Stairway to Heaven

Over the course of this past month, we transitioned from dirt and concrete to plumbing and lumber.  And, as you'll see below, there's no more walking around the outside of the house necessary.  Why don't I take the stairs?

After spending the first two months of construction digging downward, we are finally making dramatic vertical progress.  Below, Augie and John spread "drain rock"...pebbles spread at the very base of the foundation on the outside to allow water to flow easily into the drainage pipes laid below.

This is then covered with sand and compacted with a "jumping jack"...basically a jack-hammer with a flat bottom (see Augie's picture below).

Up until the most recent work, there was nothing to distinguish the house we are building from a parking lot. Everywhere you looked there was concrete. The day our plumber laid the main pipes in the ground of the basement floor, we made it very clear to all of our neighbors they would indeed be living next to a house.

After the pipes were installed, Albert returned to wrap the bottom of the basement with waterboard (to keep the water out). With shoveling and compacting assistance from Augie Mateo and Tom Kraft, he then began using our surplus sand to fill in behind the daylight basement. Here, Augie builds up his tan and muscles in preparation for Seafair.

The backyard is taking shape. You can almost smell the barbecue!

The McMaster Construction crew (comprised of Chris and Stephen), rolled onto the property only a week and a half ago. We're not sure what they do all day when we aren't there, but it must involve a magic wand. They framed the skeleton of the basement in a day and quickly added support beams and plywood to create the second floor.

We headed over to see the progress tonight and were thrilled to see a staircase has been installed. There has never been a more enjoyable trip up a set of stairs. Below, Julie describes the exhilaration, to Lori, of walking up her brand new stairs for the first time.

Even though the second floor is alfresco (as in no walls, just a floor) at the moment, we are able to walk around and visualize each room. Chris snapped the outline of each room in chalk on the plywood floor. We must admit, more than a few minutes were spent playing house in our imaginary kitchen, checking out the view from our "dining table" and reclining where our couch will be located. If the neighbors didn't think we were crazy before, they do now.

By tomorrow evening, Chris and Stephen will have most of the walls on the second floor standing upright. They caution us the progress will slow down once the interior work starts, but it's hard to contain our excitement. It feels good to stand on the floor that will support the ebb and flow of our daily life. It's hard to say whether or not we will think about the 2x4s and pieces of plywood buried beneath our carpet in five years. For now though, we have never seen anything as beautiful as that bare wood.

Next Up: Moving on up to the Second Floor!