My Journey

[ITTOG]

I love to see things in the build process so I have enjoyed the home updates. I don't think you can get any of us bored with your thread with your writing style and informative posts.

I can't wait to see the cedar on the house. Will you seal it? I ask because most cedar eventually turns grey. I figure the look one is after is its natural color, not the grey?

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Good morning XP members.....

mekcanix.....yep I'll keep writing & posting cause I really do enjoy the writing. I just wish that the subject matter was different. With the new sod, plants, & trees.....and the constant sunshine and intense heat.....well, I can't even get away for a weekend to enjoy the mountains. I'm constantly moving sprinklers it seems.....everything that I've planted seems to be dancing with an early death.....

pkripper.....September can't come soon enough for me.....when the air is cool (not cold) and the leaves are changing to their fall colors.....that's without a doubt my favorite time of the year.....

ITTOG.....I hadn't planned on posting this morning but I thought I'd share with you (& others of course) the plan with the cedar siding. I've been driving around different neighborhoods attempting to get some ideas for this build.....while most people seem to choose a reddish tone for their cedar siding such as the new construction home shown below....



When I drove by the next house shown below.....I thought that it was perfect. It really was different from all the others.....the owners of this home sure bucked the local trends.....



I knocked on their door to ask what product they used.....it was Woodscapes which is produced by Sherwin Williams (not cheap !). Two coats of Charwood which was followed by one coat of Milkweed gave them the look. I've done one coat so far and once again I'm ready to shoot myself (I blame my recent stint staining for my last post). Two coats to go plus one coat on the backside of the boards is left to do. Just know that if I quit posting I did indeed shoot myself somewhere between coat number two and coat number four.....

 

[smlobx]

Jerry I’m wondering if you could give me some more information on the chain used as a downspout? I have one downspout at my house that gets a lot of water and I think it would be nice to see the water coming down the chain. Is it galvanized? How is it attached to the gutter?
Thanks!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

smlobx.....sure.....the chain is not galvanized.....as a matter of fact the "goal" is for the chain to rust so that you'll get that "rustic" look. That's a highly sought after look in this area.....



Below gives you somewhat of an idea of it working as I have the sprinkler on.....



Seems fairly simple to install.....they laid a short section of rebar in the gutter to hold the chain in place.....









Hot & dry conditions persist here in southwest Montana.....the evening sun reflects off the neighbors barn.....



The setting sun captured through the near constant flow of water falling to the ground from the sprinklers.....



We've become frequent visitors to the local Lowes store.....I now know so many of the employees by their first names.....always purchasing something it seems.....and so nice to walk down those air conditioned aisles.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

As the sun sets and the air temperatures begin to cool.....the deer jump the old wire fence that marks the eastern boundary of the property and wander into my yard.....







They seem to prefer the green grass in the yard over the brown parched grasses that grow in the nearby fields.....







I enjoy my evenings sitting where there will one day be a large deck which will be overlooking the mountains & the fields.....watching all the wildlife that meanders by.....







And I too dream of wandering once again.....

 

[BigDawwg]

Jerry,,,,,, looking GOOD, and looks as though your gettin-er-done, once all that grass gets settled-in and growing, you'll need a few goats to keep it mowed,,,,,, and as for that chain hanging down from your gutter,,,,, not sure,,, but come winter, that thing could end-up being a pretty heavy Ice-cycle hanging there, could end-up pulling your gutter right off,,,,, but I'm thinking you already know this...... BD in Alaska

 

[AbleGuy]

.June 26, 2021.....and I finally got around to patching the 4 holes in the foundation walls.....these were the 4 holes where the steel beams supported the house during the move here.....

View attachment 669543

I used 6" blocks and a high strength concrete to adhere the blocks to the concrete foundation walls.....it was solid once I was done.....
[/QUOTE]

The place is looking great with that dark paint!
But arm chair quarterbacking it some, I’m wondering why you didn’t leave those holes in place to vent your foundation?

 

[smlobx]

[QUOTE="AbleGuy]

The place is looking great with that dark paint!
But arm chair quarterbacking it some, I’m wondering why you didn’t leave those holes in place to vent your foundation?
[/QUOTE]

As a recently retired builder I can say that most of the country is now going to what is known as “Conditioned Crawl Spaces” which will result in a much better (ie warmer in winter and cooler in summer) home.

 

[longhorn1]

180out.....well, the one advantage I had with that dilemma was that I was totally in control of those nails. Therefore I was incredibly careful with them and tried to use the gutters as a catch all. It actually worked fairly well and not so many of those nails made it to the ground.....

Foy.....as usual.....that's some interesting stuff right there.....thank you.....

the deputy.....yea there's certainly a lot to read here.....seems to never end.....welcome back.....

pkripper.....Montana has some of the best sunsets I've ever seen.....unfortunately this property barely allows me to see them.....

ghostdancer.....exactly.....


June 25, 2021.....Once the new roof was on, I began the process of painting the green metal siding black.....the same black that I used on the barn. Now some people are saying you should never paint a house (or barn for that matter) black cause it's really going to get hot inside there.....maybe.....

View attachment 669538

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There's a certain look that I'm after and if I have to suffer for the rest of my life.....

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I'm planting lots of trees here so hopefully someday the shade will prevail over the sun.....

View attachment 669542

June 26, 2021.....and I finally got around to patching the 4 holes in the foundation walls.....these were the 4 holes where the steel beams supported the house during the move here.....

View attachment 669543

I used 6" blocks and a high strength concrete to adhere the blocks to the concrete foundation walls.....it was solid once I was done.....

View attachment 669544

Everyday now the temperatures are in the 90's.....that sure makes for miserable working conditions. So I've slowed down quite a bit which is just fine.....

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It gives me a little more time to hug on my dogs.....

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.....and to look up into the mountains and to dream about climbing those desolate peaks.....that's just what I do sometimes.....

View attachment 669547

Counting my days till we arrive in Montana and I hope minus the heat. Was hoping to get away from the 20's & 30's at night by coming early, but would gladly deal with that at night over 90's during the day. We shall see.

 

[longhorn1]

The house is looking great. Love the gutter chains Designed that in on a couple of roofing/sheet metal projects back in the day and the owners loved it.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

BigDawwg.....I don't think that ice build up will be a problem. The chains are fairly common in this area.....I had several of them installed on my last house and there was never a problem. And yea I'm slowly getting it done.....thank you.....

Able Guy.....now that's an interesting question and smlobx answered it for you. My understanding is that crawl space vents are no longer recommended. But.....the concrete guy that we hired actually installed them on the front and rear of this house. So another answer to your question could also be that we already have them. And thanks for the compliment.....much appreciated.....

smlobx.....yep.....

JD.....the local government was set to issue a Phase 1 drought warning but things changed here so quickly that they bypassed Phase 1 and went to Phase 2.....nearly everyday the same.....dry & hot.....



I got ahead of myself just a bit when I answered ITTOG's question about the cedar siding so I now regress.....

July 1, 2021.....originally the plan was to use reclaimed lumber for the additional siding but there was a minimum 2 month wait for the product and the cost of the reclaimed lumber was out of this world. So I changed plans midstream and went for the cedar siding.....





Have you ever asked the question.....how many fork lifts does it take to load cedar siding.....well, the answer would be two.....





It was difficult for me to believe that I just spent $3,350 for that little load.....much cheaper than reclaimed lumber.....still outrageous.....





July 2, 2021.....and finally the propane tank installation took place.....



I was really looking forward to this.....not that I had an immediate use for the propane.....now I could finally backfill the last ditch.....



I wasted no time here.....I began backfilling before the guy had even left.....



Like many of the other construction tasks that I've described here.....backfilling this 18 inch deep, 24 inch wide, 30 foot long trench with a shovel also sucked.....I longed for my Skidsteer.....I missed it dearly.....

 

[ROKTAXI]

Having been a certified home inspector for over 20 years, I'm very familiar with conditioned crawl spaces. Be sure to check local building codes, as there's much more to it than just blocking off outside air. If not done properly, condensation can occur and cause big problems.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ROKTAXI.....the vents that were installed are adjustable and I've chose to leave them closed. There is no moisture in the crawl space.....heck, there's barely any moisture in the entire state of Montana these days. In my last Montana house, the builder used damp wood in the crawl space and there were no vents which of course resulted in mold and a $1,500 bill to remove it (which the builder reluctantly paid).....



July 9, 2021.....Now that we had passed the close-in inspection on our first attempt, it was nearly the time to start the drywall installation.....but before that could be done, I called in an insulation company to have them come spray foam along the roofs eaves.....



Since the cabin has a nearly flat roof (4:12 pitch), I was unable to get the recommended depth (11 1/2") of blown in insulation in the attic's edges so I resorted to a spray foam which has a much higher R-value (I think maybe spray foam is nearly triple the blown in fluffy stuff).....





The spray foam was sprayed on the entire length of the north & south sides of the cabin.....





It took 2 guys less than 2 hours to complete the task.....$1,022 for their first visit.....it won't (of course) be their last.....



July 10, 2021.....Then I headed over to the rental outfit to rent a drywall lift.....I never knew this tool existed until a friend mentioned it to me.....thank goodness that it did exist.....





I was also fortunate that a friend volunteered to help me.....we worked the entire weekend.....all day Saturday & Sunday and didn't finish until Sunday night at 8 p.m. I gave my friend $200 for his help and he was certainly appreciative of that.....and $62 for the rental.....I'm guessing I saved quite a bit doing it myself and by getting help from a good friend.....



Often I find myself saying "thank goodness that this cabin is so small".....this was yet one more time that I found myself saying the same thing.....
as I struggle to stay focused on the objective.....and not to wander off into the mountains.....

 

[vintageracer]

Small is BETTER the older we git!

 

[Arjan]

Looking good - quite some progress.
Yes, those lifts are really, really good.
Also usefull for swopping Land Rover roofs, trailer covers etc.
And mine - several 1,000 miles down the road from you - looks like yours other than that mine is red.

Perhaps there is one place that makes them....
Like with engine cranes.

Take Care - time to travel will come !