Day 76: Drainage and POWER

On Friday, Raphael and Trevor attached J-Drain 400, a water drainage layer over the rubber membrane onto the portions of walls that will be underground. This layer will provide 2 functions:

1. protect the rubber membrane beneath
2. shed water quickly down the wall to the french drain

Here is a pic of the north wall with the J-Drain installed - it still needs to be trimmed to the same height as the rubber membrane. You can also see the first layer of the EZflow French Drain installed.

Erik hooked up power to the main distribution panel - a big milestone in the project. We now have electricity at several convenient places in the home.

The project is taking a week off for some well deserved vacations. I'll begin posting again around September 9th. Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 74 and Day 75: Waterproofing

On Wednesday and Thursday, Marty, Raphael, Trevor and I rolled 5 coats of Ecoline-R liquid rubber membrane onto the portions of walls that will be underground. Between coats 2 and 3, we applied nylon mesh to reinforce the rubber. Here is a pic of the north wall of the utility room after completion.

On Wednesday, Joshua completed sealing the interior wood of the last window and all 3 sliding glass doors. Erik continued rough electrical wiring on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment.

Day 73: Hanging a ledger and more details

Today Justin planed and sanded the last 4X10 ledger. Justin, Trevor and I hung the ledger on the shear wall.

Other tasks from day 73:

• Trevor installed pipe in the footing trench around the perimeter of the home. Garden hose valves and future irrigation lines can tee into this pipe.
  
• I installed waterproofing tape around the exterior of the 1st story window openings. This layer helps protect the window framing if water gets behind the exterior plaster.
  
• Justin installed drip caps on the 2 small sliding patio doors. This piece of sheet metal directs water away from the top of the door.
  

Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 72: Details

Tasks completed or started today.

• Joshua coated the interior exposed wood on all but 1 window with 2 coats of AFM Safecoat Naturals Clear Penetrating Oil - a low VOC sealer that will protect the wood. The windows really look nice.
• The folks from Wildcat Metals installed trim and flashing material.
• Trevor applied mortar to the seams between Apex blocks that will be underground.
• Justin put the finishing touches on the framing in the bedroom, closet and bathroom.
• Erik returned from summer vacation and continued rough electrical work.

Stella status:
She is about twice as big as she was at the start of the project. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 70 and 71: Metal roof completion and plaster experiments

The folks from Wildcat Metals were back Thursday and Friday. They completed installation of the roof panels and drilled holes in the rain gutters for downspouts. Here is a pic of the completed main roof…

…and one of the utility and porch roof. I am very happy with the appearance.

On Thursday, Joshua, Justin, Georg and I tried unsuccessfully to shoot Natural Hydraulic Lime plaster (NHL 3.5) from 2 different air powered spray guns. Joshua ended up troweling the material onto the north exterior wall around the bathroom window.

On Friday, Joshua and I mixed NHL 5 plaster and troweled it onto the east and northeast exterior walls. The material spread well and appeared to adhere well to the wall. More to come next week on how crack-free the plaster cures. Here is a pic from around the bathroom window.

Coady and Adam completed the rough plumbing on Thursday.

Green comment for today:
Consider a standing seam metal roof as an alternative to asphalt shingles. A metal roof is more expensive, but can last 5 times longer than shingles. Metal is 100% recyclable when it comes time for replacement. A metal roof is also more energy efficient in climates that require air conditioning.

Thanks for reading. I enjoy your comments.

Day 69: More metal roofing and tree pruning

The folks from Wildcat Metals were back again today. They completed installation of almost all of the main home roof panels.

I took this video of the seamer used to make the mechanical connection between panels.

Here is a pic of the underside of the seamer.

This was the last day we had the telehandler, so we used it to assist with pruning the trees next to the north side of the home. There were many dead branches that must be removed to help maintain defensible space against a wildfire. We also removed a small tree that was very strained from nearby construction trenches over the past 2 years. I am always sad when a tree is cut down, but the 2 neighboring trees will be healthier. All of the smaller branches will be run through a woodchipper and turned into garden mulch. The larger branches will make heat in Justin's woodburning stove. Here is a pic from the west at the end of the day.

Other tasks from day 69:

• Trevor completed installation of the level spreader
  
• Justin and I completed installation of the trim board under the eaves
  
• Coady continued routing vent pipes for the sewer lines and began installing the rough valves for the fixtures
  

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 68: Metal roofing

The folks from Wildcat Metals were back again today. They completed installation of almost half of the main home roof panels.

Other tasks from day 68:

• Justin, Trevor, Georg and I installed the last window
• Justin, Trevor and I installed a trim board under the eaves around ¾ of the main home
• Coady the plumber routed vent pipes for the sewer lines

Here is a pic from the southeast at the end of the day. Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 67: Metal roof panels

This was one of the days I was really looking forward to. The home will have a Standing Seam Metal Roof (SSMR). The panels are too long to be delivered practically, so Wildcat Metals and RMS Supply brought the portable manufacturing equipment to the job site. The fabrication process involved 2 steps. First, material from a coil of steel was passed through a roll forming machine to make a flat panel. The machine automatically advanced the material, formed all of the bends and cut the panel to length – see vid below.

This is the type of panel that would be installed on roof with flat sections. In the second step, the panel was run through a panel curver that stretched both vertical ribs in the panel to add the curvature necessary to fit on my curved roof – see vid below.

So a pile of flat panels like this:

Was quickly turned into a pile of curved panels like this:

Other tasks from day 67:

• Marty sprayed the wood in the unfinished eaves with a homebrewed concoction that should reduce the potential for termite infestation in the roof lumber
• Trevor connected an extension to the existing level spreader
• Justin framed up the interior walls of the closet
• Carlos completed the fire sprinkler installation

Green comment for today:
Look for one solution that solves 2 or more problems. I have procrastinated planting seeds over an old backfilled trench for weeks because the soil was full of rocks that needed to be removed. When Trevor connected the level spreader today, it was obvious that he needed plenty of rocks to backfill the trench effectively. Trevor and I scoured the old backfilled trench area to collect rocks. We used these rocks to backfill the level spreader trench. Now the old backfilled trench where I want to seed is free of rocks. This was also a great use of on site resources. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 66: Completed porch roof framing + 3 subs

On Friday, we completed installation of the reclaimed redwood tongue and groove flooring material on the porch roof framing. Here is a pic from northwest of the porch. It looks sweet!

Other tasks from day 66:

• Trevor completed digging the trench to connect the main power to the utility room
• Erik and Ryan continued to install electrical wiring
• Tim and Carlos started installing the fire sprinkler system
  
• The folks from Wildcat Metals were back again to install gutters on the main home. Here is a pic of the south wall of the home.

It is really exciting to see finish materials being installed. Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 65: Porch roof

Today we started installing the reclaimed redwood tongue and groove flooring material over the porch roof framing. Here is a pic looking up at the northwest corner.

Trevor continued digging a trench to connect the main power to the utility room. Erik and Ryan continued to install electrical wiring. Our thoughts are with the people fighting and affected by the Lockheed Fire. Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment.

Day 64: Door installs, electrical wiring and porch framing

Today we installed the 2 remaining sliding glass patio doors. The highlight was the 600 pound 4 panel door in the family room.

Here is a pic of electrical wiring in process on the south wall of the great room.

Here is a pic of the porch framing nearly ready for the tongue and groove redwood flooring Cindy and I were planing and sanding a few weeks ago. We did a bit of cleanup today which is why you can actually see most of the porch.

Day 63: More windows and electrical wiring

We installed 10 windows and 1 sliding glass patio door today. One window and 2 sliding glass doors remain. Here is a pic of Marty and Justin getting ready to install the picture window in the east wall of the loft – Trevor is driving the telehandler.



In between window installations, Erik the electrician had me position electrical wiring boxes in their final locations. Erik’s assistant Ryan used a router to cut channels in the walls connecting switch boxes to wall socket boxes. Ryan also began running Romex power cable between the boxes.

Justin made a nice freehand sawzall cut to the cantilevered end of the porch beam.

Stella status:
She was looking much better today – the swelling from the sting in her cheek was gone. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 62: More porch beams, more wall framing, windows and electrical

It was a busy day. Justin installed the last 4 curved glulam beams over the porch.

Marty began framing two interior walls around the bathroom. Trevor and I prepared the openings to accept windows and doors. The window and door delivery happened in the afternoon. We unloaded the truck and had time to install 3 windows before the end of the day. Here is a pic of the loft casement window opening to the south.

Erik the electrician showed up and began installing electrical wiring boxes in the wall. Rectangular pockets are carved in the APEX wall material to accept the boxes. Since the wall is 85% foam, this is an easy process. In the pic below you can see some boxes for wall sockets in the bedroom. The white spray painted lines represent where channels will be routed to accept Romex cable.

Green comment for today:
The Greenspec online product directory provides a great starting point in your green product search. It may not list all green products available in a category, but you can be sure that listed products have passed a thorough screen for greenness. This is where I first heard of Loewen windows.

Stella status:
Stella got stung or bit in the cheek by something today - probably a wasp. Her face was so swollen I couldn't bear to take a pic. Her tail was still wagging the whole time, even though she was probably hurting.

Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 61: Porch posts and beam

On Friday we completed sanding and installation of the porch posts and beam. The posts were site milled redwood. The beam was milled locally from a redwood tree that blew down in a winter storm. Here is a pic of Marty, Justin and Georg standing by one of the posts under the beam.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 60: Roof sheathing and fascia complete

Today we completed installation of the plywood roof sheathing. Here is a pic from the west edge of the roof looking east.

We also completed installation of fascia around the perimeter of the main home. Here is a pic of the west eave showing the rafters, blocking and fascia.

This was another rewarding day. Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment.

Day 59: Blocking finished, roof sheathing and fascia

Today we completed installation of all blocking on the roof. Here is a pic of Justin and Marty from 48 feet up on the telehandler. This was my last opportunity to see all of the framing open to the sky.

No, the walls aren’t curved, that’s just the fisheye effect from stitching 3 pics together. Thanks for the lift Raphael!

We installed 4X8 foot sheets of plywood sheathing over the rafters, beams, blocking and outriggers. Here is a pic of Raphael, Justin, Marty and Georg after installation of 7 sheets of plywood.

We installed all of the plywood today except over the northeast corner…

…and along the west wall.

The inside of the home finally has some shade. We installed Trex decking material as fascia on all four eaves. In the following pic from the southwest you can see the fascia on the south and curved west eaves.

Here is a pic of the curved east fascia.

Green comment for today:
Composite materials like Trex make excellent trim for areas of the house that are difficult to access for application of finishes like paint or sealer. The advantages of Trex are:

• manufactured from recycled wood and plastic
  
• should never need sanding, painting or sealing
• fire resistant
• flexible enough to form the curved east and west fascia, a big benefit for this home
  

The guys did awesome work the last week preparing for this very rewarding day. Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave a comment.

Day 58: Blocks and outriggers…still

Today we completed installation of:

• outriggers on the north wall
• 2X4 inch blocks between the rafters every 4 feet on center
• 2X4 inch blocks between the rafters on the east eave

Installation of blocking on the north wall is about two thirds complete. The roof framing looks like the skeleton of a huge whale. Here is a pic at the end of day 58. Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 57: Blocks and outriggers, continued...

Today we completed installation of blocks on the south wall and began installation of outriggers on the north wall. Installation of 2X4 inch blocks between the rafters every 4 feet on center is about two thirds complete. Here is a pic at the end of day 57. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.