Trusses and More Walls!

The roof is going up! Slight weather delay (surprise:) due to temperatures at 10 year lows week before last. What a construction crew...they made it 2 1/2 days that record-setting week, but finally Wed. afternoon with the wind chill dropping the temps into the negative...they called it a week. Last week they made up for lost time in a big way with interior walls and trusses going up. The pictures above tell the story. It is amazing!

My contractor laid more decisions and options on me last Friday (January 15th) as final decisions on deck materials, windows, tub locations, etc. had to be made (by today - Monday). He wanted me to consider some wall changes...especially after I met with the first kitchen cabinet maker. Lets just say that this is going to be a SMALL kitchen...actually the entire "living" area upstairs is small, but it is a "studio apt." style floorplan. The other side of that is that the square footage for the "living area" is twice what I originally drew it out as/planned for...so I remain grateful for all the room I have up there :)

I did tours in the hollow over the weekend so I could get opinions on what to do with the walls...keep the office layout as is...or create more room in the living room (and maybe the kitchen). After everyone sharing a lot of wonderful ideas, I stuck with my original plan - large, dream office (for Projects - so sometimes I call it the Project Office) and super small kitchen and living room. I soothe the extremely small space with Beci's words...three seasons out of four you will be outdoors more often than indoors. So true. That is why I am putting a 6' deck across the front of the second floor - and they will start it this week :)

I am learning a lot of lessons in these latest questions/decisions. First, it is good to stick (more often than not) with your original plan - gut instinct. I designed this "Workshop" around three things - a darkroom, the workshop area, and a large dream office big enough to tackle any project that I (or others) came up with for me to do :) Now with the photography office downstairs having been shrunk some (my fault - drawing/design error), the upstairs office becomes even more important.

What is the primary use for the structure - very important. Though I will be staying in this building a lot in the coming months, etc. It will not be my permanent residence for the rest of my life...so if it is small in areas...that is okay. The size is perfect for the immediate and future use.

The week ahead will be full of a lot of work and even more decisions. They are continuing work on the roof. They will start the deck this week. As soon as the deck is up, the galvanized metal roof will go on (maybe 2 weeks). The windows and doors are set to be delivered the week of January 25th. I will meet with a local blacksmith next weekend to discuss options for the metal spiral staircase and railing for the deck. I need to make final decisions on yes or no on the stain glass window that I want for the downstairs bathroom. I also need to select the tub and shower units and get rough openings for both. I also will be meeting with the plumber and electrician this upcoming weekend to select outlets, etc. Whew! My head is spinning just listing it all out, and the sad thing is that I know that I am forgetting a lot of it. If my contractor is reading this...don't worry. I have a list - just not in front of me. :)

I am loving this process...I cannot even begin to describe how much I am learning...but I worry constantly about making the right decisions. I guess that is par for the course. I am so anxious each weekend to get home to see the process, take pictures, and then share them on here. I hope whoever is reading this is enjoying my antics and maybe learning something from my mistakes.

Until next weekend...:)

Walls Walls, and More Walls

The walls are continuing to go up. The second floor exterior walls are nearly completed as of New Years Eve. In under a week and a half - with only five work days, the framers have gotten a lot accomplished. As they make progress, I am left to make more and more decisions. Also, it seems, more errors in my drawings are discovered. I am trying to learn from each mistake :) I am also working to make lemons out of lemonade. First, the bedroom closet was too small (though I figured that error out with the doors and windows). A solution was found, but not before going through multiple revisions on the bathroom. My contractor and I decided that the best layout remained the first layout for the upstairs bathroom.

Next, we moved to the kitchen, and long story short...I am off somewhere between 1.5 - 3 feet. I will know how bad this is when I meet with the kitchen cabinet people in the next week. The worst case is that there are less cabinets, but since I am going to the ceiling with them....I am not that worried. As Beci told me, sometimes the biggest mistakes turn into the neatest things about your place.

I am watching the weather for next week as I write this....low -2 one night...snow chances four out of the next seven days....Steve said Thursday that he hoped to have the roof up by next weekend...I am thinking that might not happen. If anyone can, he can. :)