Poppy's 16x16 timber frame cabin

[poppy]

Don, I will try to show it with a photo when I get to that stage, but the trick is to make the bottom of the concrete cap wedge shaped.  That uses the same design concept as the diamond pier.

The Pin Foundation outfit has tested their concept and says it works well in frost heave situations, by allowing the expanding soil to slide up the angled bottom of the concrete while the pins hold it down.

The other design requirement is to get the pin depth well below the frost line and that resists uplift.  It's the same principle as putting a spread footing at the bottom of the post hole and tying the post to the footing. The combination of the two will prevent upward movement of the system.

Besides which, my pins are about 3 1/2' deep and the average frost line in these parts is only 12".   Those piers aren't going anywhere.

[poppy]

Just for fun, I took some more pics. of some of the Jan. '09 ice damage.


This is my largest pine (at least 50') in the yard above the old house.  The ice snapped off several limbs.


A close-up of the same tree.


Curiously enough, some of the pines and cedars did not break, but took on a permanent bend.   I didn't take any photos, but several cedars in my main grove were literally topped by the ice.  Perhaps you can make out my neighbor's butt ugly satelite dish.

[poppy]

Another update.  First for those who are dying to see what a black oak looks like before leafing out.


This is one of my largest trees in the front yard of the old house.


This is looking SW up the hill past the timber working center towards the cabin site.  Note the special hoisting frame in the foreground.


The black walnut grove before leafing out.  Green is coming, I promise.


One of the large sugar maples.  It is between the barn and the cabin site.  Extra points for those who can spot the chain left from an old tire swing.

[poppy]

More updates.  Green is coming, really it is.


A NW view standing by the sugar maple that anchors the farm road intersection.  Beginning the pin work on the third pier.


Looking west.



OK, maybe not the green you were counting on.  This is the strip between condos where we live.

That's all for now.  I have to upload some more pics.

[poppy]

I have been attending farm auctions for years and have picked up some good deals.  There's also a country radio show called "trash and treasure" where folks call in with things to sell.  That has been a decent source also, but none can top craigslist.

Here is a brief craigslist story.


Sorry about the photo being dark, but this is the pile of polyisocyanurate (polyiso) insulation that was on craigslist for FREE.   It was stored outside and was advertised as being more than a trailer truck load and it was.


This is last of the 4 loads I was able to get, before others swooped in.  I picked it up really early on a foggy Saturday morning on my way out to the country.


The polyiso was closer to our condo than the farm, so it took the place of my wife's car for a while.  This is 3 loads worth.

I had mentioned in a General thread back in May, that I had picked up some rough sawn cherry (another craigslist find), that I intended to use for flooring.  That meant that I no longer needed the Brazilian Walnut flooring that I "stole" at a building supplies auction.


The flooring was stored in the basement, so the lighting wasn't too good, but the flooring is pretty dark and heavy also.


I had about 200 sf that I ended up selling (on craigslist, of course) to a young Marine who was doing some work on his new house.

Gotta like craigslist.

[poppy]

OK, I promised some green, but again probably not what you expected.


This is my great grandmother's rose bush that spreads like crazy.  I have a spot picked out on the farm out by the gate to transplant some later.



Since the iron pipe didn't work out, I tried PVC pipe to hold the driving cap.  I didn't have to worry about it getting stuck on the pin/pipe, but when the top of the pipe bulged out from pounding, the pipe clamp broke and pieces flew about 15.'  So I had to cut a new piece of PVC for eash pin.



Pin #4 on pier #3.



This was the set up for the 4th pier.  It worked pretty well.  It's a "rubber" nipple.



Some of the pins really took a beating, because I had to hammer directly on the pipe once the driving cap was unusable.  The pin on the left is set fully and the one on the right shows what the driving cap did to it.

If I do any more of these, I would need a better driving system, at least for 1 1/2" pipe. 

The porch piers could be done with 1" pipe which would probably drive OK without a driving cap.  Or I may just use 8" Sonotubes.

[poppy]

A little more on craigslist.


There was still some lingering moisture on some of the insulation coverings, so I used a little solar energy to help out before storing in the house.



This damage was part of the adventure in getting the Franklin fireplace.



Another FREE craigslist find less than 2 miles from the condo; aluminum gutter and flashing.

[poppy]

Some promised green plus a bonus photo.


This is some fruit from a patch of trees known as one of the northern most tropical fruit trees.  Extra points for those who can ID it without looking it up.

And a view that we used to have.


This was taken from a park in northern KY overlooking downtown Cincinnati and Covington.  This is the updated view that we had about 10 years ago when we were apartment dwellers and during the time that I first started looking for country property.

Since this is a building forum, you all might be interested in the strange looking building in the upper right.  It is called the Assent, I think, and houses some very expensive condos.

Also, so that we all stay grounded, the large flat building in the middle-right is the IRS processing center.

[diyfrank]

Just a thought.
If you built a combo fence post driver and slide hammer you may get the pins in easier and with less mushroom.

[poppy]

Frank, thanks for the thought.  I did consider a fence post type slide hammer, but it seems like a backbreaking operation.

[Don_P]

You said I couldn't check so I'm going to say its a paw paw.
VT does have a good dendro website.

Old plants are neat, we have some of granddad's. There's a rose in the yard of one house in the county that, well, you remember "the war of the roses"?, its from that rose, a cutting a family member brought over.

Your avatar got me thinking, I prefer an adze myself, I've got much more control. I really prefer a sawmill 

[poppy]

Yep, Don, it's paw paw.  I mainly took the photo this year because the fruit usually disappears before I can harvest any.  The deer get them, I think.

The paw paw patch was a surprise discovery after I noticed the flowers one spring.  It's fun to explore my "spread" to discover what I didn't know about originally.

I got a rose cutting from my daughter's house, who got one from my mother's house, who got one from her mother's house.

My avatar was an experiment to see if I could add it.  I may change it later after doing some real timber frame work, like with a chisel.

I hear you on the adze.  The broad ax seemed to work better with how high the log was on the horses (the height for the chainsaw mill).

I have an adze that seems to work well for debarking.  And I can see more Amish sawmill in my future.

[Redoverfarm]

Paw Paw Oh yeah.  I remember some of my childhood was spent along the Ohio so they were abundant there. On this side of the state however no.  Just to the east they are present. I tried for several years to grow them by seed.  Someone said to plant the whole fruit.  No that didn't work either. 

I like the draw knife to debark.  A little safer.

[poppy]

John, folks have tried to grow paw paw patches for years with little success.  My neighbor says his experience is that they seem to grow better up near a building.

I would think that one would have to transplant whole trees, rather than grow by seed.

My patch is at the edge of the woods in a depression between the house and barn and is expanding and trying to take over one of my blackberry patches.

I agree that the draw knife is safer and I have a couple of different sizes, but none are curved that would make debarking easier.  I only use the adze on old logs.  I haven't tried it on freshly cut trees.

[Redoverfarm]

Yeah I tried the tree's first no luck.  Then just the seed the year later same story.  Then the third year I planted the whole Paw-paw and still nothing.  I beginning to think they just don't like the mountains.

Draw knife works good on trees that the sap is up.  Not so good but doable on ones in the winter but a little more work. 

[poppy]

John, I'll ask my neighbor about the paw paw trees.  I had the impression that he started a patch, but maybe not.  He's a good 'ole boy and knows stuff.

[secordpd]

Are you using caps solely to prevent the tops of the poles from shattering?  Because I would think ( ) that with it mushrooming out, would give it more gripping area once you pour the concrete forms... 

[poppy]

Are you using caps solely to prevent the tops of the poles from shattering?  Because I would think (  ) that with it mushrooming out, would give it more gripping area once you pour the concrete forms... 

No, the primary reason for using a driving cap was to make the hammer blows more efficient and distribute the impact across the whole cross-section of the pipe.  The 1 1/2" sch. 40 pipe is 1 1/2" ID and the head of the hammer is about that same size, so it would have been virtually impossible to drive the whole length without some type of cap.

I didn't anticipate the severe mushrooming though, because it didn't happen on the first 4 pins; but you are correct in that the split ends will indeed grip the concrete better, although I will be using rebar also.

If I use 1" pipe for the porch piers, there will be no need to use caps, provided my lack of depth perception doesn't steer me wrong.

[poppy]

These are some catch-up pics. on some of my building materials finds and one on the pier system also.


These are the 12"x12"x12" pier cap forms under construction on the back porch shop.  One side forms the wedge shape for the bottom of the concrete.  This was taken before I decided to put bevel strips in the corners.



This represents two finds:  1. The trailer from a radio ad on "Trash & Treasure" and 2.  2x lumber from craigslist.

The lumber is actual size 2x4, 2x8, & 2x10.  Most of the 8's & 10's are 15.5 ft. long.  The 2x4's are of varying lengths.

It is reclaimed lumber from an old house in Cincinnati.  Some of the 2x10's were floor joists and some were ceiling/floor joists.  The 2x8's were probably attic joists.

This lumber along with some 10" I joists from an auction, will dictate the floor framing design.



In the process of unloading and stacking the 2x's in the old garage where three other finds are already stored.

The timbers on the right (from Trash & Treasure) are from a 100 yr. old barn.  They range in size from 4x4 to about 6x6 and up to 13 ft. long.  Some of them are hewed; most are sawn.  There was a total of 2 trailer loads with this find, including rafters, T&G siding, and a couple of doors. (See next photo)




The other side of the garage showing more of the "timber" find and 2 auction finds.  There are some 2x12's from one auction and some 2x2x8 & 12 PT deck material, which are actually more visible on the previous pic.

Am attempting to stack material in reverse order from how it's used in construction.



A close-up of some of the 2x10 reclaimed lumber.  I'm not sure what type wood it is (probably pine), but it is heavy and dense stuff.   I have a photo coming later showing a close-up of the end grain on a freshly cut 2x4.

Until next time.

[Beavers]

All that pin pounding looks like a lot of work!  Hey at least you don't have to dig any holes though. 
How many sledge hammer handles have you gone thru so far? 

So...you pour a concrete cap on top of the pins and then use wood piers on top of that?
What is the idea behind the wedge shape on one side?  Just trying to picture how this all goes together. 
Good idea on the chamfer strip in the corner of the forms, adds that nice professional look.

I'm also a big fan of auctions and Craigslist.  I've found a ton of great deals at both places,  got great deals on a lot of my tools and some of building supplies there! 

[poppy]

Beavers, Yea, the pin pounding was indeed mucho work, but I actually enjoyed it.  And hear it now and believe it tomarrow, no handles were harmed in any way.  Not digging holes was the main reason for trying this system, because it doesn't save money.

Yes, the pins will have the concrete cap, and on the uphill side the girder will be placed directly on them.  There will be wood piers on the down hill side.

The wedge shape is on only one side because that is the downhill side and I wanted to keep it open for drainage.  The wedge shape will continue under the whole pier with the soil sloping in on the other 3 sides.  I'm trying to take photos that will show it more clearly.  The idea is that there be no horizontal flat surfaces for uplift forces to get a purchase.

I'm not sure how professional the chamfers will look since I used the sawsall to split some square stock.  I'm still looking for a good band saw on craigslist.

I am addicted to craigslist, but auctions are more fun.  There's a huge lumber auction in 2 weeks that has over 50,000 bf of rough sawn air dried lumber of various types.

And now I'm off to Lowe's to get concrete and load it on top of the latest craigslist lumber.

[Don_P]

One thing to really keep an eye out for on recycled wood is powderpost beetles, look for fresh piles of frass in your stacks, nothing is more frustrating than incorporating infested wood into a new structure. And just a FYI for those reading, grapevine wreaths are an excellent way of bringing the little devils in as well 

[poppy]

Don, thanks for the tip on the powerpost beetles.  I will probably need to treat for them.

Which reminds me that some of the dead trees that I have been harvesting have wood eating varmits of their own; either termites or carpenter ants.

Don, do you or anyone else have recommendations for a general purpose treatment that can be applied to lumber either before construction or after?

[poppy]

Yet another craigslist story.



A woman had her black walnut tree cut down and cut into 3 logs.  I loaded them single handed with the special lifting frame and a nifty little cable wench which was an auction find.  The swing set frame was left by the previous owner of my property.



You might be able to see the boat winch on the front of the trailer which helped a lot.  A couple of small pieces of pipe were used as rollers.



This is how I roll a log that is too big to handle with the peevy.


And one green shot thrown in.


This is one of the sugar maples that sustained some ice damage.  I'm getting first hand knowledge on how brittle maple can be.  More on that later.

That's all for now.

[poppy]

After dealing with a flat tire on the trailer, I got the walnut to the Amish sawmill.


The Amish mill normally handles cedar here on the Woodmiser band saw mill, but this is the largest walnut log on the mill.  They had to do some chain saw trimming to compete a pass.

Even though the two young Amish men said it was OK to include them in the photo, I did not do it out of respect for the elders who generally don't allow photos of their people.

They went through 2 band saw blades on this little project.



A trailer load of sawn walnut, some timber size and some quarter sawn 1" stock.



Beginnings of a drying stack in the barn.



The walnut (about 175 bf) will get a good air dry before it is used somewhere in the interior of the cabin.

The far end of the stack is tucked under the 10" I joists that I "stole" at an auction.  I picked up about 180 LF of joists for a grand total of $3.00.