We completed several tasks on our critical path to completing our SIP roof today.  An important task was to have all of the beams on site so they could be graded.  Having our beams is critical so the structural framing can be completed on the ground floor so we can move the SIPs onto the roof with the crane on Wednesday.

Picking Up Our Reclaimed Beams After Milling in Watsonville

Dave Merchant, from Out of the Woods, loaded the three beams that we milled to size on Tuesday at his site in Bonny Doon.  Dave met Bryan in Watsonville at Jackel Enterprises, where we loaded the remainder of the beams that were being milled.  From there, Bryan followed Dave up Highway #1 and over the hill to our project site.  There, our framing crew unloaded the beams by hand and staged them for grading.

Charlie Jourdain, from Redwood Inspection Service in Pleasant Hill, arrived on our site as planned and the beams were ready for him.  Charlie examined and graded each beam, then stamped the end of each beam.  He will be sending us a certificate stating the grade of each beam.  Note that Redwood Inspection Service is a division of California Redwood Association, of which Charlie is the President.

Loading our recently milled reclaimed Douglas Fir beams in Watsonville. The beams on the truck were milled by Dave Merchant in Bonny Doon.

Bryan followed Dave's truck back from Watsonville. Dave is going up Winchester Boulevard with our reclaimed beams.

Dave backed the trailer into our site so it could be unloaded quickly and easily.

Charlie Jourdain, President of California Redwood Association, came to our job site and graded our reclaimed beams. Charlie is measuring the grain of the wood as the grain runs diagonally in this beam.

Charlie measured and graded all of our beams on site, which were just delivered a few hours ago.

Making Insulated Headers

On the West side of our house we have two bathrooms.  The beams that support the SIP roof at the front and back of the house extend through the building.  However, we have two bathrooms on the West side and, even with exhaust fans, these bathrooms will have a high moisture content.

To provide greater protection from condensation, our durability plan requires insulated headers to keep keep the surfaces of the exposed beams warmer and prevent condensation from occuring. 

From two of the reclaimed Douglas Fir beams, we had Jackel Enterprises cut two 1-3/4 inch wide planks.  Using these planks, we sandwiched 2 inches of rigid R-10 insulation.  Thus, we end up with an insulated header that is 5-1/2 inches wide and over 19 ft long.  This insulated header will be over the windows in the two bathrooms.

Similarly, we require a small insulated header on the East side of the house, above the exterior Kitchen door.

Francisco makes the insulated headers by sandwiching 2 inches of rigid insulation between two planks, cut from our reclaimed Douglas Fir beams.

Completed insulated header. The two pieces of reclaimed Douglas Fir are held together by a number of 4-1/2 inch galvanized Simpson Strong Tie SDS screws, countersunk into the planks.

Moving the Temporary Steel Beams

The temporary steel beams supporting the existing East and West walls of our house were moved clear of the structure today.  Several inches of the concrete haunches were removed so the existing walls are now free and clear, and are entirely supported by the house once again.

We’re ready to remove the temporary steel beams from the site on Wednesday, February 24.

Reducing Construction Waste

Renovation and construction projects can generate a tremendous amount of waste that goes to landfill sites.  According to the LEED for Homes Reference Guide, ‘Construction and demolition wastes constitute about 40% of the total solid waste stream in the United States.’  For our project, we are targeting to create as little construction waste as possible.  When our Green Rater, Darrel Kelly, came to our project site on Tuesday, February 16, he was surprised, and delighted, to see how little waste we were generating as we were using three 35 gallon garbage bins to hold our framing debris.

Earth Bound Homes delivered a trailer to our job site today that will be used for all the framing debris.  All the framing waste on our job site was dumped into the trailer as it will be taken for recycling.  We will obtain tags on the debris removed with the trailer.

This is the trailer from Earth Bound Homes, which contains all of our framing debris to date. Note that a number of the pieces in trailer are reclaimed wood, which would otherwise be landfill. This debris will be taken for recycling, not landfill. Reduce, reuse and recycle (redirect).

Overview and Inspection of Progress this Week

Given the days are longer now, Jo-Anne was able to drop by the job site at the end of the day today to inspect our progress. 

Our first major shear wall is in place in Kate’s bedroom (formerly the Master Bedroom).  Having the shear wall in place prior to Jo-Anne’s inspection showed significant progress. 

In line with that shear wall is another shear wall adjacent to the Atrium.  Scott Andersen, who did the conceptual design of the remodel, specified during his most recent job site progress review that we include recessed art niches in the wall behind the glass bridge to the Master Suite.  Three recessed art niches were framed in today and the plywood will be nailed in place next week.

Jo-Anne walked the property and was smiling as she was pleased with our progress this week.

Completed SIP walls on either side of our doorway at the front of the house.

Same view of the foyer, taken on September 29, 2008 when the roof was being deconstructed. Note the diagonal brace on the temporary site fence through the door - it is the same diagonal brace in the photo above. Way cool.

Three art niches that are framed in the shear wall behind the glass bridge facing the Atrium.

Example of recessed art niches (not in a contemporary style house).

Example of recessed art niches on a large exposed wall.

Plywood 2x6 shear wall between the Living Room and Kate's Bedroom.

Jo-Anne, standing in Kate's Bedroom, smiles as she walks the property inspecting our progress this week.

Our flag is flying and our Insulspan sign is posted. The site is buttoned up, ready for the rain that is forecasted through the weekend.

‘That’s it Bryan.  If you bring any more beams then we won’t make the Thursday deadline.’  Steve Jackel was smiling, but firm.

‘No problem, Steve.  There aren’t any beams left.’  Bryan was smiling, too.

Delivering Another Two Beams to Watsonville

After coordinating the 2-inch rigid insulation for the exposed slab this morning, Bryan delivered the two 22 ft 6×14 reclaimed Douglas Fir beams to Jackel Enterprises in Watsonville.  Tim was there and unloaded the beams in minutes.  Then, Bryan set to work.

Bryan went through each beam, looking for reinforcing steel (rebar) and nails.  In less than 45 minutes, he removed five pieces of #5 rebar (5/8-inch in diameter) from the two beams a number of nails, and a strap tie.  Steve’s team will use metal detectors to verify no more metal fragments are in the two beams, then the beams can be milled.

Tim had done some initial milling of the 12-1/4 tall by 5-inch wide beam that will be in the Foyer and Master Study.  It looked magnificent.

Tim unloaded the two reclaimed beams with the forklift so Bryan could de-nail them and remove all the metal.

Within 45 minutes, Bryan had removed five pieces of rebar and a number of nails from the two beams.

Steve Jackel enjoys the sunshine while writing up the milling tags for these beams.

Tim started milling the 12-1/4 inch beam that will be visible in the Foyer and Master Study.

The end of the beam looks magnificent.

This beam will be milled to 12-1/4 inches tall. This face will be visible in the Foyer and Master Study.

Driving to Bonny Doon

After removing all the metal, Bryan drove north through Santa Cruz to Bonny Doon.  As he was driving along Highway #1, Bryan reflected on the same day (February 15) in 1998.  On that day, just north of Davenport on Highway #1, Jo-Anne married Ian Fowler and Merril Schmitt.  We’d love to complete our renovation/construction project and host their visit in February 2011.

Out of the Woods

To get to Dave Mechant’s mill site, one has to stop, open the gate, drive through, close the gate and get to the mill location.  When the sun is shining, as it was today, it is a pleasant break in the day.

Dave and his team were milling some spectacular wood flooring.  They had an order for 1,200 sq ft of vertical grain flooring, with no knots.  Absolutely beautiful wood.

Stop. Open the gate. Drive through. Close the gate. Drive to the mill location.

The Out of the Woods milling operation. It was a great day to be milling wood in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Take a look at the vertical grain with no knots. This is very, very nice wood. Dave had an order for 1,200 sq ft that he was filling. (You can click on this photo and expand it to full size in your browser.)

Completed bundles of flooring, measured and wrapped very carefully. Dave finds that having eight layers of wood in each bundle is the best, yielding approximately 28 sq ft per bundle.

Measuring Our Beams

Dave will be milling our beams tomorrow so Bryan had to complete the specifications for Dave.  A few minutes with the measuring tape and reviewing the beams.  No problem.  Just have to e-mail Dave the measurements tonight.

Back through the gate, and back to our project site.

Finalizing the milling requirements for these four beams.

John McLaren Visits Our Project Site

John stopped by for a quick visit.  He hadn’t been to the site for several months and we’d made visible progress since then  John and Bryan walked through the framed rooms on the ground floor and lower level. 

He was wearing sandals and shorts, hardly appropriate for an active construction site.  But he was careful.

John McLaren reviews our progress the the Master Bathroom. Note the smile, open toe sandals and shorts (February in California).

John leaves the 'empty' Wine Dining - sorry John.

Bryan returned to Bonny Doon and picked up the beams that he wasn’t able to deliver yesterday.  We need to have the beams milled and on site at Via Sereno for grading on Friday, February 19.  Then, the beams can be installed and we will be able to put the SIP roof on.

We’re looking forward to being weather tight after the winter rains have passed.

Site Visits by Jerry Ditto and Howard Bell

After returning to the job site, Jerry Ditto dropped by to review our progress and to discuss how to finish the exposed exterior beams that continue inside the house. 

While Jerry was on site, Howard Bell (Building Official from the City of Monte Sereno), came to review our framing.  We requested that Howard review the framing so we can anticipate any issues as we are framing the house.  Howard looked at the framing on the ground floor and lower level, and identified the following issues to address:

• The code requires ‘fire blocking’ every 10 linear feet behind framed walls, to prevent fires from spreading behind walls between rooms.
• The same fire blocking is required in soffits, to prevent fires from using soffits to spread between rooms.
• All electrical and plumbing penetrations need to be caulked with fireproof caulking to prevent fires from spreading.

As he was leaving the site, Howard noted that the drag straps that will connect our beams and the tops of the shear walls will be covered by our roof SIPs.  This may be an appropriate time for Shane Lothrop (Innovative Structural Engineering), our Engineer of Record, to visit our site and review our progress. 

Dave Merchant (Out of the Woods) has designated the two stacks of Madrone that are air-drying for our project. This wood will be going into Dave

Loading two more beams for delivery to Watsonville.

Jackel Enterprises has several buildings in Watsonville.

There are four more reclaimed Douglas Fir beams that Jackel Enterprises will be milling for our project. The beams on the right are ours, too.

While in the warehouse, Bryan had our original beams moved so he could take a full inventory of them and measure the dimensions of each beam.

Back at our job site, our framing continues. Note the FSC stamps.

Jackel Enterprises in Watsonville is milling our reclaimed Douglas Fir beams.  Bryan delivered a couple more beams from Bonny Doon and reviewed the milling work to date.

The 25 ft 6 inch 6×14 has been cut and milled into two 6×6 beams that will be used to support the upper flat SIP roof over the Atrium.  As well, the 6×14 beams were cut vertically into two 1-3/4 inch wide planks for our insulated headers.

Back at the job site, our framing continues with excellent progress in the Kitchen and on the existinug wall on the West side of the house.

Way cool.

Dave Merchant trims the end of a beam that Bryan will deliver to Watsonville.

The grain of the log is visible in the end of this beam.

Tim shows Bryan the beams that he milled earlier today.

Two pairs of 1-3/4 inch planks on the left for insulated headers, and the full 25 ft 6 inch 6x6 reclaimed Douglas Fir beams that will support the upper SIP roof over the Atrium.

The existing West wall has new 2x6 studs sistered so the house will have more insulation and be much more energy efficient.

The 'cabinet wall' between the Kitchen and Dining Room is starting to take shape. Much easier to describe now - looks great!

Although we have already bought 10 6x beams, we decided to buy a couple more.

More Beams, Please

After reflecting on our needs, we could use two more 6x beams.  Bryan noticed that Ken had not sold the beams and we have a window to transport the beams over to Watsonville for milling.

After identifying which beams that we’re going to use throughout the house, and assigning individual beams to those requirements, we could use a couple more beams.  First, we need a 6×12 beam that will be exposed and ‘connect’ the lower flat roof on the East side of the house to the cabinet wall between the Kitchen and Dining room.  This is a short beam, only 8 feet long, of which only a couple feet will be exposed.

Also, we would like to make some ‘insulated headers’, which will have higher R-values than solid wood.  These insulated headers are required on the East side of the house over the main kitchen door and on the West side of the house over the windows in the Master bathroom and in Kate’s bathroom.  Having insulated headers in these locations will reduce condensation on cold days when we are having hot showers.

The insulated headers will be made by having two 1-3/4 inch wide boards that are 10 inches tall sandwiching a 2 inch piece of rigid styrofoam.  This composite material will have sufficient structural strength and a much higher R-value than a solid wooden beam.

Using a smaller steel rod and mallet, we quickly removed the reinforcing steel (rebar) from the reclaimed wooden beams.

Rebar removed from reclaimed wooden beam. Done.

Two 6x14 beams loaded safely and securely on the truck, for delivery to Watsonville tomorrow.

The site was looking good in the sunshine. We remembered the evening when Nik put his name in the concrete in Kate's bedroom.

And, of course, here is Kate's writing in the concrete.

Progress on framing the west side of the house.

It is satisfying to see our walls going up on the ground floor (finally).

Reclaimed beams are unique.  Each beam has different characteristics, including the location in the tree that the beam is from, changes to date (e.g., bends and warps), and holes from fasteners (e.g., reinforcing steel) and notches.

As well, only certain parts of beams will be visible in our house.  For example, only the first 4 feet of the 12-foot beam in the garage will be visible (visible on three sides and exposed to the weather).  As well, certain beams have different structural loads, such as the drop beam in the garage that sits on the garage header (these beams carry significant structual loads).

So … we had to review the characteristics of each beam and the various requirements for beams througout the house, and then assign the individual beams to each beam location.

Back to the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Driving up Highway 1 towards the turnoff to Bonny Doon (just south of Davenport).

Our beams, uncovered so they can be reviewed, evaluated and assigned to specific locations in the house.

While the beams do not look good here, once the outside wood is removed they will be spectacular.

Bryan wrote the location on the top of each beam with red pen.

The 6x14 beam on the right is 25 ft 6 inches long, and will be cut in two so we will have two 6x6 wooden beams for the East and West drop beams supporting the upper flat roof in the atrium.

After assigning each beam to a specific location, we wrapped up the beams and tucked them in for the night.

Bryan standing by the first lift of Madrone hardwood, which has been air drying for several months (photo - David Merchant).

Bryan standing by the second lift of Madrone hardwood. This wood will go into a kiln, where it will continue to be dried slowly (photo - David Merchant).