The Main Floor

The main floor of the house is framed and walled in now. We are continuing the ICFs all the way to the roof. A lot of people use these forms just for basement walls, but we are using them for all of our wall construction. The forms become our insulation, and the thick concrete mass in between acts as a solid thermal mass. The siding will attach directly to the forms.

The concrete pour went successfully yesterday. Despite an exploding pump hose, all went safely and well. The men have been working around the clock the past few weeks. Taking advantage of the nice weather, and Noah's few days left before heading back to the University, they have been working until sundown everyday. Talk about exhausting for everyone! But the house is looking beautiful and we are so grateful.

As you look at the pictures below, you will notice that the pictures have mostly been taken from the same spot. Noah set up a tripod in one of the trees so that we could take pictures from the same spot to chart the progress of the house. It will be really cool to see it all in slideshow format once it is finished. It is hard to get a sense for it seeing them lined up here on the blog, but I don't know how to do a slideshow on here yet.


SUB-FLOORING THE MAIN FLOOR


READY TO FRAME THE WALLS


FRAMING LIBRARY(SW) AND SEWING ROOMS (NW)


THE CREW PLUS KIDS


FRAMING DINING, KITCHEN, AND FAMILY ROOMS


FORMING THE WALLS


FORMING THE WALLS






READY FOR CONCRETE (MINUS THE BRACING)

Basement Framing

Andrew and Juan are amazing. Yesterday they took the bracing off of the basement walls after the concrete in the walls had cured 24 hours. Today they nearly finished framing the basement. In one day. They worked until dark. These men amaze me.

 
BASEMENT WALLS: BRACING REMOVED

 
FRAMING THE BASEMENT

 
THE GUEST ROOM

 
LAUNDRY ROOM, STORAGE, BATHROOM, STAIRWELL AREAS


JUAN BUILDING A WALL FOR THE LAUNDRY ENTRY/STAIRWELL SIDE


ERECTING THAT WALL -- THESE GUYS ARE AMAZING!!

Basement Walls

Our house is being built out of Legos. Well, that is what it seems like anyway. The forms that we are using (Quad-Lock) for the concrete look like giant styrofoam Legos. The blocks stack on top of each other and then the pieces are connected by a plastic strap. The rebar lays on top of the strapping. The walls are then braced to prevent the concrete from blowing out the side. The rain and concrete gods aligned today to allow for a successful pour and we are very grateful. Our contractor, Andrew, has been very anxious to see this first pour done and it is a tremendous load off his shoulders to know that it was successful. We as homeowners are very grateful as well! Job well done, men.


STRAPPING SYSTEM WITH REBAR



WALLS ARE BEING BUILT


ALMOST READY FOR CONCRETE


INTERIOR BRACING


ANDREW GUIDING CONCRETE INTO FORMS


VIBRATOR -- SETTLES THE CONCRETE


CONCRETE PUMP ARM


PUMP TRUCK


PUMP TRUCK OPERATOR -- CONTROLLING THE PUMP WITH REMOTE CONTROL ATTACHED TO HIS BELT!!!


QUAD-LOCK