Construction Journal of the Slater Road Project

Last updated: 4/11/2001

Here’s the progress, with most recent work listed first.

• Today’s full view: View 1
• Window heads are being made up on site from the same crown molding used under the eaves.
• Siding complete on kitchen and Emily’s room.
• Second half of the 2200 board-feet of poplar is on its way to the kiln. Thanks, Gregg!

Sunday, April 8^th, 2001

• By now, all long rafters are up, about 30% of ceiling joists and 6 sheets of plywood. Still to do: rear hip rafter, all jack rafters, remaining plywood and ceiling joists.

Thursday, April 5^th, 2001

• Rafters start to go up. All full rafters on north end installed.

Wednesday, April 4^th, 2001

• Last of the columns and beams are up on the wrap-around porch, as are temporary railings.

Tuesday, April 3^rd, 2001

• The landing and long section of the 3rd floor stairs are installed. Perfect fit!

Monday, April 2^nd, 2001

• Three more columns go up, and all the beams for the erected columns.
• One thousand board-feet of sawn poplar is hauled off to the kiln for drying. This will eventually end up as casing, baseboard, crown molding and kitchen cabinets.

Sunday, April 1^st, 2001

• Work on the wrap-around porch begins with the arrival of my father. Together, we get the first six columns up and one segment of beam.

Wednesday, March 28^th, 2001

• The roof is finished (almost). The roofing is multi-tone black Architectural (dimensional) shingle. The flat roof over the service porch is hand-crimped standing seam metal. The roof well for the guest room window is copper with soldered joints. All that is left is the shingles for the four of cornice returns.

Sunday, March 25^th, 2001

• Met with the plumber and did the layout for the house. We’ll use heavy wall copper pipe for supply lines and a combination of PVC and cast iron for the DWV (drain-waste-vent). The cast will only be used where there are vertical runs from the second floor to keep the noise suppressed.

Thursday, March 22^nd, 2001

• First of the old-style windows installed on the first floor.

Wednesday, March 21^st, 2001

• Upper section of main staircase re-set. But due to improper sizing by the manufacturer, this adjustment won’t work. Now the stair treads are notably tilted!
• Half wall along stairs in the sewing room built.
• Chimney in sewing room boxed in.
• Downstairs windows arrived. These are the old-style windows with brass chains and sash weights.
• The first of the shop tools delivered. Includes a 12.5 inch thickness planer and 6x47 inch jointer. These will be needed to make the kitchen cabinets and raised panels for the foyer and study. A 1.5 HP shaper is due next week.

Tuesday, March 20^th, 2001

• Siding installed on garage. The gable end looks great!
• Board and Batten siding installed on service porch.

Monday, March 19^th, 2001

• Took lots of stair measurement and plotted the data out with Microsoft Excel. It helped illustrate just how the upper section of the main stairs are mis-sized.

Saturday, March 17^th, 2001

• Examined the main staircase with Dale and discovered that it was installed improperly. One step didn’t account for the finish floor thickness on the landing so we’re off by ¾ inches! Dale will fuss with Monday.
• Entire second floor electrical rough-in complete!
• Installed small (30A, 2 circuit) sub-panel in woodshop and wired up four wall outlets for power tools.

Friday, March 16^th, 2001

• Roofing of main house complete.
• Well, it’s the end of the week and the 1^st floor windows promised this week never showed up.

Thursday, March 15^th, 2001

• The roofing started (rear side) but had to stop due to rain.
• Entire main porch deck framing complete.

Tuesday, March 13^th, 2001

• Reviewed hearth with mason. He made it three inches narrower on each side. To accomplish this he ripped six inches off the center piece of slate. Looks all wrong, and he will reset it the full width.

Monday, March 12^th, 2001

• Last footing for service porch poured. Ash cleanout door installed. Slate hearth set. All but 4 steel beam pockets in foundation sealed up with mortar.
• Rear section of porch deck is framed.

Sunday, March 11^th, 2001

• All main porch piers complete.

Saturday, March 10^th, 2001

• Lower section of main stairs removed and landing lowered 8". A triangle section was added to bring part of landing up to original height.
• Main porch piers still in work. Some were thought to be done only to discover they were too short. The mason had the wrong reference point from which to measure. Four more courses of brick will work nicely.
• Table saw and mini-workbench brought into woodshop.

Friday, March 9^th, 2001

• Trim work on dormers complete.

Thursday, March 8^th, 2001

• "Winder" landing solution chosen for main staircase. Stair manufacturer blessed this idea and will ship us an extra riser and tread nosing to accomplish this.
• Eaves completed on rear bump-out (family room).

Tuesday, March 6^th, 2001

• Basement stairs set successfully.
• Main staircase installation, but not so successfully. The lower segment and landing was installed, but insufficient headroom was provided for by the stair supplier. He took lots of measurements but simply goofed somewhere. In his setup, there are 6 steps to the landing and then 9 more to 2^nd floor. But those 6 lower treads cause the steps to stick out into the foyer a bit too far and the tread under the edge of the ceiling opening is only 6’-4" above the steps (should be 6’-8"). One solution is to lower the landing, remove one tread from the lower segment, and add a "winder" to the landing. That will keep the upper (expensive) segment from needing to be rebuilt.
• Main porch piers have been started.

Sunday, March 4^th, 2001

• More electrical wiring. Getting close to completing.
• Trim work on garage gable finished.

Wednesday, February 28^th, 2001

• Service porch framing completed.

Tuesday, February 27^th, 2001

• Fireplace boxed-in in the guest room.
• Last of porch pier footings poured.
• Guest room closet and laundry chute entry framed.

Monday, February 26^th, 2001

• Chimney complete. (Close up)

Saturday, February 24^th, 2001

• Chimney built up to roof deck.

Friday, February 23^rd, 2001

• Fireplace boxed-in in the family room.
• Lower segment of the laundry chute built.
• Lighting established on 2^nd and 3^rd floor.

Thursday, February 22^nd, 2001

• Successful throat inspection on the Rumford fireplace. The inspector raved about the fireplace!
• Chimney built up though 2^nd floor.
• Poured 6 more porch pier footings.

Wednesday, February 21^st, 2001

• Today’s views: View 1, View 2
• Built the Rumford fireplace. Looks great!
• Framed the drop ceiling in the 2^nd floor bath.

Tuesday, February 20^th, 2001

• Built the two wide front porch piers.
• Last of the materials (fire brick, sand, flue tiles) arrive for the building of the fireplace tomorrow.

Sunday, February 19^th, 2001

• Finished the ductwork rough-in.

Saturday, February 18^th, 2001

• Wired up the lighting in the basement.
• Installed ductwork in the wood shop to heat/cool the lower kitchen.

Thursday, February 15^th, 2001

• Poured hearth slab.
• Began the framing of the service porch.

Wednesday, February 14^th, 2001

• Had the electrical rough-in inspection. Lots of items he wants done but nothing unexpected.

Tuesday, February 13^th, 2001

• Today’s views: View 1, View 2, View 3, View 4
• Out late getting ready for the electrical rough-in inspection.

Monday, February 12^th, 2001

• Third floor windows set.
• Roof papered. Technically, we are now "dried-in".
• Miscellaneous framing punchlist items fixed.

Sunday, February 11^th, 2001

• My friend Gregg and I worked all day to finish (almost) the 3^rd and 1^st floor wiring. Some minor items to deal with, and the basement needs lights, but I’m pressing ahead for an electrical rough-in inspection on Tuesday.

Saturday, February 10^th, 2001

• Today’s views: View 1, View 2
• Upper heating ductwork install started.
• Third floor wiring started.

Friday, February 9^th, 2001

• POWER! After months of paperwork and delays, we have power. Gentlemen, do NOT start your generators.
• Second floor windows installed.

Thursday, February 8^th, 2001

• Northern Virginia Electric Co-operative finally starts work. A power pole is send way down the front yard with a transformer. A trench for the buried power line is dug from the pole to the rear of the house where I installed the meter box. The buried cable was laid and mostly filled in.
• Electrical rough-in of second floor 100% complete.

Wednesday, February 7^th, 2001

• The second floor, third floor and garage windows arrive.
• All components for the Rumford fireplace arrive.

Monday, February 5^th, 2001

• Six loads of #3 gravel spread as new base for driveway.
• Rear gable framed and ready for paper.
• Garage "clipped-gable" framed and ready for paper.

Sunday, February 4^th, 2001

• Lots more wiring complete this weekend.

Friday, February 2^nd, 2001

• Dormer roofs framed. Top roof ready for paper.

Thursday, February 1^st, 2001

• Fireplace materials and 2/3^rd of the windows delivered, but couldn’t get up the driveway due to massive mud ruts in driveway. The snow-melt and rain have sunk the undersized base gravel. Need lotsa #3 gravel and FAST!
• Dormer walls framed.
• 3^rd floor knee walls framed.
• Measured for staircases.

Monday, January 29^th, 2001

• All sheathing complete on front roof surfaces.
• Completed second floor wiring, except for the bathrooms.

Sunday, January 28^th, 2001

• Roof rafters complete, sheathing begins. Still need dormers.
  • Center gable
  • Left bump-out
  • Left "widow’s walk"
  • View 1 from the top
  • View 2 from the top
  • View 3 from the top
  • Full view
• Pulled most of the wires for the second floor.

Saturday, January 27^th, 2001

• All (well, most) stud holes drilled for wiring.
• Started to pull wires on the second floor.

Tuesday, January 23^rd, 2001

• Main roof rafters start to go up.

Wednesday, January 17^th, 2001

• Garage roof sheathed and papered.

Tuesday, January 16^th, 2001

• Last of gable trim installed.
• With the help of a crane, the rear gable over the family room was lowered into place.
• Then the north gable and south gables were erected.
• Lastly, the steep front gable was erected.
• The ridge beam (made up of several 1.75 x 14" microlams nailed together) was lowered and supported and stabilized with four temporary rafters.
• All trusses over garage and lower kitchen were set.

Monday, January 15^th, 2001

• Garage walls were erected and trued up today.
• The second floor deck was corrected for the laundry chute.
• Pulled 3 more circuits. Twelve circuits wired up. Just about done the breaker box.

Sunday, January 14^th, 2001

• Almost completed the north gable, south gable, and front gable. Only minor trim to complete before raising.
• Garage walls framed. Will tip up on Monday.
• All basement ductwork in place except for ducts under lower kitchen. This will require a 9x13 inch hole cut into concrete wall, and the mason says he can do this Monday. Ductwork for 2^nd and 3^rd floor will wait until dry-in.
• Pulled nine 2^nd and 3^rd floor circuits. I’ll wire them up Monday night.

Saturday, January 13^th, 2001

• Framing of three main roof gables complete. Interior trim being installed.
• All foundation brickfacing complete. Looks great! The corner brick in the second course is a brick from the original Sugar Bowl stadium. This hold lots of sentimental value, as the Sugar Bowl was the stadium of my Alma Mater, Tulane University.
• HVAC guys arrive to start heating install. All first floor holes cut to use my antique floor registers.
• Mason completed all brick facing of exposed foundation.

Thursday, January 11^th, 2001

• Completed 3^rd floor deck. Quite a view from up there from West, South, East, and North.
• Began to frame three main roof gables. Will install most exterior trim first, then use a crane to tip them up in place.
• Mason faced the rear of house foundation with brick.
• Wired up the main run of 3 more circuits.
• HVAC folks deliver ductwork.

Tuesday, January 9^th, 2001

• Wired up the main run of the first 8 circuits.

Saturday, January 6^th, 2001

• Last of 3^rd floor joists installed and most plywood placed. Ran out of plywood so will continue Monday.

Wednesday, January 3^rd, 2001

• Hearth inspection successful. Mason must tweak the re-bar position slightly to accommodate the basement furnace flue and the ash door, but otherwise he’s ready to pour the fireplace slab when we get a warm day.
• Most 3^rd floor joists set. Need another beam member for stair opening and then last of joists can be set. Expect this and plywooding on Friday.

Tuesday, January 2^nd, 2001

• The mason prepped the top of the chimney foundation for the fireplace/hearth slab. Inspection called for tomorrow.

Monday, January 1^st, 2001

• I mounted the main and auxiliary circuit breaker panels on the side of the chimney foundation. I then tied them into the main service entrance.

Sunday, December 31^st, 2000

• The concrete block for Fireplace foundation is set.

Friday, December 29^th, 2000

• Last of top plate installed.
• The 3^rd floor deck has started.
  • 3^rd floor deck 1
  • 3^rd floor deck 2
  • 3^rd floor deck 3
  • 3^rd floor deck 4
  • 3^rd floor deck 5
• I’ve installed the meter box and the main breaker and gotten it partially wired up.
• Concrete block and one ton of sand on site in preparation for fireplace/chimney foundation.

Thursday, December 28^th, 2000

• All interior and exterior second floor walls are complete. Just a few more top plates to set.
• Mis-located door to family room reframed.

Wednesday, December 27^th, 2000

• The remainder of the second floor wall are done.

Tuesday, December 26^th, 2000

• All exterior and about half of the interior 2^nd floor walls are complete.

Friday, December 22^nd, 2000

• Tuesday thru Thursday was lost due to several inches of snow. The other exterior walls of the second floor are framed, but need sheathing and Tyvek before erecting.
  • 2^nd floor walls 5
  • 2^nd floor walls 6
  • 2^nd floor walls 7

Monday, December 18^th, 2000

• The front and rear exterior walls are framed and erected.
  • 2^nd floor walls 1
  • 2^nd floor walls 2
  • 2^nd floor walls 3

Friday, December 15^th, 2000

• The second floor deck is complete and layout of the 2 floor walls has started.
  • 2^nd floor deck 4
  • 2^nd floor deck 5
  • 2^nd floor deck 6
  • 2^nd floor deck 7
  • 2^nd floor deck 8
  • Full view 1
  • Full view 2

Thursday, December 14^th, 2000

• Second floor deck joists all set and half the floor is decked with plywood.

Friday, December 8^th, 2000

• First floor deck gets it’s X-bracing post-installed and all "squash block" are set on both side of each floor joint under each load bearing wall.
  • 1^st floor deck 6
  • 1^st floor deck 7
  • 1^st floor deck 8
• First of the second floor joists are set (over dining room and kitchen). Large laminated beam set over family room to support wall of guest room above.
  • 2^nd floor deck 1
  • 2^nd floor deck 2
  • 2^nd floor deck 3

Thursday, December 7^th, 2000

• No work today

Wednesday, December 6^th, 2000

• Final prep for the second floor deck. However, the day was cut short due to an accident. One of the more experienced framers fell into the stair hole onto the basement slab. He suffers multiple base-skull fractures and a broken foot. I’ll spare you all the details, but he seems OK now.

Tuesday, December 5^th, 2000

• All the walls are now braced to ensure that they stay put while the second floor deck is set.
  • 1^st floor walls 15
  • 1^st floor walls 16
  • 1^st floor walls 17
  • 1^st floor walls 18

Monday, December 4^th, 2000

• The last of the interior walls are up and top plates installed.

Saturday, December 2^nd, 2000

• Framing is mostly complete on the first floor. All exterior walls are up (except garage) and most interior walls, too. All that remains is two walls of the family room and the powder room & pantry. Work progressing smoothly and I’m impressed with the quality of the work. The punch list is growing, but only with trivial items.
  • 1^st floor walls 3
  • 1^st floor walls 4
  • 1^st floor walls 5
  • 1^st floor walls 7
  • 1^st floor walls 10
  • 1^st floor walls 11
  • 1^st floor walls 12
  • 1^st floor walls 13
  • 1^st floor walls 14

Tuesday, November 28^th, 2000

• Walls start framing (horizontally). They’ll go up this afternoon.
  • 1^st floor walls 1
  • 1^st floor walls 2

Monday, November 27^th, 2000

• First floor deck is complete. Walls start tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 21^st, 2000

• Framing continued on the first floor deck. All joists are set and about 80% of the ¾" tongue & grooved plywood floor decking has been glued and nailed. Only the lower kitchen area remains to be covered.
  • 1^st floor decking 1
  • 1^st floor decking 2
  • 1^st floor decking 3
  • 1^st floor decking 4

Tuesday, November 21^st, 2000

• Hammers and nail guns rang out today as framing finally got underway. All but one of the remaining sill plates were laid out and about half of the first floor I-beam joists were placed.

Monday, November 20^th, 2000

• No work started today due to the being opening day of the deer hunting season. Around here, very few native Virginians are at work on this sacred day.

Saturday, November 18^th, 2000

• Closer inspection of the house revealed that Gary Cramer (slab guy) did, in fact, pour the footing for the three porch piers in the front of the house. This will allow the mason to block up these several deep piers so backfilling can be completed. At least most of the wall lumber arrived. However, the engineered floor joists are missing. Hmm…

Thursday, November 16^th, 2000

• Met with Craig and Dale to review the engineering drawings worked up by the joist firm. They were inadvertently given the wrong version of prints so their drawings were all wrong. We discussed the needed corrections and concluded that the first shipment had more than enough to properly frame the first floor deck. That shipment was expected some time Friday so we agreed Dale would start framing Monday the 20^th.

Tuesday, November 14^th, 2000

• On the way home from the airport, we stopped by the house to see what got done (or didn’t get done). We were pleased to find that the basement and garage slabs got poured on Wednesday the 8^th, but not much otherwise. I had a feeling that the framing didn’t start, and I was right. But it wasn’t the fault of the framer…the lumber hadn’t arrived! But it wasn’t the lumber guy’s (Craig from Tart Lumber) fault, either. There was some confusion on the engineering for the I-beam floor joists that delayed getting the lumber delivered from the factory to Craig, so he couldn’t deliver anything himself. Oh well, it wasn’t like I was expecting much work getting done while I was scuba diving in the Bahamas.

Friday, November 3^rd thru Tuesday, 14^th, 2000

• Enjoyed the warmth of Miami and the Bahamas while not much got done on the house.

Friday, November 2^nd, 2000

• Spent some time this morning meeting with Dale Conklin (the framer) to go over the last minute details. The lumber is to be delivered in several days and the slabs would be in soon. And most imminently, I was about to fly south for a long-planned family vacation so I wanted to get as much queued up as possible.

Thursday, November 2^nd, 2000

• I got hold of the plumbing inspector this morning and he told me my pipes looked fine. But he failed me for the water test. I had put some water in the pipes (mostly filled) and left a full bucket next to it for him to use to check for himself. But he said declined to pour the water himself. After swallowing hard and barely containing my rage, I politely thanked him and hung up. Cooled off for a few minutes then called him back. Could he please meet me there this morning for the test? OK. When he arrived, he looked down at my freshly filled pipes and handed be my "PASSED" sticker. But this nonsense cost about three days and now the slab guy had to cancel today’s pour and can’t get back till next Wednesday or Thursday. So now I’ve got to wave-off the framer 4-5 days.

Wednesday, November 1^st, 2000

• Well, I didn’t get my plumbing inspection. The recorded message gives no reason.
• The slab prep was done today. They laid 4 inches of gravel, a plastic sheet, and wire mesh over the floor of the basement and garage. The garage also was prepped for 2 grade beams running laterally and supported by notches in the slab ledge. Looks very good.
• The foundation drain pipe was laid, as were the pipes to carry water away from the floor drains and gutters. I faxed in the waterproofing cert and now the waterproofing and draintile inspections passed.

Tuesday, October 31^st, 2000

• Contacted plumbing inspector and found that he didn’t like the configuration of one tee joint. Fine, I’ll redo it, no problem. Also, the line should be filled with water for a water (leak) test. Gregg and I head up to the house at 8:30 and replace the joint by the light of a Coleman lantern. Filled it with water and now we’ll see what else the plumbing inspector doesn’t like.
• The building inspector reviewed the basement wall’s waterproofing and foundation drain ("draintile"). He gave the excavator the OK to backfill and the excavator filled the garage and backfilled the entire back of the house. (Backfilling the front wall will wait until the deep porch piers are set). However, the Loudoun County Automated Inspection Request Service (AIRS) says the waterproofing inspect fails. I’m told I need to fax in the waterproofing certificate to clear this. And I suspect they’re holding the draintile cert until the final lines are buried. Neither of their items are holding up the project.

Monday, October 30^th, 2000

• My first inspection failure. I was trying to meet the plumbing inspector for a sub-slab rough-in inspection, but he came and went before I got there at lunch time. He rejected it for some reason that was scrawled illegibly on the rejection sticker. Until he can clarify the deficiency, I can’t fix it. The slab work now slips day-for-day until resolved.
• Met with engineer from the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC). They will be placing a transformer pole about 250 feet (maximum distance) from the NW corner of the house and from there will drop a line underground and run to our house. We may have power by Christmas. I would have liked to have arranged this earlier, but the house positioning needs to be set before the line run can be established. Good thing the framer has a generator!

Saturday, October 28^th, 2000

• Laid sub-slab plumbing (myself and two friends). Involved digging two "rabbit-holes" underneath the foundation footing. Lesson learned: When the concrete guy is laying out for the footers, ask that a 6" tube be cast below the footing grade so you can slide sewer pipes through without digging. Ran a 4" soil stack and stubbed out for future half bath. Also established 2 floor drains that run "to daylight" meaning they don’t dump in to the septic system.
  • Soil stack and bath rough-in
  • Floor drain line running under footing

Friday, October 27^th, 2000

• Installed sills on front walls (only). This was done to provide nailing surface for beam braces.
• Set all lally columns and 4 of the 6 steel beams. One beam over lower kitchen too short. Will return and replace. Beam over garage door left off until slab work done. No need for it until framing starts on 11/6. The guys knock a thin piece of concrete off when setting the steel and that "tore" off an adjoining 12". The thin piece should not even have been there per the blueprints, and the larger piece can be recast by the mason when he sets the brick veneer on the foundation.

Thursday, October 26^th, 2000

• Delivered the steel basement beams to job site

Wednesday, October 25^th, 2000

• Both plumbing leads dried up, so I’m submitting a "ground work only" plumbing permit application and I’ll do the slab work myself.

Tuesday, October 24^th, 2000

• Waterproofed the foundation with Deco-20

Friday, October 20^th, 2000

• The project is moving so fast, but since the framer cannot move his start date any earlier, we’ve rearranged the schedule a bit to make better use of the time. We were going to have the first floor deck installed before backfilling and having slabs poured, but now those will come first. Since the basement slab has a plumbing rough-in, I need to get a plumber here FAST!
• Removed the forms from the basement walls

Thursday, October 19^th, 2000

• Poured the basement walls

Monday, October 16^th, 2000

• Completed basement wall forms setup

Saturday, October 14^th, 2000

• Began basement wall forms setup

Friday, October 13^th, 2000

• Finished forming footers
• Footer inspection
• Poured footers
• Delivered wall forms

Thursday, October 12^th, 2000

• Garage excavated
• Minor basement excavation touch-up for front piers by front door
• Start laying out footer forms

Tuesday, October 10^th, 2000

• Lower driveway cut in and gravel laid

Monday, October 9th, 2000:

• Re-staked house after slight re-alignment
• Basement excavation complete
• Laid gravel on main driveway

Sunday, October 8th, 2000:

• A bit more house site clearing
• Cleared area for drain field
• Staked out house for excavator
  • House stakes 1
  • House stakes 2

Saturday, October 7th, 2000:

• House site clearing
• Main driveway clearing
• Cut in main driveway

Friday, October 6th, 2000:

• Closing
• Off-loaded heavy earthmoving equipment (scraper, front end loader)

Preliminary Stuff

• Put offer on land
• Land under contract
• Well drilled: 275 feet deep, flows 80 gallon per minute!
• Well grouted
• Water sample taken
• Received good water test results
• Got building permit approved