Closer to the end than the Beginning!

August 9, 2019

Mucho progress since last post.  Biggest change is the installation of the cement board (Durock) over the SIP walls both inside and out.  That was preliminary to the process of the stucco finish. (There is a layer of Tyvec house wrap on the exterior SIPS under the Durock.) After the Durock is hung, the seams are taped and coated with a concrete product. By the way, the purpose of the Durock is that it is much stronger and heavier than conventional wall boards and impervious to water.

Next comes completely covering the walls with plaster, also known as the “scratch coat or thin set”. When the plaster is cured, then comes the actual stucco which comes in five gallon pails and contains the final color of the house.   (You will see that on next post.)

Rob had to pick up 40 pails of the stucco (brand name “Total Wall”) and nearly killed our truck! (40 pounds per pail = 1,600 pounds in a half ton pickup truck!)  But he eventually got them to Sundancer and we expect plastering to be completed this week and start on stucco next week.

In the meantime, we need to install the cypress ceilings inside of the house before they stucco the walls and Rob and his crew are doing that as I write. As you can see the ceilings will be pretty neat.  (I have been home for about 10 days and return on Monday.)

Note that the scratch coat is done on this wall.

Below are some exterior shots.  Note that the porch roofs are now complete with the posts all painted as well as the roof rafters which you can’t see from these shots.  Note too that the house main roof is done with the first coat of the silicone roofing material applied.  (two more to go.)  As you can see also, the pool stairs are formed and waiting for concrete as is a bench along the western wall.  At the bottom of the lower right photo you can see the decking that will be installed when the exterior stucco is completed.  (Otherwise, decking could get splattered.)

Finally, as you can see here I have installed the breaker box and begun installing cables and breakers. (Trying to keep things neat as I hear the inspector likes a neat breaker box……me too.)

Just for nostalgia, here is a lovely sunset Rob and I witnessed at dinner from the bar of Ocean 362 in Cruz Bay.

You are up to date!

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Sundancer Outdoor Areas Taking Shape!

Mucho progress since last post! Last time, masons were forming the pool and the final columns for the deck posts. As you can see below, all of that is completed but not on the schedule we had hoped for.

Both Rob and I went to his home where much of our family gathered to celebrate his youngest daughter and our youngest grandchild, Maya’s Bat Mitzvah. It was a great party joining with Rob & Na’ama’s friends and scores of Maya and Rachel’s friends.

Rob returned to STJ on the 27th and I continued my break with Carol Ann joining Sherri and her family in Rhode Island before returning to Florida for a few days of rest and polishing off a short “honey do” list.

A cascading series of events delayed our last major concrete pour. First it was rain. Than a broken down pump truck. Then after the pour, a no show excavator operator. The “no show” triggered our losing the rented excavator machine to another commitment. Argh!

While I was not here, I worked the phone from Sherri’s on what is known on St. John as the “Coconut Telegraph” and found a contractor who was able to send a machine and operator the next day (last Tuesday).

He back filled around post columns and the following day Rob and Neville attacked the west side deck with a vengeance! The 6×6 posts and beams went up in a day followed by the deck joists and quickly after that the roofing system which will provide protection for the outdoor dining and sitting area.

Rob and Neville doing some heavy lifting.  Believe me when I tell you that Rob is surely a perfectionist! Every detail is minded to and precision and strength are the rules!

This is the rafter system for the roof which will cover outdoor dining area and sitting area on the west (sunset) side.  On the right is the porch which runs the width of the house from corner outdoor dining area to the east side and the master bedroom.  Four seven foot sliding doors along this corridor.  Plenty of light!

Here is a shot on the newly installed lower level entry door.  Believe me, these doors and windows are really nice and all glass is “impact, hurricane” glass.

Simultaneously, negotiations were completed with the stucco contractor. Recall that the panel walls and all interior framed walls will be sheathed in half inch cement board and then stucco will be applied both inside and out! The cement board arrived this week along with the decking and some other materials.

We took the truck to St Thomas today (Saturday) and picked up the first load of stucco pails. I dropped Rob at the airport to fly home for time with his family.

The stucco crew is scheduled to start a week from Monday and in the meantime we plan to finish installing the exterior doors. make some outdoor lighting adjustments and organize our place to allow the stucco crew space to work. (Quite a task!)  They will start with the interior.

In the meantime the continuing saga of the electrical and plumbing permits finally played itself out. After securing the two necessary permits, I had a little more to do before calling for an inspection. The next day a crew of inspectors showed up unannounced and began touring the project with the main focus on electrical. After a few minor suggestions and one surprisingly helpful one, they were leaving and I asked if I was ready for the inspection. They replied “Sure” and as we left in the afternoon we were surprised to see the most coveted green inspection sticker on our permit notice at the end of the driveway. With magic words “Inspected.  In Compliance with Code!  Just to be sure, I formally applied for both plumbing and electrical inspections for last Wednesday when they typically come to STJ. That morning, I called the inspector about their visit and he said “We are not coming back. We were just out there. You are good to go.” To be sure I clarified that that was for both inspections? And he replied “Yes”. (Nobody even looked at the plumbing! Go figure!)

Anyway, that’s it for now.

 

Mid June 2019 – Six Months!

The beat goes on at Sundancer!

There is a link to a video I shot this afternoon at the bottom.

Since my last post some neat advances have been achieved. Importantly, the masons framed and poured a short retaining wall between the house and the driveway. (We just decided to call it the “Arcade”!) After the second pour of the side walk, this creates the area at the bottom of the staircase and extends the full width of the house. Recall there are two entrances on the lower level. One enters the eastern bedroom and the other opens into a small entry with doors to the second bedroom/bathroom, the laundry/utility room and into a private storage/workroom.

In addition, footings were poured to support many of the nearly 30 posts that will support the extensive decking that will nearly surround the house and the pool.  Remember, in STJ – OUTSIDE is the place to be!

As soon as those forms were stripped Rob began working on a small deck off the master bathroom which serves the roofed shower for that bathroom with a sunrise view!

Also a roof which protects the entrance of the lower level east side bedroom. Just yesterday he and his crew finished the deck and roof of the large deck outside of the our  main entrance.

 

He also installed an interim staircase which is in the same configuration as the future permanent staircase.

Today, they started the deck framing on the view side which will be 5’ deep and spans the full width of the house on both levels. (About 100 feet of decking! All covered.) They had to splice and bolt 6 X 6 posts together to create the needed 25 foot height to extend from the concrete lower columns up two stories to the deck roof level.

See the video link posted at the end for good detail.

In the meantime the masons are here again and finally working on the pool. I think the photo speak for itself! They will also build forms for the remaining deck post supports on the view side of the pool.  (I asked them today if I could start filling the pool?)

On the interior, “real” plumbers last week corrected my many mistakes on the sewage, drain and venting systems after I removed my faulty work and got my supply pipes out of the way for them. It took about a day and a half, so not so bad. Afterwards I reinstalled the supply pipes and, as is standard, the pipes are all capped off and pressurized to the maximum water pressure of our pump (50 pounds). The plumber I hired insisted on adding another 50 pounds of air pressure with the compressor “just to be safe”. I held my breath and did that and by Jove, it held and is still holding!

Got both plumbing and electrical permits and I plan to to call for an inspection on both next week so that I know what has to be corrected.

As a total aside, I had an interesting discovery while here. From late January through late May we have had close to zero rainfall and the trees and bushes lost all of their leaves and the island was dry, brown and dull. We had nearly a week of daily rain about three weeks ago and since then all of the leaves have returned and the Island is suddenly a bright springtime green.  How refreshing!

I have realized that after all of these years, Carol Ann and I have never been here at this time of year and never witnessed the annual change of color and the abundant color from wild flowers all over the place that come after that first rain. Everything from wild orchids to numerous vines. Very pretty!

As another brief aside.  Nearly all of the traditional wooden utility poles on STJ are being replaced with high tech fiberglass poles and a firm from Missouri has been on Island for over a year replacing them.  They are currently working on our little road and late today, they lifted our pole into place.

Recall this will replace the wonderful pole next to it that bent over to capture our fast exiting hot tub on September 7, 2017!

The beat goes on!  Here is a link to a Video update I took today.

Bob Faucett from out of the office.

The Beat Goes On!

Lots of ups and downs in the past few weeks. Last Wednesday we poured 33 yards of concrete! That’s 4 truckloads!  Likely another 15 yards this week coming.

The pour last week included the huge retaining wall between the driveway and pool and the walls that will support the pool. Plus some footings for the columns that will support the posts for the decking that will nearly surround the house and lastly the walkway along the lower level which will be at the bottom of the staircase to access the lower two bedrooms and utility/storage area.  Incidentally, we can now better envision the size and shape of the new parking area.  I will easily accommodate two vehicles parked side by side.  It will still be tricky turning around, but not too bad.

Since then, the forms have been removed and the excavator returned to back-fill much of that work and dig more holes for the rest of the deck post footings.

The masons returned and are building forms for a much shorter retaining wall along that new walkway and other forms for the deck posts. Lots of work.

When digging for the deck footings on the view side of the pool the excavator encountered the remains of the old septic leach field which consisted of several tons of large boulders covered with a concrete slab. It took the better part of the day to remove all of that to get down to virgin soil on which the footings could be placed. Tons of earth and rocks over the edge down in front of Sundancer.  Its a good thing we have a big lot!

In the meantime inside of the house, I was proceeding nicely with the electrical and plumbing to the point that I could call for a rough electrical inspection. That’s when I sadly discovered that unlike when I built my homes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, homeowners are NOT permitted to do their own work without a licensed electrician and plumber! Argh.

It took a week of scrambling and interviews with a number of these contractors to make appropriate arrangements. Along the way I learned that I had made quite a few mistakes and some of my work is in violation of code. Most serious involved a major miscalculation of the waste water and toilet plumbing. After realizing I was over my head in that department, we hired a plumber to fix my mistakes. I applied for the electrical and plumbing permits in Sr. Thomas on Friday.  Work on the plumbing will commence Monday or Tuesday and I will continue with the electric.

Rob is heading home for a week today to celebrate his birthday and wedding anniversary with his family.  When he gets back, we are hoping this latest concrete pour will be done and the forms removed so further back-fill will allow him and our crew to begin building the decks.  The next and final concrete pour should be for the swimming pool!

I thought you might like to see some exterior shots of the four sides of the house at this point:

Work continues!

May Day at Sundancer!

Blog

May Day! My goodness! Where to start?

Doors and windows being installed. Roof is coated and sealed,

15 masons every day. Lots of Spanish music, Spanish yelling and laughing, but that’s the way it is! Exhausting! They poured the footings for the huge 12” wide, 30’ long retaining wall between the driveway and the pool.

For those familiar with the former, constantly moving, stone retaining wall, this will be an incredible and permanent improvement! I wasn’t here but Rob said it took about two minutes to knock down that old one.

In addition, they poured two other footings that will support the middle and view end of the pool. For those familiar with construction, those footings were stripped and as I write they are nearly finished building the huge forms for the full retaining wall and the supporting walls for the pool. They will pour all of that on Tuesday.

In the meantime just about all of the rough electrical is done and the bulk of the rough plumbing is in place. Kudos to the plumber and electrician…..Oh, that would be me!

I am returning to my bride today (Friday) for a little R&R and Rob will hold down the fort. I know he is anxious to get the excavator back in action to backfill and get all of the many deck post footings poured so he can start on the extensive decks that will nearly surround the house.

Here are a couple of links to walk through videos I shot last night.

 

Next Time!  Thanks for your interest.

Bob Faucett from out of the office.

Piling on the progress!

Rob and I traded places last week with my returning on Tuesday, getting up to speed on Wednesday and Rob’s departure on Thursday for his first return home in quite a while.  He is catching up on his business, celebrated Passover with family and friends and taking the family on a spring break holiday in Nashville next week.

While I was gone, Rob engaged a new excavator and a large amount of material was removed to make way for the footings of the new retaining wall (between the pool and driveway).  Lots of work!

In the meantime, another 40′ rack container arrived on Monday and following a relatively simple customs approval the rack was transported to a yard where a trucker brought us two huge crates filled with all of the windows and exterior doors.  Our guys and a couple of extras hands broke down the crates and loaded everything into the house according to “upstairs” and “downstairs”.

At the same time, the masons returned to begin preparing the footings.  It took a lot more work than expected because of the steep grade in that area and the mason’s fear that if not tied in properly to the virgin ground, the whole footing and wall was subject to sliding down hill.  After 20 years of putting up with the former Sundancer retaining wall moving every year by a couple of inches and pushing the pool deck further and further south, that was an experience we are anxious not to repeat!  As of Thursday, they completed site preparation for the retaining wall and the two other areas that will support the 10’ X 20’ pool.  Note that unlike the old pool that was set east and west, the new one will be set south and north.  Masons are now setting the forms and have begun to place the rebar.  Hopefully, we will have a concrete pour sometime next week.

Speaking of the pool, Carol Ann is home feverishly working on the glass work that will be used for several applications in the pool area.  The first is creation of 120 6”x6” glass tiles which will be placed around the top perimeter of the pool below the coping and serve as the “water line” tiles.  She is firing those tiles now.  She will have other glass projects for the pool and in the house as well.  More on those later.  While not a great photo, best she could do with the light.

Some bored soul in our neighborhood complained to the building inspector that we did not have a required silt fence below our excavation site.  (We know who complained and still really don’t care.)  While I had hired two extra guys to help with the unloading of the doors and windows. I secured the silt fencing and armed the two guys with machetes and a sledge hammer to install the silt fence.  Took about half a day.

While I had them, I dealt with a nagging issue for me. Many will recall that Sundancer blew off of her pedestal during Irma and blowing the remains to the north east towards the top of the driveway and further east.  While I paid a sizable amount last year for a crew to remove the remains, the longer we are here, the more I realize that while they got the bulk of the debris, they left a sizeable amount that was somewhat hidden in “the bush”, but still on our property.  The fact is. parts of Sundancer are scattered over a huge chunk of Fish Bay as far as a half mile away.  (Who knows, maybe further!)  Anyway, I had the two guys spend the next two days, pulling rubble out of the bush, cutting it up into manageable sizes and loading on our truck.  I took four loads of “stuff” to the dump.

Turns out, one section was the full flooring system for the guest bedroom.  While most of it is now gone, there is still a large piece (right above) that I will tackle when we have some down time (whenever THAT might be.)

Truth be told, one of the many reasons Rob and I hired someone to remove the Sundancer debris was that when we visited the wreckage last October, we quickly realized that the project would be daunting and just as importantly, if not more so, the project would be extremely emotional.  There is no need to further explain that aspect, but this week, as I took each load of debris to the dump and was throwing it into large dumpsters, I was taken aback by the twinges of pain I experienced each time something passed by that carried another memory of Sundancer.  It could have been something as simple as one of our now faded sofa pillows or a door with “soft close” cabinet hardware. Evidence of personal touches we had added to Sundancer over the years was in each load.  Unexpected thoughts jumped into my head.  “Gee, I remember installing them!” “Wow, it is amazing how things once so important are now just rubbish.” More pain than I expected. “Remember Man, from dust you came and to dust you shall return.”  Anyway, not sure of the interest to anyone, but impacted me.

So, in addition to the masons, our team has been working on the roof.  They installed the cap on the parapets and have started to seal the seams on the roof.  (We are using a pretty neat GE Silicone applied roof coating).  They are applying tape to the roof system along the seams and applying the flashing material to the tape.  Once done, they will use rollers to coat the entire roof including the parapets. We are short a bit of materials and I headed to St. Thomas today (Saturday) for a shopping spree.

In the meantime, our team today went below and applied the waterproofing to the new cistern.  Once done, our plan is to move the “Irma water” that is still in the old cistern to the new one and then clean and re-coat the old one.

In addition to blog writing, I am the designated electrician and plumber.  I am pulling wires, setting switch, light and outlet boxes.  My hope is that this part of the task will be done in the next few days and I will move to plumbing.  I know, technically, plumbing is supposed to be done before electric, but just doing it my way.  I will have to call for an electrical rough wiring inspection soon but will have good friend and electrician walk through what I have done before I call for that inspection.  (Just to be safe.)

On the subject of inspections, our first inspection for the walls is scheduled for Wednesday.  While we should have had inspections for concrete, our mason kept telling us “don’t worry about it, they all know me.”  None the less, we diligently logged every step by photo just in case.

So, that’s the current story folks!

Bob

Four Months and Running

This is near the anniversary of our fourth month being in St. John on our project.  The last couple of weeks have been quite eventful. You may recall that we were held up by some beams that had to be replaced by our truss supplier because the originals were sent with non treated lumber the first time. We got just so far and had to work around the missing beams. They finally arrived on last Monday and we had to take the truck to St. Thomas to pick them up. We put the truck to a test as the four 18’ beams weighed in at 1250 pounds. We took the opportunity to pick up other supplies including plumbing and roof coating and the prerequisite visit to Home Depot.

While waiting for the beams, the lower level interior walls were erected and furring stips added to the old basement walls as well.

Once the beams arrived on site the crew quickly put them in place and continued the process of installing the second floor decking, the master bedroom wall panels and finally the roof panels.  This is the last wall panel being installed!

We can today officially declare that the structure is now complete! Hooray!

During this time I have been pulling electrical cable and drilling holes for the first floor electrical which is just about complete as is the wire for the fans and lights in the roof panels for the kitchen and living room.

Carol Ann joined us for a visit last Sunday and daughter Sherri and granddaughter Maree Rose arrived Tuesday. They all return home on Tuesday as did I for a few days off. When I return next Tuesday, Rob will depart on Thursday for a couple of well deserved weeks with his family.

I put Maree Rose to work cleaning up around the property and helping me pull wires.

Today (Thursday) Rob tells me, an excavator will arrive with a hammer attachment to begin ripping up the stone wall that was between the driveway and the old pool.  (Note that the driveway is now clear of SIPs!)

Everything left of the orange line goes away.  A large concrete footing will be installed beneath that space and a new concrete retaining wall will be build about 5 feet to the left.  This will separate the driveway from the new pool which will go in fairly soon.  (BIG job.)

While that is going on, we will be putting up the second floor interior walls, applying the first coat of silicone roofing surface and waterproofing the new cistern. We will also complete the rough wiring and begin installing the rough plumbing.

By that time, exterior doors, windows and a large amount of lumber for the deck and porch framing will be on site and Rob will undertake that phase.  Those materials should arrive the week after next while Rob is with his family.

Here are a couple of random photos:

Thanks for your interest.  Back to you soon.   Bob