Dogtrot at Hightop

[glenn kangiser]

Things always stay drier when you grade away and extend the drains down the hill away from the house.  Something I need to improve on here.

[Redoverfarm]

Sassy what are you calling "cob" . Must be something in CA.  Yes I started chinking and due to the limited daylight now I can only do about 20' a day.  Probably have 300-400 ft on the outside (60% done)and the same on the inside.  Got to the cabin today. Little slick with the 4-5" of snow.  Got the last of the outside wire(80ft) put in place.  Now if the weather will just cooperate I might get the outside done in a week or so.

[glenn kangiser]

Cob is an earth building technique named in England.  Actually it is just lumps of adobe -30% clay 70% sand with straw added for reinforcement.  Rather than making it into bricks, it is just built in place.  There are entire houses built out of it all over the world with some of them being over 800 years old.  Done properly it can be pretty permanent.  It can also be used to chink where it doesn't get massive amounts of water over it.  Many of the different types of earth building are touched up annually but we have had some exposed for 5 years with only minor surface wearing.

I have found earth and rock buildings and fireplaces around here from the mid 1800's.

[Redoverfarm]

OK I have seen a show on one of the educational programs that demonstrated that process but didn't know they called it "cob".  I guess that was probably used some in chinking.  Most of the time they used clay, straw, horsehair and anything else they could find for a binder.  Usually in chinking it had to be repaired quite often. Even then they were quite drafty.  I guess that is why in later years they started using the tacks to nail cardboard, linoleum or anything else.  Most people that had logs homes usually covered them up with insulation board and siding to make them tighter.  You would be surprised at the log homes that still remain and you wouldn't know it unless you looked for some signs.  Like stone fireplaces, narrow windows (not that many) with large spacing between.  I didn't know some were logs until I got interested in them.

Did you catch the post I had on Guns and the caseless.  If I get a chance I'll post a photo. Pretty rare.

[glenn kangiser]

Yeah - I did - interesting.  I Googled it but didn't find anything about it.  Must be rare.  I guess we will be the first to have info on it if you post it.

[desdawg]

Just curious, what material are you using for chinking? Those are some pretty healthy gaps.

[Redoverfarm]

desdawg

I use 1/4" rabbit wire or hardware cloth which I nail in place with galvanized roofing nails.  The mortar is Type S mixed  2:1 with sand.  I also put a small amount on cement just to make it sticky.  Try to keep the same ration close to avoid variation in the color of the dried joints. The mix has the consistancy of peanut butter so that it will hold in the wire.  Took me the first mix (pretty well wasted) to learn the technique to keep it from falling off the trowel and the wire.

The biggest problem is that you can't use a large tool to apply or finish.  5" trowel. 1/2 tuck point, 2" margin trowel.

On the rather large joints I try to put it  in steps of 2" or so.

[Sassy]

Glenn covered the inside of the arch in the RV garage with chicken wire.  I put 3 layers of stucco on it - had lots of it on top of my head when it would fall off the ceiling part of the arch    I used the plastic cement & made the batches in the cement mixer, put color in it, added the fiber mesh, which BTW, really helps     Had to work with it to get the right thickness/texture - too thin or too thick, didn't work very well.  But, eventually got it done 

[glenn kangiser]

Are you using a hawk to slide it off of into the joint?  Seems that would work well for chinking too.  Like this.

[benevolance]

glenn what is that thing you pictured... a tool for putting mortar into joints... if so I need one badly!

[glenn kangiser]

There are two things there.  The bottom one - you hold the yellow handle - it is just a table for the mortar called a hawk.  You put a gob of mortar on it to lift it to the work area.  Set it beside it and push it to the joint.  The top one is called a margin trowel - about a 2 inch wide flat trowel you could push the mortar to the side with -- there is another one that may be of use to you.

Called a Tuck Pointer Joint Filler

http://doitbest.com/main.aspx?pageid=64&sku=323956&memberid=0129&associate=true

[benevolance]

i am not ready for this disaster of a project just yet....I do not want to do it either... Gawd I will loathe this house yet...

I am dreading tearing down 2 walls on the sunroom and rebuilding them after footings are poured properly...I have been thinking about actually paying someone to lay the brick I will be their helper... but that way I might learn something and it will get done properly

there are half a dozen spots that need attention so it might get costly...which scares the crap out of me...

used car salesmen and auto mechanics have limited resources to spend on stuff like this

[Redoverfarm]

Glenn don't have a hawk but found something that works about as well that I do have and that is a 6"X18" float.  Anything bigger gets pretty heavy after holding all day.  I have pretty much settled on the 5" trowel as  the irregular joinst will not allow anything larger and anything smaller creates deep crevices. Working out pretty well. Another thing that threw me off as some of the logs are bowed or stick out past the others and to try to roll the chink up is a little difficult.  I have been trying to keep the top of the chink 1/2-1" from the face and the bottom out to the edge of the face. This should allow water to roll from one to the other nd finally drip off the bottom log. 

[glenn kangiser]

In some cases I like a grout float - around 4x8 inches - trowel made of firm flexible rubber.  For steel trowels, I also like the swimming pool trowel -- round ends and very flexible.  Could help with odd shapes.

[Redoverfarm]

As winter nears I am well into the chinking mode.  As of 12/15/07 I am down to the last stretch on the exterior.  With a a couple days break to get the rock on the flue I am back to "mudding".  I only had about 18' left to go when the weather turned cold. Actually I had held off on this area hoping that I would have the porch built and the roof over and could chink this when it was raining.  But winter is coming faster than last year and I might have to hold off on the porch come spring.  Hopefully I will get a few good days to finish the outside.  The interior can be done at anytime after I get the cabin sealed up.  After that little run of chinking I will try to get the windows and doors in place.  Have a lot on my list (no not santa's list) that I would like to get done but I am not real sure the weather will cooperate.  Just have to take it one day at a time.  The photos are of the kitchen exterior.

[MountainDon]

Whenever I look at all those chink spaces, my arm gets sore.  Looking good, John.

[glenn kangiser]

Looks Great.

[Redoverfarm]

Got a little ahead of myself with the discription of events and their corresponding with the photographs so I will play a little catch-up.

Mid October was the start of the chinking.  As the other post reveiled I only have that remaining 18' of log chinking to finish the exterior.  I have not added the actual time that it took to do the exterior but hope to when the weather is such that I can't do anything else.  But what ever it is I will have the same amount of time involved in the interior.

Took a break from the chinking to stone the exterior top of the fireplace chimney. I know it seems like I just jump around from one phase to the other but there is a method to my madness.  The reasoning behind doing the front is that once the porch is on it would be harder to build the necessary scaffolding to lay the rock. As it stands now I only have about 10' to bridge from the house roof edge to the work platform at the chimney(roof jacks and 2X6).  From the scaffolding I bridged the distance with 2X8(true) then using 2X8's three wide gave me enough room to cut the stone, store the mortar mix and etc..  Another reason I didn't complete the entire chimney was that I only had enough scaffolding to do one side at a time. The entire thing I would have needed 3 times that amount as well as additional 2X material for two more platforms.  This will wait until spring.

I also poured the porch footings(5) and laid the 16" flu block for piers on the porch. A ledger will work on the house side. The porch is stepped in from each end 4' for a total of 32' long and a depth of 8'.  The porch roof will be a 3:12 pitch with a 6" elevation drop from the main cabin roof which will start just under the cabin overhang.

The porch piers were parged with left over chink mortar mix at the end of the day if any was left over. These will be stoned with the same stone as the chimney. This also will wait until spring.  One of the photographs show the porch supports among the scaffolding.

I am hoping that I can at least get the deck/porch floor built.  It is doubtful that I will be able to finish with the porch roof as I will need to pu four 8" locust post and peel and place them as supports for the porch.

Maybe a warm snap will come through the area and I can get more done than I anticipate. Last year I was able to work off/on up until Jan 19th.

[ScottA]

You're really comming along and the place looks great.

[Redoverfarm]

Finally what I was looking for before winter decides to set in.  I finished all of the outside log chinking today. Temp was a little nippy @28F this morning but raised to 42F in the afternoon.  I just fired up the powerstroke, engaged the 4 wheel drive and went.  Really wasn't as bad as I thought except for the north slopes in the turns which were ice and packed snow. I carried two 5-gallons of water because I had a fealing the water that I had would be frozen. Well it was.  Shame I don't have a ice house the 5 -5 gallon blocks of ice would have worked nicely.  Now with another decent day forecasted( low of 30F) I will try to fill the block piers with concrete tomarrow.   So if I do catch a week of decent weather I can start on the porch.  I hate to let all the moisture(rain & snow) from the winter settle against the basement wall as any gutter would be pre-mature at this phase.  Probably snow birds would help somewhat though but at $4 a piece I don't want to get in a hurry until I can find something cheaper. Probably need close to 100.  I actually enjoy working with the temps lower as it keeps the mud at bay.

[Redoverfarm]

Moving right along.  Started on the front porch/deck this morning. Biggest challange was squaring up the foundation(PT wood) on the Flue block pillars. Once that was done then putting the floor joist and then started on the deck boards.  If all goes well tomarrow will finish the flooring. Sleet early in the AM and intermitent all day but not enough to stop working. Then by spring It should have dried out enought to stain to match the rest of the stain work done so far.  Well closer anyway.  Will try to take a photo and post if I can remember to take the camera.  That I sometimes forget not like my lunch and java.

[Sassy]

You have a wonderful looking place there - the old logs give it so much character & I really like the way you've put the whole thing together 

[Redoverfarm]

Well the deck did get finished. Only had to cut one piece of deck board at a slight angle on one end because of the squareness.  I thought it would have been worse.  No I didn't get the pictures as I promised. But I did remember my lunch and java.  Finished by 11:00 and then started on the soffit in the front as this has to be in place before I can set my rafters for the porch. Well that was short lived as it started raining after I had ran about 12'. Tomarrow ( or the next or the next or the next) is another day. 

[Redoverfarm]

The soffit is finished and the facia boards are installed today. Just some trim pieces between the soffit and facia to install.  Then praying for a warm day to get this portion stained to match the rest of the soffit installed earlier.  Will pick up the post(6-8"dia) locust for porch roof supports first of the week.  Weather forecast does not look to promising for next week so I will just have to play it by ear.

I attached a couple photo's of this weeks work. I hate PT lumber but the cost of anything else in this area is prohibited. I think once it dries out and is stained it will be OK.

[John Raabe]

Just a real fine project!

Rustic charm and timeless careful craftsmanship. This is one that will live to be a centenarian.