Framing Started

Well after what seems like an eternity we have finally found a builder who will help Derek and can fit us into his schedule.   So today Derek managed to get out all of these top plates, bottom plates and studs he had cut previously and start to assemble some walls.

It is amazing how much more work gets done with an extra set of hands.  Still have to square them etc, but there are some walls and we can start to see some rooms.

Hopefully the coming days yield as much productivity, very exciting.

Guest Area Floor Complete

The guest area floor is now complete.  Took a few days waiting for the wind to die down, so that Derek could install the sheets on his own and not be carried off into the bush.

So now it is more perimeter beams and frames if we ever see a builder. At least it is still moving forward, we just wish it was moving faster. Looks like we will have to wait for the new year for the roof now, which puts the baling back another month as well.

Posts are up

After what seems like an eternity, all of the steel posts are now up.  Derek managed to get all the posts on the slab up on his own, but needed help to get the seven posts up above the garage.  Well he managed to get one up on his own, but that just proved he needed help.  Today help arrived and all the posts are now standing tall.

They also managed to sheet some of the flooring above the garage - enough so that Derek now feels comfortable walking around on the second storey. And they've lifted all the other sheets up, so that the rest of the flooring can be done solo.

Unfortunately they didn't get all the perimeter beams up but they made an excellent start, as you can see in the photo.  So all in all it has been a successful day, and the wind even stayed away to make it even better.

Lily is getting sick of all the work above ground level though, as she feels like she is missing out - and she's not wrong since she gets less ball throwing and tummy rubs.

On a positive note, the builder should be doing a site visit tomorrow, so we should have some idea of when him and his crew will be on site to get the walls and rafters up. Fingers crossed we can still do a roof before Krismas.

Building a Floor

Last week was successful despite not having a builder.  Derek managed to get the majority of the floor joists in for the guest area, which is above the garage. This apparently involved a lot of interesting nail gun work and, given Derek's dislike of heights, some precarious positioning on the ladder. This has resulted in quite a few interesting bruises on Derek's legs, where he has braced himself on the ladder. This was particularly funny on the weekend when we had some beautiful weather, and Derek was in shorts :-)

The bolts for the perimeter beams have arrived and so this week will be the start of getting the perimeter beams.  Hopefully we get some joy with the builder this week and can stand up some of the frames, then this thing will really start looking like a house.