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The Today Show has been covering the Winter Olympics from Vancouver Canada for the past couple of weeks. They have hosted great athletes, chefs and other guests at the Grouse Mountain location NBC remodeled for the games. I, for one, couldn’t help but notice the dramatic fireplace screen that has flanked Meridith, Matt, Ann and Al.
I have been searching for a photo to post along with this article, but can not seem to find on on the internet. I did, however, find this three minute discussion between Ann Curry and Kristi Yamaguchi. Interestingly enough, Kristi seems to want to cut to some “B roll” as they chit chat about various figure skaters. It seems someone in production checked out early. The entire three minutes is spent watching the two women talk. Good for my purpose. Get a great look at the custom metal fireplace screen that someone must have handcrafted for the television set.
The frame of the fireplace screed looks like it is made out of 3/4″ square tube. The curves in the metal frame could have been shaped on a metal bender and the sharp corners were possibly mitred together. Small pieces of 1/4″ cold rolled round stock have been welded onto the frame to hold various cut metal designs. The metal designs were most likely cut by hand out of pickled and oiled flat stock by a plasma cutter. There are also several sizes of flat stock that have been cut and ground off to form the icicle figures in the metal fireplace screen.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see this type of fireplace design pop up in custom homes around the world.

It takes time, effort and energy to learn how to do something new. A recent post prompted reader, Sylvia, to write in and ask if I could do some posts on simple welding projects and share a few tips. Sylvia has taken on the task of learning to weld at the wonderful age of 58. Females actually make better welders than their male counterparts at times. I thought I’d begin with a post outlining some of the simple tools one might need to get started in a new hobby of welding.
I would suggest that if you are looking at starting with small garage projects, you might want to look at investing in a good mig or wire feed welder. When you find a brand you like, it is good to look online and search the welder by its specific name to find the best price. Most online outlets will include free shipping. Look for a make that is ready for shielding gas. These can be used with a solid wire and shielding gas. Your end result weld will come out without slag, less splatter and an overall better appearance. The other route is to go with a flux-cored wire. As you weld using this wire, the flux in the core of the welding wire produces a slag and protects the weld bead from the atmosphere. This would require you to clean the slag off of your final weld.
A minimum of a 165 welder would be one of the best to begin with.
If you choose to use shielding gas then a cylinder will be needed. Welding cylinders can either be purchased or leased from a local welding supply outlet. Also, the recommended safety equipment should be on your shopping list as well, like gloves and a welding helmet. Auto darkening helmets are a bit pricey, but might be worth the upfront expense. Another safety precaution would be to purchase a welding mask that fits on your face and under your helmet to help alleviate welding fumes and grinding dust to your lungs.
Along with these suggestions, a few small power tools will complete your start up welding shop. I would suggest a 4 1/2″ grinder with grinding wheels, cut off wheels and flap wheels. Flap wheels are great to use when blending in welds and rounding corners. An abrasive cut off saw or chop saw is a good addition as well.
It is a good idea to connect with a local welder or supply shop to find the best deal on steel.

Dave recently sent this picture in via our facebook page, while he was on vacation on the east coast. His question for Tom had to do with the type of weld used on this underwater exploration vehicle.
Tom thought the machinery looked like it was built out of steel with an aluminum or zinc paint applied. The weld looks like an arc weld that was done with either 6010 or 6011 welding rod. Tom thought the weld looked “cold”, meaning that whoever fabricated the piece did not have the amperage turned up.
The object looks like a deep sea retriever device. Something used to remove debris from a sunken ship or perhaps even take pictures. Tom wasn’t sure on second look weather it was made out of steel or not. He thought it could be aluminum with a bad mig weld.

Sometimes the only way to fabricate a custom metal handrail is on the job site. This handmade handrail was welded partially in the shop and finished off at the custom home.
There are several things to remember when considering on site welding. It is best to be well prepared before leaving your shop. A few things to bring along might include a couple of grinders, one with a cut off wheel, chop saw, welding helmet, welding gloves, tape measure, square, and leathers if you doing some overhead welding.
Tom built a small dolly for his wire feed welder to take along when doing on site welding jobs. The dolly holds his bottle and welder. It is a little cumbersome to get out of the truck due to weight, but once Tom gets it out it can be wheeled around to wherever he needs to take it.
Tom used a regular dolly that can be purchased at any do it yourself store. He welded on a metal loop for the cylinder tank and also welded on hooks for the welder so he can easily bungee it on.
Don’t forget a few silver sharpies for marking up your steel as well.

It is also convenient to have a simple five gallon bucket for tools as well.

We received an email from Tim in Southwest Oklahoma. He had seen the video we made of our adventures while constructing our metal building shop/house. His main questions centered around our experience with insulation. He wanted to know what type of insulation we used for the home and if we had experienced any problems with home sweating during the winter months. He also asked if Tom had any advice on how to prevent sweating. Thanks for the questions Tim and we will do our best to try and answer them. By the way, best of luck with your building project, Tim, and send us some updates and pictures for our website!

Tim is looking at building an all metal red I-Beam truss system with sheet metal exterior walls. The metal shop/house that Tom built is along those same lines as well. Tom used a basic rip stop vinyl faced fiberglass insulation. Insulation can be purchased without the rip stop feature, but if the temperature gets extremely cold and the insulation gets bumped the insulation could crack. Rip stop insulation is more durable. Tom’s entire building is outfitted with 3 1/4″ bat, R11 insulation and was purchased along with the entire building kit. The bats were 5 foot wide. The inside of the home was framed in the existing building once the building was erected and dried in. The wood stud walls of the house were insulated as well with R13 fiberglass bats, giving the home portion of the building an extra layer of insulation. This created dead air space between the bat insulation that was used to insulate the entire building and the insulation that was packed into the stud walls of the house. This helps elevate any type of large temperature variation between the outside and inside of the house. The air temperature in the dead air space tends to equalize in that zone.
To help answer Tim’s question as to how to prevent sweating in the walls, the shop/house is a great case study.
Tom notices that in the shop, where there isn’t a secondary wall system and the wall and roof structure consists of the tin, bat insulation, purlins and gurts, moisture can form on the building frame when the outside and inside temperatures vary greatly. The cold temperature from outside will interact with the point on the building where the insulation is compressed at the purlins because the tin is screwed in there. The insulation quality is low and the cold air transfers from the tin through the thin area of insulation onto the purlins. If there is any moisture in the shop, say from shop equipment or vehicles that have been pulled in to work on, the purlin temperature interacts with the moisture in the air and does cause a little sweating.
There isn’t much problem with the house part of the building sweating. Really only in typical areas like bathrooms and the kitchen while showering or boiling spaghetti noodles. This may be due to the double insulation factor.
The other thing to note is that Tom’s house/shop is located in an very dry location. Wyoming experiences low humidity year round. The important factor for any building project with regards to preventing sweating is still going to be a well ventilated building.

Tom and I recently got away with the family over the long New Years weekend. Estes Park Colorado is within a short driving distance from our house/shop in Wyoming. We like to visit Estes Park in the winter because the summer crowds are gone and we can often get lower rates on places to stay. Since we are a family of five, it is nice to find a vacation condominium or house on rental websites.
We found this great downtown loft on homeaway.com. The owners live in Estes Park and were wonderful to work with. There was plenty of space for our family to spread out and relax.
This unit is a two bedroom unit with a t.v. room that can be used as a third bedroom. There is also a pull out couch in the living room that could sleep two. The kitchen, dining and living room area is open and spacious. There is a full washer and dryer located in a closet just off the kitchen. Another great thing about this condominium is that is has two full bathrooms. Each bathroom is outfitted with plenty of towels and a generous toiletries basket.  The condo also comes with free wi-fi.

It is a brand new loft right above a small art gallery and coffee shop at the beginning of the downtown shopping district of Estes Park. Eds Cantina, a good Mexican restaurant and bar right outside the front door. The downtown condo backs the Estes Park River Walk. The Big Thompson River runs directly behind the condo. I can imagine in the summer time the river noise would be very soothing. There is a long stairway up to the loft, so it would be difficult for handicap or older guests.

Our family loved the location. We were able to park the car and leave it there for almost the entire weekend. We did venture up the mountain to St Malo retreat center to see the beautiful stone church.  We also spent some time at the Estes Park Brewery where they bottle their own micro-brews.  The movie theater is within walking distance as is the local Safeway.

Since Estes Park is one of our favorite weekend getaways we travel there at least once a year.  Another must stop in the Estes Park area include Rocky Mountain National Park to see the wildlife and outstanding vistas.  When we visit without the kids we always make time to stop in at Nikky’s Resort to enjoy the great bar there.  They usually have a roaring fire and wonderful live music.  The dinners are hearty and outstanding.  The real reason to go to Nikky’s is the atmosphere though.  The old wooden covered porch is literally littered with old Chianit bottles of all sizes.  We aren’t really wine drinkers, but if you are… they invite you to order a bottle, polish it off, write your name on it, and then they will hang it from the ceiling.  The last time we were there we saw one marked “Clint Eastwood”… hummm.

Estes Park is a remarkable location to visit anytime of year.  The town and Rocky Mountain National Park tend to be more crowed in the summer months.  Sometimes if you go in the winter off season then the lodging rates will be lower.  Some of the downtown shops and restaurants only operate during the summer months, so be aware.

Check out our short “out of the shop” video with footage of the Estes Park condominium and the area.

The cage needed an easy to open latch and handle.
The handles were formed out of two pieces of twelve inch, 5/8 round bar stock. The round stock was bent ninety degrees on either end. The two metal handles were directly welded onto the square tube. Mounting plates can also be fabricated to the metal handles by drilling 5/8″ holes into a piece of flat bar stock. Insert the bent metal handle part way into the hole and weld on the back. Additional holes can be drilled into the steel plate to provide anchor points for mounting.

Tom ordered floor anchor pots from Auto Body Tool Mart. Normally, an anchor pot is installed into an existing concrete floor. If that is the case, the concrete needs to be core drilled before installing the floor anchor pot. This article will describe how Tom poured floor anchor pots into the concrete slab he formed for his new building addition.
Tom began by welding rebar onto the anchor pot. Tom then placed the anchor pots so they were flush with the finished grade of the concrete floor. Wet concrete was poured around the anchor pots to secure them into the floor. Blue tape was used to cover the anchor pot. The tape served to protect the anchor pot as well as aid in finding the pots after the concrete floor was dry.
Anchor pots are used regularly for chaining cars to the floor to help do body work. They can also be used to help straighten axles.

We have been busy. It has taken us forever to rough in the electrical work. To date we have run well over 2000 feet of 14-2 wire, 500′ of 12-2 wire, 150′ of 8 gauge wire, 100′ of 10 gauge wire, 750′ of CAT 5 communications cable, 500′ and counting of plenum rated speaker wire, and some 400′ of HVAC thermostat and control wire. We are wired for the eventual addition of solar photovoltaics and wind, along with a transfer panel for a diesel generator. A few years ago an engineer for IdaTech – a fuel cell manufacturer in Bend, told me that the average French farmhouse got by on wiring for less than 1k power. With the National Electrical Code, and insurance regulations, this is entirely not possible here in the USA. When we see the price of copper, we sure wish it was possible to get by with less. We also recently installed a 16′ garage door, – something akin to putting together a life size erector set. Now only three more garage doors to go on the “barn”.

Saturday we sprayed 1″ of foam insulation on all of the exterior walls in the house. We used a product called “Foam it Green”. We are truely impressed with the results, not only did the foam seal up the walls, it also tightened up the structure. I would recommend this DIY foam kit to anyone. Today, we placed R19 insulation on all of the second floor exterior walls, this week Chip will work away on doing R19 insulation on the remaining exterior walls after work each night. Our finished iusulation package calls 1″ of foam board beneath stucco on the exterior walls for something like an R29 in the exterior walls.

Peggy has been learning to do western landscape painting from M.C. Poulson at the Buffallo Bill Historical Center Friday afternoons and every other Saturday. She sits with her easel before millions of dollars of art in the Whitney Gallery ( I tell her not to splash her colors). We are proud of her work to date. This and our other activities have kept us occupied in Cody’s “slow season”.

We hope that you all have a great week.

-Chip, Peg, Dan, Katie,