Insulation, Drywall, and Siding

Insulation has been installed in the walls as a sound abatement measure, so we don't have the laundry competing with our current choice of music.  To the right are the railings and construction stairs that go down to the first floor.
Rough-in Finished, Insulation Installed
The orange, really tall wood in the loft walls are engineered studs. An engineered stud is made of layers of wood glued together, somewhat like plywood, only the wood grain is all the same direction. They are very expensive but they are straight, which is why we used them in the tall loft walls. We didn't want to have wavy drywall that might result from using regular lumber that bows. There is orange pipe in the upper right - that's the fire suppression sprinkler piping that is now required in houses here. The sprinkler is only intended to run for a few minutes to give the occupants time to escape. It isn't intended to stop a fire.
The tall loft wall
The drywall and finishing supplies have been delivered.
Insulation downstairs and drywall has been delivered
It took a week to get it all installed. With 24 inch center studs, we opted for 5/8 inch thick drywall, which is quite heavy. The green drywall is for wet areas and is used in the bathrooms. I wasn't hanging around the job while the drywall was going up, so I didn't get time-lapse pictures. I've done drywall before and it is something that I prefer to pay to have done. The sheets are 54" by 144", so each sheet is quite heavy.
Drywall is going up
The siding crew started their work just after the drywall crew started. We selected Hardie Plank and Hardie Shingle siding, colored at the factory "Night Gray". It looks great with white PVC trim. The combination is pretty resilient and should require minimal maintenance.
Hardie Board Siding - Night Gray
At this stage, we're either ordering or planning when to order all the interior finish products. Things like tile, vanities, plumbing fixtures, appliances, and interior doors. The list can be long and daunting. We started choosing products many months ago, which makes it go smoother. Many people dislike custom construction because they have to constantly be deciding on how things are to be done or how something should be finished. We can make most of our choices in a few minutes. Some of the bigger decisions have us thinking for a few days. It is important to make decisions early and efficiently so progress isn't delayed. It eventually all gets done.

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