Raising Cain?

Nope, but we did raise our first wall frame yesterday. We left out the rough opening for the windows because there's some uncertainty as to the dimensions of some used windows that we're getting from Christy's uncle, Phillip. They're windows that will require new frames so that's where the uncertainty comes in. Also noticeable are the shorter studs butting up against the full length ones. These are the supports for the loft joists. The opposing (south) wall will have them as well.

Since these walls are 10' tall (to accommodate more headroom in the loft) we'll need to add what are called fire blocks or "cats". These are 2-by pieces that run horizontally between studs of a wall frame. They serve two purposes: one, they retard the rate at which a fire can spread through framing cavities and two, they stiffen the wall frame by preventing twisting in long studs.

One of our neighbors, Matt (who actually lives in Connecticut), gave us an old, used exterior door and a crank-out window. We'll clean both up and perhaps paint them and use them for the front door and one of the living rooms, respectively. Both are in the image below.


Looking southwest to Tucson...


...and northwest to Seattle


Christy and I had a fun-filled, busy week and weekend. Last week we met, Matt, the owner of the unoccupied house across the street. He currently lives in Connecticut and works as an electrician, carpenter, and industrial PV (solar) installer. His girlfriend, Teagan, who lives in NYC and works as a milliner, accompanied him. We all really hit it off. They had us over for dinner and we chatted about his history with the property and his and Teagan's future plans of moving here next year. These are the kind of neighbors I like - friendly, positive, progressive and fun.

Later in the week we went to a potluck party that they threw. Most in attendance were people that we were already friends with - how cool, eh? On Friday, the four of us went hiking here. I can't even begin to describe how amazing this place is. It's almost like we weren't in Virginia but rather out in Montana somewhere. Who knew this place, that's less than 30 minutes from home, even existed? Well, evidently Matt and Teagan did.