dug & Jenny's 20 by 30 1 and 1/2 story

Started by dug, December 06, 2009, 10:57:26 AM

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Pine Cone

For larger pixel pictures there is a scroll-bar that should show up at the bottom of your pictures.  If you slide it around you should be able to see everything as you posted it.  With multiple images the scroll-bar only shows up below the last image.  If there is no scroll-bar their may be an issue with the web browser being used.  FWIW I'm using Firefox...

In your "Roof is done" picture (which looks great by the way) you seem to be using 1024x757 resolution.  The "frame" size used by Country Plans seems to be smaller than 800 pixels wide, so you get a scroll bar on 800x600 pixel images as well.  My guess is that you see only part of the image if it is wider than 640 pixels...

I'm with you about the sound of rain on a tin roof.  I built my covered deck with a single layer of corrugated roofing so I could get that sound.  Brings back lots of nice memories and we're trying hard to make some new ones as well.

SouthernTier

Regarding the pictures:  That's why I ended up choosing picasaweb to host the pictures.  You can upload any size you want, but then when you embed the pictures by copying and pasting the URL tags, you can tell it to embed a medium size picture (800 x 600 I think) which is perfect for the forum.  Google does all the resizing for me before they send them off to your screen.  They have three or so different sizes you can embed.


dug

QuoteRegarding the pictures:  That's why I ended up choosing picasaweb to host the pictures.  You can upload any size you want, but then when you embed the pictures by copying and pasting the URL tags, you can tell it to embed a medium size picture (800 x 600 I think) which is perfect for the forum.  Google does all the resizing for me before they send them off to your screen.  They have three or so different sizes you can embed.

Thanks, I think I'll give that a try.


I made a discovery today while "adjusting" a window opening (note to self: a bit large on the opening beats a bit small hands down!) with a sawzall.

I kind of like the look created by dragging the blade, flat across the board. Kind of like rough sawn, if you squint your eyes.

I laid the blade flat like this, and dragged it back and forth-



In a few minutes I had this-



lightly sanded with a little polyurethane sprayed on-



Not exactly authentic but it creates a rustic look very fast. I tried a few other methods and found that by angling the blade one way for a few passes and then the other way, you can create a checkered pattern. I may end up trying it for some interior trim if I can't find what I want around here.

Very little has been accomplished since the roof last week, I have to admit that I've been quite a slacker.
I did manage to get a few windows in today. As mentioned above, complications turned a 20 minute job into 2 hours!

The ones I installed today are awning windows-



You can see here where I turned a 1 & 1/2 in. board into a 1 & 1/4.  d*-











Redoverfarm

And everybody thinks that a Sawz-all is for demolition work.  In fact it is one of the most useful tools in new construction as well.  I think they should have named it "Fix-all" instead.   ;D

Don_P

All depending sometimes it's ok to do a little modifying of the window.
I was catching up, in response to your question of the 30th... yes  ;D
I crop and resize then compress pics on xat.com freeware, I usually make stuff for forums under 500 pixels wide and can usually get the pic below 50k. There are pics and pages on here I've never made it through on dialup.

You realize some archeologist is going to write a totally believable paper on pitsawing in the 21st century  [cool]


OlJarhead


You could just cut some wood with a chainsaw mill :)  Does exactly what you want!

dug

QuoteYou could just cut some wood with a chainsaw mill   Does exactly what you want!

I saw your mill and my first thought was "I gotta get one of those!". But then my second thought was that though I have a nearly endless supply of juniper and pinion on my property for firewood, most of what I cut is under 6 in. diameter.  :(

If I drive up the road a couple miles and 500 ft. higher in elevation there are giant pines. Someday I will own a truck and trailer.  [waiting]

umtallguy

thats the beauty of the chainsaw mill, you can take an alaskan sawmill with you and attach it right to the log, and cut as long or short a logs as you want. No trailer required

OlJarhead

Quote from: umtallguy on July 07, 2010, 09:10:19 AM
thats the beauty of the chainsaw mill, you can take an alaskan sawmill with you and attach it right to the log, and cut as long or short a logs as you want. No trailer required

Yup :)

Or if you  have a Jeep then put a skidder on the back (make it at home with simple and cheap plans from Mother Earth News) and pull the logs back -- or just strap the lumber to the roof when done :)  So many options!

We use an ATV with a cheapo trailer ($239) to bring the lumber back and mill the logs right where they are cut -- which is where the wind made them fall during a storm years ago :) :D

Don't be shy man!  Think of the options!


astidham

dug, your rough sawn lumber looks better than store bought
"Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice"
— Henry Ford

dug

We got our first real monsoon rainstorm today. A gullywasher, literally.

It doesn't rain that often around here but when it does it seems to try to make up for lost time. Just when water is shooting from the sky at the highest rate most people would deem possible, it then starts to come down harder. Fascinating, and somewhat frightening.

This is the arroyo that cuts through our property. Normally dry, but it runs pretty hard several times a year. About 15 minutes before I took this photo it looked like the Colorado, but I didn't want to brave the rain to get a picture.






Poor progress lately on the homestead, but what else is new?   :P

I have been assembling the loft beams. Some of you may have heard, because I posted a question in general forum, but I experienced an unpleasant surprise when I unbundled the beams. I knew they had twisted some, but they were way worse than I thought.



I was a little depressed because I figured it was pretty hopeless to expect to get them any better than just marginal. With a few tips from folks here and several clamps, bottle jacks, hammer, prybar, a decent vocabulary of swear words, and a little faith they actually came out surprisingly well.   ;D

This was the worst one. I enlisted the aid of a bottle jack and I swear that I had to crank it harder than I would if it were under an F350 with a full load of sand! Maybe it was because I had a  short lever though. You can see that my clamp is on the verge of death as well.

I blocked everything real good so the whole wall wouldn't fly apart. I wonder how many pounds of pressure that beam is loaded with? On second thought, maybe I don't want to know.  [shocked]

Can wood explode?



I like clamps-





This was the worst one. I didn't come out perfect, but I'll take it-



Overall I am quite happy with the results. I really blocked it all tight so I am hoping that they will stay pretty close to the same (and the beams don't explode!).






So next I will finish the loft and get the center support beam in place. I know, I probably should have done that first. I sort of painted myself in a corner, so to speak, and couldn't fit the beams in with the center one in place. As it was I had to remove one of the ledger boards because I didn't have enough room to squeeze them in there!   d*

Then, (ugh!@!) the stairs. I try not to think too far ahead, so as not to become mentally overwhelmed.

Until next time!













Redoverfarm

Dug I would say that the beams will somewhat "Neutralize" themselves over time.  If you would have taken the same beam and blocked it up on each end and weighted the middle then overtime it would have bowed.  Although the wood fiber is dead so to speak it will still react to forces that are exerted.   I had to do the same with mine maybe not to the extent that you had but some were distorted.  It is very difficult to cure sawn demensional lumber that large without some distortion.  I would say by this time next year you will have forgotten about it.  ;D

archimedes

Good job.  You got them much straighter than I thought you would.

The place is looking good.  It's easy to get overwhelmed but just go one step at a time.
Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough,  and I will move the world.

dug

I have a pretty good start on the loft framing. Everything went smooth, though true to form I spent an exorbitant amount of time making sure everything was square, level and plumb.

Maybe it has something to do with fear of commitment. Once you hammer a nail or put in a bolt its just seems so permanent!





Keeping track of receipts is not one of my strong points but I bet I've got a couple hundred bucks wrapped up in lags and bolts for the loft and rafter ties.  :(



I am beginning to believe that a few boxes of nails and a pile of lumber really can be transformed into a home!


astidham

"Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice"
— Henry Ford

NM_Shooter

Nice work, and a clean build.  Where are you building? 
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

dug

Thanks Shooter.

We are just south of the Gila National forest, in the Mimbres valley.

astidham

Dug, do you have any more pictures of your loft?
Im watching yours for Ideas.
"Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice"
— Henry Ford

dug

QuoteDug, do you have any more pictures of your loft?

Well. unfortunately I haven't got much farther on that part. I did get a partition wall up and was itching to start on the stairs but a friend of mine was going into town to get some lumber so I took advantage of the opportunity and hitched a ride in order to get the lumber I needed to finish my porch.

So I've been working on that, and some more of the foundation bracing as I was also able to pick up some pressure treated lumber on the same trip. One of my (many) problems is I tend to get distracted and jump around a lot. I had a goal of finishing the exterior before winter so I decided I had best stick to that until its done- lots of work to do yet. I figure if I can accomplish that goal then I'll have a warm, dry area to work on the interior all winter.  8)

So for now, the loft will have to wait. I'll try to post pics of what I have so far before going to work at my "other" job tomorrow.  :(

astidham

"Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice"
— Henry Ford


dug

Well it's been awhile. I thought I's better check in, I don't want anyone thinking I gave up on the build and bought a singlewide instead.  ;)

Been doing a little of this and that, trying to get ready for the big stucco job coming up. I've got the porch mostly done except the stairs. The decking will wait until after the stucco.

In this photo you can see the fake lintel beam over the small window. I like it and intend to do the same with the rest, though I think I am going to cut a small angle on them.



I have all the windows installed except the one that will be a bump out, which I have so far successfully procrastinated. It's the one with the custom rain tarp.-



Kids enjoying the view from the loft-



And this one pretty much says it all-



Now I'm shopping for a couple of doors, my god but they're expensive! Yes, there are cheaper ones, but all the ones I like seem like they are $1000 +. I've been checking craigslist, even the big cities that are too far away to be practical but I have seen very few come up. I am going to need a bit of luck, that or win the lotto- wait, scratch that last one, I've never played the lotto!  :)

Wish me luck!




Alasdair

Good luck looking for your doors and well done on a nice project. I am looking forward to the rest of you build - I'm hunting for good ideas to steal ... :)

dug

Framing the kitchen bump out window-







Now I just have to install a micro-roof with some leftover scraps from the main roofing job, and install the window of course. Probably a dumb question but does anybody know if a tiny "roof" like this needs vented? I hope not, because I didn't do it.

Edging closer to the dreaded stucco.  :-\



texasgun

Thanks for showing the window bump out, [cool] its a project I wondered how it would be done and your pictures tell it well.
WEST TEXAS

mldrenen

great looking house, dug.  you're attention to detail is impressive.