Bits and Pieces

When I find myself hemming and hawing over the next big housebuilding step, I tell myself that my indecision can't allow me to get paralyzed into inaction. I figure that, as long as I keep moving forward with something, it's all good. Eventually, I work out the details of whatever has me stewing, and I move forward with that too.

These last few days, I have been tackling all kinds of little jobs. Before I can add a bead of caulk between the window trim and the windows, I needed to shove some backer rod in the larger cracks. In some cases, like in the photo below, the trim is snug enough up against the window that no backer rod is needed.

The next photo shows the largest crack I had to fill. It's about a quarter inch wide; the dark gray styrofoam stuff is the backer rod. I did all the windows and door. I haven't added the caulk yet; I'm waiting for it to get a little warmer first.

I also started staining the ceiling joists in the JayBee, beginning with the east end. Before the stain...

After two joists done.

After all the east end ceiling joists were stained.

While I was outside working yesterday, I heard loud clip-clop sounds coming from the road. I ran to the top of the hill and caught this horse and rider trotting by.

I removed all the plastic and hay from around the foundation of the old house. In the process, I disturbed four snakes. Yikes, I do not like snakes! Thankfully, it is still so cold outside, they were pretty sluggish. Here's the head end of one of the snakes.

 ...and the tail end.

Sweet George.

Entryway 3

Here is the entryway that needs to be framed in. Notice that there is a step. The hole in this south wall is four feet wide, but the entry door is only three feet wide, so the entry needs a series of small walls to frame in the step and the door.

This first wall (on the east side of the entryway) was challenging because it had to incorporate the final ceiling joist and both the wall and the joist had to be square and plumb to the existing walls, joists, and floor. (This also required crawling around underneath the JayBee with a 12-ton jack to level it up. It was only a smidgen off--amazing since we've had almost a year of frost heaves and wet and dry weather since I last leveled it--but I wanted it perfect before attaching the new wall.) Finally, I got it done.

Here is the east entryway wall with the full (and final, yippee!) ceiling joist in place. The bed area is now more clearly defined, and the living area feels that much smaller for it.

Also see:
Entryway 1
Entryway 2
Entryway 4
Entryway 5
Entryway 6
Entryway 7
Entryway 8

Ceiling Joists (aka Hurricane Preparation)

I've known for days that hurricane Irene is headed this way. What to do to protect the JayBee and all the building materials in my yard? This is how the JayBee looked once I completely uncovered it this morning.

As I began working, Bear started in with his antics.

This look (below) is Bear working up to leaping onto the ladder. Yes, he did leap.

When I heard a scratching noise, I spun around to yell at Bear because I thought he was scratching my walls. This is what I saw:

What a nut case!

I decided that installing ceiling joists on the JayBee would provide more stability in high wind than the west wall, so that's what I did--install ceiling joists. I got off to a slow start but, once I figured out a method for doing it by myself, it actually proceeded smoothly.

Arlen came by to help me move a few things under cover. Dale came by and helped me get the entryway header installed. Once that was done, I finished fastening the south wall top plate.

Then, back to more ceiling joists.

I was really pleased with the results.

Isn't this great light coming through the east window?

When I finished with the ceiling joists after 4:00, I then had to secure everything for Irene. I put cinder blocks on the building materials that will stay in the yard. I lined the floor of the JayBee with multiple tarps, sloped slightly towards the open west end and open entryway. I removed the plastic from the windows; I figure it wouldn't stay put anyway. I'm hoping that allowing the wind to blow through the JayBee will help keep the wind from blowing it apart or flipping it over. This all took me so much time, it was after 9:00 before I was done. Yes, it was pitch black out by then; I finished up by the light of a lantern.

The rain preceding Irene is supposed to begin tonight. The wind could reach 65 mph tomorrow, and we could get up to 8 inches of rain. There will be power outages and flooding, no doubt. I'm so exhausted, I'm thinking of tomorrow as recovery day more than hurricane day.

Dibs and Dabs

Yesterday was literally a washout. It rained on and off all day, so it became a much-needed break from construction. Debra left to return to San Francisco early today :-( so I was back working solo. It was a day for doing a little of this and a little of that...

First, I added a second top plate to the east end bumpout.

I made plastic covers for every window--with strings so I can tie them open when I want air to blow through the house. They came in handy when it poured at noon.

While it rained, I worked under the tarps. I bolted three ceiling joists to studs in the bedroom end of the house.

I have used GRK fasteners to secure the bottom plates of the walls to the sills. (The sills are bolted to the steel frame of the trailer.) It occurred to me today that I could use much longer fasteners on the bottom plates of the bumpouts because they are attached to floor joists and I don't have to worry about the fasteners hitting steel. So, I bought some long GRK fasteners today and replaced all the fasteners on the bottom plates in the east end bumpout with longer ones.

I attached plywood sheathing to the side walls of the east end bumpout.

At the end of the day, Bear and I went down to the river. Pretty moon!