The rest of the story

After the slab was poured, we started getting lumber delivered as we needed it. We have a local Ace hardware that delivers for free and they are giving us a contractor's discount. It is much nicer than trekking to Home Depot or Lowes every time we need lumber. The first lumber delivery was the sill plates and the lumber for the load bearing wall in the basement.



Of course, it RAINED the afternoon of the first lumber delivery. Plus it's been raining the last couple days and it's still in the forecast. I'm all for ending the drought, but can't it wait until we have a roof and some house wrap?



The load bearing wall will support the floor joists for the first floor. We decided to do a load bearing wall, rather than span the entire width of the addition (28 feet) because the joists would have had to be 18 or 20 inches tall instead of 9 1/2 inches. That would have meant we would have had to dig deeper or have shorter ceilings, because the floor of the existing house and the floor of the addition WILL LINE UP. It was a step down into the "subtraction" and that was annoying and slightly dangerous for babies and the elderly.

The kids helped install the sill plates by putting the washers and nuts on the j-bolts.





The sill plates all installed.



Then Frugaldad started building the wall. He built it in two pieces. This guy is amazing! I can't believe he knows all this stuff. He knows how to build a house, write amazing software, work on cars, you name it.



Second half



Two pieces put together



Then in the midst of the wall-building, we had some plumbers come out to give us bids for the rough plumbing of the bathroom in the addition, and also some HVAC guys come because we'll need a new air conditioner and furnace and ductwork in the addition. We had a concrete cutting company come and cut a big hole for the ducts. Frugaldad spent a couple nights framing the opening to support the joists. And he dug out under the foundation so we can run plumbing to the septic tank. We're doing this stuff now while the access is good, before we cover up that area with a floor.



The piece of pipe is just for size reference


You've seen what the wall looked like when it was finished and the rim joists were installed. Next came floor joists.

About half of them set into place but not fastened.



We are glad to support a local business.



All the joists in place, looking up from below. It was really cool to be in the basement under the joists. The ceilings are the highest in the house, which was built in the energy-efficient 1970s. When the floor and ceilings are finished they will be around 8 feet high.



Monday night we got almost all of the floor decking installed. It's been rainy so I don't have a good picture yet. Check back soon!