8/5-8/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

It was about 90 degrees when I arrived at noon. I started by picking about a pint of newly ripened blackberries. Then, using the gwizard and the pencil line I had scribed last week, I flattened the top of the main loft beam to form the bearing surface for the joists. I was pleased with how straight and flat it came out. Next, I flattened three spots a little deeper to form the bearing surfaces for the upper columns. By that time, the northwest wall was nicely shaded and I spent the rest of the day chiseling out the notch in the wall to hold the butt end of the loft support beam.

On Wednesday morning, I finished chiseling out the notch. Then I strung a tight string across the building and measured and calculated the lengths of the three central posts. Now, knowing these lengths, I cut the three posts: two from log #85 and one from #73. The chainsaw was acting up and refused to run, so, in exasperation, I did all the cutting of these posts by hand with the big crosscut saw. That saw is going to have to go back to the shop.

On Thursday, I erected these three posts and temporarily braced them against the log walls. I didn't treat these posts or the main loft beam because they are all nice sound douglas fir and they will be completely inside the building. I hope that was not a bad decision.

Next, I built two two-tier scaffold towers to allow me to reach the tops of each post. In the process, I bumped my head pretty hard against one of the scaffold frames that I had hanging in the air. I wasn't hurt too badly, but I did get a lesson in caution.

With the scaffolds in place, I drilled holes for rebar spikes in the three post bearing spots on the beam, and then went to work lifting the beam into place. I think the beam weighs about 600 lbs. because Oscar can lift it, but not from a hanging start. I was concerned about the CBA because, to place the beam, the boom needs to be nearly vertical and this, together with a maximum load, puts the maximum stress on the CBA and its already-buckled U-joint. To my relief, the installation went without a hitch; the crane and CBA held together just fine.

Oscar pulled the butt end of the beam over the top of the northeast wall. Then with the beam resting on the wall and the ground, I re-attached the choker just short of the center of gravity of the beam, and attached the butt end to a come-along anchored just above the notch in the northwest wall. Then just like clockwork, I cranked the beam across the building and into the notch. I made a minor error in the rigging and the beam ended up upside down, but it was fairly easy to roll the beam 180 degrees to correct it.

Next, I removed the temporary post braces so that the posts could be positioned correctly under the beam. Then, I drove a rebar spike through the beam into each post. I left these spikes sticking up 6 inches so they will penetrate up into the upper posts.

I had a real gratifying sense of accomplishment looking at this beam. It was one of my toughest technical challenges so far, and it came out looking perfect. The joist bearing surface looks perfectly straight, flat, and level.

There is one mystery however. Believe it or not, the beam is not touching any other wood! The butt end is about a quarter of an inch above the bottom of the notch, and there is about one inch of clearance around the rest of the notch. You can move the beam around inside the notch with your hand. At the southeast wall, at the other end, the beam is about a half inch above the log it should rest on, and with your hand, you can easily move the beam from one side of the notch to the other - about a half inch swing. Then, most surprising of all, when you climb on the ladder so that your eyes are level with the tops of the three posts, you can see about a half inch of daylight between the beam and the top of each post! The beam is evidently suspended only by those three rebar spikes.

I have tried to solve the mystery, and the only explanation I can come up with is that with each blow on a rebar spike, the spike advances through the beam a little more than it advances through the post. I think this may be because it rebounds a little from the post but not from the beam.

I also noticed this effect on the last log I placed on the southeast wall. I ended up using a come-along to hold the end of the log down on the wall so it wouldn't be suspended up on the spikes.

On Friday, I picked another pint or so of berries and then finished measuring the last of the logs for the inventory. Then, I gwizzed log #88, intending to make the short loft beam out of it. Unfortunately the log had a lot of rot on it and I left it to see if I can't find a better log for the beam.

Next, I had an ugly experience. The carpenter ants in the trailer had been so loud lately that they kept me from sleeping, so I decided to find a more effective place to squirt the ant spray when I was ready to leave for home. I decided to remove a light fixture above the bed thinking that maybe that would give me a place to squirt.

I got more than I bargained for. When I removed the last screw, the fixture dropped down about an inch, and it began raining big ant pupae and a lot of ants. They were pouring and crawling out of the hole and dropping onto my bed. In a sort of panic, I grabbed the ant spray and started blasting them. That stuff kills them pretty quickly, but they squirm and run around in a frenzy a while before they die.

It was an ugly sight. I grabbed a copy of the New York Review of Books, which was the only thing handy to put under this dripping mess, and then got out of the trailer because of the smell of the spray.

Before I left for home, I undid the other light fixture, and blasted both openings with the last of the can of spray. I am quite sure I hit the main infestation, and I hope this will be the end of them. Next week, I will have to clean up the mess and put things back together.

8/12-15/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

On the way up, I stopped at Chainsaws Plus to have them look at my saw. Of course, it started right away and ran fine. I went outside and spent quite a bit of time cutting wood with it to see if I could get it to misbehave. I couldn't. I decided to take the saw with me and try setting the carburetor a little leaner if it acted up again.

It was stiflingly hot when I arrived at about noon. All I got done that afternoon was to clean up the ant mess, repair and replace the light fixtures, pick a bunch of blackberries, and take a nap.

On Wednesday, I forced the main loft beam down so it rests on the posts, and spiked the ends of the beam into the walls. I used a chain and a hydraulic jack to get the beam to move down. I fastened one end of the chain to the lower floor beam and ran a loop of chain over the top of the jack which was sitting on top of the loft beam above the central pole. Then between pumping on the jack, and blows with a sledge hammer, the beam moved down where it belonged.

Next I selected log #50 for the short loft beam. I pulled #50 up on deck and gwizzed it. Then when I tried to cut the log, I couldn't get the chainsaw to run. It would start and idle a little, but any attempt to accelerate would immediately kill it. After trying in the heat until I was exasperated, I gave up and exchanged the gwizard for a cutting bar on my dependable saw. Then I made a 16 foot loft post out of log #119 and a 12 foot loft beam out of log #50. I used the same scribing technique that I used on the main beam to draw a level line on the top of the beam. But since the gwizzard was dismantled, I used the chainsaw with a regular chain to cut the joist bearing surface on the beam. The log was nearly straight so I didn't have to cut much to make the surface. It worked out very well and was easy and quick.

On Thursday, I made the lower bearing surfaces on the beam for the wall and for the post. Then I drilled the holes in the post and the beam; I made a hole in the post for the bolt going through the CB88, and a hole in the beam for the rebar spike which goes down into the post. Finally, I treated the lower half of the post since that part of the post will be in the crawl space.

While the Timbor was soaking into the post, I began cutting the notch in the wall to accept the end of the beam. I got mixed up on the old carpentry rule, and I mistakenly measured once and had to cut twice. Unfortunately, the first notch I began to cut in the wall, was one log diameter too low. There was a mark on the wall which was marking the bottom of the beam and I mistakenly used it as a mark for the top of the beam. I discovered my error after using up most of the pleasant cool of the morning cutting two inches into the wrong log. After the discovery, I spent the next two hours, or so, in the heat and direct sun, cutting the correct notch into the log above it. While I was cutting the new notch, I let my mind work on the problem of how I am going to cover up this very visible goof. I think I worked out a pretty good solution; I am going to mount a short stub end of a log in this notch and make it look like it was a planned bearing log for the beam. That, however, will be a project I will put off until the roof is on.

At last I was ready, and I erected and spiked into place the loft post and beam. It was very gratifying to sight along the two beams and discover that they are as perfectly level and parallel as my eyes can discern. That will make a nice flat level floor in the loft.

On Friday morning I picked another two small cream cheese containers full of blackberries. There are still some red, and even some green berries left, but I don't know if I will get any more ripe berries. I won't be going to the property next week because of the Droge family reunion so the berries may be all done by the time I get back. At any rate, I think I already have enough for two pies.

I wanted to get a long log up on the walls before I left so I got to work and pulled log #40 up on deck and gwizzed it. Just out of curiosity, I tried the undependable saw to see if it would run. Lo and behold, it started and ran fine and I cut log #40 to length with it. I decided not to bring it into the shop after all. This is the typical frustration associated with an intermittent problem.

I spent a lot of time treating log #40 because it was so full of checks and I put a lot of Timbor solution in the checks and worm holes. I began moving the log into position so I could raise it and one of Oscar's control ropes broke. The crane was brushing up against some pine boughs and evidently this caused the mechanism to suck up the control rope and chew it in two.

This left the log dangling in the air and no way to get Oscar to lower it. I connected a come-along between the log and as high as I could reach on the suspending chain. Then by cranking on the come-along, I lifted the log enough to relax Oscar's chain so I could unhook it. Then, using the come-along, I lowered the log to the ground and the crane was freed.

It was now about 5:00, and after calling Ellen and finding out that she was going to work late, I decided to try to fix Oscar before I left. With the main loft beam in place, I can no longer lower Oscar as far as before. By lowering the boom as far as it will go in the corner of the building, Oscar is still about seven feet above the log walls. I brought a ladder up there, but I couldn't find a very safe way to lean it against the boom so I could climb up. Instead, I laid the ladder flat between the two walls diagonally across the corner of the building. Then by standing on the ladder and hanging on to Oscar's chain with one hand, I could barely reach the rope connection point with the other hand. I removed the old broken end of the rope and attached the good end and the problem was fixed.

I made a couple more attempts to raise the log. This log must weigh over 500 lbs. because if I stop it in mid-air, Oscar can't get it going again. This means that I will have to raise it all the way in one move, or I will have to lift one end at a time. I decided to quit and work on it next time after I noticed that the CBA u-joint had another pipe that buckled. I think I better replace or strengthen the CBA before I do any more heavy lifting, because I will have even heavier loads to lift when I get to the purlins. With this new problem to think about, I packed up and left for home.

8/26-29/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday. I arrived at about noon and after moving in, I picked the end of the blackberries for the season. Then I lifted log #40 into place on the northwest wall. Just as I started spiking it in, at about 4 o'clock, a thunderstorm came up. I went into the trailer and took a nap during the loud thunder until 5 o'clock. The rain stopped then, and I went back out and finished spiking in #40.

On Wednesday, I spudded and pulled up log #76. Harry and Jean Metzger and friends stopped by and looked over the project when the log was part way up the cliff. When they left, I gwizzed #76, cut it to length and treated it. The chainsaw was a little hard to start and keep going, but it worked well enough to cut the log. I raised and spiked log #76 into the southeast wall completing the 12th course of logs.

It rained early Thursday morning but it pretty much stopped by the time I went to work. I spudded and pulled log #103 up on deck. The log was 40 feet long so I cut about 4 feet off the butt so it would fit better on the roadway. The saw was a little harder to start this time, but I did get it to work. While I was gwizzing #103, Larry Copenhaver stopped by and visited for a while. When I finished gwizzing, I couldn't get the saw started, so in exasperation, I cut the log to length by hand with the big crosscut saw. It was after 6 o'clock by the time I finished treating the log, so I quit for the day.

Before I went in, I walked over to the Bartholomew's and John and Nancy showed me the progress they have made on their place.

It rained again Friday night but stopped by morning. I raised and spiked log #103 into the southwest wall. While I was spiking it in, Earl Landin stopped by and looked over the project. Then I spudded log #75 and pulled it halfway up the cliff. The last three logs that I removed from the pile exposed the logs underneath and with the recent rain, I could see that there was a log of wet bark and debris laying on the logs keeping them wet. I spent about an hour or two spudding all the logs that were exposed in the pile and removing the damp debris from them. I hope this will help the logs dry out and retard their deterioration.

I loaded up a bunch of boards into the pickup so I can make some column pad forms at home. I also checked out the area where these pads will go to hold up the porch. In the process, I discovered that the bedrock in the upper corner is higher than the level of the deck, so I will need to modify the plans for these pads. It looks like I will need two extra pads; I will need separate pads for the columns and for the beams on the upper end.

Some time on Friday, I noticed that Oscar was acting up occasionally. It would freewheel sometimes when I stopped lowering an empty hook. Normally, a brake should engage as soon as I stop lowering the hook and it should stop immediately. It didn't seem to do this if there was a load on the hook. A couple of times, with a load hanging on the hook, the load would go up instead of down when I tried to lower it. I can't be absolutely sure this happened, but it seemed like it did. Maybe I tugged on the wrong rope. Anyway, I am a little concerned that Oscar is due for a checkup. I hope it can hold out until I raise the crane boom, because before that, it would be very difficult to reach.

9/1/97 Noticed some errors in Tom Hammond's calculations for porch pad sizes. I called Tom, faxed him my calculations, and together we came up with a revised, correct, set of pad sizes. These include two extra pads I will need on the upper end because the bedrock is so shallow. I made forms for three of the pads and loaded them into the pickup.

9/2-5/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

On the way, I left the chainsaw with Chainsaws Plus to see if they couldn't fix the intermittent starting and running problem. I arrived at the property at about 11:30 and finished pulling log #75 up on deck. Before I quit for the day, I gwizzed log #75.

Last week I went over the 50% mark on the number of lineal feet of logs placed in the house. I have mixed feelings at this milestone: On one hand, I feel good about having made considerable progress, but on the other, I feel like there is a long way to go and I am losing the enthusiasm for working with logs because parts of it are getting sort of routine. In addition, the logs still in the pile are deteriorating faster than I like, and I am experiencing some equipment failure.

The chainsaw that is now in the shop has exasperated me with its tempermentality; the CBA u-joint, which has now buckled in two places, has destroyed my confidence that it can handle the remaining 50% of the log lifting job; and Oscar has been acting up more and more frequently and seems likely to fail completely at any time.

I exchanged the gwizzard for a cutting bar and cut log #75 to length. Then as it began to rain lightly, I treated #75. I normally use Oscar to roll the log I am treating, and in the process of treating #75, Oscar quit working completely.

It was now raining pretty hard but I lifted log #75 up onto the northwest wall by hand anyway. I used a come-along attached to Oscar's chain about shoulder height above the scaffold up on the wall. The come-along cable didn't reach all the way down to the ground, so I had to transfer the log load to Oscar's hook so I could pay the come-along out again to make another lift. It was quite a bit of work, but I finally succeeded in getting the log lifted about 20 feet and spiked into place.

On Thursday, there was no rain and the weather was pleasant to work in. I raised the scaffold on the northeast wall. This allowed me to raise the CBA up about six feet. In the process, I removed the buckled CBA u-joint and replaced it with a length of cable. This will work a lot better and be a lot stronger.

Once the CBA was raised, I could lay the crane boom down on top of the loft beams and Oscar came down within reach. I rigged a block and tackle and used it to lower Oscar into the wheelbarrow. Then I wheeled it down and put it in the pickup. I will look at it when I get home to see if I can fix it.

I spent the rest of the day, and also Friday, raising scaffolding. The job was more difficult than before, not only because it is higher, but because the loft beams are in the way so I have to take the planks apart in order to get past them. Before I left on Friday, I had raised a little more than a quarter of the scaffolding. Larry Copenhaver stopped and reviewed the progress before I left.

9/7/97 I spent some time looking at Oscar, taking part of it apart, testing part of the electrical components, and consulting with a neighbor about it. I came to no conclusions except that it didn't look like I could fix it without help.

9/8-11/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Monday through Thursday. Even though I have at least three week's worth of work to do that I can do without Oscar, the uncertainty about how I was going to fix or replace Oscar cast a cloud over me and nagged at me the entire week.

The job of pouring the concrete porch pads, which should be done in September to avoid the risk of freezing weather that will probably come in October, depends on a long chain of other, smaller jobs. Oscar's failure sort of forces me to get started on that chain.

In order to mix concrete, I need to be able to get a pickup load of gravel up the upper roadway. To do that, I need to remove a big pile of chips that have accumulated there. To do that, I need to raise the crane boom abutment (CBA) so that the crane can reach out to the pile and to the pickup. To do that, I needed to raise the scaffold at least the one on the northeast wall, which I did last week. So the chain has been started, and this week, I continued working on it.

On Monday when I arrived, I called three hoist dealers and asked either to give me a price on a replacement for Oscar, or for help in fixing Oscar. Then I went out and raised another quarter or so of the scaffolds.

On Tuesday, I continued raising scaffolds. On two walls, the scaffolds had to pass over beams that were in the way, so I had to dismantle and reassemble the scaffolds. This, plus the fact that they are pretty high by now, made the job slow and difficult. Earl Landin stopped by in the morning and invited me to join him in a hike to Twin Lakes. I had to decline because I was expecting calls back regarding chain hoists.

From these calls, I learned that a new replacement for Oscar would cost about $1500 and that it wasn't very practical to have Oscar repaired because it is so old it is doubtful whether parts for it are available. This news, of course, added to my concern and left me in a quandary.

On Wednesday, I finished raising all the scaffolds and reassembling the handrails. I had to replace one of the planks on the southwest wall with a longer one in order to be able to reconfigure the scaffold to allow room for the Ridgepole Support Log (RPSL) and the Purlin Support Logs (PSL).

On Thursday, I moved the logs that were in the upper roadway so that I could drive the pickup up there. I also moved a big rock out of the way. Then I emptied all the stuff out of the pickup bed and assembled the chip box on top of it. Then I drove the pickup up on the upper roadway and loaded it with chips.

I used a block and tackle attached to the boom where Oscar used to hang. I tied ropes to the 4 corners of a blue tarp and attached these ropes to the lower block. Then I shoveled a load of chips onto the tarp. When I had a load, I pulled the rope which raised the load high overhead. Then by swinging the boom, I positioned the load above the chip box. I then climbed a ladder and dumped the load of chips into the box. I didn't count, but I probably lifted around 30 of these loads and nearly filled the box.

By that time it was 3:30 and I drove the load over to Dal Hope's and Dick, their hired man, helped me unload it. On the drive back to the property I began feeling sick, like a migraine attack was building up. When I got to the trailer, I took two aspirin and a glass of Hydra-fuel and then dismantled the chip box and put all the stuff back in the pickup. By that time, I got to feeling better. I packed up and left for home and by the time I got home, I was OK-no attack.

9/14/97 Made 7 forms for porch column pads at home.

9/16-19/97 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

The weather was dry when I got to the property at about 11:30, but it soon started raining and rained the rest of the day. I carried the 7 forms up to the site, and started excavating holes for the porch column pads. I didn't realize that my rain pants had lost their waterproofing, so by the end of the day, my pants were soaked. So was my shirt from water running down my neck and up my sleeves. When I quit for the day, I had wet clothes hanging all over the trailer drying.

On Wednesday, I set up all the batterboards and strung all the strings necessary to locate all 10 of the pads. It rained cats and dogs all day, but I used my home-made vis-queen rain pants and stayed a lot dryer than I had the day before. I got about 5 holes dug down to bedrock.

When I took one flat rock out of the ground in order to build a batterboard, I found a snake hibernating under it. It didn't move a muscle when I exposed it, so I left it where it was and covered it back up with a concrete block which served as a batterboard. I expect it will stay there until next spring.

It was dry most of the day on Thursday and I got the last two holes dug. It started raining again at about 6:15 so I quit for the day.

Friday was a beautiful sunny day and I got two more holes dug before noon. Then I had to pack up and hurry home to get there in time to go to a grizzly bear lecture at REI with Ellen.

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