I'm Floored (well, almost)

The past few days, I’ve been working and having a lot of fun and much of the time, I can’t tell which is which! I’m well into the framing of my cabin and it has been immensely gratifying so far. It finally dawned on me the other day as I thought, “Hmm, I better do the technical drawing for my walls soon,” that I’m not just the builder, but the designer and engineer too! I guess I hadn’t noticed, I thought I was just going to throw up some boards and call it a cabin.

When it finally came time to begin framing the walls, when I’d run out of excuses not to, and when I couldn’t think of any other little jobs to do on the place, I had to admit to myself, I had no idea how to frame a wall. Though I’ve seen wall frames in a finished state I’d never seen the work done and certainly never done it myself.

Reluctantly, I went down to Home Depot (which has become an almost-daily ritual) and purchased framing nails for the pneumatic nail gun Paul lent me. I picked up a few other little items and spent considerable time contemplating the purchase of a new shop-vac to help clean up the flood mud in my basement. I didn’t get the vac, but as I was walking away from that department, I saw the answer to most of the house-building mysteries lingering in my mind: The Creative Homeowner’s Ultimate Guide to Framing; Plan, Design, Build... Yesssss! I looked for a framing guide at Home Depot when I first got out here and couldn’t find one. I think I’d given up and assumed this was something left to professionals and other people who already know what they’re doing. I had to consider passing this one up because it cost a whole $18 but the ultimate selling point was the section on framing gable dormers. I really want one and REALLY need some guidance; so I bought the book!

I ended up borrowing a vacuum from Paul and (fortunately??) cleaning the basement took a full day. It was surprisingly hard work getting all the dry caked mud off the smooth concrete, but it bought me one more day before framing. So I went back to Paul’s that night and read the book on framing. I skimmed the drivel and got to the meaty stuff and read up everything I needed to get going. I was up till at least two AM educating myself, so I slept-in in the morning.

Then came the craziest part of all: framing is fast!! Everyone keeps telling me the framing will go fast, and I’m beginning to understand what they mean. Now I can’t stop telling everyone my amazing new fact: it takes me longer to make a technical drawing of a wall frame than it does to build a wall frame! It’s a really excellent book I got, and I was able to get more than one and a half walls built in a day, even working alone.

The following day, I asked Paul if he could, sometime in the future, help me raise one wall, as the larger one of two in the basement was too large for me to erect alone. He asked when I wanted to do it and I said, “Just whenever you have a few minutes free.”
Then he asked, “How ‘bout now?” and I was like, “Uh, perfect!”

He indeed helped me raise one wall, then another, then helped me level and plumb them, then helped nail them in place, then helped add a top plate, and then offered to help me put the floor on real quick… The progress was really great. We put up the first few floor joists and measured out the next bunch too.

The next day (yesterday, Friday), my buddy Curt came by to give a hand too. He’s returning to his home in Florida in a few days and wanted to pitch in before he’s off. Curt helped me carry, cut, and place many more floor joists. A couple hours later, I dropped him off and Paul came back to help some more. We got almost all the floor joists nailed in, added some bridging to solidify the joists, and began sheeting the main floor above the basement. Paul helped a couple hours and really got me going on the floor installation. After he took off with his kids, I kept working till dark which translates to: I got dehydrated, hungry, clumsy, and smashed my fingernail with a hammer. I didn’t cry, but I gave it some serious consideration…

Everyone who has looked at my wall frames says they look really good. I’m feeling very proud of that as it was my first try at framing and I feel fairly confident I can do the rest.

Today I took the day off working on the cabin, sort of… I drove to Backus last night after a big bonfire here in Becida with Curt, Paul, Joel, Dustin, and tons of Burns children. I got up this morning and drove an hour south to buy my back door from a craigslist ad put up by a guy who is building his cabin. He bought lots of extra windows and doors as he figured out what he wanted along the way. I got a pretty door, full width, with windows in it, brand new for $100; perhaps a quarter of its value. Then he asked me the question every good bargain hunter dreams to hear: “What else do you need?” He offered me a woodstove, propane tanks, a VW powered helicopter, go karts, and about 30 windows, all for dirt-cheap. In the end, I bought a well pump, pressure tank, and hot water heater for $100. Then he threw in a lot of four-gauge electrical wire (for free!) which I can use to connect my meter to my breaker panel in the house. New I think it would cost me over $600. I also scored joist hangers for free. I’m planning another trip back for propane tanks, some water well equipment, and possibly some more windows.

After my little shopping spree, I returned to Becida and headed to the Lake Itasca Family Music Festival with Curt for some relaxation. All the bands were individual families playing bluegrass and gospel! We filled our bellies with the three major junk-food groups; sugar, fat, and salt and took in a lot of good music for four hours or so. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face till we got home and the mosquitoes came out.


This was a highlight moment for me, for sure. Notice, each sibling has their bow playing on the fiddle of the one next to them.


They’re a bit blurry, but I got a kick out of seeing all seven kids lined up. Four girls and three boys, just like my family!


I think this family had ten kids! I knew someone out there had to be crazier than my parents.


I loved their skirts! I talked to the oldest sister after their performance and she confirmed my suspicion that the outfits were homemade. I estimate more than half the women at the concert were adorned in ankle to shin-length skirts. Most were all denim, but some of the really wild ones like these girls went with bright colors. It seemed to be more acceptable for performers than audience members.


Once this family was on stage, there was no room for instruments, so they just sang mostly a capella. Their harmonies were amazing!


I loved the name, but got a smoothie across the way instead.


My new shirt ☺


First wall frame! This is one of two walls in the basement which are designed to be load-bearing. That means the floor joists will sit directly on top and the walls will help carry the weight of the floor.


Wall number two. Behind this wall will be my utility room. The stairs from above will descend into the utility room, and then one can enter the room on the near side of the walls through the door pictured here. The diagonal board is bracing which I’ve removed.


First floor joists sitting on the sill plates and the load-bearing walls in the basement


Paul helping me set the floor joists in place


I’m smiling because the progress is so gratifying, but also inside thinking, “Why am I precariously straddling these narrow boards nine feet above a concrete slab?”


My progress so far on sheeting the floor. This plywood I bought is red because it’s specially treated with an oil-based sealant so it won’t delaminate (get ruined) if it rains before I get the roof on. I thought that was a good idea since it seems to rain about every other day here. I think this picture is funny because it sort of looks like some kind of clay building you’d see in the southwest with a terra cotta colored flat roof. My egress basement window looks like a door for really short people. I’m thinking the addition of some walls above will help my floor stop looking like a roof.


The basement is starting to look like a room!


Looking toward the utility room. The Xs between the joists are the bridging I added to stabilize the floor. I was standing on a ladder nailing them in above my head when I smashed my gol-danged finger.


Ouchie!


Looking through the door from the utility room toward the egress window.


Current progress, view from above

Graveyard update:
I’ve been having lunch occasionally at the Becida Bar and Grill. I’ve gotten on a first name basis with the owner, Jane, and I meet a new face each time I go there. Most recently, I met a guy from California and his local-to-Becida cousin Bruce (who I think works at the bar). Bruce was really friendly and chatty and I got the most reliable information on who may be buried on my lot from him. He reports that two of his father’s brothers are buried there as well as two other people. He didn’t specify any ages of the deceased, nor did he mention the genders of the two who were not his uncles. Until further and more compelling evidence is produced, Bruce’s story is the official report in my mind. Bruce looked to be about my Dad’s age, so I’m going to figure whomever is (or is not) buried there may (or may not) have been born around 1930ish, give or take 50 years….

Tomorrow should bring more work, more fun, and more progress. Sid has invited me to an early breakfast and then Curt is going to help me get some more sheeting done on my floor. I’ll be done be-floor you know it.