Tools - Review - Bostich - Skilsaw - Black & Decker

Some of the most useful hand tools we use. We thought we would give you a heads up on some the hand tools we are using for all those beams.  These tools have proven to be the best for us.

Clamps – Where would we be without these locking clamps? We use a set of these “The Original” locking vise grip C-clamps with swivel pads that don’t put gouges in the the wood.  Using the turn screw, the clamp can easily be adjusted and then used repeatedly for many applications. We have been using them to hold our beams together during installation of a reinforcement plate and any other time we need to firmly and confidently hold something in place.  The release is easy to use and makes handling the clamps a breeze. No time consuming winding tight like a traditional C clamp. Even the wife can use them. These are “The Original” C-clamps and worth the extra dollars.

Square/ level – Who doesn’t want to be square?  This Swanson square TS151, borrowed from the Mrs toolbox, is a great little square. For all those repetitive cutting marks, this tool is the one. No adjusting, no moving parts, just a straight edge with you need it and a bonus level.

Saw – We saw a lot!  This circular Skilsaw does the trick. Whether we are cutting plywood, 2 x 4, 2 x 6 or 2 x 10 this portable circular saw handles the job. This is a easy to use, fairly lightweight, saw with enough power to handle most any cut. Precision is the goal and with the saw that is easy to accomplish.

Nail gun – If we didn’t have this gem we would not be ¼ of the way through what we have built. This Bostitch F21PL 21 degree  nail gun is supreme. We use this air powered nail gun, well I will say we have gone through 1 ½ boxes of 3 1/4” nails, with count of 4000, and we have a lot more to do.  Not a lightweight tool but powerful and pretty consistent. Only seems to hiccup when I am atop the scaffolding and want a quick nail set. But that isn’t too often. We have used with 3 1/4” and 2” strip nails that are easy to load and exchange. This is a sturdy piece of equipment. Even a drop from about 6’ to cement floor didn’t compromise the utility of this nailer. Highly recommended. 

Air drill – A great go to drill when you need extra power.  This generic drill is lightweight, easy to use and only draw back is it only has one speed, fast!

Drill – Handy dandy battery powered 12V cordless hand drill by Black & Decker. Thanks again to the wife.. I see a pattern here. This handy light weight rechargeable hand drill – screw gun is great for portability. With a full charge we are good for about 2 hrs of pretty steady use. Changing out the bit is quick and easy. There is enough power to use this drill with our self drilling screws through 2” wood and into ¼” metal.  Small, comfortable grip and easy to use.  

 Compact circular saw – This borrowed, from wife, circular saw is quite the little gem. We are using this to cut excess from our over head ceiling beams once lifted in place. Lightweight, powerful, easy to use, this saw is a must have. It is under 6lbs and has quick and easy adjustable angle and blade depths. Slim grip is great for comfort and reliability. The rip fence is just right for when the cut needs to be precise.

12/18/16 no working today. It's 30 degrees!

Back to business

12-8-16 update

Beams up an installed over 1/2 of the house - bedrooms, bathrooms, washroom

The beams over the living area are a work in progress. 

Each 20' beam is being lifted and installed by myself and my husband. No small feat!  

Break for Deer Season

Just a quick post :: After our Break for Deer Season and our First Annual Thanksgiving Family Dinner, we are getting back to building.

The rafters are going in slowly and carefully. Ladders don't take kindly to your knees after continual usage. Never the less, as of today, we have rafters up and over 1/4 of the rooms.

Oh and deer season went well:

Beam me up!

Oct 22 2016 Beam and wall framing

One man - SOOO many boards

After a brief hiatus we are back at it! All the walls are framed up to 10'. The wall in the center of the house separating the living space from the bedrooms is 90% complete. Wall sections above the 10' height are being completed now.

Photo of center wall. The ceiling in the living area is a cathedral ceiling. The wall up to 10' was built in sections and lifted up and bolted down and to the adjoining sections and floor. Above 10' is a work in progress.  An opening on the left will remain there until the A/C and plywood attic flooring is completed.

The last two days we have focused on our 24' foot exposed I beam in the center of the living area and preparing it for rafters. First we attached a 2' x 10' to the top and bottom of the metal beam. These 2 bys will make installing the 40 rafters easier and more stable. Then we added two metal straps for just a little extra support. The straps will not be visible once the ceiling boards are installed. Finally, we added 24" wide plywood on both sides of the beam.  Our final vision is for the beam to be finished off with a nice finishing wood. It is way up there!

While waiting for the sun to rise high enough to work inside, we installed our first set of shutters. We tested out a few ideas and finally have this set installed with supporting block between the shutters and the exterior wall ridges. We think it looks great! What do you think?

Month No 2 ends: walls

Walls, walls and more walls

Moving right along on this one man job.  The walls are going up pretty quickly and easily. We are due for a cool front and it can't come fast enough. Without insulation it can get pretty hot in there. Here are a few photos of the additional walls which completes the Master Bath, Master bedroom and almost the hallway. Sam is in the first photo.. trying to take some credit for all the hard work.

Photos from atop the scaffolding

It's no easy task climbing up there! and it is way up there. 

CHANGE:  decided to move the hot water heater to the attic to improve on the installation and run pipes to exterior back side of the house.

UPDATE: Shutters are 80% done.  They are all built, but ran out of polyurethane.

INTERESTING: the El Camino - The Texas Gravel Adventure bike race ran right by us. On a 90 degree day, those brave riders had more than gravel to contend with.

Being as hopeful as we can for nice cool Fall weather

DAYS 57- to month No. 2 Interior walls

Here we are at DAYS 57-58

The builder, Huff Welding, finished most of the outside. The underpinning for the side porch looks great! They also installed the wind vane for us. So glad we didn't have to figure out how to get up there!! They will come back when we have the front porch ready for underpinning and wood burning stove stack ready to install.

LOOKS GREAT!!










We are pre fabricating the walls in sections inside the house and have installed the two 6" wall sections for the laundry room and the small 1/2 bath. Not as heavy to lift as we thought. Laundry wall includes cut outs for dryer vent to outside wall. All walls will be bolted to the foundation.

Bathroom and laundry walls - 6"

Next,  the framing is complete for the interior walls within the master bathroom. There are two interior 8' walls separating out the shower and toilet. These walls are 8' leaving ventilation space to the remaining areas of the bathroom. The ceilings will be 10'. Door for master bath is a 80 x 30 opening. We will be fabricating a sliding barn door with reclaimed wood and barn door rollers for opening and closing off bathroom.

Now we can see shape of master bedroom(lft), master bath and 2nd bedroom(rt)

Hummingbirds are passing through town!

The cedar shutters are coming along. Using cedar fencing to reduce cost and increase ease of construction. All will be covered with a clear polyurethane which adds a nice color to them.  Here are a few photos. First photo is of back side.  Each shutter will have 3 panels and angled cross support. We are still working on the process for attaching them to the house.  Note: scorpion stings HURT!

Next up: hallway walls, finish shutters, getting really close to contacting electrician and A/C man!
9/18/16

DAY 50-52 Scaffolding and so much more

DAY 50-52 Scaffolding, plumbing and interior framing

Finished installing all support boxes inbetween the side wall beams to support the ceiling.  We received some scaffolding on loan for the duration of the build. We put together one large 14' section with two landings. The wheels are coated so hopefully we won't damage the floors that will be eventually stained. That should help us work smarter and not harder.

 In the center photo you can see we started the interior plumbing. These pipes make up the vent from the master bathroom that will go up and vent out the cupola. We are using 2" pipe for that section and metal straps to hold them in place in a slight upward angle.

Break time in the hammock on a hot day

DOORS!  Finally, no rain and time to polyurethane the doors. One coat complete. We will lightly sand and put on another coat to seal the deal!
That's Bailee photo bombing in the right photo.


















Ended the day with leveling and adding sand around
the foundation that had washed away with all the rain.

BTW, these 5 apple trees are doing great!

Can you pick them out? hint, there are cages around them.

NEXT:

For Gary: more plumbing & interior walls

For me: finish cedar window shutters, boards have been cut