To the Floor

We've gotten construction up to the point where we're ready for SIPS to arrive at site, which is next week. After having piles driven we had to go through and square them all relative to each other. We then notched them all with a chainsaw and thru bolted the girders on.

After this we put the floor joists up. In the design process we opted to set the joists on top of the girders and attached them with twist straps rather than setting them at the same level of the joist with hangers. In doing this we were able to cantilever the deck out and save some costs in material. 

Another cost saving thing we did was use bridge blocking to bear the load of the walls instead of doubling the joists underneath. This also allows some flexibility to move interior walls around if we make on site changes. The below photo also shows the twist straps. One thing that really surprised me was how flexible dimensional lumber becomes when its 20 feet long. It always looks so straight and rigid when its on a drawing, it really caught me off guard the first time I tried to walk across the joist. It doesn't gain its strength until you nail the subfloor to it.

After putting the subfloor on (which we learned actually comes in 3' 11 1/2" x 8' sheets not 4' x 8'), we installed the SIPS curb. The SIPS curb is one of the most important components in the assembly because it is wall ties the SIPS panels into the floor/foundation structure. This is done through 2 2x4's (3 in the corner) glued and nailed to the subfloor/joist and then thru bolted to the girder using threaded rod. This requires using a 2 foot drill bit and a big manly drill which is measured in horsepower. 

Our first week on site was a cold and rainy one. B, Ms. Dang's dog (one of the few to survive Katrina), has been sporting a wardrobe of winter wear in order to stay warm.

We've brought a radio on site this semester, so I've stayed warm by dancing while building. 

The final image is a gift for Evan.