Framed-In

[murasaki99]

The building crew arrived and went right to work at eight o'clock. I left them vitamin water and cookies, and I came home to the result of their day's labors and took pictures. I'm very impressed. I can't believe how quickly it goes up and starts looking like a real house. My contractor says the roof trusses should arrive soon.

Comments

[x_expat]

Looks nice--this is exciting! Bet you can't wait to use that new office.

I think I would use larger windows just for the sake of more natural light as well as for safety.

[murasaki99]

A new office with proper outlets to support my computer and printer and high-speed Internet will be very welcome -- plus it will get all the computer clutter out of my kitchen which is where it is currently sitting.

I've become a great fan of natural daylight so I'm working on the theory the more windows the better.

[harpinred]

This is fascinating! It's been so much fun to watch this from the planning stages and I look forward to more updates :)

[murasaki99]

Thank you, I'm going to try and keep everything posted as I go along. It's been a big learning experience for me, and hopefully I can share whatever I learned with everyone else. You never know when the knowledge may come in handy. :)

[murasaki99]

I had the same theory you did, about modern windows. evidently modern building codes keep changing, a lot of it having to do with safety. If you're going to build a house nowadays every bedroom has to have a window big enough for you to escape out of.

[aeljn]

It's big enough, but I'd have to climb on top of Mary's video cabinet and my TV to use it. At least I have a lot of nice, scratchy juniper bushes to land into. :-p

[kayshapero]

Ooh, walls! Coming along nicely from the look of it.

[murasaki99]

Yes! Walls make it look real, if that makes any sense.

[centaurg]

Suggestion: make a list of materials, hopefully traceable, used in construction. Just in case you develop an inexplicable allergy soon after moving into the new addition. Could be anything from the insulation to the flooring material; just too many things that outgas especially when they're new. Unlikely, but it happens.

Might want to check and see if the new electrical service panel will have a bit of room for additional breakers, for future expansions. I'm guessing if you do build that garage/workshop, its power will come off that panel. Adding an outdoor outlet at this point should be easy; an extra faucet in back will have to connect elsewhere since the plumbing is already set into the concrete slab.

[murasaki99]

I can try and keep a materials list. There is a type of exterior grade chipboard they use for the cladding over the framing and I know some people react to that. I'll try and get the number and name of the particular material. I don't notice any smell from it, and in this terrible heat any formaldehyde or other chemicals would have outgassed.

We'll see how it goes with paint, drywall, and various floorings.

The new breaker box they are installing, according to the electrician, will supply enough power to keep a 3000 square-foot house running.