We had a several tasks going in parallel today with one delayed until tomorrow.  The tasks on the critical path were progressing as planned, so our overall timeline remains intact.

The one task that was delayed was picking up the beams from Watsonville.  The beams could not be ready by noon today, as planned.  Fortunately, Bryan was able to reschedule the pickup by Dave Merchant for tomorrow morning at 8:00 am.  It will be an early start to the day.

Removing the Temporary Steel Beams

Pete Janovich was on site with two members of his team and they set to work unbolting and moving the steel beams clear of the existing West and East walls.  As well, they removed part of the concrete haunches to provide more access to the existing walls. 

The steel beam on the West is now clear and ready to be removed by the crane next Wednesday.  Pete’s team will complete the work on the East side tomorrow.  This task is on the critical path and is progressing as planned. 

The temporary steel beam that was supporting the existing wall on the West side is not detached and moved clear of the existing wall.

Scott Heeschen Comes by for PEX Training

Our friend, Scott Heeschen, who is building a house in Campbell dropped by for training on how to connect PEX tubing.  Matt Jung (88HVAC) trained Bryan in November and, since Scott is putting in PEX plumbing, Bryan offered to train Scott on how to connect PEX tubing.

Scott Heeschen takes a full tour of the house. He was impressed with the scale of our project.

Bryan showed Scott how to connect PEX to fittings. And, how to disconnect the PEX and remove kinks.

Receiving More FSC-Certified Lumber

Our small lumber order was delivered today.  We need lumber to complete the structural framing on the ground floor before we start framing the SIP roofs.  Another task stroked of ‘the list’.

Our small lumber order arrived and was dropped at our site. This FSC-certified lumber is required to complete our structural framing so we can stage the SIPs on the West side of the house next week.

It is always nice to order #1 or better and receive Structural Select, which is better than #1. Note that all the lumber in our house is FSC-certified.

Assembling Our SIP Wall

Since we retained the existing East and West walls, and the North Wall is either concrete, sliding glass or Hardy-Frames, the only wall that we could build using SIPs was the south wall.  This is the wall facing Via Sereno.

After preparing the wall plate, assembling our SIP wall went quickly.  The following photos show how the SIP wall was assembled with some of the connection details.

Given the probability of rain tomorrow, Dave Edwards’ team covered all the SIPs to protect them from the rain.

It was a long, but good, day today.

There is a 3/4-inch pressure treated plywood plate against the concrete, with a 2x6 mud sill on top of the plywood plate. This assembly is anchored to the foundation with longer holddowns extending above the plate. The 6.5-inch SIP walls will go on top of this assembly and be nailed into the 2x6 plate.

The SIP wall sits on top of the plate assembly and has insulated splines between each panel.

The SIP wall will go at the end of the stud wall, and be placed over the plate assembly on the concrete foundation.

The panel has sealing mastic on the inside of the OSB and foam, and the plate assembly is cleaned of dirt and debris with an air hose.

Interior view of the completed SIP wall in place.

We used Simpson Stong Tie HTT22s for hold downs for our shear wall. There are 16 rows of 2 nails per row attaching the HTT22 to this 6x6 post. The hold down is a Simpson Strong Tie SSTB24, which is embedded more than 20 inches into the concrete foundation.

Exteior view of the completed SIP wall at the front of the house. There are two window openings, then the front door and garage door. The garage door header will be delivered on Wednesday with our three other beams.

Given the forecast is for rain tomorrow, we buttoned up the site and covered our SIP walls and framing lumber with tarps and plastic.

A number of project elements (tasks) are going to come together in the next week so we can start assembling our SIPs. 

We now have an integrated and feasible short-term plan that will see our house rising out of the ground decisively by the end of March.  The next week should be interesting to see unfold.

Overview

The major tasks in our short-term plan include the following:

• Order and receive remaining FSC lumber to complete the structural framing
• Detach the temporary steel beams from the existing East and West walls and move the temporary steel beams so they are clear of the structure
• Deliver milled reclaimed beams to our project site
• Grade the reclaimed beams
• Ensure the East and West walls are straight and plumb, and complete the shear walls
• Order the FSC lumber for the SIP roof sections
• Complete the single SIP wall and structural framing to support the SIP roof sections
• Receive the final four structural beams to support the SIP roof sections
• Remove the temporary steel beams and load them on a truck
• Move and stage the first stack of SIPs onto the structural framing to complete the lower flat roof
• Unload the FSC-certified lumber for the SIP roof sections

These tasks will result in having all the materials available over the next week to construct our SIP wall and SIP roof sections.

Order and Receive FSC Lumber to Complete the Structural Framing

Given the limited space available on our site, we have been ordering our FSC-certified lumber small orders so it can be stored easily and protected from the rain.  Each order has had less than 10% estimated waste factor and the orders are following our detailed framing plans.  We have a detailed cut list for each order to minimize the work on site.  There is one final small order to be delivered that will provide sufficient lumber (2×6 plates and studs, and 4×8 posts) to complete the structural framing on the ground floor.

Bryan worked with Francisco, leading the on site work with Earth Bound Homes, today to confirm and place the order.  It should be delivered between 7:30 and 10:30 am tomorrow morning.

Detach the Temporary Steel Beams

The existing East and West walls on the ground floor have been supported and held in place since the beginning of our project by two 60 ft long temporary steel beams.  Now that the team from Earth Bound Homes have attached the existing walls to the concrete foundation walls, the walls need to be plumbed and trued.  To do so requires detaching the temporary steel beams and moving the beams a few inches away from the structure on the concrete haunches.

Pete Janovich, from Bill Brown Construction, reviewed our requirements yesterday and confirmed today that he will be on site with two others tomorrow to complete this work.  This task is on our critical path.

Deliver Milled Reclaimed Beams to Our Project Site

Bryan has been working with Out of the Woods and Jackel Enterprises to mill our reclaimed Douglas Fir beams to meet our specifications.  Dave Merchant will be loading the beams that he milled yesterday and going to Watsonville to pick up the beams that Steve Jackel has milled.  Then, Dave will bring the full load over the hill to Monte Sereno and unload them at our job site.

Steve will confirm everything is ready at his end so Dave and Bryan will meet there at noon tomorrow.

Grade the Reclaimed Beams

With the milled reclaimed beams at our project site, Charlie Jourdain, from Redwood Inspection Service in Pleasant Hill, will be in San Jose on another matter on Friday, February 19 so he will come to our project site and review and grade the reclaimed Douglas Fir beams.

The beams have to be available on the ground so Charlie can see all the sides of the beams.  After the beams are graded, they will be installed as part of our structural framing to support the SIP roof panels.

Order the FSC Lumber for the SIP Roof Sections

The SIP roof sections have extremely detailed wood requirements.  The shop drawings for each panel show the individual lumber connections that hold the panels together.  Bryan will go through the shop drawings one final time this weekend, considering the remaining lumber we have on site, and place our order lumber on Monday. 

This order of FSC-certified lumber will be delivered on Wednesday morning, February 24.

Complete the SIP Wall and Structural Framing

After plumbing the existing East and West walls, the framing team from Earth Bound Homes will complete the SIP wall at the front of the house and the structural framing on the West side of the house.  They will use the FSC lumber that will be delivered tomorrow morning to do so.

After ensuring all the structural framing is plumb, they will use the FSC-certified plywood to complete the interior and exterior shear walls.  The shear walls will increase the structural strength of the interior and exterior walls so they can support the SIP roof sections. 

Receive the Final Four Structural Beams to Support the SIP Roof Sections

Earlier today, Bryan confirmed the order and delivery time for the final four structural beams that we require.  These beams will be milled in Oregon from ’standing dead’ trees that are harvested in Idaho.  While not FSC-certified, these timbers will be accompanied by a letter stating their origin and how they were harvested.

These are large beams, including one 8×12 beam that is almost 40 ft long.  Bryan spoke with Lowell Tucker and scheduled West Coast Cranes to be on site to unload and place these beams.  And complete several other tasks for the crane.

Remove the Temporary Steel Beams and Load Them on a Truck

When the crane is on site, we will be able to remove the two 60 ft long, 6,000 lb temporary steel beams from the East and West sides of the house.  Pete Janovich will have a low-bed truck at the site that will take the beams away.

Move and Stage the First Stack of SIPs on the Structural Framing

With the site now ‘clear’, we will use the crane to stage the first stack of SIPs from the temporary cover on the swimming pool to the lower flat roof.  Given the structural framing and shear walls have been completed, we will be able to stage the SIP roof panels so the lower flat roof can be built over the West side of the house.

These are the SIPs in front of the window of our temporary site office.  We’re looking forward to seeing daylight in the temporary site office!

After this section of the lower flat roof is completed, we will have a larger staging area for the rest of the SIP roof panels.

Unload the FSC-Certified Lumber for the SIP Roof Sections

The final task for the crane will be to unload the truck with our final order of FSC-certified lumber.  This lumber order will be quite large and need to be moved from the trucks and placed on the ground floor at our job site.

That’s the Plan

Plan your work.  Work your plan.

Let’s get going.

View from behind the house to the street. We used string lines to show where the drop beams will go between the two feature concrete walls. The 'cabinet wall' between the Kitchen and Dining Room must line up perfectly under this structural beam and supporting post.

View from behind Simpson Strong Tie GLBT to show placement of our 8x12 wooden beam. The 'cabinet wall' must line up under this beam perfectly. Note the 'vanishing point' perspective with the string lines.

View showing the placement of the East beam. This will be a 6x12 beam that will be 'broken' over the post in the cabinet wall between the Kitchen and Dining Room.

The framing on the West side of the house is very compact. This is the area that needs to be completed as it is where we will be staging the SIP roof panels.

Our neighbor, Ned Gault, dropped by the job site and reviewed our progress to date. Ned had been in Florida and was curious to see how much progress we had made while he was away. Ned was pleased and is looking forward to the completion of our constrruction activities (aren't we all?).

Dave Merchant milled three of our 6×10 beams at his Out of the Woods operation in Bonny Doon today.  That was after Darrel Kelly (Builder’s Energy Services Inc.) stopped by the project site to see our insulation being installed around our slab.  At the end of the day, Pete Janovich (Bill Brown Construction) coordinated with Dave Edwards (Earth Bound Homes) on how, now that the existing East and West exterior walls of the original house are secured to the foundation, the two temporary steel beams can be removed.

We’re moving forward.

Darrel Kelly Verifies Our Slab Insulation

Under the LEED-H program, the Green Rater assigned to our application is Darrel Kelly.  A Green Rater has the following responsibilities within the LEED for Homes Program:

• Oversight of all verification services on a LEED for Homes registered project
• Communication link between Provider Organization and Project Team
• Verification that Project Submittal Package is complete and delivery to Provider QAD

Bryan called Darrel this morning and mentioned that it would be good for him to visit the project site as the insulation is being secured around the perimeter of the slab and could be verified today.  Darrel said he would be right over.

Darrel took the opportunity to walk around the site, noting various changes since his last site visit in January 2010.

The entire perimeter of the house is insulated with at least one layer of rigid foam (R-10). Here, on the south side of the house, there are two layers of rigid foam. This location is in the garage, just over the Wine Cellar. The sewage ejector is just to the left in this photo.

Darrel Kelly arrived and started taking photos. He verified the insulation that now covers the foundation slab.

As Darrel reviewed the project site, he took a number of photos, including a photo of our FSC lumber.

More photo verification of the FSC-certified 2x4s studs.

Carlos trims the custom flashing to fit over the foam, which is insulating the edge of the slab above grade.

Milling Three Reclaimed Douglas Fir Beams to Size in Bonny Doon

After Darrel left, Bryan went to Bonny Doon (again) and worked with Dave Merchant as he milled three 6×10 reclaimed Douglas Fir beams.  Dave has a Wood Mizer LT70 mill, with remote control, that he runs in his Out of the Woods operation.

Bryan had spent some time yesterday reviewing the reclaimed 6×12 Douglas Fir beams that we had purchased so he was working with Dave to ensure our requirements were met for these three beams.

Dave brings the three beams over to the milling location while his helper, Ben, directs him.

Dave, operating the Wood Mizer saw, prepares to mill the 6x12 beam to 9-9/16 inch tall.

Dave measures the beam to ensure it was milled as required. The other two milled beams on on the left.

Going down Empire Grade into Felton. The road goes through a second-growth Redwood forest.

Bryan stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the quiet sanctity of the second growth Redwood forest on Empire Grade.

Coordinating the Removal of the Two Temporary Steel Beams

We preserved the East and West walls of the existing house.  We did so by using 60 ft long steel beams, mounted on concrete piers.  The walls were attached to the steel beams, and secured in place at the top and bottom.  This temporary structure was designed and engineered to withstand 100 mph winds.

With the foundation completed and the insulation in place (covered by the custom zinc-plated steel flashing), we could secure the mudsill to the concrete and square up each wall.  We need to coordinate the removal of the temporary steel beams with Pete Janovich, who put them in.

Pete arrived at the job site and reviewed each of the concrete piers supporting the temporary steel beams.  Pete will have his team unbolt the temporary steel beams and move them sufficiently for Dave’s team to complete the framing.

We will have a crane on site next week to unload the long beams, including the 40 ft 6×12 wooden beam.  At that time, we will use the crane to remove the two temporary steel beams and load them on a truck.

Pete Janovich (left) and Dave Edwards (right). Note the temporary steel beam supporting the existing East wall behind them.

Pete and Dave review each temporary steel beam so Dave's team can complete the framing and continue working expeditiously.

The first SIP wall panel goes into place on the South wall facing Via Sereno. The remainder of the wall will be in place within a week.