Anyone who knows Steve knows that he is in love with White Castle sliders (mini-burgers popular on the East Coast). So – now that the house is wrapped in Tyvek and resembles a white castle due to the angular parapets, his eyes glass over, and he salivates every time he pulls in the driveway, murmuring dreamily, “Ummm…. White Castle….”

So – in between hunger pangs, we chose a stucco crew that wrapped the entire house in Tyvek. The roof crew also finished up, and our window installers worked tirelessly in 103-degree heat to “dry us in.” We did it! We beat monsoon season, and we now officially are waterproof with all windows and sliders in operating order.

Melissa was devastated when her hummingbird pets continued to get caught in the house. Their traditional window openings – which they’d been using for months – suddenly were covered in glass, and once entering through the still-open door pockets, they couldn’t figure out how to escape. Steve had to rescue the hummies with a plastic bucket, the poor tuckered out guys!

Check out our progress under New House Construction June 2009 and the great fast-forward daily progress videos on “New- Construction Timeline.”

Scroll for sample images below.

It’s June, and monsoon season is officially upon us. But the good news is that it only rained once before the roof crew arrived. Our TPO membrane and taper package that allows for drainage into “scuppers” is just about complete. Melissa’s mom, dad and nephew Tyler arrived in early June and have helped out with window bucking, blocking, cleaning, step-building and nail clean-up. Steve finished the “skinning” on the exterior to make a level surface for the stucco. We (Steve and Melissa) also got a row of Tyvek up and realized that we’re not equipped to do the second and third levels on our own …. Too high – too awkward with the rolls… So, once again, we will call on outside help … Still trying to beat the rain!

Scroll for sample images below, and check out Crytzer family images, bucking, skinning and Tyvek progress under the June House Construction Photos. Don’t miss the new Construction Timeline that shows fast-forward videos of progress per project.