It’s nearly the end of January and we are still framing, but now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel through our newly installed windows! The framing crew decided it would be much easier to install the windows and patio doors if they had some flat surfaces to work from. Since our site is steeply sloped, that meant they needed to get the rest of the deck timbers and framing completed. By all accounts, it was a hair raising experience to get the large 10×10 timber deck posts set on the back side of the house. It was so scary that they decided to wait on the master bedroom deck until they could bring in a crane to help set the posts.
Fortunately, they were able to install all the windows and patio doors without the master deck framing. Once all the windows were in, it really started to feel like an actual house. The stairs from the main level to the lower level were installed shortly afterwards and we were so happy not to have to traverse the ladder anymore to go from one level to another. While all that activity was going on, we’ve been hard at work staining all of the cedar fascia and tongue and groove beetle kill pine soffit material. It was a much larger effort than we expected, but it did save us a few thousand dollars!
Evergreen Crane came back in early January to lift the large exterior timber trusses on the front porch and side deck. Both areas now have covered roofs after the team constructed the rafters on site. These trusses are really the showpieces on the exterior of the house and will give us that rustic timberframe look we envisioned from the very beginning.