Framing Day 1

Oooooooooh boy.  This is really the day I've been waiting for.  They brought the lumber a few days ago and were going to start framing yesterday, but our temporary power wasn't hooked up and the framers didn't bring a generator, despite being told to bring one by Jace.  We are still waiting on the electric company to hook us up, but the framers should have been ready to go.  They even asked us if they could run an extension cord to a neighbors house... yeah, right.

Everything looks great right now and they should have the entire first floor and possibly more done tomorrow.  Things are starting to take shape and we are really happy.  The sun room is my favorite part and I think it will be the focal point of the house.


DAY 22

The brought the lumber across two days.

DAY 24

Much of the first floor is done

The sun room!

Completed wall ready to be put up.

Sliding door opening.

Front of the house where the porch will sit.

Back view of the house.

Windowsssssssss.

Back Fill

Simple stuff.  They did some of the back fill and rough-graded a bit.  They have some more work to do, as do we, in making sure the land is sloped properly and all of the excess dirt is spread out evenly. 

Jace said the lumber would be delivered Monday and they would start framing early in the week.  Even now, with the basement filled in, the house is starting to feel whole and real.  I'm sure once it is framed, it'll be even more insane and that much closer to being a reality.  Becky and I can't wait!

DAY 18

Building up towards the front porch

Under the porch.  I'm assuming they have more to fill.

Under the garage

From the sun room towards the back wall.

Basement.

Way back in the back yard.

Coming out of the basement double doors.

Weather Proofing

Yesterday, two guys came and put up the black sealant and foam board (I could be using the wrong terms, but that's what I'm calling them, so deal with it.)

They also put up support brackets in preparation for the back fill.


Everything looks good and they should be bringing in the stone for back-filling and rough grading the land and then it's really game time.

DAY 15

Under the garage.

The back of the house and the way it'll be graded.  We don't plan on keeping such a sharp slope for the hill.

Under the porch.

Basement Block Work Completed

Hi everyone.

Thursday and yesterday, the crew finished up the basement block work.  Everything looks wonderful and crisp.  Hopefully the water-proofing can begin Monday and we can just keep trucking along.  I tried to get photos of little things that might help future home builders.

DAY 10

Looking from the front.  The block on the front side of the porch still needs to be completed.

Blocks jutting out in the garage that the floor will sit on.

Inside under the porch.

A view from the uphill side.

On the up hill side, there is still some settled water from a few days ago.  This may be an issue of concern in the future.

Back side wall.

Entrance to the outside double doors for the basement.

Two shots of how they fill the block, specifically in a corner.

Inside the basement.

 Looking from the garage to the sunroom.  Notice the lip the garage floor will sit on and the center bridge under the sunroom.

DAY 11

 Piping coming out of the front of the house.

One of two small windows in the basement.

French drains around the entire house.

Cement filled block.

Inside the basement.  Another pipe that goes to the outside of the house.

 

Looking into the underside of the porch.

The end of the last day of the block.  Great work.

 Slowly, but surely.

Block Work Continued

DAY 9

More block work.  Things are moving along really smoothly and we've had zero issues so far.  The back side wall seems huge, but once they start back filling with dirt and stone, it shouldn't look as daunting. 

I am a little worried about the aesthetics of the down hill side part of the house.  We don't have any brick or siding on the basement level block and it is just boringly exposed.  I'm sure we'll eventually paint it and put plants up, but I just think it'll be an eye-sore.  I guess it's just a wait-and-see type thing.

This is where the dead bodies will go...

Block Started

DAY 8

The crew started the block work this morning.  The did all of the corners and some of the down-slope side.  They should get most of it done tomorrow or the next day.  I can't believe we are at this point and that it is actually starting to look like a structure. 

Some things to note in the pictures:
- They scored/pointed the cement in between the blocks to make it look cleaner
- The french drain connecting pipes in some of the lower blocks
- The opening on the left side for a basement door