Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Very tentative schedule

Here's a rough schedule I drummed up. I have June 1-18th off. However, for those who plan to help, after June 10th is probably best if you must lock in travel plans. We may not be able to start until then or even later due to ground frost.

Now thru march: Lumberjackin'! Clear driveway and house area. Stack firewood. Split some if our backs can take it.
Late March: Celebratory Bonfire! Burn brush and tree tops before snow is gone.
April, May: Work long hours, Fill up that coin jar with loose change, mug a few old people, sell lemonade.
May 11-18... Site work: Driveway, house pad, foundation and utility trenches, bring in gravel, bury drinking water and septic tank (Important: Do not confuse these), and oil tank if below ground. Have inspector look at septic tank.
May 18-31: footing forms, install prebuilt "hotbox", pour footings, backfill, set beams. Good job for 3+ people.
Building inspection: Foundation.
June 1-18: Here we go! Time for the big crew! We have these 18 days off. Most help probably needed the latter week when there are multiple simultaneous projects that can happen.

Build floor deck, exterior walls, install vapor barrier behind where ledger will nail, and tie rolled ends up to keep them out of the way, interior walls downstairs, rough staircase, second floor and temp second floor extension, set trusses, deck the roof, felt the roof, roof the roof, install moisture / air barrier (Tyvek housewrap) hang windows and doors, bring in bathtub, build upstairs walls, build stairs and porch for main entry. Siding and gutters if time permits, but these can wait.
Building inspection: Framing

After this, we're waterproof! Construction can continue at a more "leisurely" pace without risk of damage. The following dates are hopefuls, and could get off by weeks or months even. Hopefully this is all 36 hour weekend work- Friday-Saturday-Sunday - and we'll take time off our regular jobs or hire help when we fall behind.
June 18-30: Insulate walls, install vapor barrier, fur out walls with 2x2 or 2x3s.
July 6-8, 13-15: Rough-in plumbing, electrical, HRV ducts
Building inspection: Plumbing and Electrical.
July 20-22: Insulate inboard of vapor barrier.
July 27-29: Hang drywall. 4 people ideal when doing ceilings. Have pro drywaller follow to tape, mud, texture.
Aug 3-5: Ceiling: vapor barrier and T&G paneling. If lucky this was pre-finished by all the wonderful help from June.
Aug 10-12: Blow cellulose into roof. This could be a miserable process. Perhaps it will be combined with installing the paneling. Install a few feet of paneling, then blow in the insulation, etc.
Aug 17-19: Finish ceiling, catch up time.
Aug 24-26: clean up, paint inside, install light fixtures.
Sep 1-2: floor at least bathrooms
Sept 7-9: finish at least one bathroom.
Sept 14-16: Hook up water pump and hot water heater
Sept 21-23: Install kitchen cabinets, counter top, and sink.
Sept 28-30: finish flooring, install toyo heater or boiler
Oct 5-7: Finish the kitchen - install appliances.
Oct 12-14: Move in! We need to be out of our current place by mid Nov
Rest of October and November, and December: Interior doors, trim, built in bookcases, Ash staircase, second bedroom and bathroom if not done (or whole upstairs), wood stove, medicine cabinets, wall cabinets in kitchen if not affordable earlier, HRV
As early as possible: Final inspection and mortgage! Pay everyone back, buy washer and dryer, dishwasher, furniture, trim, etc.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The construction schedule looks good. The only thing I could add is to throw in a line item for at least one mental breakdown, with enough time to curl up in the fetal position behind the leaning sheetrock to pray that a certain subcontractor (your choice) will become encased in concrete. It can be difficult to place a dollar value on the mental anguish experienced during the seemingly out of control antics of watching your own house construction. But when the beeping sound of a tractor backing up still haunts your dreams, the standard 10% contingency on the overall construction budget will cover the cost of a decent psychiatrist.

As part of your pre-construction physical training, I suggest your vocal cords need rigorous conditioning too. Practice your yelling skills. It’s a strange thing on a construction site - everyone yells. The person who can scream the loudest, usually gets first dibs on the best tools. Of course, learning how to spit can be a great asset as well. In determining jobsite dominance, the person who can cough up the biggest loogies, while making the grossest sounds, commands the most respect.

And cursing, well that goes without exception. Practice stringing together the most foul and descriptive 3 syllable obscenities in a complete sentence. They don’t have to be directed at anyone in particular, just look off into space, shake your fists, and let loose while spraying your half-eaten lunch. This will send a clear message to the subs, that without a doubt you intend your house to still stand after they leave the jobsite.

For flair, throwing an idling chainsaw out of the second floor window is great way to solidify your authority, not to mention it’s just a great form of mental therapy during any phase of construction – except when the windows have been installed.

Deb and Dan said...

Dan has applied for leave, unapproved yet, from March 19th thru April 1st.
We are willing to help with the tree cutting, will bring our own chain saw and axes. Anything else you would like us to bring just axe us. Would this be a good time to catch the ice sculptures also? Dan says he will cut the trees down but the rest of us will have to carry them so Dan can perserve his back for his golf game.

Andrew said...

sweet, we could use some help cutting trees. We'll take you to the ice park as well. Most sculptures should still be standing.