Some updates since May

The framing is done ... yes the framing is done. Friends and family have been asking about updates to the project since we have not posted to the blog since May. While we completed the framing a few months ago, we were busy with a lot of construction activities.

Exterior- Much of the exterior is complete. We had 12 roof brackets to build and install. Three went on each gable end, two on the sleeping porch and two on each dormer. This allowed the two to four foot overhangs that we pulled from the original plans for the Gustav Stickley designed house we were going to build. Similar to the timberframe initial house that we moved into almost two years ago, we used a combination of board and batten siding and and shingles, milled from southern yellow pine and poplar trees , respectively. By mid May we had all the house wrap up and the windows installed.

Installing the siding has gone fairly fast until we ran out of shingles. We need to cut a few more poplar trees down to finish up the back side of the house and the dormers. At the same time we will cut some porch floor boards. We used a 1/4 inch crown stapler for the shingles which was a lot better than 8 penny ring

shanked nails as done before. They did not split at all and held strong. Also the stapler is a lot easier to use on the walk boards versus the nail gun. Also, a dedicated dipping station worked well for the shingles. It was comprised of a used section of metal roofing and a 10 foot section of gutter. This allows you to dip a stack of shingles and and then stand them on end in the gutter. All the excess stain/ preservative runs down the gutter into a bucket to be recycled.

The final picture is of the back corner of the house showing the sleeping porch off our master bedroom. This is my favorite view of the house addition.

Next up ... some interior activity updates and pictures