Rick and Ellen's Homestead

Started by rick91351, March 20, 2013, 11:55:14 PM

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rick91351

We had a sort of soft day today.  The Hot Shots did not.  They were able to secure a hand line and brushed out the cat line and were able to back fire with a favorable prediction of a sustained wind.  Tomorrow and the next day should close this fire out here excluding the fact it is so dry it can still beak out. 



Elk Fire and runs east for miles about 25 or 30 miles



Pony Fire the other side of the canyon and those dark mountains and runs for about 20 miles to the west.... 



Cabin site that is to be built next year

Before



After





Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

John Raabe

You've carved out a nice plot. Looks like the soil is pretty easy to work.
None of us are as smart as all of us.


rick91351

John if you are referring to the shown photos on the recent post.  The one carved into the decomposed granite is not ours but one that my excavating friend recently carved out for a client.  I posted it just because I did have a good pre and post fire photo.  And its design I hope to show here as he has a very good design for a small cabin.  The view from the day light side is great.  And offers great northern protection. 

Or if you are referring to the house we are building thanks.   ;)       
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

rick91351

The fire that refuses to leave



Way over a week of having this smoldering, blowing up, chasing it down, running like crazy stalled out over the ridge smudge pot going.  If it comes over the ridge we are back in the mess big time.  Everyone up here is getting 'burned out' with it.  Life must go on.  But right now it is a lung full of smoke, in the morning when we go out your eyes sting and burn.  Today a new fire erupted where we fought the fire for two days with a home made pump trailer with a 300 gallon tank.  Locals like me with fourwheelers and shovels  and a couple uncertified dozers.   This was before the BLM and and USFS were able to get to us with a couple tank trucks.  Today we have lost some our heavy choppers to the Beaver Creek Fire near the celebrities homes in Sun Valley. 

We are left with this one and a couple small ones



So while watching out the corner of my eye and wondering when the phone would ring I stripped footing forms hoping to get back on the house.





     
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

rick91351

Our grandson's cat Eleven Cents which we are charge of went missing about five days ago over on the fire escape route.  She traveled the two point five miles, a mid coyotes, foxes and hawks back to the homestead.  Yesterday she showed up here at the fifthwheel, when she meowed Ellen opened the door she came in got a bite to eat and went back out the door and went off hunting like nothing ever happened.  Dirty but okay....



Yesterday morning was another smoke filled smudge pot morning.



However by afternoon it had cleared out and they claim the fire is pretty much out here.  My concrete guy his house survived over across the canyon and near Mountain Home.  He was able to make it up here even though the roads are still closed for the lookers.  I had the footing forms stripped and piled and the last of the rebar bent and wired when he arrived mid morning.  We got some wall forms up but spent most of the time trading fire stories.  Note how well the air had cleaned up [cool] 

     
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.


rick91351

Today we got the rest of the wall up and a couple porch piers formed.



We took time out this evening to go to an ice cream and pie social at Mountain Home.  A fund raiser for the historical society.  We got home in time for a blessed moment after days of smoke and flames......  good to leave with more than a  little confidence that it will be here when we return. 





Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

OlJarhead

Lookin' great!

Gotta be a great feeling to be seriously into it now!?

rick91351

#57
Quote from: OlJarhead on August 21, 2013, 12:21:20 PM
Lookin' great!

Gotta be a great feeling to be seriously into it now!?

OJ it has not even started to sink in yet.  It is more right now a side line to the horror of the fire.  So much was lost for a lot of our friends and neighbors.  We don't have a clue how many cows and calves we lost.  They were out on the Forest Service allotments they have not seen our bull that was out there.  They are riding every day and finding more here and there as well as a few dead ones.  I have seen a few of our cows and calves here and there.  I and one of the neighbors took off on a wild quad ride opening gates to all over so the cattle are scattered greatly. 

But we are in a place where we have our retirement and no bank notes out or loans that hinge on the cattle like so many up here.  But you not only hate the $ hit but you hate to see livestock and wildlife suffer.  They found about 40 head of elk dead over in a huge drainage over the hill from us.  And that was just right next to the road. 

The fire and loss of bear habitat prompted me to call my bee guru and he made a trip up the mountain.  We loaded out bees last night and got them tied down at 01:30.  He left - I went back to all three places we were experimenting with them.  I wanted to make sure we did not leave any embers or sparks or smolders behind.  It is so dry that a smoker could burn this down so quick.  There has not been any honey flow at all as of late.  He has some places he can take them.

Then to top it off last I looked we have 65% chance of more lighting and strong / high winds.  Now that I vented some of my concerns.   >:( 

We got everything formed up yesterday and are ready to pour walls and piers this morning.

One of six porch piers.



Front of the house.



Because this house is engineered there are a lot of brackets and bolts or embeds that would not show up on a conventional house.  These catch a double 2X6 bracket on windows on the side of the house.       



These 7/8 18 inch J bolts catch 7 4X6s that are like king studs on the front of the house.  They are next to doors and windows and catch one corner.  A heavy duty HD bracket bolts to that and it mates to the 4X6   



   
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

rick91351

#58
08/22/2013 we poured the foundation.  08/23/2013 we stripped the forms

It turned out very good.

Back porch



Front porch



The whole thing



When Mike my concrete guy started to leave he handed me his billing and it broke down

Price as bid          $14,680

Deduct labor           $1440

Deduct for
lowered
concrete
price                          $433

Total invoice         $12,807

I had to furnish all rebar and embeds and that was close to $2,000.  I had 26 or 28 or so 20 foot half inch rebar horded or almost half of the half inch.
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.


rick91351

08/24/2013 The lumber yard, my old stand by but now fifty five miles away.   I tossed them a set of prints to see if they might be interested in our house.  They indeed were interested in handling our house package.  We have been friends since like age twelve or thirteen and I am almost 62 now!  He and his wife opened a lumber yard and over the years we have been very steady customers though not contractors have earned their respect that we get the same discounts and other favors as their regular high volume clients receive.  We take some bumps in the road and hiccups now and then but it has been a great relationship. 

Yes they were interested in handling the house package.  Saturday he called and said he was taking the day off and had a little extra truck time.  They said could bring up our pressure treat and part of the floor package.  Their day off from the lumber yard so they haul lumber up to us.   ???  We did take him and his wife over to the Y-Stop for cheese burgers.  (Best burgers on the Prairie.)  He even tossed in a bunch of cull 2X6 Doug Fir and said see if we can't use them in the pony walls.  As with most of us any extra help is way  [cool].



Today after church he made another trip up with the I joists and a unit of OSB.  Should keep me happy for a day or two.   :D



Might make a heck of a jump

   
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

mwhutch

Looks like a good and stout foundation, and I'm sure you are glad to start framing after all this time!  [cool]

rick91351

Quote from: mwhutch on August 25, 2013, 08:35:49 PM
Looks like a good and stout foundation, and I'm sure you are glad to start framing after all this time!  [cool]

Thanks it has been a long time coming but it is starting to take shape.....

Pony walls are in



I decided not to use brackets but made another set of shallow pony walls that sit on the footing and just sit away from the stem walls.  Bottom plate is still pressure treat.   

   

It was a real work out carrying and cutting I Joists in the still very dry and hot 90 + degree days.  I am sure glad I hired one of the experienced people from up here to give me a hand.  So happens he is also our Pastor at the Prairie Bible Fellowship.  He is also a cowboy, sawmill hand and works in the woods now and then..

     


 

By the end of the day, I was able to call the Inspector and schedule a inspection in the morning.



  My helper Pastor Joseph is going to be off for the week end.  SO the focus shall turn to clean up and some other chores.

Side note --  The Forest Service has started closing off roads due to the fires.  The burn areas are totally closed to people with out a permit.   They are just to dangerous.  I heard where the Idaho Fish and Game has totally shut down the bulk of this hunting unit.  Very unusual for them to do such.  Huge amounts dead animals have been reported.   

Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

rick91351

I used the weekend to clean up or pick up all of the stuff that always seems to get tossed under foot.  The lumber yard brought up more lumber.  Mostly exterior 2X6s and LVL for beams and headers so it looks like anyway.  I do know we are going to be real short on bracing lumber if it does not make the next truck.   [waiting] 

Ellen and I damp proofed or water proofed so the label on the bucket says.  Product was made by USG.  It was just given to us by the lumber yard we use.  It as is not a good seller and going out of inventory.   



Then I took time to calk the gaps in the sill or sole plate before we get started with the sub-floor.

   
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

Redoverfarm

Rick are you going to put a moisture barrier in  the crawlspace floor as well as gravel or sand?  Seems like now would probably be the time to do it as crawling around underneath later could be a little tight given the heigth of your walls. ;D


rick91351

Quote from: Redoverfarm on September 02, 2013, 06:28:24 AM
Rick are you going to put a moisture barrier in  the crawlspace floor as well as gravel or sand?  Seems like now would probably be the time to do it as crawling around underneath later could be a little tight given the heigth of your walls. ;D

Thanks John for pointing that out.  All we are required is a 6 mill vapor barrier to retain the radon emissions.  I am thinking IRC is 18 inches clearance   ???  We are at 36 on the perimeter and more in the middle.   

Because of the oddity of our clearance.  This was excavated for a modular that we bought but they could not get up here.  A double combo problem - because of a road problem three impassable curves and the old routing for large equipment - large loads is no longer allowed because Home Land Security and Anderson Dam.  Everything had to go over it but not now.

So we had the hole in the ground and two roadways to pull in the sections and move them together.  Everything was pretty well shot to grade.  So two of the footings are sitting on the road ways and virgin soil.  The north end is sitting on virgin soil the south end however was packed and watered and packed and watered.  Our fingers are crossed, but this soil is so forgiving up here.

So our perimeter footing is way up in the air.  We are at 36 inches bottom of the footings to bottom of sill plate with the soil sloping down from there to the bottom of the old clearance.  The center pony wall footings are even more roomy and pony walls are higher because the inspector allowed us to drop the pony wall footings into the ground.  So they are almost four foot.





Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

Redoverfarm

Rick just thought it would be more accessible now than later.  I used some sand on the ground and then used 6mil.  That way it was a little softer to crawl on later and the sand prevented punctures.  And yes you will probably be under their probably more so now than later running electrical, plumbing and the like.

rick91351

Pastor Joseph and I putting down the sub floor.





Last piece going down!!



Pastor Joseph does his famous Smiths Prairie Toe Dance Shuffle



Just about all you can expect out of either of us after



We were able to hold each course straight as a string literally

Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

MountainDon

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

rick91351

My helper was off to the Air Races in Reno this last week.  Ellen and I hung the ledger boards for the porch decks.  I made a couple trips to civilization....  GRRRR!  I hate going to town!!  Ordered the trusses  :) and had a funeral to attend.   :(  and trip to the lumber yard......... more $$$

Our little community made national news again - this time flash floods.  We had some real gnarly cells come through





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNAnitOo6P4&feature=em-upload_owner

They took the roads out everywhere to the south and east of us where it had burned and there was a canyon or steep drainage of good size.  It was so bad it dammed up the South Fork of the Boise our prized blue ribbon trout fly fishing attraction until the river had a chance to cut through again.  Three major slides went into the river.  Granite Creek, Ruff Creek and the Reclamation Village.  Several went into the back waters of Anderson Dam.  It is so bad over that way they doubt they will reopen the road around the back waters of the dam this year.  I rode down to the river on my quad yesterday and the river still looked like three day old coffee with a touch of cream.

Our friend and neighbor with the crawler came over and back filled around the house.





Back yard landscaping is already in   ;D  We will let it settle and get a few rains on it and then fine grade plus there will be us driving around the foundation for a while.   :o






   
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.



rick91351

Quote from: OlJarhead on August 21, 2013, 12:21:20 PM
Lookin' great!

Gotta be a great feeling to be seriously into it now!?

Quote from: OlJarhead on September 16, 2013, 07:56:42 AM
Looking awesome!

Thanks OJ

Now for the first time it is really hitting home that it is our house.  And that I'm not helping someone else this time around.

Plus getting it back filled and getting rid of the mounts of dirt really helps.  It has been like that for the past year and a real eyesore at least to me and Ellen.  Sort of spoke of a monument of a deal gone bad.  An embarrassment and a $3,000 money pit.  What we were out on the house they could not produce.   I need to progress getting that back.   >:(
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

OlJarhead

Can't wait to get my 'mounds of dirt' plowed down and holes back filled! lol

rick91351

We got walls!!!  :D






Any of those with sheeting we raised with the neighbors self loader logging truck.  We had to pick them up and place them over the top of some bracket anchor bolts engineered in to the concrete.  Plus they engineered in 4x8 headers front and rear.  Then with the amount of 4X6s and doubled up king studs and tripled even a couple quad-tripled the plans called for.  Pat came to the rescue again.    [cool]





The others we raised by hand and will drop in the headers and the few extra studs most likely today.  We left the hole in the wall because we still need a good pass through just in case we decide to place the safe now, plus two cast iron tubs.  We can back right up to the hole and slide them in.   



Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

Redoverfarm

Looking good Rick.  The knuckleboom is a god sin when it came to setting the trusses on the garage of mine.  Convientional trusses you might by hand but with attic trusses there was no way to do them without it. Good you had access to it.

rick91351

Last week was a killer week.

Hey we got trusses



Hey we got snow up high and much needed rain down here on the prairie.  I can pretty safely say our fire season is now over.   :-\





We got the porch posts up and the brackets and beams set on them.  Well we are short a few LVLs will have to make the trip to Boise Monday.   :-[  They engineered out as 14 inches



We got bearing walls up - beams and headers up.....  Everything thing from small LVL to 14 inch puppies







Then Saturday the handful of us swung trusses.  Thanks to Pat and the log loader, Pastor Joseph who had to be the truss monkey, my wife Ellen who kept everyone supplied with nails and these cool truss brackets Joseph had me buy.  Then me who hates heights but ..... If you got to you got to.     









We sat the last three in the dark with the car lights of Ellen's car and Josephs pick up.

Thanks again guys.







Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.