Finishing the Framing and the Roof (Part 3)

After many weeks or activity at our house site the Wendling house is framed and is looking really good!!

From the picture above you can see both floors, the entry way, the roof lines -- in essence the shell of our house.  From each of the four angles shown below you can see....

front yard and drive way....

...the front right corner...notice the school on the far left side...we are literally beside our kids' school...so they should never be late for school (right Kyara) even if they hop the fence, which I hear is a Lafontaine tradition...

...you can see the backyard and garage...complete with walkout on the left hand side and deck which will be below the middle window and to the left of the garage...

finally to our garage...made for two cars....

...beside the garage is our side door which will be used a lot with a very busy family....

With the completion of the framing we are able to show you the upstairs and all of the bedrooms....

First the second floor bathroom...aka the girls' bathroom...

...Matteya's room....

...Kyara's room....

...Justine's room....

...Ariel's room....

...Mia's room...

...and finally the loft area or meeting place between all of the bedrooms and bathroom....

The house keeps moving along and during the coming weeks we will see the installation of the:

- shingles

- windows

Then the fun will begin as the work will move inside the house with workers beginning the:

- electrical

- plumbing

- dry wall

Lots to do...but much has been done.  Great work to Lucchetta homes and to all the trades that have helped to build our new Wendling home.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Framing (Part 2) - Welcome to our Garage

The building of a house can be an exciting time, in particular when you can see things moving along quickly.

As the builders continue to frame our house you can now see the second level of the house and the garage taking shape.

From the picture above one can see the "shell" or skeleton of the house - the walls, location of the windows.    

In the picutre below you can see the white tyvek which helps to protect the wood and the outside of the home by forming a layer between the wood and the brick/siding.

As you can see from the picture above and below how much a house can change in a day or two.  Above you see the main house with no garage and then you have a garage.  

Due to the uniqueness of the lot and our house the garage is tucked away on the back of our house.  As well, in all our previous pictures the garage has not been noticeable because it does not connect with the basement - it is connected to the house but is really separate.

On the top of the garage you can see the "trusses" which will be used to help create the roof.  So in the next blog entry you will be able to see the height of the roof of the garage.  

The roof of the house is considered to be the last step in the framing process.  However, soon after the windows will have to be put in as part of the "closing in" process of the house.  As a family we have been very lucky to have our house building built so close to our current residence that we can see what is occurring next.  However, our builder, Lucchetta homes have actually given us an outline of the steps involved with the building process.  This was given to answer our questions, but also to make us aware of what decisions need to be made for our house.  In future, blogs we will share with you these decisions and you will be able to see them within our house.

One of the best features of our house is the wooded lot it stands on.  In order to be able to look at this, and the nightly sunset, we have a very large window - pictured above.  The window isn't quite in the house yet, but that will be coming soon.

Matteya is looking our the front door and contemplating what is next in our house building.  We still have lots to do as we hope to enter our new home by Christmas.  In the mean time we will enjoy watching our house being built and keeping you informed on the way.

Framing - Part 1

Mia and Justine would like to welcome to you on the our latest blog entry.  This entry will show how our house is being framed. Framing is the process to create the shell of a house.  It involves creating the floors, exterior and interior walls as well as the roof.  

When we last left our house a while ago our builder had completed the foundation.  The next step involved the creation of the ceiling for the basement/main floor for the house.

 From the basement one can see the beams across the top that would soon be covered by boards and voila you have a first floor.

After the floor was created the framers started to create the interior and exterior walls of the house.  Now in 3-D the Wendling family can see the various rooms in their house and can see the sizes of windows, closets, door ways.

As well, we can see the deck, mud room and our walkout from the basement to the backyard.

As well, from the angle below we can see the garage, which will soon be framed and how it connects to the main house.

In this angle we can see the bathroom and front den - which currently appear to be one room - but this soon will quickly change.

The picture below shows the Master bedroom and the extremely large window.  When designed the house the Wendling's decided that they wanted as much natural light as possible.  So big windows are everywhere in the house.

In fact the largest window is found at the back of the common room and give a panoramic view of the backyard.  Since it is a westward facing window the Wendling's hope that there will be many beautiful sunsets to take in.

Next comes the kitchen and in the back of the photo you can quite see our mudroom/locker room.  

Well that's it for this blog.  We hope that you are enjoying watching our new home taking shape.  Keep watching us...as I know Kyara will keep on watching you!!

Backfilling

Mia, Matteya, Ariel stand in our future basement.

To create a foundation for a house it is a little out of the ordinary.  Much of the physical aspects of our home, up to 1/3 to 1/2, is found below the dirt.  So when a builder builds a home they need to dig a hole and pour the foundation.  

Our lot, backfilled, complete with 3 large rock in the left of the middle of the picture.

That is why it is so important to plan a house and ensure that you have everything done under the ground prior to backfilling the dirt.

Ariel and Mia standing just outside of the basement.
What a difference backfilling makes.

For us watching Lucchetta homes build our foundation has been exciting and yet, it was at times difficult for us to envision what the landscaping of our house would look like.  Even a meeting with Ed, though helpful, was hard for us to understand exactly what the house would look like.

Our future fruit cellar, just off the toy room.

Things like the slope of the drive way, the back yard, what our walkout will look like....the visual things seen in a concrete way.

A two car garage...not quite ready for parking.

Well today, with the backfilling on our property site, we were able to have a really good idea of what the landscaping and the height of the house will actually look like.  Complete with gravel for the drive way.

The windows in our basement now appear at ground level rather that 7 feet in the air.  The garage and front porch are now filled in and don't look like giant holes.  So it is a good day for us.

The planks are there to support the walls during the backfilling process. 

And in the near future, when the framing of our house begins it will be exciting as well, for we will be able to see the main living part of the house completed.

Stay tuned.

(Hey look at the stubbie - I am wondering if this could be an archeological find.)

Completing the Foundation

After the workers completed the footings of our house the same group went to work on pouring the walls of the foundation and what a job it was.

 

First, the workers had to create the forms which involved setting up a number of planks of wood around the perimeter of the house, including the garage and front porch.  It is in the forms that the concerete is poured, which will make the walls.  This job took a crew of 5 - 6 men most of a day to do.

The following day, the cement trucks came, and with the help of a large crane, (pictured below),

began to pour the walls of the foundation.  As before, the driver of the crane had a remote control device which enable him to move the crane about with ease so that the walls could be poured.

A day later, after the cement was dried, the workers returned and removed the forms to show the completed basement - with a few windows added in.

Now that the foundation is completed the next step in construction will be for the back hoe to return and to backfill the garage, the area underneath the porch and the area around the foundation.  

This will allow for the framers to come to the site and begin the process of framing the house and building the roof.  This is one of the most exciting times as a new home truly comes into shape for all to see.  The Wendling family continues to get excited as they see the progress on their Lucchetta built home.