Oct 28 - 11:30

It is looking more like a cottage every day.  As of 11:30 this morning about half the roof trusses were installed and by the end of the day all the trusses should be in place.



As can be noted the entire 2nd floor has been framed including all the interior partitions.  A crane was being used to raise the large trusses into place.

One of the attic truss being lifted over the trees

The north wall is now closed in

Next week everything gets anchored down and the guys will begin installing the roof plywood.



Oct 25

The cottage started to take shape during the last five days.  The main floor exterior walls were all framed, the beams to support the floor were put in place, the Engineered Wood floor joists were all put in place and by the end of today the plywood on the floor will all be installed.

The framing package for the second floor walls is being delivered this afternoon and the engineered roof trusses should arrive shortly. 

By the end of this week the place should start to look like the cottage it will be.

View from the boat port

View from shore. 

The concrete block wall in the foreground will be covered in cultured stone. 

After some debate and a lot of looking, Christina and Mike locked in the style and colour of stone on Monday.  The stone mason will start installing it the week of November 1st. 

At a later date a covered deck and screened porch will be added on top of the block walls

Earlier I indicated that Engineered Wood joists were installed to hold the floor.  The above photo shows what they look like. These I joists revolutionized the way we build floors.  it allows for longer joists (available up to 48 feet), faster installation and better floors. 

The top and bottom chords of the wood I joists are manufactured from graded lumber.  The web is made from stress rated oriented strand board (chipboard).  They are engineered to provide strength and consistency.  The dimensional stability of engineeered wood joists helps them resist the warping, twisting and shrinkage that can lead to squeaky floors.  Their lengths allow for longer spans without beams which are inherent in traditional dimensional lumber floors. 

 

Here Jake is installing bridging to add stability to the longer joists, and Ben is applying lumber adhesive to glue the plywood to the joists before power nailing the plywood down.  The result will be a floor that does not squeak.

Finally this is the crew that is producing Christina and Mike's cottage.

From left, Jon, who is in charge of this job site, Jake, Ben, Adam and Harry Singer,

owner of Singer Construction (Tyler is absent enjoying his honeymoon)

Oct 17

Not a lot has happened in the last two weeks because our crew had to be pulled out for the first week to frame a boathouse which had been planned for completion before the start of this project, but was delayed due to permit problems, and Tyler took time off to get married.

They are back now and the ICF foundation has been put up, inspected and the concrete pour. The first floor exterior wall package has been delivered and the actual framing is starting. In another week it will start to look like a new cottage is happening.

For the uninitiated ICF stands for "Insulate Concrete Form" They are like giant Lego blocks and they assemble like them as well. Each block is 18" high and 96" long. They have 1-5/8" of insulating foam on each side and we add rebar to the inside and fill the cavity with concrete. The resulting wall is very strong, and has insulation value twice better than a wood frame wall. This is perfect for this cottage because it will protect the floor from the cold and frost and will make the heated concrete floor much more efficient.

The following pictures show some of the steps in building the foundation. The high wall at the back is to protect from the elevated back filling from the septic installation in the back yard.

 

Once the concrete was poured into the ICF blocks the foundation was ready to start the framing or building of the cottage

The area in the middle will be a heated concrete floor which will only be poured after the cottage is all framed and the roof is up.  At that time heating pipes will be added to the floor over insulating foam,  the concrete will be poured and the main floor interior walls will be added.

In the meantime the lumber to frame the walls and the second floor of the cottage is now on site and this week the guys will start to frame the structure.  Weather permitting, next week at this time we will be able to see the main floor walls all framed up. 

September 26-30

Last week’s progress saw the completion and pouring of the footings

and the back filling and compacting of the interior of the footings

The next step will see the installation after Thanksgiving

of the Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) for the foundation walls