I started up on the roof today. Yesterday, Johnny and Luke moved a number of the exterior SIPs to better cover the roof (since we don’t have enough for the entire area). So this morning we added some lumber to fill the gap between the SIPs. It’s a small deception which should be invisible once the final finish layer is added. Indeed, Johnny and Melissa started adding a building wrap and cedar siding in the afternoon.

I, on the other hand, was pulled to work on the windows the rest of the morning and afternoon. We had a representative from H Windows present so we opened the crate (which included a mysterious extra window) and got to work. We started with the smallest one – the tilt-and-turn window on the west side. That particular product is pretty remarkable; I was mortified at least twice when I thought the entire window was falling down, but, in fact, someone had just ‘tilted’ it.

Next we installed the door. There is no doubt it is a foreign product – the handle is much higher and sits above the deadbolt. We actually found ourselves discussing which way was ‘up’ since it’s a bit out of the ordinary. Then we added the two south-facing fixed windows and, after lunch, the sliding door on the west side. The sheer mass of these things was amazing. Luckily we had a concrete floor, a forklift, and almost a dozen people to help when needed. I’m not quite sure how they would be installed with much less, but it must be possible.

I worked with Ty for a bit in the afternoon adding louvers to the shading structure. We’ll have to finish that work on Monday since Mike and Noor distracted us all with ice cream.

Ty and I finished the shelf on the north side this morning. I sanded the final piece which had somehow been missed previously. I cut the notches with the jigsaw and the two of us fastened them in place. The 1x4s were added later, so the entire unit is essentially complete. The only thing left to do now is suggest the missing stairs, which could be done easily and quickly some other time.

I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon working on a prototypical angled gabion. A few of us had mused about the gabions being cut-away along with the rest of the wall assembly. A true cut-away of a gabion would be impossible, of course, but I figured one could be built with an irregular shape. It turns out that that is true; it just takes a bit longer to properly shape the metal. After I finally finished, I added the ties to the remaining gabions. There are now fourteen of that size ready for the rock.

I ended the day by cutting some sill plates for the windows with Johnny and Luke. The crate containing them arrived in the morning, but we’ll wait until tomorrow to install them.

More gabions this morning. Chris Nelson and I started by adding table legs to one of the template blocks I built yesterday. The added height made the shaping the metal way easier and faster. I shaped the whole 25ft roll – 7 gabions worth – before lunch. It took all day to match that total yesterday. Chris, Lyle, and Brittany worked on stitching at various times during the day. By the end of the day, we had nine completely done, four stitched but not tied, and one yet to be stitched.

After lunch, I turned to the shelving structure. I sanded the remaining horizontal pieces, trimmed them, and then used the jigsaw to cut notches for the columns and conduit. Ty and I fastened them and then added several of the vertical pieces. There are a few pieces needed to finish the north side, but the south side shelf is completely done thanks to Brittany and Chris who attached 1x4s to the backside.

The project feels like it’s finally coming together. The completion of the shelving (albeit one side) has completely transformed the interior.