HOW ARE THINGS COMING ALONG?

It looks like a house!  It really looks like a house!  Well, actually, right now it looks like a great big, blue plastic blob in the middle of the woods, because we were supposed to have rain last night and today, and also tomorrow.  The flooring that we have isn’t weather treated, so we put the tarp down just as a precautionary measure. 

SO THE FOUNDATION IS COMPLETE AND THE FIRST FLOOR HAS BEEN BUILT?

Yes, the block went up and the next thing we did was to bolt the sill plates into the block.  Andrew was in charge of tightening all of the bolts.  That was his job that day that he got to work on the house, which he thought was the coolest thing in the world, because he’s 14 and “it’s cool to build your own house!”  The next day we put a piece of wood up, all around the foundation and marked where the floor joists would go.  They go all the way across to the center beam, which is also in. 

HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT PLACING THE CENTER BEAM?  WITH A CRANE?

Actually, we put it in ourselves, with the Bobcat.  That was interesting.  It took a while, because they had to weld it.  The sparks were flying everywhere.  John knows how to weld and he knew what he was doing, so I didn’t worry about it.

So, we got that done and then all of the wood went in, all the way around the foundation.  That was really interesting.  We had started at about 7:00 am that morning, but I gave up at 3:00 pm that day.  I said “There is not a part on my body that doesn’t hurt.  I’m going home, I will make you all dinner, but I am done for the day.”  I was glad to be able to spend the day actually working, instead of going for quotes and calling people for things we need for the site, and that sort of thing.  I was glad to be there, and to be a part of it.  I’m looking forward to the next step, which is going to be the framing of the walls.

DID THEY PUT PLYWOOD DOWN, OVER THE FLOOR JOISTS?

Yes, they have plywood down, so you can walk all the way across.  There’s a hole for where the steps will go to the basement. 

SO, DOES IT FEEL BIGGER TO YOU?

It actually feels huge.  We’re level with the ground now, so I look up and it feels like it’s going to be so incredibly tall. 

SO, THE NEXT THING IS FRAMING?

Yes, the next thing will be framing some walls.  We’re doing all the framing ourselves.   The drywall, we’ll hire out, but the framing we will do our selves.  The windows were ordered about a week and a half ago.  The only ones that weren’t ordered were the trapezoids.   They will be here, either at the end of this week, or the beginning of the following week.    We also put our deposits down on our cabinets. 

HAVE THEY POURED THE BASEMENT FLOOR?

No, they decided to not pour yet.  Because there’s a lot of clay in the soil here, and because of the amount of moisture here, being close to water, they’re going to put in a sump pump and what they call a “floating basement.”   John and the boys put 2×4’s all the way around the perimeter of the basement, which they will take out after the concrete has set.   That way, if there are any water issues, there will be channel for the water to flow to the sump pump.   They plan to pour the basement floor in a couple of weeks. 

WHAT ABOUT WATER AND ELECTRICITY?

The person from PP&L was out the other day, and we found out that we will have to clear a couple of more trees out of the way.  They said we should have electricity by the end of this month, which is great, because we are just running an extension cord for the nail guns’ air compressor - and, of course, the music.   They’ve got to have their music. 

We have two people that are quoting us for the well.  They’re going to come out and we need to give them the plot plan for the building site.  We still have to make that decision, once the bids are in. 

SO, THAT’S WHERE YOU ARE, AT THIS POINT?

That’s where we are.