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The Project: A 2,163 square foot house utilizing dry stack concrete block construction with a central courtyard and based on the Spanish colonial-era missions in San Antonio. The Challenge: Can a forty-something married couple design and build an attractive, efficient and mostly paid-for house while remaining sane, solvent and married? With no actual prior construction experience? Hmmmmm - let's check in on our Contestants and see how they're doing... |
| We start this week's adventure in gracious living with sore knees, a precursor to any kind of gracious living in my humble experience. While I get the metal fencing panels nailed down onto the 2x6 joists, I use a couple of scraps of lumber to get a leg up on a little secure footing. Hmmmmm - another outbreak of puns afoot this week, maybe I should cry "ankle"... |  |
| The joists support the metal fencing panels commonly called "cattle panels," which are 52 inches wide by 16 feet long each. A layer of 6 mil plastic goes down on top of the cattle panels, which will then be covered by a layer of lightweight, insulating ferrocement for our roofing.This first section of roofing covers my future recording studio and The Wife Zone (dressing and crafts area). |  |
| The roof section from the photo above, seen from on top. Once we cover the roofing support structure with the 6 mil plastic, we will set nails into the 2x6 studs to support the ferrocement's first layer of chicken wire. The ferrocrete itself will use the Perlite seen in last week's photos as an aggregate mixed with ordinary Portland cement in an 8/1 ratio. The Perlite drastically reduces the weight while providing thermal insulation for the roofing. |  |
| A closeup of the roof support structure. Notice the metal tie which connects the 2x6 joist with the J bolt cemented into the wall?When the 6 mil plastic layer is put down, the first layer of ferrocrete will go on top of that and the guttering will be set down on top that. A second layer of ferrocrete will then be laid down and up to the lip of the guttering. Another course of parapet blocks will be laid on top of the first to make the parapet on the outside wall approximately 15 inches tall. |  |
| I have an arch built into the ceiling above my studio. It starts out flat on the inside courtyard wall and eventually fans out to form an arch over the studio's outside window. I've got to admit to feeling fairly pleased with how easily the roofing is going so far. |  |
| Want to see a rough floor plan?Want to be notified when we post new pictures? Just e-mail us! Want to see the rest of the story? Click on Gimme Shelter Home Page. |
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| Next week's installment: La Vida DIY Click HERE |
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