Lodge Construction Slideshow

The mobile home is pulled from the site and makes its way down the road and across the bridge – goodbye!The structural timbers that will support the building are inspected and graded at P&P Lumber, our neighbor on Tatro RoadPat Hendee stakes out reference points for determining the grade he’ll need in digging the hole for the foundationThe plumber lays the pipes connecting the building with the rest of Common GroundThe plumber lays the pipes connecting the building with the rest of Common Ground12The first outside wall is framedThe concrete floor for the guestrooms is installed and polished. Polished concrete is the best material for retaining heat in winter, saving energy, and is cool in summerThe building is framed – this view shows the building from its north side. The center wall that rises above the roof line will contain the clerestory windows. These will bring southern light into the north-facing rooms.Rigid siding helps support the building, as it begins to take shapeBuilder John Perkins trims the large beams that will be used to support the roof. These hemlock beams were harvested on our site and milled at neighboring P&P lumber.Reese Hendee, our caretaker’s son, watches over a trailer full of heavy hemlock beamsCarpenters begin the roof on the south-facing guest roomsCarpenters begin the roof on the south-facing guest roomsView of building, sheathed with rigid board, from the north side.Susanna Kellogg, our communications coordinator, stands in front of the south wall of the lodgeHeavy beams are lifted from the pile by a crane into place on the roof. The first beams were installed on the south side of the building, and will support the living roof.View from inside the south-facing guest rooms, under the newly installed roof beamsView from the common room foundation towards the guestroom side of the building. The south-facing rooms have their roof beams, the north-facing rooms are framed and sheathed.A board is being set on the high wall that divides the two sides of the guestroom portion of the lodge. The board will support the roof beams that will span the north side of the lodge.Architect Carol Stenberg, with CGC’s Peg Kamens, framed by a doorway on the south side of the building, admiring the view.Architect Carol Stenberg confers with builder John Perkins on the roof on the south side of the building.Camp Director Carole Blane and Peg converse with neighbor and excavator Pat Hendee. The boards laid on top of the roof on the north side of the building are placed diagonally over the roof beams, for extra strength.View of the tent field, looking east towards the foothills of the Green Mountain.By now, the lodge has really taken shape. This is the guest room portion of the building, sheathed and roofed. You can see the framing for the clerestory windows in the center wall that rises above the roof. These will bring southern light into the north-A carpenter works in the north-facing rooms, framing one of the walls that will divide the rooms.The common room, to the right, is now framed and sheathed; the roof beams are being installed.A view of the lodge entire – guestrooms and common room all sheathed and roofed.A perfect rainbow ends at the lodge. Where’s the pot of gold?Carol Stenberg and John Perkins discuss the placement of these large boulders, as a friendly dog looks on. The boulders were uncovered during the excavation of the CGC pond; they will cover the black pilings to the right. Large posts will be placed on theJohn is rushing to fit the posts for the porch to the shape of the bouldersThe shiny siding is a rigid insulation board. It has been placed over the particle board that covers the framing of the building, and will eventually be covered up by board and batten or novelty siding made from wood from our property. Additional fiber inThick horizontal planks are placed over the porch posts; these will support the roof over the porch.Thick roof beams connect the porch posts to the rest of the building. The roof over the guestrooms will be insulated to the thickness of these beams (the roof over the porch doesn’t need insulation). At completion, there will be one roof line extending frIn the foreground, wood harvested here at CGC, milled up the road, and stacked for use later in the building process. Near the building, you can just see a stack of roof insulation piled up.Inside the common room. Note the diagonal roof boards, which add extra strength and rigidity. The large window openings will provide lots of natural light and a stunning view of the mountains. The blue flooring is called “warmboard” - it is an insulatedPeg stands in front of the building, phones home (but ET isn’t there)Inside the common room. Note the diagonal roof boards, which add extra strength and rigidity. The large window openings will provide lots of natural light and a stunning view of the mountains. The blue flooring is called “warmboard” - it is an insulatedSkylights are placed on the roof for the front guestrooms. They will add extra light and ventilation.A view of the building from the northeast corner. The building is wrapped in rigid insulation. You can see the interesting interplay of the rooflines of the lodge. The high roof for the north-facing rooms, allows for southern light from the clerestory winA busy crew stacks insulation boards on the roof.View from under the finished roof of the front porch. The crushed stones will be covered by Vermont slate.Insulation boards are placed over the roof of the common room. This photo is taken from the north west side of the building.With the skylights set in place, a watershield and insulation are installed on the roof.No, it’s not Harry Potter – it’s John Perkins showing architect Carol Stenberg the doodad to be installed for drainage. The portion of the roof over the south-facing guestrooms, pictured here, will be covered by a “living roof.” The grass, sedum and otherA watershield is placed over the bedrooms on the north side of the building.•A green metal roof is installed over the common room.The common room, with window openings, seen from the outside. The room is roughly the size of the Haybarn.Scaffolding along the outside of the common room allows the carpenters to work on the tall exterior walls. The strapping placed over the rigid insulation will be used by the carpenters to attach the exterior siding.Carl Shepard installs a brick wall to cover the insulation at the base of the common room. Carl worked for us a few years back, creating the stone wall by the haybarn. Most of the stones he is working with in these photos were uncovered during the excavatThe siding is up on the guest room portion of the building. The pine boards were harvested from our woods as part of a project to “release” the maple trees in our sugarbush, so that they would be more productive. Narrow wooded strips, called battens, willView from the front of the lodge on a frosty day. You can see the foothills of the green mountains, with Mount Ellen in the distance.The siding is up on the guest room portion of the building. The pine boards were harvested from our woods as part of a project to “release” the maple trees in our sugarbush, so that they would be more productive. Narrow wooded strips, called battens, willView of the lodge from the south. The slight “knob” in front of the building, together with the living roof, will soften the impact of the building on the landscape.Carl Shepard builds the wall on the outside of the common room.Windows are installed and sheetrock is up on the interior walls of the Common Room. On the scaffold, an electrician prepares wiring for the ceiling fan.Builder John Perkins and architect Carol Stenberg discuss the grading plan outside the common room. The guestrooms of the lodge are on flat ground; the Common Room is on a steep slope. The grading plan must provide for the movement of water (and preventioNo, not our finished Common Room. Laurie Smith shows Peg and Carol the floor in a house Perkins Smith built in Queen City Park. The polished concrete floor, with this amber finish, will be used in the guestrooms of the new Lodge. Concrete is a good conducThe Common Room, with sheetrock and windows installed. Note that there are more windows on the south facing walls than the east wall. This is the recommended window arrangement for energy efficiency – abundant windows on the south side bring in heat and lViews of the south face of the building on a wintry day. While the common room has its final roof, the guestroom roof is merely prepped for the “living roof” that will be installed in the spring. The living roof, which will be covered with grass, sedum anPat Hendee Sr, our Tatro Road neighbor and father of Pat the caretaker, fills in the stones and rocks that will help with drainage on the back slope outside the Common Room. His work will meet up with the stonework completed by Carl Shepard.Builder John Perkins and Peg discuss the stone wall on the east wall of the Common Room.The “novelty siding” is put up on the outside of the common room. Novelty siding has a top rounded “scallop” on one side and an overlap (shiplap) on the other. The shiplap side of one board goes over another board’s scalloped edge, creating a seal againstCarl Shepard installs the stone facing on the exterior wall of the Common Room, below the “novelty siding.” The stones he is using are mostly from the excavation of the pond. His loyal pal Stoney enjoys the sun today (he stays in the truck on rainy days).The “novelty siding” is put up on the outside of the common room. Novelty siding has a top rounded “scallop” on one side and an overlap (shiplap) on the other. The shiplap side of one board goes over another board’s scalloped edge, creating a seal againstThe novelty siding, which has been kiln dried and planed, has to be protected with a finish coat. This was applied in the Kid Barn, as you can see from the photos. The finish is a grayish color; a second coat of light brown will be applied over this. TheCarl Shepard appraises his work on the stone wall on the Common Room. The stone is below the novelty siding. It will be capped by a limestone sill.John Perkins, Carol Stenberg and Peg appraise the Vermont slate that is going to form the surface of the covered porch on the south side of the Lodge. After looking at two possible ways to orient the stones, we decided that the long side of the stones wouHere you can see the tops of the “solar tubes” on the roof. These tubes will illuminate the bathrooms that do not have exterior windows. The light that enters the room is diffused by the caps you see on the roof, and enhanced by the metal sides of the tubBecause winter has finally arrived, as well as November rain, the woodworkers have moved inside, using the Common Room as their workshop. Here they trim the novelty siding.As Carl Shepard works, the stone wall on the north face of the Common Room nears completion.The front face of the Lodge. On the left, the guestrooms, with the vertical rough board siding, and the underside of what will be a living roof, On the right, the Common Room, with the horizontal novelty siding and finished green metal roof, awaiting it sStanding a little further back, you can see the finished board and batten look of the guestrooms on the west wall. The battens are thin strips of wood that cover the space between the boards, to make them more air-tight. The room in the southwest corner oWorkers fill the cement foundation of the Common Room with sand and crushed stone. This will insulate the room from below, and eliminate any crawl space that might be enjoyed by mice and other pests. Directly over the sand and stone, we’ll place “warmboar