Walls, really!

Things are starting to accelerate now that we are out of the ground. The first two walls went up today on the front corner of the dining room. Our German framer, Andy, seems really great - very meticulous. You can often see him pondering the plans and doing all the detailed layout.

Here's the first wall just before getting lifted:



Here are the first two, held temporarily before being aligned and nailed down. The raked ceiling will actually continue for another 8 feet or so toward the left, over the front entry. It's going to be an impressive space. Everyone is very excited, as demonstrated by Rebecca's happy dance and my mom's grin.



All the framing materials are coming out of a yard in Stockton CA. One of the reasons we went with Drew Maran Construction was that he uses all FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified lumber as a matter of course. There are a few other "certification agencies" but FSC is the only "real" one that requires a true chain of custody from the forest to the site, guaranteeing that every stick was grown and harvested in a sustainable way. In fact, every stick is stamped with the FSC logo. We've learned that the other certifying agencies, when you look closely at them, are really lumber trade organizations and not necessarily any guarantee that the wood is really sustainably harvested. Sure, there's always room for fraud, but I think FSC is about as good as you can do besides grow it yourself.



Here are some more slides of the last couple of days.



Hopefully we'll see the rest of the front walls up this week, or nearly so. Then we are probably going to be waiting for a bit as there is a giant custom-built steel beam that has to be fabricated and installed to support some of the second floor.