Raising Our Roof

On Tuesday, July 3rd, with all 4 sections already in place, the set crew begins to prepare the roof for raising it.  They got started early and when we arrived at 8:30, the roof was already unwrapped.

They waste no time today as there is lots to do.  One side of the middle roof goes up.

And then the other.

The roof of the two main sections are raised half way and supports are put in place.

All 4 sections of roof, half way up.

                                  Lifting supplies and walls inside.  Several progress shots.

Setting the walls and window walls.

At the end of the day, we looked like this.

                 Roof on and most of the doors and windows on by the end of Tuesday, July 3. 
                                       Crane went home.  There we are nestled into the trees.

Setting the Modular Pieces

Our new house came in 4 separate sections, each one wrapped up in heavy white plastic, that has protected it from the elements the last few months.  The house has been completed since at least March and been waiting for us to be ready for it.  Each section was pulled up the hill with the big bulldozer, then a smaller remote bulldozer, which moved the house around the corners with ease, then the house.  Here is a picture of what that looked like.  There were 6 members of the "set crew".  They pulled the wrapping off each section, then helped set the home in place.  This picture shows the big bulldozer pulling the little remote dozer pulling the house, withj the crew unwrapping the house.  Around each corner, the remote man maneuvered the little bulldozer to manipulate the house around the corners.

Section 1 begins with the unwrapping.

Once up the hill the cables are connected through the bottom support joises and the house is lifted up and over.

They set one edge down but still keep tension on the crane's lift. 

They use crowbars and ropes to pull the house where it needs to go.

When the back side is set in exactly the right place, two other guys do the same thing to the front.  See a man on each corner?  The crane and the lifting apparatus is show below.

After seeing each step of the way for the first box, I will just show a few more for the setting of the other boxes.  There are 4 boxes.  Notice above, that they didn't start setting the house on one corner.  They started in the middle and placed the left of the two main boxes.  They place the middle two boxes first so they can make sure they have the middle sections square.

Sectiion 2 begins with the drilling of the holes under the house for the cables.

Notice the men controlling the swing of the box even before it gets very far off the ground. 

This one gets lifted up and over.

Once set in place by the set crew, pulleys are used to pull the boxes as close together as they can get.  Hard to see it but if you blow this picture up, you can see the pulley on the two boxes.

Starting to look good.

Section 3 in place

Section 4 going in, but it is getting dark.  Notice on all 4 sections they left the white plastic on top the sections.  They spread this all out at the end of the day to protect the house overnight until they can raise the roof.  See you tomorrow.

Preparing to set the Modular Sections

Monday, July 2 was scheduled to be our "set the home" date. Our weather had been dry for weeks but the night before, we had a huge deluge of rain. Blue Ridge log Cabin personnell made the decision early Monday morning to go ahead and set the house, even though it was very muddy up close to the house, where there was no road bond. However, they had many problems getting equipment up the hill. Bulldozers had to pull the counterweight trucks up the hill. 

It took 2 bulldozers to pull the crane up the hill.

See the big steel plate the crane is lifting?  These are the counterweights that sit on one end of the crane.  There are 4 of them that were loaded onto the crane.  These hold the crane down when the arm lifts heavy objects.

With the crane all set in place, the first order of business was to set the steel beams down the center of the basement to support the upper floor without having to put a wall down the middle.

Next comes a strip of black insulation around the edges of the outside walls.  See the man in the set crew walking around the 8" walls.  The first section is then ready to go.

Support Walls for the Modular

On Friday June 22, we went away for the weekend, knowing they were building the 8" block walls on Saturday.  When we came back Monday the 25th, we found this:

On Saturday, June 23rd, the Block Masons and the Carpenters were working.  The 12" blocks were filled with concrete, which was 3 more trucks of concrete and the carpenters got the wood structure going.  The goal was to have the house ready for the modular boxes on Thursday the 28th.  They worked all day Monday and Tuesday and here are some progress pictures:

Building the outside frames.

Inside support walls.

On Tuesday, we found out that our set date for our Blue Ridge log Cabin had been postponed and a new date was set for Monday, July 2.  Although we would have been ready for the setting of the cabins, everyone breathed a sign of relief as the carpenters had been working until 7:00 pm every night to get ready.

On Wednesday, a few additional things got done. This picture is the setting of the steel posts to support the support beam for the middle of the house.  The steel beams will allow us to have an open family room without support posts in the lower level.

The other thing that got added were the sill plates around the entire frame.  Salt treated 8" boards lay on top of the concrete walls.  8" boards  also lay over the top of the frame.  these are the base supports for the cabin.

The final photo of the house ready for the Log Cabin. 

Basement Concrete Floor

Pouring the concrete for the basement happened on Thursday, June 21st.  Hulio, whom you met earlier in a post about Lynn's house arrived at 6:00 am to finish getting everything ready and the concrete trucks were supposed to start coming at 7:00 am and have one come every 30 minutes.  the first truck did not arrive until 7:30.  So we all sat around and talked.  Hulio has 6 men with him this date. 

Here is the truck backing up the hill.  Hulio has to connect his apparatus to the concrete pump that Hulio brought.  Have you ever had to use a wheelbarrel to get the concrete from the truck to the area that was being finished?  Well Hulio has a wonderful little pump and hose system that takes all the work out of that.

The truck dumps the concrete into this pumper, then hoses are connected.

With everything set up, they went to work.

Look what they are doing with a 2 x 4.  Look below for some more "technology" that they use to help level the concrete out.

See the spikes every 6 feet or so sticking out of the plastic.  The top of the spikes act as a guide, using the 2 x 4 board and this is the level lines to help the crew keep the concrete level as they go.  the concrete dries quickly, so they have to work fast.

this is a bull float.  They smooth out as they go making it nice before they get too far away from that spot.  Soon everyone is working on different things.

Before long we have progress.  this guy is the final finisher.  He uses the bull floats and  polisher to get it perfect.  I think this is 2 trucks worth of concrete and the 3rd truck is late.  Everyone is grabbing a bite.

Look at this guy, wearing funny shoes, like skis, so he can walk on the concnrete to do some more smoothing.  See the trowel in his left hand.

Some scenes from the final corner and finishing of the floor.

The final corner doesn't need the hoses as the concrete truck back up to that corner

At the end of the day, they are all very tired and the finish man is making it pretty.  They worked non-stop from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm, a hard days work.  They let the concrete set up overnight and cure on Friday, but Saturday, they laid some 8" block.  See the area of block jutting out to the left.  That is the utility room, which will have complete surround by block and a steel door.  Next post, putting in the rest of the support walls.