Sheathing, Toads and 4-Wheelers

A lot was accomplished again this week and things continue to go as smoothly as possible. The second floor rafters were finished last Friday by Zeke, Jeff and Mike. Over the long weekend we were able to get a good amount of sheathing done. It's starting to look like a house! We had numerous visitors this weekend, from new neighbors to family to friends. All who visited had their own ideas about how to finish the inside. Its funny to hear all the different ideas and we welcome the insight. Paul caught a toad and cried when we released him. I felt so bad that I promised him a dog when we moved into the house. Zeke's father Scott helped us out a great deal on Saturday with the sheathing and then proceded to ride around on Sam's 4 wheeler... at about 5 miles per hour. I can't wait for the rest of the sheathing and windows and doors to be put in place so I can stop worrying about the kids falling out of the house. Enjoy the pictures!

Box Beams, Decking and Retention Basin

What a week! The main part of the house has floor joices and first floor decking. The box beams for the second floor were finished up this weekend. The second floor decking was just started today. The kitchen portion of the house does not yet have beams or decking. A lot was done this week, and will be done in the next few weeks, due to the hard work of our contractor, Jeff and his coworker Mike working throughout the week. Zeke is at the house almost every night after work and the whole family is working on the weekends. The kids are so excited, as are we, to see the accomplishments made each day. Abby continues to ask when the kitchen is coming and is constantly stating her arguement as to why she believes red to be the best color for our roof, which will be green. The second to last picture shows the retention basin in the foreground. The last picture shows Zeke and Paul looking at a snake which I almost stepped on in front of the house. We are all now anxiously awaiting the end of the school year, which can't come fast enough!

The Arrival

The kit has arrived! We now have basement walls that are sealed and insulated. One side of the backfill is done. When Abby saw the insulation on the basement she said to me, "Oh good, Dad painted the house pink." She also wants to know when the fridge is going to arrive. The kit arrival was quite exciting. Zeke had to use a gigantic forklift to unload the truck. It took 3 hours. The truck had to park on the road because it was not able to make it up the driveway. The day started off a little shaky but it ended well. You can see in the last picture that the sill and the retention basin are both coming along. We also dealt with 2 sick children, a school fair and a dance recital this week. It has been a busy week and we are anxiously awaiting the end of the school year.

Finally Getting Started

Oh my word! It feels like we have been waiting forever to finally get started. In the past 2 weeks the basement has been dug, the footers have been poured, the forms for the basement were set and just today the basement was poured and the retention basin was started. The forms will be taken off the basement tomorrow, then they need to be sealed, insulated and the back fill needs to be done. This Thursday the house kit is scheduled to arrive. Check back next week to see pictures of the kit delivery! Oh yes, Abby lost one of her front teeth. Enjoy the pictures!