The front porch joists are all completed and they're finishing the rim joist on the curved part of the front porch that sits under the turret. The front and back porches are eight feet deep, but under the turret, it rounds out to about twelve feet. The rim joist here is a bent 1x6 that's nailed into the deck floor joists. They laid some plywood down the entire length, so I was able to walk on the front porch for the first time.
Here's where the round part of the front porch starts and how they're framing it. The joists are toe nailed into the wood that 's bolted to the beam. I'm not sure if they're going to install a joist hanger or what code is for something like that. I'm not too worried about it moving around and I'm sure inspection would catch something like that. The joists are 12" on center because we're planning on installing Azek decking and read that closer spacing is recommended for a more solid feel.
Here's the plywood runway that I walked on to check out the great views. The deck is ten feet off of grade on this side of the house so it will offer a nice lofty feel. I was a bit surprised at how low the window was but don't anticipate it being an issue. An eight foot deck will allow us some nice sitting areas without feeling cramped for walking space. The deck goes from the front of the house, to a door on the great room.
Here's what the deck looks like looking towards the front of the house. Eventually, this will be covered with a roof so you won't be able to see the turret or the turret structures since they'll be closed into the roof. I'm hoping the roof won't make the rooms that have these windows too dark since there will never be direct sunlight into them. I guess we'll have to see when it's all in place. The ceiling for the porch should be between eight and nine feet with the top of the windows at eight feet.
Here's the porch on the side of the house looking down from the turret. I guess some of the shoreline view will be blocked when the porch roof is in place, but you'll still be able to see the water and the surrounding forest.
They have most of the framing and roof decking up on the gazebo and almost all of the back porch roof completed. They still need to deck junction between the back porch and gazebo since it makes some complex valleys. At first I was confused by the 2x4 structures that are present in the gazebo. I measured out their distances, which were 24 inches on center and realized that they were planning on using it for non-load bearing support for a ceiling in the gazebo. Or intention was that the gazebo would have a vaulted ceiling so I texted Matt and he got back to me right away that they were indeed planning on having a flat ceiling. He said it's possible to vault the ceiling, but wants to meet to go over the design elements of it before he proceeds any further. Good thing we checked up on the progress. With the speed they're moving at, it could have been completed before we even realized it was wrong.
Besides the ceiling height error, the gazebo looks fantastic. It's pretty amazing to finally see one of the biggest design elements of the house, come into fruition. There's a concrete pad poured off the right side of the gazebo, that we can use to support an outdoor, wood-burning fireplace. We're still working out the details, but we're planning on having that entire section part of the fire place, and maybe the two flanking sections will have seating along the edges that flow into the fireplace construction.
The segment on the right is where the fireplace will be. We chose this side because we didn't want the view of the back yard blocked from the gazebo since that's where the pool will be. We will be blocking some of the great water view, but this side is screened by a good number of trees, so it was never a clear view. You can see the framing for the chimney on top of the great room.
Here's the view of the back porch and gazebo from the back of the house. There will be steps up to the porch right in front of that open doorway, which leads to the mudroom. Since the mudroom has a full bathroom adjoining it, we figure that will be the bathroom that we use when people come in from the pool. As such, Margaret is designing it to be more utilitarian and easy to clean. Great design starts from the beginning. That huge window is the kitchen sink window, which offers a great view of the back yard.
There's the framing for the chimney. Since we're just using two gas fireplaces, it doesn't need to be a real fire brick chimney. It will be sheathed in plywood and accept the same granite cobble stones that will be on the lower parts of the house. I apologize to the masons in advanced, for making them work so high up.
Here's the gazebo from the window on the same wall as the master balcony. The view to the pool and back yard is now blocked by the roof, but there's still a clear view out to the water. You can see where they still need to frame and sheet the roof where the porch meets the gazebo. I'll ask Matt how they're planning on doing it. I can either see a ridge line from the house to the gazebo, or a small cricket so the water sheds properly.
The view from the other side of the bed in the master bedroom isn't as obstructed towards the pool area. I don't anticipate the need to, but I'll be able to walk out on these roofs from the master balcony, so any debris that gets stuck up here can easily be blown off. There's some concern about security, so I'll have to address it by having a door bolster on the master balcony french doors. Good thing we have concrete floors to anchor bolts into.
Once again, here's the curve of the front porch, as viewed from the turret. They pulled a great radius on this curve because it's pretty much circular eyeballing it. We're still undecided on post covers and railings but we're thinking something white and round for the posts and dark for the railing, to keep it visually unobtrusive. I'll have to verify the length of the cantilever on this part, but it doesn't look like it's more than three feet. If I recall correctly, the joists are 2x8 and the general rule is that you shouldn't cantilever more than 25% of the span length so it might be cutting it close.
Besides meeting with Matt about the gazebo design, no other meets are schedule for this week. We placed the order for the Omega cabinets, so if I have time, I'll make a post about our final kitchen cabinet design. I'll touch base with Matt about roofing and HVAC installation because that really needs to start moving forward.
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