House raising at last!

So much has happened since I last posted! Peter and I have been doing a lot of demo ourselves, yanking out ceiling tiles and old and disgusting insulation, taking out old kitchen cupboards, cutting out old baseboard heating units and eventually smashing some drywall (my favorite part). Taking down some of the vintage faux wood panelling was a huge thrill. We took a pick up full of metal to the transfer station for recycling. Some stuff went to the burn pile, some to the dumpster.

About a week ago, our design/build team came in to build the second floor decking and six exterior walls. All of these components were built and stacked in our side yard, covered with an industrial tarp and then we awaited the perfect intersection of good weather, crew and crane availability. The forecast this week was prime for a spell of sunny days and dry nights, so the pros moved in and it's been quite a week!

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday two exterior walls on the first floor were demoed, the standing seam roof was torn off and the space was readied for the pre-built components. I hauled more junk to the dumpster and wrangled the sections of standing seam roof up to the roadside, so neighbors could salvage what they might want for sheds or woodpile covering. (This morning only a few sheets remain!) Hooray for sweat equity!

Yesterday a huge crane rumbled up the road and set up in our driveway. Then all of this happened!

The view side, front wall prepped for flight.

Swinging up over the three season porch...

...and right into place. 

Jon, our design/build guy was disappointed that there was 

a 3/16" gap where the corners met.
Good grief!

Here's the entire second floor decking,

being prepped.

Liftoff!

Gently, slowly, carefully...

...and then, just like a giant Lego,

it fit right into place!

The four walls of the second story went up like a charm,

and in the last part of the afternoon, the first roof truss went up.

Here you can get an idea of the size of the crane!

Due to the urgency of maximizing the fine weather window, 

a lot of the clean up of demo

debris has been left for next week.

Peter and I will tackle what we can this weekend.

(I have graduated from garden gloves to contractor's gloves).

:-)

(This old window will make a fine cold frame.)

When Peter and I first walked into this new space we 

both had about 35 years of longing lumped in our throats.

Eyes may have been teary.