The 2nd floor is now done, I am working this weekend and haven’t had a time yet to go and take good pictures of the views, but my builder sent me a lot of photos.
Today is February 20th. The 1st floor was finished on December 30th. 52 days. The first floor was 80 days, so this is an improvement, but I think we could have done better. The ICF went up really fast this time but the light gauge steel still took longer than it should have. We of course had some weather, but I don’t know if there has ever been 50 days of good weather in a row anywhere on Earth so I don’t think that is abnormal. The ICF was essentially done Feburary 3rd so it took 17 days for the steel and subfloor, when, under ideal circumstances, it should be about 8 days. Still, this is almost a full month faster than the 1st floor, a vast improvement.
The great hall is starting to take shape with our heavy wood trusses partially installed, I don’t have good pictures of those yet, but with finally a ceiling, and not just sky, on the great hall the ceiling height is evident, and it is very impressive. The space feels really good on the inside, exactly as I had hoped, or better. Portions of the first floor are going to feel like a hotel lobby, and that was my goal.
Theoretically the third floor should take less time still, there is less in it, every floor gets slightly less as we go up. For the third floor the barbican (the front entry protrusion, the militant cousin of a foyer) goes away completely, and that seemed like it was always 3 days of work right there. The walls overall get simpler, with less variance in window sizes, and there is less heavy steel, and the light steel is also more uniform. Then the fourth floor drops away very strongly with only the towers getting that. So the fourth floor should be very quick. However as of right now the ICF crew is off the project working elsewhere on some other project, and I do not know when they will be back. This is most certainly not a good thing, it delays our critical path, but I’m sure the owner of the other project feels the same when they’re working on mine and not theirs. If they were here and working I wouldn’t be surprised if we could have the third floor poured by the first/second week of March. Then if we had the steel portion down to 2 weeks by April 1st at the latest we could have a 3rd floor roof/4th floor subfloor on. Then, really, I think the fourth floor could be done in two weeks, then say two weeks to roof everything, maybe May 1st we could have a roof on the whole structure. But with this ICF delay I’m not sure.
The greenhouse base and breezeway are done (well, blocks are up, but not poured, ICF crew did this before they left). There was a slight delay there when the wrong blocks were delivered, but they spent that day building window bucks I think so weren’t idle. The breezeway, seen to the right, holds a bathroom for people using the pool, as well as it connects the kitchen to the greenhouse and the pool patio. It is very much going to be a bit like an indoor/outdoor room, though still fully insulated.
Are you also going to build a wall around your castle?
Perhaps. There is a rock outcropping fronting the property, it is a somewhat effective wall. My plan was to build a low wall to the top of it to make it even more formidable, but 300 linear feet of stacked mortared stone not central to the main structure was an easy thing to cut to help the budget. It is high on my list to complete one day in the future though, I may even try to do it myself over time. It would only be on the one side though, the public side, the the back side borders a steep forested slope that has no civilization anywhere near it.
True. Did you consider split face block for a diy wall? In researching materials, I concluded it was a good material for a perimeter wall.
It would be the cheapest way yes, but I think it looks too much like a walmart, not authentic.
I tend to agree for a building but it seemed like less of an issue for a wall. I was thinking of a very large perimeter wall that would likely cost too much for another other materials I’ve seen.
A castle is in my list of things to do before I’m 50 plan. I think your project is probably more aligned with my goals than any other castle projects I’ve seen.
I’d like one or two sizable greenhouses are big goals for a castle project. One if the parts of your search that I found most relevant was where you would build. I’m thinking Carolinas or Virginia.
It certainly is the cheapest option, next to building a mortared rock wall yourself using rock found on site.
I have not responded of late, but I love your updates!!!! I do view everyone of them. There is a special folder that has it all. Exciting updates and thank you for sharing. To think you have your dream coming true, all your hard work and vision…fantastic!!!! I will be back in Chattanooga area in May/June to visit the twins, I would love to see the progress. Let me know if that would be possible. Thanks so much!!! Make it a great day!!!!
Hi, when you finish your castle will you make a video of it? It would be really great to see the building finished inside and outside. Congratulations for your castle!
Looking good
Wow, just wow. I’ve been following your progress for a couple years now and it’s incredibly inspiring. I love the attention to detail in every aspect of your design and implementation. Good luck with the rest of your project, and I look forward to each update.