Raising the (porch) roof and talking about elevators.

   I had a meeting with the elevator installer on Friday, so this post is a few days short of my normal spacing.  The crew generally doesn't work on the weekend though, so there wouldn't have been any progress after I left.  The forecast called for some rain, but I was lucky enough to be at the site during some sun, but the temperatures continue to hover around the 60s.  Looks like we're having a real spring this year.

   Here's the progress on the front porch.  They've finished installing all the deck joists at 12" spacing in anticipation of the Azek that we'll use.  The front of the house still needs some joists, but it should be finished within a few days of next week.  They remove a section of the ICF to install the ledger board, and use joist hangers against the house.  The joists are currently sitting on a 2x8 spacer on top of the beam, which is bolted to the beam itself, and joist hangers will be used to nail the two together.  Pretty standard deck construction.  They're holding off construction of the porch roof on this side of the house for some reason.  It might have something to do with roofing shingles for the top of the house and ease of access.

   The roof on the back side is simultaneously going up and here's what has been completed.  Since the roof doesn't have to be as structurally strong as the deck, they don't have to remove any ICF from the wall to attach the ledger board for the roof trusses.  Posts hold up a sistered beam, which holds up the porch trusses that are constructed on site.  Much of the roof decking is already installed here too.

   Here's what the underside of the back porch looks like.  When it's completed, the structure will be covered with a bead-board material in a natural stain color.  We're not sure if we'll use an Azek or wood for that.  The vertical pieces are temporary supports.  The porch roof around the corner will contain the remote blower for the kitchen stove so there should be enough space up there to house it.

   Here's the beginning of the gazebo roof.  The beam that separates the gazebo and porch will be raised a bit higher since it's coming down below the 8 ft height of the porch, but it won't be as high as the beams for the gazebo.  The underside of the gazebo will have a cathedral ceiling so the center will probably top off around 12 feet or so.  The idea right now is that install a stone bench around the exterior of the gazebo that will have a short rail on top that also acts as a back rest, but I'll have to check to see if that meets code.  The side of the gazebo that I'm standing on will have an outdoor wood burning fireplace.  We tried to seize the gazebo to be able to contain both seating around the fireplace and at least an 8 person table.

   Here's a shot of the back of the house now that the porch roofs and gazebo are going up.  I can't wait to sit out here on rainy days enjoy a cup of something warm.  I'd be tempted to poke up a fire and sit out here in the middle of winter.

   Here's how the back porch roof meets the garage roof.  It's not ideal and gives me some cause for concern since it's never nice when two roof planes create a valley against the house.  The should be enough slope to shed water, but I can see this area becoming an issue for debris during the fall.  Ideally, the fascias of the two roof sections would have been at the same elevation and the back porch could have terminated into the garage roof, but you can see there's a few inches of discrepancy between the two.  The height of the porch roof is limited by the master balcony around the corner so we can't raise it up.  This is probably the best way to do it and at least it's outside the envelope of the house.

   Here's that valley from above, taken from the master bedroom window.  At least I'll be able to see when there's crud up there and climb out with a leaf blower to clean it up.  There looks to be enough pitch to shed water, but I can just hear that pine in the back ground saying "Have fun cleaning up my droppings!"

   So the reason I was out there was to meet with the elevator installer and get info and quotes for that beast.  We weren't sure if we wanted it installed for move in so it wasn't included in the price of the mortgage.  It will be installed and maintained by A4 Access and is a hydraulic lift type, as opposed to a chain lift.  For our install, it comes in at a fairly reasonable 28k so we'll have to see if we have room in the war chest to installed right away.  If not, we can prep the elevator shaft for the day when we do want and need it.

   We have a meeting on Monday to finalize the Omega cabinets for the kitchen so we can squeeze the order in before the price hike.  Most of the other cabinets around the house will be either a slightly more cost efficient Omega Dynasty, or a much more cost efficient Homecrest.  Future decisions are really starting to be set in stone and we're almost at the half way point!  We're thinking that in two months, we'll see all mechanicals installed and drywall nearing completion.  Here's hoping.