Roof Takes Shape

With the roof sheeting now on, the the look of the bard is becoming clearer. We have had lots of snow in the two days since this was taken. We are hoping enough will melt so they can continue work tomorrow.

The inside of the barn is starting to get darker know that the roof is on. Soon the remainder of the wall sheeting will be in place and I will have to get some lights out there. But you can start to see how the inside will feel.
The last of the wall sheeting will require a lift of some kind to install. The framers don't think they will be able to do it with ladders alone.
Last minute, we have decided to put a cupola on. We had cut this to reduce costs. we are trying to make a deal with the contractor to get it back in. It sounds like the framing crew will stay on to do the siding, windows and doors. They will also be adding a paint booth room in the barn. And they have an interior wall in the office are to complete as well, once it is dried it.

Snow could slow us down

This snow could really slow us down. They are saying it could stick around for a week. It may not go above freezing for that long. This is highly unusual for us. The framers were supposed to come back after a two-week hiatus tomorrow. But I don't see what they will be able to do with this situation.
I think the barn is going to look darn pretty when it is done.
Here is a shot of the entire compound in the snow. I think we are on the right track here. He just need to finish it!

Fluid Progress

The progress documented by this blog entry can be best described as fluid. The main barn framing has changed little. The top triangular pieces of the trusses are on and a few more purlins(roof joists) are in place. But progress has been hampered by fluids (rain) and the fact that the framers have not been here in two weeks. The general contrator's crew has been making slow progress in the meantime.

There has been fluid progress in the office as the plumbing rough in is done. Here you see the sink, toilet and shower plumbing in the wall. There was difficulty with the venting (the black vertical pipes to the roof that allow for proper draining). First, the plumber put them in the wrong place (visible from within the room). Then, the plumbing inspector required extra wide vents, so he had to do them again. We are still not sure why the inspector required this. We think he was just yanking the plumber's chain, so to speak. But now it is done.

The windows and doors have arrived (doors not in picture). So far the quality looks good. I am a little nervous about the metal shop door as I want it to be extremely sturdy and secure. I can't tell from looking at it as the door frames are not yet assembled.
The hot water heater for the office is installed in the garage. Here, the concern is that it be kept warm enough in the otherwise unheated garage. A box will probably have to be built around it, so that it can get heat from the office (no insulation on that wall) and then insulated from the garage.
In another fluid department (or semi-fluid as George Carlin used to say), the septic system is installed and mostly connected. It is awaiting final inspection which can't be done until the wiring is done, which, in turn, I can't do until the roof is on. Although I have put the electrical conduit in outside to hold the wire. Here is the new pump tank that collects effluent from the office and pumps it to the existing septic system. On the wall you can see the electrical conduit and the septic pump alarm which loudly sounds if the level of the fluid (or semi-fluid) in the tank exceeds the maximum, indicating the pump has failed.

The pump tank pumps the effluent out through a couple hundred feet of 2" underground pipe to the existing septic tank. Here digestion and settling take place and the fluid portion is pumped to the drain field for final micro-organism digestion. Shown below is the connection of the office pump tank to the existing septic tank.
That is all for now. Hopefully next week the framers come back and finish the framing so the roofing can go on. Then my electrical fun will commence.

Trusses Scrape the Sky

This is the exciting part. The barn is really taking its final form with the addition of the roof trusses. The trusses were so tall that they could not ship them in one piece and so have the top triangle (not yet installed) as a separate part. Here you can see the outriggers that will form the eves having been placed.
The office is almost completely framed, even the skylight holes are in. The only thing missing is the decking over the bathroom ceiling.
Here is the end wall of the barn with the cutout for the diamond peak window. This was quite a problem. The truss manufacturer designed a truss for the end wall that would not properly accommodate the window. They want to just slap the window over the truss so you would see the truss's metal webbing right in the window. They were forced to abandon the truss and frame the wall. This was a difficult project due to the rain and the height. They ended up building a platform at the top sill height from which to put their 12' ladder on to reach. But I got my window. We will just slap the peak window outside the truss on the other side where it can't be seen as well.
The roof trusses from the inside.
The inside of the office looking back at the door.
The office bathroom sans ceiling decking. Some plywood up there will allow us to use it for storage.
The carport is almost done framing except for the final posts. The ones shown are temporary awaiting the concrete supports for the real ones to be installed upon.
Going back in time, here is the office before the trusses where covered.
And an earlier picture with the sunset over the whole project.
Carport framing was just starting here.

Loft Floor Installed

The 2x6 T&G flooring has been installed on the barn loft's floor. It actually looks quite good, especially when viewed from below. But it offers the ability for me to take pictures from a higher elevation now. So, although not much has changed this week, I am putting some new pictures up that where previously un-takeble.

Office Progress

We are now seeing progress on the office framing. The walls were all done in two days. The plan was to get the framing to the point that the trusses could be installed, then the framers would take a break and work on another project until the trusses arrived.

The window holes were placed 6" too low. We had told the general contractor to raise them, but that was a couple months ago and it had been forgotten. (Just another problem caused by the slow foundation contractors.) We could have made them take it apart and fix it. But, we didn't want to slow them up. Plus, we were sympathetic to the fact that they have had to work in poring rain for 10 days. They are from Eastern Washington were it rarely rains. It was quite a shock for them. I don't think they will be coming back.

The truss company took measurements yesterday. The contractor had paid them a deposit in order to keep our place in line, then as soon as we were ready, had them come out and measure the actual structure so there would be no errors in the trusses. Or, if there were errors, they would have to fix them.

I put my ultra wide angle lens on today so I could get the most in the picture as possible. Here is a shot that takes advantage of it to show the back side of both projects in the same picture.

Toni has put the acid stain on the concrete floor of the office before they began framing. It was easier then because it requires washing with lots of water. So she is cleaning the floor up to try to keep the scratches to a minimum. You can see the color of it now. It looks a little like rust.
They haven't made any more progress on the barn. But here is a shot of the back side with the ultra wide lens. You can clearly see the window door holes.
You can also see a significant error made by the foundation contractors. See the notch in the concrete in the corner. Several feet is inset by 1-2 inches. This is poor workmanship. I complained, but what are you going to do. Its concrete; it is very hard to change.

Not to get off on too much of a rant, but a got to say how much a hate foundation contractors. Every one I have dealt with is a jerk. They delay and do sloppy work. They are pretty stupid and arrogant and generally nasty people. There communication skills are far below the average in construction. Now, add to that, the part they do has to be done correct the first time and you have a major problem.

When we did the house, the foundation people were also the major problem. Many of the issues we had stemmed from errors they had made. In fact, I had such a hassle dealing with them, that that was the major reason I did not want to be general contractor on this project. I thought I might come to blows, have a breakdown or both. Unfortunately, the general did not seem to have much better a hold on them then me.

I don't think the errors will be as much of a problem this time, mostly aesthetic, but we will see.

Pot 'O Gold

I snapped this one following a brief but intense hail storm. The Pot 'O Gold under the rainbow appears to be my barn project. It certainly costs enough.

Framing is flying by. The schedule was changed and they are trying to finish getting it ready for trusses by the end of the week. It turns out the framing crew are family of one of the contractors employees and are working on our project as a favor. Normally they work for a framing company.

You can really start to see the shape of the building forming. I like that they are using plywood instead of OSB for the sheeting. It is much less moisture dependent.

We're Framing!

Framing is great. It really gives you the feeling that things are moving. In two days of framing, you can already see the shape of the building.

Here is the barn at the current state, a couple hours into the third day of framing.

Here it is a couple hours into the second day of framing.

It is quite amazing that they have been able to do this with only ladders. the four double beams are very heavy. They had to work their way up a few feet at the time, bracing as they went. Despite the warning labels, they stand on top of the very top of large step ladders. The side walls are 16 feet tall. So it is quite precarious.

The only real problem so far is that the supports under the beam structures are so wide that it will be difficult to wire through them. I requested that they puts a few holes int he supports before they are completely assembled as it will be difficult for me to drill through later.

The plan is for them to work three days (today is the third), then 4 days off, then 3 days on again. supposedly this is OK as other work will happen in between.

They have not started framing the office building yet. The only progress there is that Toni has acid stained the concrete as it is easier to do it now then later. It will probably require some touch up after construction.

I am glad the foundation is basically over. It was a very stressful time.

Foundation Done

It has been a long time coming. But the foundation is finally done. It has been promised that things will move along much quicker now. I am hopeful, but circumspect. Here are shots of the current state of the two projects:The final pour did not go exactly as had been expected. It took 12 hours, not unbelievable 1 hour as had been told to me by the contractor. When I got home at 8pm, they were just turning the lights off and leaving. And, the rain had just started.

They only problem the rain caused was that a gutter had been incorrectly placed, causing drips to eat away the finish in a small area. There probably is little that can be done here. Concrete is rather permanent.

A box for I had made to be buried in the concrete to allow a future drain pipe to be more easily placed, was allowed to drift to the surface and become visible. It was supposed to be buried. Communication works poorly with the contractor/sub-contractor relationships for these kinds of details. You have to keep it very simple if you are detail oriented person like myself.

Next up is the framing. I am hopeful that they will start next week. We will see. I will probably be more excited about posting when framing starts. I look back on the pictures so far and they don't seem to change much from one entry to the next.

I have been thinking about the siding a lot lately. We had decided to do a board and batten look. But I am concerned that it will look a little to "Rustic". I am thinking a horizontal T&G siding might be better, or perhaps an non-beveled lap siding. I need to discuss this with the contractor to see if it is possible to change still.

At this rate it will never be done!

Nearly a month since the last post and it doesn't look that much different. The foundations have yet to be completed. Nothing at all has changed in the last week. Although, I am told the next nice day, it will be done. On the barn, the sub-floor dirt work is done and the in-floor heating system is installed. The forms are all ready for the final pour.

On the office, the forms are done and the in-floor plumbing has been installed, although it was just discovered today that the toilet vent as currently installed will interfere with the bathroom window.

The first wood shipment has arrived and it is sitting out on the ground in front of the foundation (not in picture). They covered it with plastic, but not well and it is getting wet. The wood arrived last Thursday, two weeks after I paid for it.

I have to say this project is getting a bit depressing. I could really use the barn for an upcoming project but it won't be ready in time. And, it looks like we are going to have to rent a storage space to handle stuff that we need to eventually put in the new structures.

On an optimistic note, if all goes well, framing could start next week. But I guess I am not particularly optimistic.

Spread and Compact

It has been 2 weeks since my last entry. It seems like not much has happened. There was a holiday in there and the contractor was away for several days. But still, it feels pretty slow.

They were out working today and yesterday to fill the center of the concrete rings with dirt and compact it. It appears to be a rather labor intensive job. They can't compact more than 6" at a time, so they have to spread it around by hand, compact with the device that looks like a jackhammer, then do it again. What you see in these pictures is after two days of this.

We also found out today that the concrete that has already been poured interferes with the simplest way to do the plumbing. So, everyone is trying to figure out what to do without costing more money. The latest suggestion was to build a second wall next to the outside wall to actually hold the plumbing. Tonight Toni suggested we just run the problem vent pipe through the bathroom and build around it to look like a post. We'll run that up the flagpole tomorrow.

In the second picture you can see the general contractor, Jon, in the back and his main worker Eddie inside the ring.

You may also notice that much of the back filling has been done. And, we found out that we are really short of dirt, so that will be an unexpected added expense.

Foundation - First Pour

A few more days have passed. To the casual observer, little may be seen different. But stuff has happened.
Changes include:
1) The concrete for the first foundation pour for both buildings has been poured and the forms removed.
2) The underground conduit to contain the low voltage wire (telephone, network, gate controls, etc) is complete from the pump house to the barn.
3) The water line is in the ground from the pump house, past the barn hose bib, the future takeoff for the barn, and part of the way to the office.

Here is a photo after the pour on the barn foundation but before the forms were removed:There were of course issues getting to this point. Some of the earthquake straps (metal plates that are supposed to be partially buried in the concrete, and come up and attach to the outside of the framing) were placed in the wrong position. You can see one in the front left corner of the photo above.

In one case, this would limit the possible width of the barn doors on the barn end wall to an unacceptable size. In another, it would reduce the size of "shear walls". Shear walls are sections of wall that are attached to the foundation with the straps to prevent the building shearing (falling over) under high stress loads like hurricanes and earthquakes.

The foundation guy claims all these will be fixed before the second pour. There are also some straps missing and nearly all are only roughly in the correct place, but don't cause any problems.

The other foundation issue was that they laid the rebar too high in the office foundation to connect the first pour to the second pour. The result would be that the floor would have to be 6" higher than planned, reducing the sidewall from 9' to 8' 6".

This would not be disastrous, but would require extra concrete and remove the requirement of a internal step down from outside grade level. We have told them that we would prefer this would be fixed. But if re bending the 1/2" rebar was too difficult, we could cope. They say it will be fixed. We'll see, it seems rather difficult to do to me.

The office floor is supposed to be 1' below the garage floor and 6" below the outside grade at the entry door. This was to require a concrete step be poured at the door area.

You can see the errant rebar in the photo below. They come up out of the foundation first pour and bend into the building 6" higher than they are supposed to. The second pour will complete the side wall and form the slab floor of the office. It attaches to the first pour with the rebar. Next up will be filling the center of the foundation with dirt and compacting to support the weight of the concrete slab floor.

A week behind when I originally was told the foundation forms would be started, the foundation forms are now going in. They put in a full day yesterday and got this far on the barn:And this far on the office:
They are out there now on the second day of forms. I think that means they will be ready to pour Monday.

The foundation will have to be done in two stages because of the height. First, there is a 2x2 base, then an angled rise to a slab with a retaining wall. In between the two pours will be a a bunch of dirt movement.

The excitement for the day, however, is another mis communication with the general contractor, this time regarding who was responsible for putting in the electrical conduit. This PVC piping is supposed to be put in the ground between two buildings so that future wires may be pulled to connect the buildings.

This was finally resolved with me purchasing the conduit, outside the contract, and them putting it in for no additional charge.

There was also some fun yesterday as the forms were already going in and no one had talked to me yet about the height of the foundation. This is important because it controls how all your landscaping and driveways work. It is always an issue because you don't know how deep the foundation has to be placed until you excavate the dirt and see where bearing soil is. Too low, and you have to have a lot more forms and concrete to get the top to the desired level. And, they never build enough height into the bid price to keep the bid low.

It turns out in this case, it would cost a lot more for the barn foundation wall to exceed 3', so we are stuck with this height. It is already going to cost more just to get to 3'. The end result of this is that there will be more slope in the driveway up to the barn than I would like. But we will have to cope with some creative landscaping.

In the office, there was additional height required too, but we were also able to save some by getting rid of one of the space-wasting steps into the sunken office. We are going to be able to do this because we are going to forfeit placement of a door to the garage until we have passed inspection.

Tomorrow morning, the foundation crew arrives to start setting forms. So this is our last chance to get rid of some problematic trees leaning over the construction areas. So the past couple days I have been removing them. A couple were a bit tricky hanging in such a way that they could have fallen on the existing garage. But I finally got them all down. All that is left is to cart away the pieces, probably tonight after it cools down a bit.

Here is a shot of the downed tree, a fairly large cottonwood, which now lays in the office construction footprint.

Additional progress is the digging of the trench which will hold power, water, and communications cables from the pump house, where the power meter is located, to the barn footprint. Here are two shots, the first from the barn side, the second from the pump house. Its about a 250' trench, 2-4' deep. The first also shows another downed tree that had to be removed.

One bit of excitement, while digging near the pump house, the water line from the water well head to the pump house was damaged. That happened yesterday. They fixed it this morning. Here is a shot of the exposed repaired water pipe.

One nice thing about all this digging, it will allow me to finally be able to finish installing a conduit pipe from the automated gates to the pump house providing permanent power to the gates. Until now, this was done with a low voltage line running 400' on the ground from the pump house to the gate controller.