April 4, 2013

I think this represents the completion of Day Seven or Eight (lost count) of the clubhouse. Mind you, Day One was in October. I got distracted by a rock opera and then one of the most sucktastic winters of all time.

As of now, I’ve got the walls up and the floor decking mostly down. The only flooring I didn’t do yet is that little platform on the left which will be the base for the slide. Bummer: the flooring, which was a nice, rich brown, has faded to an ashy color, though not uniformly. But the price was right.

Next up is finishing that little bit of floor, then framing out the face of the slide support, and then framing the roof. This will be complicated, as my plans are locked in the .DWG file and my two free trial periods for AutoCAD (MSRP: $4195) have expired. 

So far, I’ve only bashed my head and/or nearly scalped myself on the hobbit-height door jamb 3 times.

6:16pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6Zyhv-ThV
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(Notes: 38)
  
Filed under: clubhouse 
March 30, 2013
All right. Let’s get back to this.

All right. Let’s get back to this.

2:37pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyhV9j08
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(Notes: 36)
  
Filed under: clubhouse 
December 13, 2012
This is where it’d be good to be Amish, so’s I could clang on a bell and guys would come over the hills to help me raise the walls up onto the platform. Afterward, our wives would make us a simple yet hearty and flavorful meal. That’s the only time it’d be good to be Amish.

This is where it’d be good to be Amish, so’s I could clang on a bell and guys would come over the hills to help me raise the walls up onto the platform. Afterward, our wives would make us a simple yet hearty and flavorful meal.

That’s the only time it’d be good to be Amish.

3:12pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyZGJMh3
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(Notes: 34)
  
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December 1, 2012
Progress.

Progress.

2:01pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyYRimdH
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(Notes: 30)
  
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November 20, 2012
I took some time off of that One Project to make some progress on that Other Project. An hour here, an hour there, just to stay sane-ish. This is a much more satisfying resolution to the problem at the base of the stairs. Level, stable, will survive an extinction-level event. And it’s personalized. I’m especially psyched that Leah signed this during her Everything Gets An Exclamation Point! phase. Back to the grind now, but damn, that was some fun right there.

I took some time off of that One Project to make some progress on that Other Project. An hour here, an hour there, just to stay sane-ish.

This is a much more satisfying resolution to the problem at the base of the stairs. Level, stable, will survive an extinction-level event. And it’s personalized. I’m especially psyched that Leah signed this during her Everything Gets An Exclamation Point! phase.

Back to the grind now, but damn, that was some fun right there.

4:12pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyXhWm3o
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(Notes: 36)
  
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November 12, 2012
This is what a mental health day looks like. Unfortunately, I can’t pour the concrete until maybe Wednesday since I don’t have the patience to follow the cold weather procedures. Felt good to get out, though. (I know the rebar isn’t straight. I had 4 @ 2’ pieces and I wanted to jam them all in. It’ll work.)

This is what a mental health day looks like. Unfortunately, I can’t pour the concrete until maybe Wednesday since I don’t have the patience to follow the cold weather procedures. Felt good to get out, though.

(I know the rebar isn’t straight. I had 4 @ 2’ pieces and I wanted to jam them all in. It’ll work.)

12:46pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyX8TSZy
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(Notes: 21)
  
Filed under: clubhouse 
October 25, 2012

steelopus replied to your photo: Day Four (I think?) in the books with the…

What was your rationale behind composite vs pressure-treated?

Two good reasons:

  1. Splinter mitigation. My kids both just FREAK when we have to pull splinters out, and I was thinking this should be barefootable. (Though I also know it gets *hot* in the sun.)
  2. It was free, given to me by a friend.

The sub-structure is, of course, pressure-treated.

2:23pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyVy_-wL
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(Notes: 6)
  
Filed under: steelopus clubhouse 
October 25, 2012
Day Four (I think?) in the books with the composite decking installed on all the stairs except the bottom one. I needed to take a break from my other giant, overwhelming project, and the last half-day of good weather we’re going to have until June seemed like a good excuse. The composite decking is, as advertised, a bitch to work. It’s heavy, very unwieldy and saggy in its 16’ manufactured lengths. It saws well enough, though the resiny “sawdust” comes off hot and then tends to bind to stuff when it cools. It also has to be pre-drilled before screwing it to the supports, which is when I discovered that my old Makita drill doesn’t have enough torque to drive those screws flush. I had* to go out and buy an impact driver, which does the job nicely and makes a very satisfying “hi, neighbors, I am using power tools” noise while doing so. Turned out to be the right move to have separate tools for the driver and the drill; not changing bits all the time makes for much faster work. That bottom step isn’t done because my hack to support it isn’t satisfying me. I think I’m going to dig out those pavers and pour a proper concrete footer there. Giant PITA but it’s too wobbly otherwise. * buying tools is my favoritest thing

Day Four (I think?) in the books with the composite decking installed on all the stairs except the bottom one. I needed to take a break from my other giant, overwhelming project, and the last half-day of good weather we’re going to have until June seemed like a good excuse.

The composite decking is, as advertised, a bitch to work. It’s heavy, very unwieldy and saggy in its 16’ manufactured lengths. It saws well enough, though the resiny “sawdust” comes off hot and then tends to bind to stuff when it cools. It also has to be pre-drilled before screwing it to the supports, which is when I discovered that my old Makita drill doesn’t have enough torque to drive those screws flush. I had* to go out and buy an impact driver, which does the job nicely and makes a very satisfying “hi, neighbors, I am using power tools” noise while doing so. Turned out to be the right move to have separate tools for the driver and the drill; not changing bits all the time makes for much faster work.

That bottom step isn’t done because my hack to support it isn’t satisfying me. I think I’m going to dig out those pavers and pour a proper concrete footer there. Giant PITA but it’s too wobbly otherwise.

* buying tools is my favoritest thing

1:27pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyVyqG03
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(Notes: 31)
  
Filed under: clubhouse 
October 20, 2012
“picking up studs”

“picking up studs”

7:45am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyVdpnLJ
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(Notes: 32)
  
Filed under: no passengers allowed in bed clubhouse 
October 19, 2012

Day 3.5 complete. Gonna rain like hell again here in a few so I stopped, but the goals were modest, so mission accomplished.

On the left, got the stringers leveled and stabilized. A little bit of landscaping to do there before it’s all over, and kind of a hack, really, but it’s stable and it’ll do.

On the right, some work I did the other day, refactoring the framing to allow a trap door. That’s right where the second level riser will be for the slide. I’ll put a ladder there so they can get up there and crawl under the slide deck. I’ve been hoping to build lots of little nooks and crannies into this thing since that’s what my kids like, and that seemed like an easy addition.

Tomorrow I pick up the studs for the clubhouse walls and the decking. Not sure what if anything I’ll get done, since there is soccer and other real life stuff to attend to. Hoping to get a lot done on Sunday, since it’s the only non-rainy day forecast for the next week. It’s really great how I quit my job at the end of September and was rewarded with the rainiest, shittiest October in Chicago history.

12:07pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyVabuoG
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(Notes: 29)
  
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October 17, 2012

Day Three (interrupted by rain) complete, and the first sign of trouble.

I made kind of a rookie mistake: I designed the stringers assuming the ground was level, but the point where they touch down is anywhere from 3-5” lower than the ground level where they attach to the platform. You can see where I had to prop them up with scraps.

I’m thinking I’ll create some kind of base step out of flat landscaping tiles to build it up to the right height. Those tiles will also serve as a first step. That step will be a tad shorter than the others, so hopefully the tenants won’t trip a lot. Whaddyagonnado.

12:11pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyVTP6fn
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(Notes: 27)
  
Filed under: clubhouse 
October 15, 2012
Back to real life and the completion of Day Two of clubhouse construction. Not great architectural photography, given the giant shadow right through the middle of the subject, but I’m really tired and tomorrow is Golf Tuesday so I wanted to get this out. It was a drama-free day. The subdeck is 99% complete; I ran out of carriage bolts of the right size to fully mount that lower support piece for the stairs on the front right. That tall post will stay that height for a while, partly because I haven’t finished designing that part and don’t know the final height needed, but mostly to screw with the neighbors. Next up: cutting and mounting the stringers for the stairs, probably Wednesday. If that turns out to go quickly, I’ll start framing the walls. There’s more lumber to get to complete that part, plus a friend of mine is supplying the composite decking and I need to rent a truck to pick that up. Goals for this week: get the stringers up, finish design, acquire remaining framing material, frame as much of the walls as possible, break 100 tomorrow.

Back to real life and the completion of Day Two of clubhouse construction.

Not great architectural photography, given the giant shadow right through the middle of the subject, but I’m really tired and tomorrow is Golf Tuesday so I wanted to get this out.

It was a drama-free day. The subdeck is 99% complete; I ran out of carriage bolts of the right size to fully mount that lower support piece for the stairs on the front right. That tall post will stay that height for a while, partly because I haven’t finished designing that part and don’t know the final height needed, but mostly to screw with the neighbors.

Next up: cutting and mounting the stringers for the stairs, probably Wednesday. If that turns out to go quickly, I’ll start framing the walls. There’s more lumber to get to complete that part, plus a friend of mine is supplying the composite decking and I need to rent a truck to pick that up.

Goals for this week:

  • get the stringers up,
  • finish design,
  • acquire remaining framing material,
  • frame as much of the walls as possible,
  • break 100 tomorrow.

4:34pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyVMVaAZ
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(Notes: 26)
  
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October 11, 2012
Day one complete. Posts are in, though a couple aren’t as deep as I’d like because I ran into what appeared to be buried construction waste at about 24”. I pulled up some very old chunks of concrete and brick but couldn’t go any further with the gas-powered auger I rented. They are vertically true and the X and Y distances are within 1/4” of plan, but unfortunately I’m about 2-3% out of square. Not sure why; the measurements were good, but my dad and I had a hard time getting the posts situated exactly where we wanted them. I will compensate best I can so the decking isn’t a nightmare. And yes, they are insanely tall. They will be cut down; 3 of them to about 5’ above grade and the fourth to about 9’. I hope they don’t inspire the neighbors to call the department of buildings, though if they do, I think I’m OK when I show them the plan. As long as I’m under 18’ total height and more than 3’ from the property line, I’m good. Tomorrow is an off day while the posts set, then Saturday and Sunday are looking like rain, so it’ll be Monday before I cut them down to size and start on the subdeck. Right now I’m going to take a bunch of topsoil to the dump and then eat Advil like candy corn for a couple of hours.

Day one complete.

Posts are in, though a couple aren’t as deep as I’d like because I ran into what appeared to be buried construction waste at about 24”. I pulled up some very old chunks of concrete and brick but couldn’t go any further with the gas-powered auger I rented.

They are vertically true and the X and Y distances are within 1/4” of plan, but unfortunately I’m about 2-3% out of square. Not sure why; the measurements were good, but my dad and I had a hard time getting the posts situated exactly where we wanted them. I will compensate best I can so the decking isn’t a nightmare.

And yes, they are insanely tall. They will be cut down; 3 of them to about 5’ above grade and the fourth to about 9’. I hope they don’t inspire the neighbors to call the department of buildings, though if they do, I think I’m OK when I show them the plan. As long as I’m under 18’ total height and more than 3’ from the property line, I’m good.

Tomorrow is an off day while the posts set, then Saturday and Sunday are looking like rain, so it’ll be Monday before I cut them down to size and start on the subdeck.

Right now I’m going to take a bunch of topsoil to the dump and then eat Advil like candy corn for a couple of hours.

2:07pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyV5Nw8G
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(Notes: 33)
  
Filed under: clubhouse 
October 10, 2012
Delivery day. Tomorrow, we break ground.

Delivery day. Tomorrow, we break ground.

10:23am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyV0tGEy
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(Notes: 28)
  
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October 6, 2012
Coming along nicely. Still need to model the structure where the slide will attach (far left side in this view). I couldn’t get an engineering drawing of it, so I’ll have to wait until it arrives on Wednesday and measure it to finish designing that area. There will be a window on that wall, too. May go pick one up today if time permits. Short term goals (EOD Monday): Order the material for the posts, subdeck, and stair stringers Clear/prep the site. With some luck and decent weather, I may break ground Thursday or Friday. And Robin, you can either sleep in the clubhouse on the top, or bivouac underneath the structure.

Coming along nicely. Still need to model the structure where the slide will attach (far left side in this view). I couldn’t get an engineering drawing of it, so I’ll have to wait until it arrives on Wednesday and measure it to finish designing that area. There will be a window on that wall, too. May go pick one up today if time permits.

Short term goals (EOD Monday):

  • Order the material for the posts, subdeck, and stair stringers
  • Clear/prep the site.

With some luck and decent weather, I may break ground Thursday or Friday.

And Robin, you can either sleep in the clubhouse on the top, or bivouac underneath the structure.

10:24am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZEG6ZyUlSMa8
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(Notes: 17)
  
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