Our Superior Walls (by Superior Walls of the Hudson Valley, out of Poughkeepsie, NY) were delivered on a clear, crisp day! Winter is definitely on the way!
Because of being in a flood plain, our foundation was placed "on-grade" or on top of the ground. This will allow for a 4' crawl space under the house and allow for our utilities to still be "in the basement."
A few weeks later, (December 17, 2005) we poured the slab.
This will give us a smooth surface to work from under the house and make accessing the electric & plumbing easier than working from a dirt surface. It will also create a barrier against moisture.
Hot water was used for this
concrete due to the colder
weather. It's important to
know that costs increase when working in more extreme conditions.
I have a new appreciation for those that work with concrete! Cornell & Sons Construction
crew are seen here lending their expertise to our project.
Paul Cornell has also managed the building of our homes for some of our customers.
Some of the white stuff has fallen, but we are now attempting to get the first floor system on the foundation so that we can "close" out Jack Frost and wait for
better conditions to build!
Delivery Day (Jan. 28, 2005) was
one of the coldest days on record at -20!
Just ask the crews who delivered our materials.
They even had trouble keeping their diesel trucks running. It certainly was a beautiful day despite the cold - and we kept plenty of hot coffee on hand for all the help!
With the first floor framing complete
and the deck nailed down, the 'starter' course is bolted to the
double rim joist before the first
logs start up. This starter course allows for a better connection to the foundation that can be sealed
against air penetration. A double row of log siding with log corners are provided to cover this connection
as well as the first floor system
to the foundation wall.
Please check our Event Schedule for future dates for many of our seminars or open houses.
Many of the builders who have had experience building our homes and who have worked for many of our customers, will be on hand to "show you how it's done" and also be available to talk with
any of you who are interested in their services.
One of the reasons we try to work with so many builders, is to offer you the kind of "local" service
that makes building a home less of a hassle. Knowing that your builder is also your neighbor and not going to be too far away at the end of the project, helps everyone have a better working relationship.
Once started, the log work progresses rapidly - even when scheduling or Mother Nature
prevents daily activity.
Extra hands are welcome when the
courses get high, but most often a good crew of 3-4 can make sure all necessary tasks are performed and the proper system is followed.
This will ensure years of efficient
comfort in your home.
Timbercraft Builders have been
instrumental in getting the walls to
this stage. While they have been
waiting for weather to allow other
projects to start and any time
they can spare in between,
they have been diligent in coming
over get us off the ground.
Kris O'Brien is often here alone,
working with my better half, (who's name is also Chris) to give us much
needed help.
And the youngest helper we've had
at the project is Natalia, Kris' daughter.
She really enjoyed sweeping up the wood
chips and helping or watching her dad
do his work! She came in later and helped me with some office work, too!
One more day and the progress is evident. We are now up 12 courses of logs on the back walls and leaving the front walls for demonstration at our Building Demonstration
for April 16-17, 2005. How clear the sky is - how blue the sky - we can only hope for this kind of weather through the weekend!
I have routinely taken pictures
from this angle - looking through what will be the master bedroom windows at the back of the building and watching our road front sign slowly disappear from view. Right now - the only part that is still visible is the very top. Soon the second story of this home will be in place and you will no longer see our commercial building which is located next door!
The Building Demonstration on April 16 & 17 was attended by many and enjoyed by all!
Builders were on hand to answer many questions and explain our system.
Good food, plenty of cool drinks for what was a perfect weekend! Above, please note Dino Giuliano (on right). He was on hand to watch the festivities - and partake of the great food! Dino started our affiliation with log homes in 1978. Now retired, he enjoys watching the rejuvenation and upgrading of the Boiceville Log Cabin Complex
We gravitated to the great outdoors for some additional pointers and to watch some of the progress being made.
We ended up doing more talking than working, but that is really
what this day was all about.
We wanted you to have the opportunity to meet and speak with some of the area builders.
Jim Brush from Jim Brush Construction (Sullivan County area), Paul Cornell from Cornell Construction (Ulster County + area), Kris O'Brien, Kasey O'Brien from Timbercraft Builders (Delaware, Ulster + areas), Keith Davis from Deep Green Geo was on hand with heating, plumbing and AC answers, Bill Hornbeck, Hornbeck Electric was also on hand. Attendees kept them all busy with questions about their upcoming projects!
Work then started on the first floor framing, and second floor system.
With some help from the crew at Timbercraft Builders this task was accomplished in just over a week.
Chris & I then started the task of bleaching and cleaning the logs in preparation for staining. You should always clean the logs before
staining - and we found that the best way is with a product called Clorox Outdoors. You can see the difference between the picture above and the picture here.
Two things happened next:
Chris & I started staining the logs, and
another builder, Shawn Scott,
came to help us get the roof on.
Shawn has worked on many projects,
but it's obvious that his pace is slower than most.
With the staining complete, the
logs took on a totally NEW look.
I chose to work with Sikkens Log & Siding, which is a new product.
It is a two coat initial process, and then
reapply as necessary.
The color used was Natural Light.
Setting the ridge beams that create the roof system for this Custom Grand Summit was a morning project that went off without a hitch.
The rafters (which were set as a measure for post height only) were removed so that the ridge beams could be placed.
Each of the posts (there were four),
cradle the beam to hold it in place, at the
correct height for the roof.
Then the heavens opened up and we had
several days of rain!
With crystal blue skies, they managed
to start the roof rafters.
Each one is cut from a template,
then passed up and nailed in place
Again, at Shawn's direction, the crew makes this all seem sooooo easy!
Of course, my husband will tell you
that HE put up the roof, since it was he
that passed up all the rafters!
Slowly but surely, and suddenly it's starting to take the shape
I had envisioned when I designed
all it's parts and pieces!
The Solarium Arch is now visible
(put there for measurement purposes)
on the right side.
With Winter coming, it was
important to get the piers in for what
will be a deck across the front of the
building - connecting the
Solarium sliding door to the
covered porch that will be on the
left side of the building.
Our very resourceful electrician,
Bill Hornbeck of Hornbeck Electric,
extended his time and machine to
create the trenches needed to set 11 piers.
And most recently, it is really
starting to take shape and form
with the roof sheathing, ice and water
barrier and felt (tar paper) going on!
The Solarium and Porch will
go on soon, also - but we were concerned with protecting the majoritiy of the house, so concentrated on the
main roof.
Just a couple of weeks later,
the porch posts and beams are going
into place.
The deck framing is going up.
Some interesting changes are going
to take place as we move ahead!
With the porch in place, and the deck
taking shape - things are starting
to look like a log home!
Note the gable trapezoid glass is now
in place. The rest of the windows and
doors are due to arrive soon.
Snow is replaced by summer - it's the natural course of things! Our progress once the snow disappeared, was swift. Railings were put in place - staining could be done - and gable end siding was completed. Our home is finally starting to look 'complete.'
We are now ready to start doing a little more inside! But that doesn't stop the normal curiosity of folks passing by. A typical weekend is non-stop visitors to see what we've done or are doing now!
We welcome your frequent stops. We know this is taking much longer than it should take for any of our homes - even a very large one. We are taking our time - doing much of the work ourselves and with the help of those who are able to give their assistance. And I am slowly putting my color choices together, kitchen cabinet choices.
But let's go back to see what else happened to get us to this stage.
Other important decisions are being made inside after the roof goes on and before we can start to finish the interior. One of the most important decisions you can make involves insulating your home. There are minimums - and there are 'the usual' - but we did a little research, and found something we think is really going to make a difference - and at a price that is easily recouped in energy savings.
This "before" picture shows you the roof structure from the inside.
At this point the only other thing that has been done (and must be done before you use any insulation) is the 'rough-in' electrical work.
In homes of this style, the roof is a raftered system using 2 x 12 rafters on top of a 'ridge' beam.
Posts are positioned along the way - as well as the front and rear gable walls - to support the ridge beam, which is the main support for the roof.
Fiberglass batting insulation is the typcial application seen in most homes. It is manufactured to fit between the studs. An air channel must be put in place to allow for air ventilation. The reason air must be allowed to circulate is to prevent condensation from forming when warm air from inside the house hits the cold roof.
When this is not done effectively, mold can be the result. And of course, the obvious is that some of your precious heat is making it's way out of your home and into the great outdoors!
This "after" picture shows you the same roof now with Icynene Insulation.
It was a two day process, start to finish.
It is sprayed into each cavity, and expands to completely fill the cavity. It adheres to all surfaces - closing off all possibility for air to escape or transfer from inside to outside.
Mold will not grow in it - it is not affected by water - and for me, being able to stand inside the building while it was being installed without worry about chemical fallout was impressive. I have asthma - so this was just one of the considerations that made the choice to use Icynene in our home a no-brainer. Of course, saving on heating and cooling bills - and even the sound deadening properties of this insulation - was also very high up on the plus side!
Because we chose to use this type of insulation, we did not have to provide for air circulation in the roof system. We have no ridge vent - we have no soffit vents. They are unnecessary because warm air from inside the house cannot mix with the cold roof. It's been closed off effectively. You'll see in the next couple of photos just how quickly the whole process happens.
After it has been sprayed in place - it totally fills the cavity - they use a long-bladed saw type instrument to level it to the surface of the rafters.
Part of the set up time is covering everything you don't want the foam to touch. For us, that was all our walls, and as you can see here, the posts to the roof and the ridge beam. When they were done spraying and trimming, the shavings were collected and wrapped in the plastic used to protect our wood.
We used our local dumpster guy to haul it away! Since it weighs little, cost to dispose was nominal.
This is a very good side-by-side
photo of the just-sprayed foam, and that which has already been trimmed (or shaved) back to the rafters.
The material is ready to be trimmed shortly after it has stopped expanding.
And this brings us back to a winter that wasn't much of a winter - until February.
But we enjoyed putting up some lights and a few pieces of greenery. I'm looking forward to next year when I have some definite ideas about what I want to do to celebrate the seasons!
Some of the detail work on the outside mananged to get done before winter settled in. We were also able to do quite a bit of staining inside, even though heat did not get installed until March 2007.
Screens will not be installed on the windows and sliders until warm weather once again returns. They were removed to avoid clogging from all the sanding we were doing inside! But we now have all our interior finishing materials pre-stained and ready to be installed. If you have the opportunity, this is a great way to eliminate staining overhead.
The other major event over the second half of winter was the installation of our heating system. We chose to install Radiant heat - but not just standard radiant heat.
After a little research - and watching what some of my customers have done - we chose to work with Ultra-Fin.
Ulra Finn is installed under the floor system, but not attached to the bottom of the floor as most other "staple-up" systems.
Our very competent, and accommodating plumbing and heating specialit, Keith Davis, owner of Deep Green Geo, got us up and running with a closed system until we can get the water connected after the spring thaw.
What you see above is what powers our heat. The system is big enough to heat a 5000 square foot home, yet weighs about 70 pounds and fits neatly in a closet. Remember, our home is being built in a "flood plane" which means that it might flood at least once in a 100 year time span. Because of that, I have none of the utilities in the crawlspace we allowed under this home - just as a precaution.
We have three 'zones' - one upstairs in the loft, and two on the main floor. We felt two were necessary on the main floor due to our solar gain through the living room and solarium (Southwest) exposure.
All was installed just in time for snow storm Number 3 - St. Patrick's Day storm - which was the biggest one of all!
Work has been moving more and more inside at this point. While there are still some final touches we need to do outside - including our entry stairs and a ramp, the interior work can now begin!
The kitchen appliances and cabinets
have all been picked out - the finish
flooring has been ordered - and
while we wait for those things to come
in, we are working on dry wall and preparing the log stairs for installation. The stringers in the picture carry the 1/2 log treads that will lead to the loft-office in our new model home.
Before they are installed, two coats of Sansin Clear Satin was applied.
The actual stair treads were too numerous to put on saw horses - so it was quite a bit of off-the-floor work. But they turned out great!
The top of the tread is not being 'stained' but will be treated
Rather than finish our floor with varnish, we are using tung oil that will never need to be sanded down and re-varnished. As wearing occurs, only more tung oil needs to be applied. It's actually called a "forever" floor since you really never have to do anything major to it again! Cleaning is a breeze
using warm water and vinegar!!
You can see the stairs are in place -
Now we are working on the finish
flooring - then the kitchen cabinets
will be installed.
I have some painting to do yet
though almost everything has at least one coat to make sure it's the color
I really want. And it was!!!
I couldn't resist putting up a
few interior decorations - though
we really did more outside than in.
Next year will be so much fun!
The outside is mostly complete - the inside is all but done - stop by and see us!!!
Inside is still being worked on - but it's mostly complete... things you might not notice still to be done - but it's together "enough" to make me happy and to invite you in to see.
But to understand how we got here, it might be interesting to see how it all happened.
The rest of this page is dedicated to the people and services we used to make it happen.
Please feel free to ask us any questions you might have.
It's our pleasure to share with you many of the people we connected with to complete our home. I'm confident you will enjoy working with them as well.
Located 16.5 Miles West of Kingston,
Exit 19 of the New York State Thruway
4088 State Route 28
Boiceville, NY 12412
(845) 657-6445
We also offer beautiful Rustic Red & White Cedar & Pine Furniture for both the indoors and outdoors.
