Racing the weather...

As the summer heat finally yields to the cool days of autumn, we are keenly aware that our days of good building weather are numbered. On a positive note, fire season is over. Most of the fires are out and the air is once again crisp and clear. This morning we awoke to see the first dusting of snow on the butte to the west. It has been our goal to have the house completely closed in by the first snowfall. This includes wrapping the house with vapor barrier, installing the siding, doors, windows, trusses, radiant barrier and steel roof. Once these tasks are completed, Susan and I will concentrate on installing the plumbing and electrical. The HVAC system and fireplace will also go in at this time.


We had about a week delay in receiving the walls for the main floor. George and DJ took advantage of the time by finishing up the garage. We now can use it for storing some of the materials needed for the house.



When the walls did arrive, George and DJ wasted no time in erecting them. The house is finally beginning to feel like a house! We will now put all our energies into getting the roof on forthwith. We no longer have the luxury of not having to worry about rain, as we are beginning to see rainy days every week.



When I saw Susan's plans of the house with so many windows, I had my doubts. Now that the walls are in place, I can see the genius of her design. This is a panoramic view I pieced together looking to the southwest from the main floor. Pretty neat.

Truss me...

Now that framing in the basement is finished and the stairs to the main floor are built, George and DJ turned their attention to getting the garage walls put up. This turned out to be somewhat of a challenge when the wind began gusting to 25mph. It's a good thing we were using a crane to support the walls while they were being fastened in place.

Note the very smoky conditions in the valley. This is caused by the huge Cascade Complex wildland fire burning about 40 miles to the northeast. Started by a lightning strike on July 6, it has to date burned a total of 287,809 acres and is only 30% contained.



In the middle of the installation, the truck with our truss package arrived. I always wondered how they unloaded those things, and now I know. If you look at the trailer, you will see that it has a series of large rollers its entire length. The driver simply unstrapped the load and drove forward. The bundle of trusses rolled right off the back of the trailer and onto the ground. Pretty neat.



This morning when I arrived at the shop, I was greeted by a small flock of turkeys. I called them back toward the truck, where one of the toms began to strut. After a few minutes of showing off, they all wandered off over the hill toward the creek (pronounced "crick" here in Idaho).

Dirt in, Deck on...

Harvey was back yesterday to push the dirt back over the geothermal coils. After he filled in the pit, he smoothed out the surface to match the original contour of the hill. Nice job, Harvey!


While Harvey was backfilling the geothermal pit, George and his helper installed the remaining floor joists and then covered them with the first floor decking. Now the place is really taking on the appearance of a house. This is exciting!