So, what’s really handy to have in a 2-story house?  Stairs, of course, and now we have them.  Yeah!  Both stairways were completed, as were the stairs into the pool.

As the guys were working on the steps into the pool, I thought to myself… why not incorporate a bench seat so there’s a nice place to sit in the pool while sipping your favorite libation?  So, after a quick conversation with the mason, a few hand signals and a couple of measurements, the above photo shows what resulted just a short time later.  That is just one small example of the benefit of being there on site – everyday.  It’s the only way to be sure that what gets built is done the way you want it.  Sometimes it may be a detail that’s not on the plans and so needs to be clarified.  Other times, as with the bench in the pool, being there gives you the opportunity to make changes (hopefully small ones) that increase your overall satisfaction and enjoyment of the end product.  Seeing things for real often adds perspective that you just don’t have when looking at a plan on paper.

Work continued on the walls of the second floor…putting in the Panacor panels and cutting in the windows.

The process of going from a roughed in concrete block wall or Panacor panel to a finished wall surface involves several steps… applying (by spray) and smoothing out several layers of concrete (aka shotcrete or plaster).  On the block walls of the first floor, several of the guys were working to apply finishing guides to the walls.  These guides represent the correct thickness of concrete needed to insure that after the initial layer is applied, the walls are straight and plumb.  First small squares are affixed to multiple points on the wall using a plumb line.  Then these points are connected with a raised line of mortar to form a vertical line.  When the concrete is sprayed on, the guides will make is easy for them to finish the entire wall surface so it is flat and plumb.

Much time was spent on the framing of the lower roof which covers the front entry, the carport and the terrace by the pool.  After some head scratching and working with the roof plan on the computer to determine some key measurements, the framing was mostly completed and is looking very nice.

The electricians were on site for most of the week working to complete the network of conduit lines running all around the house.  The photograph below shows the main electrical panel.

Here you can see the conduit for the electric lines to be located in some of the cabinetry of the kitchen

Also, the concrete floor of the carport was poured as seen in the overhead shot below.

Overall view of the house at the end of week 11.