Attic insulation and heat

Yesterday I was delighted to see that we have a set of stairs at the mudroom entry!  The stairs will be in place until the summer when we are able to build our decks. 



The doors even lock!

The temperatures have been dipping well below zero here over the last several days which has me really thinking about the heating system.  We picked up our Sime High Efficiency water heater on Monday.  This will make hot water for domestic use as well as for our radiant floor heat.  Eventually we will also have some European wall-hung radiators on the second floor - we are roughing them in at this stage of the game.

Our freshly hung boiler, not even hooked up yet!

 

The temperatures have been so frigid that not much work is going on outside.  Jacob, Jonah, Skyler and Alec have been busy working inside on drywall, interior walls and plumbing.


2nd floor ceiling drywall HUNG, insulation going in today!


Soon enough the temperatures will come back up to a tolerable level and they will finish up the siding.

North side siding progress 12-17-13





 



South and East....DONE

We've had a ton of snow showers this week.  I took some photos on Wednesday but failed to update this blog! 

There will be coil stock around the insulation of above grade foundation - to be installed in the Spring. The coil stock matches the roof (Dark Bronze). The ledger is in place for the deck, and the flashing is in place for the porch roof, also to be done in the spring.

South Side complete (minus deck that will be added in the spring)

I love the detail in the trim above the windows!


 

Today Jacob, Jonah and Skyler are working inside because it is so cold!  Our house now has locks on all the doors (!!!) and the pressure tank has been installed for turning the water on next week.  We will be installing our furnace over the next few days so that it can be turned on next week as well. 

Siding right along....

From the road



Character!

Jacob and Skyler working on some lovely siding details

Windows and doors, oh my!

As we get closer to our building envelope being weather tight, I'm starting to think about the interior work that will be happening over the next few weeks.  I personally will be doing the electrical rough in (by the guidance of a licensed electrician of course) and look to get started on that soon, I've got a whole lot of boxes to hang.

The Eye-brow roof over the kitchen and dining room is looking good. Our siding will weather over time and only develop more character. The ledger is in place for a future deck installation.



We have exterior doors!  Eventually they will be painted to match the roof & windows.

Kitchen

The drywall for the 2nd floor ceiling was delivered yesterday.

South side coming along

Jacob and crew have the south side nearly complete.  They are working on the eye-brow roof that will prevent full summer sun from heating up the 1st floor too much. It is so cool to see the siding in place, trim detail and windows in!  In the spring they will come back and put a band around the lower 24" or so, the ground is far too frozen for that now.  The band matches the roofing material (and windows). 

Getting started on the eye-brow roof

The south side elevation is looking great!

Progress Get's Me Excited

I was so excited to see the windows going in today that I just had to write another blog post!

The bank of master bedroom windows on the south

The bronze color matches the roof nicely!

The windows on the 2nd floor - south elevation - almost done!

Our siding (shiplap) waiting to go up!

Catching up

Our building contractor took a break for what turned out to be three weeks.  It felt like forever and Casey and I didn't get nearly as much done during that time as we had hoped.  We did get our temporary propane tanks set and have been making preparations for the heat to get turned on in the coming weeks.  Once our windows and doors go in we'll be weather tight and ready for so many other phases of the project.

With the ground frozen, we opted for temporary tanks until we can get the lines properly buried and the tank set in the final location.

With the Holidays upon us, it is a busy time of year and we are working hard to keep what feels like 100 balls up in the air.  Thankfully it won't be long and the exterior work will be complete and we'll get the plumbing and electrical completed on the interior while winter blows through.

Inching along

This post marks the half way point of our builders "break." I never realized how much I would miss them.  They're doing a great job, and are really a fun bunch to work with. I miss the progress!!! They'll be back soon!!

Over the weekend Casey and I pulled in strings so that the phone company can come and install the E-911 phone service.  This feels like a really big deal to me.  For me it means that we will have a dial tone and could at ANY TIME call and have our phone number and internet service MOVED to our new home.  That's kind of a big deal, right? It's a big deal for me as someone who works from home and NEEDS internet access.

In just a week the windows and doors will start to go in. In the mean time, Casey and I have a long list of things to work on. 
With the holidays, work schedules, 2 children, and life in general - finding the time is the hardest part.

Bulkhead

 

 

 Back when we were first starting our project we had to make a tough decision to eliminate the walk-out basement. (Check out "The Real Beginning") We settled by having a bulkhead.  Today Jacob and Jonah worked on getting the bulkhead squared away. I must say, I like the way it looks. 

11-7-13

West elevation

North elevation

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

Dark Bronze

I've had a difficult time getting back up to check out our progress over the last several days.  This afternoon I managed to make it up there a bit before dusk.  The roof color looks great, I can't wait to see it in the full light of day. 

We've got some really cool trim detailing along the roofline.

We've got a few more details to get wrapped up before Jacob takes a two week break.  During the break Casey and I have a lot of our own projects to finish up before we can be ready for the next stage.  More on that another time!

Moving right along....

I haven't made it to our site for photos for the last several days. Although Casey has been giving me progress updates, it was another thing entirely to see it with my own eyes!

Sheathing for the roof going on 10-31-13

I just love the south elevation!

Mudroom framing complete, bathroom pocket door hardware in place

Framing in place for one of the bedrooms on 2nd floor

Framing for master bath suite

Building Up

Jacob and his crew were incredibly busy last week framing the first floor walls, building the floor joists for the second floor, and the second floor exterior walls.

On Thursday we also met with the propane company to discuss the tank that will be delivered in three weeks.  We are very excited that our Energy Star rated home will be super efficient and not need much fuel to stay warm during the winter months. We also strategically located windows so that in the summer we can take advantage of the shady side cross breezes.

On Sunday Casey worked to build some of the interior non-structural walls.  It was too dark to capture any photos of his finished work, but I'll be sure to get some soon.  He framed out the mudroom, the half-bathroom and my office.

The second exterior walls are 75% complete as of 10-25-13

The south facing side with the window openings roughed in. 

 

1st floor exterior framing

Today was pretty rainy and cold for most of the day.  The temperatures are dipping pretty low at night and we might see some snow flurries on Saturday night.  We appear to be right on target of getting things weatherized before winter really hits! The crew is making great progress on the first floor framing. It was cool to stand and visualize looking out the windows on the south side!!

We have a HUGE sliding glass door and window in the kitchen

Mudroom entry

The North wall is still in progress.  Jacob and Casey talked some more about the design specifics that are unfolding.  Things are pretty exciting!

Peek-a-boo!

Look at the size of that sliding glass door!

The beginning of the 1st floor framing

Slab #2

Today the concrete was poured for the 1st floor slab.  The concrete is power troweled several times making it silky smooth.  In the final phase of construction a protective coating will be applied and it will be our finished flooring material.  The concrete will also act as a heat sink.  The sun will beam through the strategically placed windows on the south side throughout the day.  The concrete stores the heat and disburses it in the evening. I look forward to warm floors underfoot.


following manual troweling

Super smooth after the 2nd power troweling




 

The concrete project took most of the day today.  Tomorrow the 1st floor exterior walls will start to go up.  The exterior wall framing will lead to second floor decking and eventually a roof!

 I'm excited to see what is in store for us this week in terms of progress! 





It's stick season here, but a few trees are holding on to the last of summer and going out beautifully.  Soon the mountains will be covered with snow. Hopefully we can get this place buttoned up and weather tight before winter sets in!

1st floor radiant

On Friday the crew got all the bottom plates in on the first floor for all the walls.  They also installed the pex tubing for the radiant heat.  On Monday the concrete will be poured for the polished 1st floor.

Pex tubing in place, ready for the pour on Monday (notice our rooms are partitioned out!!)

We've got stairs to the basement!

Boy On Deck

Jacob and his crew ROGEN DESIGN BUILD are rocking it ! Yesterday they installed the basement sill plate and built the supporting wall. Today they installed the steel support beam and built the first floor deck. Nothing but up from here!

"Mom, I can stand on our new floor!" 10-17-13

Climbing down into the basement

The view out our back door.....I'm going to make an album of progress shots over time out this back door.

Eventually we'll have stairs down to the basement and to the second floor here