Another great milestone! We finished the sheathing on February 26! Just in time before it started dumping snow in Summit County. Whew.

February 10 - about 50% done with the sheathing.

February 14 - Going down to the crawl space to see our Valentine’s Day surprise from Kelsey!

Our Valentine’s Day surprise! Our custom Life at 9,290 crawl space mural from Kelsey! All the heart eyes!

February 26 - Done with the sheathing! Under the most perfect Colorado blue sky too!

All smiles on February 26 when the sheathing project wrapped up!

Getting that crawl space covered is a huge deal. And, for everyone who helped us shovel snow out of that area, we thank you! When we can quit shoveling that will be a HUGE deal, but for now, we’ll just be happy with only having to shovel without throwing it over our heads. #smallwins

While we were finishing screwing down the sheathing, Kelsey was also finalizing our dimensions and CAD drawings for our SIP (structural insulated panels). The SIP panels will serve as our walls and roof. So, rather than doing traditional stick framing, the panels and insulation will all go up at the same time. So, over the course of a few days, we’ll go from the subfloor and the framing for one structural wall and the chimney, to having everything closed in.

We’re working with Porter SIPs from Holland, Michigan. Much love to our home state! Porter is now taking our structural drawings from our engineers and Kelsey’s CAD drawings to create our custom panels. We’re about 6-8 weeks or so from delivery. Then, it will be time to hire a crane and get the shell of our house in place! Once we have a delivery date secured, we’ll line up our crane and order the steel beam rafters to support the SIP panels on the ceiling.

Kelsey is hoping to visit the Porter factory when our panels are being manufactured. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a cheap Frontier or Southwest flight to get him home to Michigan for a few days.

Before the panels arrive, we need to frame out the structural wall (holds up the loft floor) and the framing around our chimney. To prep for that, we had lumber delivered from our pals at Alpine Lumber in Eagle. As well as a glulam beam and columns from Specialty Wood Products in Aurora. We’ll have one glulam beam that will be a centerpiece of our window wall. It will be a beautiful architectural feature for the south facing wall.

Then...the snow came. And, we’re not talking about any little storm. This is legit snow. More than three feet in three days. Thankfully, we shoveled each day and things didn’t stack up too much. But, whew…

March 1 - shoveling using the lights powered by our newly acquired generator. Getting the first few inches of snow off the sheathing.

March 4 - why not use two shovels while wearing your long underwear?

March 4 - at least 14” to clear off of 1800 square feet. Arms of steel!

Then, the storm broke a bit and Kelsey and my dad were able to install the sole plate. According to wikipedia: A sill plate or sole plate in construction and architecture is the bottom horizontal member of a wall or building to which vertical members are attached. The word plate is typically omitted in America and carpenters speak simply of the "sill". Other names are ground plate, ground sill, groundsel, and midnight sill.

The sole plate is installed on the perimeter of the east, north, and west. The north side is framed differently to accommodate our wall of windows.

North wall. The indent area will be the main entry way.

Now that the sole plate is there, we have a place to secure the SIP panels.

Then, it started snowing again. Nearly two feet of wet late winter snow that we needed to keep clearing. This second round storm brought avalanches, ski area closures, and another snow day for our kiddos.

Thankfully, we’re in a better spot to be able to handle this snow. With the sheathing done and a tarp over the subfloor, we’re keeping the crawl space dry. And, don’t need to lift the snow up and out of the crawl space. Pushing it off the sheathing is way easier. And, my dad has been using our snowblower to keep the perimeter of the house clear.

The next big question we need to answer is whether we’ll have a gas stove or a wood stove. For those of you who have been to a 10th Mountain Division Hut, we’re kind of aiming for that sort of vibe in our home (more modern, but still just as cozy), but we also like the idea of convenience with gas. Kelsey is 100% on board with wood, but I’m still on the fence. Anyone have a strong opinion on that subject?

And, if you see our favorite builder on March 9, please tell Kelsey Happy 37th Birthday! There is no other man that I would trust to build our family home. We love you, Kelsey and thank you for all of your hard work.

At least the snow made for some awesome skiing! And, Happy Birthday to Kelsey on March 9.

As always, thanks for following along on this journey. We’re thankful for the love and support.

Have an awesome weekend!

Cory