The framers are making good use of the chinook that ended the cold conditions and have started raising the first walls. I like a four man crew on a duplex because both sides can be framed at the same time. This seems to make it progress a lot faster. The rear living area features a 10 foot ceiling and this tends to create a nicer feel for the key main floor spaces. Ten foot ceilings make for stairs with many risers, so we are trying a different approach to this project where the main floor height increases to 10 from 9 foot at the stairwell. We also dropped the foyer one step and this defines the rooms a little nicer and diminishes the tunnel like feel that infill houses can have. We met our stair manufacturer on site and we are looking at some unique yet really practical ways to add some wow factor to the main floor stairs.
By the end of the week the main floor walls should all be standing. The next lumber package is the most expensive delivery because it includes the structure for the second floor. The various cantilevers and beams mean we need substantially more material than the main floor structure. The roof package is quite reasonable on these homes, since the trusses are mostly just 2x4 material cut and shaped at the factory. The companies that make these roof packages are extremely efficient. Lumber cost for these two homes is around $40k, far from the most significant component of a new house project today.
The first walls go up at the duplex project.