April 2 - The support I beam is in place under the outdoor kitchen. A steel deck will be placed over the foundation and will serve as the form and reinforcing steel.
April 2 - Concrete lintels are used along the walls to support the steel decking and floor. A vapor barrier is placed between the lintels and plywood.
April 2 - The back porch also has lintels, but no steel beam. The span here is less than in the outdoor kitchen.
April 2 - The front porch forms are filled with packed dirt. Footers are dug around the perimeter down to the undisturbed earth. The porch will be poured this week. Once it is poured, house framing can continue.
April 2 - This is the landing outside the guest wing door. The master wing door porch is also filled. The footer is being dug. These porches will be poured when the front porch is poured.
April 2 - Here is a view of the front porch from the master wing. The guest porch is visible if you look carefully just to the right of the guest wing in the distance.
April 2 - The mahogany doors have arrived. These two doors are for the guest house.
April 2 - The other mahogany doors are also stored in the garage. The large frame is for the guest double doors.
April 12 - The fascia has been installed on the guest house. It will be painted then the roof can be installed.
April 12 - The fascia has been primed. A paint color has not been selected yet.
April 12 - Framers are working on the front porch of the main house.
April 12 - The front porch and the two side front porches will be slate with a brick border. We are laying a solid block on the porches to support the porch columns. This way, the column does not have to be embedded in the brick border.
April 12 - The garage column and brick border around the tabby porch are in place.
April 12 - The fascia installation has begun on the garage.
April 12 - The mahogany doors have been hung on the garage.
April 13 - The front porch framing has begun.
April 13 - The house is really a nice size. It is much more interesting than just a big box.
April 16 - The forms are being removed from the three front porches. These porches will have a brick veneer.
April 16 - The front gable breaks up the large (40 foot long) front porch roof.
April 16 - Framing has been done for the fly rafters.
April 16 - The fireplace firebox (an Isokern) has been set. The chimney will be laid soon.
April 16 - The garage fascia is finished and has been primed.
April 17 - The front porch and front half of the great room have plywood sheathing on them!
April 17 - Here is the view from the South Gallery.
April 17 - Studs have been removed so the Isokern chimney can be erected. The top rafter will also have to be cut when the chimney gets that high.
April 17 - The great room roof looks dark because it now has sheathing in the front. Tomorrow, work should begin on the rear porch.
April 18 - Electricians began roughing in the guest house.
April 18 - The porch roof over the north gallery door is finished.
April 18 - The south service yard is being formed.
April 18 - A small slab was added behind the garage for the condensing unit of the tack room mini split.
April 18 - A service yard is being added behind the guest house. It may be screened with plants or perhaps a fence.
April 18 - The north main house service yard is being formed also.
April 18 - The masonry flue of the fireplace is being erected.
April 19 - The Artisan siding and trim arrived. The exterior trim sub is scheduled to begin on Tuesday (weather permitting).
April 19
April 19 - The plumbers are working on the guest house rough in. The tub arrived today, so they have all they need.
April 19 - The framers have the south gallery porch done. They are working on the eaves around the galleries. They also finished plywooding the master wing roof. They have not adjusted the returns next to the gallery porches yet, but it is on the list.
April 19 - The foundation sub did not come out today because he was unable to pack the fill under the service yards (it was too wet). He will be back tomorrow.
April 19 - The fireplace sub is working on the chimney.
April 19 - The south gallery porch roof has been framed. The return (in the background) will be reframed to match the slope of the porch.
April 25 - Blocks have arrived for the brick walls and steps in the front of the house. Blocks will be used below the dirt level and to support the steps.
April 25 - The bricks for the walls have also arrived. The mason is scheduled to begin laying block and brick tomorrow.
April 25 - The firebox brick has been laid. The different colors are because some of the bricks are wet.
April 25 - Exterior trim has begun on the guest house.
April 25 - The front porch ceiling joists are in place.
April 25 - We are pumping rain water out of a collection area in preparation for laying block.
April 25 - It is tight quarters, but the mixer was able to get close to the service yards. All of the service yards have been poured.
April 25 - This is the main (south) service yard for the main house. There is also a service yard on the north end and one on the guest house and garage.
April 26 - The triple window in the guest bedroom is trimmed. The trim looks very nice.
April 26 - Cutting the corners so they match with no corner boards is a bit slow, but it looks nice. Notice the black sealer (paint). When Hardie is cut, the cut is supposed to be sealed although it seldom is.
April 26 - More brick has been laid on the chimney.
April 27 - A good bit more has been done on the guest house siding.
April 27 - Masons are beginning to work on the brick veneer around the front porches. The first couple of feet (from the footer) will be concrete block since they will be buried. The last two feet will be brick.
April 27 - The chimney is finished and the scaffolding is down.
April 27 - More sheathing has been installed. The fireplace is also visible from the south western corner of the house.
April 27 - This is a close up of the chimney.
April 27 - The rear porch and outdoor kitchen beams are being built.