December 2015 - Bobcat Blunder

So remember the gabion-ish retaining wall idea? Well, it turned out to not be that good of an idea. After repeated trips over the top of it with the Bobcat, it finally started giving way. I got too close to that edge in some sticky mud and this is the result.

It doesn't look too bad, but the undercarriage is dragging the mud.

Every time I would try to move, it would slide and tip further. 

Cavalry has arrived!

George drug it right out. Which still amazes me. I know that his loader it powerful, but that Bobcat weighs about 6500# and with it being hydrostatic, it does not have "neutral" so he drug it with the wheels locked. I guess I owe the Bobcat a bath!

December 2015 - Roofing Part 1

I had designed the roof to have tapered insulation and a TPO membrane, both of which we have never done (although I had drawn a few projects with it at DTW). I had to do a TON of research on it to figure out. The design and detailing of the tapered insulation was quite time consuming, and the full diamond saddle almost drove me crazy. I still don't have all the roof details worked out, I am having to figure them out as we go. Big thanks to Liz Watson at Roofing Tools and Equipment for providing all the roofing material for the house.

Unloading the polyiso truck. This guy drove from Jacksonville, Florida that morning and was at the jobsite at 7:30!

Roof edge blocking being installed.

Wow, that is a lot of roofing material. 

Mocking up the drain with some scraps.

It's good to have a neighbor with a forklift! Our Bobcat won't lift that high. Thanks Ricky!

The master bedroom wing with all the tapered polyiso and the wood fiber cover board  and tapered edge strips installed. Ready for the membrane!

Dad, Matt, and Will did a great job. This is the neatest install I have ever seen. I have been on several big commercial jobs and the "professionals" are never this precise.

I had to put this photo of Misha on here to showing him "helping" us out with the Bobcat. He loves this thing! 

November 2015 - Concrete Retaining Walls

We decided to try some cast-in-place concrete retaining walls in a couple of areas. We had never done this before, so I did a bunch of research and talked to a lot of folks. Dad had a bunch of used 3/4" plywood that was demo'ed from one of his projects, so we used it and some 2x4's to build the formwork. I got my 8" form ties from White Cap, and the concrete, as usual, came from Chandler. 

Formwork laid out to apply a seal coating.

First wall formwork about half complete.

Pouring the wall.

We ordered a 3500# mix with a slump of 5 with the intention to add some water to get the slump near 6, bit the 5 seemed to flow and vibrate fairly well. 

Finished wall after stripping the forms.

Not to bad for our first time. Some bug holes, but overall I am satisfied with the results.

Here is Dad working on forming the next wall to pour.

October 2015 - Sheathing

October was a busy month and ended with most of the wall and roof sheathing installed and us beginning to install the roof ice & water barrier and the wall weather resistant barrier. After a lot of research and conversations with various manufacturers and reps, I decided to go with products from the Henry Company. John Horenkamp with Henry was awesome to deal with and hooked me up with some great products. He even drove down here from Baltimore to bring me some stuff and give us some install tips. The RF200 is a self sealing ice & water barrier for roof applications. The VP100 is really cool! Is is a self-adhering, vapor permeable air barrier, whose performance far exceeds typical housewrap. The VP100 takes some getting used to as far as installing it, but I will never us stapled up housewrap ever again.

View of front with most of the sheathing on.

Advantech roof sheathing.

Henry RF200 rolled out to relax in the sun.

Mom and Dad installing some of the Henry VP100.

More VP100.

VP100 almost complete.

October 2015 - Framing Begins

Finally have some walls built. It is a great relief to finally be out of the ground. It has taken so long to get to this point it has been pretty discouraging. Maybe things will speed up now.

We have walls!!!

More walls!!!

Roof framing too!

View towards the front entry.

Standing near the office looking toward Misha's bedroom.

Dining area with clerestory above.

View into living room, check out the balloon framing!

October 2015 - Slab Completed

Floor slab complete standing on foyer looking toward living room; beginning of sole plate layout.

Stucco brown coat complete, only one coat left!

Slab again, looking toward foyer. Terry Oakleigh and the boys did a great job with the finishing.

Slab again, looking toward dining area.

Slab at Misha's bathroom. Plumbing blockouts removed. Rectangular are is where shower floor will be recessed into the slab. All three bathrooms in the house are done this way. Barrier free!

Opening for stairway to basement. Hole to left is my interior crawlspace access.

September 2015 - Perimeter Insulation, Stucco, and Drainage

Got a visit from 1929 today... Bob Sanford stopped by with his Model A.

Main waste line leaving the house, waterproofing, and my attempt at termite resistant slab edge insulation.

Foundation & courtyard drainage.

Ditto.

Stucco underway... Lathing mostly done, scratch coat in progress. No EIFS here, only old school 3 coat portland cement plaster!

August 2015 - Concrete Slab

Concrete slab for the master bedroom wing completed.

Slab prep for the living room. I hope my floor boxes are in the right place.

Slab prep for kitchen with elevated slab beyond. The opening for the stair is between.

Doing some footing prep for a concrete retaining wall around basement courtyard.

July 2015 - Retaining Wall???

My attempt at a making a retaining wall. The idea was to make one long gabion basket. FYI, it didn't work. It was installed in too much of a hurry and didn't withstand repeated trips with the Bobcat over it.