Rick and Ellen's Homestead

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

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pmichelsen

I love the use of the log! Looks like your project is moving right along.

rick91351

Quote from: pmichelsen on September 30, 2013, 09:39:55 AM
I love the use of the log! Looks like your project is moving right along.

These guys that live up here and have their whole life.  It is so surprising what most of them can come up with.  Most treasure their old machinery that they can modify and work with without hacking a computer or bypassing electronics.  The guy on the self loader he is like a hydraulics engineer with out the diploma.  He is an Einstein with a few pieces of metal and a good welder.  Then give him a good green fir log and I think he could figure out how to move the earth.               

As far as the house it has to move right a long.  We really do not want to spend another winter in the fifthwheel even if we 'snowbird' like we did last year.  We so miss not having a real house / home. 
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.



Don_P

Looking sharp, that house oughta last awhile! That is an ingenious use of the loader, neat truck setup with the pup trailer. I remember them from out west but not sure if they run that setup over this way. This is a friends with the boom at the rear, he can haul a pup on the pintle hitch... when one of us gets an A license. I was using it to set up a hollow oak for a stumpkin that we'll probably fire up this week, we should have rain tomorrow.

rick91351

Quote from: Don_P on October 05, 2013, 01:26:54 PM
Looking sharp, that house oughta last awhile! That is an ingenious use of the loader, neat truck setup with the pup trailer. I remember them from out west but not sure if they run that setup over this way. This is a friends with the boom at the rear, he can haul a pup on the pintle hitch... when one of us gets an A license. I was using it to set up a hollow oak for a stumpkin that we'll probably fire up this week, we should have rain tomorrow  .........snip.............

Thanks a lot Don that really means a lot to me coming from you.   [cool]  It has been a sort of challenge some of the stuff the Engineer Bob Peters 'dumped on us'.  I was not thinking a footing that large and and all the solid 4x6s and huge hold downs.  Then all the 14 inch LVL we bought and still 'miss calculated' and had too make 'another trip to town'.  We had the little lumber yard we use scrambling as well.  As you say it oughta last a while.  With a 'tin roof' - and a Hardie type cement siding and a nice sized 'green area' around it we hope to cut down on the fire danger from without.  Have not thought to much on the within.  ???  Hopefully our family will hold on to it.  If not someone will have a nice home on down the line.   ;)

After going through the tenth driest year on record.  Our sub floor has gotten drenched on multi-times but as dry as it was I was  ::) not up set at all.  The fist of October brings a new moisture 'year' to the Boise Basin.  The water catchment for all the irrigation down in the Treasure Valley and recharges the springs and creeks up here.  Normally we end the year with some where around 24- 25 inches of water counting both rain and snow is pretty normal.  We were ten inches shy of that.  We ended the year up here 15.5 or close to it.  We recorded several days just before the fires broke out at 0% humidity in Boise and up here.

Our friend on the self loader is making log recovery trailer with and grapple arm and a winch.  (Smaller than what you show in your photo.)  He is stumped trying to use some old European hydraulic valves he has salvaged off something.  That is his main hobby - he uses stuff that he gets at scrap price or free and makes stuff out of it.  He made the log grapple for his crawler from stuff he bought from the scrap yard.  Looks like factory.

           
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

Well we finely got enough 14" LVL up here to finish the porch piers.  We were short three doubles of 95" in the front and one in the back after we set the trusses.  We had to slide them in under the trusses and horse the top plates in over them jacking and pounding and hammering on them.  But that is done!   ;) Still can not figure out where we were all so far off in ordering them.   ???



I have used this truss company before and they always seem to just excel heads above others in the valley.  From a great delivery driver, right down to the tags to make sure you understand where the bearing points are just in case one gets turned or 'stuff happens'. 



They engineered all the bearing walls inside the house with 2x6s and LVL beams and headers



We got the trusses double blocked.  I ordered the bases taller so we would have more insulation where it counts next to the walls. 



I rented a man-lift to do gable end blocking and some other duties.  They really speed things up and are so much safer than hanging them hang off the trusses..... ;D 



Besides that we got some sheeting on the lid



     

 
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

Rally moving along now!  Should be able to get it dried in before the snow flies!  [cool]

rick91351

Quote from: OlJarhead on October 10, 2013, 04:15:05 PM
Rally moving along now!  Should be able to get it dried in before the snow flies!  [cool]

We were making great progress Joseph and I.  Then the man lift went down so we lost a day or two waiting for a 'tech' to come up Monday.  Joseph had to leave for meetings in Post Falls Monday got back Tuesday morning and was here Tuesday afternoon after the drive up from Boise.  And we worked until dark we and we really made good progress.  Today he showed up and he said we would have the sheeting on the roof tonight before Wednesday night  church.  I said no way could if be done.  We sheeted some more on the house waiting for the frost to leave the roof then at about eleven he got started.  We had over three quarters to do on the west side to complete.......  east side is all nailed off.

In the middle of our roof sheeting marathon the building inspector dropped by  [shocked]  but just to chat.  [waiting] He said he is amazed at the progress we are making on this with just the two of us work on it and neither real carpenters and what a good job we are doing.  But then as he says building a house for yourself is one of two things -- Trying to do everything as cheap and hurried as you can or they are very well built and a lot of attention to detail.  WE got an official  [cool]

Joseph 5:30 PM with the last sheet nailed down.   I might add no one got photos of me lugging sheets.  No body told me retirement was this hard on the body.   ;)





Fall colors at the homestead plus with deer season here, it is hard to keep my mind focused on getting dried in.   I hate to see a perfectly good deer tag in my wallet go to waste.   







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.

Squirl

It's really looking good.  I don't think I've ever mentioned it, but thanks for sharing everything with the orchard and homestead over the years.  It helps me dream and learn for when I have the opportunity to do it myself.

I think I'm going to be a stick in the mud, but I have to say it, consider a safety harness.  d*



LuvHartwell

Wow!  Really coming along nicely. Great to see you have a building inspector that is an asset and not a liability.

rick91351

Quote from: LuvHartwell on October 20, 2013, 08:12:15 AM
Wow!  Really coming along nicely. Great to see you have a building inspector that is an asset and not a liability.

Thanks.  Yes our building inspector is pretty good and always a phone call away if you need advise.  Pretty level headed guy.  The one he replaced had his own IRC code and interpretation for the day.  We never could figure him out what he wanted today would change tomorrow.  He wrote me up on a couple things a couple years ago.  I went to the engineer.  The inspector changed his tune with the engineer real quick.  He got let go over a trespass problem.  He thought he could drive any where and inspect anything even if there was no building going on nor permits pulled on the property.....

We got the first shear inspection......passed with flying colors......

Windows cut out and ready to wrap



View from the kitchen....



View from the front room





   
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

There's a similarity to what some of NM looks like...
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Windpower


Great views and great progress !

We put "ice and water shield"  down last year because it was not hot enough to seal the shingles down

this stuff or similar

http://www.researchroofing.com/ice.html

the OSB roof came through a tough Wisconsin winter in fine shape --- probably would have been a mess with tar paper only -- and as Mike, the carpenter, said the shingles would have blown off for sure in the winter storms we had --- it was one of the best decisions we made last December before we shut down for the winter
Often, our ignorance is not as great as our reluctance to act on what we know.


rick91351

Quote from: Windpower on October 24, 2013, 07:13:34 AM
Great views and great progress !

We put "ice and water shield"  down last year because it was not hot enough to seal the shingles down

this stuff or similar

http://www.researchroofing.com/ice.html

the OSB roof came through a tough Wisconsin winter in fine shape --- probably would have been a mess with tar paper only -- and as Mike, the carpenter, said the shingles would have blown off for sure in the winter storms we had --- it was one of the best decisions we made last December before we shut down for the winter

We are now about to the end of our building season up here.  We are so blessed to get the run of weather that we have gotten.  We are trying our best to get it dried in and working inside before the gales of November.  The windows are in and at the lumber yard.  I need to go get them or have them shipped depending on how busy they are.

Weather is one of the reasons we are 'farming out' most everything from this point as far as the trades.  I know I am not willing to risk plumbing and electrical against the winter weather that is coming.  Especially with just two of us working on this house.  If this was a smallish cabin with a bath or two - more or less stacked.  One or two 'water walls' and mid summer like I wanted it to be then I would bite it off.  But to be looking at the possibility of DIYS against people that do it all the time against the four foot of snow that is coming....... and my wife reminding me, she / we are not going to Az again this year.....

As far as I am concerned somethings are just best left up to people that do it all the time....... I do not think I would save all that much in time and money to tell you the truth.  Not when it is eighty miles round trip and $4.00 fuel and you need a widget pin.  What I have found over the years no matter how hard I plain it out - lay it out there are always weak links.  Tools or parts or wrong size.  You loose a half a day and spend more on fuel.    So I am trying my best to cram as many people through here as I can and in the quickest most efficient manner.     

So that said the plumbers started yesterday and will be out Monday or Tuesday.  Heating and cooling will be in Tuesday or Wednesday for two days.  Then the electrician takes over.  In the mean time I have to build a fire under the roofer to get him up here and get his ice and snow on.  Last I talked to him he said he would get it right on as soon as it came in.  In short I am now Rick the General Contractor......  As soon as we get the trades out of here then we can be Rick and Ellen the tile and wood working guys [slap].  That is what I am looking forward to.   :D

             
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.

considerations

They joy of DIY is always trumped by the joy of getting it done!  c*

Pine Cone

Looking great! 

One of the benefits of growing older and smarter is better decision-making about when you should spend money to let someone else do it. 

I did the DYI thing for years, but now I'm willing to let someone else build my fences and work on my plumbing and electrical.  Our poultry coop is going slow since I'm the one doing it, but it should get pretty much finished this weekend before the rains hit.  I was happy to pay someone else to do the concrete work.

Can't hardly wait to see the finished project [cool]

rick91351

I have a couple projects that have me stumped.  One is I want to make arts and craft style porch posts sitting on rock piers......   ???  I have been researching and I can find them - the arts and craft style tapered posts -  manufactured and I am not so sure that is the way to go.  But holding them true to each other four on the front and two on the back has me a little buffaloed.  Has anyone done them?  I find instructions on the internet but really I was as confused after I read and studied than before......

When we designed this house we wanted in the interest of fire safety to do cement siding and fire proof the porches as well as we can within reason.  This property has escaped two huge fires over the pass fifteen years.  So I am wondering what to do with the ceilings of the porches.  Fire safety says these type of porches trap the heat and erupt in flames if not well thought out.  Of course no combustibles growing in the laps of the porches.  A green area established and taken care of.  Irrigated and mowed - sort of like a lawn  ... :o  I am thinking sheets of cement siding on the ceiling and wrapping the LVLs with the same.  Hopefully this might protect the combustibles.  I am going to try and touch base with the siding guy Saturday and see if he might come up and give us some advise.  Anyone got any ideas please toss them out there........             
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.

Pine Cone

#94
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roof|porch overhangs with gap between

Couldn't find much online, but what about a porch roof overhang with a small gap between the roof and porch overhangs.  It would allow super-heated fire air a place to go without trapping much, and wouldn't be too bad for snow in the winter.  Bad graphic above hints at what I am talking about.  Roof comes down from house, 1 foot gap, then porch roof starts slightly higher than where roof from house ended.  Armor the underside of the roof overhang with cement siding, use tin/steel roofing for the porch roof.  You could even put the cement siding so it angled up toward the edge of the roof so it would not trap hot air underneath.   

Sprinklers might be a good idea as well, but the power will usually go out about the time a wildfire hits your house so that is iffy if you are on a well.

If my text-graphic above doesn't make sense  let me know and I'll do a better one.  Might look a bit strange, but it wouldn't trap heat next to the house nearly as much as a conventional porch overhang.

Can't quite figure out what you are talking about on the Arts and Crafts porch posts.  Maybe a picture to help show your dilemma?


rick91351

Quote from: MountainDon on October 24, 2013, 10:47:50 PM
sprinklers

Sprinklers is one thing I want to do.  However....  This area when there is a fire the power is pretty well gone for a week or more.  This years Elk Complex fire the power went out the night of the fire right after a lighting storm.  We did not know at the time it was devouring power poles.  We got up the next morning power was still out.  I looked around and no smoke was visible.   We went to town and by the time we got back up here it had almost burnt the village and we were under mandatory evacuation.  Idaho Power says they had to replace 105 poles so far do to the fire.  Power remained out for a five days if I remember correctly.  Then went out again do to pole loss from the Pony Complex fire.         

Problem number two the well is not a high producing well.  Like a 1.5 GPM - we have a 900 gallon spring tank buried.  It can run the house in the event of loss of power but does not have enough force to do any good under those circumstances.

Three I am trying to take care of two problems at the same time.  One how do we finish off the porches and make them look real nice and two help prevent fire danger / damage I guess is the real question......  ???

 
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: Pine Cone on October 24, 2013, 11:02:12 PM
snip.........................
Can't quite figure out what you are talking about on the Arts and Crafts porch posts.  Maybe a picture to help show your dilemma?

Here is a link

http://www.houzz.com/arts-%26-crafts-porch
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

QuoteThis years Elk Complex fire the power went out the night of the fire right after a lighting storm.  We did not know at the time it was devouring power poles.

That is why along with the sprinklers you would need a self starting generator fueled by propane from an underground tank. As well an underground tank of a few thousand gallons of water stored. 

There are systems that can spray a foam just be fore fire hits.

There are also intumescent paints... paints that expand into an insulating layer when the heat gets high enough.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Don_P

Cement board for the porch ceiling, make sure it is for horizontal application and fasten well, if it falls off the framing is unprotected. It isn't pretty but one of the companies also makes cement battens. Wrap the lvl's in cement fascia boards. I've wrapped porch columns in the cement soffit material and trimmed the corners with wood... the corners are the ignition point though. I'd be tempted to make your wraps out of durock and then stucco it. I haven't been keeping up real close (I tend not to keep up with folks who know what they're doing as closely  ;)) but I'm assuming you're going with an unvented roof or using firebrand vents. On any exposed timber easing the edge helps with ignition a whole lot, that is the original reason for chamfering or rounding the corners of beams in timber and mill construction. And you're doing the real work, keep the fire as light and low as possible around the structure, deny it fuel.

rick91351

#99
WOW since my last post:

We moved the big tin cabin  (fifthwheel) down to the Valley to get it ready for winter as we are getting ready for the final push on the house and will be anchored here pretty tight.  Several issue were coming to a head.  One the furnace motor was going out.  Two the bottom the the bath tub which as in most this size is nothing more than a deep shower pan or a child's tub developed a crack down the middle which I crafty like mended with a combo of shipping strapping tape and gorilla tape. :D  But I found that combo can only last a certain length of time.   :o    Plus several other issues from the eagle dent from last years snow birding trip to Nv, Ca and Az.    (The one that Ellen says she will never do again.  Says you desert dwellers can have it - she is staying here.)  A couple lights were in need of  repair or replaced.  Plus the roof needed resealed and on and on.....  So we transferred a bunch of stuff to our little old Alpinlite that we keep around for company and issues like this one.  We were even going to move the little Alpinlite to the big fifthwheel spot so we could hook up to the phone and internet but decide we were busy enough with the house that we really did not need to be shuttling units around. 
    `   



As you can see winter is starting to tease us a bit....

The windows arrived for the house and we got them in.



I went down and rented the man lift again as it is about the quickest and safest to wrap the gable ends and get the window lights in to the attic.  WOW are we getting spoiled





We got our final shear inspection.  The inspector has been amazed how well we are doing, for two guys - a retired locomotive engineer and a preacher.  I had him check our hold downs and framing while he was here as well just in case....   

The plumbers are finished with their rough in and that has been inspected.  The HVAC crew is way over half finished but but one of their fathers past away and they are 'down' until he returns.  The electrician should be finished up today for inspection provided I get him some 10/3 wire.   [waiting]  The HVAC crew have had nothing but good things to say about the plumbers and how well they did the rough in.  The plumbers have had nothing but good things to say about how well the HVAC guys are tucking stuff up and strapping it down - down in the crawl space.

We installed a 400 AMP meter base and split it into two disconnects.  From there it is 200 feet of under ground 3 inch conduit and sweeps to the house.  The other side goes the the shop if I ever run wire to there.  That is another 200 ft or so and the conduit is buried. 



We got the big fifthwheel back up the hill into its spot - no small feat with the current weather patterns...... and I hooked up the internet satellite tonight as this is the last night in the little fifthwheel.  We will get everything put back and I will winterize it and most likely move it down to the valley for winter.   
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.