The first floor is down!

We've been to lots of places in Europe, the United States and China, but no monument was as gratifying and wholly beautiful as this:

Construction of the first floor showing the floor joists in place.

The first floor completely lain down.  Beautiful.

It looks small, doesn't it?  One of our goals was to make a house that was not too large for two people and whatever menagerie of animals we end up with.  We actually started this project shooting for a 1600-1800 square foot house.  However, many factors, such as the 2-story requirement in this neighborhood and the fact that we wanted to have larger doorways and hallways to make the house more accessible as we age, forced us to build a larger house.  We are coming in at 2300 square feet which should be enough space to keep peace and harmony in our lives.

The other green aspect of framing the house concerns the materials.  The wood itself is a product called AdvanTech which is oriented strand board (OSB).  This literally means it is made of strands or small pieces of scrap wood that are oriented in the same direction.  These strands are adhered together with adhesives in a process similar to how plywood is made.  After years of use OSB has proven to be as durable as plywood.  The wood used to make OSB is scrap or low value species of trees.  It is considered to be an excellent wood product to use in green building.  The AdvanTech product was awarded the National Association of Home Builders Research Center Green Approved rating for subflooring.  It is thus eligible to earn points that contribute toward the NAHB Green Building Standard certification.

Here's an article in EcoHome magazine on wood flooring products:
EcoHome article on wood flooring products

The next step is the framing of the walls which should start soon.  We plan to take a picture daily from the same location to show the progress of the framing.

Jason has chosen to use Gerard Branson Jr Construction Company to do the rough wood framing work and so far they have worked in driving rain and blazing heat.  If it should snow I'm sure their dedication will have them out their in parkas framing up our house.  Thanks to J.R. and his crew from Gerard Branson Jr Construction Company.

Onward and upward,
Mark, Mark & Isabael