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.