Dogtrot at Hightop

Started by Redoverfarm, November 25, 2007, 08:34:07 PM

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MountainDon

The chain helper looks like it should work and save a little jockeying around.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Don_P

Sorry to backtrack but I thought y'all that aren't familiar with it might be interested in a few black locust factoids. You know how you order concrete as 3,000 to 5,000 psi compressive strength? Black locust in end grain compression is good for up to 10,000 psi. It is also very stable, they used to make the pins for those glass insulators on power lines out of it, makes a great timberframe peg as well. I've always wanted to make endgrain blocks and pave a floor with it. As they say "harder than the hubs of ..ll". I was just looking but couldn't lay my hands on a picture I took this summer of the locust borer that causes so much damage to them.

I'm south of you between Wytheville and Independence just south of the forest land. If you're into bluegrass and oldtime try 98.1 at night, our local station probably reaches the tops up there. We live so far back the opry doesn't come in till tuesday most weeks.

This guy came from up in your neck of the woods, one of our plumbers had the pic;


Redoverfarm

Yes and also Chestnut was another choice for the pins.  Although the chestnut is all but gone occassionally you can find some that had been in barns and log homes for a Century or more.  I have a wormy chestnut mantle.  It is unlike any other native wood.

Yes the timber rattlers are common.  It is amazing that they usually don't grow that long but have a lot of girth to them.  Some as much as 8-10".

I haven't been in that area for sometime.  Usually just traveling through on the way down south.  I am about 2 hrs from Roanoke.

Redoverfarm

TGIF.  With the aid of the chains I was able to get to the cabin with ease.  The chain helpers believe it or not made a world of difference installing the chains.  Ideally you should have two sets to enable all four chains to be installed without the usual backing and pulling forward.  The stops on the ends make it easy to determine just how far to pull forward.  By placing the chains in mid center on the aids you will always be guaranteed to get the chains mid center in the wheel well. With the install and slower driving speeds it did take away 45 minutes of my work day but well worth the effort.

With all that said I managed to get 1/2 of the T&G suspended ceiling done in the master bath.  The hardest portion was getting the nailers in place around the perimeter and cutting around the exhaust fan housing.  Unlike other ceilings you have to allow for the slipping of the groove over the tongue. Since the exhaust fan area could have the potential for maintenance I decided to make the 2'X2' area removable.  With the exhaust fan being square it would be all but almost impossible to run the T&G around four sides.  By cutting the upper half of the groove off of the section to be removed you can easily lower that particular section of boards to gain access with no visual diference than the rest.  I used 1/2" plywood strips to join all the removable sections as one piece.  I hope Monday I will be able to finish the ceiling and start sanding some more drywall.  Then wait for warmer temps to continue with the mud work.   

Dog

John...glad to hear the chains got you safely to your work of art. It must have been an adventure driving up there. 

Don_P...what a beautiful creature! That thing is huge! Thanks for the info on black locus. I'm fascinated with it!

The wilderness is a beautiful thing for the soul. Live free or die.


Redoverfarm

Dog the chains were the trick.  Other than driving a little bit slower and a little vibration it was completely safe.  Other than those two things it was like driving on regular roads.  I wish I would have invested in them a year or so ago now.  Although it is a goverment Forrest Service road I had been plowing it to my cabin with my tractor.  But with only about 1-2" of snow at a time it wasn't feasible to plow.  Then it gets packed down and ice and the plow is useless at that point.  It was good to get out of the house and back on track with the cabin project. 

Redoverfarm

Well I got the master bathroom ceiling finished with the 2X6 T&G.  Created somewhat of an optical illusion in the photographs.  The drop ceiling is 7-1/2" lower than the original ceiling to accomidate the plumbing from the loft bathroom and the exhaust ceiling fan.  Spent the remainder of the day sanding drywall and getting wood to the porch of the cabin before it got covered in snow. 

The before picture



The after pictures

The illusion



Actual




ScottA

Looks nice John. Turned out pretty well for a pipe hider.

MountainDon

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


glenn kangiser

Looks good, John - or - nice John, John. d*
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.

Redoverfarm

There is light at the end of the tunnel.  All of the drywall is hung and I only lack a light sanding on the master bedroom and master bath.  There was a lot ready for primmer but when I opened the can it apparently went bad.  I moved it down to the house when the bad weather hit but it must have froze before that. It was an old can and to the dump it goes.  I am going to Lowes to PU some fresh so if the weather is permitting I can get everything primmed this week. The next daunting task is to pick the finished color.  ???

Just a note to others who are anticipating putting drywall up. DON'T.  Not that I mind the look but the installation is what I was referring to.  Spring for a professional.  Might not be that bad for limited number of sheets but with 30+ it is a real PIA.  Might be alright if you can save the sanding particles and mix with water to use over. ;D  But I have it down to a science. Put one 5 gallon bucket on and sand off 1/4 bucket.  ;)

glenn kangiser

Some use a wet sponge rather than sanding for a lot of it.  Depends how rough it is.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.

Jens

I will use a sponge sometimes, but it can end up not feathering very well.  It seems as if the lighter stuff on the edges all comes off really well, while I am trying to get it feathered, then I am left with an edge again, or a fast taper.  I have turned to just sanding now, unless there is very little, or between coats.  I know what you mean, the last few sheets, or room, are always the toughest!  When done right though, and finished, it looks and feels damn good! ;D
just spent a few days building a website, and didn't know that it could be so physically taxing to sit and do nothing all day!

Redoverfarm

I actually have used a sponge for the flat part before but I am like you Jens I would rather taper the edge by sanding.  I often found that you do not get a good feel for the drywall surface for imperfections with a sponge vs. sandpaper.  The real trouble I have in drawing the mud is to keep the knife steady and avoid the ripple effects.  Generally it can be brought out with sanding or completely avoided by a steady hand. I usually just use a 4" (base and tape coat) followed by 6" folowed by a 10" tapered on each side to middle of the 6". If I do it right I just have a small ridge in the middle and a slight taper to the outside edges.  Love the outside corners though that is a give-me in my book. It is really hard to mess up an outside corner.  As for the inside corners I find that I get a better corner by alternating sides every other day rather than a corner knife. 


Jens

Insides are better done one side at a time, tape them both at the same time though.  I use a 10 or 12" (can't remember which) for everything, unless the space is too small.  Thinning down you mud can help with the ripple effect, as can more pressure, and even pressure.  Even is the most important part.  When it starts to skip though, either your angle is too shallow, not enough pressure, or both, usually.  That is what I have found for myself at least. 

A partner and I hung 125 sheets, taped, and smoothcoat finished in 7 days a couple of years ago.  All of it hand finished (no banjos, etc).  Quite a job, and in the hottest week of the year.  The day we finished, it was 108, with 80% humidity!  The mud was actually drying on the hawk before we could get it on the wall, and half of it would have to be thrown away.  And this was after we had already thinned it down!
just spent a few days building a website, and didn't know that it could be so physically taxing to sit and do nothing all day!

Redoverfarm

No work on the cabin today perse. It was 8F this morning so I knew I wouldn't be able to get the walls warm enough to prime.  Had some maintenance done on the truck instead.  This afternoon I put the last coat of poly on the master bathroom door.  Here is a picture of the finished product as well as a raw one which will go in the loft bathroom.  So one down and two more to go. The doors are knotty pine.






glenn kangiser

"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.

considerations

Drywall seems to be lots of fun (not). I haven't even contemplated it just yet, I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.  I'll be referring back to your adventures with it when the time comes.  :-[

MountainDon

I like the doors John.


The hardest part of drywalling , to me, are the vertical joints where panels laid horizontally meet another sheet. Those edges are not tapered. 
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Redoverfarm

Don I try not to do them unless it works out better.  I would rather do a couple extra beveled edge joints than one but joint. If I do I use a utility knife and cut an angle on the end of each just enought to take off the paper 1/16".  I find it easier to work on the first couple of coats that way.

I am basickly finished with the drywall. I put a primer coat on about half today until I ran out.  I might have to go back and fill in some very small divets that didn't show while sanding.  You think you have it in pretty good shape until the primer goes on.  That will show the small imperfections.  I didn't have that problem 20 years ago but then I didn't need to use glasses either. ;)

Yes the doors.  I think they will make a good accent to the cabin.  I had originally bought regular pine 6 panels but found the knotty pine doors. 


Redoverfarm

#395
I did finish the drywall but due to the cold I wasn't able to get all of it primed.  Hopefully it will warm up later this week to get it all primed.  I am uncertain how to dress the area around the beams and the drywall.  No matter how careful you try to cut it to fit it doesn't usually work out.  I had a hard time cutting the beam pockets out and then getting them into place. I probably over compensated and cut the pockets a little larger than needed. Trying to squeeze them in between ceiling and floor and hit the beam pockets at the same time wasn't easy.

OK my options are to fill the area with paintable caulk or add a molding of sorts around the beam to the ceiling.  Then that leaves the ceiling where it joins the drywall.  I could probably use that same approach.  I had thought about using a small crown between the beams but I am not sure how that would look.  I could also use a small quarter round or cove molding.  Either way I would probably have to change the color from the beam stain to the ceiling stain or wall color on each corresponding piece of molding.   Any ideas? 

Here is a couple of pictures of what I was referring to. There is one picture which shows a circle which must have been on the lense as it is not present on the wall. I think it is the second picture.









Here is a picture of the larger loft room drywall after primed.



I did manage to get the range hood transition installed through the chink portion of the log wall today. It was nice and toasty in the kitchen (wood stove location) doing the interior cut but it wasn't so nice cutting the opening on the exterior wall with the wind and temps in the 20's.  But that is all installed including the wall cap.  Tomarrow I will wire the range hood and cover it with ply & lathe wire to be ready to parge it when the temps raise again. 

Jens

You could fill the gaps with low expansion foam (just to take up some space), strike off the excess plus a bit into it, then mud and tape it.  Or, yeah...quarter round'd do the trick a lot faster!
just spent a few days building a website, and didn't know that it could be so physically taxing to sit and do nothing all day!

Don_P

If the drywall tools are still handy there is a product called zip bead that works pretty slick around beams, similar to the old J bead but has a removeable tab (the zip) that protects the beam from your knife and the first coat of primer. It is a 90 degree corner of perforated plastic, one leg lays on the sheet the other goes in over the edge. Press it up tight to the beam and fasten then mud and feather. Even at this stage it would be quicker than trim and IMO pulls your eye into that area less. I'll be out where we had some done later this week, holler if'n you want a pic.

If you have access to a planer I've also routed a chamfer on stock and then planed it down to about 1/4" thick to do a lighter trim than is typical. Sort of similar to screen lath.

That is a really fine job on some beautiful doors, nice character. Can you describe your finishing steps?

Redoverfarm

The gaps are probably less than 1/4" on the sides and abut 3/8" on the bottoms.  I was leary about applying joint compound to the beams as there will probably be some movement and didn't feel that compound would hold.  There are a couple that worked out to be about 1/2" on the bottom so I figure I could tack a filler strip (wood) before caulk if that was the avenue.

My concern was making that transistion to the ceiling/drywall.  I didn't feel that staining the molding the same as the beams would look that well going from beam to beam so that is where I thought of the different finishes, Dark stain on the molding around the three sides of the beam and then matching with the wall color or ceiling finish between the two.  I have some small crown but making that transistion from either quarter round or cove to the crown may be nearly inpossible.  Don I might just go with a screen bead as you suggested and keep everything low profile, narrow and simple as possible.

Don on the doors I sanded them with 220 and followed w/360.  Mimwax oil stain then 3 coats of polycrylic(satin) with sanding between 2 & 3 coat with 360 grit.   

Redoverfarm

Rather light day of work on the cabin.  My parents came up for a couple of days.  I did manage to get the range hood finished up for the time being.  The range hood was framed, lathe wire applied and parged (today) in preparation for the stone.  It will be the same stone as present in the cabin with the exception that I will try to use smaller sized stone. 

Here is a couple of pictures of the before and after.  The wall cap is custom made.  I may later try to tone it down some by painting.  It is made of 1/16" aluminum.







If anyone ever wonder what it looked like on the inside of lathe wire once they applied concrete this will give you a good idea.  Although this wasn't lathe but rabbit wire 1/4" grid. This was removed from the chink joint for the exhaust vent.