We've Been Framed and it Feels Good.

 

The Grain Bin House build continues with our first layer of insulation and downstairs framing  this past week. We did hire Sealtite of Fairbury, to do the thin layer of closed cell insulation, a job that only took 2.5 hrs. After all the framing is complete we'll have another company blow in cellulose insulation. Sealtite guys covered the entire inside of the grain bin all the way up to the very top. Due to the in and out curve of the GBH metal walls the depth of the closed cell insulation varied from 1/4 in to almost 1 in. thus the reason we decided on two layers of interior insulation.

 

Fanny's dirty white coat illustrates how nice and bright light green
results of the closed cell insulation.
 

We like working with small local companies and the owners of these two are cousins and were happy to work with each other on our project. We considered using only plain batt insulation which would have been cheaper but we wanted out GBH to be well protected from  Illinois cold winter rains and snows and secure enough to hold in the heat from our rocket mass stove. The closed cell spray on foam we used has a high R value of 6.5 , almost double of the open cell spray on foam plus because of it's glue like properties it adds to the walls structural strength.



Closed cell foam covering the bolts that hold the bin panels together
This type of insulation is an excellent vapor and moisture barrier.

Because of its round stature framing took some creativity but we finally decided on the construction of 2 foot by 9 foot rectangles out of 2x4 lumber. Fortunately my husband is a Keith of all trades, primarily self taught and not afraid to take on something new, like building a house Dorothy's Tin Man would envy

 Each "box" was built separately and then installed inside the GBH. As we've been touting for years, child labor is encouraged on our farm. Below is grandson Wesley helping his papa with some of the frames. The labor can be a bit slow when using this demographic but sure it's free.

Over the years Keith has saved lots of lumber from other buildings we had torn down on our previous farm like chicken houses and goat barns plus pieces from past projects and /or gifts from others who had leftovers from their projects. Thus the framing is a mix of new and old wood.

Kitchen windows will go on the left.
Large window on right will go just behind the steel
barrel of our rocket mass stove heater.

Every other box was attached directly to the metal wall of the bin while alternating boxes were screwed to their neighbor, their neighboring box I mean. Keith pre-drilled holes in GBH wall then while I held the frame in place on the inside he drilled the screws into the wooden frames from the outside. It took a good bit of manpower to attach the frames to the heavy metal of the GB but when all done the framing will be tight and solid.

With the first floor framed in we are now working on the staircase and from there we'll install a large overhead wood beam and several floor joists in order to support the second floor. Then we get to frame in THAT level. The really tricky part will be framing in the slanted ceiling. Lot of long skinny pie pieces!