The roof we thought would never happen and other exciting developments

After what seems like FOREVER, we've got a roof. Ironically, it's also stopped raining.

The new roofing company we hired has really been great. Not only were they extremely easy to work with and very professional, they showed up and got the job done when they said they were going to. We almost couldn't believe it was happening after the fiascoes of the last couple of months.
All that's left of the roof chapter now is the scupper flashing, parapet cap and downspouts, which they'll return to install as soon as we have our exterior finished up.



Please pay special attention to the plywood on those parapet walls. Vern and I hauled all 23 sheets of that stuff up there by sliding it up ladders a sheet at a time. (Exhausting and hot, yes.) This was necessary to provide a surface for gluing the roof membrane, as the adhesive and the EPS foam of the ICF block are not compatible. As I've said before, we intend to turn the upper roof into a garden/greenroof/outdoor living space. These greenroof materials will also act as ballast to hold the roof membrane in place instead of it being mechanically attached (which would have been redundant and was also cost prohibitive due to the thickness of the roof insulation).
Unfortunately, time and money prevent us from installing that system immediately so we've just done the absolute minimum at this point which amounts to putting a few hundred dollars worth of concrete stepping stones up there until we're ready to dig into the entire greenroof project.
I chose a plain, gray 24"x24"paver that I think will work great with the future garden. As an added bonus, they were cheap ($7.65 ea.) and are the ideal roof ballast in lieu of gravel. I'm already dreaming of all the cool stuff I'll be able to do up there.

Since we're now dry and puddle free thanks to a roof, we've been able to start on the interior framing. As house-building activities go, we're finding this one of the less exhausting and most rewarding, since the results are instantly visible and we're finally getting a glimpse of what the rooms will be after all these months. We're almost done with the upper level and I expect to finish the lower level in a day or two. Once that's done, we'll work on the exterior while the plumber and electrician work inside.

Here's the first of the framing completed...the view looking out from what will be my new studio. I'm silly with excitement, especially since it's going to have a sink!