Day 4:
This day did not go very well. I had a dozen people on-site to help out, but we were tied up in confusion. The wall heights were not working out for us. Everyone was eager to throw out a solution, but I really did not want to jerry-rig my home just to keep the project on track. What I cared more about was figuring out where the problem exists, and how do we fix it.
The problem: 2 of our walls were built 2 1/2" too high.
The solution: sawsall the crap out of them and bring them down to the right height!
Since I used SIP walls, cutting these walls down was no easy task. They are packed full of poly-ethylene insulation, which means that there is a whole lot of foam to carve out! Needless to say, I did not get my roof erected on Day 4 as planned. (Sucks!) But I did get my structural steel saddle and gluelam beams all erected, as well as the entire south roof panel. Yea! By the way, this beam connection looks SHARP! I'll send another pic with the roof panels and valley rafters all in place!Day 5: Monday
We knew what was wrong with the walls, now we needed to correct it. But there were only 3 of us worker bees: Jeff, Nate, and myself (sucks!). But we got on task to correct the walls that were too high. Then, like a beacon of light: a ray of hope, a new guy: Shawn arrived from the SIP factory early Monday morning. They sent one of their workers down to our project to help get this project back on track!
Here's a typical shot of how the panels are lifted into place. The boom lift (with a rafter jig attached at the end instead of the typical forks) lifts the panel into the right spot. Then two guys work the panel into place and lock it off and throw about 2 dozen screws threw the panel and into the structural support. Tiring, very exhausting work. But well worth the R-42 ratings!
The morning was spent fixing the walls and hanging a few roof panels. Noon came WAY too soon for me. It felt like 10am, and it was lunchtime. (major SUCKS!) But it was good to take a break. After lunch, the four of us went out and threw up the roof panels. We made MAJOR progress and got all but 12 panels erected. YEA! We're not back on track, still a day and a half behind, but at least we are making forward progress!I gotta tell you though...I am SOOOOOOo tired. I need a break! Kathy and I haven't even had a chance to go out and celebrate our 11th anniv. yet (June 1st). I gotta make it up to her, somehow! She's been a tremendous help all throughout, having lunch and dinner ready for the crew and continuously cleaning up the house after us dirty construction guys! Thanks Babe!
Tomorrow we should be able to wrap up the roof, dry it in, and turn our focus to the interior. Wish us luck! Good night!
** update** Just got word from the SIP manufacturer that they are sending Shawn (Sean?) down to us for the morning to get the rest of the roof slammed out....THANK YOU!! YEA!!
