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Click TOOLS OF THE TRADE to see some of the tools and equipment we used. Click CREDITS to see the major companies and suppliers we've worked with. |
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6-27-10 Jeff and Jillena set up most of the scaffolding outside the east wall today. Ready to start defuzzing and staining next. no additional pics for today |
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6-29-10 Tonight, Jeff finished laying the planking across the scaffold frames for both levels. |
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Jillena and Bob got pretty much the entire east wall defuzzed today. Just a few areas to touch up before we can start staining. Jillena was also busy applying the first coat of stain to one of the exterior doors. no additional defuzzing pics for today |
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7-10-10 Today began the actual staining, starting with the top right corner of the wall (north end). We're using a backpack garden pump sprayer. This is the first of two coats. This one is a base coat that soaks into the logs but remains tacky to the touch. Next will be a top coat that protects the base coat and has no tacky feel to it. |
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7-11-10 Jeff was up on the scaffolding today staining more of the east wall. no additional pics for today |
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Jeff was working on staining more of the east wall this evening when our plumber showed up to help Jeff hang our new boiler. no additional pics for today |
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7-13-10 The base coat of stain is almost finished on the east wall. Just one small area to finish. |
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7-15-10 The base coat is now finished. As soon as our insecticide additive arrives in the mail, we'll be able to apply the top coat. no additional pics for today |
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7-24-10 Today Jeff applied the top coat of stain and because it dried so quickly, we began filling the gaps with styrofoam insulation and stapling lath strips for the mortar. Our friend Keith surprised us with a visit and got right to work cutting the lath strips. |
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We continued with the insulation and lath today, getting over half of the wall done. Down below, our exterior doors were drying in the sun. |
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We worked our way down to the bottom of the wall today, finishing the insulation and lath. Lydia and LouElla came up to stay for the week and help us out as Jeff took the week off. Diane also joined us today. Our goal is to chink the entire wall this week. Bob finished framing the chimney opening, then turned to helping on the wall. Our plumbers also made some more connections on our boiler system. |
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7-28-10 Instead of starting the chinking today, the job was final prep work on the wall, including filling the corners better with spray foam and stapling lath above the cap log extensions. |
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7-29-10 Chinking day! After days of prep work, it was finally time to fire up the mixer and start chinking. It took just two batches to find the correct consistency, but once we did, we could press the mortar right into the lath with just our gloved hands. |
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7-30-10 Surprise, surprise! Jeff's cousin Ryan showed up and helped chink for a few hours. He handled the mortar like a pro and helped us make good progress today. |
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7-31-10 Today was cleanup day - wiping the logs down and brushing off any mortar that was left behind on the logs. |
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8-1-10 We spent this Sunday afternoon breaking down the scaffolding, moving it to the west side of the house, and setting it up. The photo to the left shows our east wall completely chinked. no additional pics for today |
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Tom #1 was back today after a rather long haitus. We kept him busy defuzzing the west wall. Stephen and Jeff dug our propane gas line trench from the back hedgerow to the house, in preparation for the delivery of our propane tank soon. no additional pics for today |
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8-18-10 We've got the base coat of stain on the west wall now. Still much prep work to do before we can chink. no additional pics for today |
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Jillena finished applying the base coat of stain today, working from the excavator bucket to reach the overdangles. Other accomplishments for today were installing the basement staircase, finishing the west roof overhang paneling, and connecting the rest of the radiant heat manifolds. |
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Tom came out for a few hours today and helped us stuff insulation in the west wall. Jillena was up in the air painting the west roof overhang paneling and staining more overdangles. In the evening, Jeff reorganized the PEX domestic tubing. |
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9-6-10 Our LHBA buddy, Fletcher, drove out to help insulate the wall, staple lath, and talk about the progress he's making on his log home. |
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9-7-10 Today was more of the same - cutting lath, stuffing insulation, and stapling lath. It was a warm day, so Stephen played with his pressure washer to stay cool. Bob was on lath-cutting duty, and Jeff ripped a bunch of insulation strips on the table saw. |
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Bob came out again today to finish up the last of the wall prepping and install the pulley system on the top overdangle for lifting mortar buckets. He also hit all the major gaps in the foam board with spray foam from the inside. Jeff installed the jamb extensions on the door opening. We're almost ready to start chinking! |
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9-9-10 There are still some last-minute tasks that need to be done before we can start chinking. Jillena finished the panel painting and Bob stuffed batting in the corners from the inside, then spray-foamed over it on the outside. |
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Jeff decided to try filling a large gap next to the door casing with a log slab. Stephen provided some much-needed assistance with the tape measure. Jeff also did a little electrical work in the utility room on the radiant system. Chinking the west wall begins tomorrow! |
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9-11-10 We had a good crew for day 1 of chinking. Bob came out for the day. Tom decided the temperature was within his 10-degree tolerance for working outside. Mike, the latest WNY LHBA-er, got some early chinking experience, and John joined us for part of the day. We had good weather and made good progress. |
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Today was another chinking day with Bob, Jillena and Jeff as the crew for the day. By the end of the day, there was only about 1/4 of the wall left to chink. Last night the plumbers were back to fire up our boiler and connect the final electrical wiring for the heating system. We now have hot water to run through our radiant tubing. Soon we'll be ready to heat the house. |
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9-19-10 Jeff and Jillena worked together on the chinking today, almost finishing the wall. no additional pics for today |
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9-22-10 With the wall completely chinked, Bob and Jeff worked on cleaning the logs and breaking down some of the scaffolding. On to the next wall! no additional pics for today |
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