Building our retirement home

GPintheMitten · Nov 18, 2015

I think you need to bring this up with the crew chief or subcontractor.

jk96 · Nov 18, 2015

I feel for what you are going through. We had a finished timber frame exposed to the weather and the rain came often. I drilled 2-3 one inch holes in each room (anything smaller filled with saw dust and debris) and cut out door sills so I could squeegee what didn't drain through the holes. I spent a lot of time working that squeegee. Luckily we had a walkout basement so everything could be drained to the basement and then pushed out.

I'm sure your subfloor will be fine as long as you don't let water sit after the rain ends. We used regular t&g plywood, no advantec, and ours turned out just fine. Hit a few seams with a planer but nothing major and we have hardwoods throughout.

buckeyefarmer · Nov 18, 2015

KiotiKowboy said:
Wow .. I could have written your post for you! LOL

We wetvac'd the standing water and swept what we could. Yes, you have to at least hope it was worth the effort.

As for the builders ... I could have beat them with a stick. They knew we had 3 days of deckingheavy rain on the way and did N O T H I N G to prepare the site. Lumber and decking laying in the grass, trash everywhere - basically Apathetic Pigs. They couldn't have cared less about my investment, or the quality of their work. I guess I should have been there to see things were handled.

My wife and I went out just becfore the storms and picked up as much of the and lumber as we could - trying to get it someplace dry. It says something that two older folks have to go out and do that instead of a crew of young able-bodied men. I really hope they ask me for a reference ....

I saw in one of the pictures they left a lot of mess laying around.

KiotiKowboy · Nov 29, 2015

buckeyefarmer said:
I saw in one of the pictures they left a lot of mess laying around.

Yes. No argument. They are, in fact, PIGS. Turns out, it is a father and his 3 sons. They do have a good reputation but I guess that reputation came without any regard for worksite cleanliness. Perhaps this is unimportant to many - but - I will never give this crew a recommendation.

As for progress: Our "afterthought" of an upstairs room is almost completed. The windows for our ground floor have arrived at the distributor's warehouse and will be delivered soon. The roofer has been out - measured to 78 squares - and "may" get started by Friday. The rain has been relentless, so this may get pushed back a bit. We will be SOOOOOOOOOO relieved to get the roof on this thing.

Turns out the granite we selected is considered "exotic", as is its price - lol. We're still working on this but hate to settle for something we don't particularly like. The 2 we chose were Sandalous for the kitchen and Fusion for the baths.

Our trench for power/water is ALMOST COMPLETE ... This has taken F O R E V E R. Price tag for just the digging has crossed $10K. We have used a mini-ex, backhoe and a hammer - broken pins and worn out teeth are plentiful. This project has easily been the most aggravating.

Early on, someone said building a house would be lots of fun ....... I think I need the drugs he was using

buckeyefarmer · Nov 29, 2015

Is the ice getting you there, or is that more north texas?

KiotiKowboy · Nov 29, 2015

buckeyefarmer said:
Is the ice getting you there, or is that more north texas?

No ice. It hit OKC, about 200 miles west. We've just been under water for several days.

buckeyefarmer · Nov 29, 2015

Rain is a pain when building, I had my excavation fall in around my foundation before I got my drain in. Had to clean it out by hand. Not fun.

I might be down your way next summer, never been to ok before, one of the few states I haven't been to.

KiotiKowboy · Dec 9, 2015

Seems like time to post a progress update.

We installed the steel posts for deck roof support yesterday. Concrete will be poured around the feet, about 5' deep, then concrete porches will add support for another 2' or so.

The basement and 2nd floor stairs have been completed and the basement has been framed. We added a "personal touch" window to the upstairs room - a Christian Cross. The one in the attached photo was too small, so we are having it enlarged about twice the size you see.

The framing for the fireplace is finished, and the chimney stack. Today, facia boards, soffit and vents are going up. Tomorrow, the roofing materials should arrive. Friday, with any luck, we'll see roofers - at least I hope so, since rain is slated again this weekend.

The ground floor windows will be installed by the 16th. The upper windows for the great room have not yet been ordered - nor have any doors. We are having a monster of a time trying to get 3'6"x96" front and rear doors.

Here are a few pics ...