Thursday progress report

Wall sections were framed up today.  Chalk lines were snapped on the subfloor where all the walls/rooms will be.  The plumber came in and did the ground rough (all the drains and pipes that have to be under the basement floor) so that the basement floor can be poured tomorrow. Another hot day.  Picked out the garage doors and talked to another cabinetmaker.  Quotes for cabinets should be ready by Tuesday.

Things are moving fast this week.

The guys made alot of progress Tuesday and Wednesday.  No rain was good, but the heat was not so good.  Work started early and ended before the heat was unbearable.  After the steel beam was in place, the floor joists were installed and the subfloor was put on. 

The part sticking out will be an extension of the master bedroom.

Floor joists in place.

Subfloor is almost complete. 

Checking out the garage.

For Lynlee:  Tree pose in my new yoga room. 

 

Backfill and some grading was done, too.

  

Steel beams

It's been an exciting week for us so far.  On Monday the steel beams were delivered and set into place along with the floor joists.  Nate called to let us know when they would be setting the beams so that we could be there to watch.

Looks like it would be great fun to operate! 

Steel beam going in.

Lower it a little more. . . .

Lowering the 2nd beam and bolting them together.

Quality control.

Floor joists lowered into place.

Footing drains and waterproofing

Work this week consisted of waterproofing the basement walls, putting in the footing drains, backfilling with stone and adding rigid insulation to portions of the basement walls to create a thermal break. 

Framing was started on the basement walkout wall, too.  We met with the window supplier and finalized the window order, decided on the colors for the roof, siding and trim.

 

 

Framing continues tomorrow with the subfloor.  Forecast for the week:  dry and hot.  Should be good for framing.

 



Basement Walls

It was a busy week.  We drove across the river just about every day for one reason or another.  The forms for the basement walls were put up on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Chris and Steve mowed and trimmed along our driveway and I supervised.   It was a great day to be outside.  The weather this week and last week has been unseasonably nice for August. 

 



 

There was alot of activity Thursday, 8 or 9 loads of cement brought in for the basement walls.  One of the drivers was a high school classmate of ours that we hadn't seen in years. 

 

The Bocklage Bros. keeping an eye on things.

 

 

All the walls were poured by noon and the next day the forms were removed.   What a change!  We're starting to get a real feel for how it's going to look.

 

Chris enjoying the view from the basement.

Checking out the garage.



 

After we checked out the basement, we took the dogs down to the pond and just enjoyed the afternoon.  They're still learning to be country dogs.

 





Rain Delay

Summer in Missouri.  Hot, humid and rainy.  Wait, rainy?  Yep.  This past week it rained enough near Rolla (an hour south of us) to close Interstate 44 for the day.  We got almost 2 inches of rain here on Thursday and a couple other days including about a half-inch today.

Lucky for us, it drained away pretty quick and the basement footings were poured this morning.  The rain came a few hours later.  Forms for the basement walls will go up tomorrow and will be poured Wednesday or Thursday.

 

 

We looked at siding and stone samples over the weekend and are considering using a local manufacturer of cultured stone.  B & M Stone uses casts of limestone found nearby and re-creates the colors and patterns.  Next is to decide on the siding and roof colors. 

I've been working with an energy consultant and have learned enough about home energy efficiency to make my head hurt.  Like where to add insulation to the footings and basement walls to prevent cold from penetrating the building envelope, what a HERS rating is, the difference between open and closed cell foam insulation and what BIBS stands for (blown-in-batt system).

Tally and Nissa are learning to be country dogs, although they still spend much of their time at the house yet.  They had a great time running up and down the dirt piles after the basement was dug.  Too muddy for them to be out there now.

 

 Is this your room or mine??

 

Begging for a ride in Greg's 4-wheeler.

 

Family has been sharing their garden produce with us, so we've had lots of fresh green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and the ever-prolific zucchini.  Greg shared fresh blackberries with us that were the best.  We've bought peaches, sweet corn, melons and potatoes from local orchards and farm stands.  The funny thing is that the farmer's market on Saturday is pretty small - I guess because so many people have gardens, or have family with gardens.  I do miss the variety of Kerrytown, but not the crowds or parking.

More to come . . .


 

We have a hole in the ground!

The excavator dug the hole for the basement yesterday.  We moved the house further to the northwest to give us more room between the house and existing trees for the driveway and landscaping. 

When the foundation was staked out, it looked really small.  There were these little wood stakes in the midst of a big pasture.  Now, the hole looks huge.  It was fun to watch the guy in the crawler work around the stakes as he dug the basement.

We can see exactly where the walkout basement is now.  Cool!   Weather permitting, the concrete guys will be out early next week.