Roof Trusses

First Bundle of Trusses Takes Flight

The roof trusses arrive, and are craned onto the top of the building.

Construction Financing

Grass is always greener on someone else's piggybank

If you are considering a project of your own, and need to secure financing, we suggest you start on this as soon as you can, and schedule a lot more time than you think you'll need.

A discussion below.

Window Arrival

Big and Heavy

The windows arrived today...too bad we aren't ready for them quite yet.

The guys successfully moved them into the house without damage - something I've been plenty worried about.  Replacing a pane of insulated glass that big is not a simple endeavor.

We did have a little bit of a casualty, however, on the supplier side of things.  Here is how the windows looked when the truck was opened:

Oopsie

The leaning windows were just fine, but the one on the ground isn't operating quite right.  Also, it crushed a box of screens, so those will need to be replaced.

But WE didn't damage anything (yet), so congratulations all around to the JRA crew. 

Now if we can just keep them that way...

One of a few stacks of fragile goods.

Overheard on the Jobsite

Guy 1: "You're not as perky as yesterday."
Guy 2: "Yes I am!  I'm plenty perky."

2nd Floor Walls

View of House from Garage

The first walls on the 2nd Floor are going up.  Nice big windows, set back into a framed-in slot.

View toward M.Bedroom from Roof Deck

Advanced Framing

Not illustrative of the subject - just a shot I liked

We have designed this house to utilize a technique called "Advanced Framing", aka Optimum Value Engineering (OVE).

These fancy names just refer to a few framing techniques that:
1. reduce the amount of lumber in your walls, and
2. increase the amount of insulation in your walls.

(Which really are the same thing due to cause and effect.)

Here are a few of the principles we are employing:

Overheard on the Jobsite

Whooo! It's like an amusement park ride!

(i think someone slipped on a board or something?)

Floor Trusses & 2nd Floor Deck

Looking West - faint line of West Hills in the distance.

All the floor trusses have been installed, and covered with the subfloor plywood.

We are using a nice sturdy 1 1/8" thick subfloor, for a good solid feel underfoot, and no deflection to worry the tilesetter.

Subfloor is glued and nailed with ringshank nails per APA recommendations.  Just because I can't help myself, I'm adding screws as well.  This floor will not squeak if I can help it.

View from the front door, down toward the Living Room

Standing on the first floor now is a different experience; the floor above really defines the volume of the rooms.  (And provides some much-appreciated shady places on the site.)

View from kitchen toward outside of Living Room.  Big windows!

Soon the bracing can come down in the Living & Dining

Soon stairs will go in, making the trip up to frame the second floor a little easier.

Overheard on the Jobsite

"I have a lot of feelings.  And you've managed to hurt almost every one of them."

Misc Framing Pictures

Overheard on the Jobsite

"Nope, send all these beams back to the lumberyard and send us good ones. FOHC only."

FOHC = Free Of Heart Center; meaning the beams should not contain the very center of the tree, because this will likely cause a lot of twisting wood movement with time and changes in moisture.

First Walls

Living & Dining Room North Walls

The first walls on the house have gone up.

Started with the tallest balloon-framed walls beside the stair, otherwise there would be no place to build them on the ground once the other walls are in place.

'Balloon framing' refers to walls that are built using continuous studs that span more than one floor. 

Since the stair is right up against this wall, almost the full height of the two-story wall is visible on the interior.  Framing this way avoids a joint at the floor line, and makes a stronger wall.

Here is the garage, which has the main framing in place:

Garage Framing

You'll notice that there is plywood attached to the upper part of the wall.  This is because it is easier to put the plywood in place when the wall is laying flat on the ground, than it is to carry sheets of plywood up a ladder.

The plywood is only attached at the top, and when the wall is stood up and plumbed square, they nail it off.