11.20.2014 - Start of Septic System

Like most of the country, it's been cold here and has kind of put a halt to some outside work.  We're fortunate in that we have not been getting the brunt of this storm - especially not like in Buffalo!  We've been making a few transitions into our winter mode - actually went to the gym and for a long walk this week.  Plus, there's been lots more desk work going on.  Yesterday, Jim met with the septic designer to clarify a couple questions that Jim had before he started work.  This morning, he went to drop off a quote for septic system plumbing supplies that we'll need at another place that he found.

You can see that the carriage house has been cold in our absence...icicles from the beams are not a happy sight.

But this afternoon, Jim put on his new cold weather coveralls and headed out to start work on the septic system.  You can see the markings in this picture below where he needs to trench.

The first scoops were to the side of where all the plumbing is - that's the site for a lawn hydrant.  It will be so nice to eventually have water outside the building for washing cars, cleaning machinery, etc.

Then Jim started digging the trench.

Once he got a little area cleared out, he had to do a little hand shoveling to clean out the hydrant area a little better.

Making good progress...

Time to bring out the laser level and make sure he's digging at the right depth.

At this point, I have to be honest and say that I left the site and went home where it was warm and cozy.  I hadn't dressed well enough because I had basically planned on just watching the first few scoops. 

Look at how far Jim got after I left - he only has about 10' left to go!  Amazing!

Another view....

 

High 34/Low 17 - dusting of snow in the morning, mostly sunny rest of the day

 

11.17.2014 - First Snowfall!

We woke up to snow!  It was kind of hard to tell how much we got.  It looked like just a couple inches when we woke up.  It stopped snowing early in the morning and it rained all day - but the snow stayed around.  It was that real wet, heavy snow. 

 

Jim got lots done even on a snow day though.  He made calls to the steelyard about getting more steel to finish off the end caps on the decking.  He went to the plumbing supply to ask for a quote for our septic system plumbing.  And when they didn't carry everything, he made calls to another place that does.  He also set up an appointment to talk to the septic designer about a couple things.  Then he went to Lowe's and talked to his pro rep there about ordering our siding and decking plywood - she's going to help us out hopefully by ordering it now and storing it for us until spring.  He also made a trip to the barn to get the kerosene heater - looks like we might be needing that!

 

So, all in all, a good day.  We even went for a long walk (in the rain!) in the afternoon.

 

High 36/Low 21 - snowed early, then rained most of the day

 

11.16.2014

Another chilly day but we still got some good things accomplished.  Jim wanted to take one more measurement with the laser level for the septic system - he's plotting all the measurements to see how the elevation is and what he will need to do.

Then we started working inside the building, getting ready for the shoring that will need to be done to support the snow load on the deck over the winter - as well as be in place for the concrete in the spring.

Jim first compacted the area well.

Then we set up scaffolding.  On the left set of scaffolding, you can see that the screw jacks were placed on top so that Jim can accurately adjust the support of the deck.  He needs to order some more short pieces of scaffolding like the ones shown below also.  So this will be a work in process but it's a start.  Plus we did inventory of how many screw jacks we have (enough!) and what we need to order.

 

We also counted how many end caps we still need to make - Jim will have to order more steel to make those.

 

Then we also started gathering some wood to use for the base for the temporary walls we will build for the winter to keep the main area more protected.  Again, a work in progress but gave Jim an opportunity to lay things out and see what needs to be ordered.

 

High 38/Low 27 - cloudy

 

11.15.2014

Today, the sun was shining brightly all day, so even though it was pretty chilly it felt warmer.

Jim brought the chipper down from up near the shed to store it inside for the winter.  Unfortunately, some little rodent friends had made themselves home in it.  Thankfully, they didn't do too much damage - Jim blew all the remnants out and did a little maintenance on it.

Then using a hitch he can put on the Bobcat, he pushed it into the building where it will be more protected from the elements.

Jim and I then turned our attention to working on the insulation board.  He first cut each piece in half with the saw.

Then we just started putting them in place temporarily.  Jim has smaller size gravel ordered that he will get delivered soon.  That has to go on top of the gravel on the floor area now.  Then we will put these insulation boards around the footers to help keep them warm over the winter.  Half of the building has a freeze wall, so we don't have to worry about that area.

Temporary placement of the boards...

 

High 36/Low 22 - bright and sunny!

 

11.14.2014

Although it was a chilly day, we had none of the snow that has plagued other parts of the country recently.  Good thing because today was steel truss delivery day!  These trusses will go on top of the second floor - again to make sure that Jim has nice open areas in both workshop spaces with no big support columns.  It was part of the steel package that we take delivery on these trusses this year even though we won't be using them until next year.

Jim went out to the site to make sure things were ready for the delivery.  He wanted to put some wood supports on top of the gravel pads for the trusses to sit on.

Not sure how they time it to the minute, but again as the clock clicked to 1:00, the crane pulls in first and the steel truck right behind him.  Seeing that they are coming from opposite directions both probably 30 minutes travel time away, pretty impressive!

This steel guy didn't jump up on the back of the truck to help like the last guys did, so Jim had to do all of the work strapping the beams in the right places so that the crane could lift them.

Attaching the straps to the crane on one side...

...and then the other.

Up they go, with Jim directing.

After the trusses were off the truck bed, Jim had to scramble down and tie a guide strap to the end.

Then the steel truck moved out of position.

Jim guiding the trusses.

The crane operator is really nice, but he moves very quickly - too quickly for one person to try to handle everything.  But Jim guided the trusses into place.

The steel guy eventually stopped watching and walked over as Jim was trying to get everything centered and in place.

Down they go onto their resting place for the winter.

Whew....all done and in place.

Then the crane folds itself back up.

And he's on his merry way.  There's a minimum 2 hour rate you have to pay for the crane, but even with all the set up required, he was gone in less than 30 minutes.

After warming up in the truck and eating lunch, it was back to work.  While he was waiting for the steel in the morning, Jim had been working on cutting more end pieces for the decking. 

Jim came up with a very ingenious idea - again one of those pre-planning things.  Jim decided he wants to be able to run conduit on the underside of the steel decking for electric wires.  Otherwise, they would be hanging underneath.  So Jim marked the pieces, got his hole saw out and cut a hole in some of the end caps.

After testing them out to make sure they would work, we had an assembly line going.  I marked each end cap and Jim cut them.  Then we got up on the deck to place them.  The one thing we couldn't control was the location of the shear pins.  So for a few of them, we had to cut offset holes to be able to work around the pins.  This will make it so nice - before the concrete pour, Jim will put conduit thimbles through these holes and they will be available to use if he wants them.  Altogether, there will be 8 conduit passageways over each beam.

It was too windy and started to snow, so we couldn't do any welding today.  You can see little snowflakes in the picture below if you look closely!  We definitely have to get used to working in cold weather.  It takes its toll on your hands after awhile.  But we got lots figured out and our steel is happily sitting on the lot - so another good day!

 

High 37/Low 18 - breezy and chilly with a few snowflakes in late afternoon

 

11.13.2014

While I had to run errands, Jim headed out to exchange cylinders on the welder.  Not quite an easy process since the cylinder that we had was from Ohio.  Since this company didn't give it to us, they had to pressure test it to make sure it was good to be put into their rotation of tanks.  It was so Jim was able to exchange it - next time will be much easier!

So in the afternoon, he was able to put the new tank to good use and started welding the end caps that he made to the end of each of the pieces of decking.

In this picture, Jim is using the wire brush on the welds.

In between, I was playing "I'm King of the World" from the Titanic movie - it feels really high up on top of the deck!

 

High 42/Low 26 - saw our first snow flurries in the evening!

11.12.2014

The morning started out a little cloudy, windy and spit rain for a few minutes - guess it will be our turn soon for the cold weather front that is hitting a lot of the country.

Jim went to the steelyard this morning to check out the trusses to make sure they were as ordered as well as to see how they were bundled.  He was very happy to see the way they were tied together - in fact, it makes his storage plans even easier.  He won't need to use the blocks as he was planning.  All good news.  Everything is on track to have the crane and steel arrive on Friday.

The afternoon turned bright and sunny.  Jim first worked on the compactor.  Unfortunately, a tiny pin had dropped to the ground when he was working on it the other day - and we both searched through the gravel for quite a while trying to find it with no luck.  But he was able to use a small brad as a replacement.   Then today, a tiny seal fell - but after sifting through the rocks again, Jim's eagle eyes found it.  He said he can't wait until he has a concrete floor!

After a slight scary moment for me when Jim started it up and it turned over and started compacting its way towards the end of the table until Jim got it under control, it now works!  And without having to buy any new parts as anticipated.  More happy news.

We turned our attention to the layout of the septic system later in the afternoon.  We got out the laser level and surveyor's measuring wheel and took lots of measurements, which Jim is now plotting out on the computer.  We are hopeful that we can get the tanks in before the winter so that we have one less agenda item on the spring to do list.

 

High 52/Low 27 - morning clouds turned to sunshine in afternoon