The Trusses Came

The trusses finally came 3 days ago. When the delivery guy dropped them however, we had to drag them back off the hill they slid over. Can't have trusses bending over a hill no matter how low a hill. It is recommended to stand them up as soon as possible so Hal did what he could before it rained.

rotated trusses

One truss also had tails 1.5" too short but we confirmed with the pole barn company that we can use it, just attach the fascia differently. Hal stood the 3 smallest ones next to the poles they will attach to. The others are all much bigger and he will need help today to position them.

trusses 2 and 3 are are the right, stacked together

Other things Hal has been doing is lining the crawlspace skirt boards with rigid insulation. This will help keep the crawlspace warmer in winter which will help keep the floor warmer as well.

foil covered foam boards

It's slow going but it is still progress.

A Little More House Build Progress

After the concrete cured for a couple days we took the bracing down and Hal got to work on laying perforated 200 feet of drain pipe inside the future crawl space to keep things dry in the spring. He covered the pipe with drain stone, then landscape fabric and fine sand one half yard bucket load at a time. More fill will have to be added to ensure the concrete footings are buried to frost grade. In our area that is 42 inches. That won't be fun as we have to bury those footings only 6 inches at a time, tamping the fill solid with an 8 foot long 4 by 4 dropped from a 4 foot height. There are more than 25 footings.

laying out the drain pipe

covering pipe with rock

Till then Hal has been adding the skirt and underskirt boards which do a couple of things. The finish grade comes to the bottom edge of the top skirt board and provides a base to attach the steel siding. The under skirt board is buried and is there to help deter digging critters from entering the house.

a few skirt boards and the sand inside the crawlspace

6 nails per end on each board

I don't have any photos yet as he only bought the insulation yesterday but Hal is also lining the interior of the skirt boards with rigid insulation to help keep the crawlspace warm in winter which will in turn keep our floors warmer.

And our steel siding did come. I don't have a photo of the gray roof sheets but here is the lovely blue of the sidewalls. It took the two of us 3.5 hours on a very hot and humid day to move the blue sheets one or two at a time into the pole barn. Some of the sheets were over 20 feet long. We opted to leave the gray ones outside and cover them from the weather. Hopefully they won't rust.

The Rain Stopped

On last Friday the rain finally ended. Saturday and Sunday were spent bailing out several holes, probably about 70 gallons total. One hole collapsed so much from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey that we had to add new bracing to straighten the pole.

Lots of water

more water

Then we had to scoop out all the mud from collapsed holes.

Hal and I were exhausted by Sunday night but at least it meant Hal could call the local concrete company on Monday to schedule the delivery.

On Tuesday we had half the holes filled and today the other half. At last we have a foundation!

the truck driver threaded the needle to fill the interior holes

Waiting

There are 23 poles up, at least, but it's been raining, and the deliveries that were supposed to come on August 31 have not arrived. There has been no contact from the pole barn company or any of the vendors or delivery people. It's getting, old, boring, and frustrating. Hal was able to do a little on the build today but without me there, we can't finish the leveling and straightening of the poles. It takes 2 people and I have to wait at home for the shipment that is supposed to come here.

I am annoyed.

23 poles before leveling