After days of banging hammers, whirring drills, grinding saws, hissing compressors, and grunting workers, much has been completed and now a well deserved Sunday to relax and recoup. The focus of the past week has been to replace the main support beam of the house to open up a large unobstructed living space in the den. This feat was accomplished - and with surprisingly little hoopla. As you can see in the photo to the left, the old beam was removed and all floor joists were cut in preparation to receive the metal I-beam. The next day, the I-beam was in place and ready for the joists to be secured. Before that, the footings to support the posts holding the beam were poured.
Somewhere in the middle of this, the stairs were removed, and then rebuilt, in the opposite direction. The old stairs were much too narrow to be comfortable. Even with the short depth of each step, headroom was still an issue. I had grown accustom to both shortcomings, however, guests who were unfamiliar would often feel unstable and/or hit their head. The framer was impressive to watch. He swung a hammer the way I dream Paul Bunyan swings an ax. He did all the rise/run calculations for the stairs in his head. I guess that's what happens when you do a job for 30+ years. Bob, the framer, will be missed. He's off to build more homes. Apparently the housing market is getting better.
As always - more photos at picasaweb.
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