Raising the roof...

We have finally begun installing the roof panels. So far this the most challenging phase of the construction. We are now in the winter weather cycle, where waves of moisture are constantly coming from the Pacific across Oregon and Washington. The mornings will be wet, and the afternoons may be sunny and dry. This makes scheduling a work crew just about impossible, so Susan and I will have to figure out how to move the 6' x 40' insulation rolls and the 3' x 21' steel panels up to the roof by ourselves. When the roof is the least bit damp, it becomes very slippery, and can't be walked on. I found this out the other evening when I was installing the ridge cap. The sun went down, and moisture immediately formed on the roof panels, making it nearly impossible to get any traction. I was quite happy to get back into the lift and get back to solid ground. Unless we can get a string of dry days, this part of the construction could take a while.

Another milestone...

We finally got the last wall panel installed today. The weather was sunny and mild, so we took full advantage of it. I also graded around the east and north sides of the shop and got rid if a lot of the standing water from the recent rains. I then laid down a layer of gravel, which I hope will improve the muddy conditions. Another couple of sunny days without rain wouldn't hurt, either.
The inside of the shop is looking really good. As we progress with the construction, we have fewer and fewer parts and pieces stacked on the floor. The only materials remaining are the rolls of insulation for the roof, the roof panels and the ridge cap. We are excited about starting on the roof, and are hopeful that we will have good weather for the next several days.

Never a dull moment...

When we got up this morning at 6:00AM, the moon was illuminating the landscape and the stars were twinkling in the heavens. We were looking forward to a productive day, thinking that we would be able to finish the remaining end wall and get ready to start installing the roof. Old man winter had other plans for us. By the time we arrived at the shop, the skies had clouded over and the snow began to fall. Fortunately, it didn't last too long, so we still thought we had a shot at getting the end wall covered. We were wrong.
Since the weather was supposed to be good, the concrete folks decided to schedule the pouring of the basement walls of the house. The road going up to the house looked pretty good yesterday, but I had a couple of loads of gravel delivered just in case. The combination of the unexpected snow and the weight of six loaded concrete trucks soon turned the road into a slippery mess. I spent the entire morning spreading gravel on the hill, which allowed the trucks to get up to the house site. The basement walls are now poured and, aside from removing the forms, there will be no more work on the house until spring.
The weather cleared up a bit, allowing Susan and me to get half of the south wall covered. I had to spread another load of gravel around the shop, which also had become a sea of mud. We will install the remaining panels as soon as the weather permits, then begin on the roof. It's exciting to see the shop finally taking shape.

Slowly but surely...

Work has been progressing on building the walls for the shop. With a little help from our friends, we managed to get one side wall and one end wall done. Then Susan and I did the second side wall by ourselves in only two and a half days. We have been dodging rainstorms for the past week, which has slowed our progress considerably. The area around the building has become muddy, necessitating the placement of additional gravel around the shop. We hope to have the final end wall done in the next two days. The 10x12 garage doors are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Having dealt with sprung garage doors before, I'm letting the door guys install these babies.