# Chris and Nicks 2013 Build



## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

Damn, what's he pay you? Come on down here and I'll pay you more.


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

RobertCDF said:


> Damn, what's he pay you? Come on down here and I'll pay you more.


Enough, all i can say is that. I prefer not to talk about money publicly... or privately for that matter.


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## heavy_d (Dec 4, 2012)

FramingPro said:


> Enough, all i can say is that. I prefer not to talk about money publicly... or privately for that matter.


I must say I am jealous. Been framing with my current boss for 2 years almost exactly now and he wont go over plans with me at all. We are in East Toronto too. 

Take this very seriously and learn all you can, and know that for every guy like you that gets taught these things, there are 1,000 watching and wishing they had the opportunity.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Good luck on the new project!

Chris you are the man!!! ( well not in charge that is ) :laughing:


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## Brian Peters (Feb 2, 2011)

Glad to hear you're building with Amvic... I've used it on several basements but never a complete house...will be looking forward to the progress pics!


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## JWilliams (Nov 11, 2008)

FramingPro said:


> Thats what they tell me, i am not too sure how things will go over with te other guys, i don;t foresee any issues with our crew.. I think all of them recognize that im learning the ropes and are glad to see it and help out. They all had their time and now its mine. I think.


Chris must seen something in you that he doesn't see in the rest of his crew. Take it as a major compliment. Keep the pics coming so we can keep along with the rebuild!


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

FramingPro said:


> Enough, all i can say is that. I prefer not to talk about money publicly... or privately for that matter.


You're even getting paid:blink::blink:




But I must give it up for Chris to give you this opportunity to further your overall carpentry skills:thumbsup: This just gos to show that all the studying you have done has paid off! All the mock up builds you did in your yard and your ever wanting to learn attitude:thumbsup: I wish you all the best in this endeavor


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## Easy Gibson (Dec 3, 2010)

Congrats, dude. Like everyone else said, this is a great opportunity.

Best of luck!


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## App-ironworks (Sep 9, 2009)

FramingPro said:


> East Toronto, i won't disclose the location because all the girls will come by and keep me from working :whistling





Brutus said:


> You know girls!? :blink:





FramingPro said:


> No I lied. :sad:





Brutus said:


> Get a suit. I find that helps.
> 
> Or a kilt. Kilts are awesome.
> 
> Good luck, man. This is a great opportunity.


I worked with a welder/fabricator for a few years who had even worse women skills than you two, so elegantly, displayed here. 

In years I never, ever, heard him mention any woman, ever, except his mom and her not often. BTW I'm certain he's not gay, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Nick reminds me of him. He's always looking to learn more and more about whatever he's into. He, spends almost every waking moment working on paying projects or his own projects. 

This guy's pretty amazing skill wise, too. His bread and butter was metal stair building. He'd look like he was moseying along lollygagging but you'd notice at the end of the day a lot of materials moved into his space and a lot of projects moved out of his space. Done well, too. 

Dude even cleaned his welding table off and rebuilt the transmission on 2 Case RT forklifts. You ever see the guts of a lift transmission laid out neatly? No way I'd mess with that. Nope.



FramingPro said:


> Enough, all i can say is that. I prefer not to talk about money publicly... or privately for that matter.


This is my point in telling y'all about "Joe". He never lacked for money. He spent his money only where and when he wanted.

Now don't get me wrong I like that thing that guys like as much as the next guy. But it sure don't come cheap.

Back on topic.

Chris, good on you for doing this. All you (us:sad old guys should think of this if you haven't done any teaching/mentoring before. Our skills are built on the brains and backs of those who helped us, and those who helped them, and on down the line. I've had the chance to train up, maybe, 7 or 8 helpers over my career. When you come across some one who actually wants to learn and cares about their work it is a joy to help them. 

Nick good on you for being so frikkin' gung-ho about your trade. :thumbsup:


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

Don't let anybody kid ya Nick. Every carpenter needs a good woman to pack his lunch and wish him off everyday. The occasional back rub after hard days work is pretty sweet too.

Keep your eyes peeled for a good one. If it was between carpentry skills and the woman I married I'd spend the rest of my days in a factory and go home to her. They may slow us down at times but that can be a good thing. :thumbup: 

Until then, my advice is live at home, mooch off your parents, and invest in all the tools you can if you are heading toward self employment.


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## Deckhead (Dec 9, 2010)

Spencer said:


> Don't let anybody kid ya Nick. Every carpenter needs a good woman to pack his lunch and wish him off everyday. The occasional back rub after hard days work is pretty sweet too.
> 
> Keep your eyes peeled for a good one. If it was between carpentry skills and the woman I married I'd spend the rest of my days in a factory and go home to her. They may slow us down at times but that can be a good thing. :thumbup:
> 
> Until then, my advice is live at home, mooch off your parents, and invest in all the tools you can if you are heading toward self employment.


Best post in a long time:thumbsup::thumbsup:

(except maybe the mooch off your parents thing, I want my kids to move on)


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

App-ironworks said:


> I worked with a welder/fabricator for a few years who had even worse women skills than you two,


Woooo:blink: don't get Brutus in this. I though Brutus has a Mrs. Brutus and a hottie at that:whistling .. That young guy,, don't worry about him. He's just not showing his cards:no:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> Woooo:blink: don't get Brutus in this. I though Brutus has a Mrs. Brutus and a hottie at that:whistling .. That young guy,, don't worry about him. He's just not showing his cards:no:


He refuses to post pics therefor we must assume she is a real dog. :laughing:


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

Deckhead said:


> Best post in a long time:thumbsup::thumbsup:
> 
> (except maybe the mooch off your parents thing, I want my kids to move on)


Its good for a guy to get out on his own and be a man, aka pay bills and be responsible. I just see so many young guys who live at home with their parents, have no bills, and blow their paycheck and have nothing to show for it. I just look and think wow, if I was in that situation I could buy a new festool every week and have the full arsenal in no time at all. 

I should rephrase. Don't be a mooch in the sense of all these parasites that live off our government that we have to support, but if your parents are gracious enough to let you live at home don't waste the opportunity to invest. There will probably be no easier time in life to save money or accumulate tools for a future business. Having no bills is an awesome thing.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Inner10 said:


> He refuses to post pics therefor we must assume she is a real dog. :laughing:


No she's not:no: she's hot:whistling


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> No she's not:no: she's hot:whistling


You got pics and I didn't!?


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## loneframer (Feb 13, 2009)

Congrat's Nick. It seems like not so long ago that you first showed up at CT and got yourself shut down cuz nobody knew what your deal was.:laughing:

The fact that you stuck it out, took your lumps and never gave up is testament that you will do fine in the trades. Chris has presented you with a golden opportunity, so learn what you can.:thumbsup:


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Would be nice if the city turned off the water :whistling


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

FramingPro said:


> Would be nice if the city turned off the water :whistling


What no work in the morning:blink: I've got money to be made


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## Chris Johnson (Apr 19, 2007)

Any level of government does not have the urgency we do. For some odd reason a 60-70 year old water shut off on the city side won't shut off and needs replacing...could take up to 15 days


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## Gus Dering (Oct 14, 2008)

I don't see 3' of room in that hole to be that far off. Did you dig the hole in the right spot?

You are learning quickly how making a mistake laying out can bring a company to its knees. Stay calm, think things through and double, triple check you math. We all have made and do make mistakes. It's all about batting average.


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## Gus Dering (Oct 14, 2008)

Oh, I see. You first said 3' then said 3". 

Good communication skills are very important too.


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## rustyjames (Aug 28, 2008)

Is that rebar laying directly on the ground? Best building practice is to set it up on dunnage while being stored.


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## country_huck (Dec 2, 2009)

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. 

Rework always takes longer than the extra 20 or 30 mins to slowdown and get everything double checked. 

Your a smart kid, learn from your mistakes and move on.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Must have had a busy night to only get 2 hours sleep:whistling


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## TxElectrician (May 21, 2008)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> Must have had a busy night to only get 2 hours sleep:whistling


Hopefully he wasn't banging nails:blink:


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

TxElectrician said:


> If you're a hourly guy, catching your mistakes is all that matters. For the guy writing the checks, getting the job done correct and under budget are the main things. :thumbsup:
> 
> Sounds like you need to make up 5 days.
> 
> Job is looking good though. Good luck to you. Remember, Chris is paying you to be at your best, not dragging in after only 2 hours sleep.


I am an hourly guy, and those things all matter to me. i will be working for myself one day and i wouldn't want anything but the best for myself and i don't settle for anything but the best for others (Chris). 
The 2 hours of sleep was not a result of me going out, i simply woke up at 2 am and was ****ed after that.
I know mistakes happen, catching them is sure as hell important but i want to know why they happen and how to prevent them. These were all stupid mistakes that for whatever reason slipped through my radar. I caught them, but i was livid at myself for letting them happen. I wasn't rushing, i wasn't all hyped up, i was just working away. Anyway im disappointed in myself at the moment .


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Gus Dering said:


> I don't see 3' of room in that hole to be that far off. Did you dig the hole in the right spot?
> 
> You are learning quickly how making a mistake laying out can bring a company to its knees. Stay calm, think things through and double, triple check you math. We all have made and do make mistakes. It's all about batting average.


At the back there is 3'.. Reason was, front of the house has a 3' jog... total length with job is 41'... side without jog is 38', i went 41' on the wrong side in turn making the back 3' too far. That is why im so anal about confirming measurements. The 3" was easily found between the side set backs. I find it very important to take a step back every once and while and just look at it, I know that i have had times where measurements and everything just clicked fine, and then took a step back and its kinda funky. I will admit, laying this out was a bit more difficult then it should have been... due to site conditions i had to change my reference point and i couldn't establish my benchmark baseline and therefore there was room for error. Blah blah, i found it i fixed it and i won't forget it.. Footings poured, site is in suitable shape for measuring set backs and what not and i have a clean surface to snap lines and get the ball rolling. :thumbup:


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## Deckhead (Dec 9, 2010)

FramingPro said:


> I am an hourly guy, and those things all matter to me. i will be working for myself one day and i wouldn't want anything but the best for myself and i don't settle for anything but the best for others (Chris).
> The 2 hours of sleep was not a result of me going out, i simply woke up at 2 am and was ****ed after that.
> I know mistakes happen, catching them is sure as hell important but i want to know why they happen and how to prevent them. These were all stupid mistakes that for whatever reason slipped through my radar. I caught them, but i was livid at myself for letting them happen. I wasn't rushing, i wasn't all hyped up, i was just working away. Anyway im disappointed in myself at the moment .


It happens hoss. I've found getting too mad at myself can cause more problems rather than just moving on. I'm pretty sure your boss knows you'll figure it out. It WILL happen again, just know that the best contractors are the ones who recognize a mistake and fix it; the average ones don't recognize it; and the bad one recognizes it and doesn't fix it.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

You'll find those days of just waking up at 2am become more common as you get more responsibility until you are finally confident enough that you don't worry in your sleep cause that's what it is, your brain waking you up because it's worried that maybe you left a pencil on the sidewalk or some other stupid thing. I was once doing some estimating in my head as I was falling asleep (just sort of prepping for the real estimate the next day) and I woke up at 2am thinking 56, which is what 7x8=.

After a few years of confidence building that won't happen as often until you take the next step, like from single family to multidwelling or to super custom or something. Any way...try to relax, you'll be better off for it. Getting yourself all worked up won't help you or the job. As someone else already said, go slow go steady. It's much faster than being all in a rush


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

dom-mas said:


> You'll find those days of just waking up at 2am become more common as you get more responsibility until you are finally confident enough that you don't worry in your sleep cause that's what it is, your brain waking you up because it's worried that maybe you left a pencil on the sidewalk or some other stupid thing. I was once doing some estimating in my head as I was falling asleep (just sort of prepping for the real estimate the next day) and I woke up at 2am thinking 56, which is what 7x8=.
> 
> After a few years of confidence building that won't happen as often until you take the next step, like from single family to multidwelling or to super custom or something. Any way...try to relax, you'll be better off for it. Getting yourself all worked up won't help you or the job. As someone else already said, go slow go steady. It's much faster than being all in a rush


I wasn't even worked up or nervous it was odd. I must have had some caffeine late in the day


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

It's Ok if you nerve up:thumbsup: it's your first gig:clap:


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Footings poured! Yesterday stripped em and laid out the walls. I got the layout absolutely perfect... With minimal effort. I used 30mm dowels we had just to get rid of em and lucky for me they are all in the right spot... I had string lines up but for whatever reason the crew did not use them to run waterstop which made me very annoyed. Pump didn't have enough line (line pump) so the walkout footings will be poured monolithically with the walls. The forms got ****ed. Bowing I can live with but then the head pressure of the concrete underneath lifted them right up.., luckily we set up and laserd the pour. I was shocked to see them lift... The stakes just lifted from the sand. Also in place of spreaders I used kickers on each side.. The outside forms stayed super straight but the inside got bad.. Meh they are level and life's good. Block comes Tuesday, I cut all my bar and ran weeper... 2 days to build and pour the basement!


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

FramingPro said:


> Footings poured! Yesterday stripped em and laid out the walls. I got the layout absolutely perfect... With minimal effort. I used 30mm dowels we had just to get rid of em and lucky for me they are all in the right spot... I had string lines up but for whatever reason the crew did not use them to run waterstop which made me very annoyed. Pump didn't have enough line (line pump) so the walkout footings will be poured monolithically with the walls. The forms got ****ed. Bowing I can live with but then the head pressure of the concrete underneath lifted them right up.., luckily we set up and laserd the pour. I was shocked to see them lift... The stakes just lifted from the sand. Also in place of spreaders I used kickers on each side.. The outside forms stayed super straight but the inside got bad.. Meh they are level and life's good. Block comes Tuesday, I cut all my bar and ran weeper... 2 days to build and pour the basement!


Here


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Block came today!!
Upon first inspection this Amvic stuff isn't too bad! I like that there is no metal pins like in the nudura blocks. It is smaller but ill reserve my judgment until after the pour. This foreman biz isn't exactly easy.. i need to produce and i need to make sure my guys are producing (properly). I find myself doing less worky worky lately, but more explaining and layout. I don't mind, but i don't like to repeat myself.
We ran Amvic out of stock so they only shipped half the load. They are making it today to be shipped out tomorrow. I am being very anal with my layouts and my window sizes. I got them all perfect and i am happy. The bucks have a thermal break detail... foam extends to inside of 2x buck on the inside and butts the buck on the outside, to allow for the nailing fin. I am just looking forward to get this first pour done, the floor on and to start going up. Things are rolling along nicely, this lower section will pour Monday. Tommorow we will install the remainder of block, the rimboard for the hung floor system and whatever else the plan says :laughing:
This is a tiny tiny house.. I would be dammed if the floor took more then 3 hours to build. :whistling


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## country_huck (Dec 2, 2009)

FramingPro said:


> This foreman biz isn't exactly easy.. i need to produce and i need to make sure my guys are producing (properly). I find myself doing less worky worky lately, but more explaining and layout. I don't mind, but i don't like to repeat myself. :whistling


Welcome to the show It only gets worse as the projects get bigger and the detail gets more intricate. 

I wish I could find a young kid like you that wanted to properly learn the trade.


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

country_huck said:


> Welcome to the show It only gets worse as the projects get bigger and the detail gets more intricate.
> 
> I wish I could find a young kid like you that wanted to properly learn the trade.


Worse ?


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Today i finished the last of my block and rim board.
Wow, yesterday was not my day but today was significantly better. I wish i could hold my temper better. I don't yell or scream at any of my guys, but when things aren't going great i go on a rampage of cursing everything under the sun. Anyway, I must be missing the 3rd, 4th and 5th floor plans for this house, considering how it is engineered you would think there is some sort of significant load 
15mm (5/8") anchor bolts at 16" centres. Standard is 1/2"... these bolts are not only overkill, they are hard to find and when you do find them you pay $2.31/bolt.. not including nuts and washers. I had never done rim board until yesterday.. Its not particularly difficult, but when we laid out the beams on the road and measured and drilled them, somewhere between the road and the wall they got totally discombobulated, spent the better part of 3 hours hanging 40 feet of board due to the hole confusion. I was not happy at all. I was careful that no bolts landed on my joist layout 
The lintels were a piece of work. (2) 5/8" top and bottom bar over all openings with stirrups every 12".. They do look pretty damn good all clean and set up with the stirrups but meh. I made some really tiny stirrups to be encased in my first pour and then when i do my second pour for the upper walls it will be an addition to the lintel (as far as i am concerned). I am always checking measurements along the way. People think im crazy but when i catch stuff i make my point quite clear. These blocks and their layout patterns will continue all the way up, so if there is an error at the bottom it will royally **** me at the top. Not gonna happen. Today i caught a big mistake from one of my guys. I didn't lose it, i wasn't exactly thrilled but i made sure he was with me to show him the mistake and how to fix it. Basically there was stack joint and he installed a piece that was an 1" too long so it pushed everything out and inch. Had to take of all the rim. on the wall, undo strapping, cut and redo but hey i fixed it and i know he won't do it again. As annoyed as i was i didn't yell, the people who taught me never yelled and i appreciated that, so i will always do the same for the people i teach. 
Blah blah, i want to get my first floor on, i have the framing urges coming on.
I even made a woopsie, i forgot to put vertical bar under the windows. Its something i can fix, takes some work but i can fix it. Just like with my guy and the wall this for me i won't forget, i have simply never done it before so its not in my standard operations.. Now i know.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Don't do that cursing and throwing stuff around. Immature and unnecessary. Good for you at not yelling at guys but that should just be par for the course. I mean an occassional loud word or hard remark fine but if you're doing it daily YOU are the problem, either not communicating properly or giving someone a job they aren't competent to do, either way, your fault.

Settle down a bit, you're very high strung for someone who's barely out of high school


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## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

Looks good. From 2 to 7 days on the demo? A bigger machine would have been faster no? It is really easy to get stressed out even at a young age. Make sure you put some time aside for non work related stuff even if you feel like working. It will be worth it in the long run.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Great job Pro:thumbsup: Waiting to see more pics...


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Still on hold, i got the services run in and passed, the interior weepers complete, basement gravel and insulation, radiant floor heating guy did his thing and we are pouring the slab wednesday. Hopefully be framing my floor by friday...


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

The slab poured last week, finally got the trusses, built the floor. How do i like floor trusses? I don't, too damn heavy. 
Went to work today, got the walls pretty much up to height, trying to pour thursday!
I am working alone, so i can actually say I :whistling
If i could buy alcohol i would probably have to buy ever neighbour a bottle of wine, last sunday night i worked till 7:30 with my compressor and nail gun going full bore sheeting the deck. But hey, gotta do what you gotta do. This pour i will cast the floor girders in.


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## mski (Apr 4, 2013)

So the floor trusses are inset into the walls or just the girders at the well opening?
Can't tell if the are by the pic. The girder at the well opening I can see.

Is there anything that is sprayed or put on the wood to isolate it from
the concrete.

Lastly you guys still use ABS for plumbing?

Btw, good job. Interesting seeing this being built.:thumbup:


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

mski said:


> Lastly you guys still use ABS for plumbing?


So what is the civilized part of the world using:whistling


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## tyb525 (Feb 26, 2013)

FramingPro said:


> If i could buy alcohol


I remember those days...


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## C2projects (Jan 9, 2013)

How well have you found the ICF a stay level while pouring? Every time I've worked framing off it they have been out of plumb by an. Inch over 8'. Just wondering if that's common with this stuff cause the concrete push he's it or if it just boils down to poor assmbley.


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

mski said:


> So the floor trusses are inset into the walls or just the girders at the well opening?
> Can't tell if the are by the pic. The girder at the well opening I can see.
> 
> Is there anything that is sprayed or put on the wood to isolate it from
> ...


This floor none of them are cast in, i will cast only the stair beams in. The rest are top chord bearing.


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

C2projects said:


> How well have you found the ICF a stay level while pouring? Every time I've worked framing off it they have been out of plumb by an. Inch over 8'. Just wondering if that's common with this stuff cause the concrete push he's it or if it just boils down to poor assmbley.


Done right, it will be dead on. You need to be sure before your pour to lean the walls in, because when you go to do your final straightening there is no way to pull a concrete filled wall in, if totally necessary you need to go on the other side with a spring brace and push.
Don't look at ICF's as there own category, an ICF wall is a regular concrete wall with foam on each side, anything that can be done with conventional forms can and always is achieved by our company. :thumbup:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

mski said:


> So the floor trusses are inset into the walls or just the girders at the well opening?
> Can't tell if the are by the pic. The girder at the well opening I can see.
> 
> Is there anything that is sprayed or put on the wood to isolate it from
> ...


ABS is standard for interior residential DWV in ON, PVC is available but through plumbing suppliers only. CVAC and Sewer are PVC, commercial buildings use plenum PVC or cast, furnaces are vented with system 636 PVC...but interior DWV is abs for some reason.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

I've occasionally seen multi dwelling with copper waste lines!!!!


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## Chris Johnson (Apr 19, 2007)

dom-mas said:


> I've occasionally seen multi dwelling with copper waste lines!!!!


My house was built in '63 and what's left of the original is copper drains...if I go broke I'll strip it and sell it


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## tyb525 (Feb 26, 2013)

Yeah I've seen those cooper drains...cut out several leaks too. PVC is the norm for drains around here.


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## mski (Apr 4, 2013)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> So what is the civilized part of the world using:whistling


In my part of civilization common is PVC but older house have cast and copper.
Cant remember the last time I saw ABS in a house in these parts.

Wasnt there big problems with ABS back in the eighties?


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

ABS is the black one ,,right? It's all Ive ever seen used.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

ABS isn't allowed in multidwelling and commercial because it's combustible and fire can spread through the walls, but that question is probably better answered by a plumber...not sure why I'm even commenting


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## jomama (Oct 25, 2008)

Chris Johnson said:


> My house was built in '63 and what's left of the original is copper drains...if I go broke I'll strip it and sell it


Mine was built here in '76 and it has copper waste lines as well. The bottom half of them are in great shape, it's the top half that requires copious amounts of duct tape to keep the gases in.............:whistling


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

*1 floor down.. 1 to go*

Well, finally got the remaining ICF blocks that was holding up the pour. Blah blah, finished all the block, and... poured. I opted to cast the floor girders right into the pour to avoid the funny business i had on the lower floor. The pour went awesome, nothing moved, and the walls are nice and straight. We did certain areas almost all in 1 lift with no movement, kind of pushing the limits of the product but it held up. :thumbup: Unfortunately it is ****ing cold now... The concrete i spilled on the subfloor was still liquid 14 hours later. Yesterday we stripped the straps, cleaned up the site and i laid out joists. I was not going to risk fracturing the green walls when dropping joists. It seems to me that they sent a weird number of joists.. I will have a few more on this floor then the lower.. I shifted layout on the lower floor to avoid anchor bolts and over spanned joist cavities. I sure as **** am not leaving any out... Just where ever i have a place to put them i will.
Gonna frame the floor monday and if the amvic gods get us the block... pour again thursday! Get the roof on!!! Windows in and get moving on the inside.


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Built the second floor yesterday.. It looks alot like the first floor.. but significantly higher :whistling

Truss company is run by bone heads.. Truss plan calls for 42 of x member.. they sent me 34... 16 of y member... they sent 14... 
What the **** guys!! And!! Left hand does not talk to right hand clearly, because the roof trusses are not in production due to the fact that the accounting dept. failed to communicate that they received the deposit. 
Just because you guys goofed does not mean i should wait.. credit us or fast track the trusses!
And. the wonderful folks at amvic.. Seem to be taking there time on manufacturing the block. The factory is literally 10km from the site, and we apparently are the only customer using it, so they don't keep stock. Construction time in its own category has been fine, tasks done on or ahead of schedule, but the killer is the down time. Block will come soon enough.. but what about the roof? With no roof it is holding up the rest of the trades and in turn holding up the completion of the job


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Pouring the second floor tomorrow!!
I am happy to say, all the walls at the top of the house are within 1/4" of their actual measurements at the base. :thumbup:
I was using my laser tape measure, i point and shoot it, comes up 2" short.. i start ****ting... turns out i hit a 2x4 on the wall:whistling 
Roof trusses come tomorrow, i think, i would work on the roof saturday and sunday but i have other plans. :whistling
The stair hole... the plans state 3' for the stair opening.. i build it to that.. trusses fit perfectly for a 3' hole.. turns out 3' 4" is the actual width needed..... The repair detail on those trusses has me going loopy... i hate floor trusses with a passion. Hopefully they go easy on my ass when they figure out the detail we need to accommodate to cut the trusses.
I just like the way the stirrups on the headers look :thumbup:
House is looking like something now!. Pretty damn tall
Roof will capped and waterproofed by end of next week. 
Windows.. siding and getting rocking on the inside. :thumbup:


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Got rolling on the roof yesterday, everything under the sun was going wrong, compressor broke, gun stopped working. blew the neighbours power etc.. Today was better :whistling
Got all the trusses in, parapet framed and semi sheeted, and got half the roof sheeted... i cleaned the lumber yard out of 5/8" ply so thats my excuse why the whole thing wasn't done :jester:
I set a 2x8 plate flush with outside of foam.. then snapped a line 1/2" in for the second plate, that way my ply would finish out flush with foam. Every truss had to be cut They sent them the exact width of the house so i had to cut on average an 1" off each truss for the sheathing. I got my helper to hold the truss flush on one plate.. i marked the cut and plumbed it while it was standing, cut and rolled. The trusses are ****... the 30" parapet is out 3/16" thats why i have a minor bow in the parapet plate, i was just going parallel off the end of the truss,.. i did not realize that the trusses were out of sqaure until i plumbed up and saw the tapered cut. 
Was pretty fun, gun froze today too.. Pisses me off... shoots (delay) ba dum... (driving head coming back up) Takes too damn long.
Have to finish sheeting the roof/ parapet, fill in the skylight opening, build a curb and run a whole bunch of double 2x4 curbs for the solar panels to sit on. 
Its frustrating working with my helper who has no experience framing.. I am only as fast as my slowest guy. But i make a point of pointing out inefficient actions and ways to improve.
The house is really friggin tall


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## overanalyze (Dec 28, 2010)

Boy you guys really don't have good truss manufacturers do you? Looks good Nick. I am surprised they did a flat roof with the snows you get up there. How long will the new roof last?


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

overanalyze said:


> Boy you guys really don't have good truss manufacturers do you? Looks good Nick. I am surprised they did a flat roof with the snows you get up there. How long will the new roof last?


3 story houses with flat roofs and rooftop patios are all the rage in my area now.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Dead load here (read snow load) is assumed at 50lbs/sqft. Lots of flat roofs


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

overanalyze said:


> Boy you guys really don't have good truss manufacturers do you? Looks good Nick. I am surprised they did a flat roof with the snows you get up there. How long will the new roof last?


As long as it last until when my tail lights are gone on the last day i am ok. :whistling
:laughing:
I am not sure, but i imagine pretty long, its 2 layers of torch down bitumen.


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

overanalyze said:


> Boy you guys really don't have good truss manufacturers do you? Looks good Nick. I am surprised they did a flat roof with the snows you get up there. How long will the new roof last?


PS.
Good point, among other things, the major hold up on the roof trusses was sizing them (up) for the snow load. The solar panels, slope at 25* so the concern is the snow building up behind the solar panels... I guess the real concern is snow building up over the entire structure but..thats what they told me at least. :jester:


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Did not work yesterday, but today we finished the roof!
I am happy to say the roof is capped and ready to be waterproofed!
Got 2 other workers today, I made a point of "when we get thIe plywood up to the roof... i will set an alarm for 45 minutes to lay 15 sheets"... Did it in 32 minutes... still slow but meh. For one framer and 2 ICF guys we did ok.
Was just a good day, everyone was motivated and we got it done.
In the 3' jog i pieced in a small little valley to promote water floor to the scupper.
The curbs you are seeing are for the racks that the solar panels will sit on. Uhh.... ok :whistling
Skylight is to installed at a 14* angle... velux spec'd a 2x at 15 5/8" high... meh, pieced it together.. whatever.
Got the bracing and scaffold stripped away and i will take it off site tomorrow.
I broke my other rigid framing gun.... ran about a box of nails through my brand new coil gun... works awesome. Love the feel of a new gun :thumbup:
I really try to emphasize that over nailing is stupid and useless. "Hey i guess there's a sale on nails at the hardware store" :no:


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Looks great FramingPro:thumbsup:


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Looks nice and clean


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## Dustincoc (Sep 14, 2011)

Looks good.:thumbup:


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Been slacking a bit on pictures, just been so damn busy. I have been working all by myself, so everything to be done.. is to be done by me.. one thing after another, be it, get materials, build walls... clean up etc.
But somehow i wouldn't trade it for anything


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Each one of those things is important. I've been working on my own for the last 3 months as well. I've always appreciated help, i appreciate it more now. The cleaning up at the end of the day is the worst though. No matter how clean you've been all day there's always so much stuff to load up and clear away. It sucks


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

dom-mas said:


> Each one of those things is important. I've been working on my own for the last 3 months as well. I've always appreciated help, i appreciate it more now. The cleaning up at the end of the day is the worst though. No matter how clean you've been all day there's always so much stuff to load up and clear away. It sucks


Unloading and loading back up solo is the worst.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Yup.

Where you been? On a time out? or just too busy for the usual biting jabs


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## JT Wood (Dec 17, 2007)

dom-mas said:


> Yup. Where you been? On a time out? or just too busy for the usual biting jabs


havent you seen the hammer vid?


He's been practising


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

dom-mas said:


> Yup.
> 
> Where you been? On a time out? or just too busy for the usual biting jabs


Busy as hell trying to make **** happen. But also by the time i stop it is already dark, it gets dark too damn early... 5 o clock quitting time.. That used to be my first break time.. Now its when i leave :laughing:


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Oh sorry, I was actually asking Inner10. Haven't seen him comment in a while. MAybe just not reading the right threads


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Yeah it sucks when it's 5 and it's dark. Halogen lights are great and you can warm up your hands with them pretty good too


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

dom-mas said:


> Yup.
> 
> Where you been? On a time out? or just too busy for the usual biting jabs


Never been so busy and my employee quit by sending me a text message saying "I can't work for you it's too hard." So I've just been scrambling.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Nice I had a labe get sick one day then just kept texting each day that he was still sick until I basically just asked if he still worked for me? 

I rehired him on a casual basis a few months later. Really casual, after working 2 1/2 days (his choice) he texted saying he just wasn't really in to working much lately. Nice to have that luxury I guess


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

I must say i am interested to see how the finished mechanical room will look.
There is ALOT of stuff, HRV, ERV, infloor heating manifold, pex manifold, boiler, laundry sink, solar stuff, rough in for grey water. Gonna be a tight space. Fortunately all the trades are doing a nice job of keeping their runs nice and organized and mounting them on the wall in a respectable fashion. The electrician took it upon himself to mount the plywood for the panel, not sqaure, not level... what else is new. That explains the awkward transition from 1/2" CDX to 1/2" G1S fir ply  
Drywall is stocked! I would be there today installing the mud rings for the data cables and spray foaming the wall cut outs, but my truck has different plans


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## aptpupil (Jun 12, 2010)

I love this thread. You are such a lucky guy, Nick.
Keep the pics coming.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Still no go on the truck huh?


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

dom-mas said:


> Still no go on the truck huh?


Its good! The distributor crapped out... i went to go get the van.. only to discover that the starter is pooped... Expensive vehicle weekend 
But just a cost of doing business


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Siding is complete with the exception of the front panels, and drywall started yesterday! I am very very excited to see drywall going up. With my excitement there is a hint of fear. These walls have a lot of cables, pipes etc in them. I put nailer plates over all the questionable areas but I am still worried about the Icf walls. I made a point to the drywallers to carefully watch where they put the screws in comparison to the wires but who knows if they actually Listen. Tommorow I am pouring the walk out stairs which is very exciting, the walk out has been a pit of pokey rebar and concrete chunks for the whole job, but tomorrow it will be transformed! And as an added bonus, power is gonna be hooked up this week
Those flat pieces of trim beside the windows is the solid backing for the sunshades that will be installed at a later date!


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Drywall has been complete for 3 weeks now. Taping is what is holding us up, the heater emits alot of moisture which equates to condensation which equates to longer drying times for the mud. To the point where skim coats that were 24 hours old were not drying for the next day. The power company is going to hook up the power hopefully tomorrow... once that is done we will be able to use electric heaters on each floor.. Not just a single kerosene heater. Next step is ceiling prime and paint.. doors should be going in within 2 weeks. There is no shoe mould so the baseboard will be installed after the flooring. 
The walk out stairs turned out very well! 
I have the architectural aluminum trim ordered for the hardie panels at the front. Once those accent panels are complete the brick work can be installed, the roof coping and the front porch.. Which will add some interest and dimension to the front of the house.
I am hoping the snow, cold weather and winter in general is going to be over soon. I sure as hell am going to appreciate spring!


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## Stunt Carpenter (Dec 31, 2011)

Does a house normally take this long for you guys or is this one just been bad for timelines?


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Stunt Carpenter said:


> Does a house normally take this long for you guys or is this one just been bad for timelines?


Ouch.
No, this one has been horrible with supplier delays and inspections and waiting on stuff.
I can count over 2 and a half months worth of delays just off the top of my head, never mind examining it closely.


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## Stunt Carpenter (Dec 31, 2011)

FramingPro said:


> Ouch. No, this one has been horrible with supplier delays and inspections and waiting on stuff. I can count over 2 and a half months worth of delays just off the top of my head, never mind examining it closely.


Wasn't trying to be harsh just seams like it's been a long one for only being at drywall. 

Some projects just the the curses of delays and you just get to deal with it


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Appliances are coming march 31 so now the push is on!
I'm showing Chris son the ropes.. 16 year old and interested in carpentry! Got him all next week too, I'll see if he can take my slave driving .. Hooking him up with my old tool belt.. He's doing alright ! Built the deck railings yesterday.. Among other things the lesson was centre line lay out.. Keep things nice an symmetrical.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

FramingPro said:


> Appliances are coming march 31 so now the push is on!
> I'm showing Chris son the ropes.. 16 year old and interested in carpentry! Got him all next week too, I'll see if he can take my slave driving .. Hooking him up with my old tool belt.. He's doing alright ! Built the deck railings yesterday.. Among other things the lesson was centre line lay out.. Keep things nice an symmetrical.


Don't train him too well or you will be out of a job!


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Wow **** I had full intentions of updating this thread more. But any who.
We are in the home stretch now! Ran into a couple of additional hiccups that pushed back the finish date (yet again).
For one, the evasive skylight leak damaged the stairs.. therefore we had to have them repaired and could not stain them. Then the flooring has not come in yet. But other then that its pretty damn close! It sure is nice to see it coming to a close. Seeing all the finished things in there defiantly is exciting. Now i am learning alot of stuff. I have never been very involved with the finishing stage. With so many people in the house trying to do their work its hard for me to get my work done. I get set up.. get started.. "Hey can you show me this..". or "how do you want me to do this?" etc. But i guess that is what its like when you are "running the show" 
Brick finished up a week or so ago. Tony (S.U.M) on here did the brick work.. Looks really good.
I put the porch on earlier this week and the roof coping went on. Now the front elevation of the house is complete. Lots of people are stopping by an commenting on it, now that it is in all its glory. Porch was pretty fun. Setting the columns was interesting. That porch was very labor intensive.. The roof had 3 structures.. the sloping purlins.. the main roof structure and the drop ceiling. Not to mention, it was on top of 14' columns. I Started doing the cedar railing walls. I paid special attention to rip the sloping boards to a width that accommodated a plumb cut that was equal to the width of the level boards. It keeps the lines flowing nicely and takes just a few minutes longer.
Hopefully the flooring can go in before Me and Chris leave for Panama (Wednesday) 
Ideally, the only thing that will be left is the landscaping, to be done when the weather smartens up.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Great update! And great looking build, so far:thumbsup:


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## Smithanator (Feb 18, 2013)

Looks good .. Nice to get your ears wet ..my only advice is dont be the project manager that thinks it his job to yell or put subs down .. I have had a few project managers try to ? My knowledge ,..when working as a sub and it didn't work to well for them. It turned out I was right they were wrong .. They were a little more careful on there approach to me of something they perceived to be a minor issue .


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Smithanator said:


> Looks good .. Nice to get your ears wet ..my only advice is dont be the project manager that thinks it his job to yell or put subs down .. I have had a few project managers try to ? My knowledge ,..when working as a sub and it didn't work to well for them. It turned out I was right they were wrong .. They were a little more careful on there approach to me of something they perceived to be a minor issue .


I don't get visibly mad at anyone but myself :laughing:
The trades all have been good. I don't know much about plumbing, electrical... really anything but carpentry. So i do my best to make mental notes and connect the dots to figure things out. I am actually kind of surprised how many times i need to think for certain trades.. But somehow it always works outs. I must say, my problem solving skills have really improved during this job. There is no, "oh ill leave it for someone else", or "its not my problem" because i am there everyday and everything is my problem in the end. I actually like the responsibility of having to make certain decisions on the fly.
With our in house guys, i am starting to really emphasize completion of tasks and not devoting too much time and energy to a menial task.
The way i see it is, now we are down to the knitty gritty and we still have a lot of work to do. Go room, by room, kill it off, don't go back to it. That way things won't get missed.


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## Smithanator (Feb 18, 2013)

Yep looks like good progress ... Hopefully you got good punch list guides cuz no matter how hard you try to complete as you go .. It will be pages long


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## Chris Johnson (Apr 19, 2007)

Smithanator said:


> Yep looks like good progress ... Hopefully you got good punch list guides cuz no matter how hard you try to complete as you go .. It will be pages long


Actually it's not that long of a list. I usually show up and point out things, get things happening in the right order and it's going good for him.

By Wednesday it will down to hardwood floors, baseboard on those areas and final paint touch up. We have 4 ceiling fans special order that will be end of April and A/C heads after interior is all done.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Chris Johnson said:


> Actually it's not that long of a list. I usually show up and point out things, get things happening in the right order and it's going good for him.
> 
> By Wednesday it will down to hardwood floors, baseboard on those areas and final paint touch up. We have 4 ceiling fans special order that will be end of April and A/C heads after interior is all done.


A/C heads You fu;;;ckers rae in the artic!!! We don't use AC head over here.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Looks good. Good to hear that you and S.U.M are working together. He seems like a real decent guy and from all the pics I see he does really good work


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## Chris Johnson (Apr 19, 2007)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> A/C heads You fu;;;ckers rae in the artic!!! We don't use AC head over here.


Come August we get 85 plus humidity, I'll take 100 and no humidity any day over what we get here


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Chris Johnson said:


> Come August we get 85 plus humidity, I'll take 100 and no humidity any day over what we get here


Agreed, it's humid as all heck in the summer, we use ac more for dehumidification.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Chris Johnson said:


> Come August we get 85 plus humidity, I'll take 100 and no humidity any day over what we get here


Well that sucks! We do have a dehumidifier:blink:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> Well that sucks! We do have a dehumidifier:blink:


An air conditioner is a dehumidifier that blows the hot air outside instead of out the front into your house.


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Inner10 said:


> An air conditioner is a dehumidifier that blows the hot air outside instead of out the front into your house.


No we don't have any of those:blink:


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> No we don't have any of those:blink:


You don't have air conditioners?


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Inner10 said:


> You don't have air conditioners?


No:no: most all the homes here are cooled with the trade winds that blow most of the year.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> No:no: most all the homes here are cooled with the trade winds that blow most of the year.


Insanity!

It hits 73 here I fire up the AC.


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## Chris Johnson (Apr 19, 2007)

I know when I was working in the California desert lots of people used swamp coolers!

I flip my AC on around 75/76, and keep my pool heated to 88.

But back to Pickles house here. Things are rolling along good, interior is 95% complete, plumber has to set fixtures, low voltage guy has to do terminations, my guys are on the home run with paint. Once all done wood floors should be going down this week, then baseboard on hardwood areas and paint...inside is done.

When the frost pulls out we have 8 days of exterior landscape, concrete and interlock stone and Bob's your uncle. 

We have been hitting punch list as we go, I expect typical paint touch ups, usually wait till after they move in and fix up any dings from the movers.

In the meantime, Pickle and I are heading to Panama to hang 10 and drink some $0.57 beer


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Panama.... if you want to have a really good time look up my BIL friend Ami. Don't blame me for what happens


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Chris Johnson said:


> In the meantime, Pickle and I are heading to Panama to hang 10 and drink some $0.57 beer


Oh jezzzzzzzzzz make sure he uses protection:whistling


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> Oh jezzzzzzzzzz make sure he uses protection:whistling


How do you drink it then?


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Wow. i keep on forgetting to update this thing.
Well, the big day is here.. Moving trucks will be there in a couple hours. That means...WE ARE DONE!! With the exception of paint touch ups and exterior flatwork and landscape.
Yup its been a long haul, the delays we encountered were crazy.. At this point i would not be surprised if the down time totalled 5 months. Be it manufactures being out of stock... waiting for inspectors.. That is beside the point :whistling Can't go back in time..
I hope the pictures post
Some need things about this place.. the laundry is on the second floor..it i s tucked away into a nook. To maximize space we installed a big.. sliding door.. floor to ceiling (9') by 8'. One heavy mama.
Its really nice to see things come together like this. I remember all those times in the hole where i thought there was no hope in hell... but apparently there is... because its over.:thumbup:
These are just some pics, i will post a link to the architects site once their photographer does the shoot :clap:


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

Couple more :whistling


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## heavy_d (Dec 4, 2012)

Looks great.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Awesome it's finally done and looks sweet.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

thumbs up smiley


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Looks good pro. On the entry roof, we always do it before the siding so it can be properly flashed. That must have been hell cutting it in after the fact.:whistling


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

The flashing is most likely tucked in to a reglet cut into the brick joint. Most common way of doing it here. As a brick layer I'd be pretty pissed to show up and that roof had already been installed


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

dom-mas said:


> The flashing is most likely tucked in to a reglet cut into the brick joint. Most common way of doing it here. As a brick layer I'd be pretty pissed to show up and that roof had already been installed


OK thanks, I thought it was siding. We never use bricks here.


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## dom-mas (Nov 26, 2011)

Really..no bricks? No brick plants I guess. Any clay? 

Do they do that lava rock stuff there?


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