The windows and doors are in (except for one window and one door that were not delivered with the rest), and they are beautiful. We spent a lot of time and had a fair amount of anxiety on the whole window thing and are really glad it all worked out!
Tilt-out casement windows
Little 20×20 windows
Resting after the work is done
But first… an update on Tumbleweed:
The Sharkskin paper is on the roof, and the final metal roof is arriving on Thurs. Because we went with the white roof, there’s a solar tax credit of $700.
The doors and windows are also due to arrive early this week.
—————————————-
Today, we put the final touches on the greenhouse.
The inside has a pathway of railroad ties and raised beds for plants.
The black hose is for the drip irrigation which isn’t quite finished.
We were planning to put the waterproof paper on the roof this morning, but the wind started blowing enough to make it too difficult.
Instead, we worked on the greenhouse (which has been lagging since so much has been going on with the house). We now have three of the four sides screened in and a door frame built. The screen goes down about 8″ into the ground so that animals can’t tunnel in. (Stay tuned to see how that works out.) We also filled the trenches with small rocks.
All we have to do now is finish the last side, put in the door, run drip irrigation (Brad has already brought a water line to the greenhouse), and plant some things!
On a totally unrelated note, I got a giant bag of Anaheim chiles in town on Friday and am going to make a giant batch of chile rellenos tonight.
Building a house is very satisfying.
On a big picture level, it seems very authentic….like growing your own food or fixing your own car (back when that was feasible). It also fosters a sense of independence, especially since we are doing most all of the work ourselves. Being able to get along (and even thrive) by ourselves was a big part of moving here for me. Knowing how a house is built and being familiar with every detail of the construction means that I will also know how to fix things when they break. (And I have learned how to use several tools and do many tasks that will be useful in other contexts.)
The smaller details of building are even more significant. I like the physical work. It is straightforward and honest. Every day, I get sweaty and tired. At the end of the day, the tangible proof of my work is obvious. There is a new wall; a ditch is filled; the floor has a new finish.
It’s also good to be working with my hands and doing real physical work. It’s different somehow than moving bits and bytes around. The evidence of accomplishment is much clearer than with my other work. Many days, I feel more capable in this kind of work than in my “real” job.
When I do something wrong, like hammer my finger or drill something in the wrong place, it is generally something I can fix myself. (There really aren’t a lot options, though I do sometimes ask Brad for help. Most often it is help in how to do it better myself that I am asking for.) And I am learning new things every day. Sometimes, they are things I am not very good at, and it is frustrating. Other days, I pick up new skills quickly and feel as though I have found my niche. Either way, the activity of learning and trying new things is good.
The rainbows here are amazing.
We have a big pile of dirt on our property that came from digging up the septic. It’s quite nice dirt and will be great for our greenhouse….except that all the dirt here is filled with rocks. So Brad designed this filter to screen out rocks. And I built it. It was fun and worked quite well.
It was basically made by ripping four pieces of wood and then screwing them back together with a piece of screen between them. The corner supports were glued and screwed in place to provide stability. We’ve been using it by putting it over a wheelbarrow and shoveling dirt on top. Now we also have a nice pile of small rocks. I’m sure we’ll find a way to put those to use as well.
And like all of our tools, it is stenciled.
We got the first part of the parapet up today.
Looking kind of like an old west saloon facade right now, but it will look great once it’s all stucco’d.
After the other two walls are up, we’ll cover the whole thing with OSB.
Today, we also got trenches dug for plumbing and electrical to the house and greenhouse.
Thankfully this was done with a trench digger not by hand. :)
We have also been looking for “green” alternatives to traditional formaldahyde-processed fiberglass insulation (which, as Brad tells me, every house we’ve ever lived in has had). We found a cotton insulation that is well reviewed and carried by our favorite green building product store, but it is several times more expensive than regular insulation (and there don’t seem to be other similar products). Another alternative is Johns Manville, which is fiberglass but is not processed with formaldahyde. We’re checking on pricing and availability. If anyone has any experience or advice, let us know.
By the way, this is our 100th post on this blog. Wow.
We had a good day today. We’re starting on a new project, putting up the parapet. For me, starting new projects is more fun than finishing ones we’ve been working on for a long time (especially ones that I thought were already done like the roof panels. We spent most of the day yesterday putting more screws in the roof. I think it’s really done now.)
The parapet is especially of interest to me because it needs to be done before we can put the waterproof paper up on the roof and walls. (After that, we stucco.) Building the parapet entails putting down a long 2×6 and then putting a 15″ 2×6 perpendicular to that every 16″. Then two more 2×6 longways on top. (I’ll take a picture in the next few days.) The tricky part is that, because our roof is low slope, we first had to rip the bottom 2×6 on an angle so that it ends up laying flat. The parapet runs on three sides of the house. It will take several days to do all this.
On the weather front, it’s been really hot…107 today. One lovely thing is that the inside of the house is quite cool now even in the hottest part of the afternoon. There have been thunderstorms blowing through almost every afternoon, which cools things down a bit. About half the time, it actually rains where we are; the rest of the time we just enjoy the show.
On the wildlife front, we had the pleasure of seeing the baby bobcats (now getting quite a bit bigger) climbing in our big oak at the front gate. We also saw momma bobcat hunt and kill a bunny. Not quite so nice…
Most big projects have some big unforeseen challenges that seem overwhelming. This was our week for that, and it left us logistically, financially, and mentally taxed in a big way.
But we got through it, and now our roof panels are finally up. It wasn’t easy, but we are thrilled that it is done, and we are no longer praying for no rain (and feeling panicked when, in fact, it does rain).
The first step was to get the panels up to the roof.
A new kind of bobcat to help with that. (We ended up doing it this way instead of with a crane, which worked out great.)
Then the panels had to be slid into place in their proper position…
and foam cemented into place.
Of course, it was a hot day.
And then the clouds started rolling in….along with looming thunder and lightning…
Fortunately, it all got done before the sky opened up.
Afterwards, Brad and I put up plastic sheeting to keep water out until we get the final roof up. Standing up on the roof with a large sheet of plastic with gale force winds blowing was an experience. Several times I thought I was going to be sailing off to Lordsburg.
We got all 32 I-joists up today.
The joists arrived on a truck on Tuesday. (Thank goodness they brought a forklift…unlike the panel folks…video of the cool 4WD forklift to come.)
Before we put up the I-joists (beams that span the width of the house to hold up the roof), Brad put up a 2×6 sill on top of the panels. He also had to level it a bit with a belt sander to even things up. (The panels were not all cut perfectly even.)
Then we put up hangers all around the top of the walls.
Then for the joists…First, we had to trim the joists to be the right length. Then we carried them into the house and walked them up a ladder, one end at a time. (They’re quite heavy but manageable. I think we’re both going to be in better shape at the end of this all.) The beams dropped into the hangers and were pushed down. A couple were a bit too long and had to be trimmed again on top of the roof. (That was fun.)
There is a slight slope to our roof to allow for drainage. The next step will be to put panels on the roof. Then building a parapet, putting on the roof, windows and doors, etc.