Still not back on track with the apartment but I am making good headway with the job.  Finally have a good solid crew after firing and hiring workers.  A full compliment of ten people.  The weekly hours have also increased to 40 hours from the previous 35 hours for the crew.  Here is a sample of what we have done. You don't realize just how bad the streams are until you start looking around.  No shortage of work.

This is a State Park where we cleared 3.5 miles of streams.  It took 13 days and ended up with 37 burn piles.





Another stream.  This photograph is the before & after of a jam that was down stream of an abandoned nursery.  It had about 400 feet of 2" irrigation pipe and plastic greenhouse plastic tangled in the logs and rubbish. The stream is about 2-1/2 miles and we ended up with approximately 66 burn piles which we will return and burn later.

I appreciate the work and the pictures. Handsome area.

work,John.  The next time it rains hard there should be many thankful folks.

Not sure what will happen Don but it will definitely be a plus in that there will not be any log dams to inhibit the water from flowing better.  To say nothing about the reoccurring trash that navigates with the water.  Almost all of the streams need addressed by heavy equipment but that is almost a bad word with officials that govern them.  The pictures I posted are just a very small fraction of what we have encountered.

They are a dedicated bunch.

Wow some of that water looks like it's really moving. That is some dedication.

To other members and guest I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the missing images from Garage Apartment at Redoverfarm.  This apparently was a result of the host Photobucket now requiring a monetary compensation to post 3rd party images.  If anyone is interested in an image please E-mail me or send a Private message and I will do my best to send you a direct link to that particular image.  Sorry, Redoverfarm

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Well it seems ages ago that I had posted on this project and even more unbelievable that it has been almost the same amount of time since I worked on it as well.  Anyway after a long pause I have started back. First order of business was heating the apartment.  When I went to turn on the heat low and behold the Mitsubishi system was working.  Long story to short the circuit board was bad. Using a local company tech we got it replaced and it is now working.  The tech said that this system is real sensitive to power surges and spikes and suggested a surge protector. I with the help of another member " Chuck in Virginia" I found one that works connected to the outside disconnect.  Got it installed the other day.  It is made by Mars and has a $7,500 equipment replacement guarantee.

 

It's a shame.  Went to Lowes today to buy some trim so that I could trim out the windows in the apartment.  I bought a couple 1X4's and when I got home I found the UPC sticker indicating that it was produced in New Zealand.  You would think that the United States in it's abundance of timber could produce a simple 1X4 and do so at price to be competitive with an over seas company.  Guess not.

Well it appears that I have neglected this project from posting. Actually I have been intermittently working on it.  I have used cabinets that have been repainted and installed.  Only lowers as the attic truss prevented any walL or uppers.  I ordered countertops from a local lumberyard/hardware store.  After a 10 week😳 wait I found out that the miter cut joining the bar to the cabinet section was misfit.  Since the bar was 20" and the regular top was 25-1/2" a standard 45 deg wouldn't work.  They knew it was a different angle cut.  When I dry fitted one piece was the correct but someone cutting the counter cut 45 deg.  Needless to say there was a 3" gap on the outside corner.  They picked it up and another 4 weeks it came correct.  But low and behold they shorted a 30" stand alone cabinet countertop .  Another 2 weeks.  With everything needing done here I might just wait until the weather shuts down outside before working in the apartment.

The bathroom is finished but until I get the countertops mounted I can't finish the kitchen sink.  I still have to connect the main sewer line to the main house.  Better wait until a day alone without anyone needing the main house plumbing.  The hot water heater is installed and electric attached. 

Still using the temporary stairs.  Need to make another tread and riser for a complete cherry stairs.  The skirt boards will have to be planned, cut and joined.

Hey I'm closer than I was when I started.😎

Hi John,
   i don't get to stop by here all that often these days.. looks like you don't either!   i hope that you are still making progress.   we ended up moving to maine full time in 2017 , and i spent the last three years building a small cape here - very part time along with working as a property care taker and working at the local marina.   we will be moving into the house in May.   every time that i pull out the cutting board that i brought home from our visit with you in wv, i think about our trip down there and our visit with you.   i hope that all is well..  jason

Quote from: pocono_couple on March 19, 2022, 04:00:54 AM
Hi John,
   i don't get to stop by here all that often these days.. looks like you don't either!   i hope that you are still making progress.   we ended up moving to maine full time in 2017 , and i spent the last three years building a small cape here - very part time along with working as a property care taker and working at the local marina.   we will be moving into the house in May.   every time that i pull out the cutting board that i brought home from our visit with you in wv, i think about our trip down there and our visit with you.   i hope that all is well..  jason

Often wondered how you have been doing.  I am still forging forward at both the cabin and the apartment.  Preparing to install solar (limited) at the cabin as soon as the weather breaks.  The apartment is 95% completed.  I hope to post pics of both soon. 

John

It's been a long process with several interruptions since it was framed in 2004.  But as they saw "you can't rush perfection"   For all intent it is finished with just a few cosmetic touches to be done.  The only major lingering portion is the laying of the deck or walkway outside of the kitchen door for emergency egress.  I have TREX decking to put on the 4X6 steel beams which will eventually lead to the installation of a spiral staircase off the end.  I was running into a problem with the attachment of the decking using conventional Trex fasteners which typically are screwed to wooden floor joist.  I found a company that offers a steel trim screw which I hope will suffice but haven't tried them yet as I will have to predrill undersize holes first.  I also have a friend who works in metal fabrication and he is making me brackets to weld to the ends so that I can attach a skirt or face board.  I will let you know how that turns out.


Bathroom

https://i.imgur.com/mWRG7iI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9QbWVyC.jpg

Bedroom

https://i.imgur.com/PKXCldW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/btY5tbh.jpg


Kitchen

https://i.imgur.com/AqaqbyW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1UOYoRG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/d7XOtQG.jpg

Stairway

https://i.imgur.com/7W1oRac.jpg

I apologize for you having to go to each image but I haven't figured out how to post the pictures in "Imgur" as I have with Photobucket .

Looking good.

I will be interested to how those screws work out and what they are, if they work for that

Quote from: MountainDon on May 14, 2022, 08:09:14 AMLooking good.
I will be interested to how those screws work out and what they are, if they work for that

Don I don't have a lot of options.  With the decking I will be at the maximum elevation because of the doorway.  If hindsight was 20/20 I would have designed it that I could have scabbed on a 2X but basically I was trying to stay away from maintenance material and only use pressure treated lumber as a last resort.

The Trex fasteners will only except trim headed screws so they are hidden with the deckling.  Any conventional metal screws the head is quite larger and the decking will not slide together.  Most trim head screws are meant to go into wood but these are made for light weight metal studs,  Given that the beams are nearly 1/4" thickness I believe that I can pre-drill (undersize) diameter of the screws and hopefully they will work.  As a backup (always have a backup plan) I can always secure the decking from underneath.  Only downside to that approach is that the decking will not be able to move under different temperature fluctuations and that is a lot of holes to drill .

The screws are Stainless Steel #7-1-5\8 square drive self driving.  It took a lot of searching but Manasquan Fasteners , NJ had them and was kind enough to send me 6 to try.  I will let you know the results.

Well more progress on the apartment.  The self tapping trim head screws worked good for the Trex fasteners.  Only downside was that each screw had to be pre-drilled one size under the diameter on the screw.  Another was the time involved.  The first deck board was 30 minutes.  That was improved as I progressed.  You can see the fastener screws

https://imgur.com/a/4mIEfKR

Here is the decking once installed

https://i.imgur.com/C01bkbP.jpg

The railing installed

https://imgur.com/a/QQuAQgH

I picked up a used set of spiral staircase which I painted and installed at the end of the decking.  This was part of an emergency egress.  It had to be modified because the previous height was less than my 10'3". 

https://imgur.com/a/aeaa8l7

All in all I am pleased with the results.  I only lack making doors for the storage area and this project will be completed.

It is looking good, John.

Quote from: Redoverfarm on November 03, 2022, 08:19:05 PMWell more progress on the apartment.  The self tapping trim head screws worked good for the Trex fasteners.  Only downside was that each screw had to be pre-drilled one size under the diameter on the screw.  Another was the time involved.  The first deck board was 30 minutes.  That was improved as I progressed.  You can see the fastener screws

https://imgur.com/a/4mIEfKR

Here is the decking once installed

https://i.imgur.com/C01bkbP.jpg

The railing installed

https://imgur.com/a/QQuAQgH

I picked up a used set of spiral staircase which I painted and installed at the end of the decking.  This was part of an emergency egress.  It had to be modified because the previous height was less than my 10'3". 

https://imgur.com/a/aeaa8l7

All in all I am pleased with the results.  I only lack making doors for the storage area and this project will be completed.

Looks real sharp! 

Still struggling along.  Although the Apartment is finished I still have the garage and shop which is under the apartment.  Just a rough estimate that I have approximately 2,200 sq. ft. Of insulation and drywall.  Just as I started to get serious I had somewhat of a mishap.  Stepping down a 6' ladder while installing a door I misjudged the which step I was on and was stepping onto the concrete floor.  I was on the second step.  Momentum took me to the floor striking my kneecap on the concrete.  Why I'm not sure but I would like to blame my by focal.

Anyway with being laid up for a couple weeks I am able to work every other day wearing a knee brace. Painful to say the least that's why I intermittently work.

Ok enough rambling.  Today I boxed in my plumbing from the apartment in bulkhead style.  Got two of the three sections done.  One more to go.  I did also manage to get 2-1/2 batts of insulation up.  Over all I'm estimating another 28 bundles @ 77 soft of insulation.

Here is what I got done today.  I know it doesn't look like much but building and handling a 14' bulkhead and getting it installed by yourself pretty much consumed the day on a gimp leg.

https://imgur.com/a/hKNac6z

https://imgur.com/a/KLKekQp

We have a similar box built around pipes and a heating duct. We call that a chase. Different names in different geographic locations.

Ouch!  I did more or less the same thing on a ladder a couple of years ago. The floor wasn't where I thought it should be. I whacked an elbow on the concrete. That blow made a big knob form on the end of the elbow. It didn't hurt but felt weird if when resting the arm on something. The doctor said he could withdraw the fluid with a big needle but it was likely to come back. I left it and slowly over many months, the fluid in the knob was reabsorbed by my body. No trouble with it since but I am more careful descending ladders now. I think it comes along with aging. (77 in June this year).

Moving right along.  Some stumbling right along intermittently after some health issues so it's been slow progress lately but as they saw " a little progress is better than no progress". 

Finished with the drywall, trimmed out the doors and windows .  Also installed some vinyle baseboard.  With heat I will be able to wash a vehicle inside during inclimate weather.  I'm getting ready to install some retractable curtains to eliminate the water spray from the drywall.

https://imgur.com/gallery/WJwoEbF

https://imgur.com/gallery/lMOOEqF

Nicely finished walls. A warm garage can be very welcome at times.