Getting Ready

 

Walls up, braced, and now making room for the side walls. 

(These walls look pretty good, even after being covered in ice and snow!)

Up it comes!

 One fine January morning, with the help of Mr. Miller and his brother, the second story walls were lifted up!

Still

My photo record of construction pauses here for a couple months. There wasn't much we could do on the house-that-wasn't-yet, except watching the melted snow drip down in places we didn't want it to go.

Racing Winter

 We've learned with this build that it is just about impossible to race winter. It was discouraging for sure to have to go out to the site after a long workday, or on a weekend, and spend almost the entire time trying to shovel through ice and snow to clear something to work on. The window spaces on the second floor walls (which were still lying down) became giant ice-cube trays.

Back Again

Friends came back to help with the 2nd story walls. It is unbelievable that they wanted to spend all that time to help us! We could not have gotten along without them.

 You wouldn't think by looking at this that it was about 37 degrees F out... the cold didn't seem to bother anyone. Two walls were completed, but the day was over too soon for them to be raised and set.

Deuteronomy 22:8

 We got something up to mark the edges; it wasn't the best but it did the job. Nothing like having someone almost walk off the top in a dark and rainy night to get you pounding lumber up any way it can go...

On Top

The house with a lid! I would have loved to have had the ceiling below also be the flooring on top, but alas we could not. That beautiful wood was to be covered by 4x8 sheets for some engineering reason that I can't ever remember. I suppose I should be glad for it every time we get a gusty wind storm...

In The Daylight

I might be biased, but I think this ceiling is so beautiful.
 

More Night Work

 

After the day job work, came the house building work... in the dark and cold when this part was getting done.