Back in August I posted a description and some pics of a project on Obstruction Island in the San Juan's. We're still working with the clients and last week were finally able to get out there and perform a deep water survey at high tide. The goal with this project is to crane the sections of the home off of a barge and directly onto the waiting foundation. The barge needs a certain amount of water beneath it to pull this off, and all findings are looking positive. Now that we know how close the crane can get to the shore, we can accurately determine how far we can reach, in order to make sure the home can be sited behind the 50' shoreline set back. This time out to the island, the principle architect of Balance Associates was able to come along and perform his studies gathering the lay of the land, in order to draw up some preliminary sketches. The engineer and operator of the crane company also joined us, and were professional and focused on our intent and goal of setting a modular home onto this beautiful piece of property. Although at first they might have thought we were crazy, they soon realized what we were doing and the complexity of the project and why they were on board. To crane a home from a barge onto water front property on an inaccessible island, will easily cut a year off the construction time, including the confidence to rely on a realistic budget with many less unknowns than these projects normally experience. Anyhow, here are some pics. We'll keep you updated on this and many of our other potential San Juan Island projects.
With snow a couple days after set and below freezing temps every day since, we have been hard at work trying to button up this latest project. No time for blogging! But here are some pics of the M2 on site. The set went off without a hitch, other than the crane being delayed due to freezing hydrolic lines, but we got it done none the less. There was a huge group of supporters there, including the homeowners and some friends. Tom Lenchek, the principle at Balance Associates was also there lending support in lining up the modules on the foundation. It was great! Most of the group had never seen a modular set before, and I think once they witnessed the gracefulness of the craning process they were relieved and could enjoy it. Anyhow this home only took an hour and a half of crane time, and it all went perfect. We will be posting the professional shots soon along with a new time lapse video on YouTube shortly. For now here are some pics post set. And again as I've warned before, these have all been taken either with my phone or my ancient Canon PowerShot. Enjoy!
The weather has turned clear once again just in time to move around some dirt. The Glacier M2 Cabin is scheduled to be set Dec. 9th, one week from tomorrow. Today the preparation prior to backfill happened, including footing drains, gutter drains and water proofing. Here are some pictures I took today, including some of the bolts that will hold the moment frame in place once the modules are set. The moment frame is a steel upside down U that will give the open great room module some engineered strength, which is due to the fact the end of the room is all glass, which according to engineers doesn't provide much strength. The moment frame is already framed and part of the structure sitting in the shop, which will then fit over these bolts that are poured as part of the foundation. This is NOT orthopedic surgery, just a little math and paying attention. And The Mountain was out today! So here we go...
...allowed us to pour the footings for the M2. It was great. Over the last couple of days Western Washington has been experiencing high winds and heavy rains which have contributed to power outages, downed trees and flooding. Good 'ol fall in the NW! We poured 12 yards of concrete which had a SLAG mix. SLAG has replaced Fly Ash in concrete for a greener alternative to all Portland Cement. SLAG is a bi-product of iron blast furnaces, which otherwise would have ended up in a land fill. Here are some pictures I snapped today with my phone, so they are not the greatest but at least they show progress in this weather! Set date on the M2 has been set for December 9th. Stay tuned...
Under the upper sliding glass doors will be an 18' wide by 10' deck. Note the treated deck ledger already in place. It will be identical to the original Method Cabin deck.The front porch should also be done shortly. It will be 8' wide x 6'. It will be flat, supported by the same steel kickers as the main deck and be timber framed out of GluLam beams.Here is one picture of the home I am willing to release, pre-completion...
The latest Method home is really starting to take shape. The framing in our custom shop is complete, 8' cantilevered roofs and all. These pictures probably don't do the scale of these modules justice, but the front of these will be all glass, about 16' wide by 10' tall. The ridge of the cantilevered roof is around 12' off the ground. We are done framing and just finished the plumbing rough-in today, with electrical rough-in wrapping up tomorrow. We are installing a LG Mini Split heating/cooling system which will be roughed in by Friday, for an inspection from our local Labor and Industries dept. scheduled Friday afternoon. We are scheduled for insulation install on Monday. This home has been in production for just over 3 weeks while Method Contracting has been hard at work on site, as the clearing of the site has been recently completed and should be ready for starting the foundation on Monday.
As we put the final touches on the Lake Whatcom cabin over the next couple weeks, here are some interesting pictures I took yesterday of the modular portion of the home. The lower site built portion is still being completed so I did not want to show the lower level....until probably next week. Also, look out for the Lake Whatcom set video on our website and YouTube both of which should be up soon.
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