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Overall – we continue to have dry & sunny weather with near perfect temperatures; just what we need right now as our efforts are dedicated to get both buildings adequately closed in. Plumbers and electricians are eager to continue their contribution to the project, but need me to provide the necessary details for accurate locations of various fixtures, switches and receptacles. I’m not ignoring them (actually, I suppose I am) – I just need to complete a couple more exterior projects, so everyone is more comfortable working inside when outside temperatures are certain to fall (Fall… get it ?) lol

Monday – Purchased lumber and other materials over the weekend so we could begin construction of the front porch roof. A simple 4-12 pitched, shed style structure. Fantastic weather continues: low’s 40’s overnight and 70 degrees by lunch time.

Tuesday – continued porch framing. Using 2×6 boards for rafters (porch is only 10 feet deep), but selected 2×8 boards for the ceiling joists. We want porch swings and by spending a little more for the larger lumber, we will have greater flexibility for swing locations on the porch.

Wednesday – all but completed the front porch today. Framing is complete, sheathing is installed and covered with roofing felt. All that remains, is nailing shingles. Will keep an eye on the weather and get shingles installed when the forecast warns us of impending wet weather.

Thursday – starting the deck this morning. A large, more physically demanding project. Treated 2x8x16′ boards are really heavy, and the back yard slopes downhill. We finished the day with great progress. Like a few other details we have encountered along the way; the plan didn’t mesh well with the reality of the situation. Stated another way – the concrete pads we poured a few weeks ago as foundations for the main deck posts – are not where they should be located for best results. What to do ? Modify the plan. I came up with an elegant solution the next day, and we are incorporating the change. When you come to visit, let me know if you can see our planning error.

Friday – Nearly completed deck framing. All that remains is installing deck boards and the railing, and… 5 more posts to be purchased and installed (see yesterday’s comment about elegant solutions and changed plans) This deck is certainly a monster; measuring 16′ deep and 32′ wide. Yet, I believe the deck is in proportion to the west wall of the great room with the high vaulted ceiling and windows that fill the west wall.

Saturday – Spent the morning at the computer; logging, scanning and uploading receipts. Now that we have spent our cash obligation, we are making draws against the construction loan. I’m making sure to maintain a current status for this admin task so when I need more $$$$$, I can request a draw with a click of the mouse. Also spent time online shopping a variety of materials, appliances and cabinets. Went to the construction site in the afternoon; just to observe, ponder, measure and take notes of the wide variety of decisions we will be making in the near term. If I don’t write it down (in an organized manner) it will likely be forgotten until it’s too late.

Sunday – More home construction internet searching in the AM, followed by a family gathering at Dad’s house for lunch. After that we all drove out to the site so everyone could see what we’ve been doing. Worked briefly on the truck no start troubleshooting. I finally found a Chevy truck forum w/ a few knowledgable technicians. Posted the issue, symptoms, parts replaced, and electrical tests/checks already accomplished and the results. A reply came back this morning with a couple specific wire chasing tests using a VOM. Posted the results, waiting for a reply.

Overall – moving forward, getting things done every day. Electricians and plumbers are getting their systems roughed-in. Windows ordered in late April have started arriving along with entry doors. Should be able to secure both buildings in another week or 2.

Monday – installing foam board in preparation for window installation later in the week.

Tuesday – visit from a siding contractor today who will be working up a quote. Pella arrived and unloaded entry doors for both buildings and most of the windows for the house.

Wednesday – visits by drywall and siding contractors today to get quotes. Started installing windows and foam board on the shop.

Thursday – Mike B. and I worked on the red truck today, while Kyle continued to install foam board on the shop. I purchased a diagnostic guide to help me isolate the root cause of the – engine cranks, but will not start – problem. No celebration today – still don’t know what is wrong with it.

Friday – Installed 3 out of 4 entry doors. The last door is a quality escape and is mis-manufactured. It is so goofy, we can’t see how anyone let it go to shipping to be boxed up for delivery.

Saturday – spent part of the day getting caught up with logging receipts and updating the excel file I use to keep everything organized. Made a list of material needed for Monday, and will be at Menards when the doors open on Sunday.

Sunday – even with a lack of customers so early on a Sunday, it still took a nearly three hours hours to get everything on the list of material in the store, and… culling through the crooked boards to find straight lumber out in the lumber yard. Spent another hour at the site unloading the lumber and the other stuff. Spent some time while I was at the site to locate additional electrical boxes for receptacles and light switches.

Overall:I have nothing to gripe about; we are enjoying delightful weather, as we continue to move forward. While our pace is slower than a home being constructed with a large dedicated crew, that’s not who we are. I am genuinely pleased with our progress.

Monday: Electricians (Ralph & Joe) visited the site today, measuring the amount of service entrance wire needed for each main panel (shop & house). Kyle worked on framing out the east wall of the great room, while I stripped forms from last week’s concrete work.

Tuesday: Kyle and I worked on the west wall of the great room, rough framing for the large fixed pane trapezoidal shaped windows. Very expensive windows due to the custom shapes, but we think it will be worth it; for the spectacular view of the Hoosier National Forest looking to the west.

Wednesday: Completed west wall framing and installed OSB over the west wall window rough openings, since Pella says the trapezoidal windows won’t ship until the end of the year. Began installing Tyvek barrier paper to the house.

Thursday: Completed applying Tyvek house wrap to the house and south side of the breezeway. ALL framing for the house is complete, down to the last drywall block.

Friday: Installed Tyvek to all four walls of the shop. Managed to roll out the entire 150 by 10 foot roll in one long slow procession. No seams, had to build and tear down scaffolding several times, but ended up with a tight seam-free house wrap installation.

Saturday: Cut down a few small trees and a few dead trees, opening up an area west of the deck (yet to be built) Spent a couple hours working through a diagnostic procedure found on the internet to isolate the cause of my truck’s: starter cranks the engine, but no engine start mystery. No joy (yet).

Sunday: Kevin loaned me his truck, so I could go to Menards and purchase 90 4×8 sheets of 1/2″ thick foam board. This product will be nailed to the exterior walls over the recently applied Tyvek house wrap. The purpose of this R3 insulating foam board is to reduce thermal bridging at wall stud locations. It’s a crap shoot to assess when the expenditure for the foam board will pay back the material coast as a result of energy savings. I would like to think it will make a difference, but cannot provide a substantiated data driven analysis.

Overall: Essentially a 4 day week w/Labor Day and a lot was accomplished ! The roof is done, and so is the concrete work. HVAC crew is nearly done, and plumber completed drains and vents.

Monday: Labor Day. Kyle and I did a 1/2 day. Kyle is still working on interior framing details – hurricane ties, blocking for drywall, etc. I spent the afternoon at the lumber yard getting Kyle more building material.

Tuesday: Arrived at the site early and was surprised to see a very large truck unloading pallets of roofing shingles. Later that morning, several vans and trucks arrived and within a couple hours, roofers were getting after it. Both buildings and the breezeway were done in one very long day.

Wednesday: Same effort for Kyle and myself – working on a plethora of things to do for inside framing. Also worked to get the east breezeway ready for concrete – tieing rebar and bracing forms

Thursday: Kermit and I placed and finished concrete for the east half of the breezeway. Kyle spent the day installing bulkheads to lower the ceiling where HVAC ducts have been routed

Friday: Concrete arrived early as scheduled (which is what we wanted). Not hot and in the shade, meant the wet curing concrete is on a slower pace for finishing, as compared a 90 degree day in the sun, making it an easier task for 2 old men. Turned out great. Thanks Kermit !

Saturday: Kevin loaned me his truck again and dropped it off Friday night, so I could get up very early. Menards opens at 6 AM. I got there at 6:15… loaded a ton of lumber onto my flatbed trailer for several projects yet to be commenced. Why so early ? no knucklehead customers to reckon with. It took over an hour to load all of the lumber, and the same time unloading at the site. Returned crappy pocket door frame kits back to the lumberyard our lumber packages and trusses came from. Finally a visit to Tractor Supply for fence materials. Planning to fence in a portion of the current backyard so we can – let the dogs out – rather than walk them in the yard on long leashes.

Sunday: Spent 7 hours today. sitting at the computer. Scanning 120 purchase receipts, numbering each one to correspond with a column in an excel spreadsheet, showing what that material, equipment rental, or contractor was doing/being used for. Needed by the bank to substantiate that we have spent our portion of this project, and are ready to draw loan $$$$ from the bank. Took a long time to shovel through all of the paper and digital tools. Sent all of the information via email this evening, so the bank will have it tomorrow morning.

Overall: The project is moving forward, although last weeks household relocation continued to steal time from the construction project this week.

Monday: Took a construction day off to get settled into the new leased residence. Kevin helped by providing his truck, to load and trailer my truck from Park Ridge East out to the property. This will allow me to do easily shift back and forth from construction work and vehicle troubleshooting the no start issue.

Tuesday: Kermit and I spent the morning with prep work to pour concrete for the east half of the breezeway and front porch. Left the site after lunch to catch up on project paperwork.

Wednesday: Purchased drywall to be installed along the hallway. Purpose of the drywall is to seal the attic from the living space. The HVAC guys then have an easy task of hanging ductwork to the hallway roof trusses. Finally, wood braces will be installed horizontally just below the HVAC ducting. The slightly lowered ceiling will be completed with finished drywall. This keeps the A/C system in conditioned space (for better efficiency) rather than having the ducting in the hot attic. Constructed bulkheads along the south kitchen wall and the north wall along the great room for the same purpose.

Thursday: More HVAC prep work for Kyle. Mike B brought his tractor with front loader to push my no-start, broken truck into the shop. The very first auto repair project for the shop, and barely a week after getting roof trusses and sheathing installed. Think I will have to remove the fuel tank, which is a lot easier done on a concrete floor… in the shade. Used a jackhammer to bust up a large area of leftover concrete dumped near the house and shop when those 2 slabs were being poured.

Friday: Used Mike’s tractor to scoop up the concrete scrap pieces created yesterday. I dumped all of that material west of the planned deck, to begin raising the grade in that area. It will still be going downhill, but not as severe as the current grade. That area will be part of the fenced backyard for the dogs to play.

Saturday: Visited the site after receiving significant rain overnight. No adverse issues observed with the trusses and decking. Spent the rest of the day, moving stuff around the house to better organize the mountain of moving boxes. Was able to make the spare bedroom operable (although somewhat cramped) to host overnight guests.

Sunday: Out to the site to work on the truck. Fuel tank lowered to access the fuel pump. The fuel pump is getting 12 volts of power. Pump runs with key on and pumps fuel out of the disconnected fuel line at the tank. Disconnected the main fuel line at the tank, midway at the fuel filter and the engine. Used compressed air to blow out the line looking for an obstruction. Air flowed easily through the lines and fuel filter. Reconnected everything turned the key, and… zero fuel pressure. weird. really weird.

Overall: terrific results from the Amish crew, followed by vehicle issues and the pending relocation from our current leased home to another. Lots and lots of precious time expended, (and not on house construction) to make the move of our household goods a success. Not having the truck to use, was an unexpected kick in the balls. A significant number of hours were spent trying to figure out why my truck will not start. It’s Sunday evening, the move/relocation has been completed, and I have a plan for isolating the root cause of the no start issue.

Monday: A 6 man crew arrived Monday morning to set roof trusses and deck the roofs of the house, shop and breezeway. They rented a large crane to be more productive. First truss was up at 10:00AM. The final truss was set at 2:30. A total of 77 roof trusses. Installing plywood roof sheathing commenced and a sizeable area of the shop was completed before they left for the day.

Tuesday: The day began with a no start from my truck. Quickly went to a spare vehicle to meet the Amish crew, who started on time and worked hard all day. 6600 square feet of roof sheathing installed, along with a rain barrier wrap to protect the plywood from damage due from rain. 4PM and they are done. Amazing…

Wednesday: Spent the morning troubleshooting the truck. Thankfully, it died in the driveway and not enroute to the site. It cranks but will not start or run. Tried a couple things, but no success. Spent the afternoon preparing for Friday’s moving crew, but Iam way behind.

Thursday: Spent most of the day working on the truck. The truck is the most important tool I have for our construction project and our relocation. At the same time, I still have a lot of packing to do. Latest effort was not successful, stayed up late trying to catch up with packing.

Friday: Movers were awesome. Hard working, professional, and friendly. Bought enough pizzas to feed all of them and some leftovers. Still a lot of stuff at the Park Ridge East home that I did not have packed in time.

Saturday: Spent all morning, cleaning up the PRE house and packing up leftover stuff. Spent the afternoon at the new house, getting internet connected and moving furniture and boxes to establish a minimum quality living room and kitchen we can use.

Sunday: Spent most of the day final cleaning and packing the last of our stuff from PRE. Had to rent a small Uhaul truck, by not having my truck for work. At the end of the day – 100% of our stuff is out of the PRE house. Everything else is at the Helmsburg storage unit, the current house, or at dad’s. Will be back at the site on Tuesday. Basically lost a week due to our move/relocation.

Overall: We enjoyed dry weather all week, and were able to reach a milestone; completing the rough framing for all of the walls on both building structures. An Amish framing crew has been hired to set the roof trusses and install the plywood sheathing to complete roof framing. They are scheduled to arrive Monday morning, August 22nd.

Monday: Continued effort by Kyle to frame the interior walls of the house. Kermit and I got the west half of the breezeway formed and ready for concrete tomorrow. The plan is to squeeze a concrete truck between the 2 structures (12 feet apart) to reach the west end of the breezeway. The breezeway is 32 feet east-west, and there are not enough chutes on a concrete truck to place material more than 15-20 feet. We need that concrete poured and placed so trusses can be installed over the breezeway next week. The plan is to pour the east half after the roof framing crew completes their task.

Tuesday: Concrete poured and finished for the breezeway west half. We were able to get concrete in the early morning while the temperature was still cool, making it easier on two old men. Kyle is finishing up interior walls for the house. Built the beams to support breezeway truss headers. Installed the 10 ft span garage door glulam header. Roof trusses ( 77 trusses – quite a pile) were delivered to the site today

Wednesday: Placed the enormous glulam beams that span the pair of 16′ garage door openings. Neighbor and friend Mike B. brought a tractor w/front loader to save time and our backs. A bit of McGyver engineering was developed and employed to overcome the loader’s inability to raise the header to the installed height.

Thursday: Installed OSB on the east garage wall. Installed both breezeway headers. Performed a string check on the house. This involves driving 2 nails at each exterior wall corner precisely at the inside edge of the upper plate. A string is tightly stretched from one corner to the next, creating a perfectly straight reference line for each exterior wall. The next step entails “tuning” each wall by physical persuasion and 2 by 4 braces until the upper plate is perfectly aligned with the string along the entire length of each wall. This seemingly small, but significant detail makes the task of installing roof trusses much quicker and easier and will be appreciated by the crew on Monday morning.

Friday: Completed rough framing for the shop’s interior walls. We repeated the upper plate string check for the shop. Four pallets (225 total sheets) of 4′ by 8′ plywood were delivered today to be installed next week as roof sheathing.

Saturday: The day was spent on moving preparations from the current home to the next rental/leased home.

Sunday: Repeat of Saturday. Two men and a truck are scheduled to move the stuff we can’t (or won’t) – i.e. sofas, mattresses and other large furniture. That happens Friday August 26th. Getting this significant, unwelcome distraction behind us will bring a genuine sense of relief, so we can focus completely on construction once again.

Overall: Deja Vu from last week. We had another productive week, with rain taking away precious time. Both buildings will be roofed in a couple weeks, ending that frustration.

Monday: 3 man crew working on house walls. A brief rain storm in the middle of the day forced us to take cover for 15-20 minutes. We have completed the north, south and east house exterior walls.

Tuesday: rain shortened the day after just 3 hours in the morning. Started framing the house west wall, the final exterior wall with the most challenges.

Wednesday: Completed the lower portion of the west wall required for the crew installing trusses. There is still difficult framing to be done after the house is roofed. Large trapezoidal windows will fill the upper portion of the west wall.

Thursday: Kyle started the day laying out interior walls for the house and getting underway building them. Kermit and I worked on framing the east wall of the shop in preparation of installing garage door headers. We installed the 10 foot garage door header. Kyle completed 35% of house interior walls.

Friday: The truck died on the drive to the site. Pissed away half the day by the time the truck was towed home and I was in a spare vehicle. Kyle is now 75% complete for interior walls. Kermit and I worked on forms to pour concrete for the breezeway next week and breezeway headers to support roof trusses. Absolutely perfect weather today.

Saturday: Replaced the ignition coil on the truck. It took me longer than expected to isolate the problem to the coil. Will make a claim that I was distracted by other projects and activities consuming my time.

Sunday: Reviewed quotes from roofers. Need to select a roofer ASAP, so they can put me on their list of upcoming jobs and will be ready for me right after trusses and sheathing have been installed. Catching up on filing receipts, and updating spreadsheets tracking expenses etc. Moved shop tools from our garage to dad’s garage.

Overall: great progress for a 2-3 person crew. shop exterior framing is 75% complete and house exterior framing is 40%. Rainy weather during the week resulted in lost productivity.

Monday: Saw cut the house concrete slab. Built window headers for the shop. The day was cut short after 3 hours as the result of rain.

Tuesday: Kermit AND Kyle on site today. Now a crew of three old men. We assembled and stood up three (3) 16′ wall panels.

Wednesday: The two brothers are back again today. Three of the four shop building exterior walls are done, still need to build the wall with garage door openings. The material for garage door headers is expected to be delivered tomorrow.

Thursday: Morning rain, resulting in a late AM start. We focused on building wall panels, with the idea of standing up 4 panels on Friday morning. These 4 panels are heavier than the average shop building panel, so have asked a good friend & neighbor (Mike B.) to help us stand them up.

Friday: We have a 4 man crew today, standing up 4 panels for the house. Rest of the day was spent building 3 more panels. We were surprised by a pop up thunderstorm during the early afternoon. We heard, then saw a fast approaching wall of hard rain. Ran for cover in our vehicles. 15 minutes later: 5/8 inch of rain in the gauge at the site. The construction site is once again… a muddy, muddy mess. Just before the rain, we discovered an error on the drawing for kitchen window layout that simply cannot be built as drawn. Will study the problem at home this evening.

Saturday: Met Kermit at the site to go over a solution for the kitchen window problem. The floorplan drawing we rely on is scaled (1/4″ = 1 foot). The drawing depicts four (4) closely spaced windows that are drawn to be 36 inches wide. The problem: we ordered 42 inch wide windows. When we marked the window layout on the concrete slab; the 4th window extended into the next room ! The solution: kitchen will utilize 3 windows with a small increase in mullion width between windows to achieve the same required overall length of length of glass along the kitchen wall. The “extra” window will now be utilized on the north wall of the great room. Root cause: We have changed & updated the floorplan drawing MANY times over the past year. An example of missed communication between me and the person doing the CAD work for us.

Sunday: Dropped off boards purchased yesterday, needed on Monday morning to build window headers. Rest of the day spent working on household relocation.

Overall: Despite rain from Sunday night until Wednesday morning, we reached a couple significant milestones this week. Concrete slab for the house was completed and we have walls standing up.

Monday: Rain overnight has made a muddy mess of the site. Called Bender lumber and they delivered the lumber package for the interior and exterior walls of both buildings. We will start on shop walls when it stops raining

Tuesday: History: we closed on the purchase of this real estate, on this date in 2014. 8 years later – more rain overnight and rain all morning and into the afternoon.

Wednesday: We commenced exterior wall framing… until rain forced us to stop.

Thursday: Completed framing the north wall, and started framing the south wall. Stood up sections of the south wall.

Friday: Stood up the north wall and the last section of the south wall. Rented a post hole auger to drill 10 piers to be filled w/concrete to serve as the foundation for the deck posts on the west side of the house

Saturday: Hooray ! The concrete slab is placed and finished for the house. The concrete crew had the slab completely finished and sealed by noon. Used the long reach of the concrete pumping truck to fill the holes we dug on Friday. A total of 67 cubic yards of concrete were needed for the shop and house slabs. Spent part of the afternoon, moving concrete blocks and cleaning up construction debris around the site.

Sunday: No work at the site today. Catching up on construction paperwork, planning next week’s priorities, and a list of people to call. Also moved the first load of household goods to dad’s house for storage, as we prepare to vacate the 529 N Plymouth Rd at the end of the month.