Slab Done, Frame On!

Slab is done, complete the with requisite hand prints!

Mr. Chris (not me), and his two sons, Ivan and Joel, are framing the house for us. They're an awesome Father and Son(s) outfit. And, as you can see, are always ready to let the boys lend a hand.

Hand prints in the garage - we almost didn't make it in time! Had to get the kids out of school at the last minute to run over before it set.

Proud and excited kids. They've left their mark!

Time to frame! Once the slab was dry, the framers didn't waste any time. Now the house can really take shape.

The first day of framing got everything laid out and the lower level walls made. Now it was level all around for the floor/ceiling to be built.

Mr. Ivan, Chris' son, got Daniel trained on the nail gun.

Mr. Chris really enjoyed helping Aaron...who promptly shot almost the entire clip of nails into a piece of wood.

Matthew dove in too, and definitely enjoyed getting a chance to help build the house.

It seemed like just a couple days went by and the lower interior walls were in. This shot is standing from inside the family room looking west.

And like that, the "ceiling" was on. This shot is from the SW corner of the MIL, looking east.

This is from the NW corner, looking towards the MIL. The wall in front of you separates our side of the house and the MIL.

This is on the main level, looking NE from the SW corner of the house. Essentially where the front door will be.

 

Outside in the NW corner looking SE. It's pretty fun to walk up on the main floor and imagine the future layout.

This is looking S, with the garage to the right there. They'll frame the garage towards the end.

As of March 16! It's starting to look like a house! After this shot, a man and woman walked by and said to each other, "wow...looks like a lot of work."

One side project was breaking up the old concrete retaining walls in the back yard and using them as fill in the trench along the back wall of the house. The walls had been holding up an old garden bed that Auntie Bea had been in the house to see built. Ironically, Auntie Bea came by the day we were ripping it out!

With little kids breaking up the concrete junks with hammers, Daniel took on the skilled labor of prying out the blocks from the ground.

Matthew did a great job smashing concrete. He definitely was the hardest worker.

The boys' friend, Judah, came in at the end and used his super-strength to get some smaller chunks. The boys nicknamed the sled hammer he used the "DEMOLISHER".

The boys really did work hard. And as a reward, Auntie Bea got a feast of Spuds to have back at Grandma's. She loved the visit and the boys loved the fish n chips.