BUILDING A DREAM HOME/COTTAGE

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Tales of a fair weather sailor

The season is winding down for a fair weather sailor.  I use to to brag about how early I would have the Hobie in the water and how long I left it down at the lake but not now.

Now I brag about how many sails I get in a season, with nothing but a bathing suit on and a smile.

We had a good year at Clear Lake this summer, the weather cooperated and we had wind most days.  A few days it blew dogs off their chains and a few days we had the paddles out, all good.  We renamed a beach in the process.  Some still refer to Muskrat Beach as Moosebeach!

That is another story.

Keep your hulls in the water and your sails dry.

FWS

The loft area of our turnkey home solutions project is currently being covered with real cork flooring. The cork is being installed by Dani Green. Dani is installing the cork over a smooth surfaced subfloor that has been stapled to the original floor of the loft area.

I think it is marvelous that gals are becoming more involved in the construction industry. Regardless of the terminology used such as women in the trades, girls, ladies, women, or females doing a job that has been traditionally performed by men, it really doesn,t matter. I have worked with numerous women in various trades and have found them to be conceinscoius workers and have similar abilities to men, sometimes better. I am a supporter of women in all areas of the construction industry and trades in general.

The subfloor is stapled to the floor sheathing according to a pattern that is marked on the sheets. Basically this requires staples in 6″ squares throughout the sheet and 3″ around the perimeter of the sheet. The cork comes with a thin layer of contact type cement pre applied to its underside. The installer then rolls a coat of contact cement over the new subfloor. This process bonds the cork to the subfloor.

The cork will eventually have a couple of coats of sealer applied on top of the finished product.

There are certainly some common sense approaches to using the table saw safely unfortunately we all seem to have a little different sense of common sense.

Taking some time to understand WHY accidents happen can provide you with a lifetime of enjoyment and create a safe working environment. Before using a dangerous power tool, clarify the safety requirements first, then get down to business, and start producing things that you want to build or construct.

Being confident while using woodworking tools in general can provide a great feeling of personal achievement and satisfaction. There is a lot of truth, to starting with baby steps, and developing your skills as you gain knowledge and expertise in your endeavours. Start with some smaller simple projects and work your way into more detailed complex projects.

Very few people are self taught in the safe use of a power tool.

I can not stress enough how important it is that when using a tool such as a table saw it deserves your undivided attention.

Power tools, especially table saws, are one area where you don’t want to guess at the outcome. The saw will cut regardless of what passes through its path, don’t let that be your fingers

Our geothermal installer has placed the radiant floor pipes throughout the entire main floor. The pipes are spaced about 9 to 12 inches apart and attached to the floor with clips and screws. A pressure test was completed to ensure there are no leaks.

The next step is the placing of a self leveling type mixture. The self leveling mixture is mixed on site and pumped into the house where workers spread and screed  the mixture to the desired thickness of 1 1/2″. The mixture hardens quickly and can be walked on after about 2 hours.

This is a great system to use for radiant floor heating. Once the heat system is in operation the concrete type mixture is also heated and because of its solid mass it tends to hold the heat and in return provides a warm floor

The freshly placed floor glistens as it starts to set and form itself into a solid mass. The shiny surface will start to fade as the mixture sets.

The rough grade around the exterior of the house has also been completed. Final grading will be done once all the heavy machinery is no longer need around the building.

Our painters have arrived and are in full swing. The walls and ceilings have been primed. The primer is applied with a spray gun and another painter comes right behind the sprayer and rolls the primer to ensure proper coverage. This process took about one and one half days for the main floor and loft area.

The primer is an important step as it seals the drywall and provides a base for the following coats of paint. Once the primer has dried it is lightly sanded with 120 grit paper to remove any rough areas.

The second coats of paint are now being applied. It is amazing how a paint color can transform a white room into an area with a personal touch. The paint also brightens up the room and is all part of the finished look and interior design of contrasting color, doors, flooring, and furniture.

The second coat requires more care than the primer coat as the primer coat is sprayed on all areas that have been drywalled. The second coat usually consists of a combination of colors. The experience painters maintain a steady hand and cut the paint with a brush along the adjacent walls and ceilings and then the remainder is completed using a roller.

The interior of the building has now been boarded(the installation of the drywall with no taping or mud installed). All of the ceilings have been boarded with 5/8″ drywall. The purpose of the 5/8″ drywall is to minimize sagging of the drywall between the ceiling trusses or joists the generally have a 24″ spacing.

The walls are all drywalled with 1/”2 thickness as this is the standard in residential house construction. A qualified boarded cuts and installs the drywall in certain ways that reduces the risk of future cracking. This in turn reduces the chance of having to return to redo areas that are prone to cracking.

The first coat of drywall mud is used to embed the tape over the joints. The next topping and finishing coats are placed once the previous coats have dried. The topping coats are smoother than the first coat of mud and sand easier for the preparation of the first coat of paint called the primer.

Application of the mud or drywall compound is an art form in itself and qualified installers make it look rather easy. The only way to become a good taper is to practice, practice, practice.