The roof

Okay, sorry I am so behind! So much has been happening! The roof is almost done. After the framers finished with the plywood, we covered it with this stuff called Feltex to keep the water out. It comes in a big roll, so you just roll it out and nail it down. Then we had to cover that with the boards that will hold up the tiles. They are each about 4 feet long and in rows 13 inches apart. Let me just say, that is a REALLY big roof! The hardest part was measuring and marking everything so that the boards are straight and meet up at the corners. We got dried in just in time, as it has been raining nearly every day! The tiles are arriving today. We will have to unload them all onto the roof using a forklift, then they get set out on the boards (there's a little ledge that sits right on the top of the board). We are going to screw every other tile to the roof for extra security. We get some pretty strong winds in the spring! We will be starting on the tiles this weekend! More on that later. . . . . .

The front entryway all finished! There will be a porch out to where the columns are.

The roof with all the plywood on before we covered it.

One side finished!

The view of the front with the roof done.

View from the back side with the roof done. We just have that little spot to go, and it's kinda tricky!

Well, the roof is coming along! The trusses are all up and they have covered most of them with plywood. This weekend we will be trying to get it all covered with tarpaper to completely dry it in. And not a moment too soon! The clouds have been building up every day, so monsoons should start any time! We also have to put support boards up for the tiles to rest on. Those should get ordered tomorrow and be here next week hopefully! Our framer is going to start framing up the inside next week. Still so much to do, though!
I'm really, really hoping to be in by Thanksgiving! Keep us in your prayers!

Here with all the trusses on!

With the plywood over the trusses.

The front of the house. The garage is on the right. There are two columns that will hold up the roof of the entryway that's not quite finished! That is my crazy son on the roof!

A view of the inside from the corner where the master bedroom is.

The view from my dining room window. It will be much nicer when the boards are gone!

The trusses are going up! The garage is completely done, and the others are in progress. There is a small delay because the beam we ordered to go over the back porch is the wrong size and has to be reordered. It should be here by Friday so we can keep going!
Poor Dan pulled his back out last Sunday trying to pull out the stakes for the supports. He has spent the last 3 days in bed. : ( Nathaniel, Jordanne and I got most of the supports down and a few odds and ends done Sunday evening. Thankfully other people are doing the work for us at the moment, so it wasn't too awful a time to get injured--not that there's ever a good time!

It almost looks like a whole house now! Soon!

Looking up in the garage.

Other various sections under construction!

The walls are done!!! We poured the concrete in them today, and everything went PERFECTLY! We didn't have a single problem with the blocks and the whole house looks great. I'm so happy! Very special thanks to Al, Chris, Gene, Connor, Saxon, Nathaniel, and my awesome husband!! The trusses should be delivered next week and we can get the roof going. I'm getting more and more impatient to move in! Tune in next time. . . . . .

The concrete going in. Chris worked the concrete hose up on the scaffold while the guys below moved it for him. Connor troweled the top as we went along.

Smoothing things out and putting in bolts for the roof trusses.

Putting on the finishing touches.

The finished walls.

Well, we have had so much going on! Dan and his little elves got so much done while I was gone last week! Now the walls are completely up and we are hoping to pour concrete in them by Friday. There are still a lot of little things we have to do before then. It's those little details that really add up! It took Dan and I two whole days just to frame out the windows! We also had to put up tons of plywood everywhere to keep everything sturdy and make sure nothing moves when we pour concrete. We survived a few pretty windy days, thank goodness!! Thanks so much to Chris and Gene, without whom we would be hopelessly behind. I'm sure our walls will be great. Not to discount my wonderful Dano, though! He has worked tirelessly, including every night after work. I LOVE this house already!!!

Here's the whole house with the first two courses up.

This is the southeast corner of the house with the windows waiting to go in.

Here is the same corner with the windows in and another row of blocks. We had to wrap the frames in tar paper since they'll be right up against the concrete. More little details!

Nathaniel standing in his future room with all the blocks up!!

The west wall (the back of the house). It is finally starting to look like a real house!! I can't wait to get the roof on and get the inside framed up!

Hey everyone! I'm a little bit behind--AGAIN!! I've been in Tucson with Jordanne all week for her swim camp. But Dan got LOTS done while I was away! I'll post the updated photos soon. It looks so AWESOME!!!

Just a quick update! The walls are a much bigger project than we had anticipated, so we haven't made as much progress as we'd like. We hired a contractor who has worked with polysteel quite a bit to help us just on the walls. The blocks aren't that difficult, but there are a LOT of requirements for the doors and windows. We have to brace everything really well so that none of the walls move or blow out when we pour the concrete. It didn't matter so much for the basement, since the walls are underground. But these ones have to be perfect.
So here are a few pictures to show what we've been up to. More to follow soon, I hope!!

The floors are covered with concrete dust. We pressure washed part of it. This is what it should look like when we polish and seal it (on the left!).

Some of the blocks. We still have quite a few more coming! The house isn't even finished and we're already filling the garage with stuff!

The first course of blocks going up!

All the doors are framed out. It's strange to have to actually use the doors now!

Our future front door!