Yes, we've worked through yet another weekend. It is amazing that we have made the time to eat and sleep, but we're fitting it all in. I tried to write this last night, but I had a SNAFU exporting the photos, it was late, and we'd been working all day long. Dave convinced me that going to sleep would be wiser than battling the frustrations of the computer after such a long day. He was right.
Now it is a newer fresher day and I am ready to tell yall what we've done.
First off, Friday, we got reinforcements! Solon (my brother-in-law) joined us for a couple of days as we learned the science of posts. Dad taught us to build all our posts level using "the method of the ancient Egyptians." Apparently, the ancient Egyptians had fifty-foot pieces of clear plastic tubing with which to check the levelness of the pyramids. Here is Solon checking our level with one of the more modern methods.
So, we started cutting the posts! Yippee - one step closer to putting it down on its own legs. The actual cutting of the posts was pretty easy. The hard part was figuring out how to finagle the plate between the sill and the cribbing. It took us all of Friday and Saturday to get it all in there. The four of us put our heads together and managed to get it done. During all this brain crunching, we did get some visitors. Haley, Orrin, and Lizzy are our best construction fans. They visit us every day on their afternoon walk. I convinced them to pose for the camera in front of the new posts. Orrin was thrilled with our progress.
Dave and I also posed at the end of the day in front of the house. If you are wondering, the house is not level at all at this point. The posts are level. It starts to look better soon.
Since Dave and I started sleeping next to the shack in a tent, we have really been enjoying it. We jokingly refer to it as our new home. We were amused to discover that others consider it our home also. Dave had been expecting a new cell phone to be delivered via FedEx to our address. We knew that FedEx considered our tent "home sweet home" when we found this tag hanging off of our tent with the box checked "Attempted deliver to home address"
Here is Gary working some hard-core construction. He cut posts all day on Friday. We could not have gotten to where we are in the project without him.
My dad is not only an engineering genius, he is also a rock star. After a long week of working with us on our building project, Dad puts on his regalia and rocks out on Saturday night with his band, The Spectras, at one of the most popular music venues in New Hampshire: The Hampton Beach Shell. Here he is in his pink Hawaiian shirt wailing on the baritone sax.
Okay, back to work! We touched down on the posts for the first time on Sunday. The Plate is in the right place, the posts are pointing the right way. Still not quite there, but getting closer.
Yesterday (Monday the 14th) was the big day for us. I worked all morning drilling holes in the pre-existing concrete so we could bolt down the last four posts. While Dave and my father were doing some day-job work (believe it or not, they have their own businesses to keep going while we do this) I jacked down the house and oriented the posts with a sledgehammer until they were all level. The house was finally sitting on its legs! The final step was braces.
Dave and I stayed late into Monday night building the braces on the legs of the house so we could remove the cribbing for real. That afternoon, Haley and Orrin came over to visit. Orrin looks a little surprised because I am poking him in the back with my tape-measure.
Haley conferred with us on some aesthetic decisions (thank you Haley!) and then we kept at it. By six o'clock, we had pulled out all of the cribbing and our foundation was finished!!! Look at how straight it is! Hurray!
All this work and we have a straight and level foundation. We can't believe it is really down. We get to bring all the cribbing back to Geddes Building Movers (who we borrowed it from.) Today is time for some reflection, regrouping and catching our breath for the next phase of work. We have to attend to all those little parts of our lives that we forget to take care of during this, we forget that we still have to do things like pay bills - and I need to give Dave a haircut.
Here is the magical moment when we remember that we get to live on a lake! It is breathtaking every single day. Here is what the lake looked like last night after we finished the braces.
Soon, the roof comes off and we start doing all the fun stuff.
Now it is a newer fresher day and I am ready to tell yall what we've done.
First off, Friday, we got reinforcements! Solon (my brother-in-law) joined us for a couple of days as we learned the science of posts. Dad taught us to build all our posts level using "the method of the ancient Egyptians." Apparently, the ancient Egyptians had fifty-foot pieces of clear plastic tubing with which to check the levelness of the pyramids. Here is Solon checking our level with one of the more modern methods.
So, we started cutting the posts! Yippee - one step closer to putting it down on its own legs. The actual cutting of the posts was pretty easy. The hard part was figuring out how to finagle the plate between the sill and the cribbing. It took us all of Friday and Saturday to get it all in there. The four of us put our heads together and managed to get it done. During all this brain crunching, we did get some visitors. Haley, Orrin, and Lizzy are our best construction fans. They visit us every day on their afternoon walk. I convinced them to pose for the camera in front of the new posts. Orrin was thrilled with our progress.
Dave and I also posed at the end of the day in front of the house. If you are wondering, the house is not level at all at this point. The posts are level. It starts to look better soon.
Since Dave and I started sleeping next to the shack in a tent, we have really been enjoying it. We jokingly refer to it as our new home. We were amused to discover that others consider it our home also. Dave had been expecting a new cell phone to be delivered via FedEx to our address. We knew that FedEx considered our tent "home sweet home" when we found this tag hanging off of our tent with the box checked "Attempted deliver to home address"
Here is Gary working some hard-core construction. He cut posts all day on Friday. We could not have gotten to where we are in the project without him.
My dad is not only an engineering genius, he is also a rock star. After a long week of working with us on our building project, Dad puts on his regalia and rocks out on Saturday night with his band, The Spectras, at one of the most popular music venues in New Hampshire: The Hampton Beach Shell. Here he is in his pink Hawaiian shirt wailing on the baritone sax.
Okay, back to work! We touched down on the posts for the first time on Sunday. The Plate is in the right place, the posts are pointing the right way. Still not quite there, but getting closer.
Yesterday (Monday the 14th) was the big day for us. I worked all morning drilling holes in the pre-existing concrete so we could bolt down the last four posts. While Dave and my father were doing some day-job work (believe it or not, they have their own businesses to keep going while we do this) I jacked down the house and oriented the posts with a sledgehammer until they were all level. The house was finally sitting on its legs! The final step was braces.
Dave and I stayed late into Monday night building the braces on the legs of the house so we could remove the cribbing for real. That afternoon, Haley and Orrin came over to visit. Orrin looks a little surprised because I am poking him in the back with my tape-measure.
Haley conferred with us on some aesthetic decisions (thank you Haley!) and then we kept at it. By six o'clock, we had pulled out all of the cribbing and our foundation was finished!!! Look at how straight it is! Hurray!
All this work and we have a straight and level foundation. We can't believe it is really down. We get to bring all the cribbing back to Geddes Building Movers (who we borrowed it from.) Today is time for some reflection, regrouping and catching our breath for the next phase of work. We have to attend to all those little parts of our lives that we forget to take care of during this, we forget that we still have to do things like pay bills - and I need to give Dave a haircut.
Here is the magical moment when we remember that we get to live on a lake! It is breathtaking every single day. Here is what the lake looked like last night after we finished the braces.
Soon, the roof comes off and we start doing all the fun stuff.
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