The Great Construction Saga -- Part 4

So now we had a hole in the ground that had been transformed into a box in the ground, with lots of wall protection and sand and so on. The next step was to put a lid on the box. It looked like this:

Eric at work on the supports for the lid.

Eric and Matt putting the lid on.

In the meantime, work on the joinery continued in the temporary shelter outside the garage. The joinery is the part where a great deal of sweating over large bits of wood takes place. For several days, this work took place without benefit of Matt, who had badly injured his right elbow. WW and Eric kept working with another bit of local talent, Hunter. It looked like this:

WW and Eric moving one of the bits of house to supports

prior to sanding and oiling with tung oil.

A very small sampling of the joinery, notched and tabbed and

ready to be put together in flawless harmony (we hope).

Eric taking the first load of joinery down to the building site

(the box with a lid) prior to raising the timber frame. These 

are braces, all made from local wild cherrywood.

Eric stacking the braces, ready for inclusion in the frame.

Remember how, a couple of updates ago, I went along the backfilled trench for our power and phone, and scattered clover seed liberally? Well, here's how it looked a week later:

Deer love clover. We have created a deer highway.

It also makes me think Hansel and Gretel
(without the wicked witch).

Before the frame could be raised, the bents (don't worry, I'll get to them in a bit) needed to be put together and a crane needed to arrive to raise the bents...and the plates and joists and beams and rafters. Even while waiting, however, there is no sitting about. There is always more to be done.

Once the frame is up, the walls and roof will be made of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), formed of plywood (inside surface), a thick layer of styrofoam, and a layer of particle board (outer surface). They needed to be cut to size, sanded, stained (white for ceiling and some walls, blue for other walls), and stacked. First, however, they had to arrive.

Please remember, we have Matt with an injured right elbow (fortunately, he is left-handed), so not really supposed to be doing any heavy lifting. The SIPs were delivered by a guy driving a pick-up truck pulling the longest flat-bed we'd ever seen. Other things to know: the truck was not strong enough to back down the hill to the building site, so the panels would have to go down on one of our trailers--Matt's was chosen. The delivery included no means of removing the SIPs from the flatbed, no lift or crane or hamster in a wheel...nada. Finally, the driver had an injured left arm, so unable to lift much (actually, anything). (Yes, we thought of tying Matt and driver together.)

Yay for Hunter,who pitched in to help. First, he and Eric plied their cellphones, looking for help. No joy. So they worked...hard. It looked like this:

Driver watches; Eric lifts; WW oversees; Hunter lifts;

Matt wishes he could lift.

Eric and Hunter enjoying SIP shifting.

But wait! There are more!

Using Matt's truck and trailer to move the SIPs 

down to the work site.

 Once down the hill, the SIPs were stacked and wrapped carefully in tarpaulins. It is not desirable to have them get wet.

Then work on the bents began in earnest. It looked like this:

Our house will have three bents, one at each end and one in the middle,

with plates connecting them along the outer edges. The bents

are the largest skeletal elements. They give the house its basic shape.

The way the joinery works: careful preparation,

a lot of measuring and measuring again.
Hardwood pegs hold everything together.

Tour of inspection.

Meanwhile, up the hill by the garage, the garden was making progress. It looked like this:

Cherry tomatoes became a treat for hard working timber framers.

Once the bents were put together, one on top of each other, with the first to be raised on top, it was time for the crane. Our next installment will turn all readers into advanced timber framer pedants.

The Great Construction Saga—Part 3

The next step was sand. You don’t want to backfill with the stuff you dug out in the first place, it is full of rocks and rubbish that might damage the foundation. Sand and the big shovel would arrive on Friday. When they did, it looked like this:

Backfilling with sand.

Eric guiding the shovel operations. Zack, the operator, is an old friend,
so unlikely to crush him.

Matt levelling sand fill under the deck. As with the stone, a lot of sand 

had to be distributed by shovel and tidied by rake. More heavy work and not 

all locations were easy to work in.

The next project, once back filling was done, was to put a trench in place so our power and telephone cables could be laid underground. This is what it looked like:

Zack making an entrance to the forest from big brother’s parking area.

Working through the forest in the little (relatively) digger.

The trench was filled with sand, carried in load after load on

a little mini-dump truck on tracks. After a foot of sand, the

cables were laid, then another foot of sand was added. Then,…

...the forest floor was restored. Only brush and dead trees

had been removed.

Yesterday, it rained. It was perfect weather for my job: broadcasting clover seed along the length of the trench. Clover grows quickly, isn’t fussy about substrate, doesn’t mind shade, and deer love it.

The power and phone lines have arrived safely at our (much improved) hole in the ground. They look like this:

Power and phone cables in the house (such as it is). No,

neither end is attached to anything yet.

While Zach dug holes for our septic system, WW, Matt and Eric moved our woodshed. It looked like this:

The woodshed unlimbered from its base and braced for removal.

Installing the base at the new location, Quebec style—there must always

be one guy leaning on his shovel.

Heave ho and there she goes.

  As I write, the septic system is being installed and landscaping has begun. More thrilling adventures of the work crew will appear in future numbers of The Great Construction Saga.

The Great Construction Saga—Part 2

When last we left you, our hero (WW) was awaiting pouring of the foundations, I was supportively feeding him (unreported, but true) and Benson was resting. Benson has asked that photographic and interview sessions be terminated as they interrupt his repose.

As I recall, the next day (Tuesday, June 24) was the holiday known in Quebec as la Fête Nationale or the Feast of St. John the Baptist. The lads appeared, as always, at 8:30 a.m. (“Do we look French?”) and it poured. They braced forms and it poured. They sanded beams and it poured. They quit at about 3. It was just too wet. In fact, there was local flooding and one town declared a state of emergency. This pouring is also why there are no photos. The photographer, who shall remain nameless, doesn’t do pouring rain. Nor does her dog (who will, likewise, remain nameless…but well rested).

The next day broke clear and bright, holding the promise of perfect foundation-pouring weather. The foundations were poured. It looked like this:

Matt and WW review the foundation forms.
Notice gaps for windows and doors.
Construction is all about forethought.

Michel the pumper truck guy shows Eric how to control

the flow of the concrete. He (Michel) has the pumper’s 

remote controls at his waist.

Eric guides the nozzle while Michel guides Eric
(and remotely controls the flow).

A poured foundation.

In the meantime, I pondered what passes for our garden. Some of it looks like this:

A small sampling of our kale forest.

This almost-ripe strawberry disappeared under mysterious circumstances

soon after this photo was taken. (WW had the grace to look contrite.)

The next day, Thursday, the lads and WW prepared the foundations for back filling. This involved removing the inside bracing and laying plastic across what will be the floor. Around the outside, they applied a very sticky waterproof membrane. They also built The Dam, to contain The River That Runs Through It. Their labours looked like this:

Matt working with the protective membrane.

Eric and Matt trim membrane at a corner.

The Dam before removal of the braces.

Then the stone slinger came back. Stones were slung over the entire floor space (the first layer of stones having been covered with plastic) and all around the outside of the foundations. A French drain was laid around the entire outside perimeter and further stones were flung. Then a matting was laid overtop to prevent silt from working its way down to clog the drain. It looked like this:

Return of the stone slinger, this time slinging over plastic sheeting
which is covering the first layer of slung stone.

The inside slinging was easy; a lot of the outside stuff was done

by Eric, Matt and WW with shovels. Hot and heavy work.

After the stones had all been slung and distributed, 

the wooly matting was laid.

Next up: a great big shovel.

The Great Construction Saga—Part 1

As you know doubt know, we were shut down last year. After much red tape and endless patience (WW) and impatience (moi), we were finally issued a new permit last Wednesday. June 18, 2014. It looks like this:

 The premmie permit…it took just 8 months.

On Thursday, the pumper truck came, then found it was the wrong sort, so another came while the cement truck idled at a fork in the road. Then the cement truck followed the right pumper truck in and the footings were poured. It looked like this:

Matt waiting for the action to begin.

From the left: Pumper truck guy remote controlling the hose,
Eric grappling with the hose, Matt spreading concrete,
WW operating in a supervisory capacity.

Matt levelling the poured concrete in the footing forms.

On Friday, we received the forms for the foundation. The inside walls of the footings forms were removed. It looked like this:

Eric in the midst of the footings. The inner form walls have been removed. He is trying to redirect the water. Our basement has a movie made about it: A River Runs Through It.

On Saturday, WW had lunch with his mum. Benson and I occupied ourselves. It looked like this:

I made pork pies.

Benson rested.

On Sunday, WW moved rocks, I made gravlax. Benson rested.

On Monday (today), the stone slinger came and slung stones. It looked like this.

Stone slinger slinging.

Stones slung and being slung.

At this time, the foundation forms are being installed in the happy expectation that the concrete truck will return tomorrow and fill them. It looks like this:

Eric and Matt slinging foundation.

It’s really just grown men playing with Lego.

So that’s it for now. WW and the lads are finishing the foundation forms, I am writing. Benson is, of course, resting.