I-joists Oooops

One of our blog viewers noted that the holes drilled for wires thru the I-joists were probably not according to Georgia Pacific specifications.  In investigating, we consulted with Georgia Pacific and others, and developed a remediation.
 
Now, we are in the process of fixing our I-joists.  Twenty-two I- joists are involved.  The spans ranged from 10 ft to 17 ft.  For the longer span I-joists, two 4 ft x 8 1/2 in x 3/4 inch plywood pieces were glued  to one side of the webbing from the bearing end covering the problem area of the webbing of the I-joist.

 

 Then, 2 ft x 1 ft x 3/4 inch plywood piece was glued on top of those and nailed to the flanges of the I-joists.  Another row of larger nails also went thru the center of the webbing of the I-joists.

Lastly, a 3/4 inch plywood piece was used to cover the splice between the bearing end remediation and the new remediation, glued and nailed in place.

Each repair is taking less than 2 hours which includes proper holes for the electrician to come back and rethread his wires.

Note that some of the I-joists are less than 14 1/2 inches apart, as little as 5 inches apart, and so the full repair was not possible.  However, those I-joists had the shorter spans.  They received a repair that involved sandwiching the webbing between 3/4 inch plywood.

Bill is very thankful for the nailer and especially the palm nailer.  He has still gotten a good workout on his right shoulder and the shoulder is holding up rather well.

The plywood is recycled material as it had been used previously in forming the South parapet earlier in the project, so we were glad to find a use for it, though sad that this problem occurred.  The plywood, having been out in the weather, was a bit thicker than if it had just been bought.  Hence, Bill had more of a challenge getting the second 4 ft piece of plywood in place since it had to fit within the previous remediation of the bearing end.

Plastering COMPLETE

Today is the day that the plastering of the overhang was finished.  

This picture shows it not yet quite finished.  They  also parged the back of the garage parapet to have a smoother surface there (instead of the very uneven surface of the shotcrete/waterproofing).
 

 And Bill put a very nice temporary railing on the stairway.

Ladder? Stairway!

Today was the day the carpenters came and made our stairway to ...the second floor.  It is a real pleasure to walk the stairs.  The rise is 7 7/16" and the tread is 11 1/4", a very easy staircase to go up or down.

They also put in one more wall upstairs, the water wall for the tub.

 

Electrifying Progress

Tuesday was a big day here. The carpenters were here finishing up their work on the walls of the second floor. The electrician, Kevin, came in the morning and we had discussions on where everything electrical would go. He started working in the afternoon placing wiring and boxes in the walls and ceiling, and the plumbers showed up.

 

Kevin has been concentrating on the first floor - under the second floor.  

We went 'window shopping' last night at Lowe's to look at lighting fixtures, and whom did we run into but Kevin who definitely knows his way around the lighting department.  We have decided on some 6" recessed lighting in the kitchen and living room and a shower; most of the other fixtures need a bit more research.  We also viewed the plumbing fixtures for the bathroom to see what was available.

We discussed with the plumbers the work to be done, and the placement of fixtures (tub, sink and toilet) in the upstairs bathroom.

Bill is working on closing up the tunnel/utility room so the walls can be plastered. The South visor or overhang still needs the final coat of plaster.  

Weather is getting so nice that we are planning on starting some of the outside work.  That work includes contouring the garage dirt 'roof', covering it with the insulating umbrella and finishing with dirt and grass on top before the hot summer.

The Carpenters Have Done Some Magic!

The stud walls on the second floor are almost finished. The carpenters were here Wednesday, Thursday and today, Friday.  

The wall between the bedrooms (Manuel and Felix)

The West wall and doorway to access the storage area

Bruce and the East wall with the electrical closet

 

The framing on the second floor looking North from the South wall

They will return when bad weather prevents them from doing outside work with their other clients.  Other work they can do here includes the stairway and half wall that separates the living room from the kitchen.
Electricians, it's YOUR turn!  Plumbers, it won't be long before we ask for your services again. 

The Thrill of Accomplishment

The inside of the house including the West Annex is plastered.  The exhilaration of having walls look like walls is going to keep us going toward completion with enthusiasm.

Our crew are expert 'flatwork' cement finishers.  They had experience doing vertical surfaces and floors. Guadalupe had experience of flipping cement onto walls in the old fashioned way.  He tried our mortar sprayer, but found that it didn't put the cement exactly where he wanted in the thickness that he could get by hand.  None of them had experience with ceilings.

Guadalupe putting down base coat

Fidel and Fernando finishing the 20ft high ceiling

The overhang (or visor) to the South is now in base, to be plastered upon the finishers' return, probably next weekend, weather permitting.

 We are looking into insulation to use as our PAHS blanket insulating material.  One product looks to be easy to use, has waterproofing properties, and radiant heat resistant properties as well.  We plan to try it out first on the garage.

We used a heater in the pantry/utility area to get the room temperature up to 50 degrees F. The paint for the metal bows requires it.  Now that we have done that painting, we are ready to clean and paint the floor. When all is prepared, we can get the water installed in this area.

The carpenters have been notified of inside work availability and we have the materials to have them magically make stud walls appear on the second floor.

Bill and I have started experimenting with the outer end of the earth tubes.  It involves putting a barrier to animals in it, along with a clip for a cord which will remain resident in the earth tube.  Here is a prototype. Cutting the six inch PVC pipe is the tricky part.

 

11 and 6, then 18 and 8 - Barrel Vault Ceiling Getting Plastered

Eleven bags (80 lbs each) of Mortar Mix and Six bags (70 lbs each) of Masonry Cement were used Friday.  Our concrete finishing crew of 4 put base on the West side of the barrel vault of the living room (great room) and finished the last bay of the second floor that was in base coat. 

Eighteen (80s) and Eight (70s) were used on Saturday.  The crew of 5 finished the West side of the barrel vault in the living room (great room) and put one bay on the East side in base coat.

Fernando, Fidel, Sabino and Jorge Luis (l-r)

Sabino, Fidel, Fernando and lower right Guadalupe

 Perhaps you can extrapolate how many bags we have used thus far.  I know it has been a lot.  The 'barrel vault' over the second floor is completed.  There is a very minor little 'ceiling' area between the main house and the West Annex that needs the finish coat.    And work this week will be prepping the remaining surfaces so base coat can be applied.  (Prepping means removing loose burlap and wires, and chiseling bulges of concrete.)
(edited by ownerA)