported the middle level floor and walls took two full days, and recycled thousands of screws.

Looking at the basement ceiling for the first time, the most amazing thing are the lines of exposed concrete. The wide lines are the primary beams. The zigzag lines are actually a continuation of the exterior walls above. The amazing part is the absence of supporting posts. Either my engineer is a genius, or . . .

The basement floor will get mucked out and then buffed. It will be our first opportunity to evaluate the coloring process.

The new crew seems to be doing great. The dead battery in the contractor’s van being the only hiccup so far.

Steve

Construction update #34

2008-02-24T16:33:00.000-08:00

Hard to call it a ‘construction’ update, but an update nonetheless.

It was a big snow year to be sure. Its’ settled depth inside the second level of the house is up to the window sills. It took hours of work just to carve a channel to the house!

The middle floor is about 2,000 square feet. Calculating the cubic yards of snow gives me a brain freeze. No way to shovel it out. The doorways were supposed to be for 36” doors. But the door bucks took up too much room in the tight angles so I agreed to change the door sizes to 32”. Did not seem like a big deal back then since doors had not been ordered yet. And I wasn’t thinking then about having to get the 35” wide dingo inside to dig snow!

Tried to use a snow thrower. But the snow depth, compaction and icy base made that pointless. So had to build a snow ramp and drive the Dingo through the window opening. Then we had to build a snow slide to get the snow clear to the river. But at least it is getting done.

Found some terrific bronze fish art embedded in a concrete floor at the SeaTac airport of all places. Contacted the foundry and they are making some salmon for our main floor. Very exciting.

Plan is to restart construction as of March 10. A new crew will replace the one that walked off the job last November. Fingers are crossed.

Steve

Construction update #33

2007-12-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

It has been three weeks since my last update. And a tumultuous three weeks at that.

Eric returned from his hunting excursion and set to correcting and completing items needed for the wall pour. That pushed back, and back, the date for the pour.

Then there was a falling out with the ICF crew that had been on the job since the beginning. They walked off the job even as we were setting up for a pour that day. Another delay.

Logix stepped up to the plate and sent a rep to get his hands dirty with us so we could get the pour done. On that fateful day, the pump truck provided to us was too short. While we wrangled with that, the concrete provider slipped us back to later in the day. Eventually too late to expect finishing in daylight. Another false start.

Meanwhile the weather changed. We had to cover the forms and then heat from below. Can’t pour on top of frozen concrete, especially if there are any pockets of ice inside the foam form. The concrete temperature itself can’t be poured at less then 55 degrees. So we had to use heated water at the plant, and then fiberglass drummed delivery trucks.

But, we got it done! Done ‘till spring.

What about the angle iron in the back of the truck? That will support the floating concrete stair. Eventually.

As for the USFS, it seems the 28’ drivable width I am providing might just possibly be wide enough after all. Miracles do happen on the Icicle!

Happy holidays to all.

Steve

------ End of Forwarded Message

Construction update #32

2007-11-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

The accidental death of a worker’s family member has disrupted the flow. The weather is reaching a scary time.

Interior, weight bearing, walls are growing. Framing of ‘bucks’ for doors and windows helps to give perspective.

Still does not look like too much from the river view.

The USFS actually extended an olive branch to solve the easement issue. We will see.

The hope is to pour these walls, finish the middle level rockeries and backfill. Then come back in the Spring.

Steve

Construction Update #31

2007-10-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

Perfect weather for a slab pour. Cool, slightly overcast, and calm.

And no pump truck. Mechanical failure. So the guys stood around. The dog snoozed.

Finally we got things going. And kept things going thru 44 yards of mud. The earth tone colors are for the master suite. The pinkish colors are for our own little princess, Katie. In between are the boys bedrooms.

The power trowel over blends the colors, so the entire floor was hand troweled. I bought the guys some beer, but left before they finished . . . The floor.

The USFS showed up to mark the 40’ easement. The house plan encroaches the easement. Then again, the driveway runs to the outside of the easement anyhow. And who needs a 40’ wide easement to get to a trail that is only 10’ wide. Its a struggle, but maybe, just maybe, common sense will prevail. Otherwise the two car garage might become a two moped garage!

I am sooooo glad the floor finally got poured.

Steve

Construction Update #30

2007-10-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

A week of inconvenient weather has frustrated the plan to pour the floor. Yet, everyday we seem to do more to get ready for the floor. Tomorrow is the day. It has to be.

Meanwhile, the walls continue to grow. These are 12’ feet tall. Once the floor is poured, and the ceiling drops in, the actual ceiling height will be closer to 9’. The intent is to compensate for lack of windows. Kinda looks stockadish at the moment.

Keeping the faith.

Steve

Construction Update #29

2007-10-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

Backfill, compact, screed to level.

Cover in black (vapor barrier)

Cover that in white (insulation)

Cover that in red (radiant heat tubes)

And then, and then, and then . . .

The middle level is taking shape and seen from the painted lines. Will painted in his bed location. Brian skateboarded the basement floor. Yeah, we are ready to move in.

Steve

Construction Update #28

2007-10-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

Ground work was top priority with hope for concrete this week.

Electrician came through after several days out sick. Plumber devoted almost three whole days. Hot and return for 3 zones of radiant heat. Recirc on the hot water. Four bathrooms on the middle level. Looking at the color coded piping, I think he was kidding when he said rid was hot, blue was cold, white was clear and black was, well, black. My question is what color is for warm water! Whatever, we passed the plumbing inspection.

The engineer (guy in clean shirt) came for second site visit to see for himself if what we are building is what he envisioned. Except for a couple of last minute changes, all was good.

So Wednesday we added 25 yards of mud (that’s was us experts call concrete) to make the beams and the enlarged perimeter.

The slab is the next pour. Not sure when. So many steps before.

Steve

Construction Update #27

2007-10-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Finished backfilling the new slab. Just in time for the plumber to dig it up for sewer lines. But, this time we were smarter. Instead of 5/8minus, I used sand for the fill. Much easier to dig in.

Eric and crew added another two layers to the floor puzzle. Wire mesh and stirrups. I wonder if the concrete deck of an aircraft carrier is any more solid.

The four flights of stair arrived from Florida. I told the driver to turn left after Safeway. 40 minutes later he called and asked which side of the rest area was I on? (the rest area is 15 miles past Safeway). It is easy to see the stairs are from beach sand; there are bits of shell in the rough areas.

Electrician was sick, so no progress on that front. Hopefully several pours will occur next week. Weather soon becomes an issue.

Steve

Construction Update #26

2007-09-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

Workers left early Friday. Lack of materials or lack of enthusiasm – or a little of both.

Chairs and saddles showed up. Not sure what they are, but hope to see them in place soon.

Spent the day backfilling with the Dingo. That tool is perfect for the tight quarters.

The photos from across the fiver show the house taking shape.

Steve

Construction Update #25

2007-09-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Finally finished up with the backfill work. Native material, 5/8 minus, CDF, geofoam and who knows what else. Testing with the nuclear densometer went well.

To avoid a repeat between the middle and top floor, I got the engineer to bring the top floor foundation down to the middle level – essentially enclosing otherwise expensive backfill space. Makes Katie’s room and Debbie’s bath much larger. Good call.

Course, the larger foundation meant trouble for the concrete truck access. Eric thought he had it figured by first building the far away foundation and leaving access for the truck. Save a thousand bucks on a boom truck. Things went awry when the driver refused to get close to the foundation. Note the photo of Eric and the driver, and the photo of Randy and Matt before being told to grab shovels and wheelbarrows for a 10 yard haul.

The building department inspected the enlarged footprint. It was their first visit in over a month. I was anxious. Not about the footprint, but about the riparian issues. The inspector loved the straw. But later, two more suits showed up. A shorelines guy and a planner. They also went away impressed and said not to worry about the lady from Fish and Wildlife. Whew.

The view remains spectacular.

Steve

Construction Update #24

2007-09-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

Remember the game as kids where two kids would crouch down in a line and then take turns jumping over each other? This project reminds me of that game. The electrician and the plumber takes turns jumping over the ICF guy. Nobody can do their whole job all at once. Each element seems to depend on each other element. Frog.

The BIG blocks of foam are not for insulation, but instead go against the concrete walls to relieve lateral pressure from compacted fill. These will be installed in an upside down pyramid to essentially mold the fill into a 1:1 slope away from the foundation.

The blue tubes is called smurf. It is flexible conduit for the electrician.

The cantilevered deck form is nearing completion.

Next week we should pour the floor beams and maybe even the new perimeter foundation.

Rrrbbbitttt

Construction Update #23

2007-09-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

What you don’t see is the father/son team of dump truck drivers that have been hauling in compactable fill. 280 tons today. 300 tons the other day. Good grief.

A rookie dingo driver discovered the tipping point. No injury.

The forming in front of the house is to support a cantilevered concrete deck.

Progress, always progress.

Construction Update #22

2007-09-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

We are backing our way out of the lowest level. The upstream corner rockery looks good. We ran the septic line part way up the driveway to get it out of the way. JC and the boys tied rebar most of the last two days. There is so much steel, there is hardly room for concrete! The black “V” is the wall that did not need compacted fill. So I filled it. Turns out, the concrete isn’t ready for the lateral forces of loose dirt, so I had to dig it back out. Oh joy.

Weather is much cooler, thankfully. We are on schedule for a pour next Monday. Guess I better pay for the last one.

Steve

Construction Update #21

2007-09-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Three trucks of CDF on Wednesday. Nine more over the next two days. So now I have walls that truly are 8 feet wide and wider! Wonder what the R value is of that? At least we are done with the CDF for the moment. The flat around the building is now wide enough for equipment to bring in more standard fill.

Laying out the foam floor is essentially done in the area above the bottom level. We can see the bedrooms in outline form. Cool.

On a day when both Eric and I were on the Seattle side doing other things, the Department of Fish & Wildlife show up unannounced and expressed concern about erosion control. Busted. So, the crew tidied up the riparian area and I took time over the weekend to install 34 bales of hay. Hopefully that will alleviate concerns, both real and imagined.

Pipkin returns this week to establish rockeries and carve out the new foundation area. Should be some good visual changes coming up.

Steve

Construction Update #20

2007-09-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

The sides of the building by the elevator needs compacted fill to support the foundation and slab for the middle level. Slabs need 85% compaction. Foundations need 95%. Yeah, whatever. The problem we faced was # 1 being unable to get any heavy equipment bact there and #2 not being able to compact against a concrete wall until after the next floor is poured.

Kind a chicken and egg thing. Cant pour the floor until ground gets raised and compacted. Can’t compact against the wall until the floor gets poured. So, we are going with CDF, a pourable structural fill that goes up in 2’ lifts with no lateral force after each day.

Judging by Eric’s pant leg, we must have poured slightly over two feet!

Adding magic to the mystery, Golden Air converts 8 CY of CDF to 12 CY with only one quart of the potion. I say put in the whole gallon and be done with it!

Steve

Construction Update #19

2007-09-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

Waterproofing is a big deal, although I am thinking we are overdoing it. The spray on goop costs $2,000. Then the drain board. Then more gravel, etc.

For a house made of concrete and styrofoam, we sure are using a lot of wood. Something about having to support the wet concrete as it dries. Hmmmm. O well, lots of scrap wood at the end for the kid to build jumps and club houses with.

The floor system is taking shape. Need to solve the question about overhanging the riparian set back. Tomorrow we start filling above the gravel.

Steve

Construction Update #18

2007-09-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

The whole of last week was spent shoring and bracing. Fixing and redoing. But still progressing.

Passed the electrical inspection on Thursday. Funny that the state needs to inspect empty conduit. Seems to me that it is not really electrical until wires are run through it.

Concrete arrived for the walls on Friday. The boom truck was delayed, so we had the trucks stacked in a holding pattern. 55 yards later the walls were solid.

Eric and Matt stayed over so we could strip the bracing on Saturday. All is ready for the waterproofing, dimple boards and back filling.

Steve

Construction update #17

2007-08-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

What a week.

We hoped to pour this Friday. Then we hoped for Tuesday after labor day. Now we are thinking Wednesday. Nothing ever happens that speeds a job up. I guess the goal is to minimize the things that happen to slow the job down.

More fires. But not real fires this time. Just concerns, conflicts, etc between low voltage guy, ICF man, electrician and engineer. Turns out that running conduit in the concrete space between foam walls can significantly affect engineering. A couple of do-overs and we are back on track.

I backed out on the loader. Too old, too slow, too loose in the joints (the loader, not me). So, maybe something else will come along.

Meanwhile, we can hope to pour the walls next week. Wednesday.

Might actually go smooth, I am going to be away at trial!

Steve

Construction update #16

2007-08-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

Monday gave light to our biggest crew yet. Ed the electrician kept extending conduit, and forgave the concrete process that inadvertently buried the ends of three runs. The surveyors returned to reset grade lines for the next level up. The excavator guy hob nobbed with the ICF guy and came up with a sorta definite plan on the back fill.

Eric the ICF guy brought in a new guy, Randy. Did great. You could even say he was on fire. Or at least that the sparks from his metal saw went over the bank, and smoldered until actually catching fire! Only about 9 feet square lost.

I looked at and made an offer on a Loader. Renting for so many intermittent uses is cost prohibitive.

The large framed opening is for the Nana wall. Essentially a 14’ wide doorway. The other door on the inside is to the theatre room. Popcorn anyone?

Steve

Construction Update #15

2007-08-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

No matter how hard I try, it seems impossible to keep things moving at a steady pace. Each individual delay has a logical rationale, but there is never a balancing thing that makes up for lost time.

With things waiting on this and that, I thought to get the two 1,500 gallon septic tanks installed. I figured once the next foundation gets poured, access to the front of the house will be limited. Having now painted the insides of both tanks with waterproofing slop I think I have a better idea of how Jimmy Hoffa must feel.

Pinching pennies is proving a poor strategy. When the floor was poured there was about $150 of excess of mud. So, I thought I would place in the wall forms. What a mess. Not only did I blow out a section, but it seems there was a strategy in how the previous pour was left – and I messed it up. Big time. The drill bit to countersink additional rebar cost $100. The time, etc. you get the idea.

This week was a short one for Eric and crew. But it was nice having them anyhow. Some bracing went in and some window bucks.

Next week should be even more progress.

Steve

Message

Construction Update #14

2007-08-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

I think I will number the updates, but not count the days. It has been many days since the last update. Our first choice for doing the flatwork suffered a broken leg. Our second choice is pictured here.

The boom truck was too small to reach from the top. What the heck, just drive it down to the front. It felt pretty sketchy to me, but all four concrete trucks navigated the slope and the boom truck creeped out when done. Whew. I can’t imaging the repercussions if we tipped something into the Icicle River.

One way to do the coloring is to pour gray, then come back and do an acid wash of color. Another way is to put color into the concrete while it is still in the truck and spin it through and through. Still another way is to ‘cast’ it on top of wet mud and then trowel it in. each concrete guy has is favorite way to do it. And all the reasons why not to do it the other way. So we casted the color. A collage effect of earth tones.

It will show through better after the floor cures.

Next update should show the walls going up

Steve

Construction Update #13

2007-08-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

The radiant heat is laid to rest. 1,200 lineal feet to heat 1,200 square feet. Had to move further away from the toilet so as not to risk melting the wax ring.

Next is a cross hatch of rebar. #3 on 9” centers, or #4 on 12” centers. Stagger, double tie. And I thought lawyers had strangle language!

Steve

Construction Update #12

2007-07-31T14:39:00.000-07:00

Almost like making a cake. Layer after layer. Step after step.

The white is the R-10 insulating foam. First we compact the soil to concrete stiffness, then we put squishy foam on top. Go figure.

The groove in the foam is for a thickened slab under the home theatre wall. The home theatre will be concrete all four walls. Quiet so it can be loud.

I am doing the hydronic work myself. Today I got 400 lineal feet done. ‘Course I got 800 feet still to do. And that is just on the basement level. Hard to think about floor heat when it is 100+ outside.

Next big step will be the slab.

Steve

Construction Update #11

2007-07-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Building the perimeter foundation on the flat made it easy to lay out for the ICF contractor, but it made it extra deep for the back fill step. So, we brought in multiple truck loads of drain rock followed by 5/8 minus. At least the trucks could reach the basement level directly.

After that was all spread and compacted, it was time to dig it back up for the plumbing trenches. There must be a method to the madness.

Pictured is Ben the plumber filling a standpipe with water. The exits have been temporarily capped. And the test is whether the water leaks out of any of the joints. Not exactly rocket science. But effective. Anyhow, we passed the ground works inspection and are ready to move on.

Steve

Construction Update #10

2007-07-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

Day 9 brought Eric back for a mini pour. Just 6 more yards to complete the perimeter and base of elevator shaft. I gave up trying to backfill on my own. My regular excavator said he could schedule me in, maybe, in two weeks. My new regular excavator, Rayfield scoped the job that day and got right on it.

Day 10 it was nice to see a dump truck make it to the front of the foundation. And not into the river! About 30 yards of drain rock topped with 5/8 minus, whatever that is. Then compacted in 100 degree heat. No sweat.

Tomorrow the plumber. Then the electrician. Then me on the radiant floor. Then. Then then.

Steve