I told 99 lbs just his morning that I'm going to open that very same same bottle that was gifted to me a few years back!
I hate.....actually despise doing things twice! I would be boring the holes in the joists for cable runs now. Heck, I'd even consider running the romex now and slapping on the nail guards while it is easier to perform the tasks.
I'm not positive exactly how old the house is, but it belonged to the grandmother of a man who was born in the 1950s, so it's not young. Some of the rafters are fairly square, but yup, some are pretty much full logs. Common on old houses here, newer ones will be more modern lumber. Many of the old joists are basically half rounds, not all straight, and some are far wider than they are deep, perhaps comparable to a 2x6 lying horizontally - holding up the ceiling but not great for bearing weight from above. They bear on the top plate of the interior walls, but on the outside walls (which are sheathed with wood inside as well as out), the plank sheathing stops several inches before the top, and the joist simply sits on the inside 1" sheathing plank, under the top plate and between studs. Sounds sketchy by modern standards, but it's literally lasted a lifetime (and so far, the ledger board almost fits into that area like they planned it ). I had initially hoped to find a way to create raised bearing points and run the new joists above the old ones, leaving them in place for now and then being able to remove them just before rewiring the house, and end up with slightly higher ceilings. But once I sized up the way the roof meets the walls, I realized that wasn't happening. By half storey I mean rooms that tuck into the profile of the roof with cathedral ceilings for some of the walls, think cape cod or strawberry box house.
I should have added that these past few days, I have been re-cutting pieces of my firewood. You see, I had a wood furnace with a larger firebox that I sized the cut of my firewood accordingly. 23 cords of firewood....two truckloads! The replacement furnace has a slightly smaller firebox. Pieces are anywhere from 1/2" to 3" too long. Dang! I made one of those jigs to place the too long pieces in and then cut them to a "proper" size. I have been saving the cutoffs (dog chow) for the upcoming shoulder season. Quite a few hours of mumbling/grumbling going on while doing an already completed job............AGAIN!
Fair enough, and believe me, I'm of a similar mind, but I've had to accept that sometimes it's part of working on an old house with a limited budget. Prime example, having to remove some fairly new siding to replace my windows. I even had to buy a little extra siding to account for the new windows being different sizes, but I just couldn't afford to do it all at once. Your firewood situation would have me swearing though! I'm looking at replacing the old fuse panel with a larger breaker panel, and all, or nearly all the wiring, and that much I'll have to hire a professional for most of. Plus, I probably don't have time to do much extra before it gets too cool, and with nothing else between the joists, it'll be easier to put the insulation in for the winter. It can't hurt to try to get upstairs roughed in before planning the electrical system, electrical is something I don't want to open back up any more often than I have to. Really, the only things I'll actually have to move twice is the ceiling panels, and the insulation itself. Both are light, so I've definitely had to deal with worse repeat jobs.
Too "warm" for a full firebox, yet cold enough to merit a fire. Basically, just enough to warm a damp n chilly house.
Love the history in old homes, remind me, this was your Great Uncles? The orig part of our home was 1952. Concrete block and heavy duty tongue/groove underlayment. No logs though. Sorry, I don't know a lot about construction. My Great Great Grandfather built his home 1871-1876, it was longer than the diagram you showed above, 3 dormers on each side in the second story. Wow, they raised 5 kids who slept up there. I don't know about construction but totally dig usable space up there.
I've built quite a few dormers in remodels. Really adds space to a attic. Plus fun with rafters and valley framing.
lol, my husband does the covering on those, many are "fun" for him too. Sorry you're still awake, but it's like 9 or 10 pm where your training is?
Regarding those log lifting tongs. I think Backwoods Savage has mentioned he has a set (2) of them. What size did you get? Amazon has a set of 20" for just over $40. Realistically, I'm thinking those trying to lift and carry a 20" round through the woods days are over for me. Probably 12" would be not large enough.....16" would be more practical??
The small set works great when picking up splits. Especially for those who have bad backs and it hurts to bend over. Also another advantage for both is your gloves last much longer and because you aren’t grabbing the wood when it is cold your fingers don’t get so Danged cold.
Made it to Bass Pro after school yesterday. Awesome store. I was not allowed to try out my new flys in the trout tank. Could spend every penny i have here.
