gutter choices

 The roofers are almost done, so we need to decide on gutters today.  We are going with the "fascia" type on the left.  I did not want to go with the typical k style gutter seen on the right.  Too busy. 

construction update

 We are moving right along.  Exterior framing is done and the roof is in the process of being installed.


The kitchen is to the right and dining to the left leading out to the deck.

Our 8'x8' slider was an interesting feat in getting it up to the second story.  It took 4 guys on scaffolding to lift it over the parapet wall. I wish I had pictures of that.

It's exciting to have the upper deck framed in.  Fun to imagine hanging out on it in the future.

The light gray material is TPO which is a thermoplastic polyolefin single-ply roofing membrane. Underneath the TPO is 2" of rigid insulation and then there will be 9" more of blown-in insulation in the joist bay. 

All the water that lands on the deck will drain to the scupper in the upper corner in the above picture.  On top of the TPO we will have concrete pavers on pedestals at the level of the main room. 

Above is the skylight and windows in our shower/tub area.  Below is looking out the 2nd bedroom.

Before the composition roofing goes on, we had a ice & water shield installed as extra protection since we have a low slope roof  (3:12 pitch )

And windows are starting to go in! Here is our first layer of weather protection.  Tyvek DrainWrap next up 1-1/2" of rigid insulation.

framing update

Our main living space is framed up and has the sheathing up on the roof.  It feels good to stand in the space and begin to feel what it's going to be like. 

attic truss

 The house is really starting to take shape. 

 The opening in the floor here is where the stairs will go.

Above looks towards the back bedroom.  The first truss is a girder truss which will carry some of the main room roof load.  Beyond that first girder are attic trusses.  There's not much headroom up there, but enough to put our mechanical equipment for our ducted mini-split and a little extra storage. I had the truss manufacturer add depth in the truss above the attic space so that we can easily put insulation in the roof.  The attic will actually be conditioned space which means that our attic will also have drywall on the ceiling and walls.

Our skylight in the shower will be going above where Neil is standing. 

territorial views

Being in the middle of a city block that is located in a valley, our views are what real estate agents call "territorial".  This first picture will somewhat be the view from the dining room and out on the deck.  I love seeing the gables and different house forms going up the hill....I'm not crazy about that electrical pole though.

Below will be our main view from our 2nd story space.  I'm standing in the approximate area of our kitchen island.  This also shows why I angled the building slightly.  We still over look our neighbors yard, but the slight skew directs the view more diagonal to the southeast.

The floor trusses under the dining room needed to be hung from a beam to give us the maximum flexibility for our home offices below.

The garage: aka Neil's space.

This is looking out the apartment's kitchen sink windows.

2nd floor trusses delivered

We received our delivery of the 14" open web floor trusses on Friday from Louws.  Exciting!  These span the width of the garage (21'-25'). We went with these instead of TJIs for the flexibility of running our plumbing, electrical and ducting.

walls up!

Garage door header.

A few 2nd floor joists up.