Thanks Dug. I sure have been enjoying the build so far.

My dad and I got off work a couple hours early the last 2 days and we've got the roof done. Well, almost done. Still need to put in quite a few screws and the ridge caps. It's fun to work with him but it will be nice to be back to projects that I can do by myself again. Time to get serious about the trim and siding.

Alan

Alan, I like the work platform that you have for the tractor. Would love to see a picture/s of it also. Great progress on your home, hopefully you will have a couple of open slots in your breaker box for future additions or a generator feed. Remember, you can't have enough outlets until you start wiring them in! Same with can lights.

Quote from: Tickhill on September 08, 2011, 04:12:16 AM
Alan, I like the work platform that you have for the tractor. Would love to see a picture/s of it also. Great progress on your home, hopefully you will have a couple of open slots in your breaker box for future additions or a generator feed. Remember, you can't have enough outlets until you start wiring them in! Same with can lights.

I've got some more pictures of the monkey cage that I'll post in a day or two when I get some other pics rounded up to go with it. It sure worked out nice.

I was amazed how quickly the breaker box filled up. I figured I'd need 24 slots so bought a 30 slot panel but after I got all done with the rough in I only have 2 empty holes. The 220 circuits really ate them up.  I probably got a little carried away splitting up circuits but the way it is you'll never be left in the dark or without some working outlets in any room should a breaker trip. Most of the circuits have plenty of capacity left and I used Square D QO breakers and they can accept 2 wires at the breaker so adding on in the future shouldn't be a problem.

I've got all my screws in the roof but still no caps on the hips and ridge. Should get that taken care of tomorrow. Had big plans for today bit I got a bit lazy and only put in 1/2 day. Got nearly all the window trim up today. Just need to cut out and paint a few more pieces. I'm taking next week off to work on the house so we'll see what I can get done. Last time I did that I spent almost the whole week doing tons of little things and hardly felt like I accomplished anything (thought I know I did).

Hope to get a good whack in on the siding (cedar bevel) but first I'll need to figure out where my wall penetrations will be and decide how to detail the siding at those spots. The penetrations will be for a couple outlets and faucets. I'm thinking of mounting the outlets and faucets to some scraps of cedar 1x material and just butting the siding up against it. Sound good? Oh yeah, need to cut corner boards too. I'm sure there are about hundred other little things I'll need to do first.

Also need to cut my roof penetrations, figure out exactly where my counters, stove, and vanity will go so I can run wiring exactly where it needs to be, decide if I'm going to hang cabinets over my kitchen peninsula and if so build a soffit, rough in the plumbing pressure lines, and put up the vented soffit and fascia.

I'm hoping by the end of October to have the outside buttoned up, insulation installed and sheetrock finished so I can move in before the cold and snow hit. At least I hope the snow holds off until then.

Hopefully more progress pics in a day or two.

Alan

Half way through my week off work and I feel like I've hardly gotten anything done on the house. I'd hoped to get a good start on the siding but once I started thinking about it realized there was a lot of stuff I needed to get done first. 1st and foremost getting the rest of the siding coated with water repellant preservative. I'm almost done with that now but I ran out of preservative today so tomorrow I'll need to make a Menards run to get some more.

Got all the trim up except for the corner boards, which need to be cut to length and painted. Got the hip caps on the roof and wanted to finish off the ridge cap yesterday but I only had a few hours to work and the ridge cap won. It turned out pretty ugly where it meets the hips and I don't have an extra material. I've ordered a couple more pieces so will have to wait on that.

Today I was going to concentrate on roof penetrations, starting with the chimney (because it's starting to get cold!!). I was all ready to cut the hole when I realized the silicone boot I'd ordered had the wrong base size. I'll need a roughly 12" hole in the roof to keep the pipe 2" from combustibles all around and that's the same size as the boots base, so it would have nothing to attach to. I hadn't even thought about that when I ordered it. So after spending an hour or two checking to see if anyone in the area had what I needed I went ahead and ordered another one. Spent the afternoon treating some more siding and finally got some roof penetrations done, the radon and sewer vent.

Stuff sure is going slow again and I'm really starting to feel the push. Daylight is fading fast and tonight is supposed to drop into the 20's for our first frost of the year. Lots more little stuff to do but hopefully I can start painting with some broad brush strokes again by the end of the week.

Alan

The boot should go onto the non-combustible metal.  Is it hard to cut the sheathing to a larger diameter (i.e. are you cutting metal and sheathing together)?

Also don't forget a cricket for the snow.  (Edit:  I just realized your pipe is right near the hip, so strike that.)

Quote from: KWillets on September 14, 2011, 10:46:13 PM
The boot should go onto the non-combustible metal.  Is it hard to cut the sheathing to a larger diameter (i.e. are you cutting metal and sheathing together)?

Thanks. I had the same thought but, yes, I'm cutting them both together and I couldn't think of a good way to cut the sheathing without also cutting the steel. I was also afraid about screws not holding good enough only going into the 29 gauge metal. Maybe that wouldn't be anything to worry about though.

QuoteAlso don't forget a cricket for the snow.  (Edit:  I just realized your pipe is right near the hip, so strike that.)

Yeah, it's not super close but close enough that I'm not too worried about it.  I'm running my other penetrations so they exit near the ridge/hips as well.

Went to Menards (1.5 hour round trip) instead of working early this morning since there was still frost on the ground and I'm not used to the cold yet. Going to do my bath and kitchen vents now and I'll see what other trouble I can get into after that.

Alan

I never got dug out of my hole Monday through Friday. Lots of thinking, hemming, hawing, and little jobs that took too long, but that cleared the table (mostly) for today. A friend came down this morning and after lots of figuring on where to start the siding and how much to lap it we put together a couple corner boards, put the finishing touches on the rainscreen on the north wall, and started putting up some siding. We got two courses up. Not much to show for a 10 hour day but there were still a lot of things that had to get finished up before the siding could actually go up and it feels great to finally feel like I'm making some headway again. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Pics tomorrow, I promise.

Alan

As promised, some pictures:

The last of the siding drying out earlier this week after applying water repellant preservative to all 6 sides. They'll be stained after installation.


20110913_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

What got accomplished over the weekend:


20110918_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20110918_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20110918_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The siding has been going up smoothly but I'm surprised how slow the progress is. The bottom 2 courses were done yesterday and today I spent a solid 10 hours working on the house and did almost nothing but siding. Had a friend to help hold the long pieces for most of the day. When she left I did the short pieces between the windows. Hopefully it will speed up as I go along. At least it's not fighting me.

It's exciting to see the outside start to take it's final shape.

Alan

The siding looks really good, I like the color as is. Keep up the good work.

Nice work on the siding. At home, i have a window box that is clear cedar... really nice contrast against the white hardie board.

Quote from: pmichelsen on September 19, 2011, 08:20:19 AM
The siding looks really good, I like the color as is. Keep up the good work.

I like the color too but the water repellant preservative doesn't offer much protection and would need to be reapplied every year to two. I plan on going with a semi-transparent stain to keep it looking natural but it should keep me from having to re-stain so often.

Haven't been able to get out of work as much as I would have liked this week and the weather has been wet, cold, and windy. I've been spending my time finishing the rainscreen details on the rest of the walls, marking the siding courses, putting up the starter strip, and folding over the screen to keep the creepy crawlies from making a home behind my siding. I also sanded down my trim that was already up because it was just too rough. It didn't feel too bad until it was painted. Once it dried hard it felt like touching 30 grit sandpaper.

Snapped:


20110920_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The starter strip:


20110920_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Folding the screen up:


20110920_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Today though I got out of work around 2:00 and after putting up a couple corner boards I finally started putting up another wall of siding. The first pieces were 17' long and I didn't have anyone to hold the other end so I looped a string around a nail higher up in the wall:


20110922_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Slipped the siding through to loop and it held the piece without protest. I'd just shorten the loop for the next piece.


20110922_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I'm getting more comfortable with the siding and it seems to be going up quite a bit faster. Less thinking and more nailing. I don't know when I actually started putting up siding today but I think this took about 3 1/2 hours. Notching around the lower windows and the penetration on the right took a fair amount of time.


20110922_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Hoping I can get some good time in on it tomorrow and I'll spend the whole weekend on it too. Would be nice to have it wrapped up before next week. The extended forecast looks great and I really want to finish up the outside of the house. My replacement ridge caps showed up today too so I'll have to go back up and have a battle of wits with them again. Hopefully I'll win this time.

I'll end with a shot of my faithful helper catching some rest at the end of a long day. She's been there every hour I have this year.


20110918_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Alan

Finished up the siding on that small wall in short order late friday afternoon and then decided to finish off my ridge cap since the materials showed up. Did a practice run friday night but since I had to run to Sioux Falls this morning (saturday) I wasn't able to start working until about 5:00 today. It was just enough time though and I finished up just after sunset. My first attempt at the ridge to hip transitions was a mess so this was Take 2.

First I had to set up the ridge vent. With a hip roof I have a very short ridge (about 8') and I want as much air flow as I can get. I wasn't too confident the plastic brillo pad stuff would give it to me. So I came up with another idea to use 4mm coroplast (same stuff used for yard signs by politicians). It's what I used for my rainscreen as well. I bought 10 4x8 sheets of it for $120 earlier this summer and had some extra.

First I laid down some sill seal and then 1/2" plywood on top of that. This filled in between the ridges and they were at pretty much the same level:


20110913_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Then stapled screen to the plywood to wrap over the coroplast later to keep critters out:


20110913_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The other reason for using the coroplast ridge vent was to raise the ridge cap up so it would (hopefully) be easier to detail with the hips. 5 layers seemed to be the right amount. The ridge cap pretty much laid right on top of the hip caps with this thickness. The tape is just to hold things together.


20110924_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Now onto the hip/ridge transition. I've spent hours looking online for some sort of instructions and found very little, and no pictures. Frustrating. So this is the best I came up with.

First screwed down a piece of scrap to direct out any water that gets through:


20110924_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Set the 1st hip cap so the lower edge would be well covered by the ridge cap:


20110924_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Ran the next hip cap over the 1st and cut it at a 45. They lay together pretty nice this way. I probably could have ran the first one up a little higher but there's plenty of overlap.


20110924_007 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Set the ridge cap over the hips and marked where the edges of the ridge cap touched the hips:


20110924_010 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Cut off the outer "wings":


20110924_011 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Cut it right down the center:


20110924_012 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Now it's foldable:


20110924_013 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

After some fiddling, fitting, and trimming:


20110924_016 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I used 3/4" stitch screws to hold it together. White were the only ones I could find locally but it's not noticeable from the ground.


20110924_017 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20110924_018 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I think it was layered and lapped enough that the butyl caulk wouldn't have been necessary but it's just such fun stuff to work with I figured I'd use it anyway.  

I have no idea if this is the "correct" way to do this or not so feel free to point out how it should have been/is usually done.

And finally, after a couple weeks of waiting, I can finally post a picture of the roof now that it's finished:


20110924_019 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Apologies to anyone on dial-up for all the pictures.

Alan

Someone asked about the monkey cage on the tractor my dad and I used to install the metal roof.


20110906_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

My dad made it to go on his homebuilt tractor years ago when we were remodeling the shop. Once in a while it gets pulled out of the weeds and put to good use. It's very handy! There's plenty of room for two people (4x6 platform I think). Not only is it nice to work out of it's a nice way to climb up and down from the roof. Feels much safer than a ladder and with the railing you can really lean to reach something.

Perfect height:


20110906_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Alan

QuoteApologies to anyone on dial-up for all the pictures.

But you resize them and that's much better than leaving them camera size. Thanks


Roof looks good too

Quote from: Alan Gage on September 24, 2011, 09:58:15 PM
I have no idea if this is the "correct" way to do this or not so feel free to point out how it should have been/is usually done.

Looks like terrific metal work to me! I know how tricky that can be, and I doubt most people would bother to be as thorough or tidy as your job!

That butyl is fun stuff... Ruins your clothes takes a week to come off your hands.

Great detailed photos of the ridge caps....priceless.
Nice work.

Love the mag wheel! 18 wheeler??

Thanks for the comments on the roof. I'm glad it meets everyones approval.

Had hoped to be done with the siding by now but we had a death in the family over the weekend so I haven't been getting much work done. Was able to spend all day on it today and got a lot of siding up. The rest of the week will be a bit sporadic at the house but I hope to get most of the outside buttoned up.

Quote from: schiada on September 26, 2011, 03:50:29 PM
Love the mag wheel! 18 wheeler??

Yeah. My grandpa used to run some trucks and had a couple rims they had to replace because of small cracks. Dad figured they'd last forever on his tractor so he scooped them up.

Alan

This is where things sit after today:


20110927_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

I'm out of siding now. I intentionally ordered too little so I wouldn't get stuck with a bunch extra. Everything is done with the exception of the patio area (and that small section you see by the door and the long pieces above the windows/doors on the walls you see). Tomorrow I'll try to figure out how much more I need and get it ordered.

In the meantime I need to figure out for sure how I'm doing the frieze board and see if there's any way I can start getting the soffit installed before the rest of the siding shows up (probably a week). Also need to box in the beams over the patio with cedar 1x material. Oh, and I suppose I can start putting the final stain on the siding and grading around the house too. I'm sure there are about a million other little things that need to be done before I can consider the outside buttoned up.

Really hoping to see the electrical inspector this week and to get power dug into the house. I've been waiting for both of those to happen for 3 weeks now. Thankfully it's been good weather so I've been working outside but soon I'll need to start getting those walls insulated and some lights in the house would be nice now that it's getting dark so early. That would allow me to extend my workdays a couple hours, which would make a big difference.

Alan

It really looks nice! 

Got the siding stained a couple days ago. I'm quite happy with the color. Pretty close to natural and helped even out the tones (some were quite dark). The stuff on the right has been stained. The siding on the left has only been treated with a WRP.


20111002_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Today I spent most of the day wrapping the porch beams with 1x cedar. I'll do the posts another day. Also started putting up some of the siding in the patio. The last of the siding I ordered should show up next week.


20111002_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Still waiting on the electrical inspector and for the electric cooperative to move my meter to the transformer so the electrician can trench in new service. They thought they'd get that done this coming week.

I asked the guy I'm working with at the lumber store about how long it's been taking the inspector to show up and he said that's pretty normal. That a few years ago when Iowa mandated electrical inspections they didn't provide the funding for enough inspectors, so they're stretched really thin. If fact he said when they first enacted the legislation there were only a few inspectors in the whole state, the nearest one being 2-3 hours away from us.

I've still got outside work to finish up and the weather is supposed to stay perfect through the next week so I guess I can wait a little longer.

Alan

The weather the last few weeks has been incredible. Unseasonably warm and dry. I've been taking full advantage of it and have hardly been to work the past 3 weeks. It's supposed to start raining now but thankfully the siding and trim are done! Everything is painted and stained.


20111007_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Ready to start on the aluminum soffit this weekend, weather permitting. I was hoping it would go quickly but after reading through the installation instructions it appears that with my 3' overhangs I need to provide an extra support parallel to the walls in the center of the soffit.

The only other things I really need to do to the outside before the cold and snow show up are a ceiling in my patio (which shares an attic with the rest of the house) and some grading. Oh, and also the outside penetrations (outlets and faucets), some caulking, and probably a thousand other little things I haven't thought of yet.

Still waiting on the electrical. It was supposed to happen mid-week but no sign of them.

Alan

Spent the whole weekend working on the soffits (vented aluminum). Another 30 minutes of daylight and I would have had it whipped. It started off pretty slow trying to figure out how everything was supposed to go. Reading through the installation instructions I found that my overhangs are wide enough that I'd need to build a center support. They recommended hanging a short piece of 2x4 from a truss every 8 feet and then attaching 1x2s or 1x4s to these. I decided to use 1x2s but hung a 2x4 every 4 feet for support instead of 8.

Did some thinking on how to make this process fairly quick and painless and came up with a nice solution. First I hung one of the 2x4 supports with a level and tape measure and used it to make a little jig. Just a straight piece of 2x4 with a chunk of 1x2 nailed to the top and a spacer to set the correct height.


20111008_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

One end goes under the F channel:


20111008_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The other under the fascia:


20111008_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Set the piece of 2x4 over the center mark and nail into place:


20111008_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Then nail the 1x2s to along the length of the house:


20111009_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Worked out great but still pretty tedious work. The tedium didn't end there either. Installing the soffits was no thrill ride either. Lots of climbing up and down the ladder and cutting. Cut, climb, nail, repeat. Finally hit my stride around mid afternoon today and really started to cover ground. Night came just a bit too soon though. I'll post pics of the soffit when it's done.

Alan

Finished up the soffits yesterday and almost got the fascia cover done but I came up one piece short. Finished it all up today. I'm happy with how it turned out. That pretty well buttons up the outside of the house except for the ceiling over the patio. I've got those boards cut already and they just need one more coat of paint before they go up. Started putting up the strapping on the patio ceiling today and framing in an attic access.

Pre and post soffit:


20111009_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20111011_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20111009_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20111011_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20111010_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

And the finished view of the exterior. The only changes will be swapping out the beater exterior doors for the final doors and cutting the chimney through the roof for the stove.


20111011_004 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

The weather is supposed to stay nice the rest of the week so I'll probably spend it outside finishing up a lot of little things. Then it's time to get back inside and start insulating.

Alan

Looking good