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thomryng
Vombatus Sapiens

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Progress on the Chapel

22 Sep 2010 10:07
thomryng: (Default)
Well, we had planned to finish the chapel roof today, but Mike is home with a bad cold. Turns out working in the pouring rain on somebody's roof can be hazardous to your health.

Instead, Victoria and I will tarp up the walls for winter. We'll finish the roof Sunday. Helpers enthusiastically welcome!

Here are some shots from two different days - in the first, Victoria and I hang the floor joists, in the second, Victoria, Mike, and I put on part of the new roof.

Enjoy!

( pix! )
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The Big Foundation Day

14 Jul 2010 12:49
thomryng: (Pistachio House)
Yesterday, Mike, Adam, and Victoria came over to help me finish up the foundation work on our chapel.

We got through the long east wall, which has the door framing, the short north wall, and most of the long west wall.

Francine grilled us up some burgers for a late lunch that couldn't be beat!

As always, click the picture to see a larger version.


St. Francis offers some advice St. Francis offers some advice

Before beginning work, I took a tour around the garden. I thought our little statue of Saint Francis was looking particularly cheerful this morning.
Prayer Prayer

Adam said the nails were overkill, but they were handy. This greeted our helpers this morning. Adam arrived by 8:30 to help with demolition. Mike was in just after 11, and Victoria a bit after that.
The east wall (lack of) sill The east wall (lack of) sill

As you can see, we had our work cut out for us. After replacing the south wall sill, the long east wall was next.
Mike cutting the sill lumber Mike cutting the sill lumber

The sills are made of treated 2x4, one on top of the other. For the long east wall, we used overlapping 12-foot and 8-foot lengths.
Working on the east sill Working on the east sill

You can see the tall jack behind Mike. We have two house jacks holding the wall up about an inch over the top of the sill so we can slide the pieces in. They they're screwed together in situ. The studs are toenailed to the sill, and then the wall is dropped into position. We also had to replace two footings on this wall, one in the centre of the wall, and one by the door.
Mile and Adam toenailing Mile and Adam toenailing

This is how we attach the (repaired) studs to the new sill.
More demo More demo

This is me pulling off more siding, trying to root out all the rot on the west wall.
Checking the level Checking the level

Once we had the new east sill in place, we replaced the centre footer on the north wall. Just for fun, we dropped a 2x4 across the sills, from the east sill to the west sill, to check the level.
And then, a miracle occurred And then, a miracle occurred

After countless jury-rigs and putting in new footers... the building is level.

It wasn't level before. Not even close.

We were all flabbergasted by the result. God is good.
Lumber! Lumber!

This morning, Mel very graciously took me to the local lumber company for a few more 2x4s so I can frame in the rest of the west wall tomorrow. After that, the foundation, framing, and sill work will be complete... except for the windows and doors.

Coming next: floor joists!



Thank you to our tireless workers: Adam, Mike, and Victoria.

And a special thanks to Francine for lunch!
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Chapel Update

11 Jul 2010 16:48
thomryng: (Pistachio House)
The photos here were taken on the two hottest days of the year (so far).

We're working again on Tuesday, starting in the morning...


A problem in need of a solution, July 2010 A problem in need of a solution, July 2010
The chapel ruin as it stood on 6 July 2010 - an eyesore unlikely to remain standing another season. Time to get to work!
We were out of bailing wire We were out of bailing wire
Cross beams are holding the chapel together. I've lost track of the number of times I've bonked my head.
The ceiling The ceiling
It's like stained glass, only trashier.
In progress In progress
Victoria and I fixed the studs on most of the east and west walls, and all of them on the north wall.
Victoria the construction worker Victoria the construction worker
She's pretty handy with the power tools - she was on stage crew for a couple of years after all.
Mike at the start of the south wall demo. Mike at the start of the south wall demo.
The tools of the trade are in his hand.
South Wall: step 1 South Wall: step 1
Here's what's holding up the south wall - a 2x6 and two very large jacks.
Support System Support System
Those two jacks are holding the south wall about two inches above its previous position. You will note that there is no sill at all under the wall. That crazy old-growth paneling was literally the only thing holding up that wall. Yikes.
Mike begins demo of south wall Mike begins demo of south wall
Ah, this is the fun part: making it look even worse so we can tackle the structural problems.
Rotting studs on the south wall Rotting studs on the south wall
Once the siding is off, we see what we were expecting: rot.
What we were up against What we were up against
Notice that every single stud on the south wall had already been repaired at some point in the past - and that they are, every one of them, rotten.
new sill and footing on south wall new sill and footing on south wall
It sure is pretty! We had to replace chunks of all the south studs, reinforce them, put in new footers, and put in a sill. It was a little tricky cutting the footers to the correct length with no sill. Did I mention the wall is being held up by jacks inside the building?
After the demo and rebuild of the south wall After the demo and rebuild of the south wall
No doubt the neighbours think it's even worse now, but the building is immeasurably stronger now. I no longer think it might just fall over.
The new south wall The new south wall
Here's a medium shot of the new sill and studs.
Conquering hero? Not so much. Conquering hero? Not so much.
I'm sweaty and dirty after an all-day demo and rebuild.



Unemployed? On Summer break? Just need an excuse for a day off your regular 9 to 5? Come on over TUESDAY and help in the epic chapel rebuild! Tasty refreshing beverages provided, and all workers will be invited to the dedication dinner when we're finally done with the building!
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Construction!

6 Jul 2010 09:39
thomryng: (Pistachio House)
So it's 9:30 AM on the Tuesday of what should have been my vacation, had I not been laid off last week.

My vacation plan was to work on the outbuilding / chapel and to turn it into a usable building. Other than adding "looking for work" onto my daily to do list, I see no reason to change my plans for this week.

The building is a disaster. Right now it has no roof, no floor, and parts of it need to be re-framed. However, I have recently come into the possession of a book on repairing and restoring old barns and sheds. Suddenly, the project is a lot less overwhelming than I thought it was, and I've already revisited some of the early complicating decisions I made on this project.




Not that it will be particularly easy, mind, but now at least I know what I'm going to do.

First thing is to head to the pawn shop and see if I can buy a sabre saw for cheap.

Does anybody have a pair of eight foot house jacks I could borrow for a couple of days?

Edited to add: Just picked up a slightly used DeWalt reciprocating saw for $32.

Needless to say, the project is on a tight budget (of previously allocated funds). Let's see how much of this I can do for.... $500? Got to remember to keep on my Thinking Brain.
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