Siding and Trim going on!

Jace and Blocky have been working on putting up trim and starting the Hardy Board Exterior siding.  It’s really such a great material to use as it really looks and feels like painted wood. I love the shade of green we picked and it looks great with the cream trim boards. They’ll be a dark red trim. Meanwhile our painter Gary has been hard at work getting all the rooms prepped and base coated.  He’ll be starting the color tomorrow.  We’re using all very light and neutral colors because I will have so much art work on the walls, and with the dark quarter sawn oak floors and trim, I think we need to keep it light.

Painter, ditch filling, and deck building!

So much going on today!  Mark, his son Jace and Blocky are all hard at work filling the big long ditch from the road to the house that has all the buried electric, phone and and cable for TV and Internet. Deck for front porch was also being built.  I went over to Gumble’s and picked out the color for Timber Tec flooring for the deck.  While Homestead was busy working outside Gary, the painter, was very busy inside. He started priming the walls and ceilings in our bedroom and the guest bedroom. He’s a really good painter!  I can’t wait to see the colors go on the walls.  I’ve gone with very neutral colors to keep the house light and airy.  The siding for the out side of the house is due to arrive perhaps tomorrow. Now that is really exciting too!  Things seem to be moving along a lot faster now and that makes us very happy!!

Love seeing everyone here!

Deck is being built for our little front porch. Can’t wait to put a couple of nice rockers out there!

Gary is busy priming our bed room.Gary, our painter.

Jace and Blocky are filling in the ditch. Thank God for that sweet little CAT!Our bedroom is all primed and I love the way the light comes through the window.

Decking is moving right along!Blocky is showing off his new mussels!  Jace finishing up with filling the ditch.

More coats….

I found some more photos on a memory card that Rip took the other day and few from today that I thought I’d add to the blog. I hadn’t met the two spacklers so here’s a couple photos of them working their craft. They really are good at what they do! I don’t want to leave anyone out!  I also included a couple photos that we took today that show the light coming in through the windows. it really was cool that Rip had spent so much time tracking the sun and trying to position where the house would eventually be. I thought it was a little crazy when he was doing it back at the very beginning of building this house but now I get it!! It really did make a difference. He’s so smart!

Doors and lot’s of spackling!

The exterior doors were all installed today and lot’s of spackling going on!  I came home, and as I walked up to the house, I thought “holy cow…is that the front door???”  I LOVE it!  The hardware isn’t on the doors yet but they’re all hung!  Then when I went inside I saw that the mud guy, Larry, was here all day doing a ton of spackling.  Mark was also here and had Jay, who is the carpenter who is building our cabinets, here with him.  He had done a mock up of the front doors to the kitchen sink cabinets made of quarter sawn Oak.  It’s done in an Arts and Crafts style and with a few modifications I think it will be perfect!!  Mark also dropped off a book of paint chips so I need to start thinking about color choices.  Now I’m REALLY starting to get excited!!!

Door just outside our bedroom door that leads out to what will be the front porch.

The front door from the inside of the house.The bathroom walls and ceilings.Lot’s of spackling throughout the house.

Rip talking with Jay, the cabinet maker.

The door leading into the mud room from the garage.Panoramic shot of the interior.

The front door from the out side of the house.The door leading into the lower level of the house.

Sheet rock is all up on the main floor!!

Wow..got home from school today and saw the whole main floor completely sheet rocked!  It looks so dramatically different in the house!  I was so used to looking up and seeing all the wood in the ceilings and walls that it’s a bit disconcerting now. I’m thrilled the sheetrock is up, but I kind of miss the wood now. Sounds crazy but I love lumber!  There were five guys working for the last two days putting all the sheetrock up and I could not believe how fast it went!  Next week it will all be taped and spackled.

 Living room space with Morgan. Our bedroom. The bathroom. It’s in the very center of the house so has a REALLY high ceiling with a sky light.   Keygan got to see the house much further a long than the last time he was here. View from the kitchen area into the house. Living room.

 looking from our bed room into the living space. Bedroom windows. You can never go up to the new house with out Morgan! He loves the new house…Logan not so much since his near fatal fall. Where all the stuff is piled up is my little kitchen. Guest bedroom! You will now have a room with a nice big closet and a door…that shuts when you come for a visit!

The garage is even sheet rocked! There will be radiant heat there also in the floor when the cement guy comes back. My WONDERFUL studio!!!  I could cry every time I look at it…tears of joy!!!!The other wall of the studio with a cute little angle jog out where I have a computer table.

 

More insulation and sheetrock going up!

The insulation guys came back and put the batting insulation over the sprayed close cell insulation and some foil backing too. The house is going to be VERY air tight and warm in the winter and cool in the summer! I’m not going to know how to act next winter!! I was so cold this past winter and would go to bed early just because I was cold.  The main floor is all insulated but the down stairs is about half insulated. Now the guys have come to put the sheet rock up.  There’s about six of them and they’re really going to town! They will come back tomorrow to finish it up.  Then the guy that does all the taping will come, followed by the spackeling guy. When you watch these guys work you can certainly tell that they’ve done this before!! Very nice crew.

 Rip has to inspect every square inch! One of the sheet rock guys! They were amazing how efficiently and quickly they worked. We were trying to chase a Phoebe out of the house that had flown in through the garage.

Insulation in the wall of my studio.

There’s the Phoebe!

Morgan mesmerized by the bird!

 

Insulation every where!!!

Brian Mattson with G.S.I Insulation crew arrived today and worked into the evening doing a lot of the insulation. First they had to install the air channels that run from the soffits to the ridge in the ceiling, which will prevent moisture and keep shingles cool.  Then they sprayed closed cell foam in the walls and ceiling and are about half done. This insulation has an R value that is twice what regular fiberglass insulation is and is able to be sprayed into nooks and crannies so it’s much more efficient at sealing all the air gaps.  They will be back bright and early tomorrow to continue the job on the main floor.  We have to wait for the downstairs to be finished being framed before that insulation can be installed. We thought long and hard about which insulation to choose and believe this will be the best choice in the long run. One more step closer to having our dream home which will be nice and warm the winter and cool in the summer!

 

Electricians are here!

Allen Jones Electrical has been here for the last few days installing all the electric for the new house.  I never saw so many wires in my entire life!  It’s wonderful being able to think about having a house with good lighting.  The old house has many electrical issues so this really makes me happy!  After the electricians are done the insulation guy will be here to blow in the all the closed cell insulation. I love seeing a big chunk of progress being made!  I get so excited!!!

Plumbers, Electricians and Windows…

I haven’t posted anything in the last few weeks because with the weather being so bad work has really slowed down. I’m praying that Spring really is just around the corner because I think we all need a break!  Most of the interior framing is done now and the plumber, John Shock, has been at work. He has most of the plumbing for sinks and such done but is going to wait to put the pipes for the radiant heat in after the hardwood floor is installed.  The electrician, Chris Jones, came yesterday and they mapped out where all the electrical stuff will go. Hopefully the plumber and electrician will be back in a day or so to get to work.  However there is more bad weather coming in Wednesday into Thursday. Not sure how that will affect work but hopefully since they’re working inside it won’t be an issue.

The second trapezoid window finally came in and I’m really loving these two windows a lot!

John Shock working on the plumbing.

John’s little brother is his right hand man!

Washer and dryer plumbing.

The two lower level windows were installed too so it’s almost warm down there when the wood stove is going.

Rip is happy!! The sky was so blue yesterday and today is gorgeous! Better weather is just around the corner.

More snow but hard at work!

We had to have a front end loader over to the new house because there was just so much snow that it couldn’t even be plowed.  Rip also got his snow blower working and was able to continue the clean up. Today Homestead came and got right to work on finishing up the interior walls in order to get ready for the plumbers and electricians. Mark also went over to Gumble’s to see if the front doors and one special order window were in.  I was so happy to see progress happening!  This has been such a tough winter that its really beating the his crew up!  Today it’s snowing again like crazy, and we’ll probably end up with at least another 5 or 6 inches. School is closed too!  We’re suppose to have a big warm up coming later in the week so keep your fingers crossed!

The snow is coming down like crazy!

Rip is bringing wood over to load the stove in the new house.

Studio in the Snow!

Mark and Rip discussing where insulation will go.

Finishing up the interior walls.