May 18, 2004
 
Steel arrived!  The HDC Contractors crew returned on May 10 and started on backfilling the garage and both porches.  The steel arrived on May 15 with a second load on May 16.  Pictures tell the story, so look below.

The “red iron” was on the load delivered on Friday May 14.  Pieces were un-banded, sorted and frames and pieces started to be assembled.  The balance of the galvanized steel was delivered on May 15.  On May 15 the first pieces were set in the basement as shown below in addition to unloading the truck.


 

Real progress was made on Sunday May 16.  The three bays over the covered porch and garage were set.  These were the critical pieces since all other pieces had to be aligned these.  Every piece had set plumb, level and square or the rest of the building would be out.  This is the way it looked Sunday night.


 

A crane boom truck was brought in on Monday May17.  When the day was finished, about 90% of the “red iron” was set with a good many of the purlins (galvanized pieces running horizontal on the roof) in place.  The purlins were used to hold the building true as well as give the workers a place to work from.  The only piece not set Monday was the last truss to the left.  It was set early Tuesday morning.


 

This picture shows the beauty of this type of construction.  The picture is taken from the garage and shows what will become the entire first floor.  The columns and beams in the basement will support the floor system.  The columns in the basement are in walls, so they will not be seen.  On the first floor the walls for rooms can be placed at any place, since none are load bearing.  Each truss is clear spanning 40 feet.


 

It will now take about another four weeks to put in the floor system, sub-floor, stud walls, roof sheathing, roof and complete the rough in portion of the house.  It is planned to put the roof on next week so work can continue inside even if it rains.