Project Cloud69, You Are Cleared For Phase 2...

Yes, I forgot to post again yesterday. Sonny had asked the inspectors if we could start installing the deck boards before our first inspection and they gave us the go ahead. So, we got started, and then got rained on. Of course, the rain stopped as soon as we got everything put away.

As for today...We made much progress on the decking. Finished up the front, and two-thirds of the area between the buildings. Which is 18'x30' for those of you keeping track.

But the most exciting news for today is we had our first inspection and are good to go!!! There was one major thing we were worried about, but turns out, not necessary. There was much rejoicing, and we all did the Snoopy dance and drank beer as soon as the inspector left. Okay, that's not entirely accurate. I was the only one doing the Snoopy dance.

Experiment

I took advantage of Ken and Sonny being gone doing hotel work and finally got around to building an herb garden. It's 2' x 10' and 10" deep. When I get the legs buried it will be about 3' of the ground. The idea being you don't have to bend over so much to "work" the garden. There's a couple more things I want to do with it, but don't have the lumber at this time. I also did a small experiment with Quickcrete. I was looking to see if I could simulate field or flag stone. Since it can be colored or stained and what-not, I figured it was worth playing with. (There is no indiginous stone to FL.) Turns out it's almost as costly to try and make it myself as it would be to just buy it. Oh well...

Burn baby, burn!

I took advantage of yesterday's rain and burned some leaf and pine straw piles in not-so-safe areas to burn. No worries about fire getting out of control...It was all I could do to get the crap to burn! I only got half of what I wanted done.

More Pictures from Thursday

Plumbing is all done and ready for inspection! Whoohoo!!
Since they didn't have a come-a-long handy (John has one), they made their own, by having Brian & Sonny walk up the 16' board they wedged against it. Just needed a couple inches! Most of the porch post had to moved a wee bit here and there. Sand, it's mobile and we have had several good days of rain, things should be settling in well now. Perfect day to set the headers!

The fence post I worked on today.


Kenny- Our Builder Brother is hanging onto the board while waiting on tape measure for the first header.

Almost Done! Sunlight's fading. Time to clean up and go to the rental house for showers and dinner. I have White Chili ready for us when we get there, just have make some cornbread and heat up rice and some add-on for the top.

Beautiful day in the neighborhood...

It was just that. A little chilly breeze but the afternoon sun created quite a swet with a jacket on. I raked leaves and brush from the west side and cleaned up some on the east side after Brian had cleared most of it out. I raked in the back yard area as will. put 5 posts up the driveway and raked that up some as well. I was glad to be out in the sun and fresh air since days of rain has kept me inside.
The guys made a lot of progress and we are waiting on our first inspection.. good thing 2 of them all about inspections... at least they can show up in jeans and tees for this one!

I wanted to post a few more pictues of the guys.

Beautiful Day

It was an awesome day today. The sky was crystal clear and it was about 55-60 degrees. Which was good since I had to crawl around on the ground pounding in the lower nails for the strapping. Ken roughed in the final bit of plumbing. And I finally cleared out the side of the building that's been bugging the crap out of me! There were just a bunch of small trees, too young to be called trees, but enough to collect a bunch of sticks and leaves and pine straw. But it's mostly gone now. Sonny was gone some of the day ordering the trusses. But when he returned, we got all the outside headers that will support the deck roof.

Here's a good picture of Sonny and I making "minor" adjustments to the corner 6"x6" while Ken nails it in place.

Cold and Grey

I arrived to the property late this morning. Ken and Sonny were already at work. I got there just in time to make a trip to Lowes with Sonny. We picked up the last bit of plumbing and a couple of ladders. We had planned to do the upper headers today, but didn't get to it. We did however, finish the corners and (hopefully) the last of the strapping. Well, I guess not technically finished. It was cold and wet so we didn't do the underside nails for the straps. I also got the pipe carrying the inbound water covered. We are set for the foundation inspection as well as the final septic inspection.

Elevation Pic

This is the general idea we have going, it's adaptable and ever changing. Sonny's brother Ken is helping us with the design & construction.

This is what the interior of one 30x30 side will be like, more or less. Less walls and lots of open space. Less to clean and adapatable for old age use. The other side is also 30x30 and will be a master suite and entertainment room.

We need computer space! If only we could get Internet! Argh!

Blah Day

Today was a cold, blah day. We did odds and ends stuff. Sonny went around making sure all boards were nailed in, and cut threaded rod for the center deck support posts. I finished the strapping on building one, and spent 2+ hours on the road in search of materials. We are just about ready for the first inspection. Tomorrow should be a short day and see us completely ready.

As of today...

The plumbing should be done today, inspection by thurs probably and our lumber for the flooring and decking will be delivered tomorrow morning around 9am!

That's the next big project... lay the floors, and screw on the decking... will take us I would guess 2 weeks? No I won't take bets... less of course you make it worth my while... ie, the promise of sunshine, warm days, longer daylight hours and little or no rain for that 2 weeks. Ok so... any takers?

I hope to be planting some fruits and nut trees soon. Brian and I will start working on the first raised plant bed so I can get the onions planted. The garlic and strawberries Charla and I planted a few weeks ago are growing so well! It's time to hang our strawberry sock up, something I've never used before. Makes for a hanging flat basket that can hang on post or tree as in my case. I wanted to see how well they did if I hung them along the fencing that will go from the drive to the house.

Speaking of... I want it to get warmer so Charla and I can start building that said fence... and work on the drive since the trucks and such and the sceptic guy didn't do us any favors.

I will have to create a sign that reads: "This is a circle drive..." or rather name it ourselves....? What would you name it? The delivery guys try turning around... and that isn't so easy to do yet. If I can catch them I tell them that it is a circle drive and it will make it easy to just drive around. Besides I need them to pack it down while I rake it out and level it.

? Circle Drive... Heavenly comes to mind, as does Peaceful... or Quiet: Circle Drive... to be taken literally of course...lol

I'm excited to see the deck done... it's gonna be HUGE! Biggest deck in the county I'd bet! I would say state but that would be competing with the likes of Mr. Trump and well, I'm no Rosie! ;)

Ok.. gotta figure out what to feed three hungry cold bears.... I'm sure one of them will fill you in on their day...

Another Missed Post

Yesterday: 20 Jan - We got a large portion of plumbing in yesterday. To include all the outside water lines. We had to dig a ditch for the incoming water. Yea for Florida sand. Sadly there were tons of roots that made for wonderful irritants. The septic plumbing was also started. And joyfully, we have all (and when I say all, I mean 99%) hurricane strips/plates nailed in. WooHoo!!!

Today: 21 Jan - We were in a bit of a rush today as it was supposed to rain. We finished up the septic plumbing and started putting metal, ductwork straping on the floor joists. Then we got rained on.

Another Pounding Day

We arrived at the property today to find Ken working on the plumbing and Sonny out buying some plumbing glue, hurricane brackets and nails. Ugh...more hurricane brackets. One piece of advice...If you are thinking you want to build your own house, and not sure where, don't come some place where they have hurricanes. When all is said and done, our simple wooden struction is going to contain more metal than the Empire State Building. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exageration, but damn! Anyway, Charla and I made it around three sides today. Along with nailing the joists we cut and positioned yesterday in place. At the end, I was nailing some of the deck joists into the outer header and mangled three nails in a row. After many curses, throwing my hammer almost to the drive, and picking up the sledge and embedding a bent nail so far into the wood you can't see it any more. I realized it was past time to call it a day.

The Deck...Well, You Know...

When I showed up this morning, Ken and Sonny were still out shopping for the last bit of lumber. I started to look around to see what I could do in the interim, but it started to rain and I took cover in the car. They showed up as it subsided. Then Sonny had to go back out to get the plumbing parts. Meanwhile Ken and I went to work on the posts and headers for the center deck support. We had to call it as it was getting dark, but we completed most of the center part of the deck. We still have to hammer the joists in front and back in. They are all in place and ready for their beatings though.

The Deck Continues...Again

Sonny and I banged in the nails that hold the joists to the outer headers today. Most of the posts are getting solid in the ground thanks to the recent overnight rains. That made most of our work fairly easy. There were some pushing, pulling and prying required to get proper alignment on some. Both Sonny and I have determined that the nails we have been purchasing, SUCK! The seem to come pre-bent. And no, we aren't accepting any criticism about sloppy hammer work. :P Besides after all the hammering; arms are getting very tired.

We still need to order the posts for the center section of decking that runs between the buildings.

In this picture you can see the poor tree we had to drop. It's lying on the far right. We all miss it, but it will make for nice firewood.

Ha-ha-ha-hammer Time Again

I was on property at first light this morning. Ken and Sonny had to get to Destin by noon for more hotel work, and we had to finish up setting all the posts and putting in the last of the headers before they left. The girls had most of the floor joists in place yesterday, so after Sonny and Ken left, I spent the morning nailing the joists to the hangers on the house. Dea joined me some time before noon and we made it most of the way around. We ran out of nails, so we called it a day around 1400.

Yesterday's Missed Post

Yesterday we dug the last of our post holes and as we rounded the last corner, we realized that the beautiful tree (probably the oldest on the lot) was too close to the deck. So, sadly we had to fall it. Because it was leaning toward the house I went up the tree with a buck saw, then a chainsaw and cut several branches off the house side. That was a new experience for me. I'm quite familiar with tree climbing, having grown up in the sticks. But being in the tree with a chainsaw is an entirely, new experience. The tree coming down marked the end of our day. I think having to take it down bummed us all out.

Saturday in a tree...

Sadly I missed a great picture today with Brian up in a Cedar that ended up too close to the house by the time we got around to that end of the deck. It was one of the largest Cedars near the house and we really didn't want to cut it down, but we just had to. We sent Brian up the tree to trim off a few branches on the house/leaning side of the tree while Sonny went to town to get another chainsaw bar. We wanted to make sure we could get the tree down before we started cutting and our bar was a little warped from use.

Charla and I cut the six foot boards for the deck floor while the guys finished up the decking structure. If not for the tree, they could have finished today on the deck, posts and floor joist. I called the day on account of my hunger. Tomorrow will start early and they think it will be completed by the time they have to go to work in Destin.

I hear Ken has a nice duplex a block off the beach this time, think when they go down, I at least will follow and enjoy an afternoon of beachin' it. I need to do a little shopping and info gathering as well. Lighting stores, flooring stores, and junk stores...here I come!

The Deck Continues...

Well, we trudged along today. Seemed to take way longer than we'd planned. Many roots and much shifting sand impeded our progress. We did finish up three sides of building one. And when I say finish; I mean getting it all squared, level, plumbed and set. There is still much to do in the way of boards to be measured and cut, joists to be placed and nailing to be done. Sonny had some errands to run, so Ken and I got a couple more posts in place, but then it was back to working with the 16' boards and the two of us couldn't handle those without Sonny's help. So we called it a day about 1530. It's coming along slowly, but progress is being made.

Pictures to come later...

The Deck Begins...

Today started with post hole digging. Well, for me anyway. One hole that had to be "dug" was right next to a tree stump. Major pain in the arse. Let's just say that I "dug" most of the hole with the chainsaw. :P

Next it was back to hammering. We placed the last four floor joists and hammered in the hurricane straps for them. Not so bad when you only have to do eight of them. Then it was banging in the hangers for the deck joists. We managed to get three posts in place, the headers and with several joists hammered in. Ran out of light again.

Hanging on...

Today we recieved a new delivery of building supplies which allowed us to do more hammering which made us all very happy, no down time for Ken and more hammering for Brian and I. The girls provided the photography, pizza and beer.

With all the joist hangers now in place we are well on our way to getting the deck and the flooring in place. Tomorrow we make a run for plumbing supplies as we need to get that started too.

(pics are Ken, Brian, Sonny hammering away, the joist hanger and a tension strap that has caused "wet noodle arms syndrome in some of us)

Light Day

I was completely unmotivated today, so I didn't get to the property until 1100 or so. I started out by doing some clearing and light raking in the back of the house. Prepping to burn leaves and branches and crap that we are dropping back there. My next task, (which I didn't stay with very long) was smoothing and leveling out where the septic tank went in. Their equipment made a mess of the area. And they didn't do a great job fixing it when the covered the tank and drainage field. An hour or so bent over raking dirt was about all my back would take. So, after a brief break (which involved ordering a helping of motivation from Sonny over the phone) I went to work hauling more downed trees and branches from beside the drive. I found out that I absolutely can NOT back up a trailer. Oh well, guess I just need to practice. Anyway, three loads was all I managed before I used the cold as an excuse to call it a day. We get an order of lumber tomorrow and Sonny and Ken are back from working at the hotel, so it will be a busy, "productive" day tomorrow.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Smack! Expletives...

That was my day. The entire day was pounding inch-and-a-half nails into 2x10s. Remember those 4000+ nails I mentioned yesterday? That's what I did today. Thankfully the girls helped or the task wouldn't have been completed today. My left hand is now beaten, and my right arm feels like it was run over repeatedly by a semi. I so can't wait for this painkillers and beer to take affect!!!

No picture today.

Another Day Down...

Late start today. Didn't get to the property until 1000. But Dea and I got all the bolts securing the headers to the posts tightened. Then it was hammer time. Each floor joist has a hurricane strap tying it to a header. Each hurricane strap has 22 nail holes. By code, they all have to be used. So...48 joists per building, times 2 straps per joist, times 22 nails, times 2 buildings...4224 nails! I did maybe a quarter today. Had to run to the hardware store for more nails and straps. That was about an hours lost daylight. Not that it mattered much, my arm is pretty much a wet noodle right now. Not looking forward to tomorrow.

No picture posting for today. It looks the same as yesterday.

Putting yesterday behind us

Supervisor Dea looks past the progress of yesterday towards Bldg 2. No time for looking back we have to push forward while the weather allows.

Ken and I finished work in Destin early today so we got to join the fun starting around 11a today. We found Brian hauling lumber from the stacks to the floor frame of Bldg 2. Before long everyone was swinging hammers or sawing something

Ken will be hitting his computer tonight calculating our next lumber order as it is time to place another lumber order because our stack has dwindled down to nil. Amazing how much lumber you can put to good use with a hard days work.

My next problem is finding a good source for the hurricane strapping required in these parts; no one seems to keep enough on hand. Well, at least not the big name brand home improvement/hardware stores. Suppose I'll have to look a little further.

Blacked Out

Well, sorta. We worked until dark today. We nearly finished the floor joists for building two. We were short five joists (2x10x16s). We got all the holes drilled for the bolts that secure the headers to the posts. They were temporarily held by nails. The bolts have yet to be tightened and a few still need to be inserted as well. Then there is the matter of all the hurricane strapping. So I guess when I say we are finished; that's not exactly accurate. But another days work should finish that up and all that's left before our first inspection is the roughed in plumbing. The septic tank install is supposed to be inspected tomorrow.

The photo shows Sonny and I positioning one of the joists.

Bldg 1 - Floor Joists

After the septic was installed and the septic truck was removed, we began the task of laying the floor joists. Building one of two was looking pretty "slick" as we called it a day on account of rain. When we started we thought we'd call it a day once we heard thunder, but as we got pounded with ever increasing intensity the thunder just didn't seem to be coming through for us. With the boards getting slicker and the motivation becoming quite dampened it was unanimous; we had to pack it up. We hit the showers, got some dry clothes and went out for Hot Wings and beer. (Of course before we finished at the Wings out came the SUN!)

I'm hearing that we have several more days of rain ahead, this is NOT good, seeing as how we are finally making some progress. Let's hope that the forecast is wrong...

(pic was taken before the rains)

Drain Field ready for Inspection

Yes, finally, the non-procastinators are Very Happy; our Septic Tank and Drainfield are in and awaiting inspection by the Health Dept on Monday. After that it should be covered back up and our drive should be smoothed out from the episode of the stuck truck we exprienced as our septic contractor tried to leave this morning.

And when I heard the rumble of the Diesel this morning it was before dawn, I got dressed, put the dogs out, moved two vehicles and moved the burn pile from last nights fire before calling Brian.

Rained Out

Yesterday morning it was raining, and by the time it cleared up, I was out of motivation. So, I did nothing yesterday on the property. Sonny and Ken got the posts cut and the headers on.

Today, I received a phone call almost before it was light from Sonny saying the septic guy was there. So I hustled on out to the property to watch it go in. The tank went in smoothly and he got the drain field laid out. Then as he was backing out of the drive with everything loaded up, he got stuck. Our drive is nothing but packed sand. After 30 minutes or so of messing around he finally used the back hoe to help push the truck out. Then he used the back hoe to toe the trailor out to the more firmly packed "main" road.

After that we got back to putting the floor joists on. It rained off and on all morning and as we were finishing up building one, it really opened up. So we called it a day about noon-thirty.

Picture shows the septic tank being lowered into the hole...

Post Day

Today was post day. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that we received our order for all the lumber for the foundation and decking support. The foundation consists of 15 8x8' posts sunk into the ground. The depth has to be twice the height above ground. So on the short side, we have 3' posts sunk 2' in the ground. And the high side we have 6' posts sunk 4' in the ground. Okay, so that isn't exactly correct. That was what we had in our heads, but everyone knows nothing ever goes as planned. As it turns out for ease of figuring; all posts are approximately four feet in the ground. The way the inspectors are around here, it's far better to do overkill. But we are stuck with the problem of the high side being not deep enough. Proposed solutions were; drop the high side a foot, making steps down into that section, removing the posts and digging deeper, or adding more dirt to the side making it even with the rest. Option 'C' is probably the way we are going. Faster and less work in the end. Digging in the Florida sand isn't at all bad once you get past the roots. However, the roots can be a real pain and the sand has a tendency to flow out of the posthole digger as you are trying to lift it out. Yes, that's right ladies and gentleman; we are digging these holes by hand. Ugh...

Anyway, all posts are sunk and we ran out of light. Funny thing about working outside; can only do so during daylight hours. Tomorrow we hope to get the inspector in and have him sign off on what we have. Then we'll alter as necessary and press on adding the headers and joists.

Picture shows Sonny and I after dropping one of the posts. Did I mention they were freaking heavy?!

First Real Post

Today I spent an hour or so with Dea smoothing and leveling the pole barn area. Waiting on the framing for the concrete before we can finish that up.

I spent the next three hours clearing slash (piles of downed trees and dirt resulting from clearing the drive) piles. Hard work, but well worth it. Not only does it look ugly, but major fire issue. Fortunately most of the down trees were rotting and light. There were a few that required the attention of the chainsaw. WooHoo; fun with power tools! We are having to burn the stuff I'm gathering so that it doesn't pile up too much.

I called it a day there due to major back pain and fatigue. Sucks getting old.

Up to today...

• We have a 8x14' shed, for temp storage and is a temp living area.
• A trailer that is the temp living area for Sonny and Dea.
• A cleared acre (approx) for the house, trailer, shed and septic approxately 300 feet off the main road.
• Cleared circular drive.
• Temporary electrical service. Yay!
• City water service. Actually pretty good.
• Clearing started for 24x36 pole barn.

Project Cloud69

Why this blog? This blog is an attempt to document "Project Cloud69". What is "Project Cloud69"? Converting 10 acres of unimproved Florida land into a home. There will be many stages, steps and mini-projects required to make this happen. We will be posting pictures and commentary documenting our trials and tribulations during the project. I'm hoping a big part of this will be lessons learned.