1615 Chaps Way in Steamboat Springs

 After Bud dug the holes for the piers, Stein covered them to protect from the snow. Good thing, as a gentle snow fell all day.  So Tom the surveyor had to work around the covers in the cold and snow to precisely locate where the piers should be.  GPS makes it a little easier.

  While Nelson and Mario continuing framing, Stein, Earlen and Brede, with an assist from Bud's backhoe, have to re-arrange materials from where Alpine Lumber dropped them off. Won't need the glulam beams for a while, so atop the dumpster is a handy spot to store on a very tight site. Once the materials are moved, Bud starts to dig the holes for the seven piers that will support the wrap-around porch. It's a sunny day, but the earth is frozen. The gravel is ready to back-fill the holes.

  With the framing in place, the particle board is nailed to the studs to create the first wall of the house. Then work begins on framing the next wall.

  With finally a day of bright sunshine instead of snow, it's time to go vertical. Nelson nails the studs into the baseboards atop the foundation. While new studs are cut from the lumber on site.                                                                                                          And by day's end, the first floor west wall is framed and in place.                                                                                                   

  More work completed on the baseboards atop the foundation walls.

Can't begin the framing without wood.  Luckily, Alpine Lumber delivers.  It's a tight site on which to store materials. Mario first had to drill the holes to match the concrete screws. Then the baseboard is bolted down to the concrete foundation.

  The framers arrived to assess and plan.                                                             First task: clear off the top of the foundation walls to expose the screw ties extending up from the concrete.

  Once the accumulated snow is removed and the gravel bed laid down,  Stein put concrete blankets over the top to keep the ground from freezing. All tucked in for the winter.

  The sun came out in a break between snowstorms, so it was time to clear out snow and backfill inside the foundation. First, Bud cleared away the snow on the site to make room to work . . . . . . while Nelson shoveled snow out from inside the foundation. Stein took the snow off the gravel pile,  and Bud used the skid-steer to move the gravel into the garage. Then the gravel was spread around to form the garage pad. Once the gravel ran out,  Bud used the skid-steer to dig out the snow from the rest of the garage.

  Now that the underground drain is in, covered with fabric and gravel, and passed inspection, it is time to backfill along the outer side of the foundation. But the dirt, previously removed and stockpiled to the side, is frozen and has to be broken up before it can be poured back into the trench. Once in, the trench is backfilled. And, of course, the snow covers all.