Log Home Update: Part 31Windows and Doors and Decking

As mentioned, Don and Adam were able to finish the roofing last Friday before calling it a week.


The finished roof as I found it Monday morning.

Jim was called back to his factory job but we picked up a high-school neighbor of Don’s named Kyle. He has worked with Don before and, while quite around us older guys, seems a willing enough laborer/helper.

Windows and doors were the order of the week and lots of progress was made to that end. All but the front door are Anderson products.


Kitchen, bath and one bedroom window on the first floor as well as a bath and two bedroom windows on the second floor. All on the west side of the home. (Unfortunately, the upstairs bathroom window was damaged either at the factory or in shipment and will have to be replaced. Both plastic/rubber stops that prevent the upper sash from being banged into the lower sill were broken. One was bent out of shape and the other actually driven right through the vinyl casement and down to the wood beneath. Beaver Mountain will be sending us a new one as soon as they can but it will take several weeks.)


Two bedroom windows on the south end of the first floor.


One bedroom window, the laundry window and one garage window on the south side of the home.


Two garage windows on the east end of the home. A semi-circular window will be installed in the gable end above these to give some light to the "attic" storage area above the garage.


French doors and a couple of casement windows installed in the basement by Adam and me. We had to frame in the rough opening and sheath it before fitting the door and windows.


The sliding door to the covered porch installed by Adam and me. (Don and Kyle were working on some of the first floor windows while we were doing this.)


The front door has been installed. This was a team effort. Adam, me and Kyle did the installation. Don helped carry it from the trailer to this location. That sucker is heavy!


The deck frame was erected on Friday as a team effort. Don, Adam, Kyle and I worked all day to set the posts and get all the floor joists in place for this 10' x 36' open deck that is above the walkout basement and in front of the French doors to be installed in the first floor living area. The floor to be put down on top of this is 2” x 6” pressure treated wood and it will be fastened with specially coated screws because of the new chemicals used in treating “green wood” these days. The screws have square drive heads that provide much better control than a Phillip’s head screw.

We had to wrestle a couple of the concrete piers back into position because the heavy rains had allowed them to shift in the soft earth immediately around them. Then we worked off ladders all of Friday since the deck is a good 9 to 10 feet above the very uneven soil. Let me tell you if you’ve never had to handle it, a 2” x 10” x 10’ pressure treated board can be very heavy. Additionally, it drizzled most of the day making everything muddy and everyone damp.

Friday’s was the only real rain we had all week. As you can see, we made some remarkable progress this week in several areas.