The Pinnacle…Literally!

April 29-May 3, 2010

Yep, this was definitely the point of greatest progress and change in the whole project! We’ve been aiming for this weekend for some time. We knew we would have the most help, with our sons, Chris and Spencer (who came all the way from Texas) taking time off work to jump start the weekend on Thursday.  We also were blessed with the help of Kelly, Lauren and Adam on the weekend. With that awesome crew, we knew we would go forth and conquer, and indeed we did!  

As we envisioned the weekend, we pictured beautiful days with a light breeze keeping us cool as the sun warmed our faces and slightly cooler evenings relaxing around the campfire recalling the success of the day. This was not to be, however. The temperatures hovered in the low 40’s and seemed even colder because of the pert near continual rain and wind. YIKES!  But again, we had a deadline pushing us onward. 

The next step of the project involved finishing the exterior wall and installing the french door and window on the walkout level, building the main floor walls and placing the GINORMOUS roof trusses. 

Before installing the window on the walkout wall,  Adam and Kelly ponder their menu options at the concession window, while Maddie has already decided she'll have a  "Chili Dog, please!" "Wait" she growls as she realizes, "I AM a Chili Dog!"

We then started on the main floor walls. They needed to be in place so that the room and attic roof trusses could rest on top of them.  Each wall was constructed and sheathed lying flat on the floor decking and then lifted in place.

Note the high tech rain gear worn by the Dahl Construction Crew!

 
Also note the protective "lean to" built to shield the saw and saw-or (one who saws, don't ya know) from the relentless rain!

Because of the extreme weight of the roof trusses (350- 400 pounds each), we decided to rent an amazing machine called a Lull on Saturday to help us out.  Brilliant! In retrospect, we realize how insane it was to EVER think we could have managed without it! We employed the ambidextrous engineering skills of Adam to run the monster...although each of the guys wanted their turn to "play" as well.

Once the walkout windows were in, we had a place to stay...