Getting Closer to Our Goal!

Our goal is to have the house "dried-in" by the end of Labor Day weekend.  I think it is doable!  Last week we worked hard and got a lot accomplished. 

We had some chilly and wet weather, so early in the week it was tough to do too much, but we went into the weekend with the all the eaves hung for the south side of the roof and the first row of decking nailed down.  The first row is key - if it is level and where you want it, then the rest all fit flush and fall into place.  Pop also got a bunch of the decking lined (so you know where the truss should hit underneath it and can be nailed), and he and Tom cut our odd length pieces.

Saturday, Daniel and Pop joined us on the south side rafters and we got all three rows nailed in before noon.  And that was even without my help part of the time (or maybe that is why it went so fast).  A neighbor arrived as we were getting ready to break to see what we are doing and how the insulated concrete forms work.  She is another owner-builder, but planned on building a log cabin.  I toured around, and then she pulled on her work gloves and helped Pop load the decking onto the tractor.

We wrapped up about noon, and I caught this slightly blurry picture from a quick rest on the "kitchen" floor of the house. 

laying on the kitchen floor, looking back over my head to the east 

After lunch Thomas and I went back out and cut the pieces of OSB to fit into the gabled end.  We managed to get the boards up the scaffolding, screwed and nailed in to place, and finished in just the nick of time.  Mom and Pop picked us up for mass in Eagle Nest and enchilada dinner to follow.  A nice way to end the day (and prepare for another day of work on Sunday).

 at Saturday's end, the east gable wall is nearly completed, and the roof is decked to within 13 inches of the ridge

Sunday, Pop came back over, and we cut several widths of decking to fill in our gap.  It was a somewhat lengthy process because we added a little extra support underneath with the narrower widths going up.  After we did that, Thomas rolled out as much flashing as we had over the ridge and added some more to the shopping list.  Tom and Pop also built a set of steps into the kitchen, which is much more secure than an old wooden ladder I have.

With the steps complete, we ate our lunch in the kitchen on Sunday.

In the afternoon Tom and I got as far on the west gable wall as we had on the east, though it was a little more trying and difficult on ladders than on scaffolding.  It was a good stopping point for the day, which then led to many more domestic responsibilities indoors, not the least of which was Tom bottling the chocolate mead and starting a new batch of plum mead.

this plum mead is actually made from the plum meat after juicing them for plum wine...

Monday I worked late and got home as Pop was leaving.  Tom and Pop hung the sheeting on the outside of the south framed wall and as much plastic as we had for covering the window openings.

 the main floor is now not only drier, but darker without the open wall....

maybe perfect for camping in with friends this weekend....

 blocking out moisture also means blocking out our views; how exciting it will be when we install the windows and get the view back again!

Friends arrive on Saturday to help with the work - a Labor Day Labor Camp in Miami.  It's getting closer and closer! 

Seasons Changing...

Officially we have another month until AUTUMN, but would you know, I woke up to a dew-coated car!  We've been enjoying light rains periodically throughout the afternoon and evenings of late.  By "light I don't really mean a drizzle, but a hard downpour that doesn't last long and leaves little trace of its presence five minutes after it stops.  Not complaining - we can use all the moisture that falls!  The mornings have been cool and the nights even cooler.  I even turned the heat on my toes at the beginning of the week when I drove to work, and yesterday I wore a jacket.  Granted I might have turned the AC on both afternoons driving home.

So the seasons are changing in other ways, too.  I drove past "tent city" at Philmont on my way home, and the tents, which were all up this morning, had vanished like fallen leaves from a naked tree.  Tuesday the last troops headed home, and I am sure a lot of staff breathed a little easier knowing things would slow down a little.

And though I have mixed feelings about it, next Monday begins the cycle of long Mondays for work. 

Seasons change...

Hanging Right Along - Pt II

I can't believe I forgot to post the story about the cat! 

Friday night as we get the last truss hung and all is well, Tom looks up to see the momma cat Felix perched on top of the NE corner of the house.  He comments about what a stupid cat - probably climbed up the ladder, though I have seen her climb the studs on the framed wall and hang from the headers.  Anyway, Felix is on top of the wall, and we are cleaning up for the night.  We come back out, and Thomas laughs that now she can't get down and tries to climb the scaffolding to help her.  At this point she is not on the wall, she has climbed to the peak of the roof trusses and is stepping across the peaks that are two feet apart.  She is "running" away from Thomas who is trying to help her down.  I decide to run to the house for the camera, but as I come back out of the house, she has climbed out to the middle truss and then run down it to the outside edge of the wall and leaped to the ground.  "Stupid cat!" as Thomas said over and over.

Last night we hung almost a full row of decking - just a three foot section to go.  We weren't lazy, in leaving such a small piece unfinished, but a storm rolled in dropping rain hard and fast.  The lightning was about six miles off in Thomas' estimation, and on top of a roof swinging a hammer is not where you want to be if the lightning moved any closer.  Maybe we'll get started on the south side tonight?

Not so lazy Sunday...

It looked a Ford truck lot in front of our new house; not only did Pop come to help, but David and Andres joined us, too.

Sunday afternoon Pop asked me if I would trust a thin piece of wood to support me on the roof, and I told him I never have worked on a roof before.  I have walked a on a few roofs in the company of my uncle Pat back when I helped out with the properties, but installing decking is new to me.  I hopped up onto the scaffolding and acrobatically climbed up the trusses and threw my legs over the edge and onto the decking.  Thomas counseled me not to look at the ground, so I didn't right away.  It was okay working up there.  I felt pretty comfortable hammering and balancing, though I mostly stayed on my butt.  After we got the second row filled in, we took a break from the heat and regrouped on our next steps.  While Thomas and Pop worked on cutting boards and preparing eaves, I started unscrewing the bracing from the center of the trusses that connected them all together.  With the decking going up, it was pretty stable. 

Right about then David and Andres arrived, so I traded my place on the decking with David and was glad to keep my feet on solid ground.  We got another row completed before we called it a day.

about 5 feet left to go on the north side

What a difference the shade makes underneath...

Hopefully we can chip away at the work of getting the decking up during the week and weekend.  Our hope it to get the decking up and hang the fascia before installing the propanel over Labor Day weekend!

Hanging right along...

Well, this past week we didn't accomplish much on the house during the week.  I think we were all feeling a little pooped, but Wednesday and Thursday we had stuff happening after work.  Friday we jumped back in with all hands on deck!  Pop, Tom, and I managed to get the last six trusses hanging, and what a great feeling to have them up.

 Looking up at the western wall...those last trusses took a little more maneuvering by hand to get them in place.

Saturday morning we got a little bit of a late start after a quick trip into town.  We worked all morning getting the trusses screwed down and ready for decking.



 Pop attaching a truss.

Thomas using a clamp to make sure the trusses are spaced properly before nailing down the decking.

Pop worked from the inside securing the first row of decking.

These guys are so strong and agile, balancing on the scaffolding and heaving up the decking.  I, on the other hand, nearly fell off.

Saturday we wrapped up with nearly the bottom row of decking up on the north side of the roof.  Sunday we planned to get up a couple more rows after church.

HE'S HERE!

Drew Xavier joined us on August 16th at 4:23 am!  

He measured 7 lbs 11 oz and 21.5 inches long. 

His New Mexical tio and tia can't wait to see him in September.

And his mom and dad are so grateful he's out of the womb and into the world!

Congrats to Nick and Jen and big brother Cole!

Just Hanging...

First - congratulations to my cousin Amy and her new husband Joe!  They married on Saturday in Montana, and Thomas and I reluctantly stayed home and worked.  Our time at home paid off, though I know we would have enjoyed the festivities and family, if not the drive to and fro.

Friday evening and Saturday afternoon we prepared to hang trusses.  The lines on the top sill were drawn in, and the hurricane ties were attached - this would make lining up our trusses easier.  The trusses are no bag of feathers, so Tom and I can only prepare to hang them.  Gratefully, Pop came over on Saturday afternoon to help lift the trusses.  He's so strong that he can do it practically by himself.  I did help secure the loop on the end of the tractor to the truss.  (That's right - by himself with the aid of the tractor.)

The first one wasn't easy.  Once the truss was affixed to the scaffolding on wheels, Thomas held onto it, while we wheeled him into place.  Then on either side, Pop and I muscled it into the hurricane ties, and Thomas held onto it for dear life as the wind tried to push it over.  We secured it with a couple boards, and then hurriedly got up a second truss to help stabilize it, and then another and another until there were five!  And then it was time to call it quits!

 Five trusses hanging - only 16 more to go!

Sunday after church, we donned our grubbies and got to work on the next trusses.  Pop and Tom decided we could probably only get another four using the same method before we would run out of room for spinning the scaffolding around with the trusses.  We made another seven, granted the spinning of the scaffolding looked a little different for the last few.  Next method was to approach the length of the truss perpendicular to the wall instead of parallel, and we got three more up that way.  

 My strong husband giving hand signals to the tractor operator.  Standing on the scaffolding, he would grab onto the truss and secure it on the wooden board angled off the top.  (Note: the storm blew in and rained on us a little bit.  We had to take a break now and again, and I was keeping lookout for lightning.)

Pop on the tractor handing the truss up with a crane he built and attached to the bucket.  From the shape of the truss, you can see that we will have a "cathedral" ceiling inside the house, which hopefully will help it feel nice and open.

Fifteen trusses hanging, 6 more to go!

missing you....

I love you and miss you still...smile down on me from heaven...

FOUR WALLS!

Friday after work I did a lot of unscrewing.  We pulled apart the bracing for the windows and walls and even dismantled the scaffolding.  Guess what - the walls didn't fall down!  Thomas even swept up some of the concrete on the tarp.  What a mess the floor is right now!  We also re-took all our measurements for the remaining walls, so Thomas could draw up the framing plans.

Saturday and Sunday were similar days.  We slept in and then got to work framing for a couple hours and then urgently put everything away before the storm hit (or didn't hit).  We did get some rain out of both storms, and so did the basement.  But we are getting much closer to having four walls AND A ROOF!

 The frame is up - light style.  We'll cut and install trimmers and headers during the week for all those large openings.  And look at the blue sky to the east....

Looking into our house - there is a window on the left, which will bring natural light into the house and down the stairs on that corner; the sliding door is the next hole moving right; then the dining room windows are next; and lastly a window over the sink.  And look at the dark sky moving in... 

There was lots of thunder and lightning, a little flickering of power, and then the sun would come out for a little while before the storm could swallow it back up.  We went to mass at Philmont on Sunday evening and got sprinkled on a little at the end.  What joy to have rain and time to rest! 

MISSING: cat bowl

Clear glass, round quart bowl with only one handle.  Last seen Wednesday evening with cat food still in the bottom of it.  Found missing Thursday evening about 8 pm when going to refill it for the cats.  Cats couldn't give an accurate description of the culprit.  

Please respond if you have seen this bowl.  Maybe there will be a reward.

Next goals...

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, but we are on a roll:

     July - interior work and poured main floor walls

     June - poured two slabs for basement floor, hung joists and decking

     May - poured basement wall

So what does August have in store for us?

     First up, site clean-up.  We do have to give the upper walls some to set up and cure, which gives us plenty of time to get the trailer cleaned and organized, as well as the rest of the site. 

     Second, we need to frame about 37 feet of wall.

     Third, when the walls are in place, we can put up the ROOF!! 

The roof trusses came in on Friday morning while Thomas was home working on the wall.  The propanel that will go over it is a beautiful sage green.

While it may not be an August achievement, we are hoping to have the roof up by Labor Day.  Sounds like we might be having a Labor Day labor camp...anyone?