From The Ground Up

And then it was time to make it 3D.  The framers came in and made quick work of putting the walls up. 

To go along with the theme of each layer being linked to the last, ’ll have to give a verbal description of how that was accomplished since I don’t have a picture.  While the concrete of the foundation was still wet, large hooked bolts were sunk into it.  These bolts were used to secure the stud walls to the floor along with numerous hurricane straps.  They also placed a styrofoam-like layer between the concrete and wood.  I don’t know, but my guess is that this was an additional moisture barrier or served as insulation.

Front view

Back and side view

Gaining privacy with plywood.

The faces that will welcome you when you visit.

Pretending to use every potty in the house is a favorite pastime, as is collecting nails.

Lifting the bonus room trusses into place.  They were built off site, hauled in (they looked HUGE on the ground), then lifted into place with the crane.

Hurricane anchors and straps (maybe I’m using the right terms :) ) secured the trusses and plywood roof to the walls, along with endless numbers of screws, of course.

We had a giant hole in the middle of our house for quite awhile while they worked on the remainder of the house, and then they did THIS:

They placed a ladder on the second story ledge on either side spanning our living room then simultaneously carried a 400 pound beam up the ladder, partially secured it on some 2x4s, carried up a second beam, then fully secured the two beams together.  Jacob and I happened to be home during this and I was so scared for these guys that I wanted to go back inside, yet I couldn’t make myself leave in case they had a horrific accident.  It was intense, but all survived.  Even me.

Just when I thought they’d finished the scary stuff, they set their ladders up like you see in the above two pictures and then walked across those catwalks!  I’m glad I missed that part.

Back view.

Front view.  It’s taking shape!

The center peak.  Very cool.  And very crazy!

The center peak again.  Getting closer.

Our view looking in.  Isn’t it grand?

Firm Foundation

Once the site prep was completed, it was time to start the foundation.  This process and the framing that followed was intriguing to me as I was impressed by how each layer linked in to the layer before and after it to build a structure that seems amazingly safe and durable to me.  I’ll show you what I mean in pictures as we proceed.

We opted to use a stem wall foundation rather than a monolithic foundation because Jacob wanted the bare bones of the house to be strong and of good quality.  This type foundation, while more expensive, was the best choice for a sloping property like ours.

These footers were dug into the sand with rebar (not sure of the spelling) in the bottom for the concrete to be poured in.  Notice the diagonal rebar.  Those will stand up once the concrete is poured to link into the next layer as you’ll see.

Footers are poured with rebar standing up around the perimeter of the house and under all the load bearing walls. 

Then the footers were built up with concrete blocks with the rebar sticking through them.

Then more footers were dug and rebar placed for the interior walls and fireplace.  The sand was covered with a plastic moisture barrier before the concrete slab was poured and the rebar was bent over so that it would be incorporated into the next layer.  That means that rebar is down in the sand below the concrete footer, through the concrete, through the blocks and now will be in the slab.  I think it’s pretty cool and makes me feel like my family will be as protected as possible.

Jacob was talking to the concrete guys when they were pouring the slab and they told him that our contractor was doing it right, not cutting corners where many people often try to.

 

At this point we started to freak out a little bit about the floorplan wondering how we could possibly live in what appeared to be small spaces, but everyone warned us of this, so we tried to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Here we are enjoying it along the way:

Joshua sitting in his usual vantage point.

Watching Daddy take pictures of the progress outside.  Poor Josiah was already at school

Me and my boys sure do love a picnic!  Jacob usually reluctantly obliges.  Josiah was being a ham for the camera and Elijah spent most of the time fussing about having to eat veggies, so that explains the number of pictures they each have below :)

I love this sweaty boy!