Constructing the House Part 6

Sorry folks about the long delay on any updates.  Along with breaking our camera we have just been too lazy to post photos for you.  So here is the long awaited update:

Fletcher has been growing like a weed and learning new words, tricks and games every day.  We have been having a blast.  Ashley is due with another little one at the end of March and she is looking as beautiful as ever.

Walking up and down the hill many times every day keeps us all fit and healthy.

Here is our front porch with Walnut steps and posts and rafters made out of Cedar logs.

Danny greets us with a smile every morning.  Check out that Cedar Walnut trim around the door!  If you like that just wait...every door and window is trimmed out with only the finest woods cut and milled right here on the property and carefully installed by none other than the wonderful Danny Stevens.

A view of the nook in the Kitchen.

Working on our bedroom doorway.

Mike and Jerry Rollins have done an excellent job with our Electrical, plumbing and now Tile and soon to be hard wood floor.  This is a view of the Laundry Room Floor.

 We were able to recruit Shane and Elspeth to put on the plaster in the Kitchen/Living/Dining room and they have done an awesome job.   

Don't you love the contrast of the smooth white walls and the sturdy wooden timbers?  As you see we are cleaning up, getting ready to install the Red Oak Flooring this week!  There is much much more to see in every room of the house so I will try to post more photos soon and in the meen time come on by to visit if you have a chance!

Constructing The House Part 5

Sorry for the long wait on an update but yes we have been making progress on the house.  We finished all of the Tongue and groove, and the insulated panels and have the roof dried in with plastic (I am waiting to here back from a roofer for the tin roof they are all backed up because of our wet wet spring)

Framing in the walls is lots of fun.  I found a great deal on windows so we kind of went window crazy... we look at a wall and look at the stack of windows and say let put that one here and this one there does that look good?  Sure!  Ok frame away!

Here we are taking measurements for a big window above the kitchen.

OH NO!  Here comes the building inspector on his steed, everyone start acting like you know what you are doing!

Kelsey how many times do I have to tell you this just won't work.  You cannot build a house with wooden pegs, it just wont work...I am going to have to write you up in violation of Code c3b52 and that puts you on the red Hot Chili Pepper Bad List.

Whew he barely let us off the hook that time.  Quick lets get this thing covered  with OSB quick before we get another inspection!

In the mean time the cows are thinking "Kelsey is late for moving us again, we are going to need to have a serious talk with him when he comes back".

Well we got all of the walls framed and the plywood on the bottom level now all that is left is the upstairs.

A view of the Dining/ Living room with Large French Doors and windows.

Here in the back will be the master Bedroom and Fletchers room.

The Kitchen.  As you see we have lots of windows.  Ashley is a little worried I went overboard and we will have no shelves or cabinets.  I just couldn't help myself.

That window goes there.  We will need to eat our wheaties before we lift that one into place.

The upstairs is going to be great.  Enough room for all kinds of things... bedrooms, playroom, craft room, Office, school supplies, and more.

Danny was worried that the birds were getting jealous so he brought out a house for them too... And now for what you all really wanted to see.  

Fletcher loves all things water; puddles, faucets, buckets, tubs, rain, springs, rivers, lakes...you get the point.

See I told you.

He also like helping Papa work with the animals.  When ever he sees a cow he yells COW COW MMMMM and whenever he sees a sheep he yells BAAA  BAAAA BAAAA!  

Constructing The House Part 4

Putting up the Tongue and Groove one board at a time...gotta make sure it fits just right.

I didn't realize how big this roof was until we started covering it up.  We spent a solid week and a half putting up Tongue and Groove 2x6's

Once the decking was finished Danny brought out the ropes and harnesses and we started putting up panels.  Danny and Richard on the roof screwing panels in, Walter hooked in to the machine bringing panels up one at a time and me safely on the ground operating the forklift.

Walter sure must trust me a lot because he is way up there!

Setting the first one just right is always the most difficult... mess that up and the whole roof is off square and trust me you DO NOT WANT TO BE AROUND DANNY WHEN THE ROOF IS OUT OF SQUARE trust me he gets pissed!

Insulation Hurray!

And then we got ready for Ann and Mike's Wedding party.  

What a perfect day to celebrate... Spring has just begun!

The Keener clan preparing for the festivities.

OH the sweet sound of a fiddle and banjo buzzing through the air with the honey bees.

Friends and Family came from far and wide.

Fletcher getting his very first Bocce Ball lesson... and once the party got started I had soo much fun that I completely forgot to take any more photos.  Hopefully someone did because it was a wonderful party with wonderful folks. 

Ashley and Fletcher... now that is true love.

Fletcher's Growing Up

Fletcher turned a year old last month. He took his first steps on his birthday. Now he is walking all over the farm chasing chickens and pulling laundry off the line.  He is learning lots these days.  Now he knows where his head, belly, shoes and Mommas teeth are.  Today he picked up his hammer when Ashley asked for his hammer and then picked up his saw when she asked for the saw.  Things sure happen fast at this age!

We began setting the roof trusses with the construction fork lift until we got on uneven ground and almost flipped it.  Then we decided to take a little break to regroup and replan... just happy no one got hurt, the only casualty was a broken rafter which we were able to get a replacement from Rudd with Push Hard Lumber.

So we hired a crane for a day to finish raising the roof.

The crane made everything feel much more safe but either way, working with tools up at the peak of the roof is no easy task.

Danny and Walter bracing off a truss up in the sky!

Setting the kitchen roof.

After two full weeks of erecting the frame we finally secured the last piece.  We celebrated with chips, champagne, and doughnuts!

On our lunch break we watched two lizards dual over mating grounds.

Now you can go up stairs without a ladder!  The next step is getting the tongue and groove on the ceiling, then the insulated panels and finally the metal roof.  Then we can rest assured that the frame is dry and protected.

Constructing the House Part 2

The sun finally came out which lifted spirits after so many days with frozen fingers.

Bringing up the rafters and collar ties for the roof.

We spent a day and a half to build the 15 roof trusses.

There are not many things more satisfying than standing back and looking at a days worth of work that hopefully will last for generations!

Danny hanging off of the corner drilling peg holes.

Danny Walter and Pat on watch.

The overhang.

Putting the last top plate on, almost ready for the roof!

The first truss took all morning to get set and braced off just right.    These things are very heavy and very high up!

So here we are two weeks in, we hope to complete the frame tomorrow if all goes well.  See you next time!!