Whitewash

I am flying solo this visit with Dad having a trip scheduled to Vancouver to see the grandkids.  D&J have been busy finishing up the roof framing and fortunately got most of it finished before the big snow hit.  We received about 3", but it isn't supposed to stay for too long with warmer weather on the way.  It'll probably last just long enough to preclude me from helping out with any manual labour.  We met this morning on site to clear-up a few questions and then went back to the apartment to work through some deck details.  The wood diaphragm (roof) has really stiffened up the structure, which is crucial to prevent  any of the storefront windows from shattering once installed.

 The cedar beams have arrived at the lumber yard and I'm going to head up and see them this afternoon.  We also talked a bit more about salvaging some of the beautiful old growth walnut trees that we have on the property to use for interior finish details.  J knows someone that has a portable mill that could mill the trees on site and then be sent to kiln dry.  Any ideas for some cool uses of site harvested walnut?

Pretty in white

Structural wood diaphragm with 2x4 flat blocking fastened with z clips.

Masterbuilder?

I got my hands dirty this past visit and helped Dave with some framing. The highlight had to be operating the powder actuated fastener to attach the wood blocking to the steel. After being warned by Dave, I got a nice blood blister when the damn thing pinched my finger. All in a days work. Not sure what category of IDP that will go under.

Fun with the Powder Actuated Fastener

"Inspecting" roof joists.  Definitely not OSHA approved.

Having a cold one in the fire pit.

16th Avenue

One of the adventures of this project is the 8 hour car ride down to the farm with Dad. There are a few staples of music that we usually make it through but none as enjoyable as 16th Avenue by Lacy J Dalton. A trip isn't complete without a listen (or two).

WES

Roof framing

D&J have been busy blocking out the webs of the steel roof girders to receive joist hangers and wood I Joist roof framing members. They also were able to install some of the LVLs that compose the edge of the cantilevered roof. The folded roof profile is starting to take shape. I am really pleased that we went through the effort of getting a narrow roof sandwich with no drop beams. This will allow for a continuous wood ceiling to extend uninterrupted from the inside to outside. Nice work Chach!

Approach view from the bottom of the lane

Profile starting to take shape

View out to pasture

Moment connection with roof framing

Detail at upper window head allowing for continuous wood ceiling

Like a glove

If only 3+ months late and “slightly” over-budget, the steel has finally arrived and is erected.  We had a brief scare with the anchor bolts to the base of the steel columns not aligning during erection.  But with some clever field adjustments and epoxy anchors, we were able to get everything set securely.  The only thing remaining is to finish welding the plates for the moment connections and set a couple of misaligned bolts.  This should be completed in the next couple of days and we will be moving on from our adventures in steel.  The next item on the agenda will be framing the roof to provide some weather protection for the plank and beam cedar floor. 

All in all, the erection of the steel went better than I could have imagined.  After what seemed like an eternity of working through shop/fabrication drawings, structural changes, and a few terse conversations with the fabricators, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have my doubts and second guessing of the decision to go with steel.  I had my nightmares of pieces being incorrectly sized and holes misaligned, but they proved to be for naught. In the end, it was the right decision in that it allows for a column free interior and unobstructed glass on three sides of the house.  

Cheers to Dad for having the patience to work through this process and to D&J and CFE for delivering.

WES

Steel Erection No. 2

Steel Erection No. 1