A Timely Start
Building a house always feels like a race against time and weather anyways, but delays pushed us straight into November. The sun barely shows its face before 8 a.m. and disappears by 4 p.m., and the cold and rain aren’t ideal either. Luckily, no snow has arrived yet, because even 20 inches would have made moving heavy machinery a real challenge.
Today was another exciting and successful day, and by evening, the entire second floor was up. Since yesterday’s first truck arrived over an hour late, today’s driver (a different man from the same company) wasn’t taking any chances. He actually spent the night at the construction site to make sure everything started right on time.
Panels and Walls in Place
When the kids and I arrived a bit later in the morning, two exterior walls of the second floor were already standing. We admired the progress until we suddenly noticed something odd: one of the shorter end walls had been placed on the wrong side of the house. Thankfully, we caught the mistake just in time. Everyone had a good laugh about it, and the crane quickly lifted the wall and placed it where it actually belonged.
Once the three exterior walls were in place, the crew moved on to the interior partitions and finally lifted the last exterior wall into position. By this point, the structure really started to take shape.
In a modular home like ours, all the panels arrive fully pre-assembled from the factory, including insulation, window and door openings, and channels for electrical wiring. Once the panels are connected and bolted together, the whole structure becomes extremely solid. It’s amazing to watch how fast a house grows when all the components are precision-made and fit together like a puzzle.
Ideally, the roof trusses and part of the roofing could have been installed today too, but maybe it’s for the best that it’s left for tomorrow. That way we can have a proper topping-out celebration.
Since daylight is short this time of year, work had to stop around 4 p.m. It gets completely dark right after sunset, and it’s impossible to continue safely.
Feeling Like Home Already
The house is starting to feel like a real home. Walking through it feels surreal, like we could move in right away. The kids have already claimed their rooms under what is, for now, a starry ceiling. It’s hard to believe that less than a year ago, this entire house existed only in my mind. I sketched it on paper, imagined every corner, and now it’s coming to life. When ideas turn into walls, ceilings, and rooms, it’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. It’s like watching your dreams become reality right before your eyes.
Tomorrow, the roof and our first little celebration!
You can read all about Day 1 here.
