New house part 5--2011/2012

Kelly digging the hole for our water tank.

2500 gallon water tank is in.

We also have a 500 gallon tank under the kitchen floor that we access using an Amish pump.

The stairs needed some hard work to figure out how to get them to fit the area they needed to go in.

Stairs are half done.

Looking up from the kitchen.

Almost finished.

Done at last!

Looking down from the loft.

I have to plant tomatoes, but when the deer eat everything in reach the only place to keep them safe was on the roof!

More plants.

This was our garden, 2012.

The garden from the parking lot.

We finally put up a small (8 x 16 foot) garden area to plant the tomatoes in the ground.

New house part 4

Insulation in kitchen wall.

Sink and propane stove in kitchen.

Dining wall ready for insulation.

Insulation in dining room wall.

Some cupboards and propane fridge added.

These are "edgings" (2 x's left-overs) that we get free from the local mill, and use for lots of things.

Charles is nailing together some edgings that we beveled using our table saw, cut to size, and sanded to make wall panels for our dinning room area.

Charles nailing up some of the wall panels.

Me, doing some measuring--wall panels in around the dining room window.

Charles resting on the couch in the dining room--first wall section almost finished.

I get to rest, too.

This is our view out of our kitchen/dining room door--eventually there will be a deck out here.

New house part 3

I braved the heights to put the "whirly bird" through the roof.

Starting the outer rooms around the west side of the house.

Starting the roof rafters over the outer rooms.

Putting in the west bedroom window.

The outer room roofs were constructed from the free edgings we got from the mill.

Kyle and Phillip helping with the front porch roof.

Carpenters in training . . .

Kyle

Phillip

Shawn always seems to find the piano . . .

New house part 2--2011

Starting the walls, framing the windows--looking from inside out.

Framing the clerestory windows.

Charles putting in the clerestory windows.

We left one wall open so we could get the piano in . . .

How many guys does it take to move in an upright piano?  (Thanks, guys!!)

Yay, the piano's in--now we can finish the last wall.

Starting on the front porch--beautiful spring plum blossoms.

The floor touches the ground on the south, is 13 feet above ground on the north--pretty steep grade.

New House, 2010

So since our house burned in 2010, we have begun building a new one.  Here are a few pictures of the start, in 2010 . . .

Before the road was built.

Erica, Rob, Me, Eliza--cementing in the center pole, after Kelly slipped it in the hole using his backhoe and a chain.

Putting in the twelve outer poles.

Headers up, ready for the roof joists.

View looking to the north--the road is finished now.

Roof joists going up.

Ready for the OSB roofing.

Joe doing his "Fiddler on the Roof" imitation . . .

My sisters came over to help us get the tar paper on the roof--we finished the last piece after 11:00 at night using flashlights, just in time, because it snowed the next day.  I didn't take any photos that winter, this is actually a photo after the snow melted in 2011.  We were pretty much unable to make it up the hill that whole winter (except walking).  A very nice couple in our ward "gifted" us with a 5th wheel trailer to live in while we were building, for which we were very grateful!  One of the pluses about building a "pole" building is the ability to put on the roof and add things like floors and walls later.  Also, if you live in an area where there is a lot of water run-off (which we do) the water just runs underneath the house without causing water damage (one of the things we learned from our last house).