Author: Daniel

There is approximately 70 linear feet of top trim to be applied to the house. 24.5 of which are at 11+ feet of elevation. 24.5 of which are at 13+ of elevation. The balance are the end walls, which span the lower height to the upper one. The tricky bit is how to install this … Continue reading Upper Siding Trim

I keep saying the reason I don’t have a safety line for my roof work on FRHT is that there’s no intelligent place to anchor it that gives me both decent protection and mobility. Today I figured out a way to get both! I strung some plastic-coated steel cable along the middle of the roof, … Continue reading Safety Dance

So okay, I need another layer of roof decking. Fine. Except there were some minor imperfections perpetrated during the installation of the first layer which I fully expected to simply cover up with finish trim. But now that I need another layer, those imperfections are actually in the way. Such as? Such as the side … Continue reading The Plane, The Plane!

I was looking over a quote for roofing materials, with which the lumber yard was good enough to include an installation guide for in the quote, and I happened to notice where it said “requires <certain thickness> roof deck, minimum”. And then I realized my roof deck is not that thick. By enough that matters. … Continue reading Shit.

Laying out stair stringers is challenging, especially getting the treads and risers perfectly perpendicular and carrying those lines and angles up the whole stringer. I had an idea which made it go much easier and quick: cut a scrap the size of the tread on one side and the size of the riser on the … Continue reading Stairway to Cozy

Remember when I said “Before anything can be done, something else must first be done (applies recursively)”? Here’s another case. Today I was thinking about siding. Shown here, some lovely knotty cedar T&G V-groove, a sample I bought at a local lumber yard a few days ago. Before I start installing the siding, I have … Continue reading But First…

Light port prototype – close-up. (B) points to the port’s basic framing, which is largely unseen behind the green sheathing board. This framing bears the weight of the glass block and positions it in the wall. It’s a little hard to see that it is a different piece of wood, but (A) points to the … Continue reading Light Ports

“Before anything can be done, something else must first be done.” — Me, often. This applies recursively. Here I am in late winter, having resumed FRHT at the drawing board. The next thing I *want* to do is take off the winter wraps and put on the roof. But no. The roof is not next. … Continue reading Before anything can be done…

Sheathing done, front corner view of windows. Open windows are bathroom (left) and kitchen (right). The double-hung window in the rear is one of three in the BeDeLiA. What’s a BeDeLiA? Well, it’s the BEd room, DIning room, LIving room, All-other-purposes room. BeDeLiA. No Amelias will be decorating it. Rear corner view of windows. Cozy … Continue reading Greenboard Everywhere

I noticed something different a day or two ago while I was installing some sheathing on FRHT. The project has ceased to be an abstract construction task and has transitioned into Home Building. It has reached some kind of critical mass such that it no longer feels like an assembly of lumber and nails but … Continue reading Home Building