Entry 15: A Roof Installed

Hello reader,

We've made two visits to the site this week and surprisingly a great deal of changes have taken place. Last time we wrote, the first floor had been framed. Since then, the second floor has been framed, the roof was put up on Thursday, and the cement wall for the basement was waterproofed and the ground surrounding it was filled in.

One comment that we've felt from physically standing on the site is the shear size of the house. It feels like the house stands high up from its surroundings. The 2nd story seems like it sits well above the Freeman Center (and we can't wait until the upstairs deck is completed so we can enjoy the view).

Here are some photos from the week. Be sure to click on them for an enlarged viewing. Also, there has been a live webcam set-up on the site that is updated every 20 seconds ( see "Smart Home Links" on the right hand panel).

Waterproofing the basement wall.

Crane putting up the roof trusses.

View from corner of Faber and Powe.

Entry 14: After Winter Break

Welcome back to Duke!

As you can see from the blog prior to this one, the construction has been flying through the winter break. I've also decided to change up the layout a bit and recolor the site. Some noticeable improvements are a new chronological directory of posts on the upper right hand corner (the blog is getting long) and I put up some links to the Mainpage and Wiki.

Returning back to business, according to Ray Pruitt, site supervisor for Bovis Lend Lease, we are right on schedule. The recent changes have been flooring and walls put up for the 1st floor. Ray took Jordan and me around the first floor and into the basement. There are plenty of cool pictures below from the trip (remember to click to enlarge the photos), but for some reason, the camera refused to take shots in the basement. From my point of view, it was cool and damp while the rooms are quite large (bigger than I had imagined).

Classes begin tomorrow so I want to wish everyone a great spring semester and be sure to check out the blog for future entries keeping you posted on the construction of our future home!

Take care,
-Scott

View from the front left corner of the house.

View from the front right corner of the house.

Ray walking into the house from the side.

View entering from the left side of the house.

View from the front right corner face of the house.

Temporary stairs to the basement (the real one going down will be on the other side).

More framing material.

Entry 13: Construction During Winter Break

Hello all,

The Smart Home has seen a lot of work over the winter break. I was able to make two visits to the site, one today and one on the 19th of December. On the 19th, the concrete for the basement area of the house was on its way to completion. The frames for the basement seen in the previous blog entry had been filled and were beginning to be removed. Over the next two weeks the basement was completed to the point where the first floor could start being framed. During the visit today a floor was being established on top of the basement and in a small preparation zone framing was being done to add to the house itself later in the week. Welcome back students, to a dramatically different construction site!

-Jordan

P.S. - Here are some photos from winter break!!!

Construction docs on site to check the work.

Workers checking the frame structure.

Basement wall filled up with cement.

Laying down the flooring for the 1st floor.