Last weekend, we installed the roof shingles:

We continued with the installation of the HVAC systems:

We began the plumbing rough-in:

We installed the gas fireplace:

We began prepping for pouring the garage slab:

And the front porch slab:

There’s a lot going on during this phase of construction and the next couple of weeks will see lots of changes.  I promise we’ll have more to discuss but for this week it’s mostly pictures.

At the end of our last post, we were wrapping up the framing and putting sheathing on the roof.  After a long weekend for the 4th of July holiday on Monday, it was back to work on Tuesday.

The roof sheathed and ready for roofing shingles:

If you’re looking closely at that photo above you might notice one other small addition and that is the front steps and brick rowlock around the porch:

One of the problems with a poured wall foundation is that there is no ideal way to incorporate the front step into the front porch wall and the overdig for the basement often means the front step then has to be constructed over disturbed soil.  For this reason, you often see the front step pull away from the front porch wall as the soil beneath settles.  It is very common to see a gap behind the front step on houses with poured basements.  To combat this, I had the foundation contractor pour two “wing walls” which stick out perpendicular to the front porch wall a couple of feet.  The wing walls are below grade and not visible, but they gave a solid surface upon which to build the step.  Across the wing walls we set two concrete lintels that bridge the wing walls and form a solid foundation or the front step.  You can see the wing wall support in this photo:

Beyond the addition of the brick and front steps, we also started installation of the HVAC system:

And we installed the windows.  In the photo below, we still had a few windows to go but I left before we finished so this photo will have to suffice:

Those things sitting on the roof are the roofing shingles which were supposed to have been installed by now.  They were scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday and installed on Wednesday but someone at the supplier screwed up and we didn’t get a delivery on Tuesday.  That meant calling the roofer late Tuesday and pushing him off and unfortunately he was booked for the remainder of the week.  We got our delivery Wednesday and the roofer will be working Saturday to get our installation completed.  That’s life in the construction business sometimes.

Traditionally, I prefer to stick frame the roof systems in our houses. In fact, it has been just over five years since the last time I built a house with a trussed roof.

There are a number of reasons why I prefer to stick frame my roofs but none of them have anything to due with structural integrity nor do I in any way think that a trussed roof is an inferior roof to a stick framed roof. Trussed roofs are specifically engineered for each house plan and come with engineers documentation so you know you are getting solid structure in a trussed roof. My reasons for preferring stick framed roofs are mostly for convenience and maybe I’ll get into that in a future post. But structurally, I’m all for trusses too.

Trusses allow you to do things that aren’t possible in a stick framed roof, and that is the reason that this house is being built with trusses. There are some long spans in the design of the upstairs of this home. The master bedroom has a clear span over 20 feet and a couple of other areas upstairs have similar long spans. It would be very difficult and costly, if even possible, to stick frame the roof and include those spans.

So with that introduction, clearly the theme of this week’s work was to set the roof trusses:

Gable ends installed:

The framing phase is almost complete. This next week we’ll accomplish a few miscellaneous tasks and we’ll install the roof shingles and windows. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend!

With the second floor deck in place, the framing of the second floor walls could begin. Starting with the exteriors:

After the exteriors, were in place, the interiors were framed. Then the front gable over the garage was framed in and the front porch roof also:

The front garage gable is custom framed as it encompasses the master bathroom:

Next up, the roof trusses will be set in place and the sheathing installed on the roof and porch roof.

So at the end of last week, most of the first floor walls were framed and a few of the interiors were also complete.  Logically, the next step was to finish framing those interiors:

With the interior walls in place, the second floor floor joists and decking were installed:

And the second floor decking from up top:

So we fell short of my goal this week of getting the second floor exterior walls in place.  This was due primarily to the steel company being a day and a half later than promised in delivering the needed steel for the garage.   These things happen in construction, and overall it won’t throw us off schedule since a certain number of rain days are factored in…and we certainly haven’t been using those.  And the crew will be working through the weekend to make up for lost time so hopefully we’ll be in good shape by next week’s post.

Here’s that steel we needed:

Two pieces of steel, on sitting atop the other.  The upper carries the portion of the floor that extends past the main support wall over the garage.  The lower spans one of the garage overhead doors.

Interesting trivia note:  On the other side of that steel, the steel company wrote my name to identify the delivery.  It’ll soon be covered up but I wonder just how many houses out there have my name buried in them?

So last Friday’s post covered the basement interior and the setting of the steel.  The next step in the process is to begin framing the house.  As we begin, here is the steel in place in the basement:

There are two main steel beams.  The front most beam joins the front stairwell wall and is support by a glue-lam on each end.  There is a footer underneath each of the stair walls, though it really was only necessary under the front wall.  The rear beam is about 4 feet behind the rear stairwell wall and is supported by 3 steel lolly columns and a beam pocket in the end concrete wall.

We were finally fortunate to get a little rain early in the week to cut down on some of the dust around the lot.  Unfortunately, that didn’t last long as near 100 degree temperatures baked the moisture out of the ground quickly.

Back upstairs and in the heat, here is a view of the first floor deck in place:

Because of some lengthy spans, we used 14″ engineered floor joists for this home.  The stock size at the lumber company is 11 7/8″ so that is our standard.  The fourteen inch joists are able to span a bit further.

The sub-flooring is AdvanTech by Huber Woods, the best sub-flooring on earth, in my opinion:

With the deck in place it is time to start constructing some walls:

For trivia later, the first wall of the house that was stood into place was the wall between the garage and the laundry and pantry:

Walls of the rear study:

Looking through to the kitchen:

A view of the exterior walls from the front:

And one from the rear:

By the end of the weekend the interiors and exteriors of the first floor should be complete. The goal for next week will be to get the second floor to the same point.