4/11/2013

No pictures today, just sore muscles.
Well, Mother Nature is not done with us yet.  Last night into today, we have had rain, snow, and freezing rain making conditions miserable, with more on the way.
Watersource was in yesterday and finished hooking up the in-floor heating system and the rest of the Geothermal heat pump.  Now all we need is the permanent electrical hookup to the house and we are in business.  While the HVAC work was going on, I was upstairs starting to drywall on the flat ceilings.  Because the builders went with 24 inches on center for ceiling supports, rather than 16 inches, I felt the additional strength of 5/8 sheetrock would be appropriate to prevent sagging.  Holy crud, I didn't realize what an 1/8th of an inch difference would make in how much this stuff weighs!  That plus, I used all 1/2"X4'X8' stuff for the sloped ceilings, and am using 5/8"X4'X10', and 4'X12' for the other areas to minimize seams.  Our drywall lift works great, but requires you lift each sheet up about chest high to get it on the cradle.  Eighty three pounds doesn't sound like much till you realize you are essentially lifting it about mid sternum level with one hand while steadying and balancing it with the other.  That's just the ten foot stuff.  The twelve foot sheets weigh about 112 pounds and I could not lift and balance one of those by myself without breaking either it or me or both.  Debra drove up after work to help me set the first twelve foot sheet, and even then it was quite a workout.  After a day of that my hands are so sore I could hardly close them this morning, and my shoulders ache like all get-out.  After this long stretch of such hard physical exertion, I decided one day off was needed for body recovery.  I'm afraid we'll have to put off the insulators for a little while longer till we finish the ceiling.  As soon as the weather cooperates a little better, the crew will come up, install the exterior doors, and finish most of the siding.  We are sooooo ready for warmer weather!