Roof is (mostly) On. Yay!

The temptation is to invite winter as we’re so much nearer having the house closed in. But, or course, that would be foolish at any stage. It will come when it comes and hopefully the cupola (Cue-pa-la) will be on – we’ll talk about that next update – and the windows and doors will be installed before significant white stuff flies. In these photos we see a few family and friends moving, shaping and attaching the SIPs (structural insulated panels).

We loaded the SIPs one at a time on Bucko (the trusty farm truck) on our current yard and drove with them somewhat precariously to the new site. This is Michelle and Ezra providing the ballast we needed. Then Ez and Dave are unloading while Michelle gets an extra thrill – it seems.

We then doctored up the panel or the wall a bit to ensure as much contact between the SIP’s insulation and the walls – to ensure continuous insulation from wall to roof. This is Svenn doing the shaping.

Sadly there are no photos of us hoisting the panels up on to the rafters (we were all busy) but the procedure was: carry them to the edge, lay them down, push them up to the top, rotate them and slowly let them down into their place. (That’s Michelle and Barnes lining things up.) Pretty slick – and exhilarating to have them settled into place – hopefully for a few lifetimes. On a couple we needed to do some further ‘fine’ chainsaw shaping up there. Due to safety regulations we’re unable to identify the steady guy with the saw. But his brother Jonah is watching to ensure all is well.

This is what it looks like inside now – with Mick and me preparing to put in 12″ screws – to hold the SIPs in place. Then, a shot of the tops. Thanks to Jonah and Maggie for the photos.

The space lower right is for a loft entry. We’ll build a dormer there before putting on the roof pieces. The little peak to the centre left is what happens when a circle (shape of the house) is elongated at one ‘corner’. No problem, Svenn has designed an amazing cupola to take in that irregularity. Stay tuned.