This blog is solely about the start-to-finish construction of a house.
It is recommended to start at the earliest post and proceed chronologically.


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December 02, 2014

Studies

Massive Massing Studies
So a couple of Architects finally get to design their own home.

There is a chance, it seems, that they might go a little overboard studying every possible permutation before settling on a scheme.

Above is an early 3d exploration of the building massing in relation to the site.

Somewhere along that line of variations was the seed of an idea that grew into the building currently being constructed.

Plans in Alignment
Another example: the drawing above is an AutoCad study showing a line of fairly well-developed floor plans, each differing in some way. 

Starting with "A", each plan was assigned a letter.  We ran out of alphabet and just began double letters before we circled back and ultimately chose plan "U" for further development.

An unusual effort perhaps, but for us this approach was a useful tool.  It was hard initially to fight the feeling of "one more missing better option".  The idea that hasn't been explored is hard to quantify.  By going ahead and drawing up every permutation we could think of (within reasonable constraints), we could more easily weigh them against each other. 

Some plans were easy to eliminate, but they served as good reminders that we had covered that ground.  Some were good solid contenders, and much harder to choose between. Of the solid options, we eventually decided that one of them was the right balance for us.

November 25, 2014

Wired

Rawrr!
For the last (almost) 2 weeks, the electricians have been running wire all over the house. 

Tomorrow we have our rough-in inspection scheduled.

Misc tales of an electrical nature below.

November 22, 2014

Downpour Art

When the rain drives him off the roof, one of the roofers likes to sketch.

November 20, 2014

How are you Coping?

Steel deck coping in place
It took a bit of wrestling and shims to get these 7 heavy steel copings into place, but they look great.

Mid Lid

The roof is underway.
A banner day - the main roof is in progress.

November 18, 2014

Finally! The metal roof takes shape.

Play-doh Fun Factory for roofs
Only about a month and 1/2 behind the scheduled install, this trailer backed into the courtyard and started spitting out roof panels.

November 13, 2014

Breakfast Armor

Welding in the garage, using a table and bar clamps as a jig.
The steel cladding for the Breakfast Nook was installed today - despite the freezing rain.

November 11, 2014

Street View Progress

Rockwool insulation spreads across the exterior.  Still no finished roof.

Breakfast Nook Window

Exterior View: the awning window, open 90 degrees
Pictures of the awning window at the breakfast nook. 

Meanwhile, the exterior Rockwool insulation is enveloping the wall.

November 07, 2014

Ceiling Fan Mount



The old question:  how to mount a ceiling fan on the ridge of a vaulted ceiling?

Battle of the Radios

We had a situation the other day: 4 radios at once, battling for supremacy.

80's music inside,
Latino music on the roof,
Rock in the front,
and Jazz in the back.

Overheard on the Jobsite:

"...and every time _____ got drunk, _____ would play Pat Benatar at top volume and sing every word"