The Fry Ranch

Feb. 22-27 was a good time for our three-“man” crew (consisting of Steve, Melissa and Shannon) to establish some solid sock-lines and farmer’s tans during 85-degree weather. We kept shaking our heads in disbelief when every panel went up perfectly square and level. (Thanks to Steve getting the sole plates installed perfectly). And Steve indicated that he will never be involved in a traditional stick-build in his life. We’re big fans of the SIP (structural insulating panel) system. How else could three people get all their walls raised in six days? Enjoy our photos of progress. Next up: top plates, interior framing and window framing.

Thanks to the help of our Colorado buddy, Kory, sheathing was completed Feb. 6 – just in time for Mother Nature to surprise us with 1.5 inches of snow. Although we thoroughly covered the sheathing with black plastic, 39 MPH winds ripped it off the largest section of the house, which meant Melissa was shoveling snow the next morning.

The biggest excitement was the delivery of a portion of our walls a day early on Feb. 15, and the remainder on the 16th. (Steve might argue that the delivery of the forklift was equally exciting, as witnessed by his toying around with it … That is, until the first driver asked Steve to remove 25 ft. panels that were on our truck, but going on to a ski resort in Telluride, Colorado. Then Steve had to rearrange the whole truck for the driver and put the 25 ft. panels back!).

Ironically, the Murus walls came all the way from Melissa’s home state of Pennsylvania. Visit our Web Cams when you can, as we’ll be taking a week off from work (Feb. 23-27) to work on panels. Melissa’s sister, Shannon, will be assisting – and anyone else we can coerce into helping!

We survived January’s precipitation and have moved on to sheathing! Thanks to 4,000 sq. ft. of black plastic (applied in darkness) and a submersible water pump, an estimated 500 gallons of rainwater did NOT end up in the crawlspace. Since then, we’ve been lucky enough to complete all joists and blocking, and we’re over half way to completed sheathing. Special thanks to Phoenix neighbor, Charlie (joists) and Mammoth neighbor, Mark (sheathing) for their assistance. Next step is sole plates to accommodate the insulated panels (i.e. walls), and wall delivery in mid-February.

Check out our joist progress and beginning sheathing photos under the House Construction Photos – Jan. 2009 and our continued sheathing progress under House Construction Photos- Feb. 2009.

With 2009 here, weíre making progress toward a February/March wall-raising. After final touches, including finishing all the LVL (laminated veneer lumber) beams, adding bearing plates and nuts to the sill plates, securing post caps/post bases, and adding the courtyard drain pipes, we have begun floor joists. Special thanks to neighbor, Mark, who helped us heave the biggest 30-ft. LVLs into place and to our Phoenix neighbor, Charlie, who has made the trek down to help with joists.

The rain that has been plaguing our build actually took a break ñ and was replaced by snow! On Dec. 26, we got about an hourís worth of snow, which melted about 20 minutes after the last flake fell. It was still a treat to see snow falling at the ranch. Check out our snow photos under the House Construction Videos Dec. 2008. Enjoy our joist progress photos during 
Jan. 2009 and on the 
Progress Timeline.

Now that the foundation, stem walls and backfill are complete, it’s time for us to begin our official role in construction. In the coming weeks (during weekends), you’ll see us installing insulation in the crawl space, adding sill foam and plates, getting our termite pre-treat, and laying the crawl space vapor barrier. For energy efficiency, our crawl space will be cooled/heated, adding to the overall efficiency of the entire house, once it’s built. Keep checking in to see our progress, and view our latest photos/videos. With the stem walls complete, and some of the porch stoops at grade, we’re getting a good feel for the views we’ll have of the mountains!