algas cosas mas 3-27-10

Greetings from Eleuthera.

Oh, just one more thing I have to say. You have NO IDEA how difficult it is to plumb, and square 6 16foot posts at once. No idea, my friend. You think you do. YOu don't. It takes a delicate blend of precision, geometry, wisdom, the right tools, and some extreme violence.

It took us about a day to get these posts set right. Maybe one day the water will come and we'll be able to set 'em in concrete. Till then, we frame. And frame we will.

I'm making this thing absolutely bulletproof. The 6x6 posts are sitting in about 6 cubic feet of concrete each, dug into the solid rock, nails protruding all over for gription in the concrete, the holes are flared at the bottom, the joists are 2x8, and the sheathing runs from the walls right down onto the joists (I'm the only one doing that- which will make these walls incredibly strong and resistant to racking and twisting torsion loads- a stiff building is a strong building...), and I'm emptying an iron mine's worth of nails into this thing. It is NOT moving. Mark my words. Maybe shingles will blow off in a hurricane, but even those I'm tarring between EACH shingle and the one above it. 5/8 pressure treated ply sheathing on the walls, floors, and ceilings, and as I mentioned, several nails. It's taking longer to build than a building in Michigan, but it will outlive us. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I think it will.

The retaining wall posts are dug in the rock 4 feet each, 18 inches in diameter, and 2feet square above ground, filled with painted rebar, and rebar between 'em. If those ever so much as budge, I'll give you a dollar.

The footings in the side of the hill? a foot into the rock all around, including where the fill is out on the outer edge. All the way down, brotha. They too, will outlive us. On to some photroes.

XOJL