First Floor Framing



A lot has happened this week, despite some days off for Christmas and frigid windchills.  Here's the new view coming up the driveway.



My "little" brothers hanging Tyvek against the wind.

The bathroom.  (Still a little drafty.)



Giving family tours. 



My new schoolroom.  A few more walls will be necessary to keep the students corraled.  The front door is just on this side of the school room, and the stairs to the basement will be under the blue tarp.

Brothers looking out the future living room windows.

Master bedroom on Right; nursery on Left.  Our J. and A. got to help the builders raise one of those outside walls on Thursday.  Something they won't forget.

View out the front door.



See--  husband's garage is already cleaner. 



Pretty lawn ornament.

Grandpa getting a tour.  (Two engineers talking structure.)

'Twill be another short week, due to the New Years' holiday, and windchills at -25 degrees.  I know the builders are eager to keep moving; plans are to finish raising the outside walls as soon as the weather permits.

Meanwhile, we'll be taking the kids to some indoor mini golf and out-to-dinner; a welcome family day before everybody's back to work and school!

Going Vertical !

Well, the project was delayed a little bit due to Thanksgiving and weather, but we have made up for that this week.  This week we came out of the ground, and the basement is framed and the first floor is down.


Here you go-- this is the new view as we round the last bend of the driveway. 



Of course, all of this is the basement level:  the Top Left will someday be a bathroom.  The Right side will be bedrooms, and a mechanical room.



Here, from Left to Right, will be another bedroom, a playroom (boy, do the kiddos have plans for that one...  Methinks it won't be an ordinary playroom after they get done brainstorming...  We sometimes have to remind them that this project has a BUDGET!), and a storage room.  Right behind the ladder (which, I'm told will eventually be removed) will be the stairs up to the Main Level.)



Snow is scheduled to be removed from the basement tomorrow.

Here the builders are laying the decking on top of the basement.  I'm standing on the opposite side of the house now.  The man in the middle is standing right inside the front door; the stairwell is just to the left of him.

THIS is the messiest my husband's garage will ever be.  I promise. (I know him.)

Piles and piles and piles of trusses.  They came in all shapes and sizes, and it really looks as if there are enough to build a hotel.  I sure wouldn't have ordered this many trusses if I were doing the structural design.  But they didn't let me near the structural design. 

The kids and I did, however, get to help put all these tarps on.

One more view from the messy garage.  The kiddos got to help pick up trash today in the cold. 

The playroom windows from the outside.

Sorry it has taken so long to get you an update; but seriously, not much has happened since Thanksgiving.  We WERE planning to lay the pex tubing for the radiant heat, on Thanksgiving weekend, but that plan got postponed, and since then, we have been waiting for this lumber delivery to arrive.  Now, the framing is going fast, and we'll get back on top of the updates.  Monday, the guys will be starting the first floor framing, and plan to get all those trusses on in the week after that.

My Father-in-Law suggested a camping trip in the new basement.  Let me know if you want to reserve a campsite!  I'm personally waiting for the plumbing and heat and some carpet and windows and a bed...  : )

Back Fill



So, we finished the drain tile last week, and the plumber finished the under-slab plumbing.   Now, the excavator has been back to back-fill around the walls, and rough grade the yard.  This picture is taken from the garage, looking down into the basement.



View of the front yard from inside the garage.

View of the front yard out the front door.  We were disappointed that the house took up so much of the yard...  so we're planning to clear a couple more trees and level this into a nice playing yard (it's the only flat spot on our property, so far.) 



The basement floor is covered with thermal blankets to keep the ground from freezing to protect the new plumbing.



D, and his dad, and brother braved the frigid 20 degrees + heavy wind to bring the electricity closer to fruition.  The electric company had brought it from the road to the outside of the house.  Now, we've (they, in the heavy coats, rather) have brought the conduit from the outside panel to the inside panel.  I admit I was only out in the cold long enough to take the pictures for you.

In a couple of days, we'll be laying the pex tubing in the basement floor for the radiant heat.  Then, the basement can be poured and the framing can begin!

Insulation/ Electrical/ More Footings/ Drain Tile

Friday, November 15, 2013:
D. and my brother T. worked all day Wednesday to paint tar on the outside of the foundation, and nail the foam insulation over it.

Today, the concrete workers came and poured a few more footings (below, inside the walls.)
Also, the kiddos and I helped to lay the drain tile inside and outside the foundation.  The children loved running around the basement, pointing out where all the rooms will be.  Their orientation is pretty good.

 



The electric company also spent all of Friday here to bury the electrical cables alongside the driveway, from the road up to the house.  Here is our new transformer (which surely has a purpose, but you'd have to ask my husband...)

And below, is the panel installed by the electrician.

Stay tuned for some back-filling-action, and then we're on to framing!

FYI- Subscribing by email

A dear friend in California (!) inquired about subscibing to these posts by email. So we added a "Subscribe" button at the top of the page. I can't figure out how to label it thus, but if you'd like to receive an email notification each time we add a post, you may enter your email address above.

Walls

First off, a little extra, because I was camera-happy.  I was enjoying the soon-to-be-view from our dining room!  This is the old logging road that we have, until lately, used to access our property.  We hope it will make a nice sledding hill.

Saturday, November 9, 2013:

We climbed a small dirt pile and watched the concrete trucks pouring the walls.  They were pretty efficient-- it took less than four hours.  Meanwhile, D. and his brother, with help from the kiddos, raked the embankments along the driveway and planted rye grass and laid erosion mat, to help keep the driveway intact during spring thaws.

This next week, we have several jobs to do before the basement can be poured-- laying drain tile will be first.  (It is completely dark here by 5:30 pm, so we have to work quickly after D. gets home from work.)












Our own Private Inspection Crew



D.'s Checklist (Because you know he has one.)

1. Driveway Permit [x]
2. Driveway Install [x]
3. Driveway Approval [x]
4. Early Foundation Permit [x]
5. Dig Basement [x]
6. Form and Pour Footings [x]
7. Form and Pour Foundation walls [x]
8. Foundation Damp proofing, Foundation, Insulation [x]
9. Foundation Inspection [x]
10. Backfill [x]
11. Full Building Permit [x]
12. Underslab Plumbing [x]
13. Electrical Service [x]
14. Underslab Electrical [x]
15. Radiant Floor Tubing [ ]
16. Poor Concrete Slabs
17. Frame Basement Walls [ ]
18. First Floor [ ]
19. First Floor Walls [ ]
20. Trusses [ ]
21. Roof & Wall Sheathing [ ]
22. Install Windows and Exterior Doors [ ]
23. Shingles [ ]
24. Rough Plumbing [ ]
25. Rough Heating [ ]
26. Rough Electrical [ ]
27. Siding [ ]
28. Rough Framing & MEP Inspection [ ]
29. Insulation [ ]
30. Insulation Inspection [ ]
31. Drywall [ ]
32. Painting [ ]
33. Cabinets [ ]
34. Finish Electrical [ ]
35. Finish Plumbing [ ]
36. Finish Heating [ ]
37. Hardwood Floors [ ]
38. Laminated Floors [ ]
39. Tile Floors [ ]
40. Carpet [ ]
41. Trim [ ]
42. Appliances [ ]
43. Move [ ]
44. Sell Current Home [ ]
45. Misc. (Plant garden, spring honeybee prep, landscape, etc.) [ ]

So this post is a rough outline of our next few months...  I tend to get overwhelmed with a list that projects much beyond "today", but my dear husband is fond of these-sorts of lists :)

Poured Footings

Monday, November 4, 2013:
Now, we have completed footings.  And the photos are compliments of my FIL.

David is working right now on the electrical conduit pieces which will be cemented into the basement walls.  Tomorrow, the builders will be setting he forms for the concrete walls, and we expect the walls to be poured around the end of the week. 

I'm told this is the first of many concrete trucks to come.  In fact, we have a list of several little boys who are on stand-by, ready to come to our concrete-truck-watching-party in a few days.  If the weather is decent (40's or 50's), we'll likely pack a picnic lunch, and make a worthwhile field trip out of it.  Inexpensive thrills for a bunch of  little guys.  Stay tuned.