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?).

‘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.

Lisa Meline, of Meline Engineering, is a key member of our design team as she designed our geothermal heat exchange ground loops and completed the initial design of our radiant system inside the house.  Importantly, Lisa introduced us to Matt Jung of 88HVAC.

Lisa sent an e-mail last week saying that she had some meetings in the Bay Area and she would like to visit our site and see the progress to date.  Perfect.  Lisa showed up 15 minutes early and reviewed the site with Bryan.

Lisa arrived at the site early to review our progress to date.

Lisa taking photos of the PEX in the concrete piers.

Lisa was most impressed with the PEX in the concrete and took a photo of the PEX that was pressurized to 100 PSI (and holding the pressure!).

Quick Trip to Watsonville to See Jackel Enterprises

After Lisa left, Bryan and Christie Tunnoch, who was visiting from Vancouver, Canada, went ‘over the hill’ to Watsonville to Jackel Enterprises so we could measure the reclaimed beams from the original structure and to take a quick look at our resawn redwood decking.

Since we need 6×10 beams, we will need to identify where we will use the original beams in the remodelled ground floor.

Bryan and Christie met with Steve Jackel, who showed them some of the FSC inventory of FSC lumber that he had as well as other large timbers from British Columbia, Canada.

Steve Jackel showing FSC lumber that he is holding in his inventory.

Original Douglas Fir beams from 1969.

More original beams from 1969.

The original 2x6 tongue and groove redwood decking that has been cut in half and remilled (now is 5/8-inch thick) with a new tongue and groove.

Huge 14-inch by 14-inch Douglas Fir beams from British Columbia (not FSC).

Steve showed us some wood that he is drying slowly in his kiln.

Bryan spent the last two afternoons at West Coast Green in San Francisco.  He was focused on getting our shop drawings submitted on Thursday morning before leaving for the show.

Completing the Review of the SIP Shop Drawings

This was tough.  We had Dave Edwards review the shop drawings and he identified a number of problems with the shop drawings, which were based on the drawings that we had a third party prepare.  However, we went to Jrider + Design to develop a three dimensional model of the SIPs and beams, and then compare that model to the model we have been working with for over a year now.

Our drawings are with Insulspan and they need to turn them around for us.

Bryan headed for San Francisco.

Beautiful, Blue-Sky California Day in San Francisco

Both Thursday and Friday were magnificently clear days and perfect temperatures.  Parking was tough at Fort Mason Center but who could complain about a 15 minute walk along the San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background and an unobstructed view of Alcatraz just across the water.

Walking to Fort Mason Center with a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Alcatraz Island. So close one could almost touch it ...

Approaching the Fort Mason Center. Note the beautiful blue-sky California day. Absolutely magic!

Walking the Exhibit Halls at West Coast Green

We need to source certain products for our project.  In particular, we need to finalize the decisions on:

• Engineered wooden beams
• Lighting, including LED lights
• Home control systems
• Paints, stains and finishes
• Water filtration systems
• Counter top materials
• Cabinets, including wood finishes
• Concrete finishes
• Spray foam insulation
• Windows and sliding glass doors
• Interior doors
• Reflective barriers
• PEX tubing, manifolds and radiant controls

Bryan had lots of products to review at West Coast Green.  It was great to have so many suppliers in one location.

Meeting with Steve and Barbara Jackel

Just after Bryan spoke with a potential supplier, Steve Jackel surprised him by saying hello.  Steve was there with his wife, Barbara.  Steve remilled our Douglas Fir beams and our Redwood decking, and this lumber is currently being stored in his warehouse in Watsonville.

Bryan had met with Barbara to discuss our landscaping requirements and he explained to her that our focus at the moment is to get the house covered before the winter rains start, which is imminent.

Low-E Reflective Insulation

We obtained samples from Low-E Reflective Insulation more than six months ago and were intrigued by their product line.  Bryan was fortunate to meet with Charlie Snowder at West Coast Green and they discussed the opportunity to showcase Low-E’s products in our project. 

Charlie had some great ideas regarding new applications of reflective insulation and obtaining innovation credits.  Bryan was intrigued and will follow up with Charlie next week.

One of the two exhibit halls at West Coast Green.

A 'Firehouse Chat' at West Coast Green.

And don’t it feel good!

Scott Andersen called yesterday and said, ‘Your construction blog is nice BUT if I see another photo full of rebar then …’  Yeah, the rebar was getting old.  Also, walking on the rebar was horrible.  And dangerous.

The new concrete on our site was looking great today, spectacular in the sunshine.  Next steps are to get ready to shotcrete the walls (which will require more rebar).

Form embedded in the concrete for the steel column.

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Steve Jackel of Jackel Enterprises was kind and provided us with complimentary tickets to West Coast Green in San Jose.

The show was excellent - lots of relevant exhibits and we made excellent contacts. Seeing, touching and discussing the new, innovative products all in one place was a huge timesaver for us.

We hope that everyone that we spoke with will follow up and contact us to provide the additional information that we are looking for to evaluate how their products and services can become part of our project.