Meanwhile, during March and April...

Once the masonry was finished, the roofers returned to complete the metal roofing and ridge vent near the chimney and to finish up other miscellaneous roof-related tasks.

Here's Tim cutting the plumbing vent hole:

Not sure what he's thinking about here (contemplating career options?):

Mr Bean and Eileen spent an afternoon building houses with the left over pieces of firebrick left in the yard.

And the basement flooded a few times. The water did no real harm to anything, but John spent many hours pumping it out each morning.

Here's the unfinished drainage ditch which Gary dug out more to help drain the footings. Once all the site work is finished, the flooding will no longer be a problem.

Don Pittsinger, our plumber arrived. He tolerated all the commotion going on around him with ease.

He does quality work, too.

Don installed pipes for future solar hot water. Plumbing for baseboard heating is also in place for if /when it's desired. Notice that Don also got his semi-annual haircut.

Rachel came one day and painted the pre-cut boards which will become soffit vents.

When he wasn't pumping water from the basement, or digging out the drainage ditch, or collaborating with the subcontractors, John installed the HRV (heat recovery ventilation) system. An HRV system basically brings fresh outside air into the house and pumps out the stale indoor air. It takes heat from the inside air and uses it to warm the outside air. "Popular Mechanics" explains it nicely:

• "A heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) is similar to a balanced ventilation system, except it uses the heat in the outgoing stale air to warm up the fresh air. A typical unit features two fans—one to take out household air and the other to bring in fresh air. What makes an HRV unique is the heat-exchange core. The core transfers heat from the outgoing stream to the incoming stream in the same way that the radiator in your car transfers heat from the engine's coolant to the outside air. It's composed of a series of narrow alternating passages through which incoming and outgoing airstreams flow. As the streams move through, heat is transferred from the warm side of each passage to the cold, while the airstreams never mix."

This is what the HRV unit looks like:

When the panel is removed, the core can be seen:

Here is a section of ductwork running along the knee wall upstairs:

This (not quite completed) duct will bring fresh air into the dining area below:

It's a pretty amazing invention. It's also quite impressive that John researched and consulted with an expert on the installation so that he could confidently do this himself. We saved some serious lettuce by doing this work ourselves.

The next post will continue with more progress from March and April: Insulation, sheetrock and spring popped somewhere in there too.

Medium Bronze, Seal Brown

Even roofs have fun color names: Medium Bronze, Seal Brown, take your pick -- that's what the color sample called the color of our metal (aka brown) roof material.
Tim Luce (Luce Brothers Roofing), took measurements a few weeks ago. Then the pieces were fabricated at a nearby metal fabrication shop. Here's Matt prepping a piece:

This type of roofing is called "standing seam". In the photo below, the right edge is secured with screws. The left edge of the adjoining piece hooks over this edge covering the screw holes. This creates a water tight seam.


Andy and Tim install the first panel:


Here, the ridge vent is being installed.


Tom patiently poses in the frigid cold: (yes, he's standing on the ridge; and, yes, it's quite windy. Don't try this at home!)


After a few days, the roof is finished:


They will return to finish the last few pieces after the chimney is up.

Enter Here

Work this past week has been on the entryway. We've been interested in incorporating some salvaged beams in our construction. Not only are they desirable because they're reclaimed material, but they have history, a story, and character. Our first attempt at finding salvaged carrying beams for the house did not work out due to timing, cost and availability. (Salvaged does not necessarily mean inexpensive.) Marc, our electrician, knew of some old hemlock beams on one of his projects in Springfield, and John had transported them up to be stored temporarily in Marc's barn in Whately. They were the right sizes for framing the entry way. This is what they looked like prior to being cleaned up. John wanted to plane them but they were full of old hardware: staples, nails, and screws-- some that were broken off below the surface. Just one small piece of metal will ruin a planing blade. So, John retrieved his "magic wand" and some nail pullers and went to work.

The "Lumber Wizard" is used by moving the wand along the surface of the wood. It lights-up and beeps when metal is found. Once all the metal is removed, the beams are ready for planing. Because they are large, only two sides could fit through the planer. The other two had to be planed by hand with a power planer.

Here's a view of the finished beams in place (inside joint).

And here is an outside view. The double 2x4 uprights are temporary and will be replaced with something else (once we decide what it is!) Are you wondering what the "story" is behind these beams? Were they once part of the USS Constitution? We'll never know for sure, but the last place they lived was as decoration in a Springfield liquor store...

The entryway roof is now ready for sheathing:

Now that it's sheathed, it needs to be closed up, but not without a gable vent.

John works on the vent:

This view is from the inside. John mentions how odd it is to be framing in reverse order (sheathing, then framing):

It's still a construction site. Once the stumps are gone, it will look much more inviting.

Closure

As temperatures drop, and and winter is officially here, we're anxious to finish closing the house to the weather. Now that the roof framing is in place it's time to sheath the gable ends, roof overhangs, and the roof itself. The goal is to accomplish this before the holidays. Realizing that some extra hands are necessary, John starts making phone calls. David (from next door), says he can be available starting the next day! Krzys rearranges his busy schedule and helps too. Back at the shop, John cuts and primes the gable brackets and pine board sheathing (for the overhang). Meanwhile, Gary is trenching for the underground utilities. More about this will be in our next post.

David and John pose with the sheathed gable ends:

Roof parts -- gable brackets:

Roof parts -- pine board sheathing:

John takes a break from making roof parts in the shop:

Installed gable grackets:

Brackets and pine board sheathing:

Rafter tails and pine board sheathing:

The roof is now ready for the plywood sheathing:

Finally, the roof is sheathed. It's the Afternoon of December 23rd, cold, and windy. The guys comment about hauling 4 by 8 foot pieces of plywood up to the roof in the cold and gusty winds. It's a challenge! And It's done ... well, almost ... John installs the last piece:

(click to enlarge)

On December 24th, the morning is spent applying the roof paper. This will protect it until the final material is installed. Gary, Kryzs, John and David take a morning break to refuel with eggnog and pastries:

Then it's back to the final pieces:

By mid afternoon, they're finished:

Merry Christmas!

P.S. to Roof Framing

By the time the roof framing was finished yesterday, it was already too dark to take photos.
Days are pretty short lately. John took these photos today.

Here are the rafter tails:


North side of house:


And the south side:

The finished and backfilled barn foundation:

Framing the Roof

Later last week and through the weekend, John prepped for framing the roof. Rafters, jack rafters and headers were cut and notched. On Monday Paul helped with finishing the rafter tails. These had to be cut, sanded, have the edges routed, and be sanded again. In all, 39 full length rafters were finished along with miscellaneous partial rafters and other pieces. These were ready for Tuesday's group of volunteers who also happen to be our neighbors. Talk about being neighborly!

Thank you Paul, Fred, Eric and David.

Here's Eric and his son David bringing up rafters from below:

Paul and David place the rafters:

Almost there:

We took another break on Sunday to celebrate Mr. Bean's 3rd birthday. (The candle was lit many times over...they're fun to blow out!)