Log Set

Placing sill sealer to prevent air infiltration.

Setting the logs!

The process took two days.  Tuesday the walls sent up and Wednesday the posts and beams that support the roof.

Greatland Log Homes arrived with six workers and a crane to do the lifting.

Everything fit increadibly well, no cutting was needed to make everything come together.

The first log flys into place.

Squared up and placed just so.

More logs.  We drilled vertical holes for electrical outlets which some later.

Logs stacked very quickly.  Every log was labeled so they kniew where it went.

Long logs tied short sections together.

Day 2 starts with the stairs flying into place.



Beams up high.  Much climbing around was called for.  No one got hurt.



View from the golf course.There's still so much to do

Ready for logs

We are now ready for log installation.  The logs arrive Sunday and will be stacked Tuesday and Wednesday (we're having a party to celebrate).

Rough grading completed, now there is room for the crane that will lift the logs into place.

The deck is ready.  Note the sleepers where the logs go.  They raise the logs to allow for 1 1/2 inches of concrete and the finished floor that goes on top.

Rim joists are papered and steel lath applied.  The exposed concrete and the lathed areas get stone veneer.

The SIP roof system has been problematic -  two local contractors have backed out on us.  We're going to have to bring an installation crew in from Indiana!

Garage

The fire danger has passed, 98% contained yesterday and we're having afternoon thunderstorms with lots of rain now.

Nancy haming it up in front of the site, the garage is in the background.

Garage door framing.  Note the continuous double LVL beam header (added strength).

The garage is framed and ready for trusses (arrive the 19th).  We built the walls with sheathing attached for extra stiffness.

Fire

We've been effected by the Waldo Canyon Fire that has destroyed over 300 homes in Colorado Springs.  Since yesterday, we have been on standby evacuation, which means we can be evacuated at any time - pack your valuables.  Firefighters have been building fire-lines along the Western flank of the fire, protecting Woodland Park.  However this is subject to the winds.  Embers have traveled over half a mile over Rampart Reservoir to start spot fires to the North, so firelines are only a first line of defence.  Strong winds from the East could spell disaster for Woodland Park.

Progress on the house has slowed.  My helpers Ian and Nick have been evacuated with their families.  Many businesses in Woodland Park are closed, including the company where we have been purchasing our fill dirt, so backfilling is not complete yet.  Route 24, the highway between Woodland Park and Colorado Springs has been closed since Sunday.  I was at Home Depot in CS when they closed the road.  The 25 minute drive home turned into a 3 1/2 hour treck up a narrow dirt road called Phantom Canyon.

Many scenes like this, columns of smoke from several fronts.

A burned-out neighborhood.  We have friends there whose house was saved!

Our daughter Heather was evacuated from her home in Colorado Springs.  She's staying with friends on the East side of the city, so she's safe, but shook-up.

Progress Photos

Back of house, facing the golf course.  Roof is added when on-site.

Log staircase to loft.

More staircase.

Log beams supporting the roof.

More beams.

The house is complete at the log yard in Canada - very exciting!  Soon it will be dismantled and shipped to our site in Colorado.  Assembly is scheduled for July 11-12.

Floor Structure



Adding joist hangers.

Great progress!  Floor decking soon.

The I-Joists form the floor structure.  They are stronger than solid wood, much lighter and are uniformly straight (no warps or twists).  We got nearly all the joists on today, we'll start floor decking Friday.

Main Beams and Columns

12 inch log columns.  I purchased an electric chain saw to carve the beam notches.

1/2 inch bolts join the columns to the beams.  Joist hangers are seen attached to the side of the beam.

Here are the main beams that support the floor system.  The columns are structural log (we changed this from 8 x 8 inch columns because after all, it is a log house) so we carried the look to the basement.