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Bonus Room Framing

As G.N. Construction continues working on the roof decking and soffits, they are also continuing with the framing of the bonus room above the garage (in case you’ve forgotten, it is really the future home of the WWII Museum and Research Center). The progress is moving along well as we continue to complete small jobs around the house while they work. Most of the bracing from the interior of the house has been removed, so you can safely navigate without fear of head-bonking. Also, Oz finished building the water heater platform and has been working on the plans for the […]

Pillars and Corbels

A short post with photos of the pillars and corbels that Oz is installing before they start the soffits:

Beams and Corbels Going in…

Looks Pretty…

Staining needed on short piece…

Corner plumb line…

Not bad planning for a rookie.

We think the stain looks great… still have more to do — probably another coat on all the pillars and then the clear coat on top. We were trying to hurry to get as much done before the pillars and corbels were put into place as possible… but we didn’t […]

The Trusses and Decking Take Shape

Framing the valley…

As the work continues on setting the trusses, the shape of the house and how the roofline will look is becoming more clear. I was surprised that they were decking the portion of the roof that will have rafters above, but that provides extra stability and provides structure for setting those rafters. I took a few photos:

View from front

The work of setting trusses, decking the roof and framing the bonus room above the garage is being done by G.N. Construction, LLC. Freddy and his crew have been doing a great job […]

Staining the Beams

We received our stain from Mountain Home Building Products very quickly and were able to get the beams stained on the ground before they were lifted into place. We like the look of them very much. We were very pleased with the stain and with the quick shipping. If you missed our post on choosing which stain to use, you can find it here.

Light Brown UV Guard Stain

Beams lifted into place

[…]

Truss Setting Progress – Day Two

The first few photos are of the first truss being placed yesterday afternoon… After that, you can see the great progress that has been made since. It is a fairly complicated roof design, with a steep (8:12) pitch to the main part of the roof, and 10:12 over the garage, so we are very glad to have G.N. Construction, owned by Gaby and Freddy Nasarallah, doing the work for us.

Lifting the first truss

Placing the 1st Truss

1st Truss in Place

Nailing Truss to Top Plate

Steadying the 1st […]

Setting Trusses – Work Begins

At a little after 3 pm the work is finally begun on setting trusses. I was amazed to see one of the framers walking around the top of the framing like a balance beam… quite a good balancing act. He was walking along the top plates marking truss locations. The wind has kicked up a bit and it would make me more than a little nervous.

Marking truss locations

Sorting out the trusses…

Notching Beams – Back Porch

The last job we had planned in preparation for the framing crew was to get all the porch support beams notched and ready for installation. The framing contractor has a lift that will allow putting them in place easily, so having them fitted and ready for installation was the plan.

After laying them out in place, they were cut to size. At each joint, a pillar with corbels will be placed below. Using a circular saw to start the cuts, and a hand saw to finish them (due to the massive size of the beams, the blade couldn’t reach the […]

Interior Beams and Posts in Place

While I was busy in town (haircuts, canning and lawn-mowing), Oz was able to get the interior beams and posts into place. He used a standard drill, the impact drill, hand saw, circular saw, scaffolding and our fondly named “T-Rex” modified engine lift. Again, it proved helpful in getting the beam lifted into place without back strain or injury. In preparation for the project, the beam was cut to size and then notched so that it fit into the interior framing. After the notch was prepared on each end, the beam was attached to the corbels using 10″ wood screws. […]

Sheathing completed

Right on schedule, we finished up the last bit of sheathing that we can do before the roof trusses are set in place. With just a bit more internal bracing, we’ll be ready for the hired crew to put the trusses in place starting on Wednesday. We had hoped to have the trusses ready by Monday, but the truss company has been running behind due to high demand lately. The earliest they can have our trusses ready will be Tuesday afternoon.

Using cargo straps and the bumper of the dually, Oz was able to get all the walls pulled into […]

Exposed Beams – Choosing a Stain

We have planned to have large exposed beams supporting the back porch area, near the front entry and inside the house foyer. With the intense sun in SE New Mexico, it is important to protect the wood. Thus… choosing a stain color for the wood.

Luckily, we were able to get stain samples from Scott McCain of Mountain Home Building Products. After a phone conversation with him, he sent us several samples of their products that will offer good UV protection to the wood. After receiving them, mixing well (apparently the pigment tends to settle in the bottoms of the […]