Let the framing begin!

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After pouring the slab last week, we have wasted little time continuing to make progress on my house. Saturday we got the sill seal put down along with the sill plate. This is what we attach the frame for the walls to.

 

My Dad is so talented. A retired banker, he knows all the ins and outs of building a house. I am constantly amazed at how he does it. He is a master craftsman who has no professional training in construction. I daily ask him how he knows what he knows.

 

Sunday was the most momentous day to date! After church, I headed down and met my parents for what turned out to be a very productive day. Our goal was to start framing and we got two pieces put up. We would build a nine-foot section on the slab and then raise it up and brace it.

 

While my Dad was working on building walls, I was working on insulating the slab. Since I am in a large field which gets a lot of wind in the winter, we are trying to insulate as much as possible. We have insulation in the slab, but my job today was to dig a trench 16 inches down and about two inches wide all around the slab. Then I put an additional piece of insulation in. I dug down so that when I put the insulation in it would be flush with the sill plate. This will block the cold from getting to the slab and should keep it much warmer this winter. I am sure hoping so anyways. I got two sides completely done and one piece on the third side before I developed a huge blister on my thumb from digging. There were so many rocks around the slab.

 

My Mom helped this weekend so it was really nice to have her assistance. She was helping move lumber and would run and get things as we needed them. All those hours upon hours that we spent sawing wood this summer is finally paying off. It is so nice to have all the boards that we need right at our disposal.

 

Sunday night I officially had my first meal at the new house…. well… kind of. After working all afternoon, I went and got a pizza. We put three folding chairs on the slab and ate our pizza. Halfway through the meal, I even realized that our random location was pretty much exactly where the kitchen will eventually be.

 

My Dad plans to work on the framing for the walls this week while I am at work. The nice thing is that we will be able to work at night and just continue to plug away. By the time I get to bed at night I am exhausted. Building a house is hard work.

Laura Reed

About Laura Reed

After 15 years in college athletics, the last seven as an assistant athletics director, I was burned out with 70-hour work weeks and extensive travel. I resigned my position and accepted a position in marketing at a small, vibrant college in my hometown of Unity, Maine. In the process I wanted to go back to my childhood where we raised polled Herefords, had a Christmas Tree Farm and spent many hours outside. I decided I wanted to build my own home on beautiful farmland that my family owns. With help from my Dad, the most talented person I’ve ever met, we are building my home together. I have decided to blog my experience – the ups and downs, the joys and frustrations. What was once an open field will one day be my home! The dream in my head is becoming reality. I can just see the lambs frolicking in the field, chickens in the barnyard and going running with my Alaskan Malamute!