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Showing posts from May, 2011

Building and erecting the walls

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 ...

The absurdities of testing - Sewers !

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...

A lid on the Basement !

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 ...

Anyway - chit chat over and back to the building !

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...

Building in Coupeville again - ( not quite ! )

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...