Beam, pour, trusses & subfloor

The pace picked up in late August and early September. Busy week included dropping the steel beam into place, the third pour completing the basement walls, waterproofing, LVL [laminated veneer lumber] beams on the walls, main floor trusses and sub floor. A house is finally taking shape. Everyone worked very hard, and things fell into place, literally, in the most graceful way.

Factory produced LVLs are stronger, straighter, uniform and more rigid than ordinary boards. Screws and nails hold well. They are strapped onto concrete/foam walls using ties that are screwed into others designed to be lodged in the concrete and rebar. The trusses sit in joist hangers nailed into the LVLs on one side, and a 2×6 glued to the tope of the steel beam on the other. There are 2 spans of trusses, 13 and 17 feet, at 16 in centred intervals, making 31 on each side, front and back.

The subfloor is 4×8 sheets of 3/4 OSB [oriented strand board] with heavy waterproof glue to hold up to rain prior to the roof going up. There were 46 sheets used with a slight amount of leftovers. The latter will be used to make little hips to strengthen the roof trusses at the garage/porch to compensate for moving the garage up a foot to join the house’s front wall.

A brief hiatus returns. Waiting on gravel for the garage and french drain. The inspectors came by and approved of the waterproofing, but required us to add about 9 inches of gravel to the drain pipe in the “moat” around the house. Once the latter is done, it will be possible to backfill, making access the house much easier. You won’t be staring at dirt mounds when looking out the basement windows. Backfilling is needed in order to have a proper outside height to build the main floor.

As the last two photos show, all is in readiness for the work to start. I must say that I have been happy with the break. Same for Robbie — it gave him a chance to catch up with paperwork and get back to a job that desperately needed finishing. So much has happened — so many steps. Add to that the daily commute and my head was spinning and my back went out. My back never goes out. With so many transformations on the horizon, kI think I will be more than ready to resume next week.