Our framing crew started work last Wednesday, Sept 30. The framing contractor showed up late in the morning with his crew and we discussed what was going to be done. Then he left his six-man crew with a supervisor and a translator and the crew got started. Here is most of the first half-day’s work

They have framed the front of the basement and are starting the interior partitions in the basement. Here is the work they finished the next day.

They have completed everything in the basement except the stairs from the main level, and they have put on the main level deck. That was Thursday. Here’s what they did on Friday.

They didn’t start work in the morning because Friday morning is payday. But they came after lunch and worked till it was too dark to work any more. They finished almost all the exterior walls, save only the rough openings for the living room and bedroom windows and the front door. That was my fault. I had to bring them the dimensions of the rough openings for all of those, which I did not have at the time. Most of the interior walls are framed as well. The exterior of the garage was almost completed except for the sheathing and the front wall, which required a long beam that had not been delivered at that time. They ran out of material Monday afternoon. Here’s what the house looked like then.

It’s hard to see what they did, but they did quite a bit on the interior.

I couldn’t get the next material load delivered until later in the day on Tuesday, so the crew worked on another job that day. They came back on Wednesday and flew some more.

What’s obvious is that they have started on the front porch. What you may not be able to tell is that they have essentially all the ceiling joists up for the main level.

Here’s the back of the house.

Both of these pictures were taken just after sunset, so they are pretty drab looking. The long, reddish brown beam over the front of the garage is laminated veneer lumber (LVL), which is sections of wood laminated (glued together) into a single beam. LVL’s are relatively thin, which means that two were required, but they are easier to handle than a single, wide beam. You can also see the garage ceiling joists here.

The lumber in front of the garage is most of what’s needed to frame the roof — we’re going with stick-built instead of roof trusses — and the front porch. Another load of lumber is supposed to be delivered on Thursday (today).

I am impressed by the work this crew has done. They are all Hispanic, Mexican I presume. One can speak English like a native, but the translator has a little more trouble. He and I have been able to communicate well enough that can understand what he’s talking about when he describes the little problems and detours that any construction project involves. From what I can tell, their work is good as well as fast.

I suspect that if the framer I originally contacted had actually shown up to work, the framing would be nowhere close to this far along. I’m glad these guys are doing the work.