New Dining Room Floor

We got a lot done yesterday.  We need to make some adjustments because of some funkiness in the foundation so I spent some time on the rock.

Bonnie, Pat and Eric concentrated on getting the main level floor down.

By the end of the day we were able to walk around in our new dining room. We had a celebratory toast with our Wisconsin libations- Leinie's, Miller and Milk

Continuing on from what Pat and Eric started yesterday, Bonnie is going to take on the task of scribing around the rock.  This is a time consuming job and once she is done we'll have to full floor in.

The guys are working too fast.  We are going through material faster than we can order it.  Today we are getting a large order coming in from Village hardware so I think for the next few days we'll be in good shape.  Since we didn't have much we could do yesterday we traded our Monday for Sunday and took the day off. 

Trevor, Eric and I got out for a ride down in May Valley.  It was good to get out and hit the trails with the guys.  Later in the day Bonnie and I did some clean up and excavation.  Today we are prepped and ready to up down the main level floor.

 

Almost floored

Bonnie, Trevor and Pat figuring out joists

view from upper part of lot- new entry position for deck will be between the edge of house and the tree

Again we are moving faster than supplies allow and we only worked a partial day. We had enough wood to frame most of the main floor but need some of the larger lumber to brace the lower level.  Tomorrow we are hoping to get a portion of the larger order so we can sheet the main level floor and the landing.  Also we can get started on the new steps.  As soon as we get the sheeting down then we can start using that "flat" level again.  Our lot is very sloped ( if you can't tell from the pictures) so it is difficult to move things up and down the lot.  Once the main deck is in, our project will seem much easier.  Also, once this preliminary curved wall is complete, then the other walls will seem like a breeze since the upstairs is a normal shape.

view of new dining room from old deck door

view looking up from base of new entry

Todd has already started using the window seat next to the big rock- which is bigger than we even imaged but it will be unique.  All of our families won't know our house if it wasn't a bit unique. 

The warmer the weather is getting, the more the bats are active in our peaks.  Last night the chirping was loud enough for us to have to turn up the tv and Finn also knows how to identify the noise.  For those of you who know Bonnie's love of bats, this is a complete desensitization for her.  In fact, yesterday she was so tired during the night that she woke up, acknowledge the bats and then went back to sleep.  This is definately progress in her ability to conquer this fear.

Day 2

Today went well.  Despite the fact that Todd lost some sleep thinking about the calculations for the floor, things seem to be working out ok.  I guess the long days of activity and extra, different brain processes are wearing us all out but Todd is taking the brunt of it.  He was already dozing on the couch before Finn even went to bed.  

The weather is finally beautiful and summer seems to be here at last.  Not too hot but still warm enough.  The guys arrived at 8 and started working.  I managed to still make it to Jazzercise and Todd took fine for a hike after the dump. 

Pat and Eric working on sill plates

Trevor and Todd working on curved wall

View of future mudroom

The team seems to be working faster than expected as we again ran out of material and had to have Village Hardware deliver the needed materials for the floor joists.  Finn and I made the rounds to the hardware store to drop off the complete list for bidding.  I do like the fact that we are trying our best to support the local economy with this project.  Although I did try to get a bid at Home Depot and Lowe but both were to busy to pick up the phone.  Oh well...

Bonnie also managed to complete a small project and built a new compost bin using the old deck boards.  Our older compost bin is continually being used and we have out grown it so a new one sits up by the shed on the top of our lot.  It seemed kind of silly to be building that little project in the shadow of a giant house project, but it seemed more helpful to not have one more person in the action.

Now it's our turn

Figuring the wall heights on this crazy sloped lot

Concrete in and rock cleaned

Finn - always ready to help out

Today we started installing the sill plate and the work turned over to us and our friends.  Eric and Trevor (our former students at IAA) and Eric's friend, Pat from Big Bear along with Todd made up most of the work crew.  Bonnie kicks in help between watching Finn and during nap time.  Today was alittle nerve wracking because we needed to find the height of the main floor in order to get the proper height of the landing.  This is the basis for the rest of the framing heights.  Todd has been studying the drawings for a couple of weeks now but it is always unnerving taking that leap and cutting materials.

We had been waiting to price the full materials list but our crew is ready to work so we ordered the first few things (green treated and the first few pieces of 2x) from the hill in order to get started.  This probably isn't the most cost effective thing to do but when you have labor ready in your yard, you don't want to waste it.

Bonnie's project today was scrubbing the rock.  While this may seem silly, with allergy season in full bloom, the very thought of moss in the dining room makes her sneeze.  So after a few go- arounds with the bleach water and wire brush, it looking much less fuzzy.

We passed inspection for our foundation.  Tomorrow we pour, and Thursday we break down the forms.  We should be able to start building Friday.

Graduation Weekend

We are all formed up and ready for inspection Tuesday.  If all goes well they will be pouring the foundation Wednesday, breaking forms Thursday and able to start building by the weekend.  This weekend was graduation and as of Monday afternoon we officially start our summer.  We are pretty close to right on track with our timeline.

As you can see they have made good use of our old redwood deck, which has helped us save some money.  We still have some more left that we plan to use for a new compost bin, some more smaller decks that will link to the main deck, and a tree house for Finn.