This week, Duden & Viken put in the remaining soffit panels at the second floor and the finish trim around them. They add a nice level of smaller scale and refinement to the project (even though they are difficult to see in this photo…)

Inside, we applied poly to the ceilings to receive foam insulation. The insulation will follow the second floor ceiling, follow up the attic truss knee wall, extend up the sloped attic ceiling, across the flat attic ceiling, then back down the other side the same way. We devised the idea of using rigid foam to help create continuity of the vapor barrier while limiting the foam insulation to the areas that need it. Gary and Matt did a nice job of fitting and foaming the rigid into the spaces between joists (actually, these are the bottom chord of the trusses.)

May have a delay in the insulation: the local Building Official needs to review AirKrete’s testing data and approve it. Apparently, the State of Minnesota knows nothing of it, even though it has been around for decades and has been installed all over the place, including Biosphere 2 in Arizona.

Then, in one day, all the sheetrock went up on the second floor and attic ceilings. Still waiting on exhaust fans in the bathrooms, so those ceilings couldn’t go up.

It is exciting to see the project move toward finished spaces! We see how much nicer the house will be for us when we move back in.

At the same time, this is the tough stretch for the family. The novelty of living in temporary and slightly (heck, tremendously) undersized accommodations has worn off. We’ve been at it long enough to have forgotten which box in storage holds which stuff. Several evenings and weekends have been spent sweeping up after the contractors to help control costs. We miss our laundry machines and dishwasher dearly. Christmas without a decorated tree was pretty weird.

Still, I think it has made us stronger as a family. We have all had to become aware of how our habits and actions impact each other. Picking up after ourselves is paramount, since space is so tight. There is no way not to share meals together. Everyone has stepped up their efforts at pitching in around the house with cooking, dishes, snow-shoveling, and other tasks.

Our family and friend have helped out a lot with moral support. My friend Chris dropped by with beers last night; Mom and Dad have been following this blog almost on a daily basis. Neighbors have been watching and commenting all along. We spend New Year’s Eve at another friend’s home. These acts of kindness have not gone unnoticed! Thank you all!