It has to be perfect.....not second best........

While I was in Denver at the workshop the beams came for the second level. According to the contract they were to be big and not cut on the end so we could custom fit them but they came notched. You can see my contractor on the phone to me in Denver as he had called my dear sweet wife and asked her what to do about these beams. After she saw them, she told him to call me and I flew back to straighten yet another mess out.


The beams were about 50% under size and the notch was not even close to the main support beams they were to sit on.


So I drove up to Butler, TN near the Cherokee National Forest and found the right ones, 24-30 inch at the butt and at least 28 feet long. The sawmill cut a flat spot on each log that I had marked and then delivered them within 48 hours. We used the Bobcat to move this monster logs around so the crane could lift them over to the house.


Each beam was lifted over and placed near their support posts, we also moved all the joist for the third floor plus fireplace units and so on. If you look real close, by clicking on the pic, you can see a security guard sitting on the wall watching everything.....we have one there now 24/7, 365. The is even his little security shed, so he can watch the cameras that are all over the place. You can't pick your nose anymore without being followed by a X10 camera......


Of course, the crane operator can't hear anything, well except LUNCH, so everyone has to use hand signals to direct the materials in place. Today, 10-10-05, we had a tree expert from the University of Tennessee who works with the national park and state forest service come over and check out the trees and brush that were damaged during the fire. We lost 6 hemlock, 1 chesnut oak and the worse loss was the American Chesnut tree that was about 11 inches at the butt. We will now remove all the dead trees, logs, stumps and brush over the next week or so that you can see in the background.


So each log was cut to fit perfectly and sit just right on their support post. This took an extra 3 days to complete, but was worth every minute.


You can see the difference between the second picture of the notched beam compared to the ones done on site. This little setback cost me about 9k, but I canceled the balance of the contract with the first supplier. WHY, because he didn't follow the contract(or plan)....and when you don't follow your trading plan, bad things seem to happen. What does building a house and trading have in common.....the same as football and trading......have a plan and stick with it...or it's BYE BYE BABY