not quite a timber frame

[BAR]

HI LJ,
How do you find time to do such a great presentation with all the work you are doing?

Real Question:  Do you have any problem with sticker stain on your live edge siding?  Do you use stickers from the logs as you saw....or what?  I assume they go up as sawn, unplaned.
BAR

[ljmathias]

Thanks for the questions- forgot to put those details in.  On my son's house, I cut Katrina logs that had been "drying" in the pole barn for 4-5 years.  In fact, I cut them, hauled them over by the house, stained them and put them up wet- no stickering at all.  On the house we're building now, I'm cutting green wood (fresh road kill from the Power line) and stickering that to dry as much as possible before we're ready for it.  I'll do the siding last, since once I have house wrap on and a water-tight roof on, and windows and doors installed, the house is well protected from the elements and I can do all the inside work to completion.  We'll see on sticker stain but I don't think it will be a problem- I use dry stickers and cover with tin.  Good news, though- just "discovered" that I have several layers of pine at one inch or 4/4 that have been air drying for years.  I did a lot of emergency cutting after all the trees were down from Katrina.  Problem is, these all have blue stain, and so far, the new stuff is bright yellow.  We're using pigmented stain, so that may not be a real problem in any event.

You never know though- seems like every aspect of every "new" house I build is an experiment.  I learn so much from hands-on experience that I change things as I go based on new information.  Each house seems better built, tighter and more energy efficient than the last, but at my age, it could just be me mis-remembering or seeing things that aren't really there, who knows?

Was going to order fill dirt today if I can get it.  "Lost" the weekend on a campout with the boy scouts: my eldest grandson is becoming very active in scouts and I'm trying to encourage that as much as possible- broken home and all that.  Anyway, it was "crossover" for the Webelo cub scouts in the troup- neat ceremony that seemed to mean a lot to the younger scouts.  Made the older ones aware again of their responsibility to the new-comers into the troup- a good thing all around.  Good team building all weekend and lots of memories and skill development.  Course, my aging body doesn't appreciate the outdoors like it use to...  >:( and I came home pretty worn out.  Needless to say, slept like a log last night.

Lj

[laffs]

looks like nic work to me LJ

[ljmathias]

Good news and bad news: ordered fill dirt for in the morning and we figure five truck loads should do it.  Built a dirt ramp over concrete filled low section only two blocks high so I can get the backhoe tractor in to spread and help pack.  now the bad news: 80% chance of rain tomorrow night.  I really need to get this done so we can pour the slab or I'd wait till I was sure of dry weather.  So, I've heard horror stories of filled foundations like ours filling up like a swimming pool, causing the clay to swell, and you guessed it: BOOM! Walls blown out all over.  Any one have this experience, or better yet, the opposite: rain falls, water goes away somewhere and all is well.  Going to try and get the dirt in, leveled and packed before the rain so I can spread polyethylene down on top, tape the seam and hope for the best.  Thoughts or suggestions?

Lj

[DouginUtah]

I guess location and soil type makes a difference, but most places require that fill dirt/sand be flooded to make it settle. And settle it does!

[ljmathias]

Thanks, DouginUtah- in my case, it will be flooded whether I want it or not: new forecast is 80% chance of rain tonight and all day tomorrow, which means it's a 100% most places for the next 36 hours...

I'll get pictures of the wood braces that I installed to hold the blocks in place, although it seems like a bit too little to actually do any good.  Talked to my block layer, though, and he definitely recommended it so maybe it really does help.  Only took a couple hours to gather lumber, drive stakes and screw everything together.  Oh, and by the way, I don't nail form boards, batter boards and such any more- much easier to use an impact driver and square bit screws, although it is a little slower setting them up.  You win during dismantle- things unscrew lots faster than taking apart nailed boards, driving the nails back through and pulling them so you can re-use the lumber.  Overall much faster, cleaner and you recover the wood in much better shape.  I'll get pictures this morning of the braces and the dirt going in- probably also have pictures of our new "swimming pool" after it rains, but we'll hope for the best.  As they say, "Time waits for no man," and this case, for no woman: daughter is getting a mite impatient and we really do have to get the slab poured so we can start the fun part: framing!

Another by the way: daughter has started up her blog again, or "blahg" as she calls it.  Latest entry is pretty good, capturing the new attitude and life-style we're moving slowly toward:

http://measureoncecusstwice.blogspot.com/

More later, have a great morning!

Lj

[Raider Bill]

Will you be putting styrofoam down under the plastic? What about compacting the fill?

[Qweaver]

Let me first say that I have absolutely no experience with this kind of construction...but it would scare the heck out of me compacting dirt inside of a freshly laid block frame.  There seems to be very little holding those blocks in column.   And it sures seems like that when your are pushing dirt down, you are also pushing it out.  But what do I know...nothing.

[WDH]

Looking good, LJ.  You do good work!

[fishpharmer]

Looks great.  Lj, could you dig a hole in a low spot and install a float activated sump pump from home depot?

[Raider Bill]

Let me first say that I have absolutely no experience with this kind of construction...but it would scare the heck out of me compacting dirt inside of a freshly laid block frame.  There seems to be very little holding those blocks in column.   And it sures seems like that when your are pushing dirt down, you are also pushing it out.  But what do I know...nothing.

It's done all the time here. I believe it's called a stem wall but not sure. I did the same thing building the ICF house but my bottom course was unfilled styrofoam block, didn't have any trouble. I walked the compactor for 2 days and watered in between. and all night.

Are you going to put pex pipe in the slab for heat?

[ljmathias]

Qweaver: you're absolutely right on pushing out the walls, but it depends on how tall they are.  At the small end- just two blocks high or rather a block and a half with the L-shape for the other half to allow slab concrete to pour right up to and down the columns of the blocks.  Highest wall is 6 blocks high (or 5 1/2) and that's the one to worry about.  I cheated a lot and used double reinforcement to keep it from bowing out or cracking. First, about every third "column" down the stack of blocks, I put in a piece of rebar and then filled with ready-mix concrete.  Some I didn't put the rebar in but just the concrete, mostly these are on the shorter walls although I did fill about half a dozen scattered on the tallest wall and the two that taper to it.







I thought this might be enough support to prevent lateral breakout but my block layer suggested otherwise, so I ended up bracing the walls from the outside with boards as seen in the three pictures below.  You can see the rebar sticking up from the concrete filled columns in the walls. 









Seems to have worked ok- next entry will show the dirt truck coming in and the progress of spreading, compacting and smoothing seven loads of good 'ol Southern red clay.

Lj

[ljmathias]

So, this morning at 8, the truck began hauling in fill dirt.  First picture below shows it "sneaking up" on me- hard to do with that huge diesel engine straining under the load of 16 yards of red clay.  Second picture shows the truck after it "surprised" me, starting to turn around so it can back up to the foundation wall.  I first thought to have him slide in to the shortest wall with the least difference from grade, but that didn't work too well- hard to get in and out with a truck this size.  We dumped the first load there and discussed alternatives- made the decision to cut off the temporary water pipe so he could back straight in and up to a slightly higher part of the shortest wall- much easier and he was much happier, although this resulted eventually in a fair amount of dirt getting down the block columns in that wall.  Bummer: this means hand work digging it out so concrete can fill them during the slab pour.  More about how that works later...









These are a few pictures of Jessie and River, my daughter and grandson for whom we're building this house.  They fought to be "king of the hill" on load number four, then River said something sassy so Jessie had to chase him down the mound.  River worked hard, though, at least for about half the job- stomping on dirt near the walls to compact it some and spreading it out as needed, or as you see in the last picture in this set, chasing lizards and being "king of the hill" on a stack of leftover blocks.











In order (I hope) are some of loads 1-7 in various stages of just-delivered, spread out or being spread out by me on the tractor... although the tractor took it in his head to try "balancing" on the foundation wall- looks pretty dangerous but he survived.  Last picture shows end of day, last load in and spread after 8 hours of mostly hard work.  We decided to quit at this point: supposed to rain a bunch tonight so we covered with plastic, put some boards on it and just walked away...  Sometimes when you're really tired and worn out, that's the best option- leave the final leveling for another day, hopefully tomorrow but that will depend on the weather.















Next entry will show everything survived a horrendous thunder storm (maybe and maybe), and the progress on getting everything flat and at the right height, then with plastic down (no styrofoam insulation, although I thought about it- too expensive) and rebar on top, and then remesh on top of that all ready for the slab... I hope.

Lj

[Jim_Rogers]

Are you going to embed some pipes for waste plumbing?

[ljmathias]

Forgot that Raider asked about putting pex tubing in the slab itself- we'll probably do that although it might not be worth it.  The house will be well insulated and sealed everywhere to make it as airtight as possible.  No gas here and didn't want to use propane, so this house will be all-electric except for the wood heater in the living room which should supply all the heat needed in the winter.  Still not sure about the pex though- put it down in my son's house but haven't gotten around to hooking it up to a boiler or hot water heater- not enough time and money...

Also forgot tally on the dirt: $735 total for seven loads, 112 cubic yards.  The fill dirt may or may not support the slab.  Oh, it will during the pour, but I don't have time to do what Raider Bill did: 2 days with a compactor.  That is certainly the best way to go, but as it turns out, this slab will be totally supported by remesh over rebar that is tied into rebar set in concrete in the foundation walls which will be filled completely with concrete (at least mostly, can't reach some of the fill dirt that accidentally got into the blocks).  In fact, there are some builders that use this approach for raised foundations down here: after the slab is poured, they run water through the fill dirt to wash it all out, liberating the crawlspace for plumbing and electrical as needed.  I have no plans to do that- let sleeping dogs lie, I say...

Lj

[ljmathias]

Sorry, Jim, I was typing while you were- sure, my son and I will hand-dig channels in the fill dirt to set the pipes in for waste going to the septic tank which will be the last major component installed.  The perc test was good so our field won't have to be too large or above ground, but that comes later.  Hopefully, we can get the pipes in tomorrow just before we finish up the rebar/remesh mix.  Glad you reminded me, though: got to talk to the son tonight and tomorrow line up a cement finishing crew to pour the slab.  I've done slabs but I don't have enough help right now to do this one, and mine are great for barns, but not so much for houses. :D  Some things are best left to the professionals, me not being one of those when it comes to construction.

Lj

[WDH]

You say that you are not a professional, but you are a DanG good contractor, carpenter, logger, sawyer, Professor, father, grandfather, etc.  8).

[ljmathias]

WDH: thanks for that, and I guess it points up an important aspect to life- being good at stuff other than your job is sometimes more important than the job (spending time with family, helping others, doing hard productive work.

James: thanks for the suggestion on sump pump, but it poured a bucket here and I didn't have time to set one up anyway.  Let's hope walls don't get pushed out... Back to it later in the week but still have to do rough plumbing (son will do that on Sunday, he says), get the termite guy to spray the dirt, then all the parts for the slab to put in and tie together...  I LOVE this stuff! 

Lj

[Raider Bill]

Are you going to lay foam down under the slab?

[ljmathias]

Raider, thanks for asking.  Been thinking more about that, and talked to my son as well.  Not sure the trade-off would be worth it.  We're installing a high SER heat pump-air conditioner and will super insulate and seal the place so it should be inherently easy to heat and cool.  Our winters aren't all that cold anywhere- no pipes in my house and we have the same raised slab but with natural rock floor and it doesn't get uncomfortable summer or winter.  Her house will be all electric which makes hot water pretty expensive as opposed to a wood burning stove in the living room that will have a window in it plus can be opened to function as a fireplace.  Final analysis- probably not worth it for her.

Maybe you could summarize your take on putting foam down?  Did you find it worth the expense and trouble?  I'll check the prices tomorrow but even the thin stuff isn't cheap, plus we'd be walking all over it while putting down the rebar and remesh and probably crush it or punch holes through...

Lj

[Raider Bill]

I got mine off Craig s list for $4.00 per 4X8 Sheet it was 2inch stuff. I don't know if it did any good or not really as my slab is the basement floor. I was a bit of a pain. If I was further up north than Tenn and the slab was going to be my living space floor I'd do it again.
Maybe someone else will jump in with better answers.

[beenthere]

Maybe you could summarize your take on putting foam down?

For me, the foam would keep the floor at a temp close to the room, without the differential between the room air and the soil beneath the slab floor.
The differential may be slim to none in your warmer southern climate, but it wouldn't take much to cause sweating of the floor given the right conditions. IMO ;)

But if you put it down, I'd be sure the plastic on top is continuous so when pouring the  concrete cannot slide under the plastic or the foam. Makes a real mess then, as my good friend learned the hard way, and I was helping.

Fence-like rebar over the plastic and/or foam helps that a lot.

Some concrete contractors dislike the plastic because it takes longer to get on the floor to finish it. My last builder put plastic down and then a 1" layer of sand on the plastic. That helped with the finishing time, apparently soaking up some of the extra water in the concrete.

[ljmathias]

For us, the plastic is a must- keeps the concrete floor drier and controls humidity better, but I've pretty much decided that the foam is not worth the effort.  Won't be doing PEX tubing in the slab either- running out of time and way short on money right now... isn't that the story of my life? :D :D

Lj

[Raider Bill]

For us, the plastic is a must- keeps the concrete floor drier and controls humidity better, but I've pretty much decided that the foam is not worth the effort.  Won't be doing PEX tubing in the slab either- running out of time and way short on money right now... isn't that the story of my life? :D :D

Lj

ah certainly know this feeling....... ;) ;D  I had great plans building mine but like ol Forest Gump said "things" happen. Between by wallet springing a leak and all the money running out, my lack of building skills coming to light some planned things just didn't happen.

[ljmathias]

Plumbing rough-in and termite treatment

Quick update on the plumbing rough-in, then off to church and back to the worksite...

Saturday the weather was perfect: clear, dry (for us anyway) and sunny.  Got up to 80 or so which meant a little sweat but great fun with the grandkids who "helped" some on the dirt-filled foundation.  Spent $200 on PVC of various sizes, brought home the 20' pipes (2 and 4") resting on the passenger side mirror and tied to the bed- there's planning for you; luckily it didn't come loose and go flying down the road in front of the cars backed up behind us.  My daughter had a new entry in her blog on "Driving Lessons:" http://measureoncecusstwice.blogspot.com/ in which I taught her the very important lesson of how to drive like a farmer.  I've followed enough farmers to know, but rarely practice this fine art myself- too much of a hurry usually.  The key is this: take your time, enjoy the ride, look at all the other farms and fields carefully as you pass, and don't worry about the steadily increasing parade behind you...

Anyway, got the supplies to the site and my plumber son, Josh, didn't go finish a major commercial remodel he's working on- knee giving him fits again.  He wasn't so "stove up" though that he couldn't work on the new house, so we did.  Had to shift out a little excess dirt from the fill in first: turns out my "measuring eye" needs recalibration: what I thought was a few shovels full turned out to be about ten FEL buckets of extra dirt that had to be removed to get down to the level for the next steps.  Took an hour or so, which gave Josh time to play with his kids while I drove the tractor back into the foundation and scrapped, dug and redeposited the dirt outside.  Finally got to the real work of the day: under-slab piping.  This is really important to get right if you don't want to bust up concrete later because you measured wrong.  It's also important so that the "excrement flows downhill," as the saying goes.      If you don't have the right amount of "fall" in the waste pipes, then it doesn't, which means it backs up and your house fills up with it- not a pleasant development.  And here's the real problem: no way to test it till the house is all built, everything is installed including floors, walls and finish plumbing, and it's way, way too late to fix.  Sometimes my son tries to hurry this- PITA job doing rough in, and the only reward is getting it done so you can move on.  Luckily, our on-site supervisor kept us in line: a blue-bellied lizard my oldest grandson caught next to the foundation.  Have no idea how he got to Mississippi- he looked this particular species up and it's range is said to be restricted to California so he must be a retro-immigrant, finally coming to his senses after experiencing life on the left coast and returning to the roots of the nation- the Deep South.   ;D





Well, darn it all: the auto-inserter isn't working again; wonder why this time?  Oh, well, back to manual cut-and-paste of image info into the post...

Once we had the dirt level and our supervisor on-site and cracking the whip, things moved pretty fast.  Hand-dug the trenches for the pipe, measuring carefully for position for the washer drain, the AC and hot water heater drain, the kitchen sink drain and the pipe coming down from the upstairs bathroom, all tied into the 4" main that exits under the master bath toilet which we had set "in concrete" during the footing pour.  That pipe goes under the block work to be at the right depth leaving the foundation, so I'd put that in after digging the footings, and poured concrete around it.  Also ran the PEX water line through a PVC pipe under the footing and into the block wall of the house.  That will go up into attic space (such as it is) above the back porch to be split and dropped into the the hot water heater, the kitchen sink, up to the 2nd floor bath and down to the washer hook up and master bath toilet, bath tub and lavatory.... but that all comes after the frame is up.  Pictures below show my son Josh in the ditch working (or about to or having just done some), me trying to help (I always look real serious when mistakes can be costly- son just shrugs it off which is good) and the two of us discussing something. 







Last picture shows some of the tools needed for this job- shovels, of course, and a dirt tamper; not shown: level to check "fall" in the pipe, a skill saw (circ saw) to cut the pipe, tape measures, pipe glue (keeps the excrement from leaking out...) and the plans to double and triple check measurements (dang lizard is a perfectionist).  In the distance you can see the old F250 that has now become the farm truck (see my daughter's post in her blog for details).  She'll be gradually assuming responsibility for helping turn the farm into a more profitable enterprise (daughter, not the truck): we've already planted a half dozen fruit trees in the last week, two kiwi vines, a new grapevine in the vineyard (such as it is) and a bunch of herbs and vegetables.  More plans in the works and more on that later. 

The old truck was just sitting behind the barn: we'd blown the engine (or it came that way, whichever) so I'd had a rebuilt one installed, but hadn't really gotten the truck road-worthy.  Bit the bullet (which always means spending more money around here) and had new tires and shocks put on.  While the tire shop was doing that, they discovered that the front brake pads were almost gone and a major leak had developed at the rear axle: ouch!  That old truck better last a really long time now- way too much money "invested" in it!  My daughter and grandson were considering names for the beast (we always name our equipment in the hopes it will feel more like family and go the extra mile- never seems to work though), when the grandson came up with "Lazarus," an appropriate name and one that's easy to remember (some of us need that).



Have to stop at Lowe's on the way home from church and pick up a couple fittings we "forgot" we needed, then back in the ditch to finish up pipes and cover up for the next step- termite treatment... stay tuned.

Lj