The Hut looks like a house!   Mark and I just returned from five days at the farm.  We went up on Tuesday and missed the action with the crane.  When we arrived, all four walls were up, and the six glulam roof beams were up and in place.  The roof joists were on the roof, but not in place.  As the week went on, the roof joists were nailed in place and additional framing continued through Saturday morning.  

We are really pleased with the look of the cedar trim cap around the top edge of the roof. It will eventually be stained and will not lose the natural look of the cedar. More work on the frame and wall next week with the roof on Friday, July 25th. With such a small structure, the process goes quickly!

The foundation and framing work has been done by Miranda Construction--John Miranda and his crew.  They do high quality work and they work hard—even in the rain.  John is an interesting guy.  He has been a builder and woodworker all his life.  As the story goes, his ancestry is Chinese and Native North American via Canada.  He is involved with canoe racing with the Nooksack Indian Tribe and showed us these gorgeous canoe paddles he makes—and uses. 

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/mark_proulx/John%20Miranda%20Canoe%20Paddle/

The walls were built flat and the crane lifted the two heaviest into place. 

That is John in the center and his co-worker with the caulk gun.  They are getting ready to tip up the first (and lightest in weight) west wall.

This is the north wall.  There is a "bump out" on the corner that will hold the mechanicals--heat and hot water.

The glulam beams are wrapped in a protective cover.  The I-joists are above.  The glulam beams will be exposed as part of the interior ceiling.

You can see the cap around the top that I mentioned earlier.  Beautiful cedar.

The view below is from the road.

Detail for my Weyerhaeuser friends--the dimension lumber, beams and I-joists are Brand X, the OSB is Weyerhaeuser product made in Canada.

Mark and I kept busy looking at countertop material and interior and exterior paint.  We have to make those decisions soon--the project is moving quickly!

I didn't visit the job site this week, but framing has started!  The walls are being built on the ground and then lifted into place when the crane comes.  The crane will also lift the roof joists/beams in place.  The crane is scheduled for July 17. 

How exciting to see the structure take shape!  Given that The Hut is so small, the process is moving very quickly.  Our builder has done a great job of scheduling and selecting subcontractors.  Everyone is doing high quality work and are nice, too!  The picture below shows how everyone knows what to do--very high tech!

We are having glorious Pacific Northwest weather—a string of days with absolutely clear skies and temperatures in the 70’s and low 80’s!  Finally, the weather payoff for all those gray days!  All the vegetation is lush and everything is green.  The farm at its best!

Mark and I have been here for a long weekend.  We spent much of the past two days visiting suppliers and making decisions for cabinets, trim, appliances, etc.  Nice to get those decisions made eventhough it is a little early.  No last minute decisions for us! 

Below is the floor and patio.  It has been scored and is now curing.  The variation in colors is due to shadows and drier areas on the concrete.  Looks beautiful!  Next step is to cover it to protect it while the other work continures.  Framing starts on Monday!

Mark and I will be spending a few days this week at the farm.  The weather looks to be beautiful, finally!  The picture below is of the view from the French doors and windows that will be on the east side.  That would be minus the wood and wood chips!  This picture was taken in May before the white daisies and yellow buttercups were in bloom in the field.  I know flowers do not make good pasture/hay, but they look beautiful!  I remember picking the daisies with my grandmother and bringing them back to the house, bugs and all!

On Saturday, June 30 I made a fast trip to Whatcom County to meet with the "floor guy".  All the in-floor plumbing is in including the tubes for the hot water radiant heat system.  The picture below shows that we are ready to pour the interior floor and the patio around two sides.  From talking to the floor guy, forming a fully finished floor is done over two periods:  this week four/five inches of concete inside and out will be poured and prepared for work later.  While the rest of the construction goes on, the floor will be protected with pads.  When the other interior finish work is being done, the floor guy will come back and work his artistic magic to score, stain and polish.  We have selected a gray-slate green color with scoring in a four foot grid.  The pattern will be subtle involving in addition to a base color some black and two other shades of green.