As you may remember, this winter was one of the snowiest winters in nearly two decades. Well, Mother Nature just wasn’t quite done yet when the calendar flipped to May. As the locals say, “Mayuary” was in full effect. It’s spring, but it looks more like January. Believe me, our family LOVES snow. Really. We love it. Which is why we chose to move to the mountains where we have a legit winter. But, measurable snow in late-May while we’re trying to build a house? Umm...no thanks.

On May 18, we saw the forecast and decided it was best to cover the roof panels with a huge tarp. Kelsey also put some waterproof deck sealer on the sheathing to help prevent moisture soaking into our subfloor. The storm really got going on May 20 and dropped nearly a foot of heavy, thick snow over the course of three days. Kelsey got the shovel out again and did his best to keep everything dry.

Of course, the sun always returns and on May 24 we were able to get back on track. I even got the glamorous task of using the wet vac to suck up the moisture that had accumulated on the deck. Needless to say, we’re looking forward to when the roof gets on this puppy. Kelsey finished up with some window headers in the guest room so we could get started on the prep work for the loft ceiling.

May 24, 2019 - The sun returns! Installing a header above the guest bedroom window.

Our dear friends Josh and Lindsay (and their kiddos) came up for the day on May 25 to help out. Kelsey and Josh worked on the tedious work of installing rim board around the perimeter of the loft. It was so great to have extra hands and our boys had so much fun with Brendan and Kailyn. Thanks again Josh and Lindsay!!

Laird, Kailyn, Corbin & Brendan. Colorado kids for sure!

We took a little break on Memorial Day to ski at Arapahoe Basin. With the snow just a few days earlier, conditions were great and we were happy to get some time away in the morning to play. We did head up to the property late in the afternoon to finish up the final prep work before we could start installing floor joists.

My cousin, Dan Hodgkin, arrived to help out for a few days on May 28. The timing of his visit was perfect. He and Kelsey were able to get all of the floor joists installed and secure all of the sheathing before he left to go back home on June 1. This project is definitely easier with two people. And, to have some cover and shade on the site has been super nice! Thank you so much, Dan! We are so appreciative of your help!

Dan up on the newly installed loft floor joists and sheathing!

Dan and Kelsey enjoying lunch on the last day of Dan’s visit.

First family photo from the loft! Thanks for capturing this image for us, Dan!

Thankfully, the lot had dried out enough that we were able to have the steel beams for the ceiling delivered! We’ve been in a holding pattern to order these guys for quite some time, doing our best to divert water from the driveway and do a sun dance to dry the mud up. Patience paid off and they arrived on June 5. It was super fun to see the crane lift the beams off the semi truck. Yours truly even got to stand out in the street and do traffic control.

Traffic control selfie. I’m sure that’s a thing, right?

Our pal Chip, at Mid-Mountain Crane, is all set up!

While the crane was set up on site, we were able to install the monster 24’ panel in the loft. This panel spans nearly the entire east wall and was incredibly heavy. We weren’t sure if the crane had enough reach to get it there, but it did! Nice to get that one in place while we had the crane to help us. We would have needed way more hands that just me and Kelsey to lift that guy up.

The biggest panel of the bunch is now in place! 24 feet long!

A non-construction milestone that we celebrated was Laird finishing kindergarten on June 5. He had the most wonderful teacher, made some awesome friends (and we made friends with awesome parents thanks to him!), and learned so much. He’s kind and curious and we can’t wait to see what 1st grade brings! Good work Laird Bear! You rocked kindergarten!

Last and first! Our sweet boy is growing up before our eyes!

My dad arrived back in Colorado on June 7 and is staying for 2 full weeks to help out! Also, Corbin’s daycare is closed next week so my wonderful mother-in-law, Laurie, is here to help out with childcare duties so I can work. And, to cap it off, my father-in-law, Dave (aka Funkle) will be here for a few days to help with the glulam beam installation.

Kelsey and my Dad laid out the window wall in the loft and finished installation today! This is an important structural wall, as it supports the loft roof and one of the glulam beams that spans to the fireplace. So pretty important to get this part right. So, there were lots of stud packs to build (basically a stack of 2x6’s that are nailed and glued together piece by piece) to give the panels extra support. This mama is happy that 3 of the 4 sides of the loft are now enclosed. The kids are pretty good at staying away from the edge, but it’s been a bit stressful! The kids are learning lots about job site safety, but they keep us on our toes for sure!

View from the loft window! There will be a second large window like this to the left.

We’ve got some fun tasks coming up!

Now that we’re finished with the loft window panels, it’s time to build the second level of the chimney chase. To help to lift that into place, we’re renting a sky track next weekend. With that on site we’ll also install the last two panels in the master bedroom. One goes above the bedroom window on the west side, then one at the end. Then, the big job of installing the glulam beams on the southside of the house. The glulams will be a beautiful architectural feature of the house and will be a great contrast to the steel beams on the ceiling. There will be one short section that spans from the chimney to the loft, then a huge beam that goes from the west side of the chimney to the west wall in the master bedroom. The big glulam beam will be supported by two glulam columns.

We’ll be staining all of the glulam beams a warm, but neutral color and the steel beams will be painted a dark grey. Ideally, I would like to stain/paint everything before they are in place, but our production timeline and rental of the sky track may relegate us to do that work on the scaffolding.

Once the glulam beams are in place, we will be a huge step closer to getting the steel beams in place. When it is time for the steel, the crane will come to the site again to lift those and then help with the lifting the loft panels. We’re getting so close to having a lid on this place!

We always love when friends come to help out. So, if you’d like to work with us, give us a shout. No previous construction experience needed! Just bring some work gloves and Kelsey will teach you everything you need to know. :-)

Thanks as always for your love and support.

Cheers,

Cory