the blogging mood

haven't been in the blogging mood lately, but here's a quick update mostly for my records. i finally began covering the rest of the foundation walls with the surface bond cement stucco at the end of last week. i plan to finish that up today.

i've tried a few different techniques of application. on the rear wall, katie & i went from end to end, putting up sufficient coverage to embed and cover the mesh while applying some kind of appealing texture with a hand trowel (a 6" drywall knife, actually.) this used a bunch of compound and left a few areas with mesh impressions apparent.

the north wall was applied in two coats. first, a light covering to just embed the mesh was applied with the 6" knife. i didn't cover all areas, just enough that i felt would restrict the mesh from movement. then after a day of curing, i came back and coated over it with a wide trowel. this worked somewhat, but the areas not covered by the initial coat still showed the mesh through the second coat.

half of the west wall was also applied in two coats. the first coat was covered using the wide trowel for a thin, consistent embedment of the entire mesh. tight spots at corners and the top of the wall were touched up with the 6" drywall knife. after a day, i came back with the wide trowel again and ran the top coat. the first coat was applied in the vertical direction; the second coat in the horizontal. this technique works best, giving good results with minimal time spent.

some nuance of the technique. be sure the mix is well mixed. use plenty of water to ensure a wet mix that will apply easily in thin layers, but still thick enough that it wont just flow away. i haven't managed to add too much water so far. wide trowel in left hand, load it up with the knife in the right hand. cut compound away from inch or so from ends of trowel. drop the knife and put the wide trowel in the right hand, while keeping it balanced so you don't drop the load. apply it to the wall, start low and pull it upward, covering the area you want. if second coat, then smooth out that application with horizontal strokes. key in both coats is to knock down any spots that protrude from the plane; keep it smooth.

anyway.

earlier in the week, before the foundation, i ran sleeves through the wall for the water and sewer. the water line is 3/4" and the sewer line is 4". i ran 2" and 6" PVC sleeves through the wall, they are about 11 1/4" long, slightly protruding from both the inside and outside planes of the wall. i plan to run 1" polyethylene for the water line and 4" PVC for the sewer line, both from the street through the sleeves. the sewer will run with a proper slope from the street to just before the wall, where it will turn upward with two 1/8th bends, then a wye will split one direction off through the wall and the other will continue to the surface for a cleanout just outside the wall.

the plan is to get the siding and all exterior done before finishing the water/sewer runs. i have a rough schedule of the progress of the work i want to accomplish over the next 5 1/2 months and i'll try best to keep that schedule, but i'm already falling behind for this month. so much work so little time!

i also developed a good technique for organizing my task lists. currently many of the tasks ahead of me have lots of required, dependent tasks, so there are many required orders in which to perform things. simple lists don't keep this properly organized, but i found an arrow-based drawing on my whiteboard works well. i'll take a pic of it when i find my camera to show you what i mean.

ok i'm out.

foundation parging

i'm currently trying to get the lath to lay flat. you can see my dilemma here:

From vinnie pics by mike

foundation wall covering

sorry i have no pics; i keep forgetting the camera.

the past few days i've dug out around the foundation to expose 3' of foundation wall. this is enough for the hardware cloth to be attached. i still need to do a little more digging, especially b/c i may need more clearance to attach screws at lower parts of the wall, to hold the mesh to the foam.

i've got 6 50lb bags of surface bonding cement on-hand, along with a dozen quarts of acrylic admix. this is sufficient for 300sf of coverage at 1/8" thickness. hopefully i wont need more, but i'm prepared to go out and buy more if needed. it's not terribly expensive. about $70 each for the cement and the admix.

tomorrow is easter, so im not sure if i'll venture out there for work on a holiday. i'm not looking forward to trying to get the mesh into place by myself; i'm sure it will get dirt all over it while struggling with the long lengths of it. i suppose i'll attach it into position and then spray it down with the hose.. this will make a muddy mess and has the potential to delay the stucco. hopefully i just push through and get 'er done.

this needs to get done and over with - i don't want a moat around my house after the next rain.

obviously, in the future, i should stucco the foundation before backfilling. all this excavation and dealing with dirt is extra work and takes alot of time. my priority then was getting the roof on, but in retrospect it only cost me time and labor later on.

yesterday, i also got a foam can and sprayed the gaps in the gable wall sheathing just below the ridge, as wasps were using it as a door. i also filled in gaps in the sill plate and band joist while the can was being used.

i purchased a roll of fiberglass window screen, 3' x 25', for about 20 bux. i cut this into small pieces and stapled them up in the attic, covering the lower air vents. i used short galv staples in the staple gun, this worked ok but drove through the screen a few times. i should try out a simple T50 spring actuated stapler. why do pneumatic staplers seem to have such poor control/consistency?

anyway, i used standard window screen instead of a 1/2" hardware cloth, as it would reject more, smaller, insects. the lower air vents are well over-sized in relation to the upper ridge vent, and the reduction in cross section from the finer mesh doesn't hinder the roof ventilation system. fyi, i calc'd an approx 65% ventilation rate with the screen in place, which is with an 18x16 mesh.

foundation

i ordered hardware cloth from agrisupply to serve as lath to stucco/parge the foundation. it arrived the other day, and there's no chance of rain in the forecast for over a week.

the lath is 3' tall, and about 2' of foundation is exposed above grade. i'll dig down just over 1' so the protective stucco goes below grade a bit. i dug out along the rear wall today. i'll try to get some pics up tomorrow.

roof completion

the other day - maybe saturday - i finished shingling the small portion of the gable roof at the front. most of the roof was shingled long ago but i didnt get around to finishing it until just recently.

it involved weaving step flashing into the shingle courses which acts as flashing between the roof and the wall it butts into. i used aluminum from home depot which is brown on one side, so the flashing wont be bright or even apparent when viewing the finished house. this flashing is slightly thinner than what i would prefer, but it should last as long as the asphalt shingles.

i was disappointed in completing this portion of the roof, as there were a couple details that should have been worked out better. the intersection of the small gable ridge into the rest of the roof should have been flashed prior to all of the shingles going up. i retrofit some aluminum, but the quality of this flashing isn't too great, as it only acts to shed down flowing water, and may not stand up to pounding rains or ice damns. time will tell. also the ridge vent at this small ridge butts to the larger roof plane. the gap at the ridge should have been set back from this butting point, and i had to retrofit flashing to assist this situation as well.

there's little potential for water intrusion at this portion of the roof, as its mostly over the front overhang.. but i would have preferred to foresee these details beforehand. i will in the future.

i ordered the galvanized hardware cloth for the foundation via the internet today. it cost ~$150 instead of the ~$240 it would have cost from local stores. unfortunately i have to wait for the delivery - i really hope it isn't long.

i want to cover the band joist, but im afraid the OSB covering it will interfere with installation of the mesh. i should have ordered this a long time ago. there are many other products i have delayed ordering, as im concerned about running out of funds and want to prolong that event as far into the future as possible. it's costing me time now, however.

i need to decide on what to do next.

finishing up the foundation

it is really amazing how fast the days go by between blog posts. hmm let's see, what did you miss.

i finished covering the foundation walls with rigid foam insulation. this was just after rain, so they were still damp. this was a mistake - those walls still aren't dry.

i shoveled additional gravel up against the base of the sheets, so water at the base of the wall can drain down to the drainage pipe. i used up just about the entire remaining pile of gravel.

i covered the gravel with filter fabric, and covered the fabric with rocks and CMU debris to keep it in place. i then put most of the extra concrete, mortar, & CMU debris on top of that fabric. this saves me the cost of hauling it off somewhere. it's kind of cheap to put it there, but it shouldn't be a problem, even if someone needs to dig up the footer area in the future for whatever reason.

i covered the seams between rigid foam sheets with tyvek tape. it took 1.5 rolls of tape. the tape starts above the pile of gravel at the bottom. the backfill should provide an airseal that low on the wall. higher up (and closer to the surface) the tape will assure an airtight shell. i'll be foaming the tiny gaps at the top of the sheets, then taping that seam, before attaching lath and stucco.

kate & i cleaned out most of the excess mortar droppings and other debris from the crawlspace and that was put around the foundation too. i purchased a propane heater and have been using that to heat the crawl in an expensive attempt to dry it out. i should have let the walls dry before covering them.

i rented two bobcats which i have over this weekend. i started backfilling yesterday. i have 8 hours between the two of them, so i'm trying to use them as efficiently as i can manage.

it's very cold outside, i think it dipped down to 29F last night.. but it's supposed to go up past 60 today.

windy ways

yesterday, i set only a few more pieces of insulation. i then ran out of adhesive, and went to purchase more. by the time i returned, high winds appeared and remained all day. the winds made handling of the foam sheets impossible. instead, i spent the rest of the day hauling gravel and dumping in front of the base of the wall, against the installed insulation.

today, rain is preventing me from installing the rest of the sheets. tomorrow is another day.

insulation slowness

i was surprised to find the installation of rigid foam insulation to the exterior of the foundation a slow process. i am working with 2" 2'x8' sheets, so i rip them all into 2'x4' sheets. they have a tongue & groove edge along the 4' edge. these are then laid along the 4' tall foundation walls.

i apply spots of adhesive along the back of the panel, then stick it in place, shoving it into the adjacent groove, and against the overhanging sill plate above. the sheet is then pinned into place using whatever i can find. i've been using approx. 4' scraps of OSB to wedge the sheet upward into place, and using a chunk of CMU debris at the base to keep the bottom in.

it would go faster if i had a good way of pinning the sheets in place, rather than finding makeshift items as i go.

also, proper selection of an adhesive for this application proved to be difficult. my requirements: exterior application, adheres to polystyrene foamboard and sealed/painted concrete block. the best i could find after reading every tube's label at lowes was liquid nails. the label doesn't appear to disqualify my application, with my only concern being a recommendation of an ambient temperature of 60F for 24 hours following use. however, temps remained around 58F throughout the night, so it should be OK.

dirt

thursday & friday i filled in the remaining spots of the floor sheathing. this involved additional blocking, as i wanted to use as much of the plentiful scrap i could. i went along in the crawl and knocked up any shiners, then pulled them and renailed those spots.

i also purchased a router and cut out the crawl access hole. first time using a router - very cool tool.

saturday, i went out to the site with shovels and rain pants. it sprinkled throughout the day. i spent a few hours picking through the giant dirt pile to remove any large chunks of CMU debris. this dirt will be backfilled against the crawl walls, and i want to minimize the possibility of any debris damaging the insulation or the wall itself.

i felt like a kid again playing in all that dirt. my hands are a little sore, but i'll get back out there today and hopefully go through alot more dirt. i'm only picking through the top half of the pile, as it'd be too much work to move the entire pile around.

catch up

the walls were topped off with mortar - pops manned the mixer while i troweled the tops smooth. the anchor bolts were wirebrushed clean.

additional anchor bolts needed to be added. one due to the lengths of available sill plate, and a few due to the bolts not protruding far enough above the wall. i'll need to be more cognizant of the bolt height next time. i used HDG wedge bolts, predrilling with a masonry bit and my el cheapo hammer drill.

sill plates were purchased from wyoming mill - 2x10s. they overhang the wall by two inches to the exterior, so they will cap off the two inch thick foam sheathing which will cover the walls.

speaking of foam sheathing, i found two inch XPS at Lowes that i'll be purchasing shortly. home depot has a two in polyiso rigid foam, but polyiso isn't recommended for below grade.

so after cutting the sill plates to length, i laid sill sealer on the wall then put the plates on and bolted them down. i used a socket adapter on my cordless drill for the nuts.

then i marked out the four corners of the floor framing on the sill plates. the band joist of the floor will be set in about two inches to permit two inches of rigid foam to the band's exterior. however, the walls and thus the sill plates aren't perfectly square, so i marked out a perfect square with nails at each corner. i still need to review these marks with measurements to ensure quality layout. the rest of the house will square up to these marks.

this morning i ordered the floor framing lumber from a place in maryland. they stock #1 southern pine at great prices and using this species instead of SPF/Hemfir #2 i can downsize my joists and rafters. for nearly the same cost i get more manageable lumber sizes, a superb species, better grade of lumber, and the smaller width boards tend to be better quality. i am looking forward to meeting the lumber tomorrow ;)

also this week i applied waterproofing to the block walls. it's a cementitious product called super thoroseal which bonds to the block walls and forms a waterproof, resilient barrier. this in combination with the overlaid rigid foam boards taped at the seams will keep the crawl dry for sure.

today i found corrugated drain pipe and filter fabric at lowes, and if i find nothing better at home depot it will work fine. i need to estimate the amount of gravel needed and place that order. however, taking care of the lumber tomorrow is my current priority. i want to keep it out of the little rains we may experience the next two days.

i also need to gather remaining materials - HDG nails, shims, adhesive, sheathing - to frame the floor.

Feel the burn

On Monday I called Steve from Atlantic and he came out with a batch of concrete. We slugged buckets around to the top of the wall and filled in the bond beam course. The bond beam was prepared with rebar and anchor bolts tied into position.

The bolts weren't firmly affixed, so many needed to be adjusted just after pouring to ensure they were plumb and at proper height. We poured just below the top edge of the wall, so I can place a skim coat of mortar on top to smooth it out. That would be done already, but..

I managed to cover myself in concrete from slugging around buckets of it. That concrete soaked through my clothes and got onto my skin. It was a hot load, and I got some bad chemical burns on my stomach and leg. I've been cooped up at home since then.

So, next up is to top off the wall with mortar, then mark out perfect square for the sill to lay along, then lay the plates, build the floor. Then I can waterproof below grade, place rigid foam, set the drain pipe, backfill with gravel & dirt.

And keep hot loads off my skin from now on..

on to the hole

today, with the blocks adequately dry from the previous rains, i laid the 6th and final bond beam course on the left, rear, and right walls. tomorrow, i'll fill in the hole at the front door wall.

i'll wait a bit between setting each course, to avoid overly compressing the bed joints of previous courses. i suppose i'll cut and bend rebar for the bond beam during the down times.

the corners of the bond beam are very tight, which will require tight rebar bends. the rebar bending setup used for the foundation does not produce bends of adequately small radius.. i'll have to modify the bender to give tighter bends. i think this is doable. supports around the bending bolt to prevent the bending section from bowing out, combined with some method of preventing the bar from sliding during the bend. a clamp should work. *fingers crossed*

a 40% chance of showers wednesday.. i'll have to cover the walls with plastic to keep the bond beam from becoming an elevated moat.

as of today, i've been working on laying the block foundation wall for three weeks. sheesh.. someone remind me to pour the walls on the next foundation!

bond beam on approach

currently, five courses of block are up and i've set about half of the bond beam corners. it was a little rainy today so i couldn't get as much done as I'd like. hope tomorrow's weather is better.

i found the tripod i was using for the laser is too unsteady. with the laser set upon one of the central piers, a clean, steady line is visible on my framing square from just the right angle. the bond beam corners i've set so far are with 1/8" of each other. excellent.

this morning i cut out the corners for the bond beam course. i used single corner block and scored them with a diamond blade in a 4.5" angle grinder. then i whacked them with a mason's chisel and a rubber mallet. a few blocks broke during the process. lots of dust during the cutting.

i also had to cut down the vertical rebar to the proper height at points. i only cut those necessary today, i'll cut the rest with a proper face mask tomorrow.

slowly but surely..

katie the mason

the past two days katie & i have been working together laying foundation block. she's managing the mortar and moving block while i'm with the trowel, buttering blocks. she's been whipping up great quality mortar, i wish i had her every day.

i'm starting to get a little faster at laying up block. some key details were to slap the head joint mortar on the other side after initially buttering it, to keep it stuck on the block while setting it. also, keeping an eye on the size of the adjacent block's bed joint to judge how much mortar to toss down for the current block. also, laying the block carefully to get it close to final position with minimal movement. also, maintaining pressure against the head joint while adjusting the block to keep that joint together. mm yeah.

so far, almost the entire initial course has been laid. next up, the corners will be built. i have to do these with care to ensure the top courses are perfectly level with each other.

we're getting a ton of rain currently so i might need to hold off a few days before getting on with it. initially, i just wanted the block to be done with so i can get to the framing.. but it's actually starting to grow on me now.

block

the block and mortar was delivered monday morning. it's wednesday afternoon, and so far i've laid about 1/3rd of the first of 6 courses. at this rate, i'll have all the block laid in 3 weeks lol. ugh.

the pace is ridiculously slow, so slow it's discouraging in itself. but worse than the pace, is the quality of my work. laying block is fucking hard.

i've been telling myself that i've got a good mortar mix going now, but i'm really not sure. i rarely get it to stick on head joints for long. is this my trowel technique, my laying technique, the mix, or all of the above? i don't know. that's what sux. it'd be much easier to learn from an experienced mason.

this is most frustrating because i have little faith in the strength of the blocks i've laid thus far. most of the head joints are void of mortar after the block is set, and i'm just stuffing in some mortar in the gap. which is like, teh suck.

hopefully i get this worked out with more experience. i've been watching the few block laying videos i've found on the net, but well, there's not much detail in youtube videos so it's basically just offering me examples of basic motions and what not. which is helpful, but i'm still not sure about the details with the mortar..

meh, my hands are gettin scuffed up pretty bad.

dirt

got out to the lot this morning with the intention of marking the block corners on the footing. however, everything was still a bit wet. so i decided to do a little digging while the ground is soft.

there were still a few sections of forms that i never got up. i dug out along the base of each piece and pried like crazy with the crow bar and various pieces of lumber until they were all up.

i then proceeded to backfill around the interior side of the perimeter footing and around the pier footings. it needs to be done sooner or later, and with them backfilled and sloped, rainwater won't pool around the footings. however, the exterior side of the perimeter footings remain exposed until the drain pipe is laid.

i was drenched in sweat and mud when i got home ;) time to relax.

ordered block

concrete block & mortar ordered, will arrive monday. it is currently pouring outside. we've been smacked with torrential rains the past two days. wonderful. last thing i want is the exposed footers being eroded and settled.

i've been going over what i'll be doing, but.. well, i've never laid block. so this will be interesting.