Prep work for the framers and a little bobcat fun

We have been working hard preparing for the framers to come.  The framing team starts on Monday and plans to be there until all of the framing is complete.  They will be framing the additions, raising the roof on the second floor, swapping around the staircases, putting plywood down on the floors and I'm sure plenty of other jobs that we're not capable of doing ourselves.

We got plenty of use out of the bobcat, as you can tell by the pictures.  That made transporting gravel and dirt a breeze compared to using a wheelbarrow.  We built a temporary wall and tore down the back of the house to get ready to frame the addition.  Michael and Ryan worked late nights to prepare for the giant beam to be placed over the span of the addition.  A crane is coming next week to place 3 beams, two in the garage and our 34 foot beam over the addition.

Stay tuned for pictures of the framing process.  We are so anxious to see walls being built and more progress being made!

Life is so much easier and more fun with a bobcat!

Our soon to be brother-in-law, Steve came out to help us back fill the trench around the house.  It always surprises us how much faster we get things done when we have strong help around.  Thanks Steve!!

Ryan used the bobcat to transport gravel and dirt around the trench, while Steve and Alex leveled it out. 

Michael and Ryan worked for 2 days trying to pull off the overhang on the back of the house.  As you can see, Ryan's pap used two steel beams to hold it up (overkill much?).  It was not an easy job.

Success!!

We built a temporary wall in front of the back of the house to hold up the second floor as we tore down the back wall. 

Hammering nails into a board above you sucks a surprising amount...luckily Ryan didn't hit himself in the face with the hammer 

We were so impressed with ourselves that we built a wall in one day!

The back of the house as we tore down the back wall.

Lindsay and Alex peaking out of the house before we took the wall down

Ryan and Alex pulling out the studs from the back wall, keeping our fingers crossed that the wall we built is strong enough to hold up the house!

 

Ryan's Diego band-aid saved the day after he so gracefully ran his face into a tool hanging on the wall.

Right before we bought Ryan some steel toed construction boots.

Alex dominated the steel saw.  Those sparks flew about 3 feet from the saw.

The lumber arrived for the framing team to start on Monday!

The framers will use up all of that lumber in just a couple of weeks

I can't believe how far we've come since July 1st!!