Aluminum siding & windows

I've been remiss in posting once again, but progress has been good since framing completed. As you can see from this first picture, most of the white aluminum panel siding (done in a rainscreen application over Vaproshield) is on. The wrapped siding under the cantilever has to wait until insulation has been applied. The lower volume will have stucco, and the first stage of wrapping the sides in two layers of tar paper is complete.



The windows in the lower volume are all black Milgard aluminum. I love the graphic pop of the black windows against the white siding.



We decided to delay ordering the windows until framing was complete, because most of our windows are floor-to-ceiling and we wanted to make sure the windows fit the rough openings perfectly. Unfortunately, this choice is causing about a month of delay, and the wood Lindal windows have not arrived, yet.

The master bedroom window was too large to be built as one unit, so it was split into three pieces separated by 2x6's that will later be encased in black metal to make it look more like one.



The TPO roofing is also in, and can be seen on the 2nd floor deck, here. Sleepers and cedar decking will go on top.



Electrical and plumbing rough-ins are also mostly complete. Radiant heating on the first and third floors are embedded in concrete, but the second floor will be heated by tubes running in the joists, with heat transfer aided by aluminum ultra-fins attached to the tubes.



The windows under the floating stair are in, and look super cool; the stair treads themselves are temporary.



Finally, the front door and side windows are installed; the door is 8-ft tall and runs floor to ceiling. We plan to paint it bright red.




The wood Lindal windows are arriving today, but the Lindal sliding doors will take another two weeks. So the plan is to bubble in the remaining openings and turn on the heat to completely dry the wood out; after that, we can install insulation and start drywall, which can take two weeks. Then the more fun finishes, such as tile and flooring and cabinets, can start!

One slightly annoying issue is our gas line. We thought gas was stubbed to the property, but Puget Sound Energy didn't like the stub, for some reason. At first, they told me that it would cost $3k-$4k to run gas from the street. Then, it went down to $2k plus $0.17 per therm for the next 5 years, which should add up to less. After that, our superintendent at Logan's Hammer called them, and the up-front cost went down to $848! So, now we have gas and an unsightly patch in the road, which they say will eventually be replaced. But fortunately the cost wasn't so bad.

Framing complete!

The framing of our house was completed this past week (minus a few small details which must wait for scaffolding). You can see a complete album of photos, but here are a few choice images.





We were also able to get up on the roof and see the views from the top. They are indeed great! We can see the Olympic mountains, the Ballard bridge and port, and the Puget Sound. The mountain tops are obscured by clouds in the images below, but you can get the picture. The second image is a panorama of the whole thing; it's a big image so the details are small. As usual, it's more impressive in person.





Unfortunately, the very best views are out on the cantilever, where we weren't originally planning to have deck. Now we are considering adding some more deck out on the cantilever, though the cost could be substantial. Here are some images of the roof as it stands now.

The cantilever part:


The current deck area (with part blocked out for skylights and an in-line blower for the cooktop hood):


Also, it looks like the construction rock stars at Logan's are coming in under budget in a few areas, so we might have a little room to upgrade. Probably the extra deck area and railings will blow any extra funds, but other possibilities include upgrading the insulation and/or adding some exterior motorized shades for the third floor. I'd love to upgrade the insulation, but the options are dizzying (open or closed cell spray foam, blown-in cellulose, flash and batt, or extra airtightness like the "advanced drywall approach"), and the bids are coming in high.

One slightly unfortunate turn of events is the location of the electrical meter, which is visible at the front of the house. We didn't want it along the entryway to the front door, which isn't that wide to begin with, and code didn't allow us to put it behind the front door. So, we did what we had to do.

It poured rain this last weekend before they managed to get the roof on, so the images show some water. We spent an hour each day this past weekend brushing water out, but the roof is going on today so that phase should be over. Plumbing and electrical rough-ins are in progress! Pretty soon I'll start listing some of our finish choices.

Third level floor is up

A quick update with some pictures of the floor of our third level.




We were able to stand on the third floor, which will contain our living & dining room and kitchen, and see the views. They are more screened than we had hoped, but still very open feeling (felt a bit like a tree house). The roof-top deck will more likely have killer views. Here is a panorama of the views (stitched using my own technology shipped in Adobe Photoshop), and a close-up of the Ballard bridge that can been seen from a corner of our living room (unfortunately captured on a cloudy day).