Framing Week #3

June 22, 2009 - June 26, 2009...The third week of framing has come to a close, and what do we have here? Rafters, perhaps?

Ahhhhhh...rafters, indeed! Third floor bedrooms are beginning to take shape!

And, look...a small forest imp peeking up over the floor:

Looking from one end of the third floor towards the other:

View of third floor from the deck...(there's that imp again...)

Roof support posts are in place around the perimeter of the deck:

Driveway view of home...third floor rafters in progress...porch roof support posts in place:

Driveway view again...there will be a large window in each end of the third floor, a skylight in each bedroom, and a skylight in the roof above the hall.

The photos really make the house look huge...several people have told us...but, in reality, it's only about 2,000 finished square feet. Including the garage and unfinished utility/mechanicals room, it's probably closer to 2,600 total square footage. I think the setting...plus the approach to the home from below exaggerate the actual size.

We're down to the wire for choosing shingles and siding. Hubby is getting another estimate from an out-of-town supplier, then we'll have to make our final decisions. It looks like we'll be working next week on several projects...Hubby took vacation, and we have some help lined up. We are anxious to get busy and do our part to make this dream a reality!

Hope to see you soon!

Stay tuned,
Kris

A Few Deck Pictures

June 23, 2009...The deck is coming along nicely...here's the approach from the front door:

Looking out the front door:

The side facing the driveway:

Same side from the opposite direction:

That's it for now...we're heading out soon to check on today's progress. We'll be updating later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Stay tuned,
Kris

Framing Week #2

June 15, 2009 to June 19, 2009...Framing continues. Work begins on the deck...very exciting for us!

The great room is surrounded by deck on all three sides, with a roof overhead...so we should be able to enjoy this outdoor space 8-9 months of the year. The children are excited about sitting outside to do their schoolwork. I'm anticipating evening meals watching the sunset over the mountains. We've never had a large outdoor space like this, and it's one of the things we are most looking forward to about living in this house.

Our original plan was to have the crew build columns to support the deck and roof. Somehow that bit of information got lost in translation, and treated, 6"x6" posts were ordered instead. I was a little upset, at first...thinking they would look "puny" in comparison to the size of the deck. Now that they're installed (and I have no choice, really...HaHa!), I'm fine with the look.

Looking out the garage door on the far side of the house:

Evidence of the heavy rains we had this week. Building permit hanging on the post to the far right:

View from the kitchen window onto the deck:

Looking back the hallway from the great room towards the main floor bath:

Kitchen pantry closet. I rearranged the entire kitchen layout so that I could find a place for this. If you remember from an earlier post, it was one of my 3 "must-haves"...1)pantry closet... 2)wide windowsills... 3)fireplace. The fireplace has been reduced to a woodstove, wide windowsills are still in the works (I hope!), and pantry closet is now a reality. (YEAH!!!) In our last house, my pantry was about 30" wide...nowhere near large enough to accommodate a family our size. I buy many things in bulk, and having a convenient place to store and access my ingredients will be a daily blessing.

Standing on the third floor looking towards the great room. Once the walls are in place, this view will be gone:

Looking down from the third floor, through the second floor, into the first (ground) floor. We'll be thankful when the rough steps are in place!

View from the third floor towards the great room. You can see the puddle of water on the subfloor from this week's rain:

View from one of the third floor bedrooms, looking down the drive. We're giving J-Bird his choice of upstairs bedrooms. My aunt and uncle blessed him with the beautiful bedroom furniture that belonged to my cousin, so he'll have a wonderful space to work and study (when he's not on the porch!) He wants to wait until the walls are up to make his decision.

Thanks for stopping by...please leave a comment if you haven't already...and...

Stay tuned,
Kris

Framing Day #6

June 15, 2009...Concrete was scheduled for delivery around noon. Pads were being poured for the porch/roof support posts. One problem, though...clearance between the posts' location and the edge of our man-made cliff is a bit too narrow for the concrete truck.

It doesn't look to me like he's too close to the edge...but look at that truck...leaning!

Last week, Amish Ray asked Hubby for the use of our tractor, to transport concrete where the truck couldn't...Hubby decided to be on hand and do it himself:

Dumping into the outermost corner hole:

English crewman (we need to ask his name, don't you think?) working in the hole:

Moving concrete in a wheelbarrow:

These holes were about 3' deep:

There was still some water in the holes from the rain we had at the end of last week:

AND...when Hubby arrived at the site late morning, the 2nd floor interior walls were already in place! Looking from the great room back the hallway towards the bathroom, kitchen is on the right where the yellow ladder is:

You can see the closet door framing in place on the left side of the hallway:

This is what it looked like just yesterday:

View from master bedroom looking towards great room. The master closet is just right of center...it fits snugly into the corner of the room. Can you say "downsizing?"

This is what it looked like yesterday:

And here's the kitchen...pantry closet is just left of the window...also tucked snugly into a corner:

Soon the support posts for the porch and roof will be built and installed, then the wrap-around deck attached. Oh...to walk on that deck...THAT will be a happy day!

Stay tuned,
Kris

In The Thick of It

June 13 & 14, 2009...The weekend's beautiful weather gave us the opportunity to work on a few projects. First, Hubby had to replace a hydraulic hose on our tractor that got ripped off a few weeks ago by a falling tree. (Oops!) Here's the repaired hose:

The rest of the weekend we spent waterproofing the poured concrete walls. This wall looks splotchy because it was badly pitted and Hubby was working really hard to get the paint into the pits. We only had one coat applied at this point. The color is called "weathered concrete," and looks taupe-ish on the brochure, which we thought would coordinate well with the moss-green siding. When we got it on the walls, however, it looked a lot more gray-ish, and not to my liking. Oh well...we can always paint over the exposed parts later.

We painted the freeze walls for continuity in case they are exposed beneath the bottom row of siding:

Here's J-Bird working on the freeze walls. He is a hard worker and a tremendous blessing to our family. We are able to accomplish so much largely because of his willingness and ability to help out. The other boys helped a lot, as well...we just didn't get any photos of them. I'm really enjoying the family time we're sharing as our home progresses. J-Bird pointed out that this was the first project we worked on that was actually part of the home construction...I hadn't even thought of that, but, he's right.

Oh, the glamorous life...I love it! Here I am, working on the back side of the house. It was nice and cool as the sun set on the front side and the breeze actually made it pleasant! We are using Quikcrete's Masonry Waterproofing Paint, which is very thick...like textured ceiling paint, for those of you who have had the pleasure to apply it. Meaning...it splatters...a lot. It ends up in your hair, on your face, arms...you get the idea.

And, here's Sissy...nimbly navigating the many ups and downs of the construction site:

And, she's not one to be left out, so we gave her a brush and let her give it a try:

Daddy had to fish her brush out of the paint bucket a few times...

But, then she decided she didn't like the paint on her fingernails:

Another productive weekend...sore muscles...dirty clothes. LIFE IS GOOD!

Sometime this coming week, we'll be adding 1 1/2" foam insulation onto the walls we just painted, for extra moisture protection and insulating benefits.

Stay tuned,
Kris