What got done this week?

What got done? Lots!

 The ceiling joists over the kitchen are up.

A jumble of wall studs

The first floor interior walls are in place.

Under the stairs, looking from the LR into the mud room

I'm able to see the room layouts now and am getting a feel for how the spaces will work together.

Arial view!

Standing on the kitchen ceiling you can see a bit of the pantry (near right), then hall, bathroom, utility room, mudroom, and finally, garage. The hall will eventually have a small linen/utility closet and the back part will become the pantry's walk-in closet.

That boxed area is the stairwell

The LR is going to be cozy, but that suites the way we live. The TV will be upstairs in the playroom with games and DVD player attached. The LR is for conversation, reading, and watching the activity in the real heart of the home - the kitchen! When my family gathers we all end up in the kitchen or at the dining table and I've designed this house with that in mind.

The pantry

The pantry is huge. In fact, the plans say it is a future master bedroom. But I designed it as a pantry to store my cooking equipment, canned goods, and cook books. It will function as a combination storage area and office where I can plan meals and do the household accounts. I'm sure there is an official (and probably old) word for what this space will actually be, but for me it's an extension of the kitchen. I plan to decorate it, enjoy it, and make it as peaceful a space as possible.

View of the driveway exit

We had so much rain this past Friday that part of the yard turned into a quagmire in just a few hours. I drove the Cube in on solid ground. Chris backed out in the same tracks and buried the car to the hocks. We left it for a day and the soil drained to the point that some hard pushing succeeded in getting it out.

Oops

Fog rising

We got up early Saturday to sunshine and fog. Beautiful day. After a hike to enjoy the morning, we got started on the work:

Double header over the hallway

Joists over the dining area

Precarious perch

Protecting the floor from adhesive drips

I "carpeted" the slab with old packaging material so that we wouldn't have to worry about dripping subfloor adhesive onto it. Of course that meant that none got dropped.

Nailing subfloor

View from the second floor

Heavy garage beam

We have a 28 foot span in the garage and we didn't want any posts between the 16 foot bay and the 12 foot bay. So we had to put up a monster beam. Fortunately laminated (engineered) beams are designed to be grouped.  3 beams, each 1 3/4 inches by 24 inches, are put against each other to create one beam 5 1/4 inches across. Nailed appropriately the beam supports the upper garage deck and roofing. Awesome. And heavy.

Level? Yup, level.

Chris and Matt put up one beam at a time and they were heavy, ungainly, and heavy. But they did it.

Clamping the beams prior to nailing

Tractor assist

The beams bowed out a bit without joists to help keep the long expanse in line. So they used the tractor to help hold it straight before nailing. 

Lots got done last week and over the weekend. This week they'll finish up the floor joists and get started on the second floor walls. Whew!