Tongue and groove subfloor under the main house is complete!
Wow, what another whirlwind of a week as we prepare for the first Timber Frame Workshop, beginning Sunday, June 10. We had a delivery of tongue & groove subflooring just in the nick of time on Sunday, and got immediately to installing it, and now it is but a few feet shy of completion. I have been so thankful for all of the great help this week from friends, neighbors, and visitors alike.
The tongue and groove flooring was literally torn up out of an old house by a local fellow, delivered, and immediately installed in our house. I find it kind of humorous that the material just swapped places so quickly like that. It’s nice stuff — long sections (14 feet at the longest) of southern yellow pine. Not bad to work with, even though it’s been in another house for many years.
We initially tried out a nail gun for speed and efficiency, but we actually gave up on it fairly quickly and switched it doing it purely by hand — hammering in each nail individually by hand. I prefer it that way. The nail gun didn’t really help with speed — the slowest part of the process was closing the gaps between the more finicky, warpy boards.
Anyway, two days to go… and we are feeling pretty darn good about it. It’s going to be great!
I admire your use of heavy oak timbers in place of a concrete slab as I dislike the idea of building with concrete myself. But I live in Canada (zone 5B, like you) and I always thought the concrete slab would be necessary to store heat as part of a passive solar design. How do you get around that in your design? Is it covered elsewhere in your blog?
Congratulations, it looks like your build has been wildly successful so far 🙂
I admire your use of heavy oak timbers in place of a concrete slab as I dislike the idea of building with concrete myself. But I live in Canada (zone 5B, like you) and I always thought the concrete slab would be necessary to store heat as part of a passive solar design. How do you get around that in your design? Is it covered elsewhere in your blog?
Congratulations, it looks like your build has been wildly successful so far 🙂
Ah, I’ve found your post on having an attached greenhouse. I wasn’t aware of this alternative to monolithic slab concrete foundations. It’s making me re-think my dream house. Very inspiring! Kudos to you for sticking to your ideals.
Ah, I’ve found your post on having an attached greenhouse. I wasn’t aware of this alternative to monolithic slab concrete foundations. It’s making me re-think my dream house. Very inspiring! Kudos to you for sticking to your ideals.