What A Week!

Well, one week has passed and everything is different. The SIP guys got reinforcements and a crane and the SIPs are done. Completely! Well, they do have to foam some inside seams but the big installation is behind us. The second floor is totally framed and the phones and electric outlets/switches are done on the outside walls. Our heads are spinning!

The crane makes short work of the roof

The Northeast upstairs bedroom - Laurie's room

The upstairs bathroom with storage/mechanical space above

The 10'x10'10" storage room

Brian and Kattrina's bedroom/heroin den

Hadrian's Wall

The sheer wall is being erected so as to hold the building together and keep the Pictish rebels out. SIP installation has stalled due to old man winter.

The sheer wall installation begins

A reverse view

The bedroom/computer room/bathroom area

SIP status quo

The Penthouse

Half of the 2nd floor joist and subfloor has been laid and work is set to begin on the sheer wall, basically a sheet of 3/4" plywood on either side of the timbers that divide the two bays of the barn that include the 2nd floor. We need to make a few cuts to main beams for doorways upstairs and the plywood sheer wall will run from the floor to the peak of the roof to maintain stability.

The loft, facing east

The loft, facing west, with bedrooms and closets temporarily visible below

An underside look

Laminate I-Beams support the 2nd floor, just like the 1st

The Barn Gets A Hat

The roof SIP installation has progressed slowly but surely, despite the encroachment of ice. By next week, they are hoping to bring in a crane to do the 2nd half of the roof SIPs. The windows should arrive in 3 weeks, the RauPanel for radiant floor heat is on order and the electric meter is hooked up. Inside, the 2nd floor joist is going in. Progress!

10 inch thick, R38 SIPs are the order of the day for the roof



If the incoming ice storm doesn't freeze us, the easy half of the roof will be done this week

You can see the thickness of the panels very well here



Look at our beautiful electric meter

SIPs: Missing In Action

Well, we've run out of the right sized SIPs for the lower left corner of the North wall, but they are on order for next week. In the meantime, the gable section will go up and, who knows, they may even start on the roof. As for the inside, the 1st floor framing is done and the adventure begins for a structurally sound 2nd floor.

The North wall

Brian and Kattrina's bathroom

Scott's bathroom (via his bedroom)

A look from the great room

The Eastern wall gets wrapped

A Room With A View

The SIPs are finished on the Eastern exposure with only the North side and roof remaining SIPless. We can now fully appreciate the wonderful view that we have out of the Eastern side of the barn. We have also learned that, thanks to the addition of tempered glass in some upstairs windows, we can bring the second floor joist up a foot and get our 8' ceilings downstairs!

The nicest computer/sitting room on the eastern seaboard gets its vista

Another view through a window



Foam home

The framing continues

Eastern Bloc

The SIPs are up and Tyvekked on the southern and western sides of the barn and are going up on the eastern side. You can really start to visualize what the barn is going to look like finished. It's going to look great.

The SIPs go up. You can see the arm of the Pettibone hard at work

Pettibone Junction

The view is going to be spectacular

2x4s Galore

The interior wall framing continues while the exterior walls (SIPs) go up. It looks as though the rain is done for the week, so hopefully the mud will subside enough for wheelchair access.

You can see the SIP progress along the left wall as well as interior framing in the center

The wall between the sitting room/bathroom and stairs/great room is installed

The ladder may stop a bit short, but it adds great character

A House Begins to Take Shape

A fully SIPed wall, from the outside

A fully SIPed wall, from the inside




The entryway takes shape

The pantry and front closet are fully framed

The pantry, with fridge and freezer cubbies

The kitchen



A new tar pit is discovered

Pantry Raid

The SIPs continue to go up and they have begun to frame the pantry/refrigerator/front closet area. Thursday will be a day off and the SIP guys will get another day to work before the weekend.

Mike hard at work framing out the pantry.

Gable end of south side gets SIPed up. You can see the future round window location.

Another look at southern wall.

The SIPs Have Landed!

Well, the SIPs have arrived and are going up, although the weather is fighting us tooth and nail. We had 4 inches of snow this weekend and it is expected to be wet and rainy all through Thanksgiving and the upcoming weekend. We will all breathe a sigh of relief once the SIPs are all on and the envelope is closed. Then we can dry out.

The drywall-edged foam panels are glued in place with more foam, eliminating future drafts

Future site of the kitchen as well as double french doors (with transom window) to the deck



More kitchen and the future home of the pantry and front closet



The front door, which will be 40" wide with two 12" sidelights and a transom overhead



Collar ties will hold the roof together while a chase just below it will provide a central location for upstairs ductwork and electricity

Two Weeks: Abridged

The last two weeks have not been full of spectacular changes, but that doesn't make what has been done any less important. Bill & Co have been spending the time stabilizing the foundation and timber frame while we have been running the gauntlet of bureaucracy. On the plus side, we now have our zoning permit and the septic system worked out and we were able to observe a township meeting. Democracy in motion is quite long-winded. The SIPs are scheduled to arrive tomorrow (Wednesday) and the spectacular changes will begin again. Here are the latest developments in captions.

Rotten wood is replaced with concrete block and gaps are concreted closed

The sealer goes on to the timbers and brings out their innate redness

A cross of timbers adds stability where one set of barn doors once was

A view down the gullet of the beast

A total of nine rotten timbers were replaced by the excess timbers salvaged from the barn