REGNELL RESIDENCE

Now that the final construction plans have been submitted and approved by the design review committee, we are on our way.

Upon locating the house site, we identified the building limits and flagged the clearing area so Tyler and Kevin McCune, of McCune Brothers Excavating, could immediately begin removing brush and dropping trees. Once the house site was opened up, Andrew and Gabe spent a day staking out the building corners, establishing the foundation elevation and painting the dig lines.

The McCune brothers are now in the process of digging out for the foundation construction.

We are still making progress on the big dig. Rain at the end of last week put us a couple of days behind schedule but now the sun is shining and the soil has dried up. Tyler, Kevin and Carl are working on completing the foundation excavation and constructing the driveway and parking area, which will serve double duty as the crane pad from which to place the Superior Walls foundation system. For more information on Superior Walls, please visit their website: www.superiorwallsva.com

The Superior Walls prep work has been completed and the crane operator who will install the walls has given his approval of the site. A little work still needs to be done to create a space for the crane because the current pad is just about 2 feet too narrow. Tyler will complete that work today and then it will only be a matter of waiting for the walls to move through production.

The foundation is in and ready to be built upon. Superior Walls arrived and were able to install the walls in just over a day. We are preparing now to pour the basement slab and will begin framing the floor system next week. Stay tuned!

Moving right along...the floor system is nearly complete. Next Monday will see the installation of the rim boards and subfloor. The last few weeks were very busy preparing and pouring the basement concrete slab, installing the terrace pour-over pan system, and the structural floor system for the main house. Nathan and Gabe oversaw the basement slab pour with Steve Sweet hired to finish it and Wayne Marshall hired to provide and operate the pump truck. We all got a little nervous with thunderstorms all around but nothing happened directly overhead. After the concrete pour, Nathan and Gabe moved on to the installation of the metal beams and decking for the terrace. Our favorite welder, Louie Dufour, was on hand to spot weld the caps onto the basement posts and cut a few of the metal pans to fit on the terrace. Once all the sill plates and rubber gaskets were installed, Andrew oversaw the layout and installation of the floor system.

What a difference the walls make. It never ceases to amaze us at how the house seems to feel larger once the walls are up. Andrew managed the past few weeks on site while the majority of the wall construction and the porch framing were completed. A large part of the gravel backfill has been installed as well. The next few weeks should see the completion of the second floor system and walls if the weather holds out as well as it has thus far.

We had to do some rain drop dodging these past few weeks but have managed to do enough puddle jumping to get the wall framing and upper floor system in place. Everyone worked together to see the 2nd floor system and walls built. Additionally, Ralph and Gabe prepared the terrace for cement while Andrew and Jeremy installed the stair stringers to make traveling from the first and second floor a little easier. We are now ready to set the roof trusses and install the doors and windows. Visit us again soon as we make this project take shape.

Up, up, and away we go--with the roof that is. Now that the walls are up we are prepared for the roof system. Lee Hi Crane of Lexington was front and center this week to help us with lifting the trusses into place. Andrew and the others demonstrated their acrobatic skills as they placed and secured the trusses and rafters. Wayne and Doug have installed all the pocket door hardware, constructed boxes for the front porch post bases and started installing the windows and doors.
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The Regnell project is our first home to be certified green by Earth Craft House of Virginia and we will soon meet our inspector and technical advisor on the job site to discuss the inspection process of building a green home. For more information on Earth Craft House, just click on the respective logo at the bottom of our homepage.

We are now under roof and just in time for the weather change that will soon come our way. The roof is now sheathed and the exterior doors and windows have all been installed. Doug has already begun the electrical rough in while the others continue on with the decorative rafter tails and roof overhang trim work. Also, John Matheney will begin the plumbing work and Allegheny Highlands Mechanical will begin the installation of the heating and cooling systems next week. A lot is about to happen so don’t stay gone long.

We believe that Indian Summer is trying to sneak in on us here in Bath County, VA. With the temperatures still in the upper 80’s we had no problem getting some block laid and concrete poured for the terrace and basement stairways. All the electrical, heating, and plumbing rough in will be complete in the next few days; meanwhile, the Custom Homebuilding crew continues on with some detailing work and exterior trim. Take a look.