Sorry again for taking so long to post new pictures. We've been busy trying to get the inside finished and there are a thousand details to remember. But we are close - we will be moved in before Christmas. Its taken us three years to get here - but we are quite please with the results. All the cabinets are in and all but one of the counter tops have been installed. Electricians should be completed next week - its nice to have electricity and lights so we can work late in the evening. The tile guys are back on Mon. and the cork floor installers will be starting on Wed. All that will be left on the inside is finishing the A/C vents, plumbing fixtures, appliances, and paint touch ups.


Here's the front of the house looking from the west showing the garage and front porch.

This is the front again looking a little more from the south to show the south patio and lap pool.

This is the south side of the house looking from the east showing the lap pool and the upstairs balcony. The long back tube on the right is where one of the above ground water storage tanks will be. We would have had them in by now, but the plastic mold broke - so it will be another month before we get them from the manufacturer. We will have four 200 gallon tanks when done. We will use this water to irrigate the trees, flower beds and gardens.

This is the north side of the house showing the north patio. Above the air conditioner condensing units are the two Rinnai 85E exterior tankless water heaters (two white boxes on the wall). These water heaters are 'clustered' together - one is the primary and the other is the secondary. If the primary is unable to handle the hot water flow rate demand, the secondary unit starts up. After a predetermined time, the primary and secondary units switch roles so that the primary doesn't wear out sooner than the secondary.

This is the Music Room looking southeast - outside is the pool.

This is the Living Room and Dining Room looking from the breakfast bar - again that's the pool outside.

This is the kitchen looking across the breakfast bar from the dining room.

Here's a close up of the kitchen granite - its called Cold Spring.

The stone is finished

Sorry its been soooo long since I put up pictures - we've been focused on getting ready to sheetrock. Big news is the stone is finished and they did a great job. The metal roof is getting close - they should be finished next weekend. More later....

Here's the last SIP roof panel going up!!!

To hold up the SIP roof panels, beams are placed at the peak, and for long roof panels, in the middle of the panel. We decided to use 3X3 in. steel poles (brown poles) to support the beams. The steel poles are bolted to the concrete, then the beams are bolted to the steel poles and 10 or 12 in. screws are used to hold the roof panels to the beams. This gives us better hold-down for the roof during a hurricane. This view is looking at the Living Room wall and the Powder Room door.

Turning around, you can see the beams over the Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen - lots of beams and steel poles! The doorway is between the Foyer and the Living Room.

This is the beam over the Master Bedroom before the SIP roof panels were put up.

Second Floor is almost up

We've finally had two weeks of good weather! The second floor walls are up and they finished putting on the second floor roof today! Next step is to get the roof up above the living/dining room area. This will require some large roof beams to be set in place first, then the roof panels go up. More later...


View from the South looking at the master bedroom.

View from the Northwest looking at the second floor and the dining room.

Putting the roof panels on is quite challenging - but these guys have been doing it for years. Its like putting together a big puzzle.

View from the West looking at the front of the house.

View from the Southeast looking at the master bedroom and the where the second floor balcony will go.

First Floor Walls are Up!

All of the plate and the first floor walls are up except the wall between the kitchen and garage. This wall was left out so we could have access to the second floor roof. Otherwise we may have to rent a crane to put up the second floor roof -big $$$.

View of the front porch.

View of the south wall

View of the interior from the kitchen looking to the master bedroom.

Structural Insultated Panels (SIPs) - How to put up your walls

SIPs are not a new technology - they have been around for 50+ years. It's just that not many people know about them and few framers know how to put them up. The concept is quite simple - two sheets of 1/2 in. OSB plywood with structural Styrofoam in between. Putting the SIPs up is fairly simple - but requires someone who knows the 'tricks' or you can get into trouble. The SIPs fit together like a big puzzle - one mistake and you can have walls in the wrong place and not level.

When building with SIPs, you start by putting 10-inch L bolts around the perimeter of the foundation (every 2 to 4 feet) and hurricane straps in the corners. The L Bolts stick up 4 inches out of the foundation.

Then a treated wood plate is glued to the foundation with the L bolts sticking through. A nut and large washer are used to hold down the plate, also.

The SIPs are pre-cut to fit over the plate. The SIP in the below photo has a 2X6 board attached to support the window it is going to hold.

If a SIP buttes up next to another SIP, a spline is glued and stapled between the panels. The yellow stuff is expandable foam - it's used to make sure there is no air flow between the panels.

Next, glue is put on the sides of the plate and a bead of expandable foam is put on top of the plate. Then the SIP panel is raised and put over the top of the plate. The SIP is moved into place and stapled to the plate.


You start in one corner and work your way around the perimeter of the house - making sure every SIP is level and exactly in place. At the corners, the SIPs are screwed together with 8-in. screws.

This looks easy, but one mistake and every other SIP is in the wrong place - and trying to remove a SIP that has already been glued and stapled is not easy. If done right, the walls go up very quickly.

Hopefully all of the first floor walls will be up by Fri. evening.

After the first floor SIPs are up, the next step is to frame the interior walls and get the floor joists in place.

More later...