Physics Lesson

"In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in forces in the members which are either tensile or compressive forces." - from Wikipedia and that's enough physic lesson for one day.

How exciting are these pictures?  Our house is going up so straight and strong and true.   If I didn't say so before, these pictures speak for themselves in recommending Black Bear to build your next NEWA building.  

I was told that we were building our home with a 10/12 pitch roof to keep the snow from building up and now I can see why.  I don't see how the snow can remain on this roof.

I can only imagine how terrific the view will be from the upstairs windows!

It appears to be quite an operation, raising the trusses and securing them to the beams (headers).  I think the quality of the craftsmanship of this building speaks for itself in these photos.

One thing that attracted Don to Black Bear was the fact that Keith builds his building with two foot overhangs.  They are not only more attractive, but it helps to keep the weather away from the outside walls and windows. It appears Keith has a real talent for attention to detail.

When we speak with Keith on the phone, he always makes us feel like he has all the time in the world and he makes sure we are all on the same page in this process.  Just yesterday we had a lengthy discussion (on his daughter's birthday) about windows, doors, placement and wall vents. Wall vents?

Yes wall vents.  Stevens County requires that you have vents in every room I guess.  These can be put in the walls or in the windows.  The vents are opened manually.  Did I hear you say, well windows are opened manually?  That was our first thought.  Then I think about the government telling me I have to wear a seat belt.  I don't like it (them telling me), but I'll wear one anyway.  When I think of the government telling me I have to install vents in addition to windows in my walls, I think - not!!!  (we'll put them in of course).

I haven't told you yet that Don and I bought our kitchen cabinets on Craigslist.  Yep, we found barely used kitchen cabinets in a home in a very nice area of Reno (Somersett) that are barely two years old.  The couple was remodeling and offered a complete kitchen, laundry and additional cabinets, along with a brand new dishwasher for a price we could not pass up.

Don hired some friends who spent the day with us uninstalling these beautiful cabinets that are now resting in the garage waiting for their new home.  Yesterday, in the Nevada heat, Don and I went out and rearranged and measured the cabinets to make sure Keith would be installing the kitchen window and door in the right spot.  It wasn't a fun task, but seeing the cabinets lined up as they will appear in the new house was neat.  Plus bonus points for recycling materials and saving money in the process!