We're back on track and building steam again after a crew-related hiatus. This view of the sunrise over the Great Smoky Mountain National Park beckons a new day of construction progress and some new milestones!
The Foothills Parkway, where these images were shot, is a perfect place to welcome the sunrise. You're looking over at Clingman's Done. Hard to beat, eh?!
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This shot was taken a few minutes later, looking more towards the South when the sky was still aglow in subtle shades of red and yellow.
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That danged ladder is still the only way to the second floor on this date...but relief will becoming soon, Bill promises. (Right, says Dr. Ellen).
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One thing about building a new home, log or stick, you need to BE there throughout the construction process. Things happen, plans can be misread, mistakes get made, what looks good on the plans doesn't always look good as the walls are formed. And you have to always measure, measure, measure...don't assume everything.
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The Log Cut Sheet is a case in point. This is what Barna gives the builder at the time that the logs are actually transported to the site.
The cut sheet details each section of wall with information about which logs go where. As Bill installs courses of logs he highlights them so that he can keep track of what still needs to be done. Each log has a piece of paper stapled to it with a log ID and wall designation, and these are carefully matched against the cut sheet.
In our case, the cut sheet doesn't exactly match the blueprints, which has caused some problems. In light of this we recommend that homeowners ask for their own copy of the cut sheet along with liberal copies of the master plans.
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Wayne Sizemore of Woodland Homes (Lesley's General Contractor) and Lesley discuss the fact that there is only one course of logs above the windows on the third floor. Along with the builder, everyone agrees that that is not sufficient support, that those logs will eventually sag if not properly supported.
The cut sheet, however, shows very clearly that there is only one course of logs above that line of windows. Poor design? It would seem so...
We decided to add a second course of logs above those windows which will raise the pitch of the roof by 8 inches. The effect of this will be negligible as those inches are dispersed across the roof line as it meets the gables.
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Take these steps...which wouldn't pass an inspection if done this way. The height of steps must be between 7.5 and 7.75 inches finished, and cannot be more than 1/4 of an inch off.
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These first steps are too high. You also want to be sure that they are not too narrow from front to back. These stairs will be 42-inches wide to accommodate large furniture that will eventually need to be carried up them, something else to be considered!
Besides being too tall, the stairwell itself is reversed...it has to be reworked to ascend in the opposite direction according to closer scrutiny of the master plans.
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The fix is actually a bit complicated in that the current stairwell opening and structural walls will have to be torn out and reworked.
Hopefully all of this will be resolved within the next week or so, as the walls will have to be cloroxed soon and crews will have to get up there with equipment. Yaaaaaaaaa! says Dr. Ellen who now sees ladder relief in sight!
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It is quite hard to visualize the stairwell situation when it is still in such a preliminary phase of construction. Lesley uses her hands to explain her version of the problem to Wayne who will be in charge of fixing things.
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You can see here that Lesley's foot is a good 2 feet above the top of the ladder. Not safe, not safe, says Dr. Ellen...but Lesley says it is kind of fun anyway...
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Building a home requires a whole new way of looking and thinking. It's true: Have tape measure will travel!
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A dozen or so 10-ft treated logs were delivered today that will support the exterior decking. They will be installed on top of the cinderblock supports that are already in place on the downhill side of the house. The original plans call for 6x6 treated posts but Lesley decided to upgrade to 8-inch round logs in keeping with the overall character of the house.
This is another example of the need for careful scrutiny of your plans.
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Lesley's field office this time is the back of a Barna transport. It just goes to show that checks can be written anywhere.
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