Saturday, July 24, 2010

The Making of a Home - part 3

So, all of a sudden on a July day, I heard pounding, hammering. I was amazed at the difference in sound from the first days of construction. The earlier sounds were big machines, back up beeps, while the actual building sounds were so much quieter, so subtle that I wasn't sure they were happening at the house. I thought they could be across the main road. I walked down to the kids' land, and there were four guys putting down the ceiling to the cellar/the subfloor to the downstairs. It was such a hot day, yet the fellows were all cheerful.

Such a pleasant occupation, building a house. It really must be one of the best jobs in the world.

From then on, something exciting happened every single day.

July 9



I love the look of the shadows



In one day, on July 12 all these walls and openings happened.

Front of the house


Same wall from the inside


The east wall - opening is for sliding glass doors


Looking out window above sink - south view


July 13 brought the completion of the first floor walls - the poles sticking out are for the front porch


The back of the house - above the sink window on L and dining area window R - south windows


The west side of house - master bedroom window L and master bath window R


On July 14 they framed the interior walls - master bedroom


Laundry room, master bath, closet (master bedroom to R)


Inside of laundry room


July 15 they put up the ceiling for the first floor/floor for the second floor - dining area east and south windows


Up on the top floor


'Climbing my house'


These were taken on the 17th because we had such storms at the end of the day on Friday, the 16th that I couldn't go down. On the 16th, they put up the stairs!


Top part of picture will be two upstairs bedrooms


Here you can see where the loft will begin
- the area left of the stairs


The second week began with the upstairs walls and windows.

Loft windows, all facing east


The two west bedroom windows



On Margaret's birthday they framed the upstairs south wall and windows - I don't know what that is the picture, maybe a reflection.


Margaret and Matthew arrived on their scooters for cake and presents

Thursday and Friday of this week they worked on the roof

Front of house
Back of house


So all this in two weeks time! They've also put in some electrical boxes, and the main electrical panel in the cellar. We are all amazed at how quickly the work goes. And we are so impressed with the quality of the work and the materials.

35 comments:

  1. Nan...this is so exciting to me, I can imagine how you must feel.

    We built a home in 1976 and again in 1999 and fortunately all went pretty smoothly for for us. Hope u find the same to be true.

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  2. yes, it does look like a masterpiece of a house! And how fast it is going up! Can't wait to see it finished with paint, porch, and plants.

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  3. We've never built our own house, and this is just so exciting to see, Bibliophile.

    Gigi, part of the deal is the builders will loam and seed 20 ft. in each direction from the house. They do hope to have flowers along the porch. It's just so hard to imagine right now! No paint - just some sort of stain/sealer on the logs. And the inside will be polyurethaned. Easy, easy to take care of.

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  4. Very nice. It is fun to see your house being built. We did that once. Love the log look.

    They are redoing our pool right now. Jackhammers for two days last week. Gave me a headache. It will be really nice after they are finished.

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  5. The whole thing is quite wonderful, I'm so glad for you all.
    Carole

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  6. I'm amazed at how fast everything went. These are super-organized builders. I love the look of all the wood.

    I've been away for a while so I missed who this house if for. Is this yours or for one of your children?

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  7. Kay, we all love the logs! Inside feels so warm with the wood. They plan to add color in other ways - furniture, pictures, etc. Lucky you are to have a pool!

    Carole, thank you. It is just so much fun and so very interesting watching this work.

    Margot, if you go to the sidebar under letter topics, and scroll to the bottom you'll see 'the making of a home' - you may click it to read all about it. We are thrilled!

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  8. Wow...that is really coming along and I'm in love with it!!! How exciting for your daughter!

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  9. Staci, we all visit every single day to see what has been done!

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  10. What a joint. These kids are getting their dream house no doubt.

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  11. we built our house 13 years ago, and what a wonderful time it was, so very exciting! Loved seeing the developments, hope there will continue to be more :)

    Have a wonderful Lord's day,
    Niki

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  12. Amazing! I can't believe that they can do so much in such a short time! Love the pic of M&M on their bikes/scooters arriving at the house!
    Will be awesome views!
    Thanks for the peek,
    Joanne

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  13. Amazing how fast this is going! Thanks for sharing all the pictures. It reminds me of my first house. Amy's dad and brother essentially built it by themselves.

    Kay's pool is getting a make-over and we're getting a new roof next month. Fun, fun!

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  14. What an exciting experience. The house looks very beautiful. How lucky you are to be able to have your daughter as your nearest neighbour.

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  15. As Bibliophile commented above--this is so exciting. It's like magic, watching it all happen so quickly. And is all this done by a crew of 2?

    I am so glad we are on this journey with you and your family.

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  16. Nan, how very exciting! I love log homes! My Dad was a residential builder for 50 yrs. and every time he built a house it was amazing! I still love the smell of sawdust and I love to hear hammers creating things! Good luck to your daughter and son-in-law!

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  17. Lisa, I laughed right out loud when I read your comment. :<)

    Niki, I'll try to not wait so long next time - two weeks made for an awfully long post!

    Joanne, we are astounded at the speed!

    Les, is there any family still in that original house? It must be awfully hard to give up something you've built yourself. We have a bit of work going on in our house as well - I'll post a 'housework' entry sometime soon. :<)

    Maureen, I love that 'nearest neighbor' - I hadn't thought of it in that way and it is really wonderful.

    Clair, it really is like magic! The crew who is doing most of the building is four guys but there are various other fellows who show up to do specific jobs.

    Sherri, that was such a nice remembrance - thank you for telling me. Have you ever posted photos of the houses he built? I saw the tv cupboard (is that right?) and it was amazing. Oh, and Matt isn't a son-in-law. :<) Maybe someday. :<)

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  18. Oh my goodness, I can't believe how quickly it all comes together! It looks amazing - your Margaret is going to have such a beautiful home. I can't wait to see the finished article!

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  19. Bookssnob, it is truly astounding how fast and how well it is going up!

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  20. How exciting to see it all come together! I can only echo the other commenters who can't wait to see the finished project. It's going to be a beautiful home.

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  21. Karen, it is very exciting to see this daily progress!!

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  22. My husband built a number of log homes in WY. The "shell" of hte house does go quickly compared to conventional framing.
    I like the flat finish for the inside walls, the full rounded ones are dust-catchers and no good way to hang artwork on the walls.
    Did Margaret and Matthew choose a stock "kit" plan? Most of the log home companies have excellent plans in every size range.

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  23. Morning's Minion - I so agree about the walls, esp. in a wooden house you want color on the walls! Yes, they went with a certain kind of house.

    Call Me Madam - got it!!

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  24. Oh Nan this is so exciting! And it is going so fast. I think it took us that long just to put in a laundry room (but it was just one of us working). What a great time and I am so envious that you got such good pictures. We did so many projects over the years-- all before digital cameras. How fun to have a scrapbook of the progress. I especially loved the picture of you on top!

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  25. Marvelous! What an exiting project.

    Here in the UK we've got stuck with traditional building methods - small units of brick and stone. Only recently has timber framing taken off and the speed of construction is certainly impressive. We converted an old stone barn by constructing an insulated box inside the existing walls - I hope we have the best of both worlds; a house that looks at one with the landscape and an modern energy efficient home on the inside.

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  26. Sallie - that's my daughter on the top floor, not me!! I know just what you mean - we've never had any work go so fast on our own house over the years. This crew, this outfit is just fantastic.

    Mountainear - what a brilliant idea you had! Really a wonderful way to combine the old and new. I love it. Over here, at least in our part of the country, everything is wood. Our state is something like 85% forest. Amazing isn't it.

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  27. I feel like I'm helping you do this.

    Thanks so much. I love your new house-HOME.

    Love,

    Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

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  28. Sharon - Thank you! Gosh, I hope I was clear that this is our daughter, Margaret and her boyfriend, Matthew's house, not ours. We gave them some land, down the road from our house.

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  29. You bring back memories. I am in my home 1 year now.
    How wonderful to have them near..
    My heart smiles for you :)

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  30. That would be so exciting watching your daughter and sil's home going up! And interesting as well. Thanks for sharing it with us - I'm looking forward to more pictures.

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  31. WOW !! Such an exciting time for your 'kids'. I well remember building our first house back in 1973. I can assure you the process was glacial in comparison to that of this log home.
    We are now in the process of building our last home, a timber frame. We had a 'raising' a week and a half ago and are now watching the progress with much anticipation.

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  32. And Ernestine, I so enjoyed watching your progress! And now I love seeing the inside and the land around it. So beautiful.

    Kathie, I'm so pleased you enjoy the postings. This week the electricians and plumbers have been around too. Oh, and not a sil (yet??).

    Mundi, I love the orderliness of it. This happens, then that happens. The logs are numbered - the builders know just where to put what. Such a joy. 'glacial' is scary.:<) I couldn't find your blog - is it gone??

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  33. Goodness, that was FAST. I love being able to see where things are, what size the rooms are, etc. when a house makes the jump from plans to reality. I'm not very good at imagining, but when I can walk through, that's when it seems like it is really happening. How great that you can see every step along the way (and built by nice people, too).

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  34. J.G. - I know just what you mean. This week they've framed the upstairs walls, and the roof is on. What a difference. I'll be posting soon with an update. It is such great fun to watch this. We are so excited for our girl and her fella!

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