We've budgeted $385k for construction of the house (= net from the Denver house) and our Quicken account says we've spent about $200k so far. Can't really tell if we're on budget or not, but I'm sleeping OK so we're probably OK. The high dollar-density purchases are still out there: appliances, flooring, doors, and fixtures so have to keep an eye on the checkbook. Whatever is left goes for a driveway and landscaping.All the major framing is done. In the photo to the left, Lonnie is securing the barge rafters (the ladder-like overhang on gable ends of the house) with another type of Simpson bracket. One every foot (with 8 screws), so no overkill here. Gotta watch out for those rogue NW Pacific hurricanes. Now the roof decking is going on. It is 5/8" OSB (actually its 19/32" to make life complicated), which we upgraded to the minimum code mandated 1/2" (7/16ths). Do you know of anything else that is labeled one sized and delivered smaller. 2x4s are 1.5x3.5. Its like buying a pint of your favorite lager and getting 13 oz. Anyway, we'll have a stiff roof to drive several thousand nails into. We're interviewing roofers this next week so that we can get it really watertight before the monsoon season hits (now until June).
The photos show the roof rafters (2x12s) on the bedroom/sunroom and decking on the 2nd floor and over the kitchen/sauna area. Notice the gable "love nest"; as previously mentioned naming rights are still available. The garage roof will be built next week; roof trusses should arrive on Friday morning. Beca of NW Trusses came over on Wednesday and measured all the critical things, then went back and fine-tuned the truss plan. She managed to make the room above the garage (lets call it the boat loft for fun) big enough to build an 18 ft kayak or canoe in, so I'm happy. The garage and mudroom roof gets built over the decking that already in place.
Last weekend I scouted out a local sawmill at the advice of Gary Ellis. Its a small shop owned by Bill McCutchen about 15 miles to the south out in the forest. He's been a fisherman in Alaska, then a contractor in PT, and now is running his own mill. He reminds me of a cross between Bryan Frahm (Hobie sailor and Kansas farmer) and Benjamin Bufford "Bubba" Blue (Forrest Gump's shrimper friend). Bill eats, drinks and breathes wood—any kind.
But he mainly cuts and mills Western Red Cedar, as well as some fir, madrona, and local hardwoods. I toured the wood ranch and checked out his new mill. Sort of a gigantic Alaskan saw mill. This thing is pneumatically assisted, so it can lift a 20' long 34" diameter log onto the mill. Then the saw gets pulled thru the log, cutting progressively lower and wider into the log. For us, he's cutting 420 ft of 5/4 x 8 S3S cedar, which will go as facia board (this is the vertical facing piece that bounds the roof and to which the gutters connect). If we're pleased with the quality, we'll order more for the window and door trip. His price is pretty good, about 20% less than the commercial wood offered by Carl's and its of a comparable quality, and LOCAL.
