Second Floor Framing

After framing the first floor walls, the next step was to frame a second floor.  Only a portion of the house will have a second floor.

This is the last picture from the top of the dirt pile.  The dirt pile has now been moved.

This shows the opening for the stairwell

This is the edge of the master bathroom which extends a couple feet over the kitchen.

After the floor itself was framed, the second floor walls are framed.

This is the view from the family room.  The two windows on the left are in the stairwell and the master bathroom.  The master bedroom is on the right.  The walls in the middle will end up facing an attic once the first floor ceiling trusses are in place.

This is the view from inside the garage.  The windows are the stairwell and the master bathroom.

This is the view from the master bedroom.  There will be a balcony beyond this wall.  The opening on the left is supposed to be a window while the opening on the right is for a sliding door.  If you look closely, there is an airplane taking off.

This is the view from the master bathroom.  There will be a tub below the window.  Without any fixtures in place, it feels more like a bedroom than a bathroom.

The weather has been below freezing for most of the last week, so it isn't so muddy now.  However, the forecast says that unseasonably warm temperatures are coming back, so the mud will be returning.  We are escaping for a week of vacation in Florida.  I wonder what it will look like when we return.

First Floor Wall Framing

Once framing started, it seems like progress is really happening fast.  After four days of framing, the first floor walls are all framed.  For the first time, I can wander through the rooms and get some feel for how they feel and what the view will be out of each window.

On day 3, I stopped by just in time to see the crew tilting the end wall into place.

At the end of day 3 of framing, the first floor is about halfway enclosed, and a couple other walls are assembled.

At the end of day 4, all of the first floor walls, including the interior walls, are framed.

This is the family room, as viewed from the dining room.  The family room will have a high ceiling, but not quite this high.  The guest bedroom, which is beyond the family room, will have more privacy after the drywall is in place.

This is the view into the kitchen from the family room.  The dining room is toward the left.

This is the view out the window of the guest bedroom.  I am happy with how large the windows feel.

This is the view from the guest bedroom toward the guest closet and bathroom.

The office

Framing the 135 degree joint between the dining room and the half bath is a challenge.  It may require more than tape to air seal this joint.

Framing Begins

It has been awhile since the last post, because it has been awhile since there was much to see.  Most of the action was behind the scenes, like ordering stuff.  As the materials for framing arrived, so did 50 degree temperatures and some early February rain to create a muddy mess.

Materials are arriving on the lot - first steel beams and posts, then foam, and finally lumber.  Real progress cannot be far away.

At the end of the first day of framing, the steel beams and posts are in place and the first floor joist are being positioned.

Positioning the first floor joists - A few of the steel beams in the basement are visible here.  The foam is stored under the blue tarps in the background.  Due to the mud, I couldn't get very close without sinking in.  Surprisingly, one of the few places that wasn't too muddy was a dirt pile, so I took this picture from the top of the dirt pile.

At the end of the second day, the first floor platform was completed.  Slightly colder temperatures were actually welcome because it froze some of the mud.

The first floor platform

This is where the stairway to the basement will be.  On the second day, the mud had dried (or frozen) enough to get a little closer, but only in a few places.

This view of a corner shows the way the platform is set back from the edge of the poured wall to allow space for the rigid foam.  The brick ledge extends out farther than the rest of the basement wall.