Prep for 2nd Floor

The morning today was spent preparing all of the main support beams for the 2nd floor floor.  There is a large steel beam going across the kitchen and great room to support the 2nd floor exterior brick wall which does not stick out as much as the first floor.  Then there are the reinforced, engineered wood beams that need to be assembled and craned in to place for the other section of the floor.

First Floor Walls

We've completed the first floor walls... and by "we" I mean the royal WE.  Miguel and his crew have worked fast and well.  Of course the owners will have the initial shock of the perception that it's smaller than they thought when we walk through - pretty normal during framing stage.  I'll make sure the inside expands as we go :-).

First Floor Complete

The slowest section of a new build, from the framing perspective, is to get the first floor "floor" complete.  In order for the rest of the framing to progress quickly, this stage needs to be very accurate and well thought through, and that's the reason I choose Miguel and his crew if I can.  

Framing Begins

It was great to see Miguel's smiling face this morning!  Finally, we have begun framing the house.  In another week, the bones of this two storey home will be up and people in the neighbourhood will get a feel for the look of the house.

We also had Avanti come by to complete the as-built survey measurements.  All was within the guidelines set out by the permit, so we are off to the races.

Backfill Complete

George and Carlos worked hard tag teaming the huge pile of fill left at the back of the house in order to get the narrow West side backfilled.  We are on schedule to start framing tomorrow, thanks to their hard work.

Foundation inspection passed

The City inspector was in today, checking out the waterproofing and inspection.  He gave us the go ahead to do the backfill, so by the end of day tomorrow, we should be completely back filled up to the walls of the house, which makes me breath a little easier.  Fingers crossed, we start carpentry on Wednesday.

We have walls!

The foundation crew was in early to strip all of the forms and haul them out of here this morning.  We're left with beautiful looking foundation walls.  In a few days, we'll be solid enough for backfill, then we can start carpentry at the end of next week.  Can't wait!