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"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
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Very nice Frenchy,
Looks like the house a right wing conservative would live in though.
Vince Carbone
Vince,
I believe that you are mistaken, when viewed from the house (which is the only view that counts) it obviously has a wing on the left side. Or if you go from direction, the wing is on the west side of the house (and "everybody" knows that the show West Wing is about a democratic president). ;-)
WOW...MAN ..Frenchy's CATHERDRAL..awesome..worth the wait..Gunna PAINT IT ALL???...<G>..
Paint? yeh I suppose that I'll cover all of the timbers with a clear lacquare, and the floor with a clear polyurethane. the walls will probably be covered with a wall paper and the timbers outside already have an average of six coats of spar varnish. (I'm kinda disappointed in that the spar varnish that is only two years old has already clouded up enough that you can no longer see the fabulous fiddleback and crotch wood that some timbers have).
wow... very nice.
Looks like it should snow all year around your castle ... nice effect.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
I left for two weeks in Calif. temps back home were as low as 24 below while it was in the seventies in San Diego. almost 100 degree differance. so I got used to idea of palm trees and fresh fruit growing on the orange tress.. I came home to 5 below this morning when I went to work and over a foot of white powder on the ground. UGH!!!!!!!
You can have weather that produces such a nice effect! (probably a republican plot to convert all of us liberals northerners to orange county republicans!)
actually it's a republican plot to win elections ...
bad weather, that is.
You know the saying ...
We we're just gobba do it ... the bad weather thing .. only on election days ... but at the meeting someone pointed out that'd look to obvious ...
hence...
winter!
and heavy rains ....
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Frenchy,
Now we finally have proof. I must say it looks nice. Just think how much you are going to enjoy it when you are done.
Of course, now we will be expecting weekly photo updates...
Jon Blakemore
It took me 36 hours to drive to San Diego (for a total of 72 round trip) to get the son of my friend to show me how to post them and well, frankly I'm not sure I really remember all of the steps it took to post them. You'll get your weekly updates if I can remember everything I did to post them.. If not then you'll get an update next year when I visit the land of fruits and nuts again....
Frenchy,
Very nice work, it will be stunning when done. I agree with Vince though, are you planning to convert to a republican?
We become by effort primarily what we end up becoming
- Zig Ziglar
rumor has it that the Kennedy's were liberals and they have a nice looking home. And the king of all liberals,.. Roosevelt, had a rather nice looking home too!
As that famous democrat said, "If you want to live like a republican vote like a democrat."
I guess I'm proof!
Frenchy: Now thats "quality". There has been a lot of posts on that word lately along with perfectionism. You have both.
The materials may have quality, but please believe me when I say that it's far from perfection.. I could bore you for hours on all the things that aren't perfect about this place.
The main problem I have is that joints that you couldn't get a hair into opened up as they dried and now don't look so great.. And that's after I air dried all of the timbers for 3 to 4 years before I used them!
For future information, don't dry the timbers before using them.. green timbers could be used with as little as an hours worth of planing and cutting the tenions or mortices. however the dried timbers took an average of over 8 hours before they were ready to gointo place. That plus it would take at least one set of sharpenings sometimes as many as three sets of sharpening of the planner blades to plane everything smooth on the dried timbers and I could use a set of planner blades for over a dozen timbers (or more) if everything was green!
As for the checks etc. it was more a matter of placement than how dry the timbers were.. Every timber will get a check on one side of it. If I had placed timbers for minimum checking rather than the best side there would have been far fewer checks visable (but much less interesting timbers)
I'll bless you with the comment I get most frequently about my projects: 'It'll sure be nice when ya get it done...'
it does appear that you have made tremendous progress in the last year - congrats, and don't weaken...
this year won't seem like I achieve as much, rather than adding to the structure I'll be doing wiring and plumbing kinda stuff. plus I'll spend a great deal of time doing the detail work like interior braces and framing the windows etc..
I'm leaving the hardwood floors for last since I'd rather not spill or scuff them up but other than that I'll do most of the interior trim stuff too!
frenchy... the first thing that came to mind is a norwegian stave church... way beyond cool..
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I can see where you'd get that idea, the gothic arch windows and the buttress braces that frame them kinda remind me of a church too..
Let's see I could put a lectern up on the bridge....
Like others.....WOW!
Dave
Norwegian stave church is probably the best description so far. And that's good. I love it.
Who Dares Wins.
Frenchy
I don't know which is more incredible, the house or you finally posting pics of it.
Looks great.
The house was easy, this computer stuff....
It's everything I pictured and more.
Pat yourself on the back alot and try not to run out of steam before it's all done. :-)
Make sure to keep us apprised cause we're all jealous. LOL
Break-fest at your place......when was it again?
last year, attendance was pretty small..
As for running out of steam, the vacation I just came back from really did me good. I didn't really do anything for two whole weeks and I was so bored that when I came back I couldn't wait..
Verrrrry nice,
Dave
Very impressive, thanks for sharing
Wow....very, very nice.......As I have said many times, I am in awe of that ability to create with one's hands.....
Really nice stuff. I like the look from the road. I have always been a fan of rock walls and such. DanT
I was terrified before I started the stone work. I worried that fitting stones into each square might prove to be impossible, espcially since I had never worked with stone before. It was anything but. Each square took me like two hours or so and even the hardest, biggest square only took about four hours..
I'm no mason but the joints have less than 3/4 of an inch of motor and most are right around 1/2 So I guess my fears were for nothing...
Sweet.
I especially like how you incorporated the sunken driveway and the downslope to the garage. Brings a ring of truth to: 'I can't get to work cuz I'm snowed in'. Also likely to save you a bundle on gym memberships. Shoveling that drive will keep you young for decades. ;)
All kidding aside It really looks grand. In the highest words of praise heard on a job: 'You done good. Now do it again in half the time'.
It's called four wheel drive! buy one for yourself and one for the wife and just drive over the snow. Come spring and mother nature will take all of that ugly white stuff with her. (it's real easy to shovel snow on the fourth of July) Under the entryway granite is heat tape so with a flick of a switch the snow at the entryway will melt and I won't even track snow into the house!
You've built in my favorite style. If that makes me a right wing conservative I'll just have to come out of the closet. To me there is a warmth and charm to this house that few other styles acheive. I hope it is a home to you for many years, enjoy the fruits of your heartfelt skills!!!!
Terry
Since I'm at least 8 more years from finishing the house, I can't really sit back and enjoy it yet..
My best work is yet to come.. I can't wait untill I get the second floor bedroom in the front done.. Now that will be a piece of timberframing! Bowed compound arch hammertrusses!
I wonder what other surprises I'll discover as I work forward.. For example I found such a beatiful view on the bridge over the kitchen that I just had to put a dormer in. Sure there were already six dormers in the great room and west wing, but what's one more? Doesn't every house need seven dormers?
I'm not sure what they're talking about, do you Frenchy?
These pjhotos are obviously taken of the left wing of the house. The right wing will be added later when you become prosperous, right?
Looks great. Cathedral is the word I was thinking for those interior archeframes
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge
FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where
Excellence is its own reward!
Frenchy, Excellent work, I love it. Now I'm sorry I didn't get down at Christmas to see it in person. Thanks for the pictures.
Hi Nannygoose!
Gee I have a sister with that name! She was gonna come down and see me over Christmas but couldn't make it. Too bad,... I miss her..
Ah well maybe someday..
ps , I'd come up and visit her but it's pretty hard to fold the house up and bring it along with ;-)
You should be proud. Really nice proportions and lines.
Nice proportions?
I have a confession, The proportions were determined by rules and what was available..
For example. the interior walls in the great room are ten feet, well actullay they are built on ten foot long timbers,(my saw mill charges me for a ten foot timber and gives me a ten foot 8" timber which yields up just enough for a four inch tenion on each end) then placed on six inch high timbers and topped with a 12 inch top plate. so they are 11 feet six inches. The width was determined by set back requirements and the height by the longest timbers that my saw mill could handle. All of the roof timbers are 19'6" and if you span a 16 foot room you wind up with a 27/12 pitch and a twenty two foot room a 17/12 pitch..
You must feel great coming back to the castle after a night of ice fishing<G>
Beautiful, beautiful work. I especially like those yellow handrails LOL
EliphIno!
Confession time!
My wife tends to develop habits that are hard to break.. In order to keep her from stepping off the bridge after I took the old temporary stairs off I put those up.
sometime later there will be hand rails and such there but for now warning tape is all you get!
Did you say it'd take another 2-3 years to finish? To me that house is good enough as is. When is open house?
Nice work, couldn't have said anymore than what's already been spoken.
no, more realistic would be another 8 years.. I'm less tha 1/2 way done.
open house will be the first nice warm day after it's finished, but don't let that stop you from dropping in.. tours are conducted anytime someone shows up..
don't let that stop you from dropping in..
tours are conducted anytime someone shows up..
You sounded like the God Father, an offer I couldn't refuse.
Looks as beautiful as I imagined it would, very stunning.
now i have to ask, how did you finally learn to post pics?
again, very nice!
btw, you still fighting any tarp wars, or all dried in?
I found out that it was real simple,
I got in the truck and drove southwest for 36 hours and then asked my buddy if I could borrow his son.. in less than two hours he had them posted! Then it was a simple matter of a 36 hour drive back to the arctic north and miserable cold!
Very cool house. Now you have to get it finished so you can sit down, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labors
BTW, do you know how much time you've spent so far on the house? On the other hand , you probably don't really want to know.
I guess about 6000 so far but I'm really less than 1/2 done. That doesn't count trips to the sawmill or hardware store etc..
The question no one seems to ask but I'll volenteer is how much I've spent so far.
I know that I've bought about $25,000 dollars worth of wood so far but stacked up around the house/in the house /at the sawmill is about 15,000 bd. ft. of the 40,000 I bought originally. I still will need about another $1000 dollars worth of timbers and wood before it's finished. I'll need to buy another $2,000 worth of SIPs but I have most of the hardware etc. that I will need.. (figure I've spent around $10,000 for that sort of thing {includes plumbing and electrical}) the SIPs cost me at least $8,000, a little more than estimate but not too far off.
One of my biggest expenses really shouldn't be counted.. I bet I spent at least $25,000 or more for tools.. but since I'm a toolaholic and I enjoy them it's really shouldn't be counted, besides if I choose to I could very easily sell them again for about half of their original cost, (and some specialty timberframing tools an even greater percentage)
The equipment used was free, a benefit of my job. Well they did charge me for the hours I actually used them but it's pretty nominal.
I'm making most of my own millwork so that isn't much of a factor other than sharpening some cutters etc. occasionally.
the windows/doors were about $8500 and I still will need to buy another $3500 worth.
some windows (like the stained glass ones for the tower are old used ones that I will be making new frames for this spring. I've giot the black walnut drying and it should be ready by spring. 2x12's for the top and bottom since I need to put a curve to match the radius of the tower with 2x8's for the verticals)
I spent right around $10,00 total for the stone and granite used so far but there will easily need to be another $10,000 spent maybe more before the front half is done..
The only other expense has been subcontractors.. Guy's I've hired to give me a hand with the timbers etc.. That's been around $50,000.00 I pay above average and have recieved well above average help so I sure don't regret a cent spent there..
Oh I haven't included some things like the cost of the foundation and excavation, that was over $6,000. (but It could have been done much cheaper if I had built to normal contruction standards. (the walls are poured concrete 22 inches thick and have at least three times the rebar that is required..)
there are 28 yards on 4000 psi concrete in the retaining walls along side of the driveway..
I spent over $11,000 for cedar shakes and copper flashing along with copper gutters etc.. (Plug here for Fine Home Building) I found the source for my gutters {classic gutters} right on the pages of Fine Home Building) actually many of the sources of equipment/ material and etc. came right from Fine Home Building or the really great people here at breaktime
this house is built to standards that no-one ever achieves.. According to my calculations each foot of top plate can carry ten thousand pounds. a level five tornado will do cosmetic but no structural damage. Where code calls for a minimum I exceed it by as much as possible.. Thus it would be very easy to build this same house for a fraction of what I spent.. It wouldn't be as good thu
Winifred Boynton would be proud :)
Lovely
SWMBO asks "do you want to spend next February somewhere warmer, like a lot warmer?" She wants to house swap!
Two requirements,
It's got to be warmer, and it needs to be worked on. I just spent two weeks in San Diego and I was ready to pull my hair out after the second day.. I need to work I have this compulsion..
Warmer I can do.
It's currently 7:45PM, the temp is in the mid 80s. Yesterday's top temp would have been in the low 90s.
just give me time to get the permits and you can rebuild the laundry and add a second storey.
this is looking promising
Ian
i just want to know what happened so that the police had to cordon off that one area with crime scene tape?
m
Mitch,
Naw, just caution tape from home depot to keep my wife from stepping off into space because she accidently forgot that I had removed the tempary stairs that had been there previously.
Frenchy,
Pretty cool, nice design and great workmanship. Looking forward to seeing more photos.
That is so amazing super cool. COngrats!
Frenchy, I'm patial to logs and timbers, and even more so when I hear it is being done by the DIYer.....Your place is truely the nicest thing I've seen here. It's not taking away from anything else, but between the structure yourself, and hearing your passion and attitude, my hat is completely off, and my nose is touching the ground in a bow of respect.
Absolutely fantastic.
You must be the talk of the lake community there...one day it was crazy frenchy, and today it is the same, BUT with a huge tone of respect.
Three years, one man, and 6000 hours, eh?
On top of your job and the rest of life, too.
That's passion baby, and it shows, and it is sweeeeeet.
NO,
I did hire some help, Some things were just too heavy for a fat ol' guy like me to handle by myself.. For example this weekend I need to dig out of the pile of timbers the three 6x18"x8' white oak timbers that I have stored there.. they are of course under the snow, under the tarp and under about 40 6"x6"x9' white oak timbers (plus some copper flashing)
I can handle each timber one end at a time and take my time so I don't wreck my back but getting those three heavy 6"x18"x8 foot timbers up is more than I can handle. I'll probably pay someone to give me a hand and instead of an all day job get it done in a few hours.. that way Sunday I can plane them and saw them to the correct size to put up..
Yes truly a stunningly beautiful catheral
WELL DONE!
T.C.
in which case the police then would have been all too happy to come out and wrap the premises in crime scene tape- hmmm, did she fall? did she jump? or was she pushed??? ;-)
btw- nice job! but i have to agree with some others- it looks awfully 'conservative' for you...
m