March 1 - The roof of the great room is taking shape. The peak is some 34 feet above the floor.
March 1 - More detail is visible in this photo. Notice the front rafters are resting on a knee wall, so they don't have to be the full length (some 28 feet).
March 1 - Components for the fireplace arrived on Wednesday. This is an Isokern fireplace. There are a couple of cubes of bricks behind the Isokern components.
March 1 - This is how the chimney is assembled. The inner part and outer part are laid so their joints are staggered vertically. This helps insure the chimney will not leak.
March 1 - The roof is taking shape as viewed from the lake. Notice the framer on the catwalk just below the ridge. This gives an idea how large the roof is.
March 1 - Here is a closer look at the roof in the rear. massive rafters run from the ridge down to beside the dormer windows. The rear portion of the roof is not finished yet. Here the framer is more clearly visible.
March 2 - More rafters are being installed. The window openings are not cut yet. The gable wall over his dressing room is framed and sheathed. The attic window has not been cut open yet.
March 2 - The hallway outside bedroom #4 has rafters on it. Many of the details are coming into place.
March 2 - This is the gable end of the master bedroom. A high window was deleted. This bedroom has a vaulted ceiling.
March 2 - The breakfast room and kitchen has a flat ceiling with beams. It also has a shallow hip roof.
March 2 - More rafters are on the rear of the great room. From the outside the three windows are covered with one large shed roof. Inside, the ceiling slopes between the dormer windows.
March 2 - Bedroom #2 does not have its gable wall framed or sheathed yet. One of the crawl space access doors is below this bedroom.
March 2 - Even though the house is large, it is not easy to see from the road out front.
March 2 - The great room roof is still braced. Once it is complete and sheathed, the bracing will be removed.
March 5 - The framers are working on the north end of the great room gable.
March 5 - This is the gable at the north end of the master suite.
March 5 - The gable at the south end of the great room is framed.
March 5 - The foundation subs are laying out footers for the front porch.
March 6 - The north gable of the great room is framed. The ceiling framing in the great room still needs to be completed.
March 6 - This is the kitchen (foreground) and breakfast room (background) with a number of temporary braces. The view from the breakfast room is quite nice.
March 6 - The master vestibule has a nice view. The sitting and TV room is through the door on the left.
March 6 - The south gable of the guest portion of the house is framed.
March 6 - The large openings are for glass doors with sidelights and transoms. They will allow a beautiful view of the lake.
March 6 - Even with the temporary bracing, the great room is, well, great.
March 7 - Forms have been erected for the front porch. The end on the left is open so the loader can put dirt inside the forms. The fill dirt will be packed and a slab will be poured over it.
March 7 - Here you can see the open end of the forms.
March 7 - The fireplace foundation is being built. The blocks will be filled with concrete once they are all laid. This will support the weight of the fireplace and brickwork.
March 7 - Plywood sheathing is going on the gables.
March 8 - The master gable has been sheathed and the flying rafter installed.
March 8 - Five loads of fill dirt were delivered. This will be used to fill the front porch. It will be placed in a few days (depending on the weather).
March 8 - Plywood is going on the roof.
March 9 - Lookouts (the boards that hold the flying rafters) are in place here on the guest wing. The subfascia (the board on the end of the rafters) is also in place.
March 9 - Masons are laying up block to support the fireplace and chimney. The blocks are then filled with concrete to make them strong. The piers will support the steel decking that serves as a form for the concrete slab.
March 9 - Roof plywood is going on the west side of the master bedroom. If you look closely, you can see the right side is covered.
March 9 - Many of the gables have 'returns' which are decorative. They are being added around the house. The sloped part will have roofing material on it.
March 9 - This is the east side of the master bedroom (on the left). The roof sheathing has been put on the south side of the master bath and his closet.
March 13 - Plywood sheathing is being installed. Much of the roof is framed. The ceilings have not been framed yet. Windows are due to the supplier within a few days.
March 13 - More roof sheathing is being installed. We use 5/8in plywood rather than 1/2in like code requires to help insure a strong flat roof.
March 13 - The low hip roof over the breakfast room is getting a sheet of plywood.
March 13 - The masons have finished the foundation for the fireplace (the high blocks). They are working on the blocks to support the brick skin and steel decking for the outdoor kitchen slab.
March 13 - Fill dirt is being placed in the front porch area.
March 15 - More plywood shows from the temporary drive. Before long, the front porch slab will be poured and the front porch will be built.
March 15 - The fill dirt is being packed inside the forms.
March 15 - The roof and walls are being sheathed. Most of the exterior framing is finished.
March 15 - More plywood is evident from the north west side of the yard.
March 15 - More fill dirt is being placed inside the forms for the front porch slab.
March 20 - After a long rain last night, the yard is really muddy. Fortunately, it dries quickly. Framers worked until about 3 pm when a tornado watch was placed on the area.
March 20 - The framers worked inside because the roof was too wet. They were able to do several punch items.
March 20 - The two front side doors also have porches. There will be a significant amount of fill placed in front of the house.
March 28 - Bricks are laid on the guest house porch. They have not been cleaned yet. The temporary stiff leg is still in place. A column will be installed in the corner of the porch.
March 28 - The garage doors have a brick border. The center bricks have not been grouted yet. None of the bricks have been cleaned.
March 28 - The garage porch bricks are laid and grouted. They need to be cleaned.
March 28 - This is how the tabby with brick border looks on the garage. It is in a shadow, so the photo does not do it justice.