One Year Ago I Brought my Little Kaylee Kitten Home

Such a feisty pup she still is!

 She was so tiny a year ago!

The Biggest Window

A couple days ago we installed the first living room window, it's 5' 6" tall and was a bit trickier to get it into the rough opening. But we managed, it's plumbed and level, it opens and closes and it's weather-sealed in with caulk and flashing tape. Today Hal will make, fit and install the J-channel trim around it and the back door we installed the day before so we can drill and put up more wall steel.

yes, he's using his truck as a ladder

living room window, back door, kitchen window

The Back Door

Hal and I have determined, we hate hanging exterior doors! It took all day, shimming, shifting, moving, checking level, checking plumb, re-shimming, re-leveling, checking for plumb again. It doesn't help when your house posts have bent slightly due to 2 years of being out in the weather when they were perfect (or close to perfect) over a year ago. But we did it, it's in, anything odd looking about it will be hidden behind trim, etc. The door is secure, it swings properly, it meets code. It's about all one can do. Once the house is closed up I can paint it as it only came primed.

I figure it will just be painted white.

the back door, it has blinds between the glass.

Soffit on the Reverse Gable

Today I climbed onto the scaffolding, which Hal was nice enough to move when I needed it to,  and put up all the soffit on the small bedroom wing reverse gable. It doesn't seem like a lot of work but it is required before vapor barrier, wall steel and windows can go up. Still need to put some foam insulation on the base of the wall, that will be my next job as we wait for the door sill pans to arrive.

Yet Another Window and More Steel

Today we installed the second window in the TV/media room and 3 sheets of steel. Only 3 more sheets for this part of the house and one entry door. Still waiting on delivery of something called a "sill pan" to help drain water away from the walls. Looks like another 3 days or so. Still, it's looking pretty good.

securing the window

securing 3rd sheet of steel

Wall waiting for that sill pan, Hal will finish framing the last exterior wall on the north side while I will stay home and mow the lawn.

Another Window and More Steel

Yesterday, in the miserable heat and humidity we put in one window. This one is in the front of the house and is in the TV room.

Today the heatwave broke and we were able to put up two tricky pieces of steel that required a lot of cutting and fitting.

first sheet

For this one we screwed a piece of wood to the underside to enable Hal to carry it safely to the wall then slip it halfway in behind the window J-channel, then removed the wood, pushed it in the rest of the way and screwed it down.

After this Hal and I put up more green vapor barrier and prepared the rough opening for the next window. That should happen tomorrow.

Been Too Busy to Post

Here are some photos of what has happened since my last post.

In this photo we installed the other 2 pieces of steel on that short bedroom wall.

In the next photo this is the only 2 pieces of short siding on the other small bedroom wall on the northside of the house. The remaining wall panels on this side can't be put on until those skinny roof panels go up on the overhangs as well as the soffits underneath. This won't be happening until we get all the wall steel on the front and back of the house.

Two days ago Hal has installed a couple of the interior girders which will eventually hold up floor joists.He also did more wall framing on those empty wall spaces behind him. I don't have a photo at this time.

I installed the last 36 feet of soffit on the back of the house a couple days ago as well.

I had already done the first 12 feet back there so we could continue on with siding and the first window on the back wall.

This is the kitchen window. It's an awning window from Anderson, rather than a double hung, to make it easier to lean across the counter to open. We put that in a few days ago. Today (now that the wind died down again) we added 2 more pieces of steel so the window is surrounded now. 

The weather has become horribly humid and into the 90s but we drank plenty of liquid and rested in the shade while installing these 2 sheets. I don't know what we'll be doing next, hopefully I'll get photos up sooner rather than later.

The FINAL Roof Panels Went Up Today!

I'd say this photo says it all.

Hal, victorious

After the roof panels went up we started work on the small bedroom gable attached to the porch. Two panels up, 2 to go. Hopefully, those will go up tomorrow. I will have to purchase a front door soon, the ones that came with the pole barn materials are flat like the one on the garage and not at all grand enough for our front entry door.

note the soffit on the porch ceiling, did that in 2 days.

2 pieces of steel

More Home Build Progress

Hal and I did well today, the winds were calm this morning so we got the final 2 fill size pieces of roofing steel on the front of the house.

Hal screwing down the last sheet

His brother, visiting from Texas, helped out, taking over my job on the ground. So I took photos of how we actually get these 23'10" long sheets onto the roof. After I mark and drill the holes, we wrap 4 ropes around the sheet to curl it up which strengthens the sheet and helps prevent bending (which will crease and ruin the steel). Hal pushes it onto the roof from beneath while I anchor the end on a tire to protect the edge (not shown as I was still doing that part). Then he pushes it up high enough for me, or in this case his brother, to hold it steady till Hal climbs onto the roof and 

holding it steady

pulls it up the rest of the way. Then I will climb another ladder and pull off the lower rope and keep the sheet from sliding off while he releases the other ropes and we tweak it into place for him to screw it down.

Hal hauling it up

Then we put up 2 more wall pieces, installed the second garage window (Pella), drilled, cut and installed 2 more pieces of steel and called it a day. It was almost 5 pm by this time and we were hot and tired. One more sheet of blue steel to go on this short wall. Maybe it will go up tomorrow. First we hope to get more roof steel on the back. Only 4 to go.

2nd window and new wall steel

the nearly finished garage wall

How we left it today

I think it's finally starting to look like a house.

More Roof, More Walls, and a Door

Yesterday we got not only 2 more roof panels on the back of the house but a door installed in the garage.

4 more to go on this side

stapling up vapor barrier

securing the door jamb

the first door

Today Hal and I put up the trim around the door (J-channel) and installed the first 5 wall panels on the front of the house. Feeling good about all of this.

first piece of wall steel on the front

a door!

 Next up (other than roofing) a window!