Framing Begins

I once had a Project Management class that required you to find a construction project and document the daily progress. We were given the task to journal daily events and report on what we witnessed. After searching around town a couple of days, I found a new home construction site where they had just started bricking the foundation. The following day there was lumber on site and I was excited about watching and documenting the framing of the small house. When I returned to the site two or three days later to begin my journal, I was shocked to find the framing was finished.
So a lesson learned for me, if you're documenting the construction of your home and its time for framing, show up daily.

"Engineered I-Joist, AdvanTech Floor and one wall in less than a day. 

"Daaaad, Sarah wont let me look out the window".

Living and Dining Rooms

Starting on second floor

The Lumber Has Arrived

The lumber has arrived and framing will start very soon.

Engineered I-Joist and LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) boards will replace conventional lumber in some areas. The I-Joist should have less "bounce" in the floor and is a good choice for the long spans of the very open first floor. The LVL boards will be used overhead for the large openings on either side of the living room.

AdvanTech Flooring System is a tongue and groove floor that claims a stiff, quiet floor. It will be glued, nailed, and then screwed and should never squeak.

 

Exterior walls will be 2x6 framing and the extra two inches should allow at least a R19 insulation.

Ready For Lumber

Thomas Hord Masonry moving right along on the brick foundation.

Nearing completion and starting to look great.

The black strip at the base of the foundation is a code required waterproofing that we applied with a brush. It resembled a thin tar and made quite a mess.

The brick foundation is complete and it looks great. The Savannah Grey from Old Carolina Brick is every thing I had hoped for. My teenage daughter actually admitted that HER DAD WAS RIGHT about the brick. Elizabeth is also very pleased with how the white mortar is perfect for the Savannah Grey color. And even though she will never admit the brick was worth the extra money, Elizabeth couldn't be happier with the brick choice.

Its Just A Brick. Right?

My research with anything house related generally begins with a search on houzz.com. Its a wonderful online source to see hundreds of thousands of real photos of anything related to construction, repair, or design of your home. And when we began looking for a brick for the foundation, my wife knew that seeing a brick first hand or seeing a real photo would be the only thing that would satisfy her sometimes, "picky" husband.  As with most things, my wife and I do our research separately and then we will compare our notes at the end of the research. After looking at hundreds and hundreds of photos of brick, my wife had narrowed her choices down to a handful of brick options. And me; just 1. Now Elizabeth (my wife) understands that when I say I've only found one brick I like, it could be trouble. You see once I've made up my mind I really want something, my stubbornness sometimes doesn't allow me to be as open to suggestions as I probably should be, so they say.  But I knew we had to somehow come to an agreement. So after sharing our likes and dislikes of all the brick styles, colors and kinds, there was still just one choice for me. Fortunately Elizabeth liked my choice of brick almost as much as I did. The one itsy tee tiny problem she had with the brick was that it cost a little more. So we decided to visit the showroom of Old Carolina Brick in Salisbury NC where this brick I loved so much was manufactured. After spending some time with Art at Old Carolina Brick, he drove us to a nearby home that had been bricked with our favorite Old Carolina color, Savannah Grey. After seeing the house in person, the decision had been made. Even though we were almost certain on the Savannah Grey, Art gave us a few bricks to take home to look at just in case. And to look at the bricks individually, I'll admit it's hard for some to see their true beauty.

My 14 year old was very glad to offer her opinion on how unattractive this "old grey brick" was. She couldn't believe that we were actually paying extra for the brick to look this way. But I assured her she would not feel the same when the foundation was completed. I tried to make her understand that it's the process of molding the brick by hand that makes the brick look and feel as if they were made a 100 years ago. And it's that same quality that draws me to it. So we have decided on Savannah Grey from Old Carolina Brick.

                                                                 The bricks have arrived.

       Thank you Old Carolina Brick for your excellent service and your wonderful craftsmanship.

Foundation Dug and Poured

An experienced heavy equipment operator can make fairly quick work digging a foundation. Like all two story homes, the footprint of the foundation is usually about half of what it would be if it were a single story. Thanks Smith Environmental.

Below you will notice a very energetic 6 year old that enjoyed the dirt track she thought someone dug for her.

The foundation and footings have been poured. Local codes determine the specifics of a foundation and footings in each area. The foundation of your home is NOT a "ditch with concrete in it". It is one of the most important, if not the most important, parts of your home and should be treated as such.

Preparing to Dig

Preparing our home site for the foundation to be dug was fairly simple and required only one thing; knowing where to dig. This was a job for a surveyor and he basically performed two tasks. The first being finding the corners of the house. Finding the corners of the house allowed us to ensure that all city/county set back restrictions had been adhered to. This is very common and almost always required by the lender. The second task for the surveyor was to identify the location of the foundation and any piers that were to be dug. This process is commonly referred to as a pin/stake survey.

       This photo was taken 180 degrees from the earlier photos is actually looking from the backyard.

The Most Exciting Photo

I know, I know. This is a photo that only my wife and I can get excited about. But from the purchase of the lot; to the choosing of a plan; to the closing of the loan, none of those moments compare in excitement to the first sight of dirt being moved. It gives us that - hey this is finally happening - moment. Just some things going on here; 1) Footprint of house scraped for convenience  2) Gravel driveway poured for delivery trucks  3) Temporary power poll erected to accept feed from live line
Now ready or not here we go!