Month: May 2009

A slab appears! The garage has the first finished floor in the entire house. More plumbing was done upstairs in the master bath as well.

The plumber was here! The majority of the rough-in plumbing was done today. Quite impressive, really. They are using a type of PVC water piping that has become very popular over the last few years called Wirsbo. It’s really neat stuff – durable, quick to install and flexible enough to require few angles and unions.

Most of the bracing for the shearwalls was removed today. The garage has some framing. It looks like they’re almost ready to pour the slab! There is a banister that they framed up erroneously. Geoff assures me it will be gone in the next few days. We’re having a banister installed there instead.

Wow! We took a few days off and TA DA! Here’s what’s happened since last we updated: Windows started going in! In fact, they put 3 or 4 in during the 20 minutes I was there. Whoa! The fireplace has been rough framed in. At this point, we haven’t really decided how this is going…

The contractor was out today to draw where various cabinets are to go on the floor and walls. The exterior is looking nice, too.

The trusses are in. Check out the vault in the master bedroom! The remaining framing on the upstairs is done now. There are a few adjustments to be made to the upstairs framing. Notably, the master closet will grow a little thanks to the 90% efficient furnace that’s being installed. It doesn’t require a flue…

We took a few days off while I was out of town from taking pictures. Here’s what’s changed in a week. WE HAVE A SECOND STORY!!! The downstairs walls are sheeted on the exterior in their entirety, though the framer still has a few window holes (known as ‘Fenestrations’ in the ‘biz) to cut (structure…

The sheeting and walls started taking shape. The main purpose of the sheeting that’s down now is for structural stability of the first floor. The walls are assembled down on the ground and then tilted into place. This is a heck of a lot quicker and easier than trying to build them in place. This…

The gas flex and furance base was installed. The gas flex runs between where the stove and fireplace will go back to the furnace base. This will be the termination and distribution point for the gas line coming into the house, which will penetrate the east side of the garage from the meter (not installed…

After that rain delay, I was sure things would be stalled for a bit. Boy, was I wrong! Up went the vapor barrier and first floor post and beam in 1 day! It’s unbelievable how fast these guys work. The first floor air ducts, waste lines and water lines went in. Rumor is that sewer…

It rained last night, making the lot muddy. Gravel was put down from the sidewalk to the garage. We now have a better sense of where the height of the driveway is going to be. This is going to be one tall garage!

All the boards have come off! The foundation now stands on its own. This must be quick dry concrete. It’s amazing how quickly it set! At this point, it’s starting to make sense and look more like a house and less like a mess of materials dumped in a hole in the ground. An interesting…