Montana 2011

Time to start thinking about what work needs to be completed in 2011. Our oldest daughter, Amanda is getting married in May, and there will be receptions in St Louis and Minneapolis afterwards, so I will not make it back to Montana until the second week of June this year. In 2009 I started in April, in 2010 I started in May.

The first project will be to install the shower in the basement, and plumb in and wire the hot water heater, which I will do myself. When this is completed, I will be staying on site and only going to Butte for groceries and to do laundry. Time to break out the dutch ovens again!

My goal this year is to get the exterior of the house completely finished and begin building the garage.

The next phase will be to complete the installation of the last three doors and the final 6 windows. With this completed I will install siding on the end gables, the dormers and the framed out wall in the walkout basement. I will have to decide how to trim out all the doors and windows as I install the siding. I will then install the soffits and trim under the roof at both ends of the house, and over the deck on both sides. At this point the house will be completely sealed in. I don't plan to do very much house wiring this year, but I do have to install the light fixtures over the deck on both sides of the house prior to installing the soffits.

At this point, I would like to install the decking around the outside of the house. With something like 1,320 square feet of decking to install, this will take a while to complete. The decking will be made of 2" X 6" lumber. I will oil these planks on all sides and both ends prior to installation. I feel this will give them the best possible protection. This will be completed using a natural color oil which should be a nice contrast with the cedar stain/oil I used on the logs. I will then install the hand rails and the steps, which will also be a natural color.

I will have to pour small cement slabs for the two sets of stairs going up to the porch.

Once this is completed, I plan to start building the garage. I have 14 logs on the ground right now that are peeled and stained, and ready to work. I would like to try to finish the log work on the garage this year. If I can get the roof on this year it would be great, but it is not critical. With the logs stained, they are well protected from the elements, and the garage floor will not be a problem. I want to build a deck on the front of the garage, with a double hung door coming out of the loft onto the deck. It will be 30 feet long and 10 feet wide. If I use the loft of the garage for a woodworking shop, this would be perfect for getting lumber in and projects out of the loft. I would have to decide on putting a stairway on the outside of the garage for access to the loft, or on the inside.

I will need to excavate for footings for the three vertical logs that will support the deck. I would probably plan these to be poured when I pour the two small slabs for the deck stairs on the house.

Oh yes, and a building permit for the garage will be purchased this year.

The next time I post to this Blog I will be posting pictures of the building progress.

House dried in 100%, Aug 31, 2010

Here are pictures of all sides of the house. All windows and doors are either installed or sheeted over for the winter. The only thing I have left to do is cover the two chimney flashings in the roof. I also have to do something about the water running off the roof making a ditch on both sides of the house. I would like to sheet the ground under the deck on both sides of the house out just past the edge of the roof and cover it with stones to prevent the soil from washing away and stop weeds from growing under the deck.

Finished installing windows available, Aug 30, 2010

Today I finished installing all the windows I have purchased so far. There are 4 windows in the loft and 2 windows on the main floor that are not available at this time. These are the windows on the west side of the house in the family room. Below are the windows on the North side of the house. I am in the process of framing in the center window. I will sheet it over with OSB for the winter. When I get the window next year, I can install it very quickly. I will finish this window tomorrow. There is one other window I will frame out and sheet over tomorrow.

There are 4 doors on the main floor, 2 double doors and 2 single doors. I have installed one of the single doors. Since I do not have the other doors at this time, I

will do temporary frames on them and sheet them over with OSB for the winter.

I will be spending the next few days wrapping up loose ends. I plan to head home by September 6th at the latest.

View of loft from the main floor, Aug 27, 2010

Here are pictures of the loft from the main floor. The top picture is the north end, the bottom the south end. As you can see, all of the logs for the roof system have been stained completely. Here you can see the four windows that were framed in and sheeted over. When I get the windows next year, I will use a router to remove the OSB covering the window openings and install the windows.

These windows will require the use of the fork lift. Three of these windows will be sliders for ventilation. The window directly over the family room could be a picture window or a slider. I will have to look at how easy it can be accessed before I make the decision.

Installing windows And doors, Aug 27, 2010

Today I started installing windows and doors. The first windows I installed were the three 5' by 5' sliders in the dormers. It was a quite windy today so it was a little challenging getting them in place by myself. I used the lift to get them on the roof.
I installed one door on the main floor and a 6 ft by 4 ft picture window in the family room. I made a mistake and did not allow for the 2" X 6" frame on the top and bottom of the window, so I had to cut the top flat twice. You would not believe the amount of sawdust the chainsaw throws out when you do a rip cut.

When I bought the windows, they only had 2 - 4' X 4' windows, which is just what I needed for the main floor. The 4 - 4' X 4' windows that I sheeted over in the gables will have to be completed next year. The dealer said they would not be in until the end of the year.

I also need a 4' X 3' window, and a 4' X 3.5' window for the main floor. They were out of stock on these also, so I will frame these windows out with 2 X 6s and sheet them over with OSB for the winter. Next year I will install them when I install the windows in the gables.

I will probably be framing out the last 3 doors on the main floor and sheeting them over with OSB for the winter. At this point, the house will be completely dried in.

End gables sheeted & wrapped, Aug 25, 2010

Today I finished sheeting in the end gables and covering them in house wrap. I sheeted over the windows on both ends for the winter. Next year I will cut back the house wrap over the windows, and router the windows out. I ran out of white Tyvek, so I had to use some blue to finish. It makes it look like the house is winking!

Tomorrow I will finish staining the last half of the ridgepole, the last half of the west side purlin, and three of the upright logs supporting the roof system. With these completed, the only staining left on the house is the 2 inch strip on the underside of the facia boards. This has to be completed before I install the soffit boards. Since I won't install any soffit boards this year, it can wait for next year.

Once I have completed the inside staining I will dismantle all the scaffolding, load them on two trailers, and return them to Al Anderson and Paul Talon.

I have a load of 15 sheets of OSB being delivered tomorrow to sheet over the main floor doors and windows. I will cut them so I can use them on the garage roof next year. I will send back 14 sheets of 7/16" OSB, 6 - 24' TGIs and 8 -2 X 6 X 16' with the driver for credit. This will clean up all my building supplies on site for the year.

I have one 3' exterior door that I purchased last year that I will install on the main floor on the north east corner of the house. This will give me access to the house, yet allow it to be locked up for the winter.

Finished framing end gables, Aug 23, 2010

Today I finished framing in the end gables. Tomorrow and possibly Wednesday, I will be helping shingle a roof in Butte for my cousin. When we finish, I'll take one of his people to run the lift and sheet the end gables and cover the sheeting with Tyvex.

After the gables are sheeted the next step is to cut the windows and doors on the main floor to their final size and frame them in. I may just install one door on the main floor, and sheet over the other doors and windows for the winter.