Flyingvan

Some pics from the Cuyamaca Cabin project

2012-02-02T11:02:00.000-08:00

This was the first owner builder project, 2000-2003

Fabric Formed Foundations

2012-02-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

Both of my owner/builder projects were built this way. As far as I can tell, it's never been done elsewhere. It solved some problems with building over expansive soils on a slope over boulders where there's frost and earthquakes.

A Trudge To Success

2012-01-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

Here's the fireplace, with the cut local stone veneer. It might not look like much accomplished for a days work, but today was one curveball after another.
When I got off wrk this morning, I had a wicked sore throat and plugged up ears. It was raining, too, and AnnaMarie needed stuff from Walmart. I really wanted to just spend the day lying down but the kids volunteered to watch three little kids for one of their teachers for the day. I could just see passing this crud to a kid, to teacher, to whole school, so decided I'd just work on the cedar lining for the closet. Low braindrain, no heavy lifting. The compressor had other ideas.

The little gasket on the pressure tube where it goes into the valve housing was shredded. The part is $1.17 and shipping is $14 so I also ordered a new valve assembly (Byron's feeling on the cause of another compressor issue) and gaskets. Total $27.77. A new compressor is over $200. No cedar work until the parts come. So, the other indoor 'shovel ready' project is the fireplace. Lauren had puzzle fit the stones on the template for me but all the edge ones needed trimming. Lugged the wet saw inside and got it all set up. It was working intermittently and I thought the burning plastic smell was from the space heater, until the smoke tipped me off to a failing plug.

If you are going to take on any big project, keep a supply of plugs around. I have a tool repair kit all ready to go. Electrical tape, cords, spare blades, motor brushes, allen wrenches. (OK the kit is a cardboard box full of junk but it's somewhat organized)

With that repair done and not needing any special order parts, back to the veneer job. You smear the mastic on ( make sure you buy the right kind. This is high temp for stone) then spread it with a notched trowel.

I put some carboard down to protect the hearth from the mastic. The picture doesn't show how the notched trowel furrows the mastic. I didn't angle the camera right, I guess. Then you just start sticking the stones to the wall, pressing them in. I kept a variety of tiny stones near to fill in. You can put them in really tight to each other and skip mortaring the joints, you can mix up mortar and use a mortar bag, (kind of like a frosting flute bag) or, if the joints are pretty small, you can buy elastomeric repair mortar in a caulk tube and just gun it into place. In the top picture you can see under the hearth where I didn't mortar it yet, so there's white mastic showing through the stones.

I feel a little guilty. Projects like this are usually saved as a reward for completing a larger, more tedious step. I have to get the exterior done.

Siding, Inside and Out

2012-01-17T14:57:00.000-08:00

I'm set up now, to get work done regardless of the weather. With some beautiful days and some help from Byron, got the tall wall all sided. The soffits are in, all caulked and painted. The shingles up in the gable have a wavy look---they were cut from regular siding boards, freehand. The pattern is matched for the gable under the eyebrow, too. You can see the color the girls picked. It's really going to stand out from the highway.

Then Winter pays a visit. Howling wind, sleet, in the 20's. Time to get some indoors stuff done. I set up the wet saw I bought on Craigslist for $50 and start making tiles from the stones that I found when the foundation and septic were dug.

The kids were home for MLK day so I recruited Lauren to puzzle fit them together for the fireplace. I made some templates the exact shape out of cardboard. I'll get high temp mastic and put them on the hardiboard that's already in place--another cold weather project. Right now, though, I'm getting some of the tongue and groove interior siding in. It's very rewarding to work on stuff that will show. This is the bedroom window with a window seat built in. I added a reading light in the ceiling and a switch because it looked like an inviting place to sit with a book. The picture of the lake is out that same window.

Not Falling

2012-01-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

So many days are spent getting work done, either here or at the fire department. So much of getting work done requires putting distance between myself and my home planet. There are a number of ways to accomplish this; however, the return trip is always top on the mind----taking off is optional. Landing is not. When you do return, you want to return to the correct place at a comfortable speed.
It was time to get the tall wall done. I promised Mom I wouldn't attempt it alone. Once again, Byron to the rescue---he came down and helped set up the scaffolding I borrowed, even brought some missing pieces that were needed. It made the work safer and more productive and we made it up almost to the very top. I'll finish soon if the weather holds, then final painting on the way down while taking the scaffolding back apart. We started cutting siding boards into wavy lined shingles for up in the gable. It came out really well. Most of the caulking is completed too. I had to take A.M. to an appointment and returned to find Byron had cleaned everything up inside. This, by the way, is what I consider the ugly side of the house but the only person that will see it is Keith, who owns the dome home next door. Oh and soffits---the eaves have to be filled in with this concrete soffit board stuff. I really don't like how it looks but it's required in fire resistive construction. It went in easier than I had anticipated and really doesn't look all that bad

Amnesty in California

2011-12-18T06:09:00.000-08:00

   It's time we band together as Californians to save our great state. I don't care what your party line is, or what your prejudices towards these people are. They deserve amnesty and our state's future depends on it. It's simple economics.
   Maybe they don't look like you. Their language might not be recognizable to you, though you probably recognize a few words....You may have even participated in rallies to keep them out. It's time we recognize these people, (Yes, they ARE people with the same dignity afforded you and me) for the hard work and sacrifice they represent. Without them our state, even our country, simply wouldn't have the prosperity it has enjoyed in the past. We all benefit from the sweat of their brow. You probably didn't know they actually DO pay taxes, and use far less in government services than you and I.
    I say end all prejudices you have towards this group. Invite every last one of them into our state, and grant them tax amnesty for being here. I swear they'll spend, they'll elevate our culture. Have you tried their food?
    Most importantly they will do the kind of work most Americans aren't willing to do anymore. Too long this group has been looked down upon, literally spat upon, vilified, made to feel unwelcome. There are politicians--Presidents even---that will lie and foster misconceptions about this group for political gain.
    Please, open your minds and really think about what our state would be like if we didn't have them here. They really bring alot to our communities. Call them what you want---Millionaires, Billionaires, Entrepeneurs, the Well-To-Do. Just remember that it's very possible you could become one someday yourself, and ask yourself how you'd want to be treated.

Coming Together

2011-12-15T22:47:00.000-08:00

I realized I hadn't posted an update of the exterior for awhile. You can see the stucco below the deck level. The siding is going up nicely---now for the tall wall. I borrowed some scaffolding for that part.

Stucco

2011-12-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

   After spending years espousing the opinion the stucco is nothing but a lazy shortcut, I decided it was the best option for what was needed. The house itself will be cement lap siding. If I had done the same siding all the way to the ground, though, it would have looked funny---the house is quite a bit taller than it is wide. So, everything from the deck level down will be masonry. This smooth stucco will get stained to look like big granite blocks.
   First step is getting the K-lath up. The 100' roll unrolled itself down the hill---no pics of THAT. I shoulda, though. It was funny. You nail it up while stretching it tight as possible and cut out various openings with tin snips. You can get pretty scratched up... Then the 'weep screed' flashing goes in any edges, and corner lath on corners.
   Now you mix up your stucco. I'm going with a one coat process since the finish is smooth. Most homes the stuff is actually sprayed on in a three coat process (Scratch, brown, top)
   I used a tub and a mixing attachment on my 1/2" drill. Like Byron pointed out, it's just like frosting a cake. Even the mixing of the frosting.

Then you gotta apply it. I have a new respect for stucco-ers.. It is a real forearm workout. You slap some stucco on a flat board (hod, for you crossword puzzlers) scoop some up and smear it on.

It's very important to work the stucco in around the wire. This first pass is a bit thin to get it in, then the next pass is after it's set up a bit. The stucco ends up about 3/4" thick.

The Right Tools

2011-12-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

I've started siding the house. I have to use the Hardiplank cement board siding due to the fire resistive codes for the area. Only other option was stucco----which I'm doing for the level underneath the porch (pics of that later)

This isn't the first time I've used the cementitious material---just the first time on my own house. I really prefer the masonite type siding. Cement board is very heavy. It can chip. Worst thing though is the dust---if you cut it with the diamond blade, this nasty silica dust gets everywhere. Mesothelioma would take some of the fun out of building.

Here's what it looks like cutting with a skilsaw---there's usually even more dust but it was windy when I took this (while sawing one handed. Here, hold my beer and watch this)

Northern Tools (an online supply company) had these shears made specifically for cutting this material. It makes zero dust, just this somewhat annoying curly kerf material. It cuts fast, and can cut some larger radius curves, too.

You also get staighter cuts, simply because you can see your pencil line that's normally lost in the dust cloud.

As I mentioned before, I'd only used this material on other people's houses, which meant I always had someone else to work with. You really need someone to hold one end of the board to get it into place. Northern Tools had an automatic recommendation ('Many customers also bought....') The kit wasn't expensive and got very good reviews from people that souunded credible, so I bought it. It's two parts---the first is this metal clip that wedges behind the previous board to hold one end, offset away from the wall by an inch.

It's a pretty clever design. That little metal tab holds the board. After nailing the opposite end, you depress that little hump and the board slides down, leaving room to easily get the tool out again.

Here's the other part of the kit. The back side has this slide-in part you set for the desired exposure of the lap siding. I picked 7" showing, which makes for a good 1 1/4" overlap, so I can blind nail the board a good distance from the edge and still cover the nail with the next board. The trim boards around the windows, doors, and corners are too thick for the shears to cut so I have to use the skilsaw for that still.

More Free Building Materials

2011-12-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

It's getting close to time to build the stair rail and guardrail around the reading nook. The early snow we had did some damage to some trees, including this mighty black oak.

So I cut it up a bit and took chunks the correct length. I cut a few on the table saw into 2"x2" s---they look great but it's really slow. I'm gonna look into better ways to cut them. I want to make the railing out of the same stuff.

Here's a gratuitous view from the porch of Autumn at the lake.

The Hearth

2011-10-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

Fun stage. Starting to do some artistic stuff that will actually show. This is the building of the hearth, done exactly how you'd do a concrete countertop. I've done the pour-in-place method before but never the upside-down mold that gives a perfectly flat surface.
Starting with the mold----this is melamine. I didn't want extreme folds in the plastic so instead of lining the entire mold with plastic I just wrapped the form walls, then screwed it all together. Then a 2x6 was cut the length of the form, and rebar wired so it would hang in the center of the concrete. 3 anchor bolts were molded into the bottom to secure the piece to the wooden base later.

Once the rebar was checked for fit that whole part was set aside. The first sack of concrete was mixed. I took out a scoop of it and threw it in the form, then added some 'buff' color to the remainder; after thorough mixing, placed that in the form. Then three sacks of concrete were mixed with black oxide color and that got dumped in.

Note to self---don't rely on vibrating the form to soften the edge of the different colors. You have to blend the edges manually as soon as you dump it in the form. Otherwise when your wife first sees it, she'll ask "Did you mean for it to look like that?"
After packing the concrete as best as I could, the rebar/anchor bolt rack was put in place.

When you build the form, build it very sturdy---this one holds over 300 pounds of concrete and you have to vibrate it. If you don't do some shaking of some kind you end up with all these honeycomb voids. This form is held off the floor so I could get a crowbar under it to shake and wiggle it---then I took the blade off the sawzall and vibrated it. A few good raps with a sledge got some bubbles out, too. Make sure your form is on a level surface for curing.

   Note to self #2. If you don't want animal tracks in the pour, keep animals away. I had no idea until now the raccoons were coming inside at night. Guess it's time to buy a front door?

    Let it cure at least 24 hours. Impatience is bad---some of these forms are gonna stick, and 'green' concrete might prefer to stick to part of the form and not itself. 300 pounds minus a little is one helluva paper weight.
    So I carefully stripped the forms and built the wooden base. It was very tempting to just flip it over and have a look, but I would have bent the anchor bolts.   The wooden base was very solid and distributed the weight evenly on the floor. I also made certain the base was over two of the floor joists.

The wooden base was then screwed into the joists below and the Hardibacker screwed into place. The base and the fireplace surround will get a native stone veneer. The concrete still needs a little grinding, polishing and sealing.... Doing the pour indoors right near the finished spot was slightly inconvenient since I had to carry the mixed concrete in from outside, but I don't think I could have carried the finished product in without lots of help

Is This Your First Occupation?

2011-10-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

Look--I know it was a rude awakening. After 16 years or so of government schools where there was lots of emphasis on fairness and self esteem, and little on productivity and entrepreneurship... Too few teachers understood and taught what runs our economy and too many filled your head with the liberal tripe their union clings to. You saw first hand how your government will take care of you---free food before, during, and after school, free counseling, contraception, field trips, transportation. You must have gotten the impression the government has unlimited funds. You must have gotten the notion that if someone has more than you, it's because they took it away from you. After all, we're all the same, right?
   What a rude awakening to be turned out into the real world! Suddenly no one is giving you stuff anymore! Hey, don't they realize how valuable you are?? Don't they realize what this is doing to your self esteem?
   So along comes this wealth hating protest. Heck, maybe even a special interest group will pay you to go.   Go teach those evil capitalists what's up.
   Here's what they failed to teach you in school, though. Our economy, and all the free stuff you enjoy, rely 100% on corporation and business profit or the speculation of future profit. Those people you are protesting against are paying the vast majority of the taxes. That millionaire didn't get there by whining or holding a sign.
   You sign says, "Wake Up!" Oh, we're awake. We know that the financial meltdown has far more to do with Barney Frank's 'fair housing' scheme and almost nothing to do with CEO pay. We are awake to the fact that over-regulation and undue influence of environmental laws has killed business development. We are awake to the fact that an economy can't sustain unskilled jobs artificially overcompensated not by need or scarcity but by union thuggery. Yep, you can actually earn $50,000 scanning bananas.
   And those millionaires you revile? Very few were handed anything. They were the ones that got up early to study and took a job (you would have considered beneath you)after school. They found a niche, made themselves valuable and productive---and 'the system' you hate rewarded them. Well, sort of---their tax burden is hefty and few recognize their true heroics today.
   Here's my question to you. Maybe you can awaken me in this regard. After you're done bringing down all the millionaires, who are you gonna tax to support all your social programs?

Patrick Asks 'The Question"

2011-10-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

   We're homeschooling Patrick this year, like we did for the girls during 6th grade. He's 11. We were just riding in the car when he asked "The Question".
    I guess it's the same age I started getting curious about such things, too. They say you shouldn't overload them or go way beyond what they're able to understand, but you don't want to obfuscate or confuse, either. Incidentally, if the girls have asked such questions, they went to AnnaMarie. Quite frankly though, I know a lot more about it than she does. It's one of those things she'd just as soon not even think about. It's there, it's a necessary part of life, that's it.
    So you prompt them to ask specific questions. That way they are steering the conversation to their level of understanding. "How does it all work?" "How do I get things started?" "How do you know what to put where, and when?" "Why does Mommy's look different than Daddy's?" All good questions.
   Since we're homeschooling I asked the charter lead from the district. She told me about visible models that the district would even pay for. Patrick and I could do the assembly together and we could discuss everything's names and functions as we go along.
   We're really enjoying the time together.

Da Roof..

2011-09-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

Shelter really isn't shelter until there's a roof. Roofing is one of the more rewarding parts of the building project---everything underneath is now protected from the elements, and you can get work done regardless of the weather. First you have to get the materials up there, though. I built a temporary stand-off since the roofing goes 3/8" past the drip edge, and put some stops so the ladder can't slide off. Then it's a matter of shoulder loading the bundles of shingles----3/4's of them weigh 68 pounds, and every fourth weighs 76 pounds. (one in four bundles has more shingles so it will work out to 4 bundles per square, a square being 100 square feet covered)
Hard to tell in the picture but it's 26' to the ground.

I made a work platform out of scrap to hold stuff. You need a flat surface to cut the shingles on. There's a specific pattern to cut each starter shingle, working left to right from the roof's edge---that way the seams don't overlap. Every 5 courses I snapped a chalkline to keep everything straight (or else when you get to the top everything looks un-even)

The valleys......This roof has every challenge there is---steep valleys, gable junctions, roof to wall junctions, even curved rooflines. I'm of the opinion there is only one correct way to roof valleys when using composition roofing, and that is to lace them. The cheap shortcut is to put metal flashing down and simply cut the shingles at the bottom of the valley. The metal tends to cook the shingles causing premature failure. The shingles are cut right where the water flows. Leaves and pine needles accumulate and get under. Other than chimneys, valleys are the most likely origin of leaks.
Three reasons roofers don't lace valleys----They don't know how (I exchanged free labor for an experienced roofer that DID know how for a roofing lesson) it uses up a lot more roofing material, and it takes more time.
This steep gable comes right up against the pop-out roof, creating a snow-trapping funnel. I put down this sticky sheet rubber stuff in the valley all the way up the sidewall, then flashed the vertical surfaces with lots of flashing.

September Lightning Pre-Position

2011-09-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

     It was a bit ironic, just because I was working a 48 hour shift over the 9/11 weekend and concurrently on the bubble and rostered as a Technical Information Specialist (TIS) for the Urban Search And Rescue task force (just in case there was an attack)... Midway through the shift sometime after midnight got the call to report for something completely different, managing a military aircraft for fires up North.
   It's kind of a neat program. If the private helicopter resources are exhausted, the large campaign fires can call up National Guard helicopters to fight fires. The copters have to have a fire representative aboard trained as a Military Helicopter Equipment Manager (MHEM).
    SouthOps set up a rental car for me. My relief came in, I got the car, and started driving. The helibase was in Tehachapi, only a few hours' drive, but I had to drive through and continue on another 6 hours North to Stockton to get my helicopter.
    Flew South and fought fire for a few days. It was cool to see areas way off the freeways I'd driven by so many times before. They re-deployed us up to Bishop, crossing the Southern portion of the Sierras right over Lake Isabella. The fire in Bishop wasn't really much, so we then crossed over the central Sierras---the only landmark I recognized was 'Balloon Dome'. It's gorgeous country and just goes on and on. Flight following was hard---there's little radio communications in or out back there.
    Days' end always involved a small army of mechanics crawling all over the helicopter checking everything over. It's big, can lift a lot, yet flies much faster than our 412 back home.

Free Building Materials!

2011-09-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

    At work out by the airport dumpsters, there was this hunk of wood someone left there. It sat for months. I really don't just salvage stuff, unless I'm absolutely sure I can use it. I figured, at least it could be firewood.....It had a deep weathered surface, was 7" X 12" X 8 1/2'. Just looking at splinters I thought it was Douglas Fir, but it was very heavy.   So it sat in my yard for another year.
    Byron loaned me his table saw, which also sat for a year. It will cut much deeper than the skilsaw most of the house was built with. When I started making the cuts, a rich chocolate smell filled the cottage--a distinct old oak smell.
    It took a few hours just to cut the rough shape and the blade wasn't quite deep enough, so a sawzall finished the cuts. The wood is so hard the circuit breaker kept popping and the wood burned as it cut.
    After trudging through the plumbing and fire sprinkler steps, doing some artsy work was a welcomed change.

I really like the contrast of the old weathered wood and the newly cut/deeply sanded oak. It was very tempting to make the mantel oversized just to not waste the wood, but I think this is correct. You can see the small dry rot section in the first picture. Sanding some of this out made the bottom edge kind of crookedy, which I could have sawn straight---but I kind of like the feel now. My brother Bob would call it 'organic' I think.

Craigslist had this wetsaw listed for $50. I bought a new blade (another $50) spent some time getting it working, grabbed the closest rock, and started cutting. It's beautiful. This will face the fireplace and chimney.
The other free find are some large wood bifold doors that will fit the 8' closet space. The whole 'repurposed' theme is NOT part of goal with this place, but when you find really good stuff that fits and is free, all the better

A Day At AirOps

2011-08-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

http://flashovertv.firerescue1.com/Media/3128-A-day-with-San-Diego-Air-Ops-San-Diego-5-The-Battalion-the-Series

This media crew from 'Flashover TV' does stories related to fire service things. They came out quite awhile ago. This is a little long but does a good job of describing our AirOps program

Mile Eighteen

2011-08-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

If you've ever run a marathon, one of the mental challenges is 'hitting the wall'. Somewhere about mile eighteen or so, moving forward gets very difficult. Things hurt, you've got a long way to go, you're tired. You start questioning why you're doing this...There's nothing to do for it except keep on going.
   With electrical done and plumbing not started, I sorta hit that wall. I'm close enough to being done that I can see everything that's left to do; looking at it all at once it's overwhelming.
    Nothing for it but to keep on going.
   I got the drain side of the plumbing done. The wall heater and water heater go in next---then everything that penetrates the roof will be in place. The paper and flashing is down. Time to buy the roof.
   So loaded the old truck up with all the construction debris that can't be burned, donated, or recycled (mostly OSB scraps, tar paper, and various packing materials), got up really early, and went to the dump on my way to work. How cathartic! Worked the paying job for 24 hours, then straight to Ford Wholesale Roofing.
    I had already chosen and paid for what I needed. That way they have it all ready in a pile ready to load. 40 year composition shingles, charcoal black. You also need various flashings, tin shingles for where roof meets gables, starter course, ridge, tar, coil nails. Pulled old truck in and the fork lift guy asked, "Are you going to take two trips or three?" Uh, we'll do it in one. I know he's thinking quarter ton truck and 3,500 pounds plus of roof....I try to explain to him how often I've loaded 5,000 pounds of concrete in the thing...Neglecting to explain that's for a short trip instead of the hour drive and one mile elevation gain we face...
   So, he shrugs, lifts the entire load, drops it in the truck. The rubber stops are resting on the axle; there's no spring left.
   Please, old truck, don't hit the wall. You are WAY past mile eighteen. For that matter, you're way past mile 26. I'll reward you with some really good gas.
   Chug all the way home; the engine never pings once. It takes four wheel drive low to make it up the steep driveway, but make it we do. My truck's fortitude was inspiration to hand offload each 87.5 pound bundle to where they need to be--either upstairs or near the ladder.
    I feel like that wall is now behind me and I'm looking forward to completing each remaining step

Haiti, The Most Fair Nation

2011-08-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

   Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with The Dominican Republic. It's such a good microcosm to make a point since everything is pretty much the same, except for an attitude that makes things different between the two countries. Same terrain, same weather, language, people.
   A good friend of mine does missionary work in Haiti. He told me something very interesting---the Haitians are really just fine not having anything and living in poverty, but if you give one of them something extra, all hell breaks loose. If someone gets the idea that somebody got something they didn't, fights will erupt, buses get overturned. Getting ahead can mean losing your head.
   Since our children were very small we never did 'fair'. One kid might get an extra cookie here and there. Another kid might arbitrarily get to do something the other won't, and we've always given the answer 'we don't do fair here'.
   Our kids get along great, and will share among themselves freely.
   There's an old saying, 'You can't make the poor richer by making the rich poorer'. As the grocery workers prepare to go on strike yet again, their big argument isn't how hard they work or the dangers of the job or the skills required to ring up bananas; their argument is how much their CEO makes compared to them.
   Well, then, go become a CEO.
   At the root is a misunderstanding of how new wealth is made. CEO's have more power to increase the gross domestic product than all of congress and the executive branch combined. Punishing CEO's to try to move money towards minimally skilled labor in the name of a liveable wage is very counter-productive. You really are biting the hand that feeds you.   Labor laws and the regulations that come with them, in the name of 'fairness', inhibit budding enterpeneurs from advancing and creating new wealth, industry, and jobs.
In the case of grocery workers----their last strike drove shoppers to non-union businesses like Walmart and Target. We didn't come back. If you want to pay $2 each for an avocado to support 'living wages' at a chain store, go ahead.
   As Haiti can show, it IS possible for everybody to have the exact same amount, as long as that same amount is nothing. That really is fair. Just say goodbye to innovation, GDP growth, environmental protection, and the freedom towards greatness.
   I will take the unfairness and advancement through merit and hard work any day. If you envy what someone else has, do you seek to take it away from them, or do what they did to achieve it?

Energized

2011-07-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

Started doing the wiring. The main panel is out at the power pole providing the temp construction power. The panel in the house, technically, is a sub panel. A good place to begin is putting in all the boxes where outlets and fixtures will be. I picked up a copy of the National Electric Code (NEC) book to reference, so I can be code compliant. You have to be able to walk through a house and turn lights on and off to light your way. You have to have outlets placed so a floor lamp with a 6' cord can be placed along any wall. There are wiring size issues, breaker size issues, and rules where ground fault circuits have to be. Bedrooms have to have arc fault breakers. Smoke alarms and CO detectors have to be on a breaker with lights so a dead circuit won't go unnoticed.

This is the sub panel with about half of the circuits in so far. Neatness counts. You want to try to balance the two 110v legs as best as you can...The challenge with this was, WAAY back when I ran the conduit through the foundation, it just didn't end up in the middle of the stud bay so it needed a custom offset. I bought two 45 degree sweeps and kept cutting half an inch off of them equally until, put together, they centered with the panel. I like how it looks. Too bad no one will ever see it.

This is a pretty fun stage of building. There is no heavy lifting involved, you're deciding where lights and stuff will be, and you're figuring things out. The project has truly taken on a life of its own. Also it started raining and it was fun to be working 'inside' instead of having to just quit for the day.

There's An Inside Now

2011-07-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

     For the fourth time since starting I needed to call in help. Byron's been there for each of those times. Cutting the driveway, getting the septic system in and level, concrete foundation pouring day, and now windows.
     We worked together to get the housewrap up. This is a very critical stage, and doing it wrong is the source of leaks, woodrot, even termite issues later. The websites I found made it clear that a cheap product applied correctly will far outperform an expensive product slapped up there. I opted for expensive product applied correctly.
     Part of the challenge is the waterproofing is applied out of order with the order you do construction. So you leave bottom edges unattached to properly slip flashing underneath when doing roofing and siding.
     We used Tyvek housewrap. We taped all seams. We cut 45 degree angles over the window and door corners for supersticky flashing. We caulked, caulked, caulked.
     We got a rhythm down for installing the windows and they all went well, though there are some new aches and pains after the heavy lifting and twisting.   Two funny things that happened---the housewrap comes wrapped around a 9' cardboard toilet paper tube so while Byron was way up a ladder I was able to whisper in his ear from the ground....Other funny thing was inadvertently sticking my head in freshly applied caulk. Spent the day with silicone stuck in what's left of my hair, removed later with carb cleaner.
     I decided we'd work from the top down with the windows, and we got all of them except one 4x4 living room window and the sliding glass door in, both of which are off the porch. Those I did by myself---not smart. I really should have got help from a neighbor instead of relying on a series of clamps and braces. No mishaps but took much, much longer and those things are HEAVY.

Finished Framing

2011-06-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

Framing is all done! Kind of bittersweet as framing is my favorite part of the project. There's progress seen at the end of each day, there's figuring out stuff to do, and the near primordial need to work with wood. The other primodial need to not fall down is a reason to be glad to move on....

I really didn't like how the porch roof terminated at the ends as I drew them for the plans...They just sort of stopped at the wall, and since the eave sticks out 16" it looked funny. So, I matched the eave mirror image to the left here, forming a peak and somewhat protecting the side window from the weather. It breaks up the monotonous look of the big wall some and should stiffen it up (this wall faces the prevailing winds). It was probably stiff enough before but the way our house can shake in high winds, a little extra perpendicular sheer won't hurt.

This was the real head scratcher.....I had to build a box to hold the tankless water heater. I wanted to put it equal distance between the kitchen and bathroom, which would have looked funny just sticking out of the wall. Once again, the porch roof was supposed to just end at the wall corner. So with the box and flue channel built, the end fascia extends up to the box then continues down the other side. It shelters the kitchen window and adds interest to the back of the house. I really struggled with how long to make the sweep going to the right---at first it was barely wider than the box, then played with making it symetrical like the other end....(decided against that. It might have looked as if the house was originally a single story house that had a jutting upstairs addition forced upon it) so opted for just over the kitchen window and below the upstairs hallway window.
Next is housewrap and installing windows. Windows can be a one person job, if they are very small and close to the ground. None of mine are so I'm gonna get help. When I called Byron and asked for help installing windows, he sounded pretty eager. Now I'm wondering if he thinks it's a computer issue. I should have been more clear.

Why Nothing Got Done on the Cabin Today

2011-06-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

First off, we had a request from a couple for a long term rental agreement for the other cabin. He's a land surveyor for SDG&E's big 'Sunrise Powerlink' project (kind of a sore subject with people who will have a view of new powerlines, but necessary infrastructure I think) so when I got home from work I was going to put the kids in the old truck, and drive over to clear a bunch of stuff out of the place.
Truck wouldn't start. The kids were a bit distraught----they knew the truck wouldn't last forever, and thought maybe this was goodbye. We bought it shortly after we were married and before we had any kids...Anyway, it had been sitting for awhile and all it needed was a can of carb cleaner sprayed through and it ran great.
With THAT done, and the cabin made ready for the renters (with lots of help from the kids) there was a Cuyamaca Lake issue that required some attention and a trip to town. So jumped in the Subaru--AnnaMarie and the kids just got back from a trip to Camarillo, and she told me she heard the fanbelt squeal when she had started it up...Odd, since I had just adjusted it....Well, the car started just fine, but all the warning lights were on and the power steering wasn't working. A check under the hood showed one belt VERY loose and the other belt lying in the driveway....Thank God it did it after she parked, at home, instead of somewhere on the road.
   It was weird, though. All the belt pulleys seemed right, the belts looked fine, everything turned OK. Why would BOTH belts have an issue though? There's only one pulley they share, the one on the end of the crankshaft...Gave that a good yank and the pulley itself came apart. The outer ring had delaminated from the middle part. There's a rubber ring between the two, probably due to some harmonics issue or something.
   The thought of having the car towed an hour away for the fix sounded expensive so got to work pulling out the radiator just to get at it. The main bolt came out without too much trouble but pulling the wheel was another matter---everything around it is plastic shrouds so there's nothing to pry against. So, pulling, wiggling, and grunting, it gave just enough to let me know it'd come off if I just kept at it.
   "Yeah, we have them in stock. $189.   They're notorious for delaminating like that. You'll never get the wheel off without the special tool though" Uh, I already did. "If the woodruff key is intact then it's an easy fix from here" (Nothing wrong with the key) So when I get home from work tomorrow I just have to put the new one on and button everything up and it SHOULD be good to go

Lauren's Gettysburg Poem

2011-06-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

OK. If you had told me I'd be posting 14 year old girl poetry on MY blog, I'da thought you were nuts....
Lauren's class was returning from a field trip and yet another very impressive teacher used the long bus ride having the kids memorize the Gettysburg Address (in honor of memorial Day). Back at school the kids were asked to produce a poem about it. Anything. Most were the 'Roses are Red' variety. This was Lauren's.

Never Forget What They Did Here

A call

An idea

“I’ll fight”

Added Enthusiasm

“For my country”

A decided expression

“For the People”

A command

A whine

“Life would be easier”

A grumble

“If slaves could do our chores”

A grimace

“For the People”

A departure

A cry

“Leave my family”

A sob

“For my country”

A kiss goodbye

“So nobly advanced”

A slamming door

A shout

“Wish I didn’t have to go”

A huff

“To school”

An ignored goodbye

“So nobly advanced”

A cold tent

A frosty breath

“I’m a brave soldier”

A determined nod

“I’ll follow through with this”

A stretch

“Fitting and proper that we should do this”

A warm comforter

A sigh

“I won’t get up”

A yawn

“There’s nothing to do”

A doze

“Fitting and proper that we should do this”

A fear

A thumping heart

“I may die”

A coordinated step

“In battle”

An acceptance

“The brave men”

A whimper

A stubborn refusal

“I won’t”

A stomp

“Eat this broccoli”

A tantrum

“The brave men”

A halt

A silence

“I hope I’m ready”

A gulp

“My country’s counting on me”

A forward march

“Great battlefield of that war”

A check

A sulk

“you’ll beat me”

A sniff

“You always win”

A surrender

“Great battlefield of that war”

A gunshot

A passing thought

“My country”

A labored breath

“Will thank me”

A throbbing pain

“Shall not perish from this earth”

A foul ball

A wince

“My team would be better”

A hung head

“Without me on it”

A resignation

“Shall not perish from the earth”

A deadly field

A survivor

“How brave they were”

An admiration

“To die”

A tear

“Shall not die in vain”

A computer game

A champion

“I won”

A prideful smile

“And you lost”

A sneer

“Shall not have died in vain”

An address

A live listener

“How true”

A hope

“We must carry it out”

An agreement

“Never forget what they did here”

A history book page

A student

“How true”

A hope

“We must carry it out”

An agreement

“Never forget what they did here”

A command

An obeyed

“For the People”

A slamming door

An apology

“So nobly advanced”

A warm comforter

An awakening

“Fitting and proper that we should do this”

A whimper

A courageous bite

“The brave men”

A check

A defensive move

“Great battlefield of that war”

A foul ball

A second try

“Shall not perish from the earth”

A computer game

A modest winner

“Shall not have died in vain”

Getting Ready for Rough Framing Inspection

2011-06-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

There's a lot going on here....There are quite a few requirements to be met since this is a high fire danger (Wildland Urban Interface) area, high earthquake danger area, and high wind/weather extremes zone. Add to that it's built on a slope and is taller than it is wide. To satisfy all the inspectors, there has to be radiant barrier everywhere higher than the ceiling. All the timbers have to be oversized. I spend more time putting in the required steel reinforcement strong ties than the framing----note the steel strips above and below the windows running the entire wall width---they have one 3" nail per inch. That's a lot of hammering. Plus you have to provide the blocking to nail the strips to. There's another row of blocking studs just behind the top of that sheer panel, so the ledger for the porch roof has something to attach to later.

Here's the tallest wall. I tried to put up the sheer panel just using a ladder but after falling I decided that was stupid. Actually if there wasn't any wind I could probably do it. So I made four braces I can screw to the wall temporarily to have something to stand on to work safely. (as of this writing they are on the other side of the house so I can finish the sheer on that side when I get back home again)

The upstairs picture window......Ugh. When framing that wall I realized part of the window's view would be blocked by the interior chimney so I just scooted the window over a little. Now from the outside, it isn't centered with the gable roof peak. So far no one I've pointed it out to seems to think it looks bad.
There are two solutions---option One is frame in and eliminate part if the window on the left so it's visually centered----but losing the best of the view from inside. Option B is a stone veneer on the outside, to the right of the window opening, continued on the porch wall, all the way down to the foundation. Added benefit is, water coming off the roof from the gable would run down stone instead of siding.
Before the inspection I have to install the fire sprinklers, all the windows, and doors. I could put the roof on too. Right now I'm working 10 days straight (the two other HRM's took vacations) but I'll get time off with good weather soon so work will continue. The wood pile is down to almost nothing. AnnaMarie likes the idea of having her whole driveway back again.

Boat Launch 2011

2011-06-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

After a one year hiatus, Mr. Copeland's 7th and 8th grade class built and launched a boat, this time an outrigger. It's a great way to end the school year, with a big beach party.

One of the crew chiefs at work has a son that reps for a stand-up paddle board company. He and his friend brought some boards out and gave lessons---it was a hit and good addition to the event.

Not exactly sure why McKenna was so anxious for a stand up paddle lesson. She never expressed an interest in it before...

So after Riley and Eric put in a few hours with the kids, they took the outrigger out for a paddle. They really got the thing moving.

Then, of course, the obligatory group photo

Trying to explain Wildland Urban Interface in 30 Seconds

2011-05-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.cbs8.com/story/14710050/chopper-tour-reveals-our-most-at-risk-neighborhoods

Roof Sheeting

2011-05-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

There are quite a few steps in this project that are basically question marks. If I'm really not sure how to get over some hurdle, I try to get everything done up to the point of the roadblock and reduce it to a single question.
How do you cut an irregular triangle the right size for a gable that's 28' off the ground?

The other issue is this radiant barrier stuff. It's like extra thick bubblewrap with mylar on both sides. It reflects 96% of the radiant heat and helps make it a very efficient 'green' building.

So I climbed up with a piece of this radiant barrier, tacked it in place, and trimmed it to shape. Took it back down and used it as a template for cutting the sheeting.

Just getting the lumber up there was hard. YOu sort of cradle it in your arms while shimmying up the ladder. With the wind you have to be careful and be willing to drop a carefully cut piece if need be.

The only part left is the curved rafters for the kick-out over the bedroom and that will be pretty easy compared to the gable.

The underside, looking up. You can tell how high the ceiling's gonna be by the ceiling joists. If you ever work around that radiant barrier stuff wear sunglasses

Interior Framing

2011-05-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Had a particularly productive day yesterday. The paying job will demand most of my attention for awhile so I really wanted to get as much done as I could. Started at sunrise then started cleanup at sunset...

Upstairs bedroom closet. It's big. This place will have quite a bit more storage space than the first place.

Got the bathroom rough-framed in. Lesson learned from before---buy the tub early and frame around it.

Started to get the ceiling joists in---I really struggled with how high to make the ceiling. Lower is warmer and cozier--it also makes the overall structure stronger . Higher makes it feel bigger. After consulting a trusted source, decided on 107" from the floor. With the joists in I can picture the room now. It's a smallish bedroom so too high would have felt like a hallway. I'm happy with it.

The roof is all framed up now. Getting the outside fascia in place was hard because they are heavy, require weird cuts, and are way off the ground. It took a full day just to install ONE of them. By contrast, all the upstairs interior framing, installing the bathtub, and getting some of the ceiling joists in took the same amount of time. When there's no real risk of falling you can work a lot faster.

Framing is by far the most fun and most rewarding stage of building. Too bad it goes by so darned fast. I was sort of in an Irish music mood too---maybe because everything's so lush right now thanks to the rains. Framing, and Irish music. Slice of heaven.

Rafters

2011-05-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the last of the rafters were installed. There are two fascia boards that sort of match the rafters that will go in tomorrow--those funny cuts out of the outside rafters are to cradle 'bachelor studs' that support the fascia since they don't rest on the wall. there's going to be a really funny cut where this fascia meets up with the front one too, which means lifting it up, marking it, taking it down, cutting it, lifting it back up again.

Taking Shape

2011-04-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

     Had three days in a row to pretty much just build---all in really good weather. AnnaMarie kicks me out early but as a courtesy to the neighbors no power tools until 7:00 am. Sometime around 11 she'll call me home and we'll have lunch together, then back at it until sunset. It takes a little while to put things away for the night. Then shower, help with homework, visit, eat dinner, then off to bed---typically with a few things to figure out for the next day.
     All the steep rafters with compound angles are in. All the curved rafters, too. The rafters on the back side are pretty simple, just an angle where they meet the beam, a birds-mouth cut where they rest on the wall frame, and an angle on the rafter tail for the soffit later. I have 5 out of 11 of those in--should be able to finish that tomorrow if I get off work at a reasonable time. The back upstairs wall was plumb on the two ends but about 2" off in the middle, so it got pulled into shape and held there with a board until the rafters are in place to secure it (if you don't do this, the wall is forever held in the wrong position. Doors and windows stick, pictures don't hang straight, all sorts of bad building karma)
     We're slowly regaining our driveway, too. What had been three semi truckloads of building materials in our home's driveway, eating up three parking spots, is now down to a little stack. I'm going to have a fair amount of wood left over. Maybe for a single car garage, which would be nice

Here's the boards that become the long rafters. They're 20' long 2x12's (80-100 pounds each) The old truck just keeps chugging along. It isn't a far trip---across the street---but then up a very steep driveway.

Dihedrals

2011-04-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

There were a few challenges with the gable. One was working 28' off the ground, and it gets pretty windy in the afternoon. Dealing with compound angles is a headscratcher sometimes (OK always)...Another problem was, the valley beam doesn't come out over the corner of the house and that makes the eaves not match up. So either one eave is a lot bigger than the other (which would look funny) or where the eaves meet at the valley beam one extends out more than the other (which would look funny). So the fascia on the gable actually angles back from the standars 16" down to 4" so everything meets up.
The wall to the left has a big window in it---it's boarded up now to keep snow from blowing in. It didn't help much. The roof framing to the far right is the first curved rafters---that same curve will be matched for the porch roof.

Here's the gable roof framing looking up from the second floor. You can see how that valley beam doesn't pass over the corner. The rafters must, by code, oppose each other on either side of the ridge and valley so you have to get the angles correct. The boards going perpendicular are called bachelor studs---they support the fascia boards that are cantilevered out. The column to the right, one of five in the house, has to be supported all the way down to the foundation and the foundation underneath is deeper, wider, and reinforced with more steel to support the load of the house.
When people imagine building, I think this is the stage they think of. It is probably the most fun and rewarding stage as you really see progress at the end of each day. But it actually represents a very tiny fraction of the overal building process.

Frustration

2011-03-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

So AnnaMarie was sick enough I left work and took her to the hospital. Had to insist on different tests getting done---one of which found the adenomas on her liver (probably not a big issue). The other one---the hospital assigned endocrinologist didn't see any value in drawing an insulin level since her blood sugar remains normal. After insisting, it got done.
After the weekend was over, trying to find out the test results was difficult. The same endocrinologist kept insisting "Why would I draw insulin levels??" Only to call back late at night and say---"This makes no sense. Her proinsulin and c-peptide are through the roof!"
OK, so what do I do? "She needs a 72 hour fasting study at a hospital, done by an endocrinologist" Umm, but, you ARE an endocrinologist. "Well, yeah, but I'm not YOUR endocrinologist. Set one up through her primary care physician (PCP)".
So, set up a conference call between insurance, PCP, and the new endocrinologist. "I have to see all her charts before we even see her" OK well, do what you can to expedite---she's not doing well. Get the visit approved yesterday--for next week. Then the endocrinologist called back--"She needs to see a gastroenterologist before she sees me" Huh? Why?
Same conference call, except this time get set up with the GI doc. "We can see you tomorrow" (today)..Sure, we'll be there. I was supposed to staff the copter---called Scott and cashed in yet more favors. My favor account is starting to resemble the national debt, but got the first half covered. See the GI this afternoon, explain the whole issue (we counted up---she's the TENTH MD we've seen this month) I liked her alot. She listened and looked at everything, but said "This is clearly an endocrinology issue. Why are you here?" We are supposed to go BACK to the endocrinologist, get the 72 hour study done, then coordinate with surgery if there's a strong suspicion of an insulinoma (which was my suspicion back when we insisted on the c-peptide/proinsulin test in the first place)
Can't do anything until Monday. We'll start with the PCP and ask what we have to do to get the study done immediately. I've learned that if you let the insurance company know you're sick and desperate enough to just go through the emergency room, they start to move a little quicker. It's really hard to do things the right way. We've had to unravel so much of this ourselves---still no diagnosis but we're getting close I hope. We pay more for health insurance evey month than we do for food.

Lauren Cashes In 2 seconds Of Her 15 Minutes Of Fame

2011-03-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/kswb-spelling-bee-2011,0,874737.story

"Integument?" "Abiotrophy". If she HAD won, we woulda missed our appointment----it lasted four hours! She really seemed pleased she made it to the top 20 for the spelling bee.

A List Of Agencies California Should Cut

2011-03-13T05:48:00.000-07:00

These are all California State Agencies

California Academic Performance Index (API) * California Access for Infants and Mothers * California Acupuncture Board * California Administrative Office of the Courts * California Adoptions Branch * California African American Museum * California Agricultural Export Program * California Agricultural Labor Relations Board * California Agricultural Statistics Service * California Air Resources Board (CARB) * California Allocation Board * California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority * California Animal Health and Food Safety Services * California Anti-Terrorism Information Center * California Apprenticeship Council * California Arbitration Certification Program * California Architects Board * California Area VI Developmental Disabilities Board * California Arts Council * California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus * California Assembly Democratic Caucus * California Assembly Republican Caucus * California Athletic Commission * California Attorney General * California Bay Conservation and Development Commission * California Bay-Delta Authority * California Bay-Delta Office * California Biodiversity Council * California Board for Geologists and Geophysicists * California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors * California Board of Accountancy * California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology * California Board of Behavioral Sciences * California Board of Chiropractic Examiners * California Board of Equalization (BOE) * California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection * California Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind * California Board of Occupational Therapy * California Board of Optometry * California Board of Pharmacy * California Board of Podiatric Medicine * California Board of Prison Terms * California Board of Psychology * California Board of Registered Nursing * California Board of Trustees * California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians * California Braille and Talking Book Library * California Building Standards Commission * California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education * California Bureau of Automotive Repair * California Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair * California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation * California Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine * California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services * California Bureau of State Audits * California Business Agency * California Business Investment Services (CalBIS) * California Business Permit Information (CalGOLD) * California Business Portal * California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency * California Cal Grants * California CalJOBS * California Cal-Learn Program * California CalVet Home Loan Program * California Career Resource Network * California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau * California Center for Analytical Chemistry * California Center for Distributed Learning * California Center for Teaching Careers (Teach California) * California Chancellors Office * California Charter Schools * California Children and Families Commission * California Children and Family Services Division * California Citizens Compensation Commission * California Civil Rights Bureau * California Coastal Commission * California Coastal Conservancy * California Code of Regulations * California Collaborative Projects with UC Davis * California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth * California Commission on Aging * California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers Compensation * California Commission on Judicial Performance * California Commission on State Mandates * California Commission on Status of Women * California Commission on Teacher Credentialing * California Commission on the Status of Women * California Committee on Dental Auxiliaries * California Community Colleges Chancellors Office, Junior Colleges * California Community Colleges Chancellors Office * California Complaint Mediation Program * California Conservation Corps * California Constitution Revision Commission * California Consumer Hotline * California Consumer Information Center * California Consumer Information * California Consumer Services Division * California Consumers and Families Agency * California Contractors State License Board * California Corrections Standards Authority * California Council for the Humanities * California Council on Criminal Justice * California Council on Developmental Disabilities * California Court Reporters Board * California Courts of Appeal * California Crime and Violence Prevention Center * California Criminal Justice Statistics Center * California Criminalist Institute Forensic Library * California CSGnet Network Management * California Cultural and Historical Endowment * California Cultural Resources Division * California Curriculum and Instructional Leadership Branch * California Data Exchange Center * California Data Management Division * California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission * California Delta Protection Commission * California Democratic Caucus * California Demographic Research Unit * California Dental Auxiliaries * California Department of Aging * California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs * California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board * California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control * California Department of Boating and Waterways (Cal Boating) * California Department of Child Support Services (CDCSS) * California Department of Community Services and Development * California Department of Conservation * California Department of Consumer Affairs * California Department of Corporations * California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation * California Department of Developmental Services * California Department of Education * California Department of Fair Employment and Housing * California Department of Finance * California Department of Financial Institutions * California Department of Fish and Game * California Department of Food and Agriculture * California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) * California Department of General Services * California Department of General Services, Office of State Publishing * California Department of Health Care Services * California Department of Housing and Community Development * California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) * California Department of Insurance * California Department of Justice Firearms Division * California Department of Justice Opinion Unit * California Department of Justice, Consumer Information, Public Inquiry Unit * California Department of Justice * California Department of Managed Health Care * California Department of Mental Health * California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) * California Department of Personnel Administration * California Department of Pesticide Regulation * California Department of Public Health * California Department of Real Estate * California Department of Rehabilitation * California Department of Social Services Adoptions Branch * California Department of Social Services * California Department of Technology Services Training Center (DTSTC) * California Department of Technology Services (DTS) * California Department of Toxic Substances Control * California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) * California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVets) * California Department of Water Resources * California Departmento de Vehiculos Motorizados * California Digital Library * California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification Program * California Division of Apprenticeship Standards * California Division of Codes and Standards * California Division of Communicable Disease Control * California Division of Engineering * California Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control * California Division of Gambling Control * California Division of Housing Policy Development * California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement * California Division of Labor Statistics and Research * California Division of Land and Right of Way * California Division of Land Resource Protection * California Division of Law Enforcement General Library * California Division of Measurement Standards * California Division of Mines and Geology * California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) * California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources * California Division of Planning and Local Assistance * California Division of Recycling * California Division of Safety of Dams * California Division of the State Architect * California Division of Tourism * California Division of Workers Compensation Medical Unit * California Division of Workers Compensation * California Economic Assistance, Business and Community Resources * California Economic Strategy Panel * California Education and Training Agency * California Education Audit Appeals Panel * California Educational Facilities Authority * California Elections Division * California Electricity Oversight Board * California Emergency Management Agency * California Emergency Medical Services Authority * California Employment Development Department (EDD) * California Employment Information State Jobs * California Employment Training Panel * California Energy Commission * California Environment and Natural Resources Agency * California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) * California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES) * California Executive Office * California Export Laboratory Services * California Exposition and State Fair (Cal Expo) * California Fair Political Practices Commission * California Fairs and Expositions Division * California Film Commission * California Fire and Resource Assessment Program * California Firearms Division * California Fiscal Services * California Fish and Game Commission * California Fisheries Program Branch * California Floodplain Management * California Foster Youth Help * California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) * California Fraud Division * California Gambling Control Commission * California Geographic Information Systems Council (GIS) * California Geological Survey * California Government Claims and Victim Compensation Board * California Governors Committee for Employment of Disabled Persons * California Governors Mentoring Partnership * California Governors Office of Emergency Services * California Governors Office of Homeland Security * California Governors Office of Planning and Research * California Governors Office * California Grant and Enterprise Zone Programs HCD Loan * California Health and Human Services Agency * California Health and Safety Agency * California Healthy Families Program * California Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau * California High-Speed Rail Authority * California Highway Patrol (CHP) * California History and Culture Agency * California Horse Racing Board * California Housing Finance Agency * California Indoor Air Quality Program * California Industrial Development Financing Advisory Commission * California Industrial Welfare Commission * California InFoPeople * California Information Center for the Environment * California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) * California Inspection Services * California Institute for County Government * California Institute for Education Reform * California Integrated Waste Management Board * California Interagency Ecological Program * California Job Service * California Junta Estatal de Personal * California Labor and Employment Agency * California Labor and Workforce Development Agency * California Labor Market Information Division * California Land Use Planning Information Network (LUPIN) * California Lands Commission * California Landscape Architects Technical Committee * California Latino Legislative Caucus * California Law Enforcement Branch * California Law Enforcement General Library * California Law Revision Commission * California Legislative Analyst's Office * California Legislative Black Caucus * California Legislative Counsel * California Legislative Division * California Legislative Information * California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus * California Legislature Internet Caucus * California Library De velopment Services * California License and Revenue Branch * California Major Risk Medical Insurance Program * California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board * California Maritime Academy * California Marketing Services * California Measurement Standards * California Medical Assistance Commission * California Medical Care Services * California Military Department * California Mining and Geology Board * California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts * California Museum Resource Center * California National Guard * California Native American Heritage Commission * California Natural Community Conservation Planning Program * California New Motor Vehicle Board * California Nursing Home Administrator Program * California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board * California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board * California Ocean Resources Management Program * California Office of Administrative Hearings * California Office of Administrative Law * California Office of AIDS * California Office of Binational Border Health * California Office of Child Abuse Prevention * California Office of Deaf Access * California Office of Emergency Services (OES) * California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment * California Office of Fiscal Services * California Office of Fleet Administration * California Office of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Implementation (CalOHI) * California Office of Historic Preservation * California Office of Homeland Security * California Office of Human Resources * California Office of Legal Services * California Office of Legislation * California Office of Lieutenant Governor * California Office of Military and Aerospace Support * California Office of Mine Reclamation * California Office of Natural Resource Education * California Office of Privacy Protection * California Office of Public School Construction * California Office of Real Estate Appraisers * California Office of Risk and Insurance Management * California Office of Services to the Blind * California Office of Spill Prevention and Response * California Office of State Publishing (OSP) * California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development * California Office of Systems Integration * California Office of the Inspector General * California Office of the Ombudsman * California Office of the Patient Advocate * California Office of the President * California Office of the Secretary for Education * California Office of the State Fire Marshal * California Office of the State Public Defender * California Office of Traffic Safety * California Office of Vital Records * California Online Directory * California Operations Control Office * California Opinion Unit * California 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Major Hurdles

2011-03-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

As with anything, there's a wrong way to do it, a passable way, and a best way. Building a house is full of such examples.

The 'Ridge Pole' is the spine to the house. It holds up the summit of the roof. The wrong way to do it is to toenail short pieces between trusses and hope the roof decking holds the whole thing together. Good luck. Passable, and present in the vast majority of homes built since WWII, is a small 2x4 or 6 that holds premade trusses together. The strength comes from the trusses, not the ridge pole---the ridge pole just holds the trusses in place. This is OK, except trusses are mass produced out of short pieces held together with gusset plates. If one piece fails due to fire, rot, termites, or careless handymen installing a can light, the whole thing fails.

The best way is a big, solid beam supported on the ends and maybe even the middle, and instead of trusses you have rafters hanging off it with collar ties adding even more support.

Big solid beams are heavy.

I've been anxious about this stage since I started. It was a challenge with the first cabin, but at least it was downhill from the woodpile, and the framing affered some steps so I could do it incrementally. The beam was 4"x12"x22' and I was 8 years younger. This one's 6"x12"x24'.

Getting the beam from the driveway at home up to the building site was hard and involved further abuse of my old truck. Moving slowly and carefully I got it to the base of the cabin. The jinn is built from some 4"x6"'s and tall enough to get the beam over the wall. Pulleys and a come-along made slow but safe work out of lifting the beam---my guess is 500-600 pounds.

After the beam was over the top of the wall, I could slide it a little at a time up the gable frames.

It slid easily enough up to the top. Then it was a matter of turning it, lifting it, and dropping it into the bracket, all 28' in the air.

There's been roadblocks lately---huge snowstorms, storm damage at the cabin, AnnaMarie's health issues, work stuff, etc. All the pent up frustration was drawn upon to set the beam in place.
Good weather's coming. The time change will give another hour daylight. We're slowly figuring out AM's health issue since the car accident. The ridge pole is in; work accelerates because you can hang stuff from it, tie a safety line to it, and measure off of it as needed.

Annual Swift Water Refresher

2011-02-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.sandiego6.com/content/wheresruben/default.aspx?articleID=896161

It turned into quite the media event this year. Dan and I got there at 5:45---There was snow on the ground when I left home. The ocean was very cold, too. This reporter claimed 230 pounds.....

Sheer Energy

2011-01-25T14:32:00.000-08:00

Getting the sheer panel up. Also the porch beams are in and secure. I wasn't happy with the wimpy little 'T' braces so there's steel pins driven through the beams into the columns. Now they don't wiggle.

There's actually an 'indoors' now. Gotta do something about that draft, though. This will be the living room.

Dining room/bay window

                So about sheer panel.   Before plywood and oriented strand board, what you'd do for diagonal stability was 'cut in' a 1"x4" board diagonally through the frame, then tip the frame up all square and ready to go. Now, you can just frame it on the ground, tip it up, and worry about getting it squared up later.
                It's 'later' now.
                After all the walls for a particular floor are framed and attached to each other, you nail solid 'sheer panel' up. They are 4'x8,9, or 10' panels. Once nailed to a particular wall the frame becomes very stiff and won't budge. So what I'm doing is starting in a corner, making sure the bottom edge of a panel is perfectly level then nailing it in. Then compare the edge of the panel with the corner of the frame. (this frame was off by 1 5/8") Then the trick is making it right. I have this two ton come-along to use. For this wall (the biggest one) I was able to anchor to a post in the parking area and rick it straight, then finish nailing the sheer panel in place.
               If I were building a single story on flat ground I might do the sheer on the ground, too, then stand the frame up.   (You can see a temporary diagonal brace in this pic. It's only attached at the top and the bottom is resting freely on a block. AS soon as the wall was straight that brace gets screwed in until the sheer panel can take over)

The First New Construction Project

2011-01-23T12:07:00.000-08:00

It's kind of an odd feeling to go through construction pics of the first new construction project. Our dog has died. The kids are much bigger. The forest is thinner thanks to the Cedar fire, but recovering well. My hair is thinner, and doesn't show any signs of recovering whatsoever.

This first project was, in some ways, more difficult. The home sits on bedrock. You can see it to the lower left. It's further from home. Mostly, it was a first attempt.

These curved rafters were a trick....Well worth the effort, though.

The kids give the new tub a try.

The Back Side

This picture orients you to where the Cuyamaca properties are. Our home, the current project, and the first project. What's next? I have my eye on the property immediately uphill from the current effort. It's got a great view, and owning it would mean you could walk between properties without trespassing. (The beach house couldn't fit in this frame. It's just 45 miles to the South West)

What Song Best Sums Up Your Philosophy?

2011-01-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

Row, row, row your boat
(Keep always moving. YOUR boat, not anyone else's.)
Gently down the stream
(NOT frantically, or fighting the current)
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
(after all, attitude is everything)
(The best part-)
Life is but a dream.

Totally Beaming; Another Story

2011-01-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

After encountering a few non-weather related delays, the second floor sub-flooring is in. First it was the gremlin issue wreaking havoc on my tools one by one. Yesterday the interruption was more welcomed-- an old friend stopped by to check progress. Anyway, the first sheet of sub flooring is used to square up the entire house. If you think of the upstairs as a square, even if all the sides of the square are the correct length, the corners aren't necessarily right angles. So, you nail down one edge, force the corners of the house where they should be, then glue and nail the rest of the sheet down. Also had to create some bridging in the floor joists anywhere there's an interior wall above. Now there's an actual 'upstairs'.

The beam....6"x10" by 24'. It will hold up the porch roof and also form the header for the bay window. It had to go up, over, around, then on top of---probably a couple of other prepositions I've forgotten. It's tied with the second biggest beam in the house (not counting the foundation beams which only had to be moved, not lifted) You can see its sister jutting out there---it will go perpendicular, lapped at the cantilevered corner to the right of the last picture. (The biggest beam is also the highest up single piece of lumber---the ridge pole. 6"x12"x24'. It will rest on three wood columns, two of which are up already)

Oh---and that big beam that seems to be levitating against the rim joist there---that will support the bedroom window 'kick-out', where the floor actually pushes out by 6" to add dimension. It will later be supported by the porch ceiling joists underneath, but it had to go in now for the subfloor. The whole this before that problem...

Phase 1 Television Addict

2011-01-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

Brains like television. I think, overall, we'd be a happier society without it.

Somebody told me about a show called 'Glee'. I can only hope, by the way it was described, they were making it up. Actually I fall somewhere between 'O' and '1'.

Go Ahead And Stair

2011-01-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

It really is going to be a small house.

Safety required shoveling out the 1" thick ice sheet prior to any building

Finished the stairs just before the sleet came back in

Upstairs floor joists in. To the right you can see the little cantilevered part that will be over the dining room and be a view spot. You can also see the stairs.
I think ANY progress this time of year is good. Work's been busy, and on rare days off, the weather's been nasty. Christmas eve I slipped---one foot went to the right of the beam the other to the left, and down I went. Ouch. Just bruises...It's really taking shape, and as soon as the roof's on I can work regardless of the weather.

Movin' On Up

2010-12-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

More evidence of global warming. The rain fell on the plastic cover, and then froze solid. Instead of waiting for it to dry it could just be broken and thrown off the side.

The first story is all framed up now. You can see the bay window to the left. The first of 6 posts that will hold up the wrap-around porch roof is in. The crossbeam is sandwiched between the two floors so it had to go in now, and the post needed to hold up the other end.

In the early design stages I brought a stepladder over to figure out what design made best use of the view. I want the bay to be a great place to just sit.
Near as I can tell, there isn't anyone following this blog to pick up pointers on building their own place so I've kept lessons learned to a minimum. I will say, angles are difficult. Also no matter how carefully you try to order materials so it's delivered in an order that you can get to the boards you need and the order you need them, you're going to have to devote time to just moving material. I had 6 days in a row off work; the first 5 were good weather. 4 days framing and the bay and last three lower walls were done. I wanted to start putting in the upstairs floor joists but they are attached to 2" thick rim joists which were at the bottom of the wood pile. Day 5 was spent moving wood up to the wood rack to pre-stage it for the next step. Day 6 was a family day down the hill celebrating Mckenna's 17th birthday (though I was able to finish getting the lumber up just as it started to rain

It doesn't really look like much lumber in this picture but it's about 8 truckloads

Love

2010-12-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

     I guess I used the term a bit loosely, without really knowing much about it. I liked AnnaMarie and couldn't imagine anyone else with her. Besides, my Dad thought the world of her. I thought the whole mystique around 'love' was a bit overinflated to sell albums to pre-teen girls.
   We had a lot of fun when we were first married. When she told me she was pregnant I accepted it as the next stage. I didn't really get it though. I still followed selfish pursuits (motorcycles mostly) and took it all as it came.
     The day for the c-section arrived--AnnaMarie was all smiles. I was sick as a dog. We got to the hospital and they set up a cot for me...they took her away on a gurney and said they'd be back in 15 minutes to get me so I could cut the cord and stuff.
   15 minutes went by in my feverish delirium...Then 30. Then 45. I heard all the overhead pages for any surgeon and anesthesiologist available to report to the 5th floor, but never made the connection. After an hour went by, this fat nurse in full scrubs, blood stained---only her eyes showing---crashed into the room and just said "You better come now"...
So I get into all the surgical gear and into the suite to see my wife restrained to a table, doctors all around. Her eyes are taped shut. She's intubated, the anesthesiologist breathing for her. A quick glance at the monitors let me know she was alive, at least.....They pulled McKenna from her, cut the cord, and said "You're a paramedic. You take care of her"
OK...I'd delivered enough babies to do the simple stimulating, APGAR, swaddling, warming....All I could think of, though, is---is AnnaMarie OK? What's going on here"
    What was going on was the spinal sedation, Duramorph, was a bad batch. It didn't work and they had to get the baby out under emergency general anesthesia before it reached the baby.
So I just took McKenna back to our room and held her. About an hour later they wheeled AnnaMarie back in as she was just waking up.....She asked "What happened?" I tried to tell her, not sure what was comprehensible. She smiled and said, in a kind of sleepy voice, "I had a little girl?"
   THAT's when I really fell in love. About time---we'd been a family for an hour already. That's when I started to get it.

Cold Weather Construction Company

2010-11-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

FINALLY got a full day to work on the project. With Holidays, work, out of state travel, and bad weather, it's been frustratingly slow going. As soon as I got home in the morning got to work. All my lumber had frozen into a single mass, sort of like a bowl of hard candy. A few good whacks with a sledge would free it up. My concrete washout had filled with rainwater and frozen solid---the kids were ice skating on it. Wish I had gotten a picture of that..
So the fireplace frame is done, which holds the really really heavy parallam beam up which will support the upstairs...I dropped it at one point and the corner put a palm sized soft spot in the subfloor. It will be easy to patch and it's going to be under a kitchen base cabinet anyway.
Next, framed the wall that holds the sliding glass door facing the lake. With diagonal bracing, everything's more solid.
Next was lifting the parallam header into place that forms the opening into the bay window seating area, and holds the big wall in place (in anticipation of Sunday's impending wind/snow storm) Getting this beam in place was scary and I have splinters in my neck from shoulder-loading it.
So starting a 72 hour shift right now. I'll be at work while this storm passes, then I get 6 days in a row, with predicted nice weather, to work on this.

Thanksgiving Break

2010-11-27T07:55:00.000-08:00

The George Family met us in Penasquitos Ranch (roughly halfway between our homes) for lunch out, at Claimjumper. We burned off our meal at a nearby park----Rob had packed up a volleyball kit. It was fun and the weather couldn't have been better---it was the only nice day of the week.

Day before Thanksgiving a co-worker that often bow hunts at our cabin gave us this wild turkey. Cooking it fell on my 'honeydo' list before leaving for work Thanksgiving proper. Two years in a row eating fresh, wild turkey. I don't think we could go back to store-bought again. This was delicious and my family, that rarely eats any meat, devoured it.

Raising A Wall

2010-11-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

Had plenty of time to think about how to get this two story balloon framed wall from horizontal to vertical. This is the only one that's two stories tall, the rest will be single story and stacked up.

Kentucky

2010-11-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

The Burnett House. Right in the middle of where 'The Battle Of Richmond' was fought. Slave quarters to the left.

The draw where the Confederate Army hid from the Union troops then took them by surprise. A huge loss for the Union army.

What was really interesting was the cemetary---the slaves and masters were all buried together. The slave's headstones were just as ornate, and many of them had kind words like 'servant and friend'.

I got a call asking for help evaluating a software product for DHS that's meant for fire departments to use. They roped me in by saying I was 'uniquely suited' for the eval, which I think meant willing to spend a week in the middle of nowhere. It was a real struggle to do a good job with some very boring data entry. The countryside was beautiful but all the meetings were indoors.

Tried not to think about all the work I could be getting done framing. This was my small way to answer a call to public service for my nation. Very, very small indeed.

As I travelled back to Lexington for the trip home (Veteran's Day) I stopped at the site of The Battle Of Richmond. Thousands of soldiers---Confederates trying to protect their way of life and financial interests largely dependent on slave labor, from Union forces trying to keep a young nation together and end slavery---both sides certain they were right and willing to die far, far from home. Right here in this field.

It was very queit and I was glad to be alone here. Really made my 5 days away, where the biggest threat was boredom, seem petty. If they survived the battle they had weeks, even months, of travel home. All I had to do was find someplace for lunch here in the deep south, then a mere 7 hours later sleep in my own bed.

Housing Crisis Fix

2010-11-09T18:34:00.000-08:00

In my ongoing bid to become Earthczar, I have an obligation to confront a variety of issues. Today I'll solve the housing crisis.
I have friends, families, co-workers and neighbors all facing foreclosure. Typically people got way overextended assuming they'd be house poor for awhile, but they'd have their foot in the door so as the market climbed, they'd eventually be in a good spot. Others kept refinancing as equity rose and actually lived off the proceeds as supplemental income. The wise choice is to always leave yourself some margin, but that's not what I'm preaching today.
So, you have good people that bought more house than they can afford. No one wants to put them on the streets, and most of them really want to live up to their obligations. They are just overextended and don't want to be slaves to a house they are upside-down in---owing more than it's worth.
Here's the fix. Put together a list of ALL distressed properties in a database. Sit down with the distressed owners and figure out what they CAN afford. Match them with a list of homes they can move down into, and roll the terms of the original loan, at the re-figured lower principal, over to them. They don't have to default and are not homeless. They are matched to a more realistic living situation. You'll still have the highest priced homes defaulted with no one to move down into, and the people at the very, very bottom will have to rent or earn more, but for the vast majority it will be a solution.

Not A Rush Fan

2010-11-05T06:35:00.000-07:00

   During the election melee I was accused of listening to Rush all the time and forming opinions not based on what I think, but instead by words streaming from my radio.
   While working at the new place, I was, in fact, listening to the radio when 'Rush' happened to come on. I decided to really listen and give an honest appraisal of what I thought.
   I listened through the whiny voice inflections. Lots and lots of words that just never went anywhere. In the beginning you think it's going to say something but really never does. I'm not sure why there's been so much staying power; I didn't hear a single thing that made sense to me, out of what little I could understand.
   Geddy Lee is WAY over-rated.

Comin' Along

2010-10-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

As soon as I got the insulation in, it rained HARD. So before we left for Temecula I took off all the plastic wrap and left the batts loose to dry out.

With the insulation in place, it's time for the floor tongue-and-groove panels. They're 1" thick. Construction adhesive avoids a squeeky floor later. After the panel's in place it's nailed down.

You always put the panels down so the groove side is out; that way when you beat it into place with a block of wood and a...persuader, you don't mess up the tongue.

A perfectly aligned and installed subfloor can be tested by seeing if a soccer ball will levitate without moving over any given spot. Here, Patrick is amazed by the results.

I gotta go to work for 48 hours and more rain is coming, so I put down plastic sheeting. I'll just frame over it and cut it away later. It's really exciting to be framing. You can see where the plumbing and electrical come through .

Floor Framing, Rough Plumbing

2010-10-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Got past a major hurdle---the rough plumbing and floor framing inspection. There were quite a few little things I was concerned about. The inspector didn't share my concerns. He was very complimentary....The rough in plumbing had to be temporarily extended up 10' , then an inflatable plug put in the lowest point of the plumbing, then the whole thing filled with water to check for leaks. (The plug is called a 'weenie'. I'm going with large piping so I never have to worry about drain problems...Turns out a 4" weenie is hard to find. My brother Jim was with me as we went around the plumbing supply place, and had to inform the owner he didn't have a weenie big enough) Fortunately a plumber at the shop sold us his well used weenie for half price. (Oh grow up)

The inspector was very impressed with the framing progress. Now the most fun stage starts. First some strapping (I'm using scrap OSB) goes under the joists perpendicular, then the 14" batt insulation goes in. Then I can put down the subfloor. Then I get to start framing. THAT is the most fun stage of the whole project. I just wish it were Spring instead of early winter.

The Modelling Gig

2010-10-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

Mike (my old partner on HazMat, pre-helicopter) and I got a job for the last 5 days working for DuPont. There's a huge Safety Council convention in San Diego right now, same place they hold ComiCon.

I only got pictures of Mike. Once the demonstration begins there's no one to get pictures...We were demonstrating the superiority of Tyvek suits compared to SMS suits, doing a '16602 test'. Every half hour or so, a DuPont guy would start talking and gather a crowd. I would be there with him while he explained 'Two actual San Diego Firemen' were helping them with the test...We both had on paper suits that were very absorbent. Mike had the SMS suit on over that, I got the Tyvek suit over mine. He'd get in the chamber first and march in place for 60 seconds, slowly turning 360 degrees, while 5 nozzles sprayed water with black dye in it at him. He'd get out of the chamber and disrobe in front of the crowd, showing how much permeation there was. Then I'd get in the chamber and do the same test. When I disrobed, my undersuit was spot free.

Really, I offered to be the dirty suit guy every day, but Mike refused. So I had the easier of the two jobs and got to stay mostly dry. At the end of each day there was lots of scrubbing of the chamber to do.

The pay was really good. The weather has been wet and rainy so I can't work on the new place anyway so this timed out perfectly. I'm kinda glad it's done---it's true what your hear. The glamourous world of modelling is a lot of work.

Nature Trail To Hell!

2010-09-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

     We've been planning this ride for some time...Recently AnnaMarie and I were at the Ocean Beach street fair and saw this poster. I stopped to try to figure out where it was exactly. The lady selling the poster and matching t-shirts knew what I was trying to do and said, "C'mon, you can do it; you'd be the first!"
    I realized it's exactly where we planned on ending the ride, right where Highway 78 'T's into Highway 86 at Salton Sea.
    58 miles, starting at my house at Lake Cuyamaca (elevation 4800') ending at this sign (elevation 227' below sea level). October 16th. We will leave early morning; if you want to get here the night before and carbo-load, great!
    What You Need--- 1) A bicycle (duh) 2) Sustenance 3) Spare inner tubes 4) A good attitude. We will leave cars at the endpoint and drive up the road a few miles to one of Mike Friese's Salton City homes for a victory BBQ.
    What We Need--- 1)A chase driver. There must be somebody wanting to participate but not wanting to pedal. 2)Hot chicks to staff the victory BBQ. AnnaMarie's the first volunteer meeting all requirements. 3)A cool t-shirt would be good
     Other info---this is a fun ride intended for non-riders. Not a race. Anyone that wishes to bail and ride in the chase truck will be welcome to do so. Alternate plan for the ride if the Santa Ana's are blowing (a headwind would be unfun) we'll go the opposite direction to Mission Beach.
    This is a not-to-miss event. Celebrity bicycle mechanic James L. Vandewalle will be coming from NorCal at great expense to participate.
     Back to the lady with the poster--I may be getting this wrong but I think she said her husband, who is going blind, took this photo and they are selling the posters/shirts as a fundraiser and awareness raiser for blindness. If there's interest, I'll contact her and see about buying her shirts with this image

Smaller Beams

2010-09-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

Perfect combination of good weather and days off and a minimum of other have-to-do's makes for some good progress. You can kinda see why the big beams went the way they did. The heavy timbers are where the wrap around deck is. You have to have a minimum 1" step down from inside to outside. The interior framing is 2" higher than the exterior since the decking is 1" thick.

The part with the funny angles is where the bay window will be. It's cantilevered out like the deck. It's about 6' off the ground already, and there's two stories to go---this is going to be a tall and skinny house!

I'm learning to really like the I-joists. They are perfectly staight and very stiff and light. The hangars go in pretty quick then you cut the joists to size and they just snap in. I made the mistake of pre-staging some hangars upside down over some already installed joists. The vibrations from pounding made them settle down and clip themselves in. They don't come off easy...Oh well, lessons learned. The part that isn't done yet is where I have to do the rough-in plumbing. I'll hang a few of the joists so I can hang the drainpipes from them but still move around without having to crawl underneath a completed floor---one of the advantages of doing everything myself is planning steps out like that.

The floor frame is very sturdy, even before the subflooring is down.

Big Beams

2010-09-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

With a few days off in a row, lots of work can get done. There was a bit of a delay (again) caused by suppliers---I wanted the sill (the pressure treated lumber the house sits on) to be splice free. I made a special trip to buy a 3x6x 20'; got home and noticed it was only 16' long. How do you not notice 4' of board missing?? Then, what was really frustrating, the metal column caps (that's the piece where the beams intersect) were all custom special order. The supplier called saying they were in; I made the hour and a half drive to Escondido, only to find out my order WASN'T in, they were looking at a different order.....

Finally with my last day off I had all the parts and a whole day to work. It was a bit scary getting the big beams from here to there but it all worked...It was really enjoyable to be working with big lumber on land I own on a beautiful day---until my sports-freak neighbor came up and really scolded me for missing Patrick's soccer game.

It may look like I have beams going every which way. I do. Since I really wanted the deck to wrap around two sides, and the new fire restrictive codes don't allow for stacking cantilevers, this was the solution. There are still a few more big beams to put in, then the rough in plumbing; then I'll be ready for the next inspection.

Cost Of Doing It Right

2010-09-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

When you decide to build something, you have to decide what kind of builder you're going to be. You can be the kind that does it as cheap as possible. You can just do what it takes to get something up, or you could design based on your current skill level. I'm of the opinion you draw up exactly what you want to end up with and figure it out as you go.

Now that the foundation is done, I'm installing the sill plates---the pressure treated lumber that sits on the foundation, and the whole house rests on these plates. Well, this lumber was at the very bottom of the wood pile, so I had to spend time moving things up to the lumber rack. It gave me a chance to figure out what was what. There are some parts missing.

I wanted a deck that wraps around two sides of the cabin. The normal way to do this is to have some heavy timbers stick out (cantilever) one direction, then have the floor joists on top of those timbers, cantilevering out in a perpendicular direction. Problem is with the new fire resistive construction you can't stack exposed framing members. Eliminating the deck on one side would be the easy thing.

Instead, I have very heavy timbers (they are the 6x12's wrapped in white paper) that sort of herring-bone pattern off each other, with the joists hung between them. Added bonus--the overall elevation of the house is 14" less. However, I have to support two heavy timbers on the outside floating edge of these beams, and there's a 6x6 post at each junction that will support the porch roof. All this requires some very beefy steel hangers. They are custom order items. If you look at the picture, you have to imagine it inverted, and the post straps are used instead to hold the 6x6 columns.

I need 6 of these. Not all the same. Some of them are $228 EACH! Whoa. Not in the budget, but there aren't options. I ordered them; they come in Thursday.

So, instead of framing, I'm picking up overtime shifts (always available in the Summer) and a modelling job that will pay 'several hundred dollars' a day for four days, which should just cover the expense.

Delays, Delays!

Tidying Things Up

2010-08-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Things were looking kind of junky around the lot after stripping the forms. I need to get to some specific pieces of lumber next, and they are buried underneath some big beams that I'd rather not move twice. So the bigger boards (that started life as driveway forms, then were re-used as foundation forms) became a big lumber rack. It's going to be nice having a big flat area to stage lumber, and even make some cuts. A lesson learned from before was, working on a slope slows everything down. Having a flat surface to measure and cut on is worth a day's work....When the framing is done this lumber rack will be re-re-reconstructed as a steep staircase to the roof for that stage of the project

Building My Own House

2010-08-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

            Once again, a neighbor asked when I'm gonna start building. I wanted to tell her I'm almost finished----plans are approved, utilities are all in, materials are delivered, and foundation is done.
             Foundation's DONE! I've been fantasizing about this point for two years now. It took two months to dig then form the foundation. It took two hours to pour it. It took two days to strip the forms.
             One of my volunteers (Kieran) was tasked with dumping the color (iron oxide, mostly) into the forms while we worked the concrete in. I wanted it to look somewhat like the surrounding boulders---it doesn't, but it's still better looking than plain concrete. I kinda like how it turned out.
              Stripping the forms wasn't easy. First I took out all the screws that I could get to; many of them faced inward so it took some prying and breaking to get everything apart. Then the task of peeling away to fabric and cutting it. Very dusty work---didn't help allergies at all. Oh well---I'm out of the dirt now and can start with the wood stuff now! Next up is the rough floor framing inspection

The Big Day

2010-08-16T16:15:00.001-07:00

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Yesterday everything (forms, digging, housework, cleaning the cabin) finished around 10:00 pm. Byron got here around 6:30 this morning. We started actually pumping and pouring about 7:00. Other volunteers showed up--Butch Paddock (neighbor) and a few co-workers from HazMat---Kieran and Steve (Mike showed up after all the work was done, just like a blister. He still got a grilled sandwich but had to eat the heels)
After months of prep work, it was only 2 hours of pouring. It got to be a juggling act because the concrete was setting quick in the heat. The forms didn't move a bit, and we had exactly the right amount of concrete.
We had lunch and hung out for a bit. I have to go wet it down, then I'm going to lie down for awhile

Last Minute Prep

2010-08-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

So, a full load of concrete is 9.5 yards. I need 14.5 I figure for the foundation. The biggest expense is the delivery charge, so ordering a short load doesn't make sense.
So, I decided it was worth shaping and forming the rest of the driveway, enough to eat up another 4.5 yards. It's hard pan dirt and needs to come down about 8" in some spots. Racing the sun but got it done in time to get some rebar down.

The Inspection and Edmund Fitzgerald

2010-08-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no new picture.

Met my project inspector---Rob. Rob liked to talk. I wasn't sure what he'd think of the fabric formed foundation---he acted like he'd seen millions of them. Or it's possible that this is his first project, so 100% of them have been like this.
Rob was impressed that I had all my Best Management Practices (BMPs) in place, then proceeded to give a detailed history of BMP's. They were to protect the Great Lakes. He then tried to list the Great Lakes but left out Huron and Ontario. He seemed surprised and impressed that I knew them---I told him just thought of the Gordon Lightfoot song "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" because he lists them all, so Rob was even more impressed that I knew who Gordon Lightfoot was.
Just one little thing he wants done before the pour. He wants me to cut all the fabric out of the bottom of the trench so the concrete will sit on the dirt. I have to have a 20' grounding rod encased in the foundation that sticks out so I can later bond it to the electrical panel, which was already done. Rob is afraid the concrete will not provide sufficient ground if it's separated from the dirt by a layer of fabric. Never mind there are TWO 8' copper rods at the power pole already and I'm grounding to the cold water line, too.
I got about a third of it cut out. He wants pictures.
So I've ordered concrete. 14.5 yards (27 cubic feet to the yard)will do it. I've hired out a concrete pump too. The most I can mix in a day myself is two yards, so there would be 'cold joints' if I did it myself and I want a one piece foundation. A truck holds 9 1/2 yards. Delivery is the expensive part so I ordered two full trucks and will use the other 4 1/2 yards for the section of driveway between the parking area and the main driveway. I have two days to cut, grade, form and reinforce. The pour starts at 7:00 am Monday. Byron's coming to help as are a few co workers.

George Michael Was Right

2010-08-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

Lee's post prompted this blog. Thanks Lee

I wasn't born with much talent. Anyone that has heard me sing, watched me dance, and so on can attest to it. No one has ever asked me to model. When picking teams in playground sports I wasn't one of the first picked.
No...What I WAS born with, and took for granted for a long time, is a strong faith. The existence of a creator, with a distinct personality, whom I will get to know better after death, to me is unquestionable.
Before my agnostic friends start demanding proof---let me say that faith distinctly implies that which can't be proven. As such, any faith that doesn't contradict historical proof or physical law is equally valid. Arguing faith versus faith makes no rational sense.
Evangelizing to people that don't want to be evangelized at, is a waste of time. I like the Roman Catholic approach better of just leading by example (true, there are plenty of Roman Catholics that have set a pretty poor example. Those actions have nothing to do with faith and are very damaging)
Half of my hour long commute to work is dedicated to prayer (the other half listening to the news, which usually leads to more prayer) Mostly contemplative prayer, like meditation. Some for thanksgiving, some for forgiveness, and a little for intercession though I try to keep that to a minimum.
Bottom line is, faith has been such a good source of calming and reassurance. If I imagine life without faith there's something good and big missing. From the outside it may look like a crutch. People with faith will understand it puts you more in lockstep with the universe. We are designed for it.

Ready For Mud

2010-08-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the goal was to get the foundation forms completely ready for concrete. I was sooo close when AnnaMarie told me it was time to get ready for church...Cleaned up, went to church, jammed back home just to get all dirty again.
I went back and forth about how I wanted to form the piers. Basically, there is a pier underneath every point a beam intersects another beam under the house. There's a 24" square hole, 30" deep, for each one--then a 12" square form suspended over the hole. The rebar all had to be bent a certain way. The perimeter foundation forms are all set, too.
Next is having the surveyor come out and make sure I'm building in the correct spot. Sure hope I am---there's no practical way to move this monstrosity. They'll draft a letter, which I have to then give to the county inspector---who will make sure all the BMP's (Best Management Practices) are in place.
Made use of the remaining twilight to clean up everything around the lot. I think neatness counts. There's enough scrap wood for a nice beach party

Pageant of the Masters

2010-07-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

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OK here's the Yin and Yang of it.... I think I appreciate the Pageant more than everybody else. I couldn't help but think, if had made an evening of just catching up at the restaurant, we would have had at least as much fun. But we don't do that---unless you come up with some excuse to get together, it doesn't happen. If it involves dressing up, the spouses jump aboard and it happens.
I chose crappy seats. Trying to balance expense/seats is tricky. We were front row of crappy seats, which was crappier because you didn't get the tier effect and people were walking in front a lot.
We didn't get to visit with Shoemakers or Grams much at the restaurant (AWESOME restaurant---I'm biased. Very Flemish, like Vandewalle) I did something rare for me-ate way too much. Big bucket of mussels, then tons of raw salmon carpaccio, then a huge patty of completely raw ground beef (Beoff Tartarre) delicious! Always wanted to try it and would soooo eat it again.
AnnaMarie's been struggling with some pretty severe pinched nerve issues and she was very uncomfortable, to the point of tears---but trooped through. It made it hard to enjoy things since she didn't feel good. Mike drove us back to our hotel... It was hot and muggy (AM was freezing so AC was out of the question) I had my HUGE DHS webex meeting I kept dreaming I was late for, all on a very full stomach of Mussel, raw salmon, raw cow. All after visual over stimulation. Makes for some wild, wild dreams, let me tell you.
AM's Aunt took the girls to Camarillo the next day so it's just Patrick with us until Sunday when they take the train home

Getting The Forms Finished

2010-07-15T13:47:00.001-07:00

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The method I came up with for the foundation on the first cabin project worked so well, I'm using it again. I've since seen 'Fabric formed foundations' as a 'green' building method, since it uses far less lumber. 'Green' is good, especially when it coincides with 'cheap'. What I'm doing is suspending 2x material over the trenches, halfway lining it with geotextile 'Morafi', then getting all the rebar in place. After the inside half of the forms are completed, pulling the Morafi up and over, rolling the edge in a 1x2, and screwing it to the form. The yokes that hold up the forms also hold up the rebar. An anchor bolt will sit in a hole drilled in each yoke too, to later anchor the building to the foundation.
When I built the cabin, we pumped in the concrete and the forms perpendicular to the slope started to bow out a bit. This time the yokes have sheer strength and are pinned to the ground with foot long sections of rebar. It's rock solid.
One of the required BMP's (Best Management Practices) is a concrete washout for catching all the rinse water at the end of the concrete pouring day. I saved the ring pool we'd replaced this year just for this purpose...You could say I'm building 'green' since I'm recycling the old pool. You could also say I'm building 'cheap' by not paying for a ready made basin.

Delays Building

2010-07-15T12:50:00.001-07:00

Forming The Forms

2010-07-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

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You can spend a lot of money on expensive transits to make sure everything is level....It's very important to get the foundation level, especially with a structure that's 50% taller than it is wide. The building site is 57" higher on one corner than the lowest one, and it's all sort of potato chip shaped.
Tool of choice for me is a $4 length of clear tubing with water in it.
The water will find its level no matter how far you go with it. You have to make sure there are no bubbles in the tubing, and wait a minute for the water to level, but it works well.
I'm about half done with the forms. They will hold up fabric that will line the trenches and bring the concrete to the tops of the forms. They have to be really sturdy.
Nice to be working with lumber

Rebar

2010-06-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

Finished Digging

2010-06-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

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Since digging the foundation on the last cabin took all Summer, my time budget for this one was the same. The goal was to finish by Summer's end.
Last one, though, was digging through bedrock. This time, though, the biggest stone encountered was around 50 pounds. A lot of that was luck---when we dug the leach field, we came across some huge boulders that are now part of a retaining wall.
Father's day---Woke up at 5:00 and made the kids waffles (my request was to have my permanent ban from the kitchen lifted for Father's Day) cleaned up and started digging by 6:00 a.m.... My Summer cold hit the night before but chose to ignore it.
The jackhammer broke after an hour. Not a big deal---the digging bar was almost as fast. The first long handled shovel wore out last week so I was down to the old one; it broke around 10:00 am. So the rest of the day was with short handled shovels. So close to being done, though, so I didn't want to quit.
Finished the last side about 5:00 pm. I still have to dig a little trench for utilities, but that's no big deal.
The cool part---digging was completed the day BEFORE Summer.
Next up, forming the foundation for the big pour

I've Got The Power

2010-06-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

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Building really IS 90% digging....Unless you count in the bureaucracy.
Case in point---Electrical power. I followed SD County's instructions and downloaded pole requirements from SDG&E, then followed all requirements. Then called County for the inspection. "Do you have this and that?" well, no, they weren't on SDG&E's requirements, but I'll gladly do this and that...So OK get through the inspection...Now what? "Call SDG&E and get them to write a work order so I can release it"
OK done. Ask the SDG&E guy---(who wanted to run the power in the front were the view was, instead of the rear where the pole is) what else do I need to do? Nothing, we'll handle it from here.
Two weeks, nothing happens.
SDG&E---"County hasn't released it"
SD County---"Wait..What project?" (gave address) Did you mitigate the discrepancies? (no. You said there were none) Is there a work order?
So the work order....It's the key to the whole thing, I never see it, have no influence over it, it's between County and SDG&E. (Work orders done! I declared, having zero idea what, where, or if any work order exists)
SD County---OK I release this project.
Me to SDG&E on phone--"They released the project"
SDG&E----"What project?"
Get home from work, power's in. I love having power there. I plugged in my radio, and little 12v cooler. Then the jackhammer, which greatly increased the speed for digging the foundation. The picture's hard to tell but that trench is 21' long. Now I've rounded the corner and have a second side done. Turkeys are not scared of jackhammers, by the way.
Got my building hands back again, too

Can You Dig It?

2010-06-05T18:31:00.001-07:00

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I remember telling my brother, Bob, 90% of building is digging. Now I'm starting to think that's low.
Not going to hire out the dig. It's too complicated and steep. Besides, I spent most of the budget on the materials, so hand digging will slow the project some while I save up more capital.
What looks like holes left by giant square gophers is the footings for the piers. They were supposed to be 18" cube (18 wide square, 18 deep) but with the slope I think going bigger is cheap insurance. There are 5 piers, each 24" cube.
Here's what I don't get. Each hole was 8 cubic feet of soil removed, so you'd think it would be 1 1/2 wheelbarrow loads. (the wheelbarrow is 6 cubic feet level full, and I was piling it up higher) but it was 4 loads. The dirt is getting re-distributed to flatten out spots around the lot...To add to the mystery, I know from experience that if you take dirt out of a hole then put it all back in, it doesn't completely fill the hole.
If all the soil remains cooperative, I can get 10-12 feet dug per day. Not counting the piers, it's 80' total, plus some for the utilities trenches.

Cultural Fix

2010-05-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

New House, $18,500

2010-05-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

Work Like an Egyptian

2010-05-17T07:35:00.001-07:00

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It wasn't easy finding a pole to purchase. Once located, the delivery cost was more than the pole itself so loaded it (550 pounds) on the truck. I drove uphill from the hole. I just sort of untied it and got out of the way; it rolled right into my new fence, bounced off with no damage, and pointed itself pretty much at the hole---wrong side down. Pivoting it around on a slope without having it roll away involved lots of rope and anchors.
You have to put a board in the hole for the butt end to scrape against, otherwise the pole gets stuck and you collapse dirt back into the hole. Once in position you just lift the end of the pole as high as you can. The butt end frictions against the other board so you can re-position. (No pictures of the actual lifting because I was actually lifting)
Then a PVC pipe is strapped to the pole. This is so the inspector can run a rod down the pipe to make sure you buried the pole deep enough (5' is required; I went 6.5') Then a grounding rod is pounded in, 8' deep. Then all the electrical service stuff is built up and attached to the pole.
With everything dome according to County of San Diego and SDG&E specs, I called for an inspection. Over the phone the inspector said I needed a second 8' grounding rod pounded in at least 6' away with 4AWG copper wire bonding the two rods. I can't find that anywhere in the literature but, keeping the inspector happy is worth $15 in copper and 2 hours with the sledge.
He comes today while I'm at work. Hope it goes well; also hope he doesn't find some major flaw with the whole project (not likely, just one of those deep in the pit of the stomach fears)

The Lauren Trap

2010-05-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

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I took time out from building to dig a Lauren Trap. I dug one about 7 years ago, same size--even though Lauren was much, much smaller back then.
The last one took three days. Dunno if it's softer soil, recent rains, better shovel, or what---but this one was done in about 7 hours. I even got some concrete poured the same day.
Wasn't long before I captured a Lauren. She's a beauty, too. Now AnnaMarie says I have to fill the hole back up since we don't need any more Laurens. I'll stick my telephone pole I got for my birthday in the hole to mark where it was.

The Best Travel Pics I Ever Took

2010-05-04T18:05:00.001-07:00

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Were ruined.

The first one is a nice truck driving between me and the exact spot the levee broke in the ninth ward. I was standing on the K rail trying not to fall into traffic.
The next one shows the Empire State Building with a delivery truck in the way.
Finally there's a picture of a New York pedestrian. Just past said pedestrian is a very touching memorial plaque, right where the towers fell.
There's a button on my camera that says 'timer' but I don't think it really helps with timing

Anza Borrego Ride

2010-05-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

I was invited to a desert bike ride through Anza Borrego. At first I said no, since I was fresh off the plane from NY but AnnaMarie encouraged me to go.
Then I found out we were meeting at 7 am. Okay...So I got to Banner at 7 am. It was 38 degrees out. Ummm how far are we riding? "28 miles, give or take". Couldn't wimp out at this point.
San Diego county is pretty unique. We live in the mountains, but you can drive 45 minutes to the beach, south to Mexico, or east to the desert. Today we were going east.
Banner is a town on the outskirts of Julian. We headed down the highway, it was FREEZING cold. As we headed into the desert (pretty much all downhill) it warmed up to absolutely perfect temperature. The ride was very pleasant--just a cruise. We were able to converse the whole way. The desert was in bloom, too.
Two hours later we were at Agua Caliente. There's a natural hot springs that feeds a few pools, and a very nice campground. We were met there by family members bearing food and conversation.
They say no one needs a vacation like the man who just took one; this was a perfect little get away after my big get away. What a contrast, Manhattan one day then Man its hot here the next.

New York stuff

2010-04-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

The staircase is a wooden escalator in Macy's. Macy's is HUGE. Bigger than most malls.
Central park is big, too. Very well kept.
My overall impression of New York is, clean, big and friendly. It surprised me a bit that the people here are more fit in general than the rest of the nation. Maybe all the walking or the fact the food's expensive. Everyone dresses pretty nice too. Glad I got to see all this, but I won't be moving soon.

April Building Update

2010-04-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Parking area's all done. Since it's up against the rear property line, the law says there has to be a 6' fence to obscure the neighbor's view of the cars. Not that anyone has a house there, and if they did, a 6 foot fence wouldn't do much with the slope. I'm hoping it's 6' from my side, not the other side, as I used the height of the retaining wall for half of what was required. The downhill side is more that 24" high so a rail is required. Yesterday, the rare combination of wet ground and beautiful weather was conducive to some manual grading----forming the turn between the driveway and the parking. It'll just be gravel for now, maybe concrete later.
When I get back from New York I'll put in the temporary power. I have to dig a deep hole for a 24' pole to go in.
It was time to purchase the materials, too. Not because I'm ready to frame, but because lumber prices went up 22%! I got my order in just in time. It was quite a bit less than I thought and budgeted for---$18,576 for nearly everything I need to build. It gets delivered May 18. I'll put it in our home's driveway and just carry stuff across the street as I need.

Crazy weather

2010-04-25T12:45:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, the girls found a nice sunny spot to replenish some vitamin D on the roof of the pavilion. The next day it snowed. A lot. Then it all froze solid. It's nearly May for Pete's sake! I made it out the driveway for work just as the sun was coming up over the lake and decided to snap a picture---big mistake. The parking lot had a thick ice layer. I kept sliding away from the car. After removing shoes, socks gripped a little better. It was very scary driving back out to the highway.
A friend that bow hunts on our property at the cabin shot this turkey and gave it to us. Delicious. Full of omega-3's too, since they eat all the natural bugs and such... The wild birds are shaped a bit different so I had to cook it on its side....

4 types of people (from a dumb/busy)

2010-03-27T12:09:00.001-07:00

I was talking to someone from the US Navy. He told me the navy divides people into 4 types. Each type has specific jobs you point them towards.
You have your smart busy people. Make them leaders. Give them roles where they can be held accountable, and need good situational awareness. 20% of the people fit this description (though 90% would put themselves here)
Smart lazy people have their place, too---put them in logistics. Plan out caravans, run supply warehouses. They are smart so will trend towards setting up efficient operations to make less work for themselves.
Dumb lazy people get to do guard duty, paint and clean, work in the mess hall. You need them; the challenge is getting them to a place where they realize it's less work to just do as you are told. You also need these people to fill uniforms.
Now, watch out. The Dumb, busy people cause the most problems and get people in trouble. The energy to do things, without the benefit of mental direction, combined with artillery, is not good. You have to keep a close eye and short leash on these guys. They are essential if you need someone to recover a live grenade behind enemy lines or for testing low lethality munitions. Actually in battle these are some of your most valuable assets. The real challenge is dealing with them during down time.

Perfect day

2010-03-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

We both got over some inconvenient sicknesses, spent a healthy day getting things done about the house, and took the next day off to go for a bike ride. As soon as the kids were off to school we loaded up the tandem bike and headed down the hill.
We started at the Hotel Del Coronado (largest wooden structure by floor area in the world. "Some Like It Hot" was filmed there) It's the building waaay in the distance to the left of AM's head in the picture.
There's a very nice bike trail that heads down the 'Silver Strand', the sandbar that makes San Diego Bay a bay. The ocean side is used by Navy Seals and various amphibious watercraft. We kept spotting submarines breaching the surface. Further down is Arctic Tern habitat, then the State beach.
AnnaMarie had never been to Imperial Beach before. It's nice, kind of a hidden tucked away beach community. Although it nearly borders Mexico, the wetland habitat of the Tijuana River estuary keeps it from getting any border traffic. The contamination of the beach 6 months out of the year from the Tijuana River keeps the beach from ever becoming really popular. We rode as far south as possible on the U.S. Western seacoast, within less than a mile of Mexico.
Back North a few blocks is the Imperial Beach Pier. The restaurant (The Tin Fish) on the pier was very good and good prices.
We had a slight headwind riding down so looked forward to a boost on the return; unfortunately the wind shifted 180* and got strong...My pre-trip planning mileage was dead on---9 miles---except for the minor detail I thought it was 9 miles round trip instead of one way. AnnaMarie never complained and really pedalled hard on the return trip. At one point, riding past the base, there were 200 recruits on a double time march. My wife, likely twice their age, stood up to pedal at this point (Not sure if she knows how good she looks in her date jeans) but there were 400 eyes on her. In my opinion she did her part for her country.
Stopped at a farmer's market on the way home and still beat the school bus. Thanks to the recent change, there was plenty daylight time saved for me to get some good work done on the new place. Time with the kids in the evening followed by a really good night's sleep.
Perfect day

Building around El Nino

2010-02-25T21:53:00.001-08:00

The lake's full just about to capacity, which is good...I've been delayed in building by rain and snow though. Twice now I've finished the concrete pour while the sleet started coming down, then scrambled to get it all covered up.
If you're like me and don't care to hear about aches and pains, skip this paragraph. My rotator cuffs (both sides, but more the right) have been giving me problems, especially at night. It was frustrating and scary---how'm I gonna build a house with arms that don't work? I decided to ignore it and try to mix 6,000 pounds of concrete and move heavy rocks anyway. Know what? Everything felt GREAT afterwards, much better than before.
The lower wall is all done. This upper wall is right on the property line. What doesn't show is the 'dead man', a concrete girder about 14" x 12" that joins the top of the lower wall with the bottom of the upper wall every 20'. They're covered by the gravel driveway. They'll keep either wall from bowing from the pressure of the hillside over time.
Most time is spent digging. Then build the forms, trying to re-use the lumber and screws as many times as possible. Then line everything with plastic---if you pour right on the soil, too much moisture is drawn from the concrete. Strip the forms. Lay a bed of concrete on the footing, start placing stones, backpour concrete against a temporary form on the backside to lock it all in. Later I'll pour an upper burb that ties everything together, which will have post holders. I have to put a fence on top of this wall since it's going to be parking right on the property line.

Happy St. Valentine's day

2010-02-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

http://www.10news.com/news/22563047/detail.html

On a 4 day bender here at work...Day one, 380 pound guy fall from cliff into surf, at night. Day two, retired fireman passed out on Cowles Mountain. Today, this one first then an even more tragic call, not postable.
Busy is good, though

Typical Lauren...

2010-02-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

OK. So, Lauren is our middle child. She's in seventh grade. She recently won the school spelling bee (including the eight graders!) but the biggest competition was a fellow seventh grader----Darren. Darren takes spelling bees seriously. (his Dad's the principal, too---a great guy) Darren asks for the word to be repeated, defined, used in a sentence---every time. Spelling bee tactics.
Darren was eliminated by the word 'straightforward'. He spelled it with a 'dash' between 'straight' and 'forward'.
So, Lauren's going on to the county spelling bee. A few days later she was in class writing an essay and got stuck on a word. She said, somewhat absentmindedly, "How do you spell....." When she saw Darren was the person in earshot, she quickly decided she wasn't about to give him the pleasure, so she just said "...Never mind" So Darren started spelling "N-E-V-E-R.." when Lauren blurted out "DASH!"
The class laughed, except for Darren who mustered up his best 'stink-eye' for Lauren. Didn't stop him from asking her to dance with him at the Valentine's dance today though

Horoscope

2010-02-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

During my medic rotation where I'm taken from the copter to staff the ambulance (it's to keep current on things and really not a bad idea...Just a lot more work!) I had a patient ask me, on the way to the hospital, what my 'sign' was. She was a Gemini, she said, and her horoscope predicted a medical emergency...
I asked her whether she goes by the dates set over 2,000 years ago, or the actual sign she was born under?
Let me get this straight....The sky is divided into 12, 30 degree sections. (12 because there's usually 12 full moons in a year) Each of these sections of sky falls in the plane of the ecliptic where the sun, moon and planets transit. If you use your imagination, each of these zones has a group of stars that kind of resemble something that was around 2 millenia ago. So, when I was born, the sun shone through this group of stars, raining the attributes of that star formation down upon me. There are planets too. One is really bright, so it's given the attribute of 'beauty'. One is vaguely red, so looks a little like blood, so gives the attribute of 'war'. These planets wander in and out of 'my' constellation, so things about my life can be predicted by this.
Today's horoscope---"Good time for love affairs; you will be in great form, and look handsome. You will be full of energy, and take on the work of Hercules....All this from planets moving through a group of stars!
A few problems with this. First, the sun doesn't shine through the stars---they are very far away. Second, there has been precession over the last 2,000 years due to the earth's wobble, so you were most likely born under the constellation one before what you think you are; If you were born between Nov.29-Dec 17, you're actually born under the sign 'Ophiuchus'. So according to horoscope sites I'm a Taurus, though I was born 'under' Aries the ram. And what about comets? If a planet can move through and make me look handsome, how come a comet can pass through and it doesn't alter my horoscope one bit?
I tried to politely ask my patient some of these things. All she offered was, "I'd fully expect a Taurus to say something like that"

Sir James Clark Ross

2010-01-21T13:05:00.000-08:00

You probably haven't heard his name before. He was an explorer. He explored the Arctic on four voyages under Admiral Parry; and later led his own expeditions into the Antarctic.
Ross was employed on the magnetic survey of Great Britain. He was also tasked with discovering the magnetic south pole, and discovered/named many features and bays in Antarctica. Ross ice shelf and the Ross Sea are among things he first identified (later named for him).

Ross was a fanatic recorder, recording tidal, astronomical, and meteorological observations. He sailed to The Isle Of The Dead not far from Point Arthur (Tasmania)with the purpose of providing a benchmark. These are excerpts from his journal, made in 1841..

"The fixing of solid and well secured marks for the purpose of showing the mean sea level of the ocean at a given epoch was suggested by Baron von Humboldt..." (Another traveller, and hero of mine)....
"My principal object in visiting Port Arthur was to afford a comparison of our standard barometer with that which had been employed for several years by Mr. Lempriere, (the Deputy Commissary General) and also to establish a permanent mark at the zero point, or general mean sea level as determined by the tidal observations which Mr. Lempriere had conducted with perseverance and exactness for some time; by which means any secular variation in the relative level of the land and sea, which is known to occur on some coasts, MIGHT AT ANY FUTURE PERIOD BE DETECTED, AND ITS AMOUNT DETERMINED."
Ross gave Lempriere laborers and specific instructions to cut this mark in the exact spot which his tidal observations indicated as the mean sea level of the ocean.
July 1st 1841 the mean sea level mark was made. Careful present day observations put mean sea level, over a century and a half later, more than 4 inches below Ross's mark.
Thanks for the effort, Mr. Ross, but you wasted your time. Science ain't based on keen observation anymore. When your ice shelf seasonally recedes, it's due to our industrial greed. If you ask your average Joe, they'll insist the oceans have significantly risen in spite of the benchmark you provided.

New Job!!

2010-01-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

It's been a bit stressful here at SDFD of late. We're already 22 fire stations short in San Diego to meet NFPA standards, and now they're cutting back more. In the 23 years I've worked in Emergency Services in San Diego, there has always been overtime available.
Now they are putting a stop to overtime.
It's kid of foolish, really---they can cover three budgeted positions with two people. It costs a little in overtime, but saves a lot in eliminating a postion you'd have to pay more retirement/benefits/insurance for. All they see, though, is how much a fireman made---not how much time he was at work or the money he brings in from other agencies doing single resource work.
We never set up our finances to be dependent on the OT, but it would really affect our short and long term plans if the OT completely dried up. (It really won't completely dry up...I still teach downtown, and attend monthly Airops meetings, HazMat drills, Paramedic CE, Etc)
Still, AnnaMarie and I talked about it, prayed about it, developed fall back plans, decided to wait and see how things go.
Today I got a call from Washington D.C.....This position wouldn't really affect my current job, would mean more paid travel, and be a way to serve outside the small San Diego pond. There are still some hoops to jump through

Feast of the Epiphany 2010

2010-01-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

A family tradition we, and some of my siblings, uphold is celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany. For us, it marks the end of the Christmas season. (It represents the 12th day of Christmas)

AnnaMarie starts cooking a few days before. The reason she looks extra happy here is, she's in her favorite spot. Nothing to do with the half full Corona on the counter.

Dinner, as usual, was excellent. We've found that if you're inviting lots of people that don't know each other, pack them in close and new friends are made.

The whole point, though, is the Epiphany. We have a set of short readings that explains the significance of the event. THe readings are stuffed into numbered balloons. If you are of reading age, you pop your balloon in turn, find your reading, and read it to everybody.
The Magi were probably Zoroastrians from the East. Wise men from the oldest known monotheistic faith reading the stars to recognize the significance of Christ's birth and the dawn of a new religion. Kind of fitting, then, that we invite families of different faiths to attend. Couldn't find any Zoroastrians though.

With the serious business over, it's time for the white elephant gift exchange/stealing. My favorite gift was Lauren's 'Whack-A-Mole'. A Catholic Priest is visiting our parish, his first trip out of the Philippines. He seemed to have a very good time and fully understood gift-stealing. I wonder if he thinks this is a tradition all over America?

Project update Jan 2010

2010-01-04T15:02:00.000-08:00

Finally got a day off work, done being sick, caught up at home, Christmas now the domain of Dicken's first ghost. Before I start hand digging the foundation, there's a site inspection to get past. All the disturbed soil had to get covered with straw, for one thing.

The heavy rains caused a large section of the dug-out upper wall washed out before I could get stone work done, so I had to re-dig that all out. The dirt all got wheelbarrowed down to some low spots that needed filling prior to putting the straw down.

The straw bales started the day as something to be king of; later they were rearranged into a fort. They lost interest by the time I needed to cut them open and start scattering.

Ran out of straw, daylight, energy, and bare dirt all at the same time.

More fun at the George's

2010-01-01T17:33:00.001-08:00

The Georges hosted us for our last family outing of the year. We arrived before lunch, and Rob gave Patrick some pointers for cooking meat with fire. Celeste is as gracious a host as you'll ever find. Hayley played video games with Patrick. We all played 'bananagrams', which Rob consistently won after learning the rules. After an excellent and nutritious lunch, some of us returned to the bloody parrot for some sort of 'dungeons and dragons' type game. It was new for my kids....Kept us occupied while Celeste and AnnaMarie got caught up. The other cheap thrill was playing with the wall mirror. Good for some giggles

Experiment, Phase Two

2009-12-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I noticed a gradual diminishing of sunshine. It seemed we were getting ever fewer hours of sunlight. Since all things that are bad, according to the media and popular opinion, are due to capitalism and consumerism I naturally made the assumption----the increased buying and greed around the Holidays are upsetting to mother nature. Nature keeps trying to tell us that we are bad and unless we revert to a stone aged existence, we are all doomed.
So, I stopped spending, supported local measures that taxed people richer than me to help those poorer than me, and learned to see Nancy Pelosi in a positive light. No matter what I've tried, though, the darkness continues to overtake the light. I have a graph I've made that shows the obvious decline. Most scientists agree that without sunlight, things here on earth will be bad.
Well, no more. Trying the progressive liberal mindset hasn't made things better, only worse. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to go back to my Conservative roots. I'm going to take personal responsibility for all my actions. If I see someone needing help, I'll help them directly. I'll work hard to increase productivity. I'll go to church. I'll eat red meat.
Mother nature, if your design for us is to responsibly utilize all your resources to make life better for all, to innovate, to employ, to expand, to produce---and to reap the benefits of our labor without it being taken away by the Government---PLEASE send me a sign. Please, right now, reverse this trend and give us just a little more sunshine each and every day. Then I'll know for sure. If the days continue to shorten, I'll know what was really meant for us and will immediately register as a Democrat.

Mckenna's 16th Birthday

2009-12-20T07:13:00.001-08:00

Knott's Berry Farm. Oldest theme park in America, and has aged very well. They have a deal in December where fire/police people get themselves and a guest in free, then additional guests $15. They really decorate up well for Christmas too--and I do mean Christmas, not fetivus or sparkle or other such nonsense...Nativity scenes, 'Merry Christmas' banners, carollers, all that.
I have had 3 days off since Thanksgiving. I got someone to come in early (06:45), jammed home, collected Mckenna and 5 of her friends (3 boys 3 girls) and made the 140 mile trek to Buena Park.
Immediately went my own way..Knott's is great since there's lots to see and do, not just rides. I decided at some point to go on 'Ghostrider', a nearly mile-long wooden rollercoaster. Very fast. The park was nearly empty, and I started making my way through the labyrinth of line rails necessary for busier days....As I got nearer the enclosed part, I noticed two older teen girls in front of me. They kept sort of nervously looking my way and huddling towards each other, like I was some stalker or something. I guess a mid forties man wandering around an amusement park alone IS a bit suspicious...There was nowhere else to go though. When I got the the part where there were lots of people just before the ride and I was right next to them, I caught up on some cellphone calls I needed to make. Man...I really hate times when I just don't know what to do with myself.
So, when McKenna's group found me and asked me to go with them on some of the scarier coasters, I did. Good chance to get some pics too. I sent a cell pic to Byron and sort of bummed him out I think when I wrote "This used to be us". We closed the park down, leaving at 19:00. The plan was dinner and presents at the chicken restaurant but the wait was 90 minutes; we opted for Denny's halfway home. After dropping everyone off all around the extended community of Julian, we got back well after midnight. Had to get up early to start a shift that ends Christmas Eve.
McKenna described it as the best day of her life. I hope that's true only up to this point!

Wasting a perfectly good recession

2009-12-15T10:35:00.001-08:00

During boom times, anybody can start up a business and do well. You get a huge expansion of business, and people are looking for anything and everything to invest their money into. What'll be the next Starbucks? Why didn't I buy more Costco stock when it was still Priceclub? Let's invest in that .com!
The pendulum will swing. Every time. Over speculation, businesses that really don't provide something or provide it very inefficiently, people putting greed in front of sound responsible business practices....Lots of bubbles burst at he same time and you have a recession.
It's necessary.
A recession is a great way to cut out the deadwood. Businesses fail, big and small. The people from those businesses that have something to offer go work somewhere else or even start their own new business. Eventually, if left alone, the recession ends and the strong companies survive to snap up a bigger market share. They earned it.
Along comes our government. TARP funds, stimulus funds, bail outs. It disrupts the natural order and rewards failure. Anytime you artificially shore up profit or income, the economy ultimately suffers. The argument comes up that some businesses are necessary in the event of war, like auto manufacturers. If that is true, then don't hand out bail out money, create a big government contract companies can compete for. At least they'll have to produce something for the money.
When I'm Earth Czar, my econ ministry will only concentrate on eliminating fraud. I will rise to power by preaching trust--trusting people to do the right things. No government can provide all oversight and no system can work unless the majority of folks take it upon themselves to function in a scrupulous manner.
Basically, the best way a government can promote business is to mind their own business, as spelled out in the Constitution.

Rain!

2009-12-12T16:57:00.000-08:00

While rain is almost always welcome up here, this storm is particularly timely.
Lake Cuyamaca Recreation and Park District is a state entitiy created in the mid-sixties to provide recreational opportunities in San Diego's backcountry. It's governed by a board of directors who must be land owners near the lake. (I believe everyone should serve on two committees, no more, no less....This is one of mine)
Historically, there's always been at least a wet spot where the lake sits. There was an ancient natural lake here but as any limnologist will tell you, lakes are always a temporary geological structure. They tend to silt up.
In 1888 an earthen dam was constructed blocking Boulder Creek. A brow ditch was dug along the western face of North Peak to help feed the lake, too. Water shares were sold in the City of San Diego; the water flowed naturally down Boulder Creek, met with a diversionary dam (still exists) and was chanelled into a redwood flume that carried the water 33 miles to San Diego. This was the original water project for San Diego.
The lake would fill and empty on an annual basis. There were a few attempts to stock the lake with fish but fish don't survive long when not surrounded by a lake, so it wasn't much of a fishing spot.
After many years, and new water projects (including imported water from the California Aquaduct system) the Cuyamaca water wasn't so important. Helix water district aquired the waterproject and dam.
In the mid 60's, 'Wig' Fletcher, son of the developer Colonel Ed Fletcher, approached the State of California and struck up the necessary deals with all involved, to form the Recreational district. One of the things he knew was necessary for a year 'round lake with an active fishery was, and is, water. This is where the storms come in...
Helix water district loses water by keeping it in the lake; the evaporative loss is much higher at altitude in a shallow basin where it's windy, as opposed to letting it naturally drain to the deep waters of El Capitan Lake. The deal that was cut is, we take a reading April 15th and mark that water level. We take another reading December 15th, see how much it's dropped, and pay Helix for the evaporative loss. Since we're getting some good rain before the 15th it's going to be a good year.

Mud!

2009-12-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

(Near here, except sopping wet)

So you're a 40 something year old dude home from work for the day. It's raining out. Do you :

A) Get some things done around the house
B) Hook up with friends at the local watering hole
C) Write Christmas cards, -or-
D) Go mountain biking over some SWEET jumps in the rain?

Our last customer opted for (D).

The wooden ramp is halfway down the canyonside, with a 10' dropoff. If you really get going, you can fly deeper into the canyon. Looking at the jump it's hard to imagine how anyone makes it without getting hurt...
This guy landed HARD. The fire crew at scene knew moving him would be really painful, not to mention difficult and arduous. We were able to immobilize him pretty well and the hoist extraction was smooth, even with the rain. Enroute to the hospital we made him a LOT more comfortable through some chemistry tricks.
The back of the copter looked really bad afterwards. You coulda planted corn. We went straight from the hospital to the Fire Academy training pretty close to where the rescue was; I hope the fact that the gear, inside the copter, and my flightsuit were all caked in mud added some street cred.

Patrick's Most Awesome Day Ever

2009-12-08T12:36:00.001-08:00

This was so cool. Patrick's talked about nothing else since. Since he's all straight 'A's, his teacher was good with him missing a day of school to go surfing.
He's learning the basics here from an old pro and his son, a young pro...

Tom Stephenson is the crewchief on another division here at AirOps and a longtime surfer, and avid stand-up paddle board surfer. He and his son Riley set aside a morning just for Patrick.. AnnaMarie met them down at La Jolla Shores. Patrick was lucky enough to find a loaner wetsuit that fit perfectly.

Turns out Patrick surfs 'goofyfoot' (right foot forward)

Tommy had the forethought to bring a jug of hot water. When Patrick started turning blue, he dumped warm water on his head, then wanted to go right back out again.

Of course, we were very proud of Patrick's ability to have fun and do well his first time out....We were even more proud of Tommy's feedback about Patrick, how he was attentive, did all the things they told him to do, was articulate, and most important had fun with it.

Please, I need your help

2009-12-01T06:39:00.001-08:00

Maybe you've noticed, as I have, the sun is setting earlier and earlier, and rising later and later. In my Fox News-induced warped world view, I assumed this to be some sort of natural cycle; fortunately an enlightened liberal set me straight.
This ominous trend may well be caused by corporate greed and run-away consumerism. When is spending at its highest? Right before Christmas. Look what happens. Then, go to some equatorial third world country that is immune to capitalism and the greed it festers; it's sunny all the time.
So, I need to prove I've been wrong about conservative principles being better for everybody once and for all. I need your help! It's very important to participate whether you lean left or right.
Starting right now, everybody should espouse liberal thoughts and ideals. Developing and selling goods is bad. Sneer at SUV drivers. Hate all things successful. Give yourself over to the government, they'll take care of you. Feel good for paying more taxes; feel great if you can force others to pay more taxes instead.
Then, I've arbitrarily chosen December 21st as the study-shift date. This is necessary to form a control for the research. After the 21st, I need you to pray, or at least think positive thoughts. Try to imagine families where there's a mom, and a dad, and one of them is always home for the kids. Work hard, take responsibility for all your actions and decisions, and if you see someone in need for God's sake help them directly---not by supporting some 'program'. Think of ways to capitalize on your talents to make a profit, maybe employ others, and buy things that someone else built well.
I will diligently track the sun's trend. Since corporate greed is causing this, I expect things to change way before the 21st. Then after the 21st we'll see a reversal of the trend again towards more darkness if the theory is correct. When that happens I promise to reject Reagan and embrace Obama. I will trash Fox News and listen to Randy Rhoades. I'll admit that Hollywood elite really did know more about politics. I'll find beauty in people like Michael Moore and Larry Flint. And I'll....I'll...I'll buy me a hybrid car!