The carpenters arrived before dawn. The frame was already standing—rough, skeletal, waiting.

XO/SK (T&G) went first, Murphy tapping the stack of boards with his boot. They started with that.

Lynch marked the joints. The boards locked together with clean, hollow clicks—tongue and groove sealed tight, the walls breathing into shape.

By noon, the sound changed. Metal now. SW/ST came next, steel straps hauled from the crate. Shear walls. Shear ties. The skeleton stiffened.

By dusk, it stood silent. Wood meeting steel, pattern meeting resistance. Murphy brushed sawdust from his hands. XO/SK (T&G) held. SW/ST braced. It would last.