All photos link to larger images.

This has been an exciting week! So much has been happening, and so quickly, that I've had a difficult time keeping the site updated. But here you go! January 30, 2003: A framing crew of 11 headed up by Rudy Leyba and his dad Roy, descended on our project and began by assembling the north wall flat on the floor decking, then lifted it into place and secured it to the plate (below).They divided into teams, each working on a different section of the house, then came together as needed to lift sections into place. They erected all of the wall panels the first day!
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3. The north wall being held up until it's fastened to the plate and braced.
The east master bedroom wall is next. Here you can see the black cam locks in the side of the panels. This is a patented locking system. A hook is turned with a key from one section of wall and attaches to the adjoining panel. These cam-locks hold the panels together, but the main structure is anchored at top and bottom and at the corners.
Meanwhile, another team is assembling the south living room wall, then they gather to tip it up into place. Notice the door and window openings are routed into the panels at the factory, making for precise openings.
On the left (above) is a view of the bedroom/bathroom section of the house. Notice the beam pocket in the top of the gable end wall. Beams will be set into the beam pockets once the interior support walls are built. The photo on the right is from the west front porch looking into the living/dining area. Walls are immediately braced once in place to stabilize the structure until the roof is set and the panels are tied together.
At the end of the day we have a house of walls. Our framing crew, Leyba Quality Construction in Albuquerque, is top notch!