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.