Recent content by BeerM3

I got the Marketplace windows in the 2nd floor shed dormer wall and used the ledger board that'll eventually be for the lean-to covered portion on the south side for some temporary scaffolding. And then I had to paint the damn thing... I didn't enjoy painting prior. I still don't, but it's done.

Once the local roofing company got it shingled I started on the siding. It's a combo of LP Smartside lap and board-and-batt to give it that older look and feel since it sits behind our 100+ year old house. Oh, and I scored some new, never installed Overhead Door insulated panel garage doors...

When spring came around I was able to get the tarps taken off and started to frame up the gables and dormers. Got the massive ridge beam set and while I did do some of the 2x12 cathedral ceiling framing, I knew my limits and getting it roofed was the next big time sensitive priority. A local...

We spent some of the winter months making the stairs to the 2nd floor. My son's friend offered to help so I didn't hesitate to hand him a sander. We used some of the extra 2x12s and salvaged wood from the old sheds. It works well with the "rustic" feel the upstairs space will eventually become.

I got the first floor "dried in" by December and then covered it with tarps to fight off the rain and snow. A couple years later I found myself regretting not spending the extra $ for Advantech flooring. Before we carpeted the upstairs I had to rent a floor sander to smooth out some of the...

With no forklift on hand, I had to figure out a clever way to get the 3/4" flooring sheets up to the next level. Youtube to the rescue! There were several variations of a hinged lift scattered around out there. I made one with leftovers and scrap laying around.

I skipped a step! Because the garage width is 28' pushing the limits for what a 11-7/8 I-Joist can handle as a floor, I opted to stiffen everything up with a center beam. Because it's a 3-ply LVL, it wasn't hard for 2 of us to lift each one into place and then screw it all together with the...

As part of my Craigslist and Marketplace scavenging to help keep costs in check, since it's now 2021 and lumber is stupid expensive due to a supply/demand problem in the housing sector, I found I-joists salvaged out of a red iron building that had only been used to span a closed in area. No...

Sure, yeah, we should be done by 3 or 4 I think.

You guys got this? I'm gonna go grab a beer.

Time to start getting vertical with this thing. It's early October of '21 and I have a couple months to get walls up before it has to go on hold until spring. I recruited helpers when I could, but I think they caught on eventually and went to airplane mode on the weekends!

Now it's starting to look like something. I should just tell everyone this will be a carport and save a whole lot of time!

Dad my fingers hurt. Granted I was probably already pushing my construction abilities with the foundation walls, but I know for a fact I have no business pouring a slab bigger than 3' square! I hired pros for the next phase. Man, they made it look easy, and really good. We sloped the...

After backfilling, leveling, and leveling again with a compacted 5-6" gravel layer, I had a base ready to start insulating for the slab heat. Laid in the (nasty) chicken foam, taped the seams and rolled out a layer of poly over that. Then it was time to start the rebar layout. The bars were...

Walls poured, sewer stubbed, forms stripped and hauled back out of the pit, advil ingested. I started the backfill and compaction process after adding 1-1/2" foam insulation to the wall interior. I decided early on to go with radiant floor heat and creating the thermal break is a critical...