Thursday, September 2, 2010

Started to Wrap the House

I finally had a full day off from work, where it was'nt raining out. I hav'nt done very much on the house since my last post, a little here and there, but not much. Maybe I wont be in it before winter. lol. It was a pretty good run at work for awhile there and I did enjoy doing it, but I am truly getting the urge to do some serious building again.
Today I finally cut the main door out to it's correct size. It probably makes the house look smaller. A 36" left outswing door will go in that spot. I did a bunch of other smaller things to get ready for some wrap. Sealed all the gaps between the basement top plate and the main floor system. Had to do some adjustments on the door rough opening size and finish sheathing the strip around the house where the main floor is. One last look at this side of the house before the housewrap goes on. This is the north side, and there is one basement window and one main floor window in the living area at the foot of the stairs that go up to the loft. I did'nt want a whole bunch of larger sized windows. When I am not at home, I am going to rely on a propane space heater in the basement to heat the whole house. This is the plan for now anyway. Our winters are sometimes pretty cold and long, and too many windows could result in more heat loss than I really want. There are more and one that is a bit larger on the south side.

I just started experimenting with the housewrap. I need to cut out another door and some windows, then I can finish wrapping it up. I really hope they can live without me at work tomorrow.


I am still trying to decide exactly what to do up here in the loft. Window or door. I know I probably have the technology to frame a door in there, but it's not quite that simple. That gable wall is a part of my manufactored trusses, and for me to just start wacking a hole in there for a door could cause some grief for me with with the permit guys. I may have to draw my plans up and get someone who is qualified to ok it for me. I guess that would be an engineer or maybe the truss manufactorer. I just hope it is not a complicated drawn out and expensive ordeal. It would be nice to have a door going out to the balcony though. This end of the house probably wont get completely wrapped right away. I am going to try and draw up a door framing plan soon. Any suggestions? The top part studs are at 2 foot on center and the bottom part is at 16".
Anyway, thats it for now. I will try and post a little bit more often, as I THINK things may be slowing down a tad at work. Hopefully.



16 comments:

  1. dang, buddy! Looking real good! Bet you are getting excited about the progress, huh?

    It's certainly been a fun ride so far, hasn't it?

    Keep us posted when you can. Always a good feeling to hear from you!

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  2. Mark that looks great! You've really come a long way with the place... it's going to be so nice. :)
    Sorry I have no ideas for the door right now. It would be nice to be able to walk out onto a deck, your view from up there would be amazing.

    Glad to hear it stopped raining for at least a day.
    Thanks for the pics and the update!

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  3. whoo hoo… you're back! wondered where you'd been. thanks for the updates… i know nothing about doors and whatnot, but sounds like you're on the right track with your connections… good luck!

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  4. Thanks a bunch Jim. I am getting excited about the progress, but I sure hav'nt found alot of time lately. It has been a fun ride, but when I first started my little project, I thought I would have been moved in by now. But really, when I think about it, whats the rush?

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  5. Thanks Jeanie. Don't worry about the door thing, we'll figure something out soon. All I know is that my deck on the main floor is going to be covered with either a roof or balcony floor, so it may as well be a balcony instead of just a roof. I don't think there would be much difference in building it. I hope you get a little rain soon Jeanie, I tried to send you some, and now all we can do is wait and see.

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  6. Well hello there The Sprouting Acorn. I will try to keep you informed as I go, I just need to stay in touch with GO for longer than a day. I'm going to try and find something out about the door situation real soon. Thanks for stopping by.

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  7. Hermit it is good to see you back at it. The place is looking like home. I only have one 36"x36" window at the time facing our prevailing S/SE winds. I didn't wanna install anymore if I'm not there too much. I want to put a 16'L x 8'W addition on the north side so I cant put big windows on that side. It will be a lean-to type of framing so to get some north winds I will install 2 or 3of those small and narrow windows like ppl use mostly in restrooms, above the addition to get some ventilation. It is kinda hard to describe but I think it will work fine and not completely block the north winds. The addition wont get going till late year or early next, hopefully.
    I like yer idea of an out swing door to save space.
    About yer door or window in the loft, it would be a good idea to check with the permit people or truss people or both about cutting a hole. Have dimensions of window and door you would like readily available to them in case they ask. I know it will be one or the other but it would be good to have an idee of sizes for both so they can figure out their little calculations. Good to see you Hermit. ~Jen

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  8. Great post, as ever! I love watching your home grow, it gives me hope for our future home and shows us many of the 'ins ad outs' of self-build. Keep those photo's coming. :)

    Oh and I've just given you an award because your blog cheers me up: http://englishpaganincanada.blogspot.com/2010/09/additions-and-award.html

    Enjoy! :)

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  9. Hey, good to hear from you Mark! I was beginning to wonder. I'm not sure what I'm looking at in the photo but it look like to install a door in that gable in, you would have to cut through your top plate and I think that is a no-no. Is that the actual top plate or just a little knee wall you framed on top of the wall below? I see a bottom plate at the floor level but am not sure if that framing goes through to the wall below.

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  10. Thanks Jen. You know, windows cost alot too. lol. Ya the outswing door will probably be a good thing in such a little shack. I think I will have a normal one in the other end, but it won't be used very often anyway.

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  11. Thanks Edain. A little advice for ya. If you go to building your own home, do get a second opion on how to do things properly as I am kinda wingin it myself. lol. Thanks for the award, but it might take me a little time to follow through with things as I have been a pretty busy guy lately.

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  12. Hey Annie.
    That IS the top plate you're looking at. The walls are 10 feet tall and the loft floor is sunken. That is what is kinda worrying me a bit is cutting through that top plate. I know this would be kinda weird, but I could always put a shorter door in there (with a window in the door of course), and kinda step over the knee wall to go out onto the balcony. It would be alot better than crawling through a window. Do you think that would be a crazy idea Annie? It would be alot easier to frame something like that in also, but ya, I agree, although the loft floor system would probably hold things togehter, I probably still should'nt cut throught the top plate. Thanks for your point of veiw Annie.

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  13. Well, there is always a way; as I am always harping on my blog! Now, is your balcony floor going to be at the same elevation as the TOP of your top plate? If so, you could go ahead and put your door in above the top plate and then just build a couple of steps going up to the door. Then just step out the door onto the balcony. I would not cut that top plate and it's probably not code to anyway; although I could be wrong. Maybe that gives you an idea or two.

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  14. The deck will be at about the same level as the loft floor. A full sized door would be too tall to sit on the top plate. I honestly think it would be kinda cool just to step over the knee wall. It's not like it's a main entrance or anything, more of an emergency escape hatch. I don't like the idea of cutting into things either, but I will do a little research on things eventually. Thanks Annie.

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  15. Great progress you're making there. I have no suggestions as I have few building skills. The window dilemma is an ongoing one. It's nice to have natural light but not so good when it's cold out. I hope you're able to finish on your desired timeline, but no pressure, man!

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  16. Thanks Ginger. I used to have pressure, but not anymore. Whats the use. lol.

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