Second Floor Under Way

Here is Elizabeth at the top of the stairs. She couldn't wait to climb up the ladder and check out her bedroom space. I would say she couldn't wait to climb up the stairs to checkout her bedroom space, but there are no stairs!

We both took a turn on the ladder excited to get to the second floor. We could see the red chalk lines the framers made on the sub flooring today preparing for the second floor walls when they go up.

I believe they may start on the stairs tomorrow and then on up to start the second floor framing.

Putting a Lid on It!

Today the framing men started installing the sub flooring over the trusses. Elizabeth took these pictures today from inside the house. They show the men putting a lid on the first floor. Now I am ready to pick out the lighting! How we would love to be that far ahead in the building process.

Cat Walk

The framing men walk around the perimeter of the first floor like agile cats. One of the men admitted that he had fallen off a roof one time. They make the work look easy as they carefully walk back and forth on the perimeter hammering and measuring. They can carry a large board in one hand a nail gun in the other while climbing a ladder, never holding on! They have excellent balance.
They had not been able to work on our framing due to last weeks rain and the long Memorial Day weekend. I think they were trying to catch up today as fast as they were moving this afternoon.

Christoval Toenail Trail Days

Toenail Trail is the highway through Christoval. This morning was a small parade kicking off the annual Toenail Trail Days event in Christoval. The event starts with a very short parade which walks about a quarter mile down Main Street. They had horses, carts, cars, tractors and children walking with their pets all dressed up in costumes for the parade. The parade ends at the City Park filled with food, some art and craft booths, and a few rides for the children.

Watching the parade we were trying to figure out how we can be a part of the parade next year.

Yes, we're living large!

Rained Out

The framing came to a halt today due to continue rain showers. All the materials are sitting at the job site well covered under heavy plastic.

Last night at supper time we had a big thunderstorm come through with flash flood warnings. Our little dog Ginger had quite a rigor all night due to the loud thunder and bright lightning which scared her. The thunderstorm moved on, but the rain showers continued until late this morning. The forecast is for continued rain through Monday. Hopefully the framers will be able to start back to work on Tuesday.

The picture I took today is of the completed work late yesterday. In this photo you can see the front porch support beam has been set in place. The two window openings to the right of the beam are the windows in the garage. On the front porch there are two large openings one for the front door and the other for a sliding door from the study.

Sides on the Structure

We are surprised at the amount of work that quickly takes place daily in this building process. We thought the framers were going to work on the front and back porch beams today and instead they started siding in the house. The above picture is of the living room side of the house and the other a front view of the house. The two beams on the front are some of the supports to the second story balcony.
Today one of the nursery designers from San Angelo we contacted came out to help us with some landscaping ideas. We asked for his help on just the front of the house. We had visioned more of a natural landscape of rock and drought tolerant plants for the front since we will not have a front lawn. He was very helpful with ideas, took measurements, and will get back with us in a few weeks.

Heavy Tursses

Frank Gomez and his men installed many of the trusses by noon today. The trusses didn't look that big and heavy until I watched one of the men struggle to lift one up onto the scaffolding. Then he had to lift it up over his head to the man on top of the framing. Watching them work showed me just how heavy and big they really are.
I was told the men will next work on the back porch framing and the front porch support beams. Their work schedule may change depending on the forecast for rain tomorrow and through the weekend.

First Floor Framing Continues

Yesterday there was not much progress on the framing. Mr. Gomez's crew was off completing another job. Above is Mr. Gomez this morning walking along the top of the open framing making measurements for the trusses with house plans blowing in the wind. I did not talk to the builder today so my best guess is the men will start installing the trusses tomorrow after making all the markings for them today. The trusses are in the photo under the white paper with red lettering. We had rain showers off and on all day yesterday and the men are good about keeping all the materials covered.

With the additional rain this year the mosquitoes are out in full force everywhere!

The only visual progress I could see today was that the massive redwood support beam had been installed over the garage door today. Sorry, I didn't get a good photo of it. However you can see a little of the beam middle right, at the top of the framing in the photo below.

Sunday Church Service

Today we had the opportunity to attend our first "Church Under the Tree," service. This is an annual event with a hamburger cook out afterwards. The message and the meal were both very good. There is no telling how old this massive oak tree is. It is so large I don't think we could get all of it in one picture. The oak tree is on one of the church members Ranch. Steve Gains, our builder also built their beautiful one of a kind chalet style home. They had many compliments about Steve and his building talents.
The framers will be on the job tomorrow and am anxious to see all their progress this week.

Another Wet Day

The framers kept working right through the rain showers today. They completed framing the first floor then secured the walls with cross-board supports. The cross-board supports are the long angled boards in the photo.
Every time the light rain would start the men would quickly grab all their electrical equipment and jump into their pickup. In a few minutes the shower would stop and they were right back to work. Even with all the showers they able to install one of the first front porch supports today. On Monday they will finish these supports and frame the back porch. One of the things we enjoy the most is when friends and family stop by to share in the progress.

Framing in the Rain

This morning we woke to a light rain which became a nice shower until noon. We were sure the men would not be working today due to the rain shower.

On our way into San Angelo to do our weekly grocery shopping we drove by the property. We were pleasantly surprised to see the men on the job site framing the inside walls after the rain shower had moved through.

This evening Paul and Elizabeth went to see the work that had been completed today. As they drove up they were surprised to see this beautiful rainbow right over the house. What a blessing.

We have more rain in the forecast for the next two days.

Framing First Floor

We were over at the property after lunch today. At that time the framers had just about completed the outside framing. After supper we went back to the property and the framers had completed many of the inside walls as well. Now the house has real added dimension. After looking at a one dimensional floor plan for so long it was wonderful to see exactly what we had pictured finally standing up before us and not on a flat piece paper.

The framing men left a very tall ladder on the job site which we set up. Paul, Elizabeth and I each took a turn standing on top of their tall ladder to look over the first floor frame. We were attempting to see what the view would look like from the second floor balcony once it is in. It will be an outstanding view. Come join us anytime on the ladder, or you can wait until the second floor is framed.

Framers on the Jobsite

The framers were on the job site before 8:00 am this morning. Before noon they had all the wall lines snapped on the cement slab. The rest of the day they worked like men on a focused mission. They cut many boards and assembled window trusses. Then nailed them all together to created the first wall of our new home.
Up goes the first complete wall. Yeehaw! We are moving forward boys and girls.

Waiting on the Framers

There is not much action going on at our place until tomorrow, hopefully, maybe, who knows? The lumber is wrapped and waiting on the framers to begin. I will be ready with camera (and memory chip) in hand if they show up tomorrow.
Meanwhile I am not waisting time. I am busy digging holes planting more sumac bushes and yuccas around the entrance.

Lumber Delivery

City Lumber delivered our first two pallets of lumber this past Thursday. I was standing ready with my camera to photograph the event as the trucks lifted their large beds to drop the lumber on the ground. My camera kept beeping while I was trying to take pictures of the event. This beep meant I had forgotten to reinsert the photo disk back into my camera. Rats! With all the recent rain the builder quickly covered the lumber with plastic to keep it dry.

Today we learned the framing is schedule to begin on Tuesday. I will be sure to have the photo disk in my camera on Tuesday.

Stormy Weather

The thunder storms rolling in and out everyday caused us to loose our Internet connection. We are presently on a wireless Internet connection. The storms damaged one of the towers in our area from which we receive our signal. This afternoon our signal finally returned.

Unfortunately I don't have much to report on regarding our building process. The framing on the house is scheduled to start tomorrow. Presently we are on hold until the weather dries up.

The gas line crew did return to finish installing the line to the house. They did a very neat job.

Sunday's Swim, Sun and Fun

Elizabeth's Sunday Bible study class had a great time together. Liz Anderson, their Bible study teacher is in the center of the photo, who is also the pastor's wife and just fun to be with.

Grammy Rita brought her famous River Mouse boat for the girls to enjoy. It is an old amusement park boat she found and restored. It was a big hit with all the girls. Aunt Debbie gave tutoring instructions on the "how to" of the tree swinging which made for a successful day of swim, sun and fun together.
The gas line up to the house is now completed and the trench is covered. The framing crew is presently scheduled for Thursday if the rain lets up. We have had a big rain every evening since Saturday. The weatherman says the rain should stop on Wednesday, hopefully the framing can start on Thursday as planned.

Prickly Pear Cactus

There has been no new activity on the gas line since my last posting. I hope their crew will be back this week to complete the gas line work from the road up to the house.
The next step in our building process is the framing. We are hoping the framing will also start this week.
The cactus are starting to bloom everywhere on the place, they are such a beautiful yellow. There will be many more flowers to bloom on this big cactus right inside our entrance.
Tomorrow Elizabeth's girls Bible study class is coming down to the River for a "Swim, Sun and Fun Barbecue," after church. We have been mowing, raking and sprucing up the River all week preparing for Sunday's barbecue.

Gas Line Ditch

Today the crew completed laying the gas line and covered the ditch on the street before we arrived. I am not sure when they will be back to lay the gas line from the road to the house. I thought I would jump in this ditch today to give you a perspective of its size. We had a big rain storm late yesterday afternoon which made for a very soggy ditch. Impulsively jumping in was not a good idea. I sunk!

More Gas Line

We started down the road to the property this morning and noticed a big plume of dust over at our place and we were five miles away. I was surprised at the amount of dust this machine creates. The machinery is massive. It digs a trench over three feet deep and two feet wide. Seems excessive for such a little natural gas pipe.

When we arrived the crew had just about finished digging the wide trench up to our back porch cement pad. I was able to quickly take some pictures before they turned off their equipment.

Gas Line Machinery

Paul bought a new yard tractor!

The Gas company crew arrived this morning to trench the gas line. They use some big equipment. This thing was huge! The machine digs through the rock with ease very slowly. They dug the trench parallel to the road and then turned south crossing the road to the nearest gas meter. This trench makes an impassable ditch in the road for through traffic. How do I know this? My vehicle is presently stuck on the property!