Construction Journal Entry Week of 8/28/11

8/30-9/1/11 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

I got a late start and then when I got to Zeke's, I got a call from Bill. So I parked at Zeke's and talked with him for about 40 minutes. We had a nice talk about his business and the trouble they are having in this tough economy. We also talked about my door order and we started the arrangements for getting them ordered, getting an invoice to me, getting payment from me, and for me to pick them up at will-call. I also told him the sad news about his sequoia tree and we talked about where I should plant a replacement. He would like it to be over the staircase he thought of and helped build. That sounds like another good idea to me.

I arrived at Camp Serendipity at 3:00. Bert was there to greet me so we went up to the cabin where he got hugs, biscuits and gravy. Ernie missed out.

The tapers had been there and their work was still wet. I couldn't be sure whether they had been there this morning before I arrived, or whether they had worked the previous night. Anyway, the job looks good and I am glad progress on the drywall is finally resuming. Ron had called me a couple nights before and told me that they would be up there to finish the job.

After a small lunch, and no nap, I went out and watered the 11 sequoia trees. They all look good. By the time I finished, it was too late to start any other work, so I had my shower and quit for the day.

On Wednesday, I started right out with my Bosch Bulldog and chiseled the granite behind the wall between Grid A1 and B1. The access was pretty good, except for the part around the corner, and I had figured out a pretty good technique for cutting the rock. I made a series of holes with a 1/2" bit using a combination of drilling and hammering, and then followed up with a flat chisel bit using hammering only. I got into a rhythm cutting rock.

For most of my life I had thought I would like to do some sculpting in hard rock but I never had the opportunity, or the occasion, or the material, or the tools to try it. Now here I was, cutting hard rock with some pretty effective tools and getting the hang of it. While I was chiseling the granite, I was imagining that I was working on The David, or Mt. Rushmore, or Crazyhorse. Someday, if I get the inspiration, and have nothing more pressing to do, I may cut into one of the huge boulders I have and try to make something. Anyway, I enjoyed dreaming about it while I chiseled out the bottom of my drainage channel.

By noon I had finished cutting rock and figured that the channel was ready for a test. I also decided to make a video of the test. So I filled two 5-gallon buckets with water, got my camera out, and made the test and the video. The test worked great. Now all I need to do is to line the bottoms of the two basins between Grid A1 and C1 with bentonite, and then chisel out the last of the rock at Grid E1 after I get some longer bits so I can reach far enough in. Even if I don't get that done, I have done enough to learn whether this is going to keep the crawl space dry next winter.

After having lunch and a nap, I went back out and inspected the pools of water in the drainage channel. I was surprised that there was quite a big volume in the pool between Grid A1 and B1. I changed my mind and decided that I should put some concrete in there. I checked on some old leftover sacks I had and I found a half sack of mortar mix that was still soft. I got a half-bucket of nice clean pea gravel out of my old pea gravel bin and made some concrete.

Before I added the pea gravel to the mix, I mixed a batch of mortar and used that to patch an 8-inch section of chinking that I had missed above the Grid D purlin where it meets the gable wall in the loft. I had noticed that I missed this spot right after I did the chinking and it had been a small project that I would get around to one of these days. Well now that I was mixing mortar, this was the time.

After the chinking was done, I added the pea gravel to the mortar and mixed it into a batch of concrete. I carried this around and dumped it in the channel between A1 and B1. Since that pool was full of water, the concrete got very soupy when I poured it in. I realize now that I should have poured it all right at the B1 end and let it push the water down and out of the channel. Instead, I poured it in the middle, which dammed up the water which then turned my concrete into a thin soup. I know you can place concrete under water, so I think it will be all right, but then again, I think I could have done a better job. I was happy with how it came out, though. If any water does pool in there, it won't be very much.

By the time I got the tools cleaned up and put away, it was time to shower and quit for the day.

On Thursday morning it was a little nippy. The temperature in the building was 60 degrees. I was a little concerned that the drywall maybe should be kept warmer so I called Ron to ask him and to touch bases on his health and the plans for the tapers. He said 65 degrees would be fine. He also said that his back was a little better but still tender. And he said that when he had picked up his tools and equipment he had forgotten two aluminum saw horses. He needed them for some function so I told him I would bring them to his house on my way home later that day.

Since it was a new month, I tested the AFCI and GFCI breakers in the distribution panel and checked the counter in the pump control box. The pump had run 3 times during the month. I recorded the number on the circuit breaker test record. I also checked to see whether there was still snow on Nason Ridge. It is now September and there is still some snow up there.

After breakfast, just as I was putting on my work clothes, Jess and Tim, the tapers drove up. After introductions and a brief chat, they went to work on the taping and I took a few pictures of them. Then I went to work hanging ceiling boards over the back porch deck. I got one board installed, which was a little tricky because it required some shimming. I had just cut the next board to length, when two Jehovah's Witnesses came up to the cabin. I stopped work, showed them around a little, and chatted with them for nearly an hour.

When they left, I decided to quit for the week, so I put the tools away, changed my clothes and was about to start my lunch when Jess and Tim finished their work and left. I had my lunch and left for Ron's place at 1:00. I delivered the saw horses and headed home feeling good about the week.

9/2/11 (Friday) Received the invoice for the doors and sent a check to Pacific Coast Door Company. I will pick the doors up in Sumner on Tuesday September 20 at will-call and take them directly up to Camp Serendipity from there.



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