Journal of Progress--August 27-September 1

Good Morning!

Installed three windows today: the dining room window, one of the living room windows, and Barbara’s desk window. Finished (almost) sheathing the west attic wall. (Still have to sheathe the outside of the window headers, to bring them level with the other sheathing.) Need to caulk around the windows-- huge gaps. Got the hole dug for the cistern. Now I have to level the floor, then take delivery of three or four yards of sand. Spend a couple hours tonight starting to level the hole. I think (hope?) I’m about halfway done. I also need to build the dormer wall, and install the sliding glass door. Will need help with that. Still need to go to Home Depot and pick up the pipe fittings for connecting the pipe to the tank. While there, I guess I’ll need to buy the front door, too. 

 Three times they tried to lift the tank with the backhoe and each time the ropes broke.  Finally they just rolled it to get it out of the way.

While he was here, the backhoe digger filled in the rest of our electrical trenches, and put some gravel on the road, where it’s settling. That’s going to be a never-ending job, because we weren’t able to get the compactor when we needed it. Fortunately there’s not much traffic through there. I want to be using the good weather to get the roof done, and instead, I’m digging around in the ground again. Who knew that building a house would entail so much pick and shovel work after the foundation was done?

It would be a good idea to fill the tank before backfilling, just to make sure there are no leaks. They’ll be a whole lot easier to fix before backfilling. Just two problems with that: 

1. Getting water into the tank. I need to buy the truck tank and haul four or five loads or water to test it.

2.  Getting water out of the tank. If there is a leak, the only way to get water out is through the house plumbing system, which isn’t installed yet, and which needs a pump that I haven’t purchased yet, and electricity to run the pump, which I don’t have yet either.

So, I’m going to pray about it, but unless the Spirit says otherwise, I’ll probably have to back fill before I’m ready to fill the tank with water.

Electrician was here working too.

We’re having problems with our refrigerator. Evidently when the floor flooded last week, the plug got wet and it shorted out the computer that regulates the temperature.  It’s keeping the frozen food frozen, but the fridge seems to be unable to hold the proper temperature. Seems our warranty only extends to Utah County, not to Juab, where we live. No, they won’t come an extra four miles. Barbara called a local appliance mechanic, who told her that there are two possible parts that might need replacing. One they do not make any more. The other costs two hundred dollars, and might not solve the problem. We need to pray about this, too.

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Leveled the cistern hole this morning. Good thing, ‘cause we took delivery of five tons of sand this afternoon. Now I need to level THAT, and shovel into the hole the two tons or so that didn’t make it into the hole. Lots of fun!

Finished the sheathing for the west wall. Tomorrow will start on the east wall, and on the false rafters. Also started the dormer walls. Got the north wall built and up, finally. Not easy, especially working alone. Started to lay out a pattern rafter for the dormer, but didn’t get it cut out. Hope to do that this evening, but need to go get water, too. There are also false rafters for the dormer, both at the top, and at the bottom. The ones at the bottom should be fairly easy, as I can support the top end with a ledger board nailed to the side of the house, and the bottom end with the trimmers at the bottom of the other rafters. Putting the trimmers in place is a job for two people, so maybe will try to do that tomorrow, too, at least the ones on the north side, where the dormer is. 

Electrician says the wiring for the lower part of the house is almost done, including fixing the wires I hit with nails. He’s also finishing up the basement. He brought us a brand new bathroom vanity and countertop with integral sink that somebody ordered and didn’t want. For free. Wow. We have an extra window that we don’t need, that we bought from Restore, so we can’t return it. I have decided to donate it to a friend, who has very little income, but is renovating a large house. Maybe she can use it.

Kamikaze flies are driving me crazy! Time to go get water.

Got back from getting water, and neighbors came over to invite us to watch a movie with them. I demurred, citing all the shovel work I needed to do, so the husband volunteered to help. We made the sand fly! Had to quit working when it was no longer possible to see if the sand in the bottom of the hole is coming out level. Have to look at it tomorrow. I’m no longer as young as I was when I worked in the foundry and shoveled sand all day and thought it was easy work. I did the work tonight, but my back is sore from muscles I haven’t used in decades. I’ll get Barbara to rub it with Ben Gay tonight. 

I’m concerned about the gable ends of the attic. They seem to be unstable, even when braced against flexing. Probably the simplest: glue and screw plywood to the ceiling along those walls instead of sheet rock, and / or lay plywood braces between the trusses, on the crown edge of the lower truss member. And / or use 3/4" plywood for the roof sheeting instead of 1/2", and glue and screw it to the trusses, instead of just nailing it. I could also remove the top plates and replace them with sixteen-foot 2x4s, or even 2x6s. I also do intend to brace the trusses’ king posts (center posts) to each other with plywood, which will carry the flexing stress to all of the trusses, which being at a low slope of 4/12, will be held strongly against flexing by the nearly horizontal plywood (actually O.S.B.) sheeting.  

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Nearly finished the west wall sheathing. Just one small piece left to cut and nail on. Finished the dormer rafters, and started the false rafters below the dormer. Had to rip a bunch of 2x6s to a 32º angle for the batter boards at the end of the rafters.

Leveled the sand in the bottom of the cistern hole. It’s about six inches deep or more. I may not have enough sand to do a full foot and still have enough left over to fill the two columns. I hope to finish leveling the hole tomorrow, so we can put the tank in. Still haven’t figured out exactly how to do that. When we tried lifting it with the backhoe, the ropes broke, even tripled. Of course, we were using old clothesline, not serious ROPE. I think I’m going to try chain next time. I can always use a good tow chain! I want to get the tank installed and buried befrore we get snow! Barbara says three states have already had snow this week.

More work on the dormer window.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Another Good Morning!

Got the hole leveled and smooth, with a foot of sand, per instructions. Finally! It’s taken about nine hours of shovel work, some brutally hard (throwing shovelfuls of wet sand fifteen feet, accurately). Some extremely picky. Then scraping the bottom with a four foot level to get it dead level and smooth.

Just as I finished that, Rocky Mountain Power finally showed up to connect us to power. Surprise, surprise! I was beginning to wonder if they ever would come, but they came today, did about an hour and a half’s work, and we are now live. Still no actual power, though, because our electrician wasn’t here to hook us up! So far, he has failed to answer his phone three times, and ignored our texts and voice mails.

Reflection of working trucks in outhouse window.

Also expected the roofer to show up to give us an estimate, but he hasn’t shown either. Also got a message from our mason that he was coming today too, but he didn’t show up either. Lots of people claimed they’d come today, but the only ones who actually came were the ones we weren’t expecting.

Finished up the last of the east wall sheathing, built the dormer side walls, and cut and installed the false rafters below the dormer. All three were very slow going and a royal pain. The east wall sheathing would have been easy, if we hadn’t had twenty mph winds, and I hadn’t been working atop an eight foot stepladder, right next to the only unprotected edge in the attic. Very nervous-making. The dormer side walls were not scary or dangerous, just a pain, as every stick of lumber in them is unique, and must be fit by trial and errror. Cut and fit, cut and fit, cut and fit, over and over and over. The false rafters below the dormer are made to look like the tail ends of the real rafters, but they are just short pieces. fortunately, they are not unique. In fact, they’re all the same, at least in theory. So the way you make them is to make a pattern (more cutting and fitting), then use the pattern to lay out the actual pieces. Of course, since this is construction, and since the foundation wasn’t square to begin with, I still had to check each rafter location with the pattern, then adjust the length of the piece accordingly. By hanging out the dormer window, sixteen feet above the ground, marking the pattern, transferring the adjustments to the actual piece, cut it out, place it where it belongs, and nail it in place. I got the tops of all the false rafters nailed, and ran out of nails, so I had to make an emergency trip to The Home Depot in Provo for nails, and other stuff. Ninety miles round trip. And didn’t get everything I need. Long day.

Friday, August 31, 2018

Got the electricity going in three outlets, enough to start using it. Dormer batter board is in place, a difficult, scary job requiring the skills of a carpenter, contortionist, and acrobat. Sided the east and west sides of the dormer-- all triangles. Cleaned up for the weekend, as we’ll be in Provo most of the day tomorrow. Maybe in the morning I’ll have time to side the dormer north wall, or even hang the east and west false rafters. Didn’t keep my rafter pattern, so I get to try and fit again, for essentially the same piece. Grr! 

Another Mammoth builder came by to observe progress. I asked for his opinion on my dilemma about the east and west attic walls, and my proposed solution for stiffening them: to make a sort of horizontal I-beam running between the outside wall and the first true joist. He said, “Oh, you mean a box beam! Yeah, that should do it.” Well, no, I didn’t mean a box beam, because I’d never heard of such a thing. I just invented it on my own, with a lot of help from inspiration. Turns out it’s a thing that’s been known for ages. I do that a lot these days.

Our mason is sawing the bricks in half lengthwise so the don't stick out from the wall so far.

The wind destroyed the tarp that was covering the cabinets we bought.  Don uncovered them and recovered them with a new tarp.

Saturday, September 1, 2018

No work at all accomplished. Slept in late, as I got almost no sleep during the night due to pain in my right kidney. Barbara says it’s probably a kidney stone, so I’ve been pushing fluids and going to the outhouse a lot, day and night. Seems to be positional. Sitting up is better than lying down. Standing is best. How long can I remain on my feet? Went to Provo to take a granddaughter to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, and to celebrate a grandson’s birthday, but we had to leave before the cake, to pick up groceries a t Walmart in Payson. Barbara bought so many we couldn’t fit everything in the gigantic fridge. I hurried through The Home Depot, buying only light bulbs and a rope. Earilier, while Barbara was at a DAR meeting, I found three pairs of jeans that fit me at DI, and two windows that fit the house at Restore. The windows are for the west wall of the attic, and do not open, so will have to be replaced when we can, as there will be no openable windows in the west side of the attic, where the breezes come from, and no emergency egress from that side of the attic either, contrary to plans. But they were cheap, and exactly the right size to fit my two openings of 36" x 60", a rather unusual size. Couldn’t find any 36" square windows for the east side. Will have to check at other Restores, or special order them. Soon.

The Mason finished building his wall while we were gone.

 Sunday, September 2, 2018
We went to church in Santaquin to a Spanish Branch in conjunction with our new church calling as Daily Dose missionaries.  This is a program to teach non-English speakers English.  We can work with either members or non-members in either small groups or one on one.  There are a couple of sisters serving as Daily Dose missionaries full time (20 hours a week) in Santaquin.  There is also a couple serving as Missionaries to help at the Church dairy in Elberta. I can't remember what their missionary calling is called. They will do Daily Dose in Elberta only in the evenings when their dairy work is done.  We will probably serve Goshen.  We can't work but a little bit on Sunday and maybe one night a week until the house is done so we can only work with one or two individuals or small groups.