tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41135092604042555612024-02-18T05:50:46.266-08:00Jay builds a houseIn which Jay builds a house with his own hands.Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05292487295338684699noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-28472000512270649642012-08-09T23:05:00.001-07:002012-08-09T23:08:12.582-07:00Work platformIt's almost time to put up the roof framing. The rafter units are not too heavy to carry, but they're not light, either. And they're long (16'). And we have to put them on top of an 8' wall, which is a long way to reach.<br />
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We passed one up today to see how it felt.<br />
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I carried it from the storage area to the building, and passed it through a gap in the wall to Julie. Her job was to set one rafter tail on one wall, slide it up, then hook the other rafter tail on the other wall, then center it. She couldn't reach high enough, so I had to run around the building, come in through the door, and help her get it in to place. Too much running back and forth to get all rafter units up like that, and it was hard work. How to make it easier?<br />
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<ul>
<li>Get a couple helpers for 1/2 an hour.</li>
<li>Carry the rafter units to the building, as far as I can get them. Then run around, and together we drag them in & hoist them up.</li>
<li>Rent scaffolding.</li>
<li>Build scaffolding.</li>
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A combination of the above may be the best choice. I decided to build a raised work platform, as a start.</div>
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I mostly improvised. The one cool thing I did was to create 4 short, temporary jack studs to attach to existing studs. The building is 10' across, so a pair of extra 2x4 10' sticks rest on these jack studs. </div>
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There are few more sticks here and there to finish the structure. The building, which we've worked hard to make strong and stable, helps the platform be strong and stable, too.</div>
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A sheet of plywood rests on top as a nice, large surface to stand on. It's about 3' up, mostly because I had some 3' cut-offs lying around already. Maybe 4' would have been better - 1/2 the height of the walls? Whatever, it works.</div>
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Most of the lumber is used full-length. The plywood plywood deck is only 6' long, but I didn't cut it - it was like that already. Screws hold things together, making it easy to take apart, but the screws carry minimal load - loads mostly go through wood resting on wood.<br />
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</div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-39743908263987999762012-08-09T17:32:00.002-07:002012-08-09T17:32:19.636-07:00Top plates & porch beamThe porch beam holds up the roof over the porch. Over the enclosed building, the studs hold up the rafters, but around the porch, the roof load is carried along porch beams to supports at the end. Here's the plan, with the beam pockets marked.<br />
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And the beam pocket as seen in <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2012/08/erecting-walls.html">my last post</a>:<br />
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First I climbed up the ladder to cut back the sheathing around the beam pockets. I used my grand-father-in-law's jigsaw, since it fit in that small space and was light enough to use up on the ladder.<br />
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Hoist the beam in position. One end in the pocket, one end clamped to the porch post. Level & tack in place with a deck screw (3 1/2" #10) at each end.<br />
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One end of the beam rests on a jack stud in the wall, which is pretty secure. The other end is next to (not on top of) a porch post. How to carry the load securely in to the post? One option is lag screws or through-bolting, which works pretty well but is bit tedious up on a ladder, with all the predrilling, etc.</div>
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I decided to add a "jack stud" to the side of the post. It is attached to the side of the post, running from the underside of the porch beam to the deck beam below. A series of screws through the jack stud in to the post help stabilize things. </div>
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We plumbed the posts (in 2 dimensions) and braced them to each other (at the proper spacing) and diagonally to the deck. Then some 1/4" timber screws through the beam in to post. The timber screws will help with uplift, if the wind tries to steal my roof.</div>
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Once the beams were up, we added the double top plates all the way around, including over the porch beam. That ties the porch beam in to the main wall nicely. I'll be adding some tie plates at the joints, as an extra measure.</div>
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<br /></div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-84694893244351272062012-08-03T19:24:00.002-07:002012-08-03T23:37:30.870-07:00Fixing a window framing mistakeWhen framing a window under a load-bearing wall, you need to put in a header to carry the roof load. Typically it's built out of 2x lumber on edge, with plywood sandwiched between to make it the same thickness as the 2x4 wall. (2x6 walls are done a little differently.)<br />
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I screwed up and put the header in sideways, with the lumber laying flat. This is far, far weaker.<br />
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I tried taking it apart, but it would have meant tearing up the king stud to pull the nails out.<br />
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Will it still be strong enough? Here's the math:<br />
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The roof design load is 10psf dead load + 25psf snow load = 35psf total. Rafters/studs are 2' O.C., and rafters are 8' long (I designed to use them full length.) Tributary area is 2' x 8' = 16 sq. ft. Design load = 16 sq. ft. x 35 psf = 560 lbs.<br />
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The weight limit for a span is normally Fb * b * d * d / (9 * L), where:<br />
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<b>Fb</b> = Fiber bending stress of the wood you're using. My 2x4s are Douglas Fir "#1 or BTR". <a href="http://www2.wwpa.org/Portals/9/docs/pdf/dvalues.pdf">According to WWPA</a>, that wood has a fiber bending stress of 1200. (I have no idea what unit that is!)<br />
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<b>b</b> = breadth of the beam, in inches. A 2x4 laid flat (oops) is 3.5" wide.<br />
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<b>d</b> = depth of the beam, in inches. A 2x4 laid flat is 1.5" deep. Notice it's squared - this is why lumber on edge is so much stronger.<br />
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<b>L</b> = length of the span, in feet. My window rough opening is 2'.<br />
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Put it all together: 1200 * 3.5 * 1.5 * 1.5 / (9 * 2) = 525lbs. Not enough.<br />
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That formula is for an evenly distributed load across the span, which assumes that the strain on the wood varies linearly with the distance from the point of support. To put it another way, it behaves like a point load on the center of the beam that's 1/2 as large. So, divide my max load by 2.<br />
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However, I have 2 pieces of wood here (twice as strong), so multiply my max load by 2. So we're back to 525 lbs. Still not enough.<br />
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There's one more factor to consider: there's a double top plate that can carry some of that load, too. If you assume it's just strong as the misplaced header, then I'm fine, but I've never seen that described before, so I was wary of counting on it.<br />
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However, we're close. A little more wood could do the trick. And I had the perfect scrap of wood - a piece that was intended to be a window header, but it was 1/4" too short. If I lay it flat across the top, it increases the strength of the header by 50% more - enough to be certain we're strong enough. And I can end-nail the cripple on to this extra header *before* I install it, avoiding the hassle of toe-nailing.<br />
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That went together really nicely.<br />
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As I've been learning to build, I have asked myself the question: what is the difference between me (a novice) and an experienced pro? There are several obvious answers:<br />
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<li>Pros cost money, I just cost time.</li>
<li>I'm way slower, because I spend a lot of time figuring out *how* to do this, and because I make mistakes I have to recover from. Also, I get tired because I'm not used to the work.</li>
<li>I waste material due to mistakes.</li>
<li>Pros are good at this, and know how to produce high-quality work.</li>
<li>I care about the outcome far beyond my concerns for reputation and callbacks, so I'll take care when it matters to me.</li>
<li>Pros cut corners to save money & time (which is also money to them) if they think they can get away with it.</li>
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But there's one more point that I have become aware of: pros are really good at <b>hiding their mistakes</b>. A novice can do work that's just good (or just as bad) as a pro, but a pro will make it look like they did a good job, even if they didn't.</div>
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<br />Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-23285171851524427912012-08-03T18:42:00.001-07:002012-08-03T18:42:53.375-07:00Erecting wallsTo anyone who has done platform framing before, building walls is the most obvious of activities. For novices, there is a lot of complexity to work through, a lot of learning to be done. I spent most of my time reading, drawing, pondering, conversating. Oh, and resting my hammering arm.<br />
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We could frame with either 2x4 or 2x6. 2x6s costs a little more, the lumber is usually a little better, the wall is stronger, and there's more space for in-wall insulation. Stick-built houses around here are usually built with 2x6s, but spaced 24" O.C. (instead of 16" O.C. for 2x4s), to use less wood. That's fine, but then you need stronger sheathing and drywall to span the larger gaps, so the savings are reduced.<br />
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Because our building is so small (12' x 10'), losing 4" in each dimension to thicker walls seemed like a lot to lose. Also, heavy insulation isn't important with the use patterns we're expecting in this building. So, we went with 2x4s.<br />
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Even though stud spacing for 2x4s is typically 16" in a house, in our little building I chose 24". The main reason is that the 10' dimensions don't work out well with 16" stud spacing. You end up with a couple studs really close together. If I spaced the rafters at 16" to match, I'd have 2 rafters really close together, too. Sheathing ends need to meet right on studs/rafters, and irregularly spaced studs/rafters make that a bit messy. We saw that on the floor, where the middle section of subfloor had to be 6' and 4', not 2' and 8', which would have let me use a full sheet.<br />
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It's not a bad idea to make studs and rafters line up. Then the roof load is transferred straight in to the studs, without relying on the top plates to carry that load. In fact, this is a key element of Advanced Framing, allowing a single top plate instead of the traditional double top plate. I'm keeping the double top plate, because it makes joining the walls at the corners easier (as a novice, I need easy).<br />
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The building is only a single story, so the wall can be a little weaker, than a 2-story building. So, we picked 2x4s 24" O.C.<br />
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When I bought the lumber to frame the walls, I ordered pre-cut studs. This way they're all the same length - I don't have to count on my ability to cut to length reliably.<br />
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My first time framing a window:<br />
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Once framed, we tilted up the wall to see how it felt.<br />
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Being so big means I have plenty of muscle. Picking up the wall frame was easy. Easy enough that we decided to sheath the wall while it's flat on the ground. That forced some decisions about the sheathing at the gable end and letting the sheathing hang down to tie in to the floor system. To work that out, we had to think about the overhang at the gable end, and I decided we needed lookouts.<br />
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Julie really enjoyed the chiseling work.<br />
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Once that was taken care of, we proceeded to sheath up the wall. I used 10d galvanized box nails to fasten the sheathing. What a pain in the ass. They bend easily. A knot, or a bad hammer hit, and they'd buckle over. The galvanization meant they stuck in the wood really well, and were hard to pull out. The heads usually folded or pulled off in the process, so there was nothing to grab on to. Often I just flattened the nail in to the sheathing. It looks sloppy, but I had little choice.<br />
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After the first piece of sheathing was done, I stepped back to look at the work, and saw that the wall wasn't squared. Arggg! I forgot to square before sheathing! I spent a day figuring out what to do. Keep it as-is? Remove 50 difficult nails? Cut the lumber to square? Cut the wall apart and rebuild? After careful study, I decided that it was close enough to be workable, and continued. I did trim the sheathing on one side so the next piece of sheathing could fit properly.<br />
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Finally, the sheathing was done and I picked up the wall. It was very heavy, but I still was able to pick it up alone.<br />
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Once up, Julie held it steady while I shifted it back and forth until it was in just the right spot (in 2 dimensions) and plum (measured at both ends) and braced.<br />
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Bill helped me tilt up, align, and stabilize the 2nd wall, which will get the door.<br />
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The remaining walls continued in a similar vein. I got faster each time. I built the 4th wall and tilted it up in 1 day, which is like 8x slower than a pro. I'm improving!<br />
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The 3rd & 4th walls only got 1 piece of sheathing before going up, because the remaining sheathing has to go on the outside of the 1st & 2nd walls, too. Also, we'll use the gap to pass up the rafter units.<br />
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The next step is porch beams, then the roof. Here's the pocket where they'll rest on the wall (the plywood needs to be cut away) and the beams themselves. The beams are from trees on our site, full-dimensioned 2x6.<br />
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<br />Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-1678193119825181732012-08-03T18:13:00.002-07:002012-08-03T18:13:50.631-07:00Rafter unitsOnce the floor was built, you'd think I'd build walls. No. Rafters first!<br />
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I started by drawing the roof lines on the deck. Then I used them to mark & cut 1 rafter, including a bird's mouth. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdsmouth_joint">bird's mouth</a> cut didn't go well, and getting them right makes a big difference in how the roof goes together. I decided on a different approach.<br />
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It's common to buy pre-made roof trusses, built in a factory. I could have done that, but I wanted to try doing it myself once. But I can do something similar: Rafter units, made of 2 rafters and a ceiling joist.<br />
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I built a template on the deck to align all the components, for uniform rafters. There's a placeholder for the ridge board:<br />
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This blocking represents the wall, and aligns the ceiling joist:<br />
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There's another one on the other side:<br />
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Used 1 good rafter as a guide for the plumb cuts on all the others:<br />
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I also cut some strips of plywood for later use:<br />
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Nailing is loud, especially on a deck, and shards of metal can fly at high speed, so some protection is a good idea:<br />
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How to build a rafter unit:<br />
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1. Slide rafters in to position:<br />
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2. Screw them down to stop them from shifting during assembly:<br />
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3. Attach the tops of the rafters to keep them from shifting. The nails were just what I had on hand. Note the plywood isn't really structural (it doesn't need to carry a load), it just holds the rafter unit together until the roof is done. </div>
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4. Place the ceiling joist. There's a little wiggle room, but make sure it doesn't stick out above the rafter.</div>
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5. Nail things together. My nails are 3 1/4" long, and the wood is only 3" thick. Driving the nails at this angle actually makes things stronger, while keeping the points from sticking out.</div>
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6. 5 nails at each end. Note that they're not *quite* all the way in, so that if I change my mind, I can get a cat's paw in to pull the nails without tearing up the wood.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30i4jKJAry-gZlhROka8JYy-tmL_pPIJEnPALyuZ5mrEOcOqbei8R0xMcXgdixaYgHGRZfzlgMarpXfSpo6zYEdaqfTkY9P0AJKjQMDgnLDSqaY8jhzJruO9L5e-GsEfwjKVY6B6JxcE/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30i4jKJAry-gZlhROka8JYy-tmL_pPIJEnPALyuZ5mrEOcOqbei8R0xMcXgdixaYgHGRZfzlgMarpXfSpo6zYEdaqfTkY9P0AJKjQMDgnLDSqaY8jhzJruO9L5e-GsEfwjKVY6B6JxcE/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Completed rafter units:</div>
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I built one extra, just in case, but I used screws so I can easily take it apart and repurpose the lumber.</div>
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Now, to the walls. </div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-57272345087262104922012-07-05T17:43:00.002-07:002012-07-05T17:43:51.473-07:00Building the floorAfter completing the deck, we turned to the floor of the building. Joists continued 16" O.C., but the building is 10' wide, which doesn't divide by 16". Instead, the last 2 joists are spaced 12" O.C.<br />
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One of the joists is also doubled. The lumber we bought was kinda crappy, so doubling the worst sticks was a way to compensate. The subfloor will have a seam there, so it adds more nailing surface, which we wanted because we're such framing newbies. Also, we're expecting an extra load in that area, so we're glad to have the extra strength. With better lumber and without the expected point load, I could have skipped the penultimate joist and left a 24" space instead.<br />
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Originally, we planned to lay the 4'x8' sheets of plywood subfloor <b>along</b> the joists. With that in mind, we started to install blocking to support the seams of the plywood. The 8' edges are tongue-and-groove, but the 4' edges are not, so they need the help. It's a little stronger to run the plywood the other way, so we changed the plans to lay the plywood <b>across</b> the joists. Still, we installed the blocking anyway, to help stabilize the 12' joists.<br />
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Here's the plan:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YRLklN4bk-GZ2Bbu6raeYX4diG5LLWulqOAHqDM1jiy-370IFvCnawmIdD8-HgCg8p9y4d8imQI0l2z9Pigk8XG2oJvjf3dax5CDjmnOKTLqOq6gjHdnzHS9kr-6vsm60ukoKtcid4U/s1600/floor+framing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YRLklN4bk-GZ2Bbu6raeYX4diG5LLWulqOAHqDM1jiy-370IFvCnawmIdD8-HgCg8p9y4d8imQI0l2z9Pigk8XG2oJvjf3dax5CDjmnOKTLqOq6gjHdnzHS9kr-6vsm60ukoKtcid4U/s320/floor+framing.png" width="274" /></a></div>
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Once the floor system was framed up, we added insulation (before the subfloor). We chose 2" polyisocyanurate foam panels, in part because that's exactly what is under the yurt, so it's familiar. Also, rodents won't nest in it, like they might in fiberglass, and when I work in the crawlspace I won't be breathing fiberglass. We have a lot of wooden stakes (Buffy would be proud) so we attached those to the sides of the joists, 2" below the top, to support the foam. Then we cut the foam to fit each joist bay. A few cans of Great Stuff expanding foam insulation filled in the gaps.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJYFN9yj3jqMu4-DGbzXOH2HvyvZdlq4txhzI-VgQ8Rtk-4uAEcObhNEeF5XZGFbZ61ypIF57wQXsjbjNDVqO92gVa3fO3S8AwB2Au6TXmFWW0V2iEWd_2w0BYAyC0ZLsjuvo6u0zpbQ/s1600/IMG_20120611_204545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJYFN9yj3jqMu4-DGbzXOH2HvyvZdlq4txhzI-VgQ8Rtk-4uAEcObhNEeF5XZGFbZ61ypIF57wQXsjbjNDVqO92gVa3fO3S8AwB2Au6TXmFWW0V2iEWd_2w0BYAyC0ZLsjuvo6u0zpbQ/s320/IMG_20120611_204545.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Looking back, I wish I had set the insulation a little lower, by maybe 1/4" or 1/2", so it wouldn't have a chance to interfere with the subfloor if it stuck out somewhere. Also, I could have cut the panels 1/2" smaller and filled in with Great Stuff for a tighter seal than trying to make panels fit tightly, and ending up with a gap that's too small to get the foam in to. Still, I think it will be fine. After the Great Stuff cured I went back with a saw and cut off the extra.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3x4fIGVyIrm2vt3DBaBXkssHjH5WBhHoN4SI-uEL6eeAWGcwowNdytHuowP_9w5CoQwnDrM-wM4gP8q4I6faGOc2gbUp2t5vDpA2dlVCBpYvfj9C8fDdLKqjDqvRMnH_8i6423qnRvE/s1600/IMG_20120611_204512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3x4fIGVyIrm2vt3DBaBXkssHjH5WBhHoN4SI-uEL6eeAWGcwowNdytHuowP_9w5CoQwnDrM-wM4gP8q4I6faGOc2gbUp2t5vDpA2dlVCBpYvfj9C8fDdLKqjDqvRMnH_8i6423qnRvE/s320/IMG_20120611_204512.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">I bought 4 sheets of that insulation at $50 each + unknown environmental impact. We have most of a sheet left over, plus a bunch of scraps, and I've been wondering how I might have saved a sheet. You see, each sheet is 4x8 = 32 sq. ft., and the insulated floor is 10x12 = 120 sq. ft., so you might think I'd use 3.75 sheets. But the framing takes up a lot of space. Could 3 sheets be enough?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">We could have waited wait until after the subfloor was in place before installing the insulation. Cut it to be 1/2" undersized, then glue it to the underside of the subfloor. Random-sized pieces can be fitted together to fill the bays. Great Stuff fills in gaps. You can even wait postpone this work until the building is complete, so you can see how the building works without insulation to decide how much to put in later.</span><br />
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Another alternative is to put the foam panels on the underside of the joists. You can use the sheets whole, with only a few cutouts for posts or whatever. The almost continuous insulation would be more effective. And you could fill the joist bays with batts or loose fill insulation, and get a super-insulated floor. That's out of place in this building, however.<br />
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Once the insulation was done, it was time to install the subfloor. I used 3/4" T&G Sturd-I-Floor, which is rated for 24" joist spacing, for extra stiffness. The yurt floor is 1 1/8" on 4" joist spacing, which is within spec but very springy. (If I could go back, I would install 2x4 joists under the yurt floor, across the existing joists. Even if they were only 24" O.C., it would be much stiffer.)<br />
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We applied subfloor adhesive to the joists, then dropped on a sheet of plywood, then wiggled it in to position. It's easy to move when it's floating on a bed of wet glue. When it was in position we started screwing it down. The board sheet wasn't completely flat, so I used my weight to press down the plywood as each screw went in. Here's the first board:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Because our joist spacing is a little inconsistent (16" O.C., except the last 2 that are 12" O.C.) we had to be careful about how we set out the plywood to get the edges right over a joist. The layout is 8' + 2', 4' + 6', and 8' + 2'.</span><br />
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Getting the tongues in to the groove was harder than I expected. We used a sledgehammer, but the insulation panels made it hard to get a good hit. It might have helped to spend some time with a water spray on one side and the sun on the other to take out the warp before installing.<br />
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Once all the subflooring was down, we went back and cut the panels again. They were a little long. I wanted them to be slightly short, so I could be sure they wouldn't interfere with the wall sheathing that connects to the joists. We measured carefully, cut, measured again, cut again. Like the old saying.<br />
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The resulting floor is really nice to walk on. Very firm and quite level, except one corner where a beam had a bend up at the end.<br />
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Looking back, I wish we had used a 3rd beam down the middle of the floor. We could have dropped the joist size down and gotten a stiffer floor. No joist hangers required. I am considering adding it later.<br />
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I know it's a good floor because it attracts beautiful women:<br />
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<br />Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-75692383726651974852012-06-09T00:33:00.001-07:002012-06-09T00:33:12.171-07:00More subpanels!I haven't done any building for 2 weeks, so I thought I'd post some more abstract thoughts today, instead.<br />
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Every house I've lived in had all the breakers in one place, a load center (aka breaker panel) right next to the service entrance (aka electric meter). All circuits in the house are home-run to this location. (One house had a small load center, and a small subpanel next to it, but otherwise it was the same.)<br />
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Lots of cables run right next to each other, from the load center to other parts of the house. The worst case is usually the kitchen. You may have a separate circuit for each of:<br />
<ul>
<li>fridge</li>
<li>appliance receps (often two circuits or an MWBC)</li>
<li>disposer</li>
<li>dishwasher</li>
<li>range</li>
<li>wall clock</li>
</ul>
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That's a lot of copper all running to one place. </div>
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As a long-time computer programmer, I'm used to breaking down bigger problems in to smaller ones, making things uniform/repeatable, etc. So I'm often tempted to apply this in other domains, mostly because it's familiar. <br />
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Instead of running a bundle of 12AWG cables to the kitchen, you could run one larger cable to a kitchen subpanel, and then fork off short local circuits from there.<br />
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You can use a lot less copper this way. For example, consider a typical installation of 6 circuits, 20A each. There's a hot, neutral, and ground - 12 conductors total. Even though total ampacity of all 6 circuits is 60A @ 240V, you don't need to feed that much to the subpanel, since the copper is shared across all the circuits. The subpanel could be 50A or less. And you only have 4 conductors, not 12. (Of course, if you guess too low, the subpanel's main breaker will trip, which is annoying. So don't take it too far.)<br />
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If you have an electric range, the subpanel circuit will be pretty hefty. You may decide to take the extra trouble to use an aluminum conductor, which is often much cheaper than copper. I usually avoid aluminum inside a dwelling because of increased fire risk, but in this case it may be worth it. Just take the time to make sure it's done right.<br />
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This approach will make motors (like a blender) last longer, and reduce power losses to heat. If you size the copper for the sum of the loads, but the loads are intermittent, each load will have a lot more headroom almost all of the time.<br />
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Another advantage is that adding a new circuit to your kitchen is much easier - the panel is right there already. Also, if you ever run out of room in that panel, it's easier to upgrade to a larger one, since you don't have to get the power company to disconnect/reconnect the main feeder - just shut off the upstream breaker. (This is also a reason I think the main disconnect for a service should be separate from the main load center. Put it outside in the same box as the meter.)<br />
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Also, if you overload a circuit, the breaker that trips is right there in the same room with you. You don't have to go far to reset it.<br />
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There are some disadvantages, of course. The subpanel itself and the upstream breaker cost money. Not much in the grand scheme of a house, but still. The electrician has a little more wiring work to do (but less work pulling cables from one place to another). Some people find a subpanel in a kitchen to be ugly (but not me!).<br />
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If you short a circuit, it could trip any of several breakers - the breaker on this circuit, the upstream breaker for the subpanel, or even the main breaker for the house. This is different from when you merely overload a circuit by plugging in too many appliances, say trying to pull 25A on a 20A circuit. A short is effectively pulling thousands of amps on the circuit, and whichever breaker happens to trip fastest is the one that you will have to reset.<br />
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Finally, it's weird. Most people like their homes to be conventional. Building trades are steeped in tradition.<br />
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While I'm at it, why not run a small subpanel to *every* room? A small load center is $15 or so, so the extra cost is not huge. If you're wiring 2 circuits to a room, using a subpanel saves you a couple conductors (hot-hot-neutral-ground instead of hot-neutral-ground x 2), much like using a MWBC (multi-wire branch circuit). Now, if you ever want a 3rd circuit in the room, it's easy to add.<br />
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This whole idea is derived from MWBCs. Some electricians swear by them (twice the capacity with just 30% more copper) while others abhor them (risk of 240V exposure if neutral is broken; bonded 2-pole breaker required). A subpanel to split the MWBC in to single-leg circuits, close to point of use, can work out really nicely.<br />
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Maybe electricians already thought of all this and don't put subpanels all over the place for good reason. I haven't heard that reason yet, but I'll keep my ears open.<br />
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<br />Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-84512331169412105352012-05-19T14:02:00.001-07:002012-05-19T14:02:28.733-07:00Deck<br />
We've been working on a small building. It's 10' x 12', with a 6' covered deck. It could be a small cabin, or a sauna. It would be easier to build if it was close to the ground, but I want to be able to get underneath, and I want the floor height to match the yurt.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://i.stack.imgur.com/KWqND.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://i.stack.imgur.com/KWqND.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The gable roof overlaps the yurt roof enough to give a dry passageway.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">2x8 beams at the perimeter, with 2x8 joists on joist hangers. Beams attached to the faces of posts. </td></tr>
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Beams attached to the sides of posts. It's stronger to notch posts, or to set beams on top of them. I wish I had put beams *under* the joists, as it's so much stronger. Then I probably could have dropped down to 2x6 joists and gotten a stronger floor. It might have made bracing simpler, too. </div>
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When we built the yurt, digging the footing holes became this never-ending nightmare, and we wanted to avoid a repeat. I think I overcompensated. I aimed first for 6 posts, but according to span tables the beams wouldn't be strong enough for a 10' span. So we split that one with another post, giving spans of 5', 5', and 6'. The lumber we found wasn't as good as I had planned for, so I decided to add still more posts. We're now up to 11. *sigh*</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgOO3IZscIIvJDxfUxEQRZrXJJaz-pb4O8uB6SqljCwDYRl7pVg2DruXHLJQ-9vzPgCRE6us85hiJ-s2K4aamvmEAQOF3CyAtDG-BwBd55VJ8WsjDo-_CblJKK6DqldUSwQKp_XwhU_8/s1600/IMG_20120413_174420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgOO3IZscIIvJDxfUxEQRZrXJJaz-pb4O8uB6SqljCwDYRl7pVg2DruXHLJQ-9vzPgCRE6us85hiJ-s2K4aamvmEAQOF3CyAtDG-BwBd55VJ8WsjDo-_CblJKK6DqldUSwQKp_XwhU_8/s320/IMG_20120413_174420.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Footings are pier blocks set a 4"-6" below grade. Frost depth here is minimal, so we just dug down far enough to find solid ground. Where it was deep, we added 3/4"-minus gravel, tamped, to come back up to the right height.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3hKrnrE2OWQ13955GBgY2BifTKxBaJw7kIZcfpEKQAOkIbZx3xUC3WtVGr33qqY0hG8oe6mYt_RK5ViMyuH71IggZepRKg4jgxhaxVoAImyty1aLRC0ONvAsSzqSyiSPXLrf6Rpahbk/s1600/12+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3hKrnrE2OWQ13955GBgY2BifTKxBaJw7kIZcfpEKQAOkIbZx3xUC3WtVGr33qqY0hG8oe6mYt_RK5ViMyuH71IggZepRKg4jgxhaxVoAImyty1aLRC0ONvAsSzqSyiSPXLrf6Rpahbk/s320/12+-+1" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Lumber: 2x8 12', 2x8 16', 4x4 treated 10'.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeM8sfrplID8ei8R185-hgAQEIvi2gD6k2OxjSVNX6DCC8mKAhVJNG3nnEG8THVcOu7V6O5XX_ZmVbEp3NUiBQJ2aia_AqtamSqdn_hUACXwZphqDc-dAcWJ2Rbe187om8Bohgeifa3c/s1600/IMG_20120414_160400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeM8sfrplID8ei8R185-hgAQEIvi2gD6k2OxjSVNX6DCC8mKAhVJNG3nnEG8THVcOu7V6O5XX_ZmVbEp3NUiBQJ2aia_AqtamSqdn_hUACXwZphqDc-dAcWJ2Rbe187om8Bohgeifa3c/s320/IMG_20120414_160400.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The treated 4x4s were chopped up in to posts. Left them long, since we can cut them down later. Then we attached a beam to 2 posts, and set the height & level. </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHsmjb6YkX9xwy6tPnvf6VQtYh6AMgD_HhALWSi0YmfGP6ew2z3cONaJ7rXNZuuZsxCVV0ILiEbR9e23iMr9-dyrvIEINqlwM5KdFULXqyKbPYJnezhhrwICbKtAPTPjvUNxlYyxhMOQ/s1600/IMG_20120414_163529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHsmjb6YkX9xwy6tPnvf6VQtYh6AMgD_HhALWSi0YmfGP6ew2z3cONaJ7rXNZuuZsxCVV0ILiEbR9e23iMr9-dyrvIEINqlwM5KdFULXqyKbPYJnezhhrwICbKtAPTPjvUNxlYyxhMOQ/s320/IMG_20120414_163529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">My plumb bob hanger has a 2" offset.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-ho0G-R_m95Fc5AQhq_Bf8g6Z6eJK6kSOymTwSVlPu7oyGvz0p_4713m1d7Xt7kgl2uExkmDT_4bf9vBMbzN7Eo7C8eVKaxa1LQYSe8rQ0w-H0foCAxeApYSnpqe9cpqdww3UL0ECOE/s1600/IMG_20120414_164156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-ho0G-R_m95Fc5AQhq_Bf8g6Z6eJK6kSOymTwSVlPu7oyGvz0p_4713m1d7Xt7kgl2uExkmDT_4bf9vBMbzN7Eo7C8eVKaxa1LQYSe8rQ0w-H0foCAxeApYSnpqe9cpqdww3UL0ECOE/s320/IMG_20120414_164156.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Once we're plumb, added temporary bracing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJh-34lvbxm3e6DZsm7njQdVqAirjowHAGFVhEBdMw_vV78OZiagrigrNiiqaj2P2VyZGkEpa0kNVmVo_Pw93zsxd5JiQ2EjLJxW5Pw7Fd2DBCWZd1sZLFfbDHhaA9_C4bKHkp_HiKLk/s1600/IMG_20120418_100412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJh-34lvbxm3e6DZsm7njQdVqAirjowHAGFVhEBdMw_vV78OZiagrigrNiiqaj2P2VyZGkEpa0kNVmVo_Pw93zsxd5JiQ2EjLJxW5Pw7Fd2DBCWZd1sZLFfbDHhaA9_C4bKHkp_HiKLk/s320/IMG_20120418_100412.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The first joist. Doubled. Through-bolted.</td></tr>
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<div>
I don't advise you to copy this building method. Through-bolting is a little less secure than other methods of attaching to a post. Also, these bolts are near the end of the joist, where the wood is weaker. These bolts are 8" x 1/2" hot-dipped galvanized. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I didn't have a long enough drill bit, so we clamped the joist in place, drilled through it, removed the joist, and finished the drilling. I picked a snug hole size, and used a sledgehammer to drive the bolts in, which knocked a few things out of alignment. I know that tight is stronger, but I think a slightly bigger hole would have been a good idea. I did eventually buy a long drill bit to use elsewhere.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The joist doesn't really need to be doubled. The main reason is that it will be under a wall, so it provides a little wider bearing surface for the wall, instead of supporting it on edge. I don't know if that's actually important, since the wall is pretty rigid already. Alternately, I suppose I could have put blocking between this joist and the next one, at the same spacing as the studs. *shrug*</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To get everything square, I needed another joist and beam. But once the 2nd beam goes in, it would interfere with access to the yurt *and* would get in the way of removing the yurt steps. So we had to do a bunch of stuff in one day.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In preparation, I used a shorter stick as a temporary beam, to get things close to square. Then on the big day, we removed the steps:</div>
<div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF3wWM78gryndMMj4ynrBYKrf8QJiEvya78ybsR4S3BC3ET2FGSUnCbEiNACQW8rHjUTbjiSmEdTdm5u9wTCC_Qq59utVg01x-wnJ08F4SAjgyWwjM0TRHFlWDj3HfGtAdrhQwmjW2Cw/s1600/IMG_20120422_130814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF3wWM78gryndMMj4ynrBYKrf8QJiEvya78ybsR4S3BC3ET2FGSUnCbEiNACQW8rHjUTbjiSmEdTdm5u9wTCC_Qq59utVg01x-wnJ08F4SAjgyWwjM0TRHFlWDj3HfGtAdrhQwmjW2Cw/s320/IMG_20120422_130814.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">No steps!</td></tr>
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Then we removed the steps (they're really heavy!), swapped in the correct beam, squared everything, added the tall posts next to the yurt, installed joists in the deck area.<br />
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<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQJ3-TzA_qE3s15YtTEYk8g4UebEoWmWrghUIhe_uEb7u2DGIwvHsZvmA8v7r5olyeLg1hl8yUSWxyVO-fjItIdnMpN0chcLp3-rAvpuFoOZ6FRlKkMn2Pn08LDAdzpuTuNPei2XHIx4/s1600/IMG_20120421_174257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQJ3-TzA_qE3s15YtTEYk8g4UebEoWmWrghUIhe_uEb7u2DGIwvHsZvmA8v7r5olyeLg1hl8yUSWxyVO-fjItIdnMpN0chcLp3-rAvpuFoOZ6FRlKkMn2Pn08LDAdzpuTuNPei2XHIx4/s320/IMG_20120421_174257.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Nails ready for joists.</td></tr>
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<div>
My carpenter friend said that joist hangers can be a pain to work with. He suggested we attach the joists to beams with nails first, then come back later and add the hangers.</div>
<div>
</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgowN-3lbB4QrinadG_NPUSgvD4uxOPGNXthF7EcSlY8OfTyyQGOHBV6kw8q_GyT8NYGDungEqX8klWcJ0US_MtiD-13VoIOrY56-yECBQZH7tR9ADwissxLhwD4nvf7N4KgnlkvrMczZQ/s1600/IMG_20120422_150546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgowN-3lbB4QrinadG_NPUSgvD4uxOPGNXthF7EcSlY8OfTyyQGOHBV6kw8q_GyT8NYGDungEqX8klWcJ0US_MtiD-13VoIOrY56-yECBQZH7tR9ADwissxLhwD4nvf7N4KgnlkvrMczZQ/s320/IMG_20120422_150546.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Dylan installed this joist hanger himself.</td></tr>
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<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2_Pvax9_7JZ-QO3cqklCd8oTMFs9-5w6gtWP18venkklnuoAjH3eCjuhr2-7EsNATbkL1vjU1Pa85OGbDISQdadwWD-H8PFfWrwHoBDvBegfL9IsYC126VOR89P4cKNGU-jcAY5Q_gQ/s1600/IMG_20120422_153941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir2_Pvax9_7JZ-QO3cqklCd8oTMFs9-5w6gtWP18venkklnuoAjH3eCjuhr2-7EsNATbkL1vjU1Pa85OGbDISQdadwWD-H8PFfWrwHoBDvBegfL9IsYC126VOR89P4cKNGU-jcAY5Q_gQ/s320/IMG_20120422_153941.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Dylan is sure-footed. </td></tr>
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Here you can see our strategy for attaching beams to posts. I'm using a <a href="http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/djtz.asp">Simpson Strong-Tie Deck Joist Tie DJT14Z</a>. These can work with either through-bolts or #10 structural screws; I'm using the screws.<br />
<br />
Once the deck-area joists were installed, we placed 5/4 x 4" cedar decking. It's planed smooth and the edges are round. This will be nice under bare feet.<br />
<br />
5/4 is slightly more than 1" (and will shrink more when dry). The 4" is of course 3.5". I have 12' to cover, and 41 * 3.5" = 143.5". So I bought 21 sticks, 12' long, cut in half, for a total of $90.<br />
<br />
We didn't fasten the decking, except for the first 1 and a cleat after the last one. So we can walk on it but I don't have to commit yet. I still need to work under the deck, so I can just pick up the pieces in the way.<br />
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Finally, we hauled the steps in to their new home. They're not perfectly level, but they work.<br />
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</div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-52091154028225240932012-03-18T22:46:00.000-07:002012-03-18T22:46:22.884-07:00Signs of springI can tell spring is near, as these just sprouted:<br />
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A shed with a washer & dryer will end up here soon.<br />
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Black is a water supply line. It's 1" poly (I think that's HDPE). Fittings are brass. It was a bit pricy, because every screw-on valve needed a barbed-to-threaded fitting between it and the hose. The barbed site was always 1", while the threaded side was 3/4". Funny trade sizes & all. It also branches to a couple other locations underground, including the RV hookup.<br />
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There's also a stop-and-waste valve in the ground under a "flowerpot", basically an irrigation control box. This will let me drain the other lines if we ever leave for the winter, to protect them against freezing. There's a foot or so of 6" scrap conduit as a riser in under the flowerpot, so I can reach down to the valve. Also, there's drain rock under the valve, for the water that drains.<br />
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List of plumbing fittings:<br />
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- barbed tee off the existing water line<br />
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- barbed to threaded to connect to the<br />
- threaded stop-and-waste valve, and back to<br />
<br />
- barbed to threaded<br />
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- barbed tee to supply the riser you see in the picture<br />
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<br />
- barbed to threaded to<br />
- a temporary ball valve on the riser<br />
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- barbed tee to supply the RV hookup to the right and a future handwashing station to the left<br />
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- temporary plastic barbed plug on the end for the future handwashing station<br />
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- barbed to threaded at the RV hookup to a threaded ball valve hose bib<br />
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The grey is 1 1/2" conduit. That's the largest my subpanel will take, and it should be plenty. They are in pairs - power + phone. One pair will supply the structure. The other pair continues on to supply the RV. I seriously underestimated how many conduit fittings I would need. Despite buying extras just in case, I ran out & had to run to the store in the middle of the job.<br />
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- 14 sticks of 10' conduit. I went out of my way to find the kind with built-in bell ends so I didn't need extra couplings<br />
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- 9 90 degree bends + 1 45 degree bend (I think - this is from memory)<br />
- lots of couplings!<br />
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We also got 5 yards of gravel (3/4" minus) which we used to fill the trenches and cover the ground to make things nice & neat.<br />
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Costs:<br />
<br />
Excavation work + gravel + some plumbing fittings: $600<br />
First trip to the hardware store for plumbing fittings: $90<br />
Carl's Building Supply for conduit & fittings: $160<br />
Second trip to hardware store for a few more fittings, both pluming & conduit: $60<br />
<br />Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-81383421811004422992011-11-11T10:21:00.001-08:002011-11-11T17:58:52.740-08:00Woodstove in a yurtBecause we live in the woods, burning wood to heat the yurt makes sense. We knew almost nothing about installing a woodstove, so the first step was research. Lots of research.<br />
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The yurt manufacturer offers instructions, including this diagram:<br />
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As with all building plans, the drawing hides much complexity. For example, look at the height of that post. From the chimney tee to the wall band is about 7'. My tee is about 8' above the ground. That's 15' of post above ground. How deep should it be in the ground? They don't say. A common rule for posts is 1/3rd in the ground. That'd be 22' - a huge post! How would you haul one of those home? And a 7' deep post hole is a tough proposition! You're talking heavy equipment, but a hole that is only 15" away from the wall of the yurt - not much room to get in there.<br />
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The instructions have the posts 8" apart. It's just about impossible to dig holes for 4"x4" posts 8" apart and keep the holes separate. The barrier between the would be very thin. You could dig one bigger hole for both posts, and use a lot more concrete. However, 8" spacing is troublesome: the Chimney Wall Support Kit has its screw holes 11" apart O.C., and the Wall Band, way up at the top of the posts, has holes 16" O.C. Hmmm.<br />
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Ideally you want the horizontal part of the chimney to sit along a radius of the round yurt, a radius that hits an intersection of the lattice (you remove an X of lattice for the chimney). The posts must be equidistant from this radius. You only get about an inch of play here, to keep the wall bracket screws in the posts. Digging accurate holes is really hard, so you probably have to over-size them a bit, place the posts, and then fill in with concrete. The bigger the hole, the more concrete you have to mix and pour.<br />
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I thought I would rent a 6" gas-powered auger, dig 2 holes as deep as I could, and take advantage of the close walls of undisturbed dirt to hold the posts well. I now think this was a bad plan, since digging accurate holes is so hard. As it was, the rental place accidentally gave us an 8" auger bit, so our holes gave a bit more room to work with, and we took full advantage of that to get the posts placed well. Even so, they were off a bit, and we had to work to get the chimney aligned well.<br />
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We got 20'-long posts. These each weigh about 100 lbs. You have to stand them up on end in the hole, plumb, 15" from the yurt, and at the appropriate distance from the radius (within an inch). You can only measure their position correctly when they're plumb, and they're unwieldy, so you have to brace them long enough to take measurements, and then unbrace and move again. My positioning was not very good, and I had to compensate later by bending the wall support kit a little.<br />
<br />
I thought about assembling the chimney on to the posts before erecting them, but then we're talking around 300 lbs for the whole assembly, and getting the tee at the exact right height is critical, so you have to wait until the posts are up.<br />
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I placed one post, braced it, and poured the concrete. After that set, I used it to brace the 2nd post, and pour that concrete. My calculations said I'd need 4 sacks of concrete mix, so I bought 5 and used it all.<br />
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This was my first concrete pour.<br />
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After giving it time to cure, we set about attaching the chimney. First comes the the wall bracket. This must be at just the right height, within 1/8" or so, so the horizontal section of chimney goes right through the flashing on the side of the yurt, and stays horizontal. (Some say to make it lower outside, so rain drips away; others say to make it lower inside, so creosote drips back to the fire.) To get this right, we clamped the bracket in place, put the tee on it, and attached the horizontal chimney piece to it. This is tricky because the assembly weighs around 60 lbs, and it's 8' up in the air. Once it's in place, you screw everything down and it gets stable.<br />
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The wall band at the top is wider than the posts by 7". I wanted to attach a short 2x4 up there as a cleat, and attach the wall band to it. The 2x4 has to go on first, as the wall band would cover where I want to drive the screws in to the posts.<br />
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To do it, I'd need the drill, a level, clamps, and the cleat. A rope to a bucket made it easy to pass stuff up.<br />
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All of this is 15' up in the air. Not only that, I have to be on the wrong side of the posts, as there's not enough room between the posts and the yurt to set a ladder. So it was a little awkward. For safety, I tied the top of the ladder to the posts, and made a loop of rope to put around my torso in case I fell.<br />
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On top of the tee goes 3 lengths of insulated chimney. These are heavy! We used a rope to pull them up, and my arms are still sore. Once their in place, you have to screw them together, and then secure the joints with a locking band. One of the joints didn't want to go together because it wasn't aligned right. I had to go down and remove the flashing so the tee could adjust to align the verticals.<br />
<br />
This is a good point to talk about the flashing, in case you are thinking about following these footsteps. First, they screw directly in to the yurt lattice. The lattice is quite thin, and will split easily. Be sure to pre-drill the lattice. Second, finding the exact right spot for the screws is hard on the outside, since you can't see the lattice. I used self-drilling sheet metal screws, but I think long machine screws through both flashings might be good.<br />
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Once they were aligned, we wrestled them together, and attached the locking band. Then it was back up to the top to tighten the wall band, which was very difficult to reach from the ladder and impossible to see from my perch.<br />
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Once the chimney was up, it was time to work on the inside.<br />
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There is a piece of cement board propped up against the wall of the yurt. There's supposed to be a 1" gap; since the wall is somewhat uneven, my gap is somewhat larger. I used 3"-long machine screws, each with 3 nuts to hold the board in position.<br />
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The floor also needs protection. The easiest way is probably a sheet of steel. We went with another sheet of cement board, which is harder because it's brittle. Julie did her first tile work ever on this cement board, and it looks quite nice. Once that cured, we hefted the woodstove in to place. The clearances are tight, as the woodstove is 2' wide and requires 6" of floor protection on each side, and the cement board is 3' wide. If you get it there and decide to shift things over an inch, you have to remove the stove (it weighs hundreds of pounds!), shift the cement board, and move the stove back it to place (it still weighs hundreds of pounds!). Instead, we used some adjustable elbows on the smoke pipe to get everything to come together. It looks a little sloppy, but I'm still happy with it:<br />
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The vertical smoke pipe goes in to a flue collar on the stove:<br />
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The pipe is not perfectly round, so there's a gap at the seam. I wasn't sure how to seal it up. Also, if the smoke pipe was just left resting loosely in the flue collar, it seemed like there was a risk of it getting knocked out, or at least breaking the seal. I asked <a href="http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/9954/whats-the-correct-way-to-attach-stovepipe-to-a-wood-stove">DIY Stack Exchange</a>, but got no answers. I asked at the hardware store, andn they had a bunch of ideas, but nothing that really came together. Then I noticed 2 small holes on the side of the flue collar for screws. I slathered the crimped end of smoke pipe with fire cement, attached it with screws, and then caulked the seam with more fire cement, same as caulking a bathtub.<br />
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After a couple days of curing time, we were ready for our first fire. I collected some scraps and downed branches. I don't have full-size dry logs, so I also bought a 6-pack of pressed sawdust logs. We had friends come over and we enjoyed the fire together.<br />
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The yurt is all one room, with a high ceiling, so it takes a while to warm it up. But sitting around the fire is nice right away. And that's where I'm sitting to write this now.<br />
<br />Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-80461066401121527192011-09-10T22:24:00.000-07:002011-09-10T22:24:53.013-07:00Wiring a yurtFor a while I ran an extension cord up under the edge of the canvas of the yurt. This works but doesn't let you seal that edge to keep warm air in. So we decided to wire up the yurt.<br />
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First, I dug a trench from the subpanel to the yurt. Hand digging this soil is hard, and I don't put up with much of that sort of thing. But a machine wouldn't help, because of the close quarters. I got a little over a foot below grade. The specified frost depth for footings is 12" here, so I figure I'm doing fine. I laid down two runs of conduit - one to the subpanel, and one for telephone.<br />
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There are well-known ways to wire a conventional house, but they don't apply well to yurts. In a house, wires are run through the walls, through holes in studs, to boxes mounted to studs. A yurt doesn't have enclosed walls or studs, so what to do?<br />
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One option is floor outlets with covers. These cost about $50 each, and I'd want quite a few around the yurt. Also, plugging in to the floor is annoying if they're in the wrong spot - everything bumps in to the plugs.<br />
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Instead, I decided to add studs. An optional feature on the yurt is the "Snow and Wind Kit", with these parts:<br />
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<ul><li>2" x 4" studs under each rafter</li>
<li>angle brackets to attach the studs in to the floor</li>
<li>tie plates to attach the studs to the rafters</li>
<li>brackets to attach the rafters to the center compression ring</li>
<li>2 wires that zigzag through the rafters to spread loads between them and keep them from shifting</li>
<li>a screw through the lattice in to each stud</li>
</ul><div>We don't get high winds through here, nor heavy snows, but those studs sure provide a convenient place to attach junction boxes. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I picked over the 2x4 pile at the lumber yard, picking some that were straight and looked nice. I bought angle brackets and tie plates to fasten the studs to the floor and rafters, but skipped the other elements of the kit. </div><div><br />
</div><div>We installed one each at 12 O'Clock, 3 O'Clock, 6 O'Clock, and 9 O'Clock. I only did 4 spots for now, to get the most bang for the buck. Later we'll come back and add a a bunch more + ceiling lights and a light switch.</div><div><br />
</div><div>EMT tubing comes up through the floor in to a metal box on the stud. Romex is stapled to the underside of the joists in the "crawlspace". </div><div><br />
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</div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-1088808821379662132011-09-10T22:01:00.000-07:002011-09-10T22:01:05.396-07:00SawdustOur radical compost project relies on a steady supply of sawdust. The ideal sawdust is:<br />
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- from softwood<br />
- from green (undried) wood<br />
- cut by a bandsaw<br />
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I couldn't find this by the pickup truck-load locally, so I finally ended up buying a load of sawdust from a large sawmill in Port Angeles. It was 45 yards of green alder sawdust, for $150 + delivery for $250 + tax. Way more than I wanted; I figure this will last us around 4 years!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3283fEcMf0Ceaa24hRQHUThyphenhyphenW1J-9XkW2gJrf7PY4yUinWJomLpe2XDsMW8JnM4xkmFlJrgzGJVopxKu4wt4NNJG_JTtu7-xbQJUJEPFEn56hA-MotH3cWk2k8QkoZt92ALAFneUsL8/s1600/Sawdust+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3283fEcMf0Ceaa24hRQHUThyphenhyphenW1J-9XkW2gJrf7PY4yUinWJomLpe2XDsMW8JnM4xkmFlJrgzGJVopxKu4wt4NNJG_JTtu7-xbQJUJEPFEn56hA-MotH3cWk2k8QkoZt92ALAFneUsL8/s320/Sawdust+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-56147122462017636692011-08-01T21:45:00.000-07:002011-08-01T21:45:37.562-07:00StairsAfter putting up the yurt, we needed a way to get in the front door. For a while we used a milk crate:<br />
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This was good enough, allowing us to focus our energy on more urgent items. Once those were out of the way, this became #1, so we set to work on it.<br />
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We've been thinking about a deck that ties the yurt to the RV and the other structures we have planned. We've also thought about adding a catwalk around the perimeter of the yurt. Doing all that right now wasn't the right choice - we have other tasks we'd like to get to soon. Could we do temporary steps now, and then make things all fancy later on?<br />
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I <a href="http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/7723/how-to-rig-up-temporary-steps">asked on DIY Stackexchange</a>, and found out there's such a thing a pre-cut stringers. We hit the Home Depot on a trip to Port Angeles. They had treated stringers only, in 2- and 5-tread varieties. I wanted to use untreated wood if possible, because these aren't intended to be permanent anyway, and the world doesn't need more stuff that can't rot.<br />
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I ended up buying Simpson Strong-Tie <a href="http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/TA.asp">TA9Z Staircase Angles</a>. Instead of cutting stringers, you screw these in to sides of the stringers, and place the steps on top. <span id="goog_1773319148"></span><br />
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For stringer material, we ended up using left-over 4" x 6" beams that were left over from the yurt. (At the previous site, some of the joists were untreated, and I replaced them with treated wood, so I have a bit of untreated 4x6 sitting around.)<br />
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It turns out people are pretty sensitive to stairs. If a step isn't level, you can feel it. If the spacing between the steps isn't consistent, you can trip. If the spacing isn't what feet expect, it can feel awkward.<br />
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I'm told that ideal steps have a 7" rise. The doorstep is 32" above grade. 32" / 7" = 4.5 steps. But you can't have 1/2 a step, so you round. 5 steps would give 6.4" rise, while 4 steps would give 8" rise. As rise decreases, run should increase to keep things comfortable. The 5 step flight would require a total run around 60", while a 4 step flight only needs a 44" total run. 4 steps is less work, less material, less space, and 8" is nice and round. 4 steps it is.<br />
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For width, I've read that 2-by treads can't be longer than 36" if they're only supported on the ends. Since our treads are untreated, I wanted to be careful about not overloading them. Our door is only 34". We chose 35" treads, giving a little wiggle room coming out of the door while being slightly stronger than 36" treads.<br />
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For the first tread, we embedded a piece of treated 2x12 we had sitting around. This was originally for use under Coach's tires for leveling, but our parking spot has been leveled out since then. Since it would have direct ground contact, treated seemed like a good choice here.<br />
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Attaching the top of the steps to the yurt would be tricky, since the joists are under the platform, and don't come all the way to the edge. But we did have some extra pier blocks which would do the trick.<br />
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We modeled the steps in Google Sketchup. This was particularly useful to figure out the angle to cut the tops of the posts. The Google Sketchup model told us that our 8:11 slope was 36 degrees. I assume trig was involved, but I didn't have to do any of it. My 4' level has can give a measurement within a few degrees.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/mini?mid=5b563a61eba7477dcb46f3c21090d5c0&etyp=im&width=400&height=300" width="400"></iframe><br />
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We have a pile of 3/4"-minus crushed rock that is slowly getting smaller. In this case, we used some to level under the bottom tread and under the pier blocks.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBjR1xMI6mYNi6twYMO-IjXz1-qEPiC0G8z3JrnawSobUG-XJ4wDrP9jtlDB2_5750B5nLFG0QsvLWNyRPWP2aqFVj0iEBw558llyVH2UFUzK_HTsIOcfNBZdPfDd1xddugq7oP3l5nU/s1600/Getting+started.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBjR1xMI6mYNi6twYMO-IjXz1-qEPiC0G8z3JrnawSobUG-XJ4wDrP9jtlDB2_5750B5nLFG0QsvLWNyRPWP2aqFVj0iEBw558llyVH2UFUzK_HTsIOcfNBZdPfDd1xddugq7oP3l5nU/s320/Getting+started.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
To get each step in exactly the right place:<br />
<ol><li>Attach one tread bracket to the left side of the tread.</li>
<li>Set a carpenter's square on the first step, on the right side.</li>
<li>Measure 8" up. This is the top of the step. Draw a line.</li>
<li>Come down 1.5" (true thickness of the tread). Draw a line.</li>
<li>Measure 11" back from the step below. Draw a line.</li>
<li>Place a tread bracket according to the lines, and secure it with one screw.</li>
<li>Flip the bracket over.</li>
<li>Attach the tread to the bracket.</li>
<li>Flip it back over.</li>
<li>Gently clamp the left bracket in place.</li>
<li>Level the tread front-to-back. Secure the right bracket to the stringer. Now the tread can't rotate.</li>
<li>Measure 11" back on the left side.</li>
<li>Level the tread left-to-right. Secure the left bracket to the stringer.</li>
<li>Repeat.</li>
</ol><div>I missed the step about measuring back 11" on the left side, but they all turned out within 1/2" anyway, so it's good enough.</div><div><br />
</div><div>My first step turned out 1/2" low. I can't explain why. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBBqH4mKYwRG5pj_3XEaPCaVXUtxPcVFB-kd0YUF1cXPnCQLXLRoLnb8g72y2-a8I0Vie6FHTCDxi9EsRvXNfypg-4OPXN6JMILIQ9UWTuC3tpYZp2GE62mB-QI-FPvKDUkEQ_4t7u6E/s1600/Measuring+bracket.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBBqH4mKYwRG5pj_3XEaPCaVXUtxPcVFB-kd0YUF1cXPnCQLXLRoLnb8g72y2-a8I0Vie6FHTCDxi9EsRvXNfypg-4OPXN6JMILIQ9UWTuC3tpYZp2GE62mB-QI-FPvKDUkEQ_4t7u6E/s320/Measuring+bracket.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>The kids loved the result.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Et7-lH_U1xkB-SIVt2SaY1iRm4LLrgfo19MUnqVmw94JxShPtApFx2Q80i3_j_lc071NfJ5JuN8maP6_j4AZErjyz8UdVXA0-dQMbvv990trPvzb0JTMAbsHTGidseJdjFi1Ap4dDMg/s1600/Steps+complete.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Et7-lH_U1xkB-SIVt2SaY1iRm4LLrgfo19MUnqVmw94JxShPtApFx2Q80i3_j_lc071NfJ5JuN8maP6_j4AZErjyz8UdVXA0-dQMbvv990trPvzb0JTMAbsHTGidseJdjFi1Ap4dDMg/s320/Steps+complete.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-26500818800446288742011-07-30T19:34:00.000-07:002011-07-30T19:34:24.125-07:00CompostThe old compost pile got full in a big hurry. It took about a month! I did have 2 big trash cans full of food scraps ready to go in on day 1, though.<br />
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Yesterday we built a new one. It's wire mesh fencing that we had from another project. A thick layer of straw goes on the bottom to provide extra carbon and catch liquid - we used a whole bale here.<br />
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The new pile has about twice the volume of the previous one. I hope it will last more than twice as long, as the compost should shrink over time as it loses water. But considering my plan to let it sit for a whole year, I'm going to end up with quite a few compost piles.<br />
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Now I just need a way to get out.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_BBLNOKO5EUGPr59EWZu5C6ktAJngNQ9BWjVu3iV241SoIb-7lLDyt9AI_gebFOmq12lPEnNUuH3UKDUz7xm1_bIMAfr1iUH2CLmF3jVjGKYz6_aMADTWilBuOAgWLNQBVp3NK96fqE/s1600/Trapped+in+the+compost.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_BBLNOKO5EUGPr59EWZu5C6ktAJngNQ9BWjVu3iV241SoIb-7lLDyt9AI_gebFOmq12lPEnNUuH3UKDUz7xm1_bIMAfr1iUH2CLmF3jVjGKYz6_aMADTWilBuOAgWLNQBVp3NK96fqE/s320/Trapped+in+the+compost.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-83226983957725963352011-07-10T16:00:00.000-07:002011-07-10T16:00:22.695-07:00Yurt raising, continuedThe plan was to put up walls on day 2. There was light rain in the morning, and I didn't want to trap any moisture in the wall layers. So we told our helpful friends not to come, and spent the day running errands.<div><br />
</div><div>By the late afternoon it had dried out, so Julie & I decided to go at the walls ourselves.</div><div><br />
</div><div>While the roof has 3 layers (a thin, white liner, a foil-faced bubble-wrap of insulation, and a heavy canvas cover), the walls are in two layers. The outer layer is the same heavy canvas as the roof. The inner layer is foil-faced bubble-wrap, with a piece of white liner sewn on one side. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The outer canvas is in two pieces: a large one around 70' long that covers 3/4s of the perimeter; a small one around 23' long that covers the other 1/4. The two doors sit at 6 o'clock and 3 o'clock. Get it? There are cutouts for windows, with sewn-in fly screens, a clear vinyl window held by velcro, and a heavy roll-down outer cover. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The inner insulation comes in pieces. There are 5 identical window pieces + 7 panels of varying length. It's a puzzle to figure out which insulation piece goes where. A new yurt comes with these details, but we don't have them. We do have this key attached to one of the insulation panels:</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGi9Q7YQ5TpnRx5ZJHeHJzh3sQ4jdHaJMuZDcXWyzHva71VzAI0wWTnqFuJ2X-vgDU5Idq2pLAmnx4Ri3wAHJ8bK_o4UlRhNlVEHcCeq508LglmYQZPd_vE0km3TQXj5ORWGClDl75XQA/s1600/Insulation+panel+key.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGi9Q7YQ5TpnRx5ZJHeHJzh3sQ4jdHaJMuZDcXWyzHva71VzAI0wWTnqFuJ2X-vgDU5Idq2pLAmnx4Ri3wAHJ8bK_o4UlRhNlVEHcCeq508LglmYQZPd_vE0km3TQXj5ORWGClDl75XQA/s320/Insulation+panel+key.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>The instructions say to hang up the insulation panels first, loosely. Then install the outer canvas cover, and cinch it down just right. Then go back and align the panels and zip-tie them in to place. <b>This is wrong</b>. It's easier to put the canvas on first. You can slide the insulation in from underneath next, aligning it with the canvas that is already in the right place. We didn't know this, so we attached the insulation according to the instructions. The result looks like a classic UFO:</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWr1JXrVHGHKywmf_dgoO5-Pl3NkGhLU2Gdh7RUjyYQg1Z1Wair49vaaH7DgDPWIbFUZwkXLmkcyCwTc0FdcFl9SphePKV8NbcqFF_xvSTh8_6PUeFE6HGFZ03OWFXypI_XzlXLhcX9TM/s1600/UFO.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWr1JXrVHGHKywmf_dgoO5-Pl3NkGhLU2Gdh7RUjyYQg1Z1Wair49vaaH7DgDPWIbFUZwkXLmkcyCwTc0FdcFl9SphePKV8NbcqFF_xvSTh8_6PUeFE6HGFZ03OWFXypI_XzlXLhcX9TM/s320/UFO.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>We did get a little help with the larger canvas wall, because it's heavy and there was lot of tedious ladder work on the uneven ground there. Once we got it up that was enough for the day; making it snug will come later:</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcx2PaZBPDF5d6ljzKRQAuWzNhEVkRHpRzKkGrmLozzUWADACst7clNwjETNRE03vzqYszDidWBHzmDLDc2YUSNFKFNR0riCqPL5yrtBd7FGFNOLWSGlEB1gNEkrbBYOgL761C5f3c2bk/s1600/Droopy+yurt+walls+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcx2PaZBPDF5d6ljzKRQAuWzNhEVkRHpRzKkGrmLozzUWADACst7clNwjETNRE03vzqYszDidWBHzmDLDc2YUSNFKFNR0riCqPL5yrtBd7FGFNOLWSGlEB1gNEkrbBYOgL761C5f3c2bk/s320/Droopy+yurt+walls+.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-80734072749548439382011-07-07T10:59:00.000-07:002011-07-07T10:59:34.850-07:00Yurt raising: day 1Here are some pics from a day of yurt raising:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCOKD6Y8K9PZYdfQhWe_GBQG7v-ip6bllPTI_jJbOkHXyjf-1BsHx2Nh3V1Y11-41051LILNDOnYjrDuQHTZFAvVHbh4UsOqGC-_sAXIxOMR_ELQWoWkstgjKB7CHTtA4chRsKw5DCjU/s1600/yurt+raising+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPCOKD6Y8K9PZYdfQhWe_GBQG7v-ip6bllPTI_jJbOkHXyjf-1BsHx2Nh3V1Y11-41051LILNDOnYjrDuQHTZFAvVHbh4UsOqGC-_sAXIxOMR_ELQWoWkstgjKB7CHTtA4chRsKw5DCjU/s320/yurt+raising+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEkCrsTO_xdZI0r7krw7oKlxsZKW3ML8pNrCXW5Si-_rURNoxSwcYRq5fTHQHrj8MQaMV1awOpRxG1JeKEQmnaU-0v5sOlBB6lh2XNFfdzs_8p2qo1oy3SljzmT6Blle9hyphenhyphenUPbCABUr4/s1600/yurt+raising+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEkCrsTO_xdZI0r7krw7oKlxsZKW3ML8pNrCXW5Si-_rURNoxSwcYRq5fTHQHrj8MQaMV1awOpRxG1JeKEQmnaU-0v5sOlBB6lh2XNFfdzs_8p2qo1oy3SljzmT6Blle9hyphenhyphenUPbCABUr4/s320/yurt+raising+002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JOwGL_GdDfH2cFBgGdhbZ7N2ytCdtYRM_XrzpWtbsw5GfbsfyCivXjUUBf-ovfbVLPijTYuaf40obZLwcPN_ian8UUAhF6lz8KwIRTDdh1dGPoaUN3HT1VQnOUlPBeIdytfkneseDw0/s1600/yurt+raising+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JOwGL_GdDfH2cFBgGdhbZ7N2ytCdtYRM_XrzpWtbsw5GfbsfyCivXjUUBf-ovfbVLPijTYuaf40obZLwcPN_ian8UUAhF6lz8KwIRTDdh1dGPoaUN3HT1VQnOUlPBeIdytfkneseDw0/s320/yurt+raising+003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Getting the top canvas cover on was the hardest part, as expected. It's big, heavy, and unwieldy. We passed it up through the hole in the roof, and the spread it out and wrestled it in to place. It went smoothly thanks to many hands.<br />
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Today it's a little rainy so we're going to wait to put on the walls.Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-46603254562357016792011-06-27T16:24:00.000-07:002011-06-27T16:24:05.771-07:00Frost-free hydrantsWhile we had the trenches open for electricity, we also put in water lines. Now, next to each subpanel there is a "frost-free yard hydrant." It looks like this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBs7QFwHJkVaTNgllIA3Ok0IChk43GO2CC26_5me6umq4nyTQuRAodfbz1Mcbzofy_6Jp22dI1KcSRxEpGTHrVdlR7znV7qUpZpSFMXmgxbrluzX0M8cWVrDKC3a4VwjnbtC-4CxSFm7A/s1600/Hydrant.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBs7QFwHJkVaTNgllIA3Ok0IChk43GO2CC26_5me6umq4nyTQuRAodfbz1Mcbzofy_6Jp22dI1KcSRxEpGTHrVdlR7znV7qUpZpSFMXmgxbrluzX0M8cWVrDKC3a4VwjnbtC-4CxSFm7A/s320/Hydrant.JPG" width="203" /></a></div><br />
The drain rock catches lost water without it making a mess. You can set a bucket on the rock, or hang the bucket from the hydrant.<br />
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When you turn off the water, a valve at the bottom opens and drains the vertical pipe underground. This prevents damage from freezing in the winter.<br />
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Underground, the water pipe is connected to the hydrant with brass fittings. Apparently many installers use plastic fittings, which snap when you attach a hose and tug. Also, a metal fence post reinforces the hydrant.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP1WGJ5hiHf579Tb7pdj9TeouKq6G4Br0uzTv4Lj8mLCYoFbJ9R8kwlqcLf_1QB0s-qOTLAXm4t9WX8ulJCc-ODV7Exz-l4QkPee2ByV1R3RHBlWRBrJ9yUXTId03s9qmNPeWFegqq-Wk/s1600/Hydrant+construction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP1WGJ5hiHf579Tb7pdj9TeouKq6G4Br0uzTv4Lj8mLCYoFbJ9R8kwlqcLf_1QB0s-qOTLAXm4t9WX8ulJCc-ODV7Exz-l4QkPee2ByV1R3RHBlWRBrJ9yUXTId03s9qmNPeWFegqq-Wk/s320/Hydrant+construction.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-78150972885428125022011-06-27T16:23:00.000-07:002011-06-27T16:23:01.263-07:00Wiring a second subpanelPreviously <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-1-design.html">I wired up a subpanel to supply power to the septic system</a>. As long as we had the heavy equipment on site, I wanted to bring utilities to the yurt/RV site, too.<br />
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The plan was similar: 2" conduit from the main panel to a subpanel on a 6" x 6" pressure treated post by the yurt. A receptacle on the post.<br />
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Last time I used 2-2-2 aluminum feeder wire, which was rejected because it lacked a ground wire. This time I knew better, so I went for 2-2-2-4 aluminum. I went to Home Depot on Father's Day. I wanted to buy the wire in the morning, and bring my family out to install the subpanel in the afternoon. I figured it'd be fast since we'd done this before. At Home Depot it took a long time to find someone to help me with wire, and then he said I'd have to wait 2 hours while they got it down from the high shelf, measured, cut, etc. I didn't get home until 6pm. We decided to postpone Father's Day until Monday.<br />
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The wire was on a fresh 500' spool. I bought 240' (11 sticks of 20' conduit in the ground + 5' riser at each end + 10' extra, just in case). They measured 260' off the spool and gave me the rest. I think they should sell me the entire spool, and refund me what I don't use. It would save them the hassle of measuring & coiling 260' of wire, the spool is useful when running the wire, and I could avoid buying the extra.<br />
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As before, we used the Shop Vac to suck a mason's line through the conduit. We used that to pull a 1/4" nylon rope. My rope was only 230' long, and so it wasn't quite long enough. That's OK, we'll just start the pull with the mason's line (when it's easy) and then do the rest with the larger rope. Just when we were about to pull the wire, I lost the little bit of mason's line. We had to pull out the yellow rope, untangle the mason's line, and vacuum it through again, and pull in the yellow rope again.<br />
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We discovered we could communicate by talking through the conduit. That was pretty fun. Worked better than yelling through the woods, too.<br />
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240' of 2-2-2-4 Al wire on a big spool is pretty heavy. To unwind it, we put a stick of conduit through the middle and propped it up on a <a href="http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=17884">step ladder</a>. The wire is so stiff that it's a job just to pull it off the spool. It's another job to push the wire bundle in to the conduit at one and, and 3rd job to pull the rope at the other end.<br />
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When I wired the first subpanel, I tapped the main panel with a 60A breaker. (Remember that my plan was 30A, but #2 wire will only fit in a 60A breaker. Fine). Well, the main panel has a restriction that the largest breaker allowed on the left side, with aluminum wire, is 50A. So the breaker goes on the right.<br />
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The panel only has 4 full-sized slots, two on each side, so that limited my options for tapping for the second subpanel:<br />
<ul><li>Splice the feeder down (in the panel) to smaller gauge copper. Since voltage drop and conductor cost are unimportant over this short distance, you can use minimum-sized copper (#8 for 50A, for example, much easier to bend) and it will fit in a smaller breaker.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ilsco.com//Images/ProductImages/SPA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ilsco.com//Images/ProductImages/SPA.jpg" /></a></div><ul><li>Crimp on a reducing pin adapter. These require a special crimping tool, which isn't useful for much else.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ilsco.com//Images/ProductImages/ACM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ilsco.com//Images/ProductImages/ACM.jpg" /></a></div><ul><li>Tap the feed-through lugs. You don't get a dedicated breaker, you just attach the feeders directly to the bottom of the main panel.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJa6d7u3uJrzpAeWH_3rQoXwC_lX9DkRs-An_X5gAYzs1PhAmDVla_iBbCnPg1XWON7NWTDKCLMN1C3UV6nxSRwSj3BevOfHYvtAVuYSj6qcMQX-qa9vA5hbPvaVlK-TaqA0Abs8lNyZQ/s1600/main+panel+%2528before%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJa6d7u3uJrzpAeWH_3rQoXwC_lX9DkRs-An_X5gAYzs1PhAmDVla_iBbCnPg1XWON7NWTDKCLMN1C3UV6nxSRwSj3BevOfHYvtAVuYSj6qcMQX-qa9vA5hbPvaVlK-TaqA0Abs8lNyZQ/s320/main+panel+%2528before%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
There's a special rule that a subpanel's feeder wires can be protected by a breaker at either end - at the main panel or at the subpanel. (Or both, which can be convenient). The nice thing about protecting at the subpanel is that you don't have to walk to the main panel to shut off the sub. </li>
</ul><div>I selected the last option.</div><div><br />
</div>Some panels can take a main breaker, but the only outdoor-rated main breaker panel at Home Depot was enormous - 20 spaces - and I knew I didn't need that much. I went with the same 8-space panel I used for the septic subpanel, and added a backfed main breaker. This means a regular breaker in a regular slot, but the power is going through it backwards - from the wires *into* the panel, not the other way.<br />
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The main annoyance with a backfed breaker is that you have to attach a special retainer clip to the breaker, so a future electrician doesn't pull the breaker and assume that it's dead. I bought a backfed breaker retainer clip when I was at Home Depot, but apparently I bought the <a href="http://www.sea.siemens.com/us/internet-dms/btlv/Residential/Residential-Murray/docs/ECMBR2.pdf">MBR2</a> and this panel needed an <a href="http://www.sea.siemens.com/us/internet-dms/btlv/Residential/Residential-Murray/docs/ECMBR1.pdf">MBR1</a>. Doh.<br />
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It's just a little bit of plastic, nothing complicated or expensive. But neither local hardware store had one. Double D Electric, an electrician with a retail operation, had a box full of MBR2, and an empty box labeled MBR1. Damn.<br />
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I had them special order the MBR1 and finished the rest of the wiring while I waited. There are receptacles in a weatherproof box on the post - this time I used a double-gang box so I could have 4 total outlets.<br />
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Ground rods in the ditch - the ground was very hard so they barely moved under the force of the rotohammer. They just made it in the first foot, and then I bent them over.<br />
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Neutral 3 lug kits - one for each end of the ground wire + one for the neutral wire at the main panel.<br />
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Because the wire is long and expensive, I wanted to cut it long. Suppose I screw up & need to cut the end off? Or I want to move the panel a short distance? At the main panel end, I put in a loop.<br />
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At the subpanel end there's not enough room for a loop, so I sent the wire on a long journey in the panel. It comes in at the bottom, turns right, then up the right side, across the top, down the left 1/2-way, and in to the breaker.<br />
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Finally the hold-down clip arrived at 2pm. The cutoff for requesting an electrical inspection is 4pm. I wanted to get the job 100% done before calling, in case something needed more work. Picked it up from the shop, headed out to the site, and spent 15 minutes trying to figure out which end was up. I snaps in to the bottom of the breaker in a specific way. Then you install the breaker in the panel and the clip snaps it a special slot. Turns out this slot is on the *<b>right</b>* side of the panel, and I had installed the breaker on the left. Time to re-route the feeder wire. This #2 stuff is hard to bend, and I had too much of it (on purpose). I wrestled it in to a new shape, going up the right, then down the right, then back up the right in to the breaker. It's a bit crowded in there, but it works. It was still before 4pm, so I called in the inspection.<br />
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The only work left was to label the panel's front plate and remove the knockouts for the breakers. I had waited to do this until the retainer clip was installed because I knew there was a chance I'd need to move the breakers around, and I wanted to avoid popping out the wrong knockouts. Good thing, since I had to move the breaker just as I'd feared.<br />
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I carefully oriented the front panel correctly, picked the right knockouts, and removed them. Then I put the panel on the breaker box and discovered that I had it backwards. Wrong knockouts. This is why I keep filler plates on hand.<br />
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I never saw the inspector, but the next time I looked at the panel, there was a sticker and the permit had notes of approval on it. Yes! I'm done wiring for a while.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2apkQGSlABffsqYNljeypbjIBhol3_TD26l58sxTXmr3aOBSa43-hl9-5xhDQ-cZ3ABzmLCa8hTaQYIr6hPjolZk48agelsc7RfEKJDpRxEZKcr-nFjeqxTMMC2gVlPTyMX9Ur-YMtUA/s1600/Electrial+permit+1985083P.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2apkQGSlABffsqYNljeypbjIBhol3_TD26l58sxTXmr3aOBSa43-hl9-5xhDQ-cZ3ABzmLCa8hTaQYIr6hPjolZk48agelsc7RfEKJDpRxEZKcr-nFjeqxTMMC2gVlPTyMX9Ur-YMtUA/s640/Electrial+permit+1985083P.jpg" width="489" /></a></div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-23302429794775074522011-06-26T23:50:00.000-07:002011-06-26T23:50:21.926-07:00Septic system squirt testA few days ago they did the "squirt test" on the septic system:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uXTw8NlOFuI" width="640"></iframe><br />
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We have clay-rich soils, which water has a hard time seeping through. To compensate, the trenches are first excavated to 4', then backfilled with washed sand to 2'. The drain lines are embedded in a couple inches of drain rock. A layer of landscape fabric above that keeps out fine dirt. Then the top of filled with the spoils of excavation, back to grade.<br />
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Because our soil percolates so poorly, the drain field is oversized - double the size for good soil. This way, the soil gets 1/2 as much effluent. A problem with a very large drain field is getting water through the pipes all the way to the end. A small flow of effluent would exit the pipes near the beginning, leaving the end of the drain field dry. To make the whole drain field operate, the system waits until there's enough effluent in a holding tank, and then squirts a predetermined dose in to the drain field with a strong pump. The system is programmed not to exceed the absorbtion capacity of the soil. If you produce a lot of wastewater in a short time, it will fill the tanks and trigger the alarm, but it won't overload the drain field.<br />
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We have 6 trenches, each 50' long, for a total of 60' of drain line. There's a manifold that distributes the effluent to the 6 trenches. The manifold has adjustment valves to ensure that the effluent is evenly distributed throughout the drainfield. In the video, the designer activate the pump and observed that the water squirted to the same height across the whole drain field.<br />
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The original septic design was for a 5-bedroom system, which required a much bigger drain field. That's too big to pump to the extremities, so the design used a "ratcheting valve". This split the drain field in half, alternating the doses. Because we downsized to a 3-bedroom system, we got to skip the ratcheting valve, but we needed a bigger pump - 1.5hp, 240V 15A, hence the <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-1-design.html">big wiring operation</a>.<br />
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They did a "drawdown test" as well. They measured the height of the water in the pump's holding tank, turned on the pump for a set period, then measured again. From this they calculated that the pump can squirt out 100 gallons per minute - wow! Based on the desired size of a dose, the figured that the pump should run for 27 seconds each time. There's a minimum of 4 hours between cycles, so that's about 3 minutes per day, tops. All that wiring for 3 minutes per day?<br />
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After the test was complete, the designer and his assistant mapped out the locations of the trenches and inspection ports, which they'll draw up back at the office (for a fee). Then the builder finished filling the trenches and grading the soil. The septic system is done.<br />
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The health department will do another inspection before giving the final approval.Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-17616258755597531632011-06-18T20:44:00.000-07:002011-06-18T20:44:40.169-07:00How to build a yurt platform - part 10Today we:<br />
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- installed all the foam insulation panels<br />
- attached the perimeter blocking<br />
- installed all the yurt decking<br />
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In progress:<br />
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Installing the last piece:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/L5dBLeY0x_8" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Done.<br />
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That's straw on the ground, because it was muddy today.<br />
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Next:<br />
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- Attaching the plywood drip edge<br />
- Sand and paint the deck<br />
- Possibly install an electric subpanel on the post visible in the above picture, to make power available for the saw & sander.Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-92220599394875044012011-06-18T09:45:00.000-07:002011-06-18T09:45:36.875-07:00How to build a yurt platform - part 9Previously, <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-build-yurt-platform-part-8.html">we got the joists in place</a> and took a break from yurt work to <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-1-design.html">wire up the septic system</a>. Now there are several next steps going on at once:<br />
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<b>bracing</b> - we want to make sure the deck doesn't rack and collapse, either from the weight of a big party or during an earthquake. There aren't easy answers to the question "what is the correct way to brace my deck?" as it varies by seismic zone, loading, fastener schedules, post heights, joist spacing, wood strength, etc. Every deck is a bit different. In my case, the posts line up along the joists, but not along them, so bracing in that direction is tricky. I eventually picked a bracing strategy, but describing it in words would be difficult. If you want to know more, come for a visit! I bought a bunch of 2" x 4" lumber to use for bracing, and then used several of those sticks to hold up the 6" x 6" posts for the electric subpanels. Those will be there until we fill in the ditches, which may be a ways out. Once the floor is in, it will be harder to get in to install bracing. I put some in the middle, where it will be hardest to reach, and will add more bracing at the perimeter later.<br />
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<b>insulation</b> - A 700 sq. ft. yurt platform has almost as many sq. ft. of insulation. In this case, 2"-thick foam boards that have been crowding my garage for the last 6 months. They are manufactured as 4' x 8' panels, but the joist spacing is already 4' on center, so they were each cut back about 3.5" to fit. They were held in place by lathe strips screwed in to the joists. I want to install the insulation as we go, from above, instead of waiting until the flooring is in and crawling around below. So we went around and installed the lathe strips everywhere. We can't drop in all the insulation at once, because then we couldn't walk anywhere while installing the flooring, except for stepping on the joists. So we do a bit at a time. We didn't number when taking them apart, so now it's a puzzle.<br />
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<b>flooring</b> - it's 1 1/8" tongue-and-groove plywood, typically used as a subfloor. The sheets are heavy enough that you really want two people carrying each one. They fit together like a puzzle, as some of them were cut to the 30' diameter circle. Luckily we numbered these as we took them apart. Again, because we don't want to block access to the insulation, we install these a bit at a time.<br />
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<b>perimeter blocking</b> - there are some 2" x 6" boards attached to the ends of the joists. These were nailed in haphazardly before, but I'm using screws and Simpson A35 brackets. We could put all these in at once, but then getting in and out of the yurt platform would be harder - we'd have to climb over or duck under. So I want to wait. But they need to go in at the same time as the insulation, since they help hold it in place.<br />
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As you can see, getting the floor, insulation, and blocking all in at the same time is a little tricky, at least for me the amateur carpenter.<br />
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I'm a little worried about getting the placement of the first floor panel just right. If one corner is off by 1/4", the other end will be way off. Some trig would tell us how much, but I'm not going there<br />
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Yesterday we got to the point where we were almost ready to screw down the first panel, but we want to be sure of the alignment. We'll get that today, and then start filling in the rest of the deck.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdC8OM6mjAVLVlBob94nEhnB6sesuEcv6QMrCEad5nO5ZiqE6QXc7SUvMO9P1eUhyJSUNLxn2sGOaSv_0tUKV2QYmOUni4E1BWHIe7kyYDZc-kL7sE-TSOxiEE-BAyS_3kyrZeHluTuAg/s1600/yurt+001+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdC8OM6mjAVLVlBob94nEhnB6sesuEcv6QMrCEad5nO5ZiqE6QXc7SUvMO9P1eUhyJSUNLxn2sGOaSv_0tUKV2QYmOUni4E1BWHIe7kyYDZc-kL7sE-TSOxiEE-BAyS_3kyrZeHluTuAg/s320/yurt+001+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-35749107986638076012011-06-16T23:27:00.000-07:002011-06-16T23:29:29.276-07:00Septic wiring - 6 - inspection<div>Previously: <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-5-torque.html">torque</a><br />
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When everything was finally wired up, I called in for an inspection. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The electrical trade is regulated by the state around here - Department of Labor and Industries. You can apply for a permit online in about 10 minutes. Then you print out the permit and post it on the job site. They also give you a secret code to request inspections or change the permit. They do *not* email this information to you. If you lose it, there's no easy way to get it back.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I lost my secret code. To request an inspection, I had to call and leave a message. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The next day I went to the site and worked a bit on the yurt. At one point I saw an official-looking pickup truck turn around in the driveway and take off. Wait! Don't go, I'm right here! I tried to chase them down but no luck. I called the L&I office, and found out they had no record of me requesting an inspection. Bummer. They put me down for the next day.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The inspector was very nice, full of good advice. He rejected my work, though, because I actually *did* need a ground wire from the subpanel back to the main panel, *in addition* to the ground rods. Belt-and-suspenders. I shoulda gotten that 2-2-2-4 from the Home Depot. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Luckily I had left a pull string in the conduit. (Mason's line. It's cheap and strong.) Unluckily, I had dropped one end down the conduit a couple days before. Oops! To get it out, I taped a scrap of 3/4" conduit to the shop vac hose, stuck it down the conduit, and picked up the string. To stop that from happening, I tied the ends of the pull strings to little pieces of 3/4" conduit.</div><div><br />
</div><div>At the local hardware store I bought a new ground wire - #10 copper, 170' long, $80. We used that to pull the copper through, connected it on both ends, and called in another inspection. This time I passed. Yay! </div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's the main panel. You can see the large aluminum feeders to the subpanel, and the copious spare wire to the receptacle on that post. You can also see an unused conduit for another subpanel that I plan to install soon.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoao1kZpYkE6Kld3tGKbudneq76aspirvWXOVVbWq8PQtizL7acUPGpb_0o5ABfiO3vnL98nOYelDId4YgbeuNcBdJHA62zdbsexjDVxQjUxtJrRZGs0Ao81igPyhOOmZ8x0qQj0iI4c/s1600/main+panel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoao1kZpYkE6Kld3tGKbudneq76aspirvWXOVVbWq8PQtizL7acUPGpb_0o5ABfiO3vnL98nOYelDId4YgbeuNcBdJHA62zdbsexjDVxQjUxtJrRZGs0Ao81igPyhOOmZ8x0qQj0iI4c/s320/main+panel.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
The subpanel. Note the neutral bus bar on the right, and the ground bus bar on the left.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iYl9JydMBxCoJ4IASA7mT5Tpqi8uGfGvFxyIxpNMYVQBykOlm2K1kHa8uS86525B4No6hYT_w6bepUpvcwdoLnPmXkXYPiC3uFo4h5wabiOWLuCiXcC3JGEG-vYEI8b0PebwD9N_F2o/s1600/subpanel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iYl9JydMBxCoJ4IASA7mT5Tpqi8uGfGvFxyIxpNMYVQBykOlm2K1kHa8uS86525B4No6hYT_w6bepUpvcwdoLnPmXkXYPiC3uFo4h5wabiOWLuCiXcC3JGEG-vYEI8b0PebwD9N_F2o/s320/subpanel.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
The completed septic alarm/control box. Note the grey duct seal goop on the conduits going to the septic system, to stop "corrosive gasses" from getting in to the panel. On the left is the documentation for all the electronics, stuffed in to the box for future reference.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqygrYgn4P4H7qD4uY002V3mvIpW-jNQqhHNT2EdhpckCeY92nLH_2kFJIYjWk-Wn14A0uao4Vdi2d6wAtkYQUgRCgnIkaoIlYrZ-0p-ViLL4f79rXHjpzvOx10k7WImSqJCbsi4MIk7I/s1600/septic+control+panel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqygrYgn4P4H7qD4uY002V3mvIpW-jNQqhHNT2EdhpckCeY92nLH_2kFJIYjWk-Wn14A0uao4Vdi2d6wAtkYQUgRCgnIkaoIlYrZ-0p-ViLL4f79rXHjpzvOx10k7WImSqJCbsi4MIk7I/s320/septic+control+panel.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-16841385957537005532011-06-16T23:16:00.000-07:002011-06-16T23:32:21.901-07:00Septic wiring - 5 - torque<div>Previously: <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-4-grounding.html">grounding</a><br />
<br />
I wasn't sure about how to torque the wire lugs properly. I have a simple torque wrench that I used for motorcycle work long ago. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31FjMlADIqL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31FjMlADIqL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>It works fine with sockets, but it's unwieldy for turning screws. I wanted to hand-torque everything, but as I read about it, it seemed like a good idea to get the torque right. Plus, an inspector could reject the work if the torque wasn't right.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I ended up buying a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Firearms-Accurizing-Torque-Wrench/dp/B0012AXR4S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1308286079&sr=8-2">torque screwdriver marketed for firearms</a>:</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Xn-6UMP9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Xn-6UMP9L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>I wrote down the torque values I used and printed up a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SwiBqXbi_2-qfaVuG-9l13SOO0pqbmYqjJz7KmO-NVM/edit?hl=en_US">torque schedule</a> for the inspector, along with a summary of the work I did. I heard a story of an inspector who took one look at a torque schedule and told the electrician "this is all I need to see" and passed him. I figured I needed all the help I could get.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Next: <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-6-inspection.html">Inspection</a></div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-54299259302531239532011-06-16T23:12:00.000-07:002011-06-16T23:31:44.798-07:00Septic wiring - 4 - grounding<div>Previously: <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-3-wiring.html">wiring</a><br />
<br />
It used to be that subpanels would run a ground wire back to the main panel, and that was good enough. That's 4 conductors: hot/hot/neutral/ground. The neutral and the ground are bonded in the main panel, meaning they connect to the same bus bar. In a subpanel, though, neutral and ground are kept separate, to stop the ground conductor from carrying the neutral current.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Today subpanels get their own ground rods. These are 8' long, 5/8" diameter galvanized steel rods. You drive them in to the ground 6' apart, and then attach a ground wire to them with special ground rod clamps.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Grounding has two important jobs. First, if lightening strikes the electrical system, the ground wires will carry the current away safely. Second, the metal housing on many machines & appliances is connected to the ground. Normally the ground conductor carries no current, but if a hot wire ever touches that metal housing, it will short & trip the breaker. If it's not grounded, then the housing gets energized, and can shock you if you touch it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Around here, ground rods are trouble. The subsoil gets extremely hard around 4' below grade. When they put the water main in the street, they had to use a big jackhammer to break it up. They said it was harder than breaking up concrete.</div><div><br />
</div><div>There's no reasonable way to put ground rods in to an 8' depth. Luckily I already knew this from watching the pro install the main panel. You drive the rods in as far as they'll go, then bend them over in the trench. I rented a rotary hammer to put in the ground rods. I planned ahead so they'd still be 6' apart when bent over. When I was done, I discovered they were too close by about 2". I don't know if an inspector would get out a tape measure, or whether they'd reject the work for 2". It was easy to fix, though - I just turned one of them around, to face the other way in the trench. Unfortunately the ground wire ended up much longer, to be able to go from subpanel to one ground rod and then the other. That wire alone cost $25.</div><div><br />
</div><div>(In some places they require the ground wire to have both ends in the subpanel, so it makes a big loop. Guess we're lucky.)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Next: <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-5-torque.html">torque</a>.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4113509260404255561.post-88279544718220428752011-06-16T23:04:00.000-07:002011-06-16T23:31:14.550-07:00Septic wiring - 3 - wiring<div>Previously: <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-2-shopping.html">shopping</a><br />
<br />
Back at the ranch, I put the subpanel on the post, and glued up the conduit. I plugged in my shop vac and taped it to one end of the conduit. </div><div><br />
</div><div>At the other end of the conduit we had a spool of mason's twine tied to a plastic bag. The shop vac easily sucked the bag through, pulling the twine behind. This goes really fast. In fact it's so fast that the twine quickly cuts a groove in the edge of the conduit. Watch out for that.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Realize that I was sticking my hands in to a hot electrical panel at this point. No good way to avoid that, though.</div><div><br />
</div><div>We used the twine to pull a 1/4" nylon rope, which we then used to pull the aluminum feeder wire through. Hard work even with wire lube. Arms tired.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I bought a 30A double pole breaker for the main panel, but found the #2 wire wouldn't fit the breaker lugs - too big! You can buy special reducers that crimp on, but then you need a special crimper, too. I decided to upsize the breaker to one that could take #2 wire. I ended up with a 60A breaker. Sheesh. My project to power a 15A pump had turned in to a 60A project.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I did try to push a length of 12/3 + ground UG cable through the 3/4" conduit to the pump. With 3 elbows, it was very difficult. We even used wire lube, but that wasn't enough. We eventually gave up. When we pulled the wire out, the lube picked up grit from the ground. Yecchh. It turned out that 12/3+G was unnecessary, as the pump is 240V only, not 240V/120V, and so doesn't need a neutral conductor. </div><div><br />
</div><div><div>I wired up the subpanel feeder and the receptacle on the subpanel post. Then I plugged in the shopvac there, and used it to suck pull strings in to the 3/4" conduits to the septic pump chamber. Electricity is so useful. This may be a violation of electrical regulations, as I was using circuits that hadn't been inspected yet. But maybe none of this is historical fact, but merely my opinion.</div><div><br />
</div><div>With the pull string, it was easy to get the wiring through. I left a pull string behind in each conduit, just in case I needed to pull something else in the future.</div></div><div><br />
</div><div>While wiring the septic alarm/control panel, I realized I needed another circuit. It wants its own 120V circuit, separate from the pump. It's not uncommon for pump circuits to trip. If they shared a breaker, the alarm wouldn't sound. Another reason the subpanel approach was a good choice!</div><div><br />
</div><div>To wire the control panel, you first have to drill holes in the bottom for the conduit. One for incoming power, one for outgoing pump power, one for the transducer.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I had 3/4" conduit, so I drilled a 3/4" hole with a spade bit. Those are meant for wood, and this was plastic. Spade bits were what I had already. They cut really slowly and made a big mess of plastic shavings on the ground. Sorry, ground.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Wrong size, though. 3/4" conduit needs a larger hole for its fittings. OK, try a 1" spade bit. Closer, but still not big enough. Some internet research, and I found that 3/4" conduit connects to 1 1/8" holes. I bought a 1 1/8" hole saw. The holes turned out nicely, but controlling it was hard - it was easy to pop through the plastic and hit the delicate internals. Maybe I should have removed them first? I also used a small grinder to enlarge the first hole to the proper size.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I sure wish they drilled the holes at the factory, or even provided knockouts.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It took me a couple iterations to get the wiring to the control panel right. There are 5 conductors coming in:</div><div><div><ul><li>hot to alarm</li>
<li>neutral to alarm</li>
<li>hot 1 to pump</li>
<li>hot 2 to pump</li>
<li>ground</li>
</ul></div></div><div>I had 12/3+G cable (black, white, red, bare). I also knew I could pull conductors out of a cable as needed. White is usually neutral, but you can can use it for hot if you mark it with colored tape or paint. I wasn't sure what combination of options I liked, so I went to <a href="http://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/6827/when-wiring-two-circuits-through-the-same-conduit-what-wire-coloring-is-required">DIY Stackexchange</a>. I ended up with separate conductors, arrange liked this:</div><div><ul><li><b>blue </b>hot to alarm</li>
<li><b>white</b> neutral to alarm</li>
<li><b>black </b>hot 1 to pump</li>
<li><b>red </b>hot 2 to pump</li>
<li><b>bare </b>ground</li>
</ul></div><div>I like this because everything gets it's own color. It's <a href="http://wiki.whereareyourkeys.org/Obviously!">obvious</a> what is what.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div>Here's the 6x6 post with the alarm/control panel on the left, and the subpanel on the right. You can see the flex conduit with the conductors in it, ready to go.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmmF9Sus8KR_klyXK6ekKnfMEJUzOe3qKOOr6ZQFRGlgsAI213gZY4DBR6l48zmJwW7Fc_yPnwoqdruedtXQQII-Vk_NF-nnJM9L6ocn7Ofg-77otjnmQr6Vex-1J4Sv2N9vhMq5uM1o/s1600/Subpanel+and+septic+control+panel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmmF9Sus8KR_klyXK6ekKnfMEJUzOe3qKOOr6ZQFRGlgsAI213gZY4DBR6l48zmJwW7Fc_yPnwoqdruedtXQQII-Vk_NF-nnJM9L6ocn7Ofg-77otjnmQr6Vex-1J4Sv2N9vhMq5uM1o/s320/Subpanel+and+septic+control+panel.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br />
</div><div>To get the conductors, I stripped the outer sheath off the 12/3+G cable. That was kinda hard, so for the run from the control panel to the pump, I just used 12/2+G, and put red electrical tape on both ends of the white conductor.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I bought the blue separately. It was the only stranded wire, and it was much easier to work with in this confined space. I wish I had used all stranded wire. A professional electrician can keep 500' spools of stranded #12 wire in the truck in a variety of colors, and pull off what they need. I have to measure ahead of time, add 10% just in case, and go on a shopping trip.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's the result. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixGnGjWIkngpQkEDBifDZ3YbrSz3E9Vma4e3wLN6J-GDGUNvnREKT5ZkQ8Ucfg42_Si4n4u5TBwqLaA9QacT6MhifvLZuvTdNlxX5cW1ixGmjDF2oZuf5O8IME0HvjUgMDiZ4sh08oPQ/s1600/Control+panel+in+progress.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixGnGjWIkngpQkEDBifDZ3YbrSz3E9Vma4e3wLN6J-GDGUNvnREKT5ZkQ8Ucfg42_Si4n4u5TBwqLaA9QacT6MhifvLZuvTdNlxX5cW1ixGmjDF2oZuf5O8IME0HvjUgMDiZ4sh08oPQ/s320/Control+panel+in+progress.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>From left to right: alarm speaker, power in, power out to pump, transducer cable.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I worry so much about cutting wires too short, or about needing to put a new end on a wire in the future, or about wanting to rearrange things and needing a little slack. I try to cut everything as long as I can. Perhaps I should just cut to length, as it would make the wiring much neater. Thanks to conduit, replacing wire in the future is not very hard. *shrug*</div><div><br />
</div><div>Next: <a href="http://jbazuzihouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/septic-wiring-4-grounding.html">grounding</a></div><div><br />
</div>Jay Bazuzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08378140547104387042noreply@blogger.com0