Framing Weekend #1
This weekend we had lots of good help - THANK YOU!
Jessica and Dave (newlyweds), Grandpa Bill, Meaghan, and Dad all came out at one time or another for our first full weekend of framing. It may not look like we got a lot done, but we got a lot laid out - quicker build. We ran into a little problem - the top of our foundation wall is not completly level...so we have to measure/cut each stud individually in order to "become" level for the floor joists to sit level. So there was a lot of "figuring things out" involved this weekend.
You can see it starting to take shape...the blue boards are pressure treated and will sit directly on the concrete. They have to be treated for moisture - because concrete is pourous. Each wall in the basement has a bottome pressure treated "plate" and a top non-treated "plate."
The layout portion of the weekend includes marking top and bottom plates for each stud that will go between them. We have the 2x6 pressure treated boards on the exterior walls - they not only had to be marked, but drilled for anchor bolt attachment. We were also cutting and drilling around any of the underslab plumbing previously put in the slab for toilets, baths, sinks, etc.... In this view (above) you can see the little puddle on the right...that is the floor drain for David's brewery. The room next to it is an excercise/craft room for me.
Here you have a view of Payton's room (I am standing in the craft room) looking down the hallway...after Payton's room is the laundry room, followed by the bathroom then the phase 1-masterbedroom. On the right of the hallway is the storage room (first) then the mechanical room (you can see the big black mass sticking up out of the slab). 
Jessica and I are nailing the first wall together... you build all the walls on the ground then place them in their location. Here we are using David's nail gun he got for christmas two years ago...first time it's been out of the box!! 
Here is our first framed wall (part of it anyway), going up!
Me using the chop saw...
Above you can see the framed wall - YEAH!!
On the ground and almost ready to go is our second wall - you can see the opening for the sliding glass doors. We weren't able to put this wall up because we need to do some blocking and sheathing for shear. (structural engineering) 
