Project LLCER Building

Firewall Framing Nears Completion - The big, complicated firewall is nearly all framed up. And it looks rather pretty with its red-edge-trimmed boards. The manufactured boards have a distinct advantage over natural, tree grown, boards in that they do not warp. They will stay straight. The boards are also significantly harder than natural boards. The nail guns do not sink the nails completely so they must be driven home with powerful hammer blows. Sam noted that some nails were bent in the process. One man once told me that 'threaded nails' hold better, so maybe those bent ones that get rapped in are an improvement on straight ones. Openings for the windows and doors are framed up.The opening in the center is for doors. The larger openings on each side of center are where the windows will go. The windows will not be that big but will be framed up within that opening. If the headers over those openings were placed at finished height, an additional horizontal beam would be require...

A Very Wet Summer - I do not want to confuse people with the facts  so I am not going to research history to compare this summer with its predecessors, but I do know that there has been a lot of rain. I suspect when the roof is finally on and the building is water tight, a drought will immediately begin. Aare uses a piece of construction lumber as a floating bridge to cross the moat protecting the middle of the building. Along the back wall a small pond has formed. I am thinking that it is lucky it is not spring time or we would likely be chasing geese off of nests before we could start work for the day. Of course a swan or two would rather dress up the place. Now that we see how complicated the firewall is, I am thinking maybe a cistern or two along the back wall might furnish adequate water for a sprinkler system and save all the bother of the firewall. Well, I suppose greater minds than mine have thought this matter through already. Besides, it is probably not a smart thing to c...

Correction -  As difficult as it might be to believe, a previous post contained a factual error. The red sided boards being used in the firewall construction are not fire resistant. There is fire resistant plywood on site, that is red, and will be used as sheeting over the top of the firewall and eight feet to either side of it. The chronicler confused a comment about the red plywood with the red banded manufactured wood boards regarding being fire resistant. So, it turns out the firewall is stuffed with combustible material. The fire resistance relies on the plywood decking on the top, the concrete floor and blocks below, the double layers of Sheetrock on both sides, and, not to put too much pressure on Dave, a layer of intumescent paint. The doors and windows must be installed and they also will hold a fire at bay, but at the moment I am not sure how that works. Like a former workmate and metaphor mixer used to say, we will burn that bridge when we come to it. Building the Wall -...

No Ordinary Wall - The firewall, which is the back wall of the sanctuary, is covered on both sides by a double layer of Sheetrock. (Sheetrock is a trademarked name. Did you know that?) The Sheetrock must extend from the floor to the roof sheeting without any break for nuisance things like trusses or roof rafters. The design of the firewall is such that it is not a straight, flat wall. It has angled bends in it, designed to improve acoustics in the sanctuary. It has cement blocks laid immediately on the footing. No foam blocks allowed in a firewall. The cement blocks, which are filled with cement,  will extend about three inches above the concrete floor. A wooden base plate goes on top of the blocks, and the wooden studs then go up to the top plate, which is a fire resistant wood type material. It is noticeable on site because of the red paint on the edges of the boards. Putting the plate on the cement blocks is relatively easy. Measure the segment, cut the 2x6 board and secure it t...

Look Out! Ben is up on the lift chewing on our brand new gable end truss with a sawzall. Not only that, but he is gnawing on the very peak where the boards are joined by a metal fastener. Andy is on ground level removing some of the now-not-necessary gable end bracing. All right, Andy, what is Ben doing cutting into the truss? "Making it stronger," is his reply. In my experience the only thing made stronger by cutting is the lawn, so I laugh, somewhat bewildered. Andy continues his explanation. The gable end truss is notched to accept a 2x4 that will extend out to provide a nailing surface for the roof sheeting. These 2x4s, called lookouts, are nailed to the adjacent truss so the gable end truss is further strengthened when the new board also serves as a brace piece. Why the name?  Since they protrude beyond the wall by a good distance, a guy on a lift has to be careful that he not entangle his vehicle or impale his humble body on one of these horizontal spikes. Hence, he mus...