Phase Eight: Interior Framing, Wiring, & AC

The house continues to take shape with much of the exterior work having been completed. In the first photo below you will note that the roof has been shingled and the exterior walls are now covered in plastic in preparation for installation of the siding. Also note that all of windows and sliders are now installed, including the dummy windows in the attic spaces. Posts for the front porch columns are also in place now.

On the inside, interior framing has been completed. All of the rooms and various design touches are in place, including both niches and several built-ins in places like that master bedroom, family room, and the first hallway bedroom. When you walk through the house now you have a definite sense of each room and the flow of the entire space. You are also able to pick out some of the nicer touches such as the dining room arches.

Walking through the interior you also see the installation work that is going on for the electrical, cable, phone, and air conditioning systems. Because of the high rate of copper wire theft from construction sites I have installed a new yard light and a security camera to help me keep an eye on the place after dark. This camera also picks up audio and is quite sensitive, thereby allowing me to hear odd noises that would go unnoticed otherwise.

And finally, the fireplace is coming right along. You will see two photos below that depict the installation of the actual gas fireplace unit and then that unit being framed in and prepped for further trim work.

Enjoy the pics!


The latest exterior shot showing the finished roof, plastic covered walls, and windows installed in all openings.


This shot shows the niche framed into the foyer side of the den wall. The niche will be on your right as you enter the house.




On the right side of this photo you can make out the niche in the kitchen wall. This niche will be almost straight ahead as you enter the house through the foyer.




Here you can see the arches that frame the upper levels of the dining room. The large arch in the foreground is along the foyer side of the dining room. The dining room is to your left as you enter the house.




In this shot you see the framing for the other dining room arch, which runs along the hallway toward the family room. That is the den wall framing you see in the background.




In this photo you see the pocket door framing that divides the master bath from the bedroom. In the background you can make out the garden tub framing and the plumbing stubs for the sinks and shower.




This photo shows the kitchen framing as seen from the family room. That rectangular structure affixed to the ceiling joists is the framework for cabinets that will be mounted above a bar.



Here you see the air handler for the air conditioning system. This large mechanical contraption is mounted in the attic above the garage.



Here you see one of several air distribution boxes that are located throughout the house. These boxes serve to direct air into the ducts that then deliver air to the various rooms of the house.




This photo shows more ductwork and some of the electrical wiring that has started going into the house this week.




Here you get a sense of the amount of wiring that is going on in the house. These are the wires for various light and fan switches in the master bath.



This is a reverse angle of the shot above it. Again, you can see the wires that have been pulled and in the background is a shot of the framing for the garden tub.

Here you get a sense of what the electricians are up to in the house. That mass of wires will end up inside the breaker box. To the right of the ladder is the electricians' checklist for the various circuits that must be pulled.


This shot shows the framing for the television niche in the master bedroom. Just one of the nice touches that this builder includes with his homes.

The tub has been installed in the "Pool Bath". Those of us from Florida just call it the "hall bathroom". That black thing is a plastic barrier to protect the finish during this phase of work.

This is the mechanical portion of the gas fireplace installed in its home in the family room.

And here you see the fireplace apparatus enclosed by rough framing that will support the brick work and the mantle.

This is the recently framed-in attic storage room located above the garage. The reverse angle of this shot is shown above depicting the air handler.

Talk about your thoughtful touches! Here you see the 4 X 4 post and eyebolts that the builder installed on the front porch so that we can install a porch swing. The superintendent told me that they do this to avoid liability when a new home owner improperly installs the eyebolts only to have the swing crash to the floor when people sit in it. Looking at this assembly, I think it should be quite strong; the chain will be the wink link in any swing installation.


And finally, here is the new area light and security camera that I installed on the eave of our existing house to keep an eye on things now that the highly prized copper wire has been installed in the new house. I am quite proud of my handiwork here.

Phase Seven: Framing

Over the past couple of weeks the construction crews finished raising the block walls and then went to work on the various elements of framing the house.

The first thing to go up were the roof trusses. Once the trusses were set the framers put on the plywood sheeting for the roof and then covered those boards with tar paper. Along the way they also built the two gables and extended the soffits around the entire perimeter of the house.

The latest activity has been the framing of interior walls and ceiling elements. This is an exciting phase because you can now walk through the house and have a clear understanding of the floorplan and the various rooms.

Now on to the photos:

Here you can see the first round of trusses installed on the completed block walls. The roof framing alone took a week of long days to complete.

Here is an interior shot of the early stages of roof framing. Note that the stupid dog has his leg hiked on the kitchen plumbing stub. I fear a tragic accident is going to befall that dog... soon!

Here we see the completed roof framing. The middle gable is a facade and the window opens into a small attic space that is not accessible from any portion of the interior or the attic. The gable over the garage is actually a storage room that will benefit from the window letting in light.

This shot is looking through the framed laundry room walls into the garage. Those two windows are about five feet off the garage floor. You can also make out the framing of the attic storage room in this shot.

These are the windows in the master bedroom. That wood contraption outside the windows is a makeshift dumpster that the framers built to contain their garbage. It is constructed of eight sheets of plywood and an assortment of boards. I could build a small shed out of the wood they put into this scrap corral.

This shot shows a portion of the lanai (that's Floridian for "back porch") with some of the sliding glass doors that are about to be installed. You can see some of the door tracks in this shot. You can also see a bit more of that monstrous scrap corral. That thing is built right where the pool is going and will soon have to be moved.

This interior framing shot shows the den that will be to your right as you enter the house. This will be my new home office. Yippee! Note that the doorway is on an angle to the entryway and the hall space. I have no idea why they have not yet framed out the facing wall.

This shot is of the family room and the much ballyhooed fireplace that has so captivated my interest. This will be a gas fireplace, so the construction is not what you'd see on a regular wood-burning fireplace. But, it is still fascinating to me!

Here you see the double corner windows of the back (guest?) bedroom. I really like this room because of these windows. If there wasn't already a den in the house this would make a nice home office.

Here's something a little bit different: a shot of the back of the house. Moving from the far left you can see the master bedroom window and sliding door opening, a portion of the lanai, one of the double windows in the back bedroom, and at the far right you see the window of the other bedroom and the fireplace chimney.

One more shot of the rear and garage side of the house. If you look past the house you can get some perspective on how the new house sits on our property. That is my motorcycle shed in the right edge background, so that's where the current driveway is located.

Phase Six: Walls!

Once the foundation walls were completed and the dirt spread, a concrete cap and floor was poured on top of the fill. As soon as the concrete floor was dried in the masons went to work raising the walls of the house. This is the current phase of construction and is in day two of a project four-day cycle to completely construct the block shell of the house. I'll update this section the week after Thanksgiving when the masons complete their work. They worked today, Saturday, 11/18/06, and will be taking next week off for the holiday.

That's Mercy's Dad checking out the construction. Thanks for lending scale to the pics, Papi!

Licky the yard cat came over to inspect and gave his comment by peeing on the wall. Damn cat!

Pedro also had to get in on it, but he was too dumb to figure out how to get up from the garage.

By the way, that last shot is the fireplace again. Having never had a fireplace before, I am kind of fascinated by this thing and how it is being built. Can you tell I've lived my whole life Florida, or what!

Phase Five: Foundation

Once the footers were in and dry, the foundation went up in short order. They built the foundation walls around about 90% of the footprint of the house, leaving one opening on the northern end for a large frontend loader to get into the new foundation to spread the fill dirt. You'll notice that as the photos below progress the foundation walls rise, the fill dirt is piled up inside the foundation, and finally the fill dirt is spread out and foundation is closed up.