Gratz Industries HQ: Altitude affects attitude

The second floor is almost finished! The actual floor itself, that is. Or the first story roof, whichever way you want to look at it. Above, you can see the cross braces they've installed that will help secure the joists. They're as yet unattached, of course.

Here it's clearly the first story roof, over our patio.

And here it's the second story floor.


The joists you see are all that is left to cover of the second story floor. Ah, does this remind me of the second floor addition Wendi and I built in Atlanta! The open space to the left is the quarter of the floor that will be open to the first story, making that section two stories tall.

Here's a view down into what will be the entranceway/library/dining room. Just pretend all those scrap pieces of wood are bookshelves climbing two stories up the wall and you'll get the picture.

And above, a view down into what will be the kitchen.

The floor was attached using a really cool drill that was as long as your leg. The guys loaded it with screws on plastic cartridges like the one above, and could then screw the floor to the joists without having to scoot around and do it with a regular power drill. They packed this gizmo up and took it with them when they left, so I couldn't get a picture of it. I suppose they were smart - I would have tried to play with it.

And now for what my friend Paul would perhaps call "the money shot":

Aha! Yes, Virginia, there is a view. And this is just the view from the second floor. I can't wait to see what it will look like from the third floor porch. That's where I plan to put a hammock, and then never come back inside.

And just for fun, a shot off the back side of the house, into the woods. Pretty as this is, we don't have a ton of windows facing it, since this will be the cold wind side of the house in the winter. We own another acre or so of land in this direction though, so once the house is finished and we're more established we plan on getting in there and tending to the forest a bit, perhaps creating some trails and a tree fort.

Yesterday's guess was good - we got floors! - so here's another bold prediction: tomorrow we'll get second story walls. Or the first floor stairs . . .