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Its not quite the middle of nowhere, but it is close!
Not sure we will be pouring the concrete into the upper forms this week, Having trouble with storms and high winds... Plus the trusses are delayed for two weeks because they are being trucked from Wisconsin and at 76' long and 10' tall they have to be on a special truck and low-boy trailer & escorted. The permit is taking longer than normal.
Looking brilliant. I'm following your progress with great interest, as I've had my own construction company and construction consulting business since '79, and it's interesting to see US methods and materials.
I built a similar size building with scissor trusses, and I clearly remember having to drive to the site one windy night when I feared the walls were going to get blown down, to spend almost all night adjusting and reinforcing braces both sides. I also remember the nightmare of craning the trusses up one by one and trying to stop them buckling and falling over, while fixing temporary spreaders to hold them in position, about 30 feet above the floor of a concrete pool below.
I hope the weather is kind to you over the coming weeks .... I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Weather was unkind today... Big storm with gusts to 60 mph late in the day.
Fortunately, the crew's preparations worked well and none of he forms came down, or were moved out of plumb.
Should be able to resume a better pace now that the storms are through. We had about 7 inches of rain and lots of lightning and Wind.
I was totally impressed that we had no damage from the storms yesterday. If the forms can hold together in solid 45 mph winds with gusts to 60 for a couple of hours, imagine how strong this thing will be with the 8" of re-enforced concrete in the walls! Its a bomb shelter for cars!
The final wall concrete is delayed a bit by the weather, but should be poured on Tuesday...
If I seem a bit excited by this process... It's because I am! Thanks for putting up with all the posts!
Last edited by 928 GT R; 09-02-2021 at 11:04 AM.
Reason: Removed off topic VW Bus restoration material
As I mentioned, we had some weather related issues and went down to to a four man crew this week but will manage to pour the last of the concrete walls on Tuesday.
By next weekend we are looking at trusses, roof sheathing and drying this puppy in!
Loueee and a hot red head showed up... to distract...
Back to building: The Concrete pours went well and now we are preparing for the trusses... Should be a fun week!
We should be re-grading the site soon and adding sand and 6" of road base to get ready for asphalt.
Marvin Windows are here and as soon as the roof is on, it will be go-time for drying it in!
Fortunately, the 5/8" CDX prices have fallen precipitously along with the trusses as summer has progressed.
To be truthful, we are two months behind schedule and instead of the October 1st completion, I believe we will struggle to have it completed by Dec 30th.
Laborers have become scarce and it is a challenge to keep them on the job!
Huge cleanup of the job site today as we transition from forming walls to installation of the trusses. They are now promised to be here on Tuesday. It's like herding cats!
Made arrangements with Consumer's Power utility to install the permanent power connection in three weeks. Thankfully my electrician ordered the panels and transfer switches months ago and they are here and waiting because they are six weeks out (if you can find one). Let's just say that electrical component production is lagging demand!
Remaining forming and bracing is being removed and windows are beginning to be cased in.
We better get the hustle on as the first leaves are turning and despite the 80 degree temperatures of this week, in two months it will be cold and rainy. In three months it will be snowing!
Good luck on Truss Day! I have suffered myself from truss delays that led to frozen fingers, and a big pile of siding that sat in Stall #3 until Spring. But warm enough inside to change out a torque tube.
I was in my favorite lumbar yard this week (hunting down electrical items for a new charger, for a Tesla that itself remains considerably delayed), and casually asked their truss guy how the truss business was going. There ensued a long rant ... had to close their own truss shop for lack of people ... other suppliers couldn't get workers who would work past quitting time ... etc. I noticed gigantic piles of treated lumber out in the yard, though.
Speaking of electricity, this yard is located well within the Adirondack Mountains, was originally a water-powered mill, and still gets all their electricity from their own dam and water turbine. And speaking of both electricity and VW microbuses, check out EV West's shocking example.
Ouch Curt! Sounds like some of the same issues I face regarding labor and materials showing up... The EV West bus is super cool, I'm too far along with mine to go to that technology...
Went up in the Sky Trac again today to inspect the anchoring system for the plate that the roof trusses will mount to. 2 x 12" treated plate with 5/8th x 8" inch threaded rod anchors & nuts with 2" washers to hold things together. There will also be additional stirrup mounting brackets and hurricane straps that are not required by code but I want this thing over-built.
Yeah! The trusses are finally here, 1/2 of them arrived yesterday evening at 8 pm. The other half is crossing the Mackinac Bridge this evening at 7:00! They cross with an escort because they are so big (14' x 78')! The crane arrives late today or early tomorrow to start placing them in sets of 25 feet so they can be sheeted.
Heres a shot of the first pile...
Hoping for calm winds the rest of the week!
Will try to get some shots tomorrow of the action...
This is the awesome Mackinaw bridge the delivery truck has to cross with its escort. Its roughly the size of the Golden gate... Perhaps a half mile longer in overall length...
The crew showed up today in force and got this done by 2:00 and we are trying to get it ready for plywood. It is a great idea to get a section on, straight, braced and sheeted before putting too many joists up. If you put the whole rack of roof joists at once and one falls, you have a big problem, good day!
WOW. Makes my 1200sf project seem like a long weekend (after over 14 months to get this far.)
That looks fantastic! I just bought a lake lot with a 30'x40' pad already poured by the prior owner. Could you please send me a PM about the details of your 30x40?
08-11-2021, 09:30 AM
