Tongue and groove

Tongue and groove is completed on the first floor.

The fast and furious week comes to an end

When he wasn't working, John entertained us in numerous ways. A favorite past time for three boys is to see what features people have on their cell phones.

We played hot games of paper football.



And at bedtime, we get all cleaned up and read stories in cozy chairs. Thank you, Mr John, for coming to our house. You are a great gift to us.

The addition appreciates your TLC. It will never be the same!

Stairs

John even had time to cut out the stairs!





Mr Jones offers his seal of approval.

Rafters

The floor is decked and rafters are going up.

Floor decking

The first piece of floor decking going up.



Haven't I seen her on a home building show? No, she just wanted to make a few cuts to say that she participated in the building.

Florida is hot already

We know that John didn't want to complain, seeing as how Vermont was rainy and cold all week, but April in Florida is hot. We appreciate cooling off below those four porch ceiling fans.


We also took regular breaks for food and drink. The pleasure of working on an addition is having a bit of infrastructure on site.

First floor takes shape

Greg and John and small helpers get the posts and floor joists up in record time.

Snow bird arrives

John Hyslop of First Day offered to come down to Florida and get the addition banged out. He set a personal goal of having the structure completely framed and ready to tongue-and-groove within seven days. Is he insane?




After having been on site only a few hours, he is already erecting out posts for the ground floor.

Sill plates

Baby and Granddad work on sill plates. We're getting everything ready for a special guest to arrive.

Kit for addition arrives

This feels strangely familiar. Weren't we in the same situation just last year? Here is the house on a semi from First Day in New Hampshire. Construction of the addition begins.... Deep breath.... We think we're ready.

Granite desk

Remy cuts and installs our granite desk, in the green built-in unit (that we agonized over painting) that opens onto the living area. Of course, it looks great. Remy can do anything with stone.









Remy also brings house-warming gifts straight from the sea. A red snapper for dinner. Yum!

Rip Stick Wars

The slab for the addition has provided a great rip sticking platform for boys. They've developed several fun games that work in a 20' x 30' space. There is also talk of how such a slab would be useful elsewhere on the property when Mom and Dad turn the addition into a boring old house. Start saving your pennies, boys, and it can all be yours.

It's not just a building site

The greater Kiker family help us celebrate our first weekend in the house with a festive dinner. Several pieces of furniture have been retrieved from the storage unit, and we've deemed the place equipped enough to sleep in. It's no longer only a building site; it's also our home!



The boys LOVE their loft beds, and with baby in a crib below, it's the perfect set-up for three small people.

A slab for addition

Footers were inspected, blocks are done, and the fill company brings sand for the addition. We installed the pex tubing for radiant heat, and then Mr Jones and his guys work their magic. The addition has a slab and is ready for framing.