Happy New Year

Happy New Year from our family to yours.  I hope and pray 2012 brings a "positive change" for our nation.

Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal on the bridge at Elkmont in GSNP.

In the "wild" N.E. part of GSNP, Pa Pa Neal looks at Mt. Cammerer.  It was a beautiful last day of the year.

Just past the Cataloochee Campground, Pa Pa Neal ponders which  trail to take.  In the end we took the trail back to I-40 and then to Gatlinburg.

Heading over to The Ridge

Heading to The Ridge tomorrow after we get Anna on a plane back to Louisiana.  Greg and Renee are driving down from Indiana and Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal will be coming in from Birmingham.  Not sure about the weather for the next week but we do expect it to be colder than it has been.  As stated before, no work is planned on The Ridge during the holidays.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Cookie getting into the Christmas spirit.

Three (3) generations at Christmas.

Sheetrock & Risers

We tried to head over the mountain early on Friday, but work got in the way for Brent and so we did not start the journey until 1:30 pm.  The weather on the drive over was mild, rainy and once we hit the park, a very heavy fog was added into the mix.  No snow was spotted when we crossed Newfound Gap, but the temp was in the low 30's.  The light Smoky Mountain type rainy weather continued as we arrived at The Ridge.  That night the rain cleared and the temperature dropped sharply.  On Saturday, we awoke to frost on the ground and cold temperatures so it was a legitimate excuse to keep a fire going all day.

We had a shorten work schedule planned for the weekend, because we need to pick-up and organize the tools neatly in anticipation of our guest arriving after Christmas.  On our agenda we planned to install some of the risers.  We were able to box in the ceiling over the stairs and install sheet rock in the ceiling and around the canned overhead light installed last week.  We also installed two (2) sheets in the wall in the stairway and completed six (6) risers.

It will be about ten (10) days before we head back to The Ridge as we will be spending Christmas at the rental, so we filled all the bird feeders to capacity and warned them to ration the food and keep the squirrels away.

Boxed in the ceiling area above the stairs and added sheet rock.

The stairwell wall now has two (2) sheets of sheet rock.

The view of the tools to the left of the stairs is just a small sample of the items that needed to be organized and stored.



Since there was not a third stringer, we decided to add a back brace for the riser. 



A view of some of the installed risers with the construction treads.  It will look better after the oak treads are installed.

Cookie loves to watch all the construction activity.  I guess she still thinks she is an inspector at Zelda.

The work on the stairs is completed for the weekend.

Cookie loves riding through the park and one day hopes to hike the trail to the top of the Chimney Tops.

Skirtboards on Stairs

Heading across Newfound Gap this Friday, we were greeted with snow and ice.  The roads were fine but there was some remnant snow from a storm earlier in the week and the familiar large icicles were hanging from the rocks and ledges along side the road.

The skies were clear all weekend but the temperature did dip in the evenings.  On The Ridge, the temperature highs were in the mid 40's but the lows were dropped into the upper teens.  We did enjoy a nice fire both Friday and Saturday.

Work continued on the stairs.  This weekend the goal was to install the skirt board along side the stairs.  In a new construction, this would be placed besides the stringer, but as usual nothing is easy.  Brent had to cut and notch the skirt board to fit the rise and run of each step.  This was very easy and went really fast. NOT.  After using a square and cutting the board, it average another four trips outside to trim to the skirt board to fit.  The fit does not have to be perfect because the tread will hid a 1" gap and the riser will hide a 3/4" gap.  The problem was getting all the gaps to fit within that range.  Well practice makes perfect and Brent did have a lot of practice.  Additional foundation work on the stairway was completed and additional finish work should be completed next weekend.

We have decided not to install the stair treads until after the New Year holidays.  Brent has decided not to doing any work during the holidays (or very little) and does not want people walking on the stair treads before they have been sealed.  The treads will first be installed and then any screw and/or nail holes covered in wood putty.  Then the treads will be sanded, stained and protected.  The less traffic during this ordeal the better.  We have one more work weekend before breaking for Christmas and the New Year holidays.

The girls have finished their tests and the 2011 fall semester at UT is now a memory.  They met us at The Ridge on Friday and followed us back across the mountain on Sunday to the rental house and will stay with us till the Spring semester begins.   

NOTE:  Sorry about the rotation of some of the pictures below but I am unable to change the attachments to a profile view.

Driving through the park on Friday and Saturday was beautiful.

The skirt board is cut and ready for one of many fittings.

Skirt board in place after final fitting.

Even with the rough construction treads the stairway is taking shape.

The new treads are waiting to be installed.

Since there is no third stringer, the added 2x4 in the middle provides additional support for each tread.

One Step Closer

The weekend at The Ridge was spent with Brent working on the stairs.  All the risers on both stringers have been adjusted to a riser height of 7-1/16".  This was accomplished by cutting out "filler" pieces which were attached to the tread base of each stringer.  The filler pieces were held in place by using plywood has a coupler along with liquid nails and wood screws.  After each piece was attached to the stringer a 2 x 4 was inserted between to provide added strength and stability for the oak treads.

Next weekend, Brent plans to install the skirt boards, drywall and build the landing at the top of the stairs.  If this is accomplished we should have the new oak stair treads installed the weekend before Christmas.

The girls drove over from UT for the weekend.  Classes have ended and finals are in process.  Jennifer already had a test and has two (2) more.  Jessica has several papers due and one (1) test this week.  We also had the 99 Dodge 4x4 pickup towed to a garage at the base of ski mountain road.  The mechanic should advise us the week of the financial impact.  It is very strange not to see the truck parked in the driveway, but there is a lot of extra parking.

The temperature was very mild for this time of the year and we did not have a fire all weekend.  In crossing Newfound Gap, there was no snow and very little ice hanging from the rocks.



The tread base on the stringer before any modificaition.  This stringer was originally fabricated in the 1960s.  This bottom step was about 2-1/2" different in height which caused alot of stumbles at the bottom of the stairs from family members.




Above is a typical filler piece with the plywood coupler.  The filler piece was liquid nailed to the plywood along with three horizonal wood screws.




Here the assembly is set which "caps" the orignal tread base on the stringer and brings the tread base height to 7-1/16".  Additional liquid nails was applied to the coupler and more horizontal screws are used to fasten the coupler to the stringer.




Finally, two long wood screws are inserted in the verticle postion to bind the filler piece to the stringer.  Not shown:  4" nails were shot into the studs and a 2 x 4 member was used as a cross member.  This process was repeated on the other side and for each of the remaining 15 steps.



The deck in front of the house was the ideal location to set-up the saws and work.  The weather during the weekend was great.

 

A view of the mountains from Newfound Gap.  There was no snow or ice.





The state line is at the top of Newfound Gap.