The man from the Clapham Omnibus

Here all the preparation of the wall plates made sense . The first thing Darrell did was to lay out the floor plan on the floor . With a chalk line we snapped out the inward edge of the floor plate 5 1/2 inches in from the corners . All the other outer walls were similarly marked out by measuring from this datum . These were checked for square by the 3,4,5 Pythagoras method of determining a right angled triangle . Next the internal walls were marked on the floor , again by measurement and by consulting the plans . Then the sole and lower top plates were made and laid out in position with great care to ensure dimensional accuracy . each pair pinned together . With reference to the plans the windows and doors and their corresponding studs were marked out on both plates . Next came the joins between walls . Finally the basic studs at 16 " centers . Full length studs ( purchases as 92 3/8 to make 8' ceilings inc the three plates minus the ceiling thickness ) were marked with a

I wanted to get the sewer connected so I could fit a toilet in the basement and take the portaloo off hire . I had already had the pipes under the floor tested now I had to get the short length from the cleanout outside the house to the town sewer finished and tested . I had dug up the trench from the cleanout to the sewer earlier but due to all the rain it was flooded . I got Seth to dig a short trench to let the water go so it could be finished . Unfortunately he dug it beyond the property line into the town storm ditch . Somebody from the town drove by and saw water running into the ditch and was not pleased . Within half an hour the clerk of works and the building inspector showed up . The acted as if a huge mudslide was running into their ditch and demanded it be stopped immediately . Seth was a bit bolchey which did not help but I talked to them and asked how to proceed with the sewer connection and they went away after asking for the silt fence to be repaired and the pile of dir

With great relief the weather finally gave up on trying to wash away the Island and tried to bake it to death instead . I built all the internal stud-work to account for irregularities in the concrete floor with the use of a tight string line off the wall plates cutting each piece individually . These were placed on chalk lines meticulously measured on the floor and the wall plates . they were connected together with a second top plate overlapping the joints by at least two feet where possible . Next the position of all the beams were marked on both wall plates by measurement ai 16" centres to give 3 pieces in every 4' as the flooring comes in 8' sheets . Underneath where the upper walls were to be either one or two glu e micro laminate beams were fitted to give them support . The TJI beams , which are a sort of engineered I beam with laminate on top and bottom and a web of osb between , were put in position 1 1/2 " in from the wall plate to make room for the &qu

With Darrell's considerable help I e-mailed various businesses both the pdf of my building plans and my " take off " of the materials required . Whilst waiting for replies I worked on getting the services connected and the garage floor concreted . I had three lorry loads of " pit run " delivered by Ed's construction , the local quarry firm . I was away in Oak Harbor when they delivered the first load right in the mouth of the garage . Pity as i needed it at the back . I needed the 30 yards spread out as well as trenches dug so I needed a machine and hopefully an operator too . Russ Bailey the local excavator driver was busy and JT Madson from "south Island " was working in North Dakota ! I therefore Hired a small excavator from Double R Rentals in Oak Harbor and set to work . I have to admit I really struggled to move the material and even after getting a bigger bucket delivered I decided to leave the now smaller pile and concentrate on doing th

Hi, Here I am again building my new home in beautiful "historic" Coupeville in the American Pacific Northwest . I must be mad putting myself through this at almost ( this month) half a century old . Still I must say that I am happiest when I set myself goals and achieve them . The harder the better and thus the happier . No gain without pain ! I transited via a three day stopover in Boston and got off the Seatac Shuttle in Coupeville at after 1 am local time . My body clock was still mid Atlantic so rather than disturb my friends Darrell and Cindy I trundled my bags to my Chevy van , chucked out some tools , made the bed up and crashed out . I woke remarkably refreshed and set about sorting the van out . The battery was flat after six months rest but unfortunately so was my emergency starter . I put the starter on trickle charge and was hailed by my neighbour to the right - ( in more ways than one ) Bob . After a brief chat he swiftly came up with a battery charger which I sw