The "Shell" is almost complete...

There are only a couple more weeks til the exterior of our new home is finished. 
Windows get installed tomorrow, the parapets the day after, the roofing on Monday, and the stucco next Friday.
 
Here's a few pics over the last couple weeks...

 After all the blocks on the second floor went up, the steel guys, go right to work.  Formwork and steel.  A couple of inspections, and we're ready to pour...

 Just before pouring the concrete.  It looks like this for a few days.  Nothing exciting... I can't wait til they strip the formwork!

Concrete beams are poured and a few days later, the formwork gets removed.  It's the first glimpse at what the building is really going to look like...Ooooh! is that a round window?

 Preparing to put the roof trusses on...

 Great skylight!

The roof is ON!!!
Ready for Windows, doors, parapets, and roofing.








 Here's a picture of the rendering again.... it's starting to look like it!

Maybe the white box on the left is a mint green color?
Can you picture it? Hmmmm.....It'll probably be painted in less than a month!  I guess I need to start thinking about the colors.

We're at the second floor now...

After passing inspection for the the steel rebar on the first floor columns and beams, the concrete was poured...It's not as exciting as pouring the first floor slab because you don't really see anything!  It all goes in to forms.  The only time you actually see concrete, is when some pours out from the forms.  That doesn't happen often.

So for a few days, everything looked exactly the same, except that there was concrete curing inside the formwork... That hose is shooting concrete.

 But after a couple of days of letting the concrete cure, suddenly, once the forms were removed.... it started to look even more like my drawings!

 Now that all the forms are removed, and the building's shell is starting to be revealed, we need to start doing some of the wood work...










The first step is to install the ledgers.  This is what the second floor trusses will be attached to.  They only have a couple of hours to do this, cuz once the truss delivery and crane arrives, this needs to be ready.









Trusses arrive...I'm trying to stall em while the ledgers are being finished!  I think my exact words were "I don't think these are the right size.. Did someone check these?!"

That didn't exactly work.  They got unloaded anyway.
Heres a small clip of it:
http://youtu.be/uxjQg5TL3P8
I'll load it asap...


 

Wow!  Ellis and the other guy are holding up this stack of trusses with almost no muscles!

The first truss goes up!!!










 Then theres suddenly alot of action...

My steel beam arrives!  This is a steel beam, that supports the loft over the kitchen.  I plan on leaving it exposed.  The crane carries it off the truck and puts it in place so the guys can cut it and install it.

Meanwhile, trusses are being installed and there's so much going on at the moment, that I found it hard to go to work today!!  I watched them work for hours... well, it felt like hours.  It was only about an hour or so, but look how much was done in that short time!

We have a second floor... well, not exactly, but practically.  They followed the trusses with a plywood deck.  I can really start to feel the space now!

With a plywood deck on the trusses, the crane can put the load of the second floor blocks in stacks, so the block layers can get the blocks quickly and efficiently... I'll have second floor walls tomorrow!
Crazy... it's weeks like this that makes me feel like I'll be moving in in a couple months... but I know, its really not til Thankgiving.... maybe Halloween?!

Oh, yeah!  These guys rock...singing Reggae (or taking Adele songs and making them sound like Reggae) the whole time, they do everything in 2 days.

 HOLY COW!  I HAVE A SECOND FLOOR!

Here's a view, I've never shown before... It's the west elevation, looking from the alley. There's no windows there....SO WHAT!?  Heat and neighbors, I have no interest in looking that way, anyway!

Here's the view from the master bedroom to the yard... I can see the kids playing and Cristy out there watching them... I do feel like I live here already!  What are the kids doing, anyway??

Playing in sand, of course!!

I might need a giant pile of sand when we live here... This pile of sand has been the source of lots of fun times during the construction process.  The kids love it!  I've dabbled in the sand myself a couple times, but I'm not allowed anymore!











Next week should be full of excitement, too.  I think we'll have concrete beams, columns and a roof!

Stay tuned...

Finally, it's starting to look like a building.

Rain, Rain, go away, come again when the roof is on...
It hasn't rained in a long time, and God knows we need it, but not when I'm pouring concrete!!
The first scheduled day of pouring concrete was postponed due to the rain.  On the second day, well, it SHOULD have been postponed.  But it wasn't... The morning looked terrible, but just before the concrete trucks arrived, there was a good sign!

A beautiful, 180 degree arching rainbow!

This truck was converting rainbows into concrete.

And so it begins....

Homeschool Lesson: House-Building 101.

It wasn't long before it started to rain again...Hard to tell in this picture, but, it's coming DOWN!
 

Even John, of 3Design, Inc. came by. (with his matching umbrella!)  Great pic!

The very next day, Camilo was back to remove the forms....

 ...and the concrete blocks were being delivered!

Max immediately starts to work.
Ceci immediately starts to govern.

The Leaning Tower of Blocks.  Pretty cool, Max!

These block guys move FAST!  By the end of the first day, they were just about done... Just one small mistake... they missed a window!

But luckily, I noticed it and brought it to their attention, they quickly corrected it in time (before the morter set!)

Now, we're ready to start forming Tie beams and columns!  It suddenly feels like things are moving at lightning speed!  But delivery of steel and wood take a few days longer than expected and it takes a few days to get to the next picture...but I took advantage of the few days off and went Camping @ Fisheating Creek.  Check out this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvSUgXVm998&feature=youtu.be

I guess now is a good time to put up a sign and get a little publicity...before now, people see my signs and think the property is for sale! But now, it LOOKS like a construction site and those types of phone calls don't happen much.

Left to right: House, Kenny, Mari (Cristy's Sister), Cristy, Max, Adela, Abilio, Ceci, Luis Jr., Luis Sr.

When will I get a picture of YOU at
"The Leon Family Project"?

What a great couple of weeks of construction!!

It's been 2 weeks and so much has happened, that it's difficult to keep track of it all!  Remember that I have an Architectural office with several employees, and being a contractor is a full time job too!! So far, I've been able to juggle the two schedules, but it's definitely NOT easy...  Waking up earlier than usual and going to bed later than usual takes some getting used to.  What's gonna happen when my two jobs have important issues at the same time? I imagine a scene like the one in Mrs Doubtfire where he was having dinner with 2 different people AS two different people...  I'm strangely kinda looking forward to it!
As I mentioned, a lot has happened... but only a "few" pictures are needed:'

First, here's the "red-lined" version of the shop drawings for the trusses.  I don't know that I've ever reviewed any shop drawings so diligently in my life!

Then I redesigned the stairs on the fly...

Ceci is always  up for going to the site with me...Future Contractor? or Architect? or does she just like to hang out with me?!

 Batter boards were all set up.  Just what I needed for the Setback Inspection, right?  If only construction was that easy... Setback inspection can't be done with out the rebar in the foundation, so...

...let's put in the foundation rebar! Oh wait, first we have to spray the site with termite killer...

Now, let's put in the rebar! Oh wait, next we need to compact the soil and test it for density...

...with a very sophisticated piece of machinery.

Now can we put in the rebar?  Almost!  Just a vapor barrier first, THEN....

 The rebar?  YES! and don't forget the wire mesh, and the corner bars, the top steel, the slab depression forms, the window openings, the door openings, the reinforced masonry bars, the column steel, the dowels, the electrical floor outlets, the panel and sub panel locations, the elec outlet for the island cooktop, and the hundred other things that had to go there before the slab gets poured...

Oh yeah, don't forget the electrical service lines and the grounding to the foundation steel!! Whew! So much to remember!

NOW, I can call for my Setback Inspection, Foundation Steel Inspection, Slab inspection, Compaction inspection, Termite Treatment Inspection, Plumbing Underground and Sewer Connection Inspections, Underground electric inspection, and Mechanical Underground inspection.... And hope none of them fail!

Let me introduce you to the Property Owner, Architect, Contractor, Plans expediter, and Inspector!  Everything looks good... I'm ready to pour concrete on Monday (weather permitting, of course. there is rain in the forecast.)

All inspections are APPROVED!
Ready for a Concrete floor!!