Oct 26: Masonry Walls

Our mason, Brad Bonny, starts his work day on-site by laying-out the dry stack concrete blocks in the corner behind the location where the wood stove will be, between the Living Room and Dining Room, right.

The block wall is actually a double block wall with space between for insulation, as shown in the photo below.

A close-up view of a corner block, below, shows that it is not an ordinary concrete block, but rather a ground concrete block. The colors in the aggregate are exposed by grinding the surface smooth on all exposed sides, plus the top and bottom are ground smooth for the block to be dry stacked without mortar.  Finally, the edges have been bevelled to create a block with integrity.

An interlocking feature of the block adds strength to the vertical joints in the dry stacked wall, shown in the photo above.

Brad sets-up his masonry saw to cut the first course, which is only 2-1/2" high.

Lotte and Deschutes have found a place in the morning sunshine against the east wall of the Morning Room beneath the window sill.

Oct 25: Site Improvements

We removed several trees today that were crowding each other out, so the remaining junipers and native grasses, which we are restoring to the site, may have a better chance of thriving without too much competition from invasive species for the scarce water resource that are available.

A fresh pile of uprooted trees replaces the old pile of tree limbs from the day before that we ran through a chipper to create the mound of juniper chips in the foreground, above.

A weekend of rain leaves the job site soaked, but clouds part to reveal some blue sky with a possibility of sunnier days just ahead.  Above, a view of the SIP walls that define the Living Room, Master Bedroom Suite, and Utility Room.

Above, a view of the Kitchen and Living Room looking west from the Foyer.

A view of the Guest Bedroom Wing looking south from the Foyer.

Oct 18-22: Construction Hiatus

This past week was elk season for muzzle loaders.  It was particularly significant for our project because Todd and Terry hunt elk with muzzle loading rifles, and they took the week off to go hunt for elk.  Todd is the hunter in the photo below who is gripping the antlers of his impressive 12-point trophy elk.   In the meantime, the construction hiatus also gave the concrete slab more time to cure before staining. 

Oct 14: Raising the Walls, Day 6

All walls that can be raised, at this stage of construction, are up.  Walls adjacent to steel columns have not been raised due to the hazard of having them catch on fire in the close proximity of a welder's torch when beam and cable hardware are welded to columns.

View of the back doorway opening off of the Foyer, above and below.

View of the curving wall of windows along the hallway in the Guest Bedroom Wing, above and below.

The end wall of the Guest Bedroom Wing is a framed wall to more readily enable the completion of a master plan, which would include two additional guest bedrooms that would extend the curve and welcome more friends to the house, ... when resources become available to do the construction.

Stick framing a curved wall that consists mostly of windows, without room for much insulation in between, is more appropriate than using SIP's.

Oct 13: Raising the Walls, Day 5

Assembly ready SIP walls are proving to be significantly heavier than typical pre-cut panels because much of the lumber has already been installed in the panel, which increases the weight of each panel.  Although it saves on labor and material waste on the job site, Todd says a panel is sometimes a bit heavier than what two guys can easily lift.  Fortunately, the grade-all is available to do the heavy lifting, especially in difficult to reach places, as shown in the photos below.  To the left, panels are being positioned with the grade-all so they may be tilted into place with the least amount of lifting.

With a flick of the wrist by the operator, the header over the Master Bedroom window is easily dropped in place with the fork on the extended boom with the grade-all, above.

Walls on mudsills go up quickly, as shown above, in a view from the Living Room looking towards the Master Bedroom wing, and below, in a view of the the Guest Bedroom wing.

The grade-all is shown above and below, carrying framing lumber and hoisting a full 8" staggered stud wall, that is 18' long x 10' high, into place.  At the end of the day, a diagonal brace is temporarily attached to the framed wall,  shown below at the end of the Guest Bedroom wing.

Todd says he still prefers the assembly ready SIP's to the pre-cut SIP's.  In spite of the extra weight, he says they're faster.

Oct 12: Raising the Walls, Day 4

Today Todd and assistant Billy pushed hard to get the walls raised as fast as possible.

Applying the 'Persuader' to negotiate a tight fit with a stubborn SIP, above.  Each SIP wall typically requires a bit more than simply tilting and stapling it into place. 

A come-along works well to slip a not so slippery SIP on its mudsill for a snug fit, which is evident when it makes the foam ooze out of the corners, as shown in the photo below. 

 Todd applies foam with an applicator, supplied by the manufacturer, to every panel to ensure an air tight seal for each joint, below.

The slab becomes a stage for the builders' ballet, in the ensuing photos.

Bravo !!!

The audience includes a large buck that melds with the foliage, below

  

   

Oct 11: Raising the Walls, Day 3

Actually, no walls were raised today.  Today we regrouped and measured twice.  Todd discovered that some SIP walls were not cut as perfectly as he would have liked to have seen them cut.  I met Todd on-site, and we spent the afternoon locating both interior framed walls and masonry walls with the aid of my laptop and triangulating measurements taken off of the perimeter stem wall in preparation for the next push to raise the remaining SIP walls, over the next couple of days.  The following time-lapse video demonstrates the technique of measuring twice.

Our tools for the day are a tape measure, laptop, and plans.

We were instructed by Terry not to allow dogs, caulk lines, or black soled shoes to mark the slab while it is curing for the prescribed 28 days in preparation for staining.  Todd and I took our shoes off and walked on the slab in our stocking feet.

Autumn sunset on the ranch.

Oct 8: Raising the Walls, Day 2

The Entrance Foyer and Morning Room walls are raised and secured in place like pieces of a  great 3-D puzzle, shown above and below in the photos. 

The panels are labelled and identified through a numbering system that appears on a construction map provided to the contractor by the manufacturer.

The SIP wall for the main entrance stands ready for the front door and transom window to be installed, above.  

Long panel screws hold the SIP wall corners together.  Above, Todd is shown screwing a panel screw through a SIP wall along a corner joint.

Todd, along with one assistant, assembled the walls shown in these photos in two days.  He says the SIP wall sections are fitting perfectly to the foundation stem wall sections.  The walls arrive pre-cut to follow the exact angle and length of each section of stem wall, as shown in a photo taken from the top of a wall, above.