We have walls!

Now those are windows! These are the East facing bedroom windows. Do they look huge? That's because they are. Truly - huge. And awesome. Rumor has it that I put these windows in so that my night-owl hubby would never sleep in again. Lies! However, I am confident that since I am a morning person (is there a bird name for us too? And don't even think of mentioning worms), these windows will help me get up, make coffee, and start the morning fire before Chris even thinks of waking up.

East windows

Garage with the Bridge open above

 We were racing to get the second floor walls up before Hurricane Sandy was forecast to hit. High winds were predicted for the area so we wanted to get a full rectangle of counter force erected.

West, North, and East walls up

 We're using a decking product that sheds water through downpour slots. Great to avoid standing water that could ruin your flooring. However, it means that any rain that comes down is poured into the first floor. Argh. So we moved the screen room inside so it couldn't blow away and we have the added bonus of a roof for the tools.

Extreme measures to protect the tools 

We didn't quite manage to get all of the South wall on. Once section was left and we decided to call it quits as the winds were picking up.

End of day

 We nailed bracing boards to the walls and deck to help support the walls. Then we settled into the Nest to see what the night would bring. Fortunately, we had a fairly quiet night. Quite a bit of rain and some strong gusts, but no sustained winds and no damage.

Hurricane bracing

 Work resumed the next day and the last wall section was quickly raised.

Then it was time to start on the interior walls.

Interior wall

Stretching over the stairwell opening

And...they're up!

 Once the walls were all up, the guys went around and put the rest of the sheathing on the building.

Finishing the wall sheathing

On the wall, two stories up

 I drove up Friday to night to see this - the Bridge walls were up! And is that a swing???

The Bridge. And a swing?

A sense of humor sure helps make the work go faster.