Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Building a garage-apartment with a pond view

2 pc 2 x 6 x 16'
2 pc 2 x 6 x 20'
some screws
a hunka rope
1 panel carrier
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the 1st one is the trickiest...

Dang Brettski, you're a clever monkey.

Remember those cast iron wall jacks that I picked up off of Ebay for cheap...???

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Then, they turned into beam jacks?

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Well, we ain't done just yet...

Then there'd be a place for Col. Mustard and the lead pipe!

How would you ever clean the windows up above?

Knowing Brettski, he would clean the windows by standing on the top of a ladder.

...with a candlestick

In my neighborhood we have a service that does that, Monsoon and Monsoon. They are not perfect, but they are cheap.

I haven't used Advantech materials yet, but I'm seeing it more and more. Mostly on commercial jobs like banks that are springing up everywhere. Do you have to tape the edges to get the waterproof seal? I just installed some 3/4 T&G subflooring two days ago and it was $17 each. How thick was the Advantech and what does it cost? Usually I just buy a thing of plastic and put it over the subfloor too keep it dry. Then after putting up the walls and getting the roof on, I just cut out the plastic and leave what's left under the sill plates. It's cheap insurance and pretty common around here.

Did you use pressure treated sill plates on your walls? Going with untreated lumber lets you use standard anchor bolts, but then you risk rot or bugs ruining them. In some older homes, I've found that they really go after those sill plates and then work their way up the walls. I've repaired quite a few homes that were built without pressure treated sill plates and find it to be cheap insurance to prevent, or at least, limit the potential for this damage. Did you put down any other type of sealant or barrier under your sill plates?

Congrats on your progress. It's always interesting to see how things are done in different parts of the country.

Eddie

The lumber yard/truss mfgr that supplied the 2nd floor framing system and the roof trusses gave the Advantech as an option when they quoted the 2nd floor subfloor. I had never heard of it before, but was aware of the weather resistant products out there. I expected it to be ultra-expensive, but was pleasantly surprised when it came in at $22 sheet delivered. It is 3/4" thick, T&G on the long edge. I googled and researched it and could not find one bad story about it. Everyone seemed to rave about it. I called Advantech and talked with their tech support. It is similar to OSB, but the glue is an epoxy resin product. It is not a coating, but consistently water resistant throughout the mass. At $22 per sheet, it was a no-brainer.

Absolutely, and 3-1/2" coated deck screws to attach it to the studs.

Protecto Seal....amazing stuff!

Thank you. It is very slow and arduous, but it's the best that a couple of ham-and-eggers like Donna and I can do when we have to travel a significant distance to get to the jobsite.

Any updates ?

When we got the 2nd floor decking completed last weekend, I was really relieved. It really helps to cork up and protect all the work we did beneath it. We even made a quasi-frame, caulked, and blue-tarped the stairway opening. Then, I had to make some decisions.
The one facet that continues to weigh on all my decisions is sands in the hourglass. We are really running outta time, or so it seems. We have to get the 2nd story framed and roofed and all the siding installed before the snow flies. I know, I know...it's only the beginning of September. It still stresses me a bit, particularly when the leaves are beginning to fall, the days are shorter (this is a biggie). We will just press on.
So, one part of me wants to get moving with the framing up to the roof, but the reasonable and calculated part of me says to get the doors and windows installed on the first floor. Heck, they have to be installed before you can apply the siding anyway. Why right now? With them installed, the bottom garage area will be secure. This will allow me to store all the tools and junk that are required when we are ready to rock. You see, it takes about an hour to get everything transferred from the storage shed and set up for production every time we go to work. Then, before we leave to go home, same story. If we could just flip a couple of switches and turn a key, and leave all the stuff right inside the structure, we gain alot of time and flexibility.
So....
The decision is just that; install door and windows.
We have had the big ol' boxes with the garage doors setting in the garage at home for about 2 months. We packed them onto the trailer along with all the white vinyl trim and weatherstripping. We also hit Menards and grabbed about 80% of the windows. The plan was to install the garage doors, completely and hopefully get to installing a window or two. Yeah...right.
I've installed a few garage doors over the years. I must forget how tedious they are. They are like putting together a swingset; some assembly required. Fortunately, both the doors are identical. The second one moved along a little faster.

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Yeah, with the trim work, caulking, and building the 2 swingsets, I pretty much burned up the 3 day weekend. Jeesh, it moved so danged slow. The upside? I was outta the sun and the garage area was nice and cool. Truth be told, though, it really was more of a 2 day weekend since we got there a little late and left a little early. At least I can walk away from the garage doors knowing that they are completely done and ready for siding to run up to the brick moulding. Amen.

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Brettski,

Where did you get the protecto seal? Is it something you picked up at Menards? Hang in there you will make it before the snow flies.

It was one of those "this must be my day" kinda things....
I knew I wanted it. I called Protecto Seal and they told me that Menards carries some of their products. What they don't have, they can special order. So, I go to the Menards that is close to where I work. They look it up on the computer and the kid says that they have it in stock, but it's marked up for clearance. I'm looking over his shoulder and can see the unit price: $2.99. I told him that anything for $2.99 is not the stuff I seek....way too cheap. We go on the search in the store anyway. When we find it, it's 25' long rolls tucked back in this rack, all dusty. Best part?...they ARE marked at $2.99 for each roll. Yeah baby, gimme all of 'em.

Dang Brettski, you're really rolling along. I know that you have a way to go but you sure have come a long way already.

I love it when you happen upon a deal like that.

Vinyl window clinic
Jeesh, what a PIMA.
Whatever happened to a tube of good caulk, a handful of roofing nails, and done? In order to maintain the mfgr's warranty, the installation must be done per spec. Spec now includes religious use of sealing tape...and the only type I can find happens to be Protecto Wrap. Oddly, when I called their tech. support to make sure I fully understand installation, that's the brand they recommend. There's gotta be something passing under the table from Protecto Wrap Co to the window mfgrs (or at least to Jeld Wen). When you start adding up all the windows I have to install, we're startin' to talk miles of tape. OK, a few hundred feet. Just another Ka-ching in the receipt file.
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We got the service door installed this weekend. We also installed 8 of the 9 windows for the first floor. We could have gotten the 9th one in but the interior framing and sheathing right at that window rough opening took a pretty good dowsing of water in a rainstorm last week. We knew the subfloor installed for the 2nd floor would have leaks, but I didn't expect (or, at least I hoped) one of the areas of water penetration to be right at a wall. Anyway, the framing was soaked. That's not so bad. The OSB wall sheathing also got pretty wet. That's a little bit of a bigger deal. We're gonna allow this area to dry out before we proceed. The time saved by passing on this window was shifted to caulking some of the seams in the subfloor.
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Anyway...


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This one was taken late in the day, when the sun sets over the far end of the pond.

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This is pretty much the same shot, the following morning when the sun comes up over the trees behind us.

I know that you probably don't think so, but it's really coming along! Are you hanging (or going to) opaque visqueen or something else over the windows to keep prying eyes out when you aren't around? That is until you get the inside window coverings installed.

I'm thinkin' Cheepazz $2.99 roller shades that will probably remain installed for a long time.

Are you going to insulate the floor of the second floor?

Sounds like my kind of window covering, and in my price range to boot!

That's another one of those "hmmmm; let's make sure we have options to consider".
We have not completely ruled out polyisoanurate (icenyne) foam insulation. It would put a huge dent in the budget, but the resulting product would be absolutely awesome. That would allow us to insulate all the walls and the floor would require nothing. I'm not counting on this option, tho. If this was the actual house, I would get much more serious on a foam isulation system. That being said, this will likely wind up being a fibreglass insulation job with a plastic vapor barrier. Since I don't plan on heating the entire garage, it will dictate insulation in the second floor framing. This will also provide sound insulation. Besides, we will be required to separate the garage area from the upstairs living space with firerock, so I will have to do all of the work in that area as permanent before I cork it up.

FWIW, my crawlspace isn't insulated and I notice a lot of air being transmitted thru the floor. There is one area that is about 12 sq. ft. that is still orig tongue n groove, everything else has 3/4" T&G subfloor over it. I will be insulating the floor, but I need to replace the old galv. water pipes with Pex first.

Brettski, you two are really rolling along, looks great, I hope the fall weather is good to you.