Sticks, Beams and Panels!
We tried to buy most of our lumber before any price increases. Buying early and in bulk saved money, but did create some problems. Even when covered with 2 huge tarps, some of the lumber got moldy. Upon further research, mold on new construction lumber is not uncommon. We returned the really bad stuff and found that spraying the small spots of mold with bleach took care of any remaining spots. The other issue we had was that the lumber supplier, Menards Inc. had a lazy delivery driver that would not bring the the lumber up to our building site, in spite of the fact that we have had several deliveries by this company in the past. We had to haul some of the longer sticks of with the tractor pallet forks and had to strap some to the rear rake and drag it to the building site. All this hand moved lumber had to be re-stacked hand. This was a huge pain in the ass! Anyway, with that out of the way, we can now move on footings and concrete!
We tried to buy most of our lumber before any price increases. Buying early and in bulk saved money, but did create some problems. Even when covered with 2 huge tarps, some of the lumber got moldy. Upon further research, mold on new construction lumber is not uncommon. We returned the really bad stuff and found that spraying the small spots of mold with bleach took care of any remaining spots. The other issue we had was that the lumber supplier, Menards Inc. had a lazy delivery driver that would not bring the the lumber up to our building site, in spite of the fact that we have had several deliveries by this company in the past. We had to haul some of the longer sticks of with the tractor pallet forks and had to strap some to the rear rake and drag it to the building site. All this hand moved lumber had to be re-stacked hand. This was a huge pain in the ass! Anyway, with that out of the way, we can now move on footings and concrete!
An important part of the prep included converting the existing barn lean-to into living space. The photos below show how we braced the roof for removal of the existing posts. The footings and and foundation block will be set under the outside walls. New framing will be set on the foundation blocks and the bracing can be removed. Then rough underground plumbing will be installed in this space for the master bath, utility room and laundry room. Once that is inspected and approved, the concrete slab can be poured. See photos below.
