Doctor, When I Start the Tiller, Why Does It Sting?

Concrete Evidence that I am not a TOTAL Slacker

Even More Pictures!

Stuffing Some New Pictures Online

Spring has Sprung... Maybe

Recently we have had a couple of days in a row with highs in the upper 70's, but we have also had several days with highs in the low 40's. So, although signs of Spring are all around - growing grass (that needs mowing), robins hopping around looking for worms (and trying to build nests in the shed) and spring showers (3.7 inches in 2 days) our seasonal status is still debatable.

It has certainly been a while since my last update, so there has actually been a noticeable amount of progress. Here are a few new pictures:

This is the view from the peak, overlooking the sheathing.	My fall-restraint system. The strap is a heavy-duty tie-down, C-clamped in place. The other end attaches to my toolbelt.
Mother Nature reminds us that Spring arrives when it wants to.	I built an out-rigger work platform for the areas in front of the dormers. It drops in place, hooked on the sill plates. As you can see, it is sturdy enough to hold a ladder.
A close-up view of the dormer eaves before I put up the fascia board.

More Pictures - It's Starting to Shape UP!

	As you can see, I am still moving forward. The next big phase is to put sheathing on the roof.

New Pictures, Few Explanations

Suffice it to say, I've been busy with a variety of things, but I have made some progress.

Lessons Learned

Admittedly, this entire process is a learning exercise, but in particular, here are a couple things I have figured out about subfloor decking:
- A sheet of plywood is not necessarily straight, even on a factory edge.
- If a part of the tongue or the groove edge gets damaged, you are better off if you just remove it. On the other hand, if you love beating things with a sledge hammer, I bet you could get two tongue edges together.
- Do NOT let your tubes of subfloor adhesive get wet. If the tube is still wet when you use it, you get the Pillsbury "canned biscuit explosion" effect as a seam ruptures under pressure. Or, if the tube has dried, it may seem to be working OK, but horrible things are happening on the inside, where you can't see it until its too late. Suffice it to say that only about half of the glue is going out the nozzle.
- There are differences between the T&G profiles from different manufacturers. I am using some standard grade OSB 3/4" T&G, and some "premium" stuff. They work together OK, but you would not want to randomly mix and match.
- If you don't have a helper to step on the edge to get it to mate, a box of nails works pretty well.
- Instead of hammering the heck out of a stubborn panel, it works pretty well to use a board. A piece of 2x6 about 6' long can deliver quite a whack. Just swing the board in an arc, sliding on the bare joists, keeping one end up against the plywood edge. (That way, when the board hits, you don't dent up the edge you are hitting.)
- Finally, when you are moving a sheet of plywood around, keep it down-wind from your body. Especially near the edges of the building.

Has Spring Sprung?

Apparently the "Great Melt" has begun, and we have survived the Winter of '07. Mounds of snow within the confines of the existing walls of the workshop are slowly converting into sheets of ice. Luckily, they provide me with an opportunity to practice those liver-rending lurches my body goes through to prevent the injuries that might be sustained by a fall.
It seems that my schedule of Blog updates is settling toward once a month - though I would like to think that rather than being a symptom of laziness, disorganization, and apathy, it really is due to the lack of actual progress as constrained by the weather.
As far as progress is concerned, the recent warmup has helped greatly. Now that things are melting, I no longer need to spend time shoveling snow, then scraping and sweeping before I can work. Also, when it is above freezing, my nailgun works better without periodic warming. The subfloor adhesive does not need to be kept inside. I can go without a coat and wear a toolbelt. And, I can wear gloves that let me grab an individual nail from the pouch. So far, I am almost half done with the T&G plywood on the second floor. With the help of Mother Nature, I hope to have the subfloor decking finished this week and start the second floor framing.
One of these days I will put another couple of pictures up, too.