I came across this site and The Owner-Builder Book early on. I gained a lot of valuable information from the book and this site. Jim Cleaver

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Sheeting and Windows

Posted to Jay-House by Joe in Sebastopol, CA on 9/26/2011

Once the trusses were up, I was thinking roofing... but we still have a lot of work to do before the comp goes on. We wanted a metal roof, but even with the slow economy, the lowest price was $22,000. We ended up going with composition for $8,000.

Cal Green requires a radiant barrier, so our roof sheathing has foil on the underside. We chose to enclose the soffits, and use eave venting with a ridge vent and two gable vents. Next we did the Tyvek wrap, FortiFlash around the window openings and set the door frames (external only). Now we will hang the door and window trim while the roof and gutters are installed.

Photos

Tyvek and Milgard windows.

Front entry roof was the last roof sheathing phase. Note the continuous gutter height.

Frame stage (Jul 11)

Posted to Jay-House by Joe in Sebastopol, CA on 9/3/2011

After cleanup from the pour, it's time to lay out sill plates (pressure-treated 2x). These walls are a mix of 2x4 and 2x6. The main house has 10' sill height, bedrooms are 8'. The design is Spanish Courtyard, where every room has entry to the main patio in the middle, which makes it a U shape.

Had to call several of Jay's friends to help lift the big walls into place: thanks to Chase, Butters, and Jesse for helping out... much beverage and BBQ was had by all.

Once the walls were up and square, we made a catwalk to help move the trusses (dragging trusses).

Photos

Outer walls going up.	Wade waves, Gary helps out.	Trusses up.

Slab pour (Jul 11)

Posted to Jay-House by Joe in Sebastopol, CA on 8/10/2011

Removed inside footings forms and started bringing in drain rock. All covered with a vapor barrier, then sand. 

Next was the rebar grid: Number 4 rebar, 18" on center, all tied and raised with dobies. Slab took 33 yards to get 4" slab over 2,000 sq/ft, (deeper at the footings and wall). Hired Randy and his crew to do the finish work, then sprayed on treatment to slow moisture loss. Next we pull forms and stakes.

Photos

Rebar done, ready to pour.	Wade and Walnut, wired out.	Finish crew

Footings for Slab (Jun11)

Posted to Jay-House by Joe in Sebastopol, CA on 7/3/2011

After site inspection, we laid out the rough footprint. This house will be slab on grade, so the foundation is a very important step. The first thing we did was scrape off the topsoil to make a pad. Then we had the pad leveled by bringing in engineered fill and compacting it to form our base. Once the base was level, we measured out and painted the footings on the dirt to be dug out. We used stakes to pull strings that define the forms for the footings.

Next was setting the forms for the footings and the slab and retaining wall. While we built the forms, the plumber laid out his pipe runs, and we dug those too. Lots of work, but we finally got the concrete pumped into the forms. Next is rock, rebar, vapor barrier, sand and slab pour.

Photos

Step 1. Pad location.	Before we start, one last look.	Bolt holder
Pour complete. Wade checks top finish.

Utilities Trench (Jun 11)

Posted to Jay-House by Joe in Sebastopol, CA on 6/3/2011

The trench for utilities went in before a road could be made down to the site.

Natural Gas and a 400-amp service required a PG&E gas line install, after we dug the trench, and 350 feet of 4"schedule 80 pipe. It all had to be bedded in sand, but the gas pipe had to be totally covered in sand and rock because it crossed the entry to the road.

Photos

Trench for utilities.	Gas crossing	Finished road.
Utilities from Main Panel to house run.

Septic Start (Jul 10)

Posted to Jay-House by Joe in Sebastopol, CA on 4/6/2011

Project started in Mar, 2010. Plan and install of septic system took 6 months.
We used Frank Dono for Septic plans, Crabtree survey, and Petrucci and Sons for trench/tractor work.
Next step will be finished house plans.   Rick Pate and Jaime Mechum, of Leff Const. are doing them.

Photos

Septic tank install.

Finished install.