Finally Finished Framing

Lately, I’ve blogged less. Why? I’ve been immersed in reading a loooong book, and I’ve been busy building a new room addition onto my house. Well, now I can say I finally finished framing it. The milestone feels good. Yet there remains much more work to do.

My small old house is in the countryside where I can pretty much do whatever. Like in late 2023, I added on a full-sized bathroom, which was well worth the effort. Then in early October of 2024, I began work on a 16’x16’ bedroom. Size wise, it’s my biggest DIY project ever, though it's technically easier than the previous small bathroom addition since there's no plumbing. I will, however, be routing AC ducting, which is new to me.

Floor framing and beams floating on custom Mag-Lev system. Yeah right.

Working only on weekends, I knew at the outset that this project would take several months. But it’s taking a few months longer than I anticipated due to multiple sicknesses, bad weather, and family and community events over time. This is not really surprising though, just kind of frustrating sometimes.

Starting last October, I began work on the foundation. Getting it set correctly so that everything would be square and level was a laborious challenge. It took several weekends and into November.

It wasn't until the end of December that I finished the floor framing and the first wall frame. Then I labored off and on throughout January and February on the other wall frames. Eventually, I started the ceiling and roof frames.

That’s a lot of sticks. Don’t get a splinter.

Now — mid to late March — is when I originally thought I’d be done with the whole project and moved into the new bedroom. Ha! I'm only just finished with the framing. That's fine; progress is still progress.

Despite being behind schedule, I’m here to celebrate how far I’ve come on this challenging journey. Yeah, I had hoped to be done before the Texas temperatures began to warm up too much and the wasps came out to sting me. But building onto a house isn't easy.

Walls done! But much to learn, you still have.

Perseverance is required. Keeping the vision of the goal in my mind’s eye is what pushes and pulls me forward, making whatever progress I can whenever I can feasibly make it. And the finish line is closer now than ever before!

So I’ll keep plodding along. My health and mother nature both work against me at times. My own mistakes hinder my progress at other times. But I persist. I overcome obstacles. I focus on the next step towards the finish line, which means other things get put on pause, like blogging. With framing complete, I can start paneling and closing up the exterior. Then I’ll be able to finish out the interior — I plan to hire some help here and there.

Framing basically done. Paneling next. If only I could snap my fingers…

Somehow, by the grace of God, I keep making overall progress. One day, I’ll be 100% done! Then, Lord willing, my wife and I will enjoy the rest of our new master bedroom.