Breaking Free

Now that the roof is about 99 percent complete, we have been able to move forward. The insulation installers worked through the weekend to help us make up a few days, and we passed our insulation inspection this morning.

Spray-foam insulation in the bonus room

Breakfast nook, looking towards the great room

We chose an open-cell spray foam insulation. This fairly new method is highly energy efficient. We debated for a while between open cell and closed cell, but while the closed cell does not absorb water and actually can hold together your house structurally, it is also much more expensive and is not flame retardant. New building codes in St. Johns County require that a flame-retardant spray be added after installation, upping the cost even more. And while open-cell spray foam does absorb water, it actually allows the water to evaporate. Of course, we hope we never have to worry about water issues.

Speaking of which, Tropical Depression Nicole has been testing our new roof and our new water-proofing system on the balconies. So far, so good. The valley on the roof that was a sore spot for so long is now holding well. We had hoped for a good test before dry-walling started, and the Lord provided.

Ceiling on the back porch

So now that insulation is completed, the dry-wallers start tomorrow -- if Nicole permits. In the meantime, Aaron and his crew continue to plug away on the exterior trim and siding as well as the porch ceilings. They've become a fixture out there, and we have been so thankful for their expertise, their hard work and their faithfulness.

Finally

Last week was a rough week for this project. One roofer was fired and another one hired. Then we gave the first roofer a second chance and fired the other one.

The bottom line was that nothing was getting done on the roof and that delay was holding us up everywhere else. So after a few strong words and even a few tears on his part, I gave the roofer one week, and tomorrow is the deadline. After working on it all weekend, the roofer brought in a new subcontracting crew to do the work, and they have been working diligently all week.

After surveying the work this morning, I think they will make it for the most part, and the new crew thinks they have fixed the leak that was also plaguing this effort. Let's hope so. The insulation installers arrive on Wednesday.

The roof is galvalume metal, which is  common for coastal homes. Metal roofs are known for their energy efficiency, but they also give a nice, "Old Florida" feel to the architecture.

Is That a Roof?

If you look closely, you can see the few panels of metal roofing that were installed on the dormers today. Getting to this point has been like wading through a vat of molasses. All work on the upper levels of the house needed to be completed, plus our project manager has been fighting the Battle of the Leak.

On the south side of the garage, a valley in the roof has been causing us some problems. All involved, including the roofers and the designer, are confident it can been fixed. It's a matter of trial and error. So far, we've seen a lot of the latter.

And while they've been trialing, the carpenters and the painters have been very busy installing the exterior trim and siding. The top levels of the house are painted and look amazing. I picked out the main paint color months ago when we were going to the Architectural Review Board, and seeing it on the house finally was thrilling.

Building on The Rock

All that we have belongs to God for His glorious purposes. Sometimes, in the busyness of life, we do forget, but we certainly recognize how He has blessed us in the building of this home. It is our hope that we will honor Him by inviting others to share in this blessing.

But first, we wanted to do something our church did when its current building was under construction: We collected Scripture verses from family and friends and wrote them on the floors and walls. This past Sunday, the four of us spent a breezy afternoon with Sharpies in hand, and the result was profound. When we stepped away, God's Word was all around us. Some verses even had special places as requested by the contributors, and we added a few of our own as well. We thought we would share a few photos with you.