The Hundred Year Roof

Good news!  The roof didn't collapse under the weight of 20,000 pounds (9072 kg) of slate!  

Of course we still have to see what happens when the first snow falls!

If everything holds up, this roof should last at least 100 years.  I have personally seen slate roofs in England, and Italy that have been in operation for even longer than that.

The slate is from China, and is nominally 10 mm thick, thicker than typical American slate that you see sometime in the Eastern U.S. The color is called Forest Green.  We used copper flashing and copper nails, at the urging of the roofer, since it holds up the longest and resists corrosion better that other materials.

There are actually four roof sections, the main roof and smaller roof sections over the dining room pop-out, the front porch, and the balcony.  Here are some pictures:

Ronnie Sensiba holding a roof slate in the left hand and a floor slate in the right hand.

The front porch roof.

Note copper in the valleys where the main roof and dormers come together.

Front door with porch.

Roof over dining room pop-out

Shining in the rain

You may be thinking it's crazy to spend that much money on a roof; however, if you consider the cost over the entire life-span of the roof, slate is actually more economical in the long run.   

I hope that's true.  I'll be very disappointed if this roof doesn't last 100 years!

ROCK ON!!

This summer has been so hectic for us that we didn't get a chance to visit the cabin from Memorial Day until Labor Day.

Fortunately, the contractor has been in touch and provided a few pictures and updates.  The stonemasons started to work in July, and provided these pictures in early August.

Big improvement over concrete block (or CMU's as they say in the business)!

10 Best All Time Rock Songs

Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley and the Comets

Rock of Ages - Def Leppard

It's Only Rock and Roll - The Rolling Stones

Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo - Rick Derringer

Old Time Rock and Roll - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

Rock and Roll All Nite - KISS

Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy - Bad Company

Rockin' Into the Night - .38 Special

Rockin' in the Free World - Neil Young

Rock and Roll is Here to Stay - Danny and the Juniors

More updates soon!

Rough Electrical

We ran into an unanticipated problem.
In the winter, it's hard to get work done because of the cold and bad weather.
In the summer, you can't get anything done because every one's too busy!
Consequently, the rough electrical work took almost 2 months to complete, with the electrician working in spurts.

The trench has been dug to connect us to the city water main.
The windows are on site, waiting to be installed.
The HVAC (heating,ventilation and air conditioning) is done.  It is very simple - just one fan to circulate air from the cold basement to the hot loft, and a few bathroom ventilation ducts.

The roofing slate is on site, stacked on the ground, just in time for the summer monsoon which has just started.

The fireplace installation plans had to be altered because we discovered at the last minute that the flues would not fit in the chimney the way it was originally designed,  However, by putting the Napoleon Gas Insert Fireplace in the basement, and the free-standing wood stove in the loft, everything will fit, and we will have a gas or wood burning stove or fireplace on each level.

I'm seriously thinking about becoming a survivalist, based on niece Krista's experience with the major storm and power outages in the northeast.  It's becoming clear that if you want to survive what's coming, you need to stockpile food, water and fuel, and be able to live off the grid with your own generator.  Alpine would be a good place to make your stand.

You have to study this closely to see the changes since the last picture.

Trench for the water and sewer line.

Electrical Rough-in completed!

Windows,awaiting installation.

20,000 pounds of Chinese Roofing slate, awaiting installation.
Will the beams and trusses hold the weight?  Or will it all collapse?  Stay tuned!

We Love You , Bank

The Bank Comes Through!

I found an interesting article on MSN Money that explains why the mortgage lending system is broken and I think I understand why so many people are having trouble getting mortgage loans.  The article is at MSN (http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=33371952#scptih)

At any rate, after contacts and negotiations with 3 banks and one private lender (Don Salvatore made me an offer I just had to refuse) ; after over 700 pages of documents were faxed, scanned, copied, emailed, or just mailed; after 14 months of trying, we finally have a construction loan!!  Amazingly, it is a 3.25% ARM mortgage, one-time-close,  so we are in business.  Yeah!!

Most of the work recently has been behind the scenes,  ordering windows, rock, slate,  fireplaces, gearing up for a major push in the coming weeks.

We do have some solid progress to report in the plumbing,  however.

Remember the Chinese Delta ripoff shower valves?  Here they are in a proper installation. 

Notice the use of PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) tubing, which connects with the copper pipe.  The PEX tubing will not crack when it freezes, but the copper pipe will, so you have to make sure the water drains down and away from the valve.

Here's the shower valves in an improper installation:

Notice here the water does not drain away from the shower valve and will cause the valve and pipes to burst when they freeze.

The vertical pipes going up from the valve on either side will have air pockets to prevent banging or knocking sounds in the pipes.

Our water heater will be a propane tankless water heater, which is more energy-efficient since it only heats the water on-demand, rather than keeping a tank full of water heated at all times.



All is ready for installation of a tankless water heater.



Luckily, we only need one vent stack going through the roof.  Each pipe penetrating the roof means more opportunity for leaks, and damage from snow sliding.



This is going to be Napoleon gas insert fireplace.  Right now it's just a framed hole with a propane line running to it.

We're hoping the pace of construction accelerates, now that we actually have a construction loan and can order the materials that we need and pay all the many different tradesmen and subcontractors.



Spring at Last

Spring has sprung
The grass has riz
I wonder where
The flowers is.

The last of the snow is melting around the cabin, uncovering all the things that got lost under the snow during the winter.  The contractor was wandering around the new cabin yesterday and found a tool that he has lost a few months ago and hadn't been able to find.

Working in brutally cold conditions, braving ice and snow, the crews managed to essentially complete the interior framing and the small roof sections and overhangs for the front entryway, the dining room pop-out and the balcony.  It's really taking shape!  We can now see the final outline of what the finished cabin should look like.

Here are some pictures:

                                                            Front Entry

                                                   The balcony (il balcone).

                                                  The Dining Room Pop-out.

                                                         The Big Window.

Actually, when we realized that the views in and out of the big window were quite limited due to the elevator shaft and stairway, we decided that the bottom half of the big window will be glass block, and the top half will be a big window.

Now that we have good weather, we are ready to make a big push, and try to get as much done as possible, before the rainy season starts.  We'll keep you posted!

Mid-Winter Hiatus

I met with the builder and electrician yesterday to review our progress so far and plan for the next phase, the "electical".
The roof is completed except for the slate, which can't be done until spring.
Conditions are pretty treacherous as everything melts during the day, then freezes at night creating slick ice all around the cabin.  In fact I fell 3 times yesterday when I slipped on ice.  Fortunately no major injuries.  Here are some pictures:

Here's a view of the old cabin from the upstairs of the new cabin:





I think it's time to take a breather, and wait for the bank to catch up to us.  We still haven't got the construction loan yet.
So today we'll go over to Sunrise Park and do some skiing!!!

Raising the Roof

The long awaited moment has arrived.  I think we finally have a roof!!!

First the trusses are put into position.  Then the logs are carefully lowered into custom-made cradles bolted to the trusses.

Then the rafters are laid horizontally across the logs.



Then longitudinal joists are laid across the rafters, with blocking between the joists.  At the far end, they are laying the plywood sheathing across the joists.  Heavy roofing felt will go on top of the plywood to waterproof the roof until spring, when we can lay the slate!