Another milestone...

Another phase of the project comes to a close. George and DJ have completed the installation of the siding on the garage and the house, and have installed the 3" beaded ceiling board over the front entrance and the rear deck. I think it really adds to the old timey look we're trying for. This marks the end of George's involvement with the house, at least for the time being. We are hoping that George will be able to come back and help us with some of the finish carpentry later on. It has been a great relationship, and we are grateful for all George's patience and help, and for the superior craftsmanship he and DJ displayed throughout the project.



Here's what the 3" beaded ceiling looks like in the entry way and the rear deck. This product was common in homes built in the early 20th century, but is rarely seen nowadays due to higher materials costs and labor intensive installation.

The hemlock front door was a 30-year-old showroom sample that we picked up for $200. We removed the tired old varnish, sanded it down, stained it and refinished it with an exterior urethane finish called Zar. The instructions told us to be sure to let the new finish cure in sunlight for several hours while drying. I hated to install the door so early in the project, but it was necessary to allow the siding to be properly installed.



The daily snowstorms have finally stopped, but there is still a huge amount of snow removal to do. Before I removed it with the tractor, the snow from the roof almost reached the eaves. I spent two days widening the lane up the driveway. The past week has brought a few days of sunshine, which has melted some of the ice on the driveway More snow is forecast for the coming week, so I'll probably have to start all over again.


Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining. Susan and I knew what we were signing up for when we decided to buy the place, and we really do enjoy the snow. I only wish we had more time to play in it.



Meanwhile, I'm still plugging away (pun intended) on the wiring. So far we have the entire downstairs wired, and have finished the kitchen, living room, dining room, and part of the office on the main floor. We have a kerosene heater that keeps the work area warm enough for us so that we can work comfortably no matter what the weather is doing outside.

Onward through the fog...

Susan and I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.


Winter is solidly upon us. Unlike last year, we have had storm after storm come in from the west, dumping around two feet of snow on the jobsite. Undaunted, George and DJ have not missed one day of work because of bad weather. Here they are shown installing siding on the garage. Overhead Door waited for better weather, and were able to get their truck up the driveway and install our garage door. All that remains to be done in the garage is to install the outside lighting and outlets and connect the wiring to the main circuit box. The wiring connecting the garage to the house will be completed in the spring.



Speaking of wiring, Susan and I have been enjoying the relative comfort of working inside the house installing the wiring. So far we have completed the wiring in the basement, and have hardwired eight smoke alarms throughout the house. The building code requires that at the minimum, smoke alarms are to be located inside and outside every bedroom and at the foot and the head of every stairwell. The alarms must be interconnected, so if one is activated, all the alarms will sound. We hope to be finished wiring the upstairs by mid month.



Yesterday we were hit with a storm packing very high winds. Although I don't have any way to measure the velocity, the winds were powerful enough to blow our porta potty over, in spite of the fact that it was anchored into the frozen ground with 3' steel rods at each corner. The wind blew continuously all afternoon, probably at 30-40mph. I'm going to guess that the gusts went as high as 70-80mph. In the valley 60 miles south of us, the wind knocked out power to thousands of homes, tore roofs off buildings, and tipped over tractor trailers on the interstate.
We had anticipated high winds at our location, and installed hurricane braces on every roof truss, extra fasteners on the steel roof, and extra bracing holding the SIP panels to the foundation. I am happy to say that the house sustained no damage from the wind.