April 3, 2006
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Framing in the Rain
Hard to build when it's raining on you, but Kevin & crew are doing what they can. Here's a shot of our wet house just before the day's drizzle began:
As soon as the rain starts we pull everyone off the jobsite: can't risk a Workman's Comp claim. Insurance has turned out to be one of the most expensive line items of this venture. We are paying so much for something we hope will NOT happen! Crazy. (sounds like a mob racket, doesn't it?) The constant wet slows us down in other ways too, even when it's not raining and we get a few hours of work in.Another thing that's delaying us is the steel guys. See how the ceiling joists butt firmly into thin air?
There is supposed to be a steel beam running from the moment frame at the front to a point near the center of the house, to serve as a "spine" for the upper story. It's a month late. We are building around it as much as possible, so that as soon as it arrives, we can put it in right in place.
We are also waiting on them to cut the bay-window supports to the correct size, and to trim away the "temporary" diagonal brace which they welded in place months ago. If they had bolted it on, we could have removed it ourselves... as it is, we'll have to patch the holes once it is gone.
Here's another, closer, glimpse of it:
All this rain can't be good for all this lumber. Though Kevin and Bob reassure me that it's exterior-grade and treated for this sort of abuse. Plywood doesn't cup so much when it's nailed down.
Why am I still concerned?
