To make room for the foundation, the office and the copy-room had to be removed and the wood-shed had to be moved.
McAlvain Construction helped with the foundation work.
“2 September 2005” The Crane put up the steel.
We have bosses...
and we have bosses....
and we have bosses.
The nuts and bolts were carefully installed.
The right tool is critical. A wrench as long as your arm usually will do.
The Floor Joists went in before the floor.
Once the floor was in the walls went up.
These two panoramic photos were taken a few month apart.
Interior walls are next.
But... There is no roof yet... and weather is still a factor
2nd Floor joists are in, wooden beams are in, pony walls are in, this should be the last step before second floor decking and trusses. Weather is still a major player.
As we prepare to install the trusses, we hold our breath and we pray that we will get the roof on before the weather gets too bad to continue.
I took this picture on Sunday.
On monday, we put decking on the floor because the wind was blowing too hard to swing trusses. On Tuesday we put in about half of the outside trusses on the north side.
On Wednesday we put on the rest of the North side Trusses and the end cap trusses and about three of the south side trusses. It sure changed the look of the building in 3 days.
Talk about change the look of the building. We started on Saturday 26 Nov, by trying to get some of the snow and ice off of the floor and the roof. There were more than half of the center trusses and sheeting up to the center trusses on both sides. We got started building later in the morning but by the time we stopped, all of the trusses were up except for the end truss. The sheeting was almost done too. We can really move with enough people working together. WOW.
We are still trying to get the ends completely closed in. At least the roof is closed in. There has been a terrific reduction in mopping the floor since the roof.
Once the roof had the sheathing on, it was time to put metal on top of that. Since it was getting so cold, Andy decided that we needed to get the Housewrap on first so that the building was more heat efficient. Once the Hourswrap was on, we tried to warm up the building by running space heaters. We scrounged up 3 of them that had a 350,000 BTU / Hour rating. On December 7 and 8 we got some clear weather (although the temp was around 0° )and we got the roofing felt on and all of the metal on the south side. The North side was an entirely different story. We had to scrape and throw salt and scrape and used weed burners and sqeegies and brooms. It took most of the day on the 9th to get the roof clear enough to put down felt, then we began with the metal. By 4:00 PM everyone was to tired to continue. I hope Saturday 10 December is a sunny warm day.
On Saturday 10 December Andy fired up the heaters at about 5 AM. By 9 AM the roof was mostly clear. Dave got on the phone and we started getting crew by 10. By 1:00 we had completed the roof. Almost 3800 sqare feet in 3 hours.
This building project has taught all of us a few things. We learned some things about each other and we learned some things about ourselves. There have been no serious injuries so far and we give thanks to God for all of it. Andy has basically devoted his entire summer and fall to the project. He was there for every step. We give thanks to God for Andy too. The list of people who helped is very extensive. Some of us had lots of time to give and some of us only had a few hours. The Ladies who provided lunches were just as important as those who provided tools and equipment. I would like to thank everyone.