Our Country Home

Update...

2012-01-24T12:14:00.005-07:00

It's been several years since we completed the construction of our home. We are enjoying out life in Ola immensely.
Here are a few more pictures...

The finished product...

2008-08-13T22:25:00.005-06:00

Well, here it is...not bad for a first attempt, eh? Just kidding!

After three years of hard work, we finally can say it's finished - well, almost. We now have the interior doors painted and installed, and all the various pieces of hardware are in place in the kitchen, bathrooms, and utility room. All systems are working, and we are slowly getting used to our new digs. There remains a myriad of little details to complete, but we are making progress every day. The biggest danger is succumbing to the desire to let up and not attend to the details. I'm afraid if we don't keep up the pace, some of them will never get done.

Here's the southwest side of the house. We plan to plant shrubs and trees around it this fall. I am almost finished with the tile work in the bathrooms and hanging the old ceiling fans in the dining room and the living room. Then I'll get to work on the fireplace mantel and the cabinets and shelves on either side. George is scheduled to come back up and pour the concrete driveway in front of the garage. Maybe then we can say we're finished...

Last week we were awakened by the unseasonal sound of raindrops hitting the steel roof. We had a short downpour just before dawn, and when the sun came over the mountain, we were treated to this magnificent rainbow. I am taking it as a sign that our Ola experience will continue to be as wonderful in the future as it has been in the past.

Settling in...

2008-07-31T09:42:00.005-06:00

We have spent the last week catching up on all the odds & ends that remain to be done. We moved in on July 24 and have been looking for our stuff ever since. Slowly but surely Susan has been organizing things to the point that the house is now becoming livable.

The carpets were installed the week before we moved in. Randy put the final coat on the hardwoods at the same time. When the floor had sufficiently dried, we began moving appliances and furniture into the house. It's really a neat feeling to occupy the house we dreamed about for so long.

Here is the completed kitchen area. I installed the tile backsplashes all around the counters and behind the stove. I'm trying to get used to the new layout, but still can't seem to find anything.

Susan and I wanted to find a neat old light for the front entry. We were discouraged at the prices of new fixtures, so searched eBay for an old one. The types we liked were bringing consistently high prices too, and we were unsuccessful in winning any until I spotted this one. The pictures on eBay were blurry and the angles were bad, so I guessed that not too many people would bid on it. I put in a bid, and to my amazement, I was the only bidder! So, for $24.95 plus shipping, we bought this turn of the century hanging schoolhouse light fixture. Once I applied a little Brasso and elbow grease, it transformed into a really pretty addition to our home. It's nice to hit a home run once in a while.

Sprint to the finish line...

2008-07-19T08:19:00.004-06:00

We sold our little house on High Valley Road, and must be out by July 25. We have been working 12 hour days, 7 days a week to get things wrapped up at the new house. Susan has created a timeline of the tasks left to be done, and so far we are pretty much on schedule. Unfortunately we have run out of time, and despite our best efforts, some of the finish work will have to be done after we move in.

The hardwoods have all been installed and have received two of the three coats of finish, We then covered them with cardboard to protect them while we finish up the rest of the house. Randy is scheduled to put the final coat on this coming Tuesday.

While Randy was working on the hardwoods, I completed the installation of the heated tile floor in the master bathroom. I now understand why tile guys charge as much as they do for this kind of work. I don't know if my knees will ever be the same! The good news is that the floor looks pretty good and the heat coils work. I will now move on to installing tile backsplashes around the spa, sinks and kitchen counters.

Speaking of kitchen counters, George did his usual fantastic job installing the kitchen counters and cabinets. I then had my old friend Mike Bales come up and install the countertops. Fitting the sink and adding the hanging lights completed the job.

In order to get our certificate of occupancy, I had to come up with some kind of retaining walls along the west side of the house. The steep grade created a safety hazard by the upper deck and an the possibility of erosion along the foundation. My solution was to build a tiered retaining wall using railroad ties and rebar. There are three tiers and will include a set of steps leading from the upper deck when finished. So far I have used 34 railroad ties, and I still have to finish the stairs.

In the past week we have passed the final inspections for plumbing, electrical and HVAC, and have received approval for our certificate of occupancy. Hooray!

Floor show...

2008-06-30T23:57:00.004-06:00

The hardwood floor guys arrived bright and early this morning. They unrolled a paper backing over the existing subfloor and while Ray laid out the oak floor boards, Rich fitted them and began nailing. These guys really know their stuff. Rich started in the main entry hall and worked his way into the living room/ kitchen area.

Here's a before and during shot of the living room. The boards are laid out but not yet installed. After all the boards are nailed down, they will be sanded and coated with two coats of urethane. The third and final coat will be applied after all other construction has been completed, right before we move in.

While Ray and Rich were installing the hardwoods, I was busy installing the floor in the master bath. We decided to install radiant heating beneath a tile floor, which necessitated an extra step in the process. I first installed cement Hardie board over a 1/4" of thinset mortar, screwing it down to the subfloor every six inches to ensure a nice, level surface. I then installed a grid of Warmly Yours electric heating coils over the Hardie board. These coils are thermostatically controlled, allowing us to set times and temperatures for heating the floor. I'm really looking forward to a nice warm floor in the bathroom this winter. The next step will be to cover the grid with a 1/8" coat of polymer thin set mortar. After that sets up, I'll apply another 1/4" of mortar and set the tiles. A final coat of grout in the cracks and a seal coat will finish the job.

Speaking of finishing a job, I wired the final breakers in the electrical panel last week. What at times felt like a never ending job is finally finished.

Fit & Finish...

2008-06-28T18:51:00.004-06:00

The pace is definitely picking up. I have installed Armstrong Exelon tile in the utility room and the downstairs bathroom. It is a commercial grade tile and looks great with a few coats of industrial strength floor polish.

George has been busy installing the trim around the windows and doors. He makes it look easy, and I know for a fact that it's anything but easy. Susan and her sister spent the day priming all the door frames and the two sliding doors in the living room. After they dried, I coated them with the same semi-gloss paint that we are using on the doors. The hardwood floor guys are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, so while they're inside doing their thing, I'll take all the doors outside and paint them.

Back in the early 1980's, I lived in University Park, TX - a suburb completely surrounded by Dallas. My son was riding his bicycle on our block and saw this stained glass window on a pile of junk by the curb. An elderly neighbor was cleaning out his garage and had put this window out for pickup. He was more than happy to let me have it, and after replacing a couple of broken panes and refinishing the wood, it looks pretty good. We are delighted to finally have a permanent place for it in our entry hall. We had Pella make a tempered glass double paned window the same size as the window, so it is protected from damage and has the same thermal qualities as the other windows.

Over the years we have accumulated some interesting old stuff that we hoped we would some day put to use. The large fixture is one that Susan has been carting around for many years. Because of its considerable size, there was really no place to put it. Fortunately, it fits perfectly in the stairwell to the basement.
The other fixture is one I salvaged from an old farmhouse that was being demolished in Boise. I thought it was too neat to be destroyed, so I brought it home, thinking that some day I might find a place for it. It now hangs in our entry hall, and looks great.

Railings & trim...

2008-06-15T18:12:00.005-06:00

This picture is of the completed deck that connects the house to the garage. George did his customary excellent job building the deck and the benches.

George then went to work installing the stairs to the deck and the rest of the railings. Note the snow on the hillside behind the house. Hopefully that will be the last of it until next fall. Between the cold rain and the incessant wind, it's been a rough spring to be working outside.

With the railings on the deck and the stairway installed, the house is beginning to look finished. Trees and shrubs and a bit more dirt work will complete the look.

Last week Susan and I finally got all the wiring up and running. With the exception of the furnace and a few fans and light fixtures, all circuits are tested, completed and operational. With that phase of the project wrapped up, we took advantage of the sunny weather to finish painting the rest of the baseboards, door and window trim. I also painted the first two of the nineteen doors in the house.

We have sold the little manufactured home where we have been living. The closing is projected for July 25. This prompted Susan and I to come up with a time line listing all the unfinished work on the house. It's going to be close, but we think we can have the place ready to move into by then.

Time will tell...

Catching up...

2008-06-08T19:48:00.004-06:00

The past couple of weeks have been spent finishing up a lot of loose ends around the place. I have been busy finishing all the electrical, including installing the various light fixtures, fan controls, and light switches. I would have to say that my biggest mistakes so far in this project have been not testing all the circuits before the sheet rock went up, and not thoroughly diagramming the routing of the wiring for each circuit. Although I haven't run into any major problems, I have lost some time tracing the wiring by using a 6v battery and a test light. All in all though, I'm very pleased with the way the wiring has worked out.

Leave it to Susan to come up with a novel touch for the living room. I wanted to find a big piece of slate to use for our fireplace hearth but learned that I would have to purchase an entire 6' x 12' slab which would then have to be cut to the 5'5" x 1'6" size we needed, making that idea cost prohibitive. While we were looking around in the stoneyards, Susan spotted a granite remnant for about $100 that would work. We had it cut to size and I installed it in front of the fireplace.

The hardwood flooring was delivered last week. It will sit in the dining room for about two weeks to acclimate to the Ola temperature and humidity. In the meantime, we will begin installing all the interior doors, door trim and window trim. I'm having the hardwoods installed, but I'll install the tile floors in the bathrooms and the utility room.

While Susan and I have been busy inside, George has been hard at work building the side deck, the back deck stairs, and laying the decking on the back deck. I had originally planned to build the decks myself, but I quickly realized that there was no way I could do the quality job that George does. We were originally going to use redwood, but after considering the ongoing maintenance it requires, opted instead for a manufactured product called EverGrain. A white railing system made by TREX will finish off the deck and staircase.

Hitting the decks...

2008-05-20T22:39:00.004-06:00

Springtime in Ola is finally beginning to feel and look like springtime. This shot is a panoramic view of the wildflowers in our southeast pasture. The weather is warming up, but it would be nice to get some spring rain. It's been totally dry since the snow melted, and that's not good for the grass needed for grazing.

Susan and I have been busy painting the interior of the house. It has been an interesting, if not masochistic, exercise. I have seen some very interesting colors come and go. I think we finally have it the way we want it (insert prayer here).

While we were busy working on the interior, George Holomshek came back up to help us with the decks and the interior trim work. What would have taken me a week, George did in two days, and it looks perfect. The front entry deck is finished, and George is in the process of completing the side deck which connects the garage to the house. The next project will be the back deck and staircase.

In my prime...

2008-05-01T23:21:00.008-06:00

The valley floor is finally beginning to turn green. Here's panoramic view taken from the top of the hill just above the house. It's not the highest spot on the ranch, but it offers the best view of Squaw Butte and the Ola Valley.
Remember to click on the pictures for a larger view.

Susan and I began applying the primer coat to the ceilings and walls. I am using a Magnum sprayer that I have had for many years. Even with a cotton balaclava and a particulate mask, I managed to end up with a painted face. Perhaps you will be able to tell from my expression how much I was enjoying myself. That primer is especially sticky stuff, but I learned a little trick to help clean it off. After donning my protective gear, I sprayed the exposed area of my face with no-stick cooking spray. I know it sounds crazy, but it worked like a charm.

While we are concentrating on the interior, a professional painter is painting the outside. So far it is progressing smoothly and looks great.

Just to break the monotony, I decided to investigate the cause of a minor leak in the chimney flashing. After a particularly windy rainstorm, I noticed a wet spot on the attic floor. I discovered that while the storm collar on the chimney is sealed properly, the steep pitch of the roof combined with the position of the house high on the hill causes the wind to drive the rain up under the storm collar and then down the outside of the chimney pipe and into the attic. The second thing I discovered is that I had absolutely no business climbing up a 10-12 steel roof two stories above the ground. From now on I'll leave that to people younger and crazier than me.

Still waiting for spring...

2008-04-24T08:34:00.003-06:00

This morning we awoke to snow gently falling across the landscape. We are beginning to wonder if Spring has been cancelled this year and nobody told us.

Yesterday the insulation for the attic arrived. We opted to have 12" of cellulose blown in to the house and 7" blown into the garage. That gives us an R-38 rating for the house, an R-20 rating for the garage, and completes the insulation process. I'm not going to miss all that itching and coughing one bit.

In between the rain showers and the snow, I have begun removing the piles of dirt created when we dug out the pad for the foundation. My goal is to restore the natural contour of the hillside around the house, leaving a small flat area outside the basement entrance. I am using my tractor's front bucket and rear blade to do the work, which is slowly beginning to produce the desired results. It would be nice to have a small dozer for this, but I haven't been able to justify the expense of buying one.

The drywall installation is finally finished, and we will mask off the doors and windows today in preparation of priming and texturing the walls and ceiling.

Rock on!

2008-04-09T22:49:00.003-06:00

What would have taken me weeks to do, Tom Tucker and his brother Damon did in three days. With a lot of know-how and the help of a sheet rock jack, they rocked the entire house without missing a beat. After Tom finishes with the taping & bedding, he'll mask it all off and I'll apply a coat of drywall primer to the walls and ceilings. Tom will then apply a light orange peel texture to the walls and a hand stipple texture to the ceilings. I will then come back through and apply the final coats of paint.

In the meantime, Susan and I have made three trips to Sunset Doors in Ontario, OR to pick up our doors and trim package. While Tom is finishing his work on the drywall, we will be painting doors, door frames and trim.
We also lined up the hardwood floor installer and Susan picked out the carpet and tiles she wants in the house. Once the interior painting is done, the flooring will go in.

In the pink...

2008-03-30T21:07:00.004-06:00

Now that the wiring has been completed, it's time for the drywall to be installed. Before the drywall goes up, we added another layer of R-7 insulation to the concrete basement walls, and a double layer of R-19 around the rim joist. We then added sound insulation in the walls throughout the house, and a layer of R-19 under the decking between the basement and the main floor. This was a task that Susan found that she was able to do, so with the help of her visiting sister, she installed the majority of the insulation without any help from me. I must say, she did a fantastic job!

The drywall arrived Friday morning. After seeing the size of the 254-sheet load, I congratulated myself for deciding to contract out that part of the construction.

The driver and his helper spent the better part of the day unloading the sheet rock - all eleven and a quarter tons of it - two sheets at a time. Each double sheet weighed in at 184 lb. After calculating how many sheets it would take to do each room, they distributed the sheets accordingly. Again, I gave myself an attaboy for not attempting to do it myself.

Carrying the drywall down the stairs to the basement level was impossible, so the loaded forklift was driven around the house to the basement door. The only tricky part was coming from the driveway onto the dirt. By lowering the load of sheet rock as low as possible, the center of gravity was lowered enough to avoid tipping the forklift over.
The sheetrockers are scheduled to begin on Monday.

Tags- we're it!

2008-03-18T08:46:00.005-06:00

The Snow season is slowly turning into the Mud season, and we are moving ahead nicely on the house. I should explain that while most places experience the traditional four seasons of the year - Winter Spring, Summer and Fall, here in Ola we observe only three (if you don't count deer season and elk season) - Snow, Mud, and Dust.

The issues that got us the red tag on the HVAC installation were quickly resolved resulting in a green tag from the inspector. This allowed us to enclose the exposed ductwork in the basement in preparation for the sheet rock. After eyeballing the new ceiling contour in the basement, we decided to move the fan and light boxes so they would be centered in the narrower, higher part of the ceiling. This has been one of the distinct benefits of building the house ourselves, as we can make changes as we go and not run up a lot of charges from the builder. Any builder will tell you that this can add up to a considerable amount.

For the past month, we have concentrated on finishing the wiring. We finally finished the rough-in last week, and called for an inspection. The state inspector arrived yesterday, and with only a couple of minor corrections, gave us our yellow rough-in approval tag. To top off an already great day, the county building inspector came up and signed off on the framing inspection as well. The next major step will be the sheet rock installation. After figuring that it would take over 250 sheets of 12'x 4.5' drywall to do the job, I wisely decided to contract it out. The contractor will begin in about two weeks. In the meantime, we will seal all the wire and pipe holes in the floor plates and top plates, install sound insulation in the walls of the bedrooms and more insulation in the foundation walls in the basement.

It's still winter up here...

2008-02-21T09:05:00.005-07:00

We are hoping that the worst weather is behind us, and are looking forward to getting back to work full time. The weather is beginning to change, but temperatures are still not warm enough to melt all the snow. The good news is that there are no more heavy snows expected.

We still have plenty of the white stuff to deal with. As you can see, the snow is still covering the fences in some places. That's approximately four feet of snow. This has been the snowiest winter in Ola in many, many years. It's going to be an interesting spring in the valley when all this melts.

I was fortunate to find a used Farm King Model Y740 snow blower for my tractor. It will make short work of keeping our driveway open even in the worst conditions. It just needs a little TLC to bring it back to tip-top shape, but that's just the kind of thing I like to do.

After a snow-imposed delay, the rough-in of the ductwork was finally completed last week. The State of Idaho has to inspect and approve the work prior to it being enclosed behind the drywall. A couple of minor issues with the installation earned it a red tag. The HVAC installers will come up and make the necessary corrections this week, and we will have it reinspected. No biggie.
Susan and I are continuing the installation of the wiring, and hope to be finished in a week or so.

Let it snow, let it snow...

2008-02-06T12:17:00.001-07:00

It has done nothing but snow for the past two weeks. Constant snow and high winds have created drifts of four feet across the driveway going up to the shop and house. It finally reached the point where my tractor was no longer able to clear the driveway using the back blade to plow the snow. In this picture, the tractor is stuck in a snow bank, and my neighbor, Pat Sweeney, is coming up the driveway with his full sized 4WD backhoe to pull me out. I am able to clear the snow, but is a painfully slow process of scooping it up and dumping it over the berm of old snow, rather than plowing it aside with my rear blade. To do this to the entire 3/4 mile length of the driveway is taking days to complete. We haven't been able to get up to the house for quite some time now, and it looks like it will be a few more days before I can get the driveway completely cleared, provided we don't get any more snow for a while. Unfortunately, there's another storm predicted for tomorrow.
I will definitely have a snow blower for the tractor next year!

Meanwhile, it has been a challenge to keep the High Valley Road house clear of snow, too. One of our major concerns is the buildup of snow on the roof. When the snow finally stopped today, we decided that we had better get some of the accumulated snow off the roof.

When we got up there, we measured between 34" and 42" of snow on the roof. There are several layers from each storm, with a little ice layer at the bottom. I don't know what the snow load rating of this manufactured home is, but I'm guessing we're pretty close to exceeding it. Susan and I climbed up and shoveled half of the roof this morning, and will go back at it again this afternoon. Then I guess we'll have to shovel all the snow from the roof away from the windows so we can see out.

Boy, this being retired sure is a piece of cake!

Another milestone...

2008-01-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-01-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Inside job...

2007-12-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

The interior of the garage has been primed and painted. Susan and I carefully masked the door and windows, and sprayed the sheet rock ceiling and OSB walls. We left the sheet of plastic up in the garage door opening, and fired up a kerosene heater to help dry the paint. The drying process is very slow due to the lack of circulation and the large buildup of moisture in the closed space. As soon as we could, we unmasked and opened the door and windows to remove some of the moisture.

The siding is complete on the east and west sides. George and DJ are now installing the siding on the deck area and the patio area. After that is done, they will start on the garage.

Susan and I have begun running the wiring in the basement. So far we have one bedroom and the storage room wired, and a power line run to the vault.

The installers from Overhead Door came up to install our garage door today, but slid into a ditch at the base of the driveway. It has been snowing steadily all day, and their truck didn't have snow tires or four wheel drive. I managed to extricate their truck with my tractor, and they wisely decided to go back to Emmett and come back when the roads are open.

Multi-tasking

2007-12-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

George and DJ are hard at work installing the Hardie Plank siding, soffits and vents on the exterior walls. In order to reach the high walls, an elaborate scaffold system has to be erected. Installing the narrow siding planks requires about three times more work than the standard 16" width siding does.

After seeing the finished product, we agree that the extra effort is well worth it. The "farm house" look that we are trying to achieve is really beginning to show.

Susan and I finally finished installing the radiant barrier on the underside of the rafters. Working from scaffolding and dangling from extension ladders, we hung approximately 3500 square feet of barrier, using over 6000 staples in the process. Not only will this have a significant effect on keeping heat out of the house in the summertime, but to a lesser extent will aid in retaining heat in the colder months.

The plumbing inspector came up yesterday and gave us a green tag on the plumbing rough-in. The supply side and the drain/vent side were both pressure tested and approved. The next inspection will be the final inspection with all fixtures and faucets in place.

The electrical inspector gave me a green tag for the rough-in wiring in the garage ceiling. We immediately installed the sheet rock ceiling and will now frame in the man door and windows, install trim around the ceiling, and paint the inside of the garage. Once that is done, we'll install the main electrical panel, then the garage door and opener.

Crunch time...

2007-11-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

Determined to finish the roof before Thanksgiving, George and DJ worked in the rain for two days to get the job done. They then took a well deserved week off for some rest and relaxation.

While they were gone, Susan and I began to install the radiant barrier in the attic. The radiant barrier consists of very pure aluminum foil attached to a woven mylar center. It comes in 4' x 250' rolls, which we staple to the underside of the roof trusses. This product reflects over 90% of the radiant heat that normally enters the house through the roof. With 9' ceilings and another 15' to the attic peak, it is a real challenge to install this stuff without breaking one's neck. So far we have about half of it installed. We hope to have it finished in another week.

MGM Mechanical is installing the ductwork and venting. These guys do quality work and are a real pleasure to do business with. All that ductwork isn't making the radiant barrier installation any easier, though. It would have been nice to have been able to install the radiant barrier first, but we couldn't begin that until the house was closed in.

The ceilings over the deck and the front entrance will be covered with 3" beaded ceiling. To ensure a nice flat ceiling, we first install 7/16" OSB panels to the ceiling joists, then attach the ceiling boards to it. Installing the OSB today closed the last major open areas in the house. Now, with the exception of the soffits, the house is entirely closed in, and considering that we got our first measurable snowfall last night, not a moment too soon.

George and DJ will now begin installing the Hardie Plank siding while Susan and I begin to run the wiring. I am hoping that we can get the wiring done in the next two weeks. Once that is done and inspected, the sheetrocking can begin.

The pace quickens...

2007-11-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

After installing the ridge vent screen, George and DJ wasted no time getting the steel roof panels installed on the garage, and this morning they began installing them on the house. The weather forecast shows the possibility of rain this weekend, and we are hoping it is wrong.

When we were laying out the kitchen floor plan, we ran into another "oops!" by Precision Panel. The kitchen window on the right was cut two feet too far to the right. I had to remove the upper and lower windows and cut new holes in the proper location. I then filled the old openings with the pieces I cut from the new openings, and reinstalled the windows. Now that looks better, doesn't it?

Renewable Energy Resources delivered our geothermal ground source heat pump today. It will be placed on a pedestal, then wired and plumbed in after the ductwork is installed next week.

Speaking of plumbing, we decided to have Goff's Plumbing install the remaining drains and supply lines. I had originally planned on doing the work, but what would have taken me two weeks to do, they can do in four days. I will, however, still do the electrical work myself, under the expert guidance of electrician Ray Pattan.

In my post of July 13, I mentioned purchasing a load of insulated panels. We used some beneath the basement floor, and the rest were to be used as insulation against the concrete basement walls. Here you can see that I have cut the panels to fit between the studs. This should not only slow down any heat transfer, but provide a radiant barrier as well.

This male American Kestrel managed to fly into the house through the opening for the front door, which has not yet been installed. I opened one of the sliding doors on the south side of the house, and he flew out unharmed. He is yet another example of the wonderful variety of animals with which we are privileged to share this amazing place.

Closing in on closing it in...

2007-10-30T21:56:00.001-06:00

The roof sheathing and tarpaper is all in place. Tomorrow Susan and I will tow our trailer to Vale, OR to pick up the steel roof panels from Tiffany Steel. The roof should be completely installed within the next week. The steep pitch of the roof (10/12)will make it a tricky installation.

Yesterday Susan and I hauled all the windows up the hill from the shop to the house. After applying sealant tape to the openings, the windows are being installed. George and DJ will finish installing them tomorrow while Susan and I are in Vale picking up the roof steel.

On Thursday we had the fireplace installed in the living room. We are having fun envisioning the fire crackling on a cold snowy day while we sit in our cozy new home enjoying the view.

The joists for the rear deck are now in place and temporarily covered with sheets of OSB. After all the other construction work is completed, I'll install redwood decking in place of the OSB sheets. A redwood railing will complete the deck.

Early one morning I drove north on Timber Flat Road and took this shot of the house looking back to the south. It does a good job of capturing the serenity of the area at daybreak. Be sure to click on the picture for a larger view.

Raising the roof...

2007-10-15T23:51:00.000-06:00

The cool mornings are beginning to produce fog on the valley floor, as seen in this photo. Note the sunshine beginning to hit the butte to the west. These cool, windless mornings provide ideal working conditions for setting the trusses and attaching the sheathing.

By the time the sun began to warm the butte, George and DJ were already hard at work erecting the main roof trusses. You may note that the tops of the trusses are flat. This was done because the trusses, when laid flat on the delivery truck, were too wide to meet highway dept. width restrictions. The truss company included a little triangular piece for each truss which will be attached to the flat area when the OSB sheathing is nailed in place.

This photo shows not only the main trusses all in place, but also the three 6"x6" columns that will support the redwood deck which will run the length of the back of the house. Additional trusses with less slope will be installed to support the roof over the deck.

The view from the kitchen area looking into the living room is quite different, now that the trusses are in place. It almost feels like an enclosed space, but not quite. The fireplace will be centered on the far wall. Our office will occupy the room behind the fireplace.
While George and DJ work on the roof, Susan and I are busy in the shop painting the exterior doors and frames in anticipation of installing them in the next week or so.

It's a wrap...

2007-10-06T07:16:00.001-06:00

In spite of rain showers and gusty winds, George and DJ have installed the vapor barrier on the exterior walls, framed in the interior walls on the main floor, and begun erecting the gable trusses. The main trusses are scheduled to go up next week, weather permitting.

It is a pleasure to work with George, who can be seen here consulting with the head boss on one of the many design details of the construction. His craftsmanship is pleasing to the eye, and the work site is always completely clean and free of debris.

While George and DJ worked on the house, Susan and I had some time to prepare for the coming cold weather. Last week I felled a dead 100' pine tree for firewood. I had to cut it into four 25' sections which I then dragged into the clearing by the creek, where I cut them into 16" rounds.

Yesterday Susan and I took our trusty splitter down to the clearing and went to work. I did the splitting, and Susan loaded the logs into a small trailer behind our four-wheeler and towed it up the hill to the shop. We almost got it all split before we had to quit for the day. When finished, I'll have over two cords of nice firewood.

Racing the weather...

2007-09-30T00:30:00.002-06:00

As the summer heat finally yields to the cool days of autumn, we are keenly aware that our days of good building weather are numbered. On a positive note, fire season is over. Most of the fires are out and the air is once again crisp and clear. This morning we awoke to see the first dusting of snow on the butte to the west. It has been our goal to have the house completely closed in by the first snowfall. This includes wrapping the house with vapor barrier, installing the siding, doors, windows, trusses, radiant barrier and steel roof. Once these tasks are completed, Susan and I will concentrate on installing the plumbing and electrical. The HVAC system and fireplace will also go in at this time.

We had about a week delay in receiving the walls for the main floor. George and DJ took advantage of the time by finishing up the garage. We now can use it for storing some of the materials needed for the house.

When the walls did arrive, George and DJ wasted no time in erecting them. The house is finally beginning to feel like a house! We will now put all our energies into getting the roof on forthwith. We no longer have the luxury of not having to worry about rain, as we are beginning to see rainy days every week.

When I saw Susan's plans of the house with so many windows, I had my doubts. Now that the walls are in place, I can see the genius of her design. This is a panoramic view I pieced together looking to the southwest from the main floor. Pretty neat.

Truss me...

2007-09-14T21:47:00.001-06:00

Now that framing in the basement is finished and the stairs to the main floor are built, George and DJ turned their attention to getting the garage walls put up. This turned out to be somewhat of a challenge when the wind began gusting to 25mph. It's a good thing we were using a crane to support the walls while they were being fastened in place.

Note the very smoky conditions in the valley. This is caused by the huge Cascade Complex wildland fire burning about 40 miles to the northeast. Started by a lightning strike on July 6, it has to date burned a total of 287,809 acres and is only 30% contained.

In the middle of the installation, the truck with our truss package arrived. I always wondered how they unloaded those things, and now I know. If you look at the trailer, you will see that it has a series of large rollers its entire length. The driver simply unstrapped the load and drove forward. The bundle of trusses rolled right off the back of the trailer and onto the ground. Pretty neat.

This morning when I arrived at the shop, I was greeted by a small flock of turkeys. I called them back toward the truck, where one of the toms began to strut. After a few minutes of showing off, they all wandered off over the hill toward the creek (pronounced "crick" here in Idaho).

Dirt in, Deck on...

2007-09-06T22:03:00.001-06:00

Harvey was back yesterday to push the dirt back over the geothermal coils. After he filled in the pit, he smoothed out the surface to match the original contour of the hill. Nice job, Harvey!

While Harvey was backfilling the geothermal pit, George and his helper installed the remaining floor joists and then covered them with the first floor decking. Now the place is really taking on the appearance of a house. This is exciting!

Laying out the basement...

2007-08-31T21:14:00.000-06:00

The framing of the basement continues, with George first laying out the rooms with chalk lines on the floor, then building the walls. George is a meticulous craftsman, making sure of the smallest details before proceeding.

The first section of floor joists has been installed on the west side of the house above the vault lid. I will now install the water lines and drains for the utility room and the half bath over the next two days while George is gone. As soon as I am finished with that, we will install the decking over the joists.

Yesterday we observed a small wildfire about 20 miles to our north in an area known as Indian Valley. Today it looked as if it was almost out, until a strong storm cell moved through the area bringing high winds. This brought about just the right conditions to cause a sudden reignition, or explosion, of the fire. These conditions present extreme danger to the firefighters working to contain the blaze. The "explosion" lasted for approximately 1 hour before returning to a normal plume of smoke. We volunteers are on standby as more thunderstorms are forecast for tonight.

Walls & windows...

2007-08-28T23:20:00.000-06:00

Yesterday George and his helper laid out and installed the sill plates for the basement exterior wall panels. Today they installed the panels using George's crane truck. They made it look easy, even though there was a considerable amount of adjusting and fine tuning to get everything to match up exactly level and plumb. It's really exciting to finally see a significant change in the appearance of the house.

OOPS!!!
Once the panels were in place, we discovered that an error had been made by Precision Panel when they measured for the placement of the windows. Evidently they failed to take into consideration that the panels are sitting on a stem wall that is 5 1/2 inches above the floor level - exactly the amount that the window openings are set too high in the panels. Our man Gus from Precision Panels assures us that it's an easy fix and he will be out next week to take care of it.

I shot this picture of the moon tonight as it came up from behind the mountain. Just another reminder of why we love this place so much.

Close encounters of the furred kind...

2007-08-25T12:37:00.000-06:00

As I was driving up the driveway a few days ago, I noticed a mule deer fawn hopping excitedly back and forth in the draw below the driveway. When mulies sense danger or become alarmed, they run away by hopping with all four feet off the ground, as if they were using a pogo stick. What was strange about this fawn's behavior was that it was not running away, but rather hopping back and forth, working its way closer to the road below.

I stopped the truck and grabbed my camera. I then saw that there were several cows and one calf on the road. This was obviously the first time the fawn had ever seen a cow, and its curiosity was getting the better of it.

The fawn inched ever closed to the road and finally went through the fence and right up to the calf to check it out. After satisfying its curiosity, the fawn returned to grazing in the draw.

Back in action...

2007-08-25T07:19:00.001-06:00

After almost a week of delays, work has resumed on the house. Renewable Energy Resources arrived to install the coils for the geothermal heat source pump. There is now approximately 1 1/2 miles of tubing in the giant pit we dug in the hillside below the house. They will return on Monday to charge and pressure test the system before I can begin to carefully backfill the dirt over the coils and fill in the 6-foot deep ditch running from the house to the pit.

We also received the first installment of our Precision Panel SIP (structurally integrated panel) walls for the garage and the daylight basement. George Holomshek brought up his 57' crane truck up to unload and stage the panels. He will return on Monday to begin the framing of the basement and installation of the panels.
These are exciting times.

Boards & Birds...

2007-08-19T08:04:00.001-06:00

Friday was a landmark day in our project, as the first building materials were delivered from Franklin Building Supply. The basement framing package, which includes the main floor joists, decking, sill plates and basement framing is now on site. The basement walls are scheduled to arrive from Precision Panel on Monday. Framing was scheduled to begin on Monday, but our framer's father died yesterday, and George Holomshek, our framer, is on his way to PA as I write this. Looks like we will be delayed about a week. Speaking of delays, the tubing for the geothermal source heat pump is still somewhere in transit, so that part of the project is also on hold.

As I was moving dirt around the foundation of the house on Thursday, I looked down the hillside into the meadow east of the house. I saw over 50 turkeys making their way across the meadow searching for food. This is the first turkey sighting since springtime, when they move up into the timber to have their babies. The flock looks healthier than ever. Remember - clicking on the pictures will enlarge them for a better view.

A peach of a pit...

2007-08-15T18:42:00.000-06:00

Now that the concrete work has all been done and the forms removed, we are getting ready for the framing of the basement and garage to begin next week. In the meantime, we have to dig a pit for the geothermal ground source heat pump coils. We staked off an area on the hillside just south of the garage, and Harvey went to work with his Caterpillar D7.

A day later he had dug a pit 100' x 40' x 8'. That's roughly 1185 cubic yards of dirt, or about 100 dump trucks worth. The geothermal guys will be here Friday morning to install the approximately 7900' of 1 1/4" coolant lines which will be buried in the bottom of the pit. Then Harvey will push all that dirt back into the hole.

Putting a lid on it...

2007-08-07T22:26:00.002-06:00

Vault lid before concrete.

Vault lid after concrete.

Garage floor (note rising sun).

Back patio.

Today Betty Baker and her crew finished up the concrete work for this year. Before sunrise, the concrete trucks began arriving, bringing concrete to pour the vault lid, the garage floor, and the patio outside the entrance to the daylight basement. This is a real milestone for us, as we can now begin framing in the basement and erecting the basement walls and building the garage. Finally the house will begin to take shape. The basement framing package, basement walls, and garage package are scheduled to arrive on August 20.

The window package for the house arrived this afternoon. We will store it in the shop for the time being. After carefully checking them in, we discovered that there was one window missing. Susan will follow up with Pella in the morning.

In addition to everything else, our friend Harvey Church arrived with his bulldozer to dig the pit for our geothermal heat source coils. More on that in future posts.

It's a setup...

2007-08-01T16:23:00.000-06:00

Susan and I got an extra early start to avoid the heat and smoke that filled the valley yesterday. By the time the sun began to light up the clouds, we were well underway backfilling and leveling the garage floor and digging a trench for forms for the patio which will be poured in front of the daylight basement.

While we were busy moving dirt, Betty and her crew arrived to set up the forms for the 7 1/2" reinforced concrete vault roof. To bear the weight of the steel reinforcement and wet concrete, the pour requires a specialized support system, consisting of interlocking beams and twelve adjustable jack screw columns. The plan is that the vault lid, the garage floor and the patio will all be poured this coming Tuesday.

Pouring it on...

2007-07-25T16:54:00.000-06:00

After getting the basement floor ready for concrete, it was time to dig and level the trenches for the garage footings. Susan's sister, Suzanne and her son, Brian and his wife, Katie came up from Boise to give us a hand. With their help, we got it done in one day. It sure is nice to get a little help once in a while.

Betty and her crew have begun the concrete work for the garage. Here the footings have been poured and they are pictured smoothing the surface where the stem walls will be poured.

This morning Betty and the crew installed the rebar and forms for the garage stem walls. A short while later, a concrete truck arrived to fill the forms. While it was here, Betty also poured the footings for the columns that will support the deck that will span the back of the house, and for the columns that will support the roof over the entryway.

This means that I will spend the next several days at my least favorite task - backfilling and compacting the areas around the garage and columns. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be done with that evil compactor!

Getting in on the ground floor...

2007-07-16T16:03:00.000-06:00

Today marks a major step forward in our homebuilding project. Our day began at 5:30am as the concrete pump truck arrived to pour the basement floor. As the sky lightened, the concrete trucks arrived, delivering 32 cu.yd. of concrete for Betty Baker's crew to expertly apply to the floor area. The six man crew completed the pour in just over 1 1/2 hours.

Betty Baker directs the concrete onto the basement floor, while the other five workers spread and level the mix.

Susan oversees the work from the north wall. The smile says it all.

As the morning sun peeks over the hill, the crew completes the pour. It will now be power troweled and finally smoothed by hand. It will set up for a couple of hours, after which 1" saw cuts will be cut into the concrete at various intervals using a diamond saw blade. This will prevent random cracking of the slab caused by settling and expansion and contraction. After the slab has hardened, the lid for the vault room will be poured, using 6" of reinforced concrete over 1 1/2" steel panels.
Once this is finished, we will be able to begin framing the interior walls and floor.

Prepping for the floor pour...

2007-07-13T16:10:00.000-06:00

We have finally reached the point where the basement floor can be poured. The preparation included getting all the drain pipes positioned, running the electrical and water lines into the house, connecting the septic system, and stubbing in the ground loop lines for the geothermal ground source heat pump. All these steps required fees, permits, inspections and approvals by the various bureaucrats who are here to help us.
Once all that work was done, Susan and I completed the leveling and compacting of the dirt inside the walls. The picture above shows Betty Baker of Baker Concrete and her crew shooting elevations for the pour.

We were fortunate to find used 4'x8'x 1 1/2" sheets of foam board for use as insulation under the slab. These panels have aluminum facing on both sides, and usually sell for $12-$15 apiece. We picked them up for less that $3 per panel. The reflective aluminum will have no effect beneath the floor, but I am also planning to use them between the studs in the basement walls. They will be covered with visqueen (heavy black plastic sheeting used as a vapor barrier). Then four inches of concrete will be poured directly over the insulation and visqueen.

This is what the floor looked like Friday afternoon. Naturally, a windstorm, complete with thunder and lightning came through Friday night and blew the visqueen and panels all over the hillside. I spent this morning gathering everything up and putting it back in the basement. Tomorrow Susan and I well refit and reinstall everything in preparation for an early Monday morning pour. Keep your fingers crossed that there won't be any wind!

Wet & Wired...

2007-06-28T15:27:00.000-06:00

My friend Denny Weaver dug the trench for the drain field, and I connected it to the septic tank. The drain field is 144 ft. long and 3 ft wide. Our county health inspector came up yesterday and approved the system, so we can now cover it up.

Things are really starting to come together. Ray Pattan, my electrician, Clayton Russell of Gem Pump & Supply, and Denny Weaver got together to install the upper booster pump and pump house and connect the water lines and electrical conduit to the house. These guys really make it look easy. I couldn't ask for a nicer, more capable bunch of guys to hold my hand through this construction adventure.

This is what the upper pressure pump looks like. It was necessary due to the loss of pressure caused by the 80 feet gain in elevation between the well and the house. With this additional pump, I'll be able to maintain pressures in excess of 65psi. at the house, as opposed to around 25psi without it. Ray will connect the electricity as soon as the power company energizes the permanent circuit box and moves the meter.

Hitting the road...

2007-06-28T14:48:00.000-06:00

Many years ago Whitlock Gulch, which runs through the ranch from east to west, was logged. To facilitate the removal of the harvested trees, a road was bulldozed into the gulch. Over the years, the hillside had pretty much returned to normal, and the road had become impassible, even for a 4-wheeler. There are several large dead trees back in there that I want to use for firewood, so I had Harvey use his small dozer to reopen the road. It is narrow, with no place to turn around, but it will allow me to get my Willys in there to winch out the old trees. I estimate that there is a two to three year supply of firewood just sitting there waiting for me.

The next day, Susan and I decided to walk to the end of the road to look for animal tracks. We found coyote tracks, black bear tracks and tracks of a mule deer doe and fawn. We have been watching several does and fawns over the past weeks, so it was fun to get to see the tiny tracks in the dirt.

Here's a picture of an old wagon axle assembly that we found half buried along the old logging trail. It still has some of the original orange paint on it. It's hard to imagine that there was a time when this axle assembly represented the state of the art in farm and ranch transportation. We are looking forward to unearthing more treasures as we continue to explore the property.

Dishing the dirt...

2007-06-23T18:38:00.000-06:00

Susan and I have spent the last week backfilling around the basement walls. I have backfilled the north and west basement walls, and compacted the soil around the front entryway. I have begun backfilling the east wall, but cannot finish until the utilities and sewer lines are connected to the house. That is scheduled to be completed this coming week. While backfilling, I installed hydrants on the northwest corner and the center of the east wall. The area around the house is beginning to regain the contour of the hillside, and looks pretty good.

In the meantime, I have dug the trenches for the garage footings, which will be poured next week. If all goes according to plan, we will pour the basement floor and the garage floor the second week in July. There is still some backfilling and compacting to do on the basement floor.

While I've been moving mountains of dirt, My friend Denny Weaver installed the septic tank for the house. He will now dig the drain field for the system in the hillside below the tank.

Shifting gears...

2007-06-13T22:07:00.000-06:00

The bathroom in the shop is finally finished. It got its final plumbing inspection yesterday and passed with flying colors.

Now that it's done, we can shift out attention to the house. We installed a French drain around the footings of the foundation. This will handle any water that the Battle Drain channels down the walls. After covering it with about six inches of gravel, we buried it under four feet of dirt. Our next step will be to install the second four feet of Battle Drain and backfill the remaining four feet of foundation wall. I never realized how small the bucket on my tractor was until I began this backfilling operation.

On the way down the driveway this evening, we spotted this momma mule deer with her triplets. A sighting like this is a great way to top off a day of hard work.

More rock, more gravel, more dirt...

2007-06-08T23:12:00.000-06:00

For the past three weeks we have been finishing the driveway and parking area around the shop. Harvey did a great job widening the tight curves in the driveway, and grading and graveling the area surrounding the shop. I finished grading and smoothing the gravel with my tractor and rear blade. Susan was excited to finally get all the stuff off the hill in front of the shop. We moved our little camper trailer, my three trailers, my M37 fire truck, the firewood, the communications shelter we were using as a storage locker, the fencing materials and all the miscellaneous items that had found their way onto the hill over to the rear of the shop. I also returned the crane truck that I had used for the shop construction to its owner. I will likewise move the tractor implements to the graveled area as I use them. I must say that it does look a lot better.

The bathroom in the shop is almost finished. The room has been sheetrocked and painted. I built a small cabinet for the sink, and covered the countertop with laminate. The fixtures, water heater, light and fan have been installed, and the door has been hung. All that's left to do is paint the door, door trim, and cabinet.

Our next project was to install a product called "Battle Drain II" on the outside walls of the daylight basement. This product has a plastic backing, honeycomb center, and felt front. It is designed to channel any ground water that may come in contact with the basement walls down to the French drain that will run along the base of the foundation. The picture shows the first roll installed. We will install another roll above this one, making the coverage eight feet high. As I reported in a previous post, we have already applied two coats of waterproofing to the walls, so this might be considered overkill. That's OK with me. If we don't have any water problems, I'll consider it a job well done.

With the first course of Battle Drain installed, we will now install the French drain and backfill the first four feet of dirt. Once this is done, we will install the second course of Battle Drain, and lay out the piping for our outside water hydrants.

In the meantime, we are coordinating with the well pump guy, the HVAC people, the electrician, and the plumbing inspector to get their respective jobs done so we can pour the basement floor.

Pipes, Wires & Rocks...

2007-05-16T07:47:00.000-06:00

Longer days mean earlier starts to avoid the midday heat. At the house site, I have finished roughing in the sewer lines and drains for the house. These will have to be inspected and leak tested. Once that is done, we will fill in and compact the trenches, level the subfloor and begin to lay out the moisture barrier, insulation and tubing for the radiant heating in the floor.

Meanwhile, the plumbing in the shop has finally been finished, inspected, tested and approved. Isn't that green tag beautiful? I will now build the sink cabinet and counter top, and install the fixtures. The next step will be to have the electrical inspection so I can close in the walls and ceiling.

In anticipation of grazing cattle this spring, Susan and I rebuilt the fencing along Timber Flat Road, including installing a 20ft. double gate across the driveway. That will be a lot easier to use than the old barbed wire gate.

I am finally getting the area around the shop graded and covered with base rock and gravel. This included installing a 40ft. culvert under the driveway to get rid of snowmelt and runoff from the hillside above the shop.
Lots of little projects, all paving the way to getting started on building the house.

Setting things straight...

2007-04-27T20:53:00.000-06:00

As the weather turns warmer and drier, we have returned to working full time on the house and shop. Our friend Harvey Church returned with his bulldozer to straighten the sharp turn in our driveway and work on the area around the shop. This will eliminate the problem we've had in the past of trucks getting stuck on that corner.
While Harvey worked on the driveway, I was busy preparing a spot for the upper pump house. Because of the almost 100' rise in elevation between the well and the house, an additional pump will be installed at the top of the hill to give us acceptable water pressure at the house. I have dug a trench to connect with the existing water pipe, and will set one of the surplus communication shelters over it to house the pump and pressure tanks. The electric company has set a temporary meter next to the transformer at the top of the hill, so we now have power at the house site.

All my work on the diesel tank finally paid off. Today I filled up the tractor from the tank for the first time. It sure beats lugging gas cans around. I'll get 15 - 20 fillups from one tankful.

Now that the weather is becoming milder, we are seeing more wildlife. Turkeys are everywhere. This evening we saw a bull elk on the hill behind the shop, and this doe welcomed me yesterday morning as I drove up the driveway. The bird is a Dusky Grouse - a member of the Blue Grouse family.

Along with finishing the bathroom in the shop, our next tasks will be installing a French drain around the house, and installing the below grade plumbing in the daylight basement.

Work on the house resumes...

2007-04-16T21:13:00.000-06:00

While waiting for favorable conditions to resume work on the house, I finished painting the diesel fuel tank. I installed a new nozzle, hose and filter, and mounted it on its stand. After doing some more measuring and computing, I have determined that it has a capacity of approximately 137 gallons. B&W Petroleum will deliver the diesel fuel some time this week.

We finally got a couple of consecutive days of good weather, so I applied the waterproofing sealcoat to the foundation and basement walls. It is a concretious product which is applied with a brush in two coats. The trick is getting just the right consistency and just the right amount of mist sprayed on the concrete walls. Each coat had to dry for 24 hours, so we were delayed by the constant waves of showers that roll through this time of year.

The next big step will be pouring the basement floor. This requires a tremendous amount of preparation and planning.
The dirt has to be thoroughly compacted to prevent cracks in the floor caused by settling. My method entails spreading out about 6" of dirt and then running our old compactor over it several times, then repeating the process until the approximate correct level is attained. I then have to lay out the drains for the downstairs, and the main drains from the upstairs, and backfill over them. Then the dirt has to be precisely leveled prior to the next step.
We have decided to install radiant heat in the concrete floor, so that will all have to be laid out on top of the moisture barrier, 2" foamboard insulation and wire mesh.
I will also be installing a French drain around the back and sides of the basement, then backfilling around the basement walls.

Sprucing things up...

2007-04-02T22:30:00.000-06:00

Well, they're not exactly spruce. Actually, they're Ponderosa pines. Each spring, the national forest service sells surplus pine seedlings from its nursery at nearby Lucky Peak. We bought 35, and Susan went to work planting them on the hill above the shop. They will eventually provide a welcomed windbreak and shade from the summer sun. We had to devise wire cages for them to protect them from the deer and elk, and later on, the cattle.

A friend of ours gave us an old steel tank and stand for diesel fuel. I think it holds 150 gallons, but I'll have to wait until I fill it to find out. We will be able to buy "off road" diesel for our tractor, which has no road taxes included in the price. The tank was quite rusty, so I have sanded it down to the bare metal and given it a coat of primer. Tomorrow I will paint it with two coats of silver exterior enamel. Once dry, I'll attach the new ball valve, filter, hose and nozzle, and place it on the stand.

Spring ritual...

2007-03-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

Yesterday when I went to the shop, I saw a flock of turkeys on the next hill. I decided to try my hand at turkey calling, with excellent results. About a dozen gobblers headed my way and proceeded to put on quite a show of strutting and gobbling. Later in the day I spotted this bald eagle looking for his dinner along the Payette River.
This is truly a wonderful place.

Finishing up the shop...

2007-03-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

While I've been a bit lax on posting to this blog, I've been busy putting the final touches on the shop building. After having Ray Pattan, my electrician, connect the 200 amp service to the panel, I proceeded to wire the shop. With the exception of the bathroom, all the wiring has now been completed. This includes forty-four 120v outlets, all on GFCI circuits, two 240v 30a outlets, two 240v 50a outlets, two reversible, variable speed ceiling fans, one 24" variable speed exhaust fan, one motion sensitive entry light, and sixteen high performance 8 ft. dual bulb fluorescent fixtures. All wiring is 12ga enclosed in 1/2"metal conduit. The 240v 50a wiring is 6-2 wire enclosed in 3/4" metal conduit.
Most importantly, I have installed a 450 watt stereo. Productivity has already shown a sharp increase.
I am in the process of finishing up the bathroom. The framing is up, and I have installed the Armstrong Exelon tile flooring. This is the same tile used in commercial buildings, and is practically indestructible.The exhaust fan and light unit is installed, and I am installing the plumbing. Once that is all done, I will call for inspections of the plumbing and electrical. Keep your fingers crossed!

Riding out the winter doldrums...

2007-02-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

Between the winter weather, visiting the kids and fighting the flu, our progress has slowed to a crawl. I have almost finished wiring the shop, and have finally gotten the old woodstove to function properly. I installed a heat exchanger in the flue, and another blower on the back of the stove to circulate the warm air throughout the shop. I am pleased at how well it heats the place.

Susan and I finally got the big brush pile down by the creek burned. Now we will be able to level and seed that area for the spring. The original size of the pile extended out past where Susan is standing, and was over 10 feet high.
I am constantly amazed at Susan's willingness to share in the hard work.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, or so the saying goes. My friend Kevin and his son, Ian from Umatilla, OR, came out for a short visit. The weather turned unseasonably warm, so I took them up on the hill for a little long range target shooting. We all had a great time, especially Ian, who had never fired anything as powerful as the .50 caliber Barrett 82A1/M107 rifle . One of the benefits of living out here is the ability to shoot whatever I want, whenever I want, and not disturb anyone in the process.
Note to those of you in the blue states: No airliners or armored limousines were harmed during the filming of this picture.

Clicking on this picture will take you to an album of photos Kevin took while in Ola.

Susan and I just returned from a 2800+ mile trip to Kansas City, MO to visit one of her daughter's family. I had forgotten how noisy three grandkids under five can be.

The weather is forecasted to be wet and gloomy for the next week or so, so I'll spend most of my time building a bathroom inside the shop.

Snug as a bug...

2006-12-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Now that winter has really arrived, I have begun working on the interior of the shop. A neighbor gave me an old wood stove he had in his barn. After I cleaned and repainted it, replaced the firebrick, and bought new stovepipe, I cut the hole on my new roof and installed the chimney. I have ordered a couple of fans to attach to the stove to provide hot air circulation in the shop. Even without the fans, the old stove does a decent job of warming the place up.
I have installed four high output flourescent light fixtures in each bay, and am in the process of running the wiring through steel conduit for all the fixtures and outlets. Once that is done, I'll be able to clean up the place and put my tools and machinery in place.
I tried to dig the trenches for the sewer, water and electrical conduits, but the frost was just too thick for my little backhoe. Denny Weaver brought his big backhoe up and did the job in no time. Once all that is hooked up I will begin building the bathroom. Wow! Heat, lights and running water - not too shabby. The only thing missing is the stereo.

Putting a lid on it...

2006-12-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

We finally got lucky with the weather. The sun came out, temps rose above freezing, and we were able to finish putting the roof on the shop. We are grateful to our neighbors, Denny, Dave, Suzanne, Shannon and Pat for their assistance. With the exception of fitting the trim corners, we are finished with the roof. Now I can concentrate on wiring the shop and installing the bathroom. It will be nice to take a few days off and let my sore muscles recover.

Raising the roof...

2006-11-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

We have finally begun installing the roof panels. So far this the most challenging phase of the construction. We are now in the winter weather cycle, where waves of moisture are constantly coming from the Pacific across Oregon and Washington. The mornings will be wet, and the afternoons may be sunny and dry. This makes scheduling a work crew just about impossible, so Susan and I will have to figure out how to move the 6' x 40' insulation rolls and the 3' x 21' steel panels up to the roof by ourselves. When the roof is the least bit damp, it becomes very slippery, and can't be walked on. I found this out the other evening when I was installing the ridge cap. The sun went down, and moisture immediately formed on the roof panels, making it nearly impossible to get any traction. I was quite happy to get back into the lift and get back to solid ground. Unless we can get a string of dry days, this part of the construction could take a while.

Another milestone...

2006-11-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

We finally got the last wall panel installed today. The weather was sunny and mild, so we took full advantage of it. I also graded around the east and north sides of the shop and got rid if a lot of the standing water from the recent rains. I then laid down a layer of gravel, which I hope will improve the muddy conditions. Another couple of sunny days without rain wouldn't hurt, either.
The inside of the shop is looking really good. As we progress with the construction, we have fewer and fewer parts and pieces stacked on the floor. The only materials remaining are the rolls of insulation for the roof, the roof panels and the ridge cap. We are excited about starting on the roof, and are hopeful that we will have good weather for the next several days.

Never a dull moment...

2006-11-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

When we got up this morning at 6:00AM, the moon was illuminating the landscape and the stars were twinkling in the heavens. We were looking forward to a productive day, thinking that we would be able to finish the remaining end wall and get ready to start installing the roof. Old man winter had other plans for us. By the time we arrived at the shop, the skies had clouded over and the snow began to fall. Fortunately, it didn't last too long, so we still thought we had a shot at getting the end wall covered. We were wrong.
Since the weather was supposed to be good, the concrete folks decided to schedule the pouring of the basement walls of the house. The road going up to the house looked pretty good yesterday, but I had a couple of loads of gravel delivered just in case. The combination of the unexpected snow and the weight of six loaded concrete trucks soon turned the road into a slippery mess. I spent the entire morning spreading gravel on the hill, which allowed the trucks to get up to the house site. The basement walls are now poured and, aside from removing the forms, there will be no more work on the house until spring.
The weather cleared up a bit, allowing Susan and me to get half of the south wall covered. I had to spread another load of gravel around the shop, which also had become a sea of mud. We will install the remaining panels as soon as the weather permits, then begin on the roof. It's exciting to see the shop finally taking shape.

Slowly but surely...

2006-11-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

Work has been progressing on building the walls for the shop. With a little help from our friends, we managed to get one side wall and one end wall done. Then Susan and I did the second side wall by ourselves in only two and a half days. We have been dodging rainstorms for the past week, which has slowed our progress considerably. The area around the building has become muddy, necessitating the placement of additional gravel around the shop. We hope to have the final end wall done in the next two days. The 10x12 garage doors are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Having dealt with sprung garage doors before, I'm letting the door guys install these babies.

Ready for the walls & roof...

2006-10-25T18:09:00.000-06:00

After spending the last three or four days installing bracing and backing plates for the paneling, the shop is ready for the installation of the insulation and the wall and roof panels. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for the next few days. Today it was cloudy, cold and windy. If there is a significant breeze tomorrow, it will make installation of the 3' x 12' steel panels difficult, if not impossible.
On a brighter note, I am happy to have the door and the windows installed. I feel better knowing that that I can lock the place up at night.

Showing good form...

2006-10-18T22:46:00.000-06:00

Susan and I finally got the last purlins bolted in place. We can now begin preparing to install the insulation and steel sheeting that will make up the walls and roof. Tomorrow we will visit the R&M Steel factory, to discuss the next steps in the shop construction with our contact there. They have been most helpful, and I would not hesitate to recommend them. You can visit their website at http://www.rmsteel.com/
I must say that I am looking forward to a day that I won't be running up and down the portable stairs and luggung steel beams around the site.
Meanwhile, at the top of the hill, the concrete forms for the house foundation are almost all in place. The pour is scheduled for early next week, weather permitting.

With a little help from my friends...

2006-10-16T13:03:00.000-06:00

With the exception of a few purlins (the beams that support the roofing), all the steel framing has been erected, squared and plumbed. Many thanks to my good friend of over forty-seven years, John Eells, who took a week of his time to come to Idaho and help me, and to my son-in-law, Sgt. Benny Guzman, USMC, who took some leave time to give me a hand. We worked quite well together, and got a lot accomplished. Thank you John! Thank you Benny! There is still a lot to do, and I will be working on it non-stop until I complete it. There aren't that many good days left before the winter weather sets in.
While I am rushing to finish the shop, the forms for the basement walls of the house are being set up. The foundation walls are scheduled to be poured early next week.

Almost there...

2006-10-13T20:56:00.000-06:00

Did I say I thought we'd have the framework done in two more days? Dream on. That was six days ago, and we're still not finished. Broken chains (2) on the boom truck, several small but very necessary parts left out of the original delivery necessitating a 140 mile round trip to the factory, delivery of all the insulation for the shop, and a trip to a neighbor's ranch to pick up some scaffolding have all contributed to the delay. Today we got the south end wall up after several trial and error attempts. Seems that the instructions are not as clear as we would like to have them. We now, however, have a pattern we can use for the north end wall, and are confident that we can get it all put together tomorrow. We'll see.

Getting it together...

2006-10-09T21:22:00.000-06:00

We have wasted no time in putting the shop together. A long time friend has come up from northern California to help us erect the building. One of my neighbors has loaned me a boom truck to lift the steel beams and columns. That has really made things easy. At the rate we are going, we hope to have the entire framework finished in two more days. Then we will install the siding, roof, insulation, doors and windows. Once that is done, I will have to wire the building, build the bathroom, and install the woodstove. I am hoping the entire job will be completed by the end of the month. So far the weather has been cooperating. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will not have any bad weather before I can get the building enclosed.

The shop arrives...

2006-10-02T23:10:00.000-06:00

One of my concerns about our driveway is an uphill turn I call "the hairpin". I am able to tow my trailers up it with ease, but didn't know if a full sized semi could make the turn. I had been assured by Harvey, the road builder, that it would be "no problem". I was glad that he was here this morning when the truck got stuck trying to make the turn. With the help of my tractor, we were able to get it unstuck and up to the shop site. Needless to say, Harvey will be doing some more work on that corner.
The shop components were unloaded and stacked near the shop pad using a forklift borrowed from a neighboring rancher. Now comes the hard work that we have been anticipating for so long. Our plan is to have the shop erected and in use before the first snowfall. We have decided to pour the foundation walls for the house, then wait until spring to pour the basement floor.

While we were working, our neighbor, Dawn, bagged this bear on our property. It weighed in at around 225 pounds. There are many bears in the area this year, and this is considered a medium sized one. I am told that bear meat is excellent, and I'm about to find out.

It's been a busy weekend...

2006-09-26T23:20:00.000-06:00

Whew! There was a lot going on this weekend.
I had the honor and privilege of hosting two active duty Marines for some well deserved rest & relaxation. They had never been turkey hunting, and were delighted when they each bagged a gobbler on their first day. They then made the 70 mile round trip to Emmett to purchase two additional turkey tags, and promptly filled them the next day. They thanked me profusely for my hospitality, and I thanked them for their service to our country. At the same time, one of my neighbor's daughters and her husband treed a bear on the property. It was not a large bear, so they did not shoot it.
The weather finally broke, and Saturday morning before sunrise we were able to pour the floor of the shop. It took most of the day to pour, finish and cut the slab. Now all we need is for R&M Steel to deliver the shop. At the same time, the driveway was getting covered with gravel all the way to the house site. While all this was going on, Susan and I were backfilling and compacting the footings for the house.
I need a rest.

Murphy is alive and well in Ola...

2006-09-16T07:54:00.000-06:00

Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

It hasn't rained in Ola since June.
Today was the day the concrete was scheduled to be poured for the shop.
It's raining.
Figures.

A busy day...

2006-09-13T17:26:00.000-06:00

The concrete trucks arrived before sunup this morning to pour the footings for the house. Because of the positioning of the house on the hillside, a concrete pump truck was used to deliver the concrete to the forms. The operator controlled the boom and the pump by means of a control box with two joysticks and a row of switches suspended from a strap around his neck. I have pieced together several photos to illustrate the size and reach of the pump truck. Remember that you can click on the photos for a larger view.
While the crew was pouring the footings for the house, I continued to work on backfilling and compacting the shop pad. Tomorrow I will install the plumbing for the water supply and the drains, and level the pad to a uniform depth of four inches below the top of the stem walls.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Harvey Church's truck laying gravel down on the driveway. This stabilizes the larger base rock, making it much easier for the heavy trucks to traverse the road.

Fill 'er up...

2006-09-11T21:18:00.000-06:00

We are almost back to where we were over a month ago. The stem walls have now been poured and the forms removed. We are in the process of backfilling the trenches that were dug for the footings and walls. It is critical that the backfill dirt be tightly compacted to avoid settling after the concrete floor and entrance ramps have been poured. Susan can be seen running the gas powered "ground pounder" compactor. It is a slow, noisy, dusty, arduous job, but she makes it look easy. How many wives that you know would be willing to work this hard on a construction site? I am truly a lucky, lucky man!

Due to uncertain weather forcasts for later this week, the shop floor is now scheduled to be poured early next week. That will give me plenty of time to level and recompact the gravel base and get my under slab plumbing installed and inspected.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

2006-09-04T15:53:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the efforts of over 450 firefighters from as far away as Canada and New Mexico, the Ola Complex fires have been put out, and things have pretty much returned to normal.
Susan and I completed the three wire fence on the eastern side of the property, and progress has been made on the shop construction. The footing for the stem walls has been poured, and the forms for the stem walls are in place. The walls are scheduled to be poured tomorrow. They will then have to set for a few days before we can backfill and compact the dirt in preparation for the floor to be poured. We anticipate that the dirtwork will be finished by the end of the week, and that the floor will be poured either this weekend or early next week. In anticipation of this, I called to have the shop components delivered on the 15th. They informed me that unless someone else canceled, they were about four weeks out for deliveries.
Either date will work, because we will be working on getting the footings and foundation for the house poured and waterproofed, French drains installed, then backfilled and compacted. Whatever happens, there will be plenty to keep us busy.

All fired up...

2006-08-18T20:07:00.000-06:00

We interrupt this blog for an important message - The world is on fire!!

A week ago Thursday a lightning storm came over the butte from the west. As soon as I heard the thunder, I began putting on my wildland fire suit. Before I could finish lacing up my boots, Susan spotted a fire high up on the butte about 1 1/2 miles away.. She took a picture of it from our driveway when it was less than 15 minutes old. You can see by the size of it that it was spreading very quickly. Ola is a very small community. We have five fire vehicles, all at least 25 years old. Every able-bodied man is a member of the volunteer fire department, and everybody turned out to fight this blaze. We fought it night and day for three days before the forest service took over. The photos above show some of the fire, but can in no way adequately communicate the scope of it

After seven days, the Cherry fire, as it was named was finally contained, but not before it had consumed 58,555 acres. To better give you an idea if the population density in this part of Idaho, not one structure of any kind was lost.

The fire is now out, and things in the valley are slowly returning to normal. We are fortunate that our land was spared. Susan and I went back to work rebuilding the barbed wire fence that separates us from the Boise National Forest. The concrete work for the shop and house has been delayed by the fire. Hopefully we'll be pouring concrete next week.

Life's a ditch...

2006-08-03T22:00:00.000-06:00

One step forward, two steps back. Today was one of those days. After we spent several days prepping the pad for the shop, it was determined that due to soil instability around the edges, it would be better to do a two stage pour instead of a monolithic pour. This requires a ditch for footings all the way around the pad. That adds up to a little more than 200 feet of ditch, and a lot of wasted time and effort. Something tells me that this won't be the last setback we'll see on this project.

Let's roll...

2006-08-03T16:08:00.000-06:00

After several days of filling, leveling, and rolling, the shop pad is nearing completion. We are planning to do a monolithic pour, which means that the floor and the supporting foundation, or stem walls as they are called, will be poured in a single pour rather that pouring the foundation first and then the floor in two separate pours. The critical part of a monolithic pour is getting good compaction of the pad around the edges. This is questionable with this pad due to the large amount of fill needed to level the pad. Susan is enjoying learning to operate the various equipment used in the construction process. Here she is using a large roller, and a smaller compactor called a jumping jack, or ground pounder. Another 6:30AM start to avoid the 100+ degree midday heat. We made it to 1:30pm today. We will often return in the evening for a couple of hours and work until dark. Needless to say, we're ready for an early bedtime after our day's work.

Actual construction begins at last...

2006-07-14T22:32:00.000-06:00

Today's workday began at 5:30AM, when Susan and I helped our grazing lessee move his cattle off our property. I have enjoyed learning about cattle this year, and look forward to having them back next spring. Note in the first photo that the sun is shining on the west side of the valley, but has not yet reached where we are.

After we drove the cattle down to Ola, Susan and I returned to continue to rebuild the fence that separates us from the Boise National Forest to the east. After years of neglect, the fence is in terrible repair and we are essentially rebuilding the entire 1/4 mile boundary, installing all new posts and three strands of barbed wire with two stays between each post. This in and of itself is hard work, but add to that the fact that the hills are exceptionally steep and overgrown with brush and deadfall, and the task becomes exceedingly difficult. We begin before sunrise to avoid the high heat of the day, and usually have to quit by 1:00PM, when temperatures near the 100 degree mark.

The concrete truck arrived at 9:00AM to pour the footings for the shop. This is a banner day in our project, in that it is the first day that any actual construction took place. Everything we have done up to this point has been site preparation. The concrete will set up over the weekend, and on Monday I will begin to backfill the holes and prepare the site for the monolithic pour of the stem walls and floor.

The party's over. From this point on, things are going to get very, very busy.

Getting underway...

2006-07-12T17:47:00.000-06:00

Like a great ship preparing to leave the pier, our project is finally beginning to slowly move. The dirtwork has been done for both the house and the shop. The forms for the concrete footings for the steel shop building are now in place, and the initial concrete pour is scheduled for this Friday. This is a critical stage, since the bolts that anchor the steel frame of the shop will be placed, and there is literally no margin for error. I am fortunate to have an excellent concrete contractor who is very meticulous. Once the footings are poured and set, I will level and prepare the pad for a monolithic pour of the rest of the foundation and the shop floor. The prep work will include the placement of floor drains and plumbing and electrical conduit.
We also had the electric company install a meter and connect the power. This week I will have the well pump programmed, giving us both water and electricity at the jobsite. The porta potty will be delivered next week, making the boys at OSHA happy.

We are excited to finally see some tangible progress being made.

Launching pad...

2006-06-14T09:21:00.001-06:00

The ground has finally dried out enough for Harvey to get his D8 CAT back up the hill to carve out the site for the house. The next step is to have the forms for the foundation set and the concrete poured.

The day after this picture was taken, a series of storms passed through, dumping two solid days of rain on us. I am beginning to wonder if we're ever going to get started!

Spring is bustin' out all over...

2006-05-24T13:52:00.000-06:00

Spring is a wonderful time of year here in Ola. The pastures are full of calves and colts, the robin in our front yard is raising three babies, and wildlife is everywhere - sometimes where it isn't welcomed. I walked out of my office and into the garage. This rattlesnake was on my garage floor about three feet from me. I'm going to think twice about casually walking into the garage in my bare feet from now on. So far we have seen quite a variety of wildlife on the property: Deer, elk, weasels, rockchucks, ground squirrels, quail, Hungarian partridge, pheasants, several varieties of snakes, lizards, turkeys, rabbits, coyotes,lots of mice, eagles and hawks. Our neighbors in High Valley had to have the Dept. of Fish & Game trap a marauding black bear last night that was killing their livestock.We have seen tracks of wolves and cougars as well.

This is the calm before the storm. If all goes according to plan (when was the last time that happened?), we will begin building the shop next month. Once that begins, it will be long days and lots of hard work.

Good neighbors make good fences...

2006-04-21T10:49:00.000-06:00

I'm back online at last! My satellite internet setup suffered catastrophic failure, and it took two months and a call to the president of DirecWay (now Hughes Network) to get it repaired. Fortunately, the ground has been too wet to begin building, so I have been building fences for the past month.
Pictured is my good neighbor, Pat Sweeney, supervising me while I drill a post hole in a granite rock. Pat has been a professional fence builder most of his life. It is amazing to watch him install a mile of fenceposts with laser like accuracy using nothing more than his keen eye and a level to plumb the posts. The terrain was so steep at this location that we had to use one of Pat's pack mules to haul the generator, hammer drill, post driver and posts up and down the hills. The rain has finally stopped and the temperatures are beginning to hit the 60's during the afternoons. The ground is beginning to dry up a bit, and the countryside is beginning to turn green. Hopefully, if the good weather holds, we will be able to begin our concrete work by mid June.

Grandma, what big feet you have...

2006-03-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

Now that snow season is quietly giving way to mud season, the pastures are beginning to sprout with the first tender shoots of grass. This is not lost on the deer and elk, which are beginning to reappear in increasing numbers. Unfortunately, due to the efforts of some misguided tree huggers, none of whom has to deal with them, Idaho now has a significant population of non-native Canadian wolves. These wolves are more aggressive than the native species, and have killed significant numbers of elk in the state. It has become such a problem here that the same idiots who brought them here are now having to kill them off. How's that for intelligent use of your tax dollars? If you don't think I'm being fair in my approach to the issue, perhaps we can invite the tree huggers to drop off a dozen or so of these killing machines in your neighborhood. We'll see how spiritual you feel then.
OK, rant off. Just be aware that it's a serious problem in cattle and sheep country, especially now during calving season.
The tracks pictured above were located in the pasture right next to where my shop will be built. This is less than 200 yards from the house site. This is one big wolf. I hope I will be able to see it one of these days.
There is still an enormous amount of water coming up out of the ground, so we won't be doing any dirt work for a while. Tomorrow I will begin building a one-mile barbed wire fence along my southern property line, so I will be able to graze cattle this spring. The terrain varies from almost vertical to practically flat, so it will be quite a challenge.

A horse of a different color...

2006-02-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

While Old Man Winter has temporarily halted our progress on the ranch, Mother Nature has been busy elsewhere in Ola. One of our neighbors raises high-end quarter horses, and called me to come help with the delivery of a foal. By the time I got there the newborn colt, less than an hour old, was still trying to locate the, ah, cafeteria, so to speak. Like all newborns, a nap was in order after he finally finished his meal. To learn more about the horse ranch, go to http://www.flybynightranch.com.
Meanwhile, back at our ranch -
Susan and I have been busy lining up suppliers and subcontractors in anticipation of beginning construction as soon as the snow melts and the mud dries enough to be passable. We realize that spring will be here before we know it, and we want to have all our ducks in a row before then.

Ever get that sinking feeling?...

2006-01-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

Here in Ola, there are three seasons: Dust, Snow, and Mud. Ocassionally two of the seasons occur simultaneously, as happened this week. For the past two weeks, it has either rained or snowed every day. The ground is completely saturated, and there is an enormous amount of surface water runoff. There have been several mudslides blocking the Sweet-Ola highway, and High Valley Road has had a couple of washouts. Yesterday was the first time we had seen the sun in a long, long time, so I thought it would be a great idea to drive up to the property and do a little target shooting. The ground was still completely frozen - or so I thought. It took a few hours of digging, jacking, propping, and winching to get back on the rocky driveway. My Ola education continues...

Getting ready to hibernate...

2005-11-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

After enjoying unseasonably mild and dry weather right up through Thanksgiving, the winter season has finally arrived. The reprieve from winter gave us time to get all the big things done: Well dug, power brought in, driveway cut in and base rock put down, and power and water lines buried from the base of the hill to the homesite. When spring arrives, we'll be ready to get right down to the task of building the house and the shop.
I have been busy making improvements to our little foreclosure house, too. After hearing tales of how the crawl space is prone to flooding in the spring, I dug a 3-foot deep, 150-foot long french drain between the hillside and the house. I also piped the downspouts from the roof into the drain. After laying a 4" perforated pipe in the bottom of the ditch, I backfilled the ditch with 2 1/2 feet of gravel. That should do the trick. The little house is snug and cozy, and we are enjoying feeding our adopted covey of quail. We are looking forward to the beauty that winter brings.

Finally done...

2005-11-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

The electrician ran wires to the pumphouse, the pump guy installed the pump controls and the pressure tank, and I finally finished backfilling all the open trenches. Now all we need is for Idaho Power to come out and connect the meter to the transformer. Once we have power, I'll install a baseboard heater and a light in the pumphouse. Harvey should have the road completely graded and ready for gravel by the end of next week. Aside from a few small chores, that will pretty much wrap up the activity at the ranch for the winter. After we move all our stored stuff out of the warehouse in Boise and into a storage facility closer to Ola, we'll begin concentrating on the details of outfitting the new house.

Winter is on the way...

2005-11-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

As Old Man Winter extends his icy fingers over the butte, I am scrambling to get all the dirt work done before the snow flies. I finished running the water and power lines at the forclosure house from the new well to the pumphouse and backfilled the trenches. The water lines are four feet below the surface to protect them from freezing. On the ranch property, I still have several hundred feet of trench to bed with sand, then backfill. Two days of rain have made the fields very slippery, even for my tractor. Six or seven hours on that tractor with the cold, wet wind blowing isn't as much fun as you first might imagine. The electrician will be out on Monday to set the meter and wire up the well.

Farewell, well driller...

2005-10-26T19:26:00.000-06:00

The picture shows the second well we drilled on the ranch. Remember those milsurp communications shelters I bought last spring? You can see that one of them is now set into the hillside just above the wellhead, and will serve as the pumphouse. When the trenches are filled, I will backfill dirt around the back and sides of the pumphouse, thereby increasing its insulation, and reducing its visibility. All the water pipe and electrical conduit is now laid in the trenches. If you look carefully, you'll see an arm and a leg in there as well. I will now spend the next several days putting sand in the bottom of the trench to cushion and support the water line, then backfill the trench.
We are finally finished drilling wells. Jim finished drilling the well at the High Valley Road house, bring in 10 GPM at 485 feet. It was an expense we would have preferred not to incur, but it will make selling the place a whole lot easier. Looks like I'm going to have to hold a few bake sales this winter.
Because it is so late in the season, we have decided to postpone pouring the concrete for the house and the shop until springtime. The steel company will store the components for the shop for the winter, and we weren't going to start on the house until then anyway.

Power to the people...

2005-10-19T20:11:00.000-06:00

The Idaho Power crew arrived at 8 o'clock this morning to run power from the adjoining property. By 6:00pm they had installed nine power poles, two transformers, 810' of conduit, and pulled all the wire necessary to energize the installation. Now that's what I call a good day's work! They then cut the power until my electrician can install the temporary meter pole, and the water lines and power lines for the pump system are laid in the trench. Once the trench is backfilled, Idaho Power will energize the lines again.
Denny Weaver is shown digging another 310' trench to connect the powerline trench to the well, which can be seen in the background to the right of his backhoe. Once that is done, we will run the 2" water lines and the electrical lines from the well to the shop site and to the home site, and backfill the trench.

Can you dig it?...

2005-10-18T11:51:00.000-06:00

The pace is really picking up. Jim has moved his well drilling rig down to the High Valley Road house, and is preparing to drill a new well there. The old well is so poor that the pump guy can't even get a flow reading from it. Hopefully Jim will have the same success he enjoyed on the ranch property. In the meantime, My friend Denny Weaver is finishing up a 4' deep, 850' long trench for the power and water lines to the house. I started digging with the backhoe attachment for my Kioti tractor, but hit decomposed granite, and had to go with the heavier, full sized backhoe. Denny will also dig a trench from the well to the existing trench and connect at the base of the hill, a distance of another 300' or so.
Idaho Power is scheduled to bring in the power from the adjoining parcel tomorrow, planting five power poles and setting two transformers. By Friday we should have power to the building site.

All's well that ends well...

2005-10-15T20:16:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of Sherri, Jim and their daughter, Pearl. The first well Jim drilled for us was one problem after another. After drilling 420 feet, the hole collapsed, trapping his drill pipe in the hole. It took three days of constant and determined effort to retrieve the pipe. The hole was then lined with casing, and the drilling resumed, only to have similar problems further down the hole. Reluctantly, we had to stop drilling, and, after two weeks of work, ended up with a 5 gallons per minute well - mediocre at best.
Susan and I agreed that 5gpm would not meet our water needs, so we decided to drill another well. This time we had three different people witch for water, and they all picked the same spot. Jim drilled to 210 feet in three days, and brought in a 60+ gpm well. That, my friends, is a huge well for this part of the country. My scepticism about water witching is fading rapidly.
Jim has now moved his rig down to the forclosure house we just moved into, and will begin drilling a new well there. Needless to say, we will have the same folks witch this well, too.

More traffic congestion...

2005-10-14T15:07:00.000-06:00

Chilly nights and shorter days mean that old man winter is on his way. Usually the first snow comes right around Halloween. Winter really sets in about mid-November.
Time to move the livestock down from their summer range in the high country to the winter range in the valley. This band of several hundred sheep was being moved along the Sweet - Ola Highway. Hundreds of head of cattle have come down High Valley Road past our house headed for winter pasture.

More news on the well and the driveway in the next post.

You don't miss your water...

2005-10-02T19:43:00.000-06:00

...'till the well runs dry. This old blues song has a lot of truth in it. If you don't think so, try shutting off your water for two days.
This week is water problem week in Ola. We are in the process of moving into the forclosure house we bought on High Valley Road. We had heard that the well might be a problem, so we were delighted when we tested it and were able to draw over 800 gallons before the pump shut off. Just to be sure, we tested it again with similar results. Imagine our surprise when our neighbor from up the hill came down to tell us that since we moved in, he had been running out of water!
We found out that the previous owner of his home built our home for his mom. When his mom's well didn't come in very strong, he simply connected his mom's house to his well.
The solution was simple - all I had to do was dig a four foot deep trench to locate the water line, then excavate the connection and reconnect the house to our well. We now have water again. That backhoe attachment I bought for the tractor is really paying off!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
The driller was down to 400' when the hole collapsed, locking his drill pipe string in the hole. It took him three days to work the pipe out of the hole. Now he'll have to case the entire hole to prevent further collapses. He's now back in business, and is hopeful that a good well is not too far off.

Well, Well...

2005-09-23T21:46:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the well driller arrived with his rig. His wife is pictured "witching" for water. She does this by holding two steel rods which have been bent at a right angle. She walks with the rods pointing out straight in front of her, and when she is above a likely spot for water, the rods mysteriously swing out to the sides. As unlikely as this may sound, it is a common practice in rural areas. Very few people are able to do this, and are in great demand. Jim, the driller, was down to 125 feet when we left him this afternoon. Other wells in the area average 300 to 700 feet. Think shallow!

Movin' on up...

2005-09-22T20:13:00.000-06:00

Sometimes things happen that really make you wonder. Here we are, living in a motel apartment in Boise, knowing that we weren't going to get the house built before the winter, and wondering just what we were going to do. Then out of the blue, this manufactured doublewide right at the end of Timber Flat Road showed up in a forclosure auction. We had heard that there were other folks in Ola interested in the property, so went to the auction ready to rumble. To our surprise, we were the only bidders, and picked it up for a fraction of it's real worth. Now we have a base of operations that is 1.4 miles from our property, and we can finally get out of Boise. We are hoping to have the deed recorded, the utilities turned on, and the carpet replaced by next week, so we can move in. It's really nice to hit a home run once in a while.

Oops...

2005-09-21T19:31:00.000-06:00

This dump truck was backing up the driveway in order to dump its load of base rock when the driver got a bit too close to the shoulder. Loaded, this truck tops 80,000 lb. Although it may not look it, the truck is very close to tipping over. I hooked some chains to the front tow hooks and attempted to help the driver pull out of the ditch with my tractor. As you can see in the foreground, all I managed to do was dig four divots in the road with my spinning tires. Harvey arrived with his giant loader and managed to extricate the truck from the ditch without mishap.

Let's Rock...

2005-09-19T18:08:00.000-06:00

Harvey has begun to dump crushed rock for the base layer of the driveway. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you'll see that there are thirty-two loads of rock, and he hasn't even gotten off the hill yet. He estimates that we will need about two hundred more loads of base rock to reach Timber Flat Road. Without that much rock, the driveway would turn into a quagmire when the wet weather comes. After he grades it, he'll come back in with road mix - smaller gravel mixed with sand - to finish the driveway. The good news is that he is getting the rock from a quarry that is less than two miles away. Note that we moved the trailer to the top of the hill to avoid the dust that the rock trucks generate.

The driveway is taking shape...

2005-09-15T13:21:00.000-06:00

In this picture, Harvey is widening Timber Flat Road to make a turnaround for the county trucks. Our gate is at the end of the part of the road that the county will maintain year round. Kent and Alvin, the men who will be maintaining it, mentioned that they were having difficulty turning their trucks around, so I had Harvey cut out a nice big turnaround for them. Now they will be able to manuver their snowplows and sand trucks this winter. Within a week, they had graded and gravelled the road all the way to our gate. Susan always has a box of cookies ready for them when we see them working on the road. Never underestimate the power of a cookie.
Harvey has the driveway completely cut and graded, and will begin laying the base rock this weekend.

Welcome to Jellystone Park...

2005-09-03T22:44:00.000-06:00

We found these bear tracks on our newly graded driveway about 50 feet from our little trailer. My footprint to the right will give them some scale. We had been told by the local residents that there were bears in the area, but this is the first positive sign that we have seen. The list of critters keeps on growing. So far we have seen - or seen positive signs of - deer, elk, bear, coyote, turkey, quail, chukkar, partridge, dove, rockchucks, and a variety of snakes and lizards. We have been told that we have mountain lions as well, but they are elusive and rarely seen.

Another productive day...

2005-09-01T23:29:00.000-06:00

Today Susan and I hiked around the western perimeter of the ranch, painting fenceposts orange to signify no hunting. This afternoon, Harvey Church and I laid out the route for the driveway, just over 7/10 of a mile long. Harvey then went to work with his old Caterpillar D7, and made it look easy. That machine can really move some dirt! He'll be back tomorrow to do some more, and hopes to be finished cutting in the driveway on Monday. He'll then begin to level the homesite in preparation for pouring the footings and slab.

We finally have an address!

2005-08-30T22:24:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we drove to Emmett, the county seat for Gem County, to pick up our building permit. We were issued an address, which I am installing on our gatepost. Now the construction phase can begin in earnest. You may notice that the top of the post is painted orange. This is to designate that the property behind the fence is private land and is posted for no hunting or trespassing. Archery deer season opened today, and various deer, elk, and mountain lion seasons will run well into November. I will also have signs posted as soon as I can get them back from the printer. The law requires that signs be posted or fenceposts be painted every 660 feet. In reality, it is necessary to post every 200 - 300 feet or so to achieve the desired visibility. With 3 1/4 miles of perimeter, plus both sides of a 3/4 mile road, we'll be busy for a while getting it done.
The weather is beginning to cool, and working outside is becoming a lot more pleasant.

Carrying coals to Newcastle...

2005-08-24T09:52:00.000-06:00

These are sandstone blocks from the foundation of a 100 year old Victorian house in Boise. Susan thought they might be nice for landscaping accents. Our area of Gem County is full of rocks, but no sandstone. Hey - no problem! We can just load them on the trailer and haul them up to Ola. Only three tons. Piece of cake!
I'm encouraging Susan to drop the word "just" from her vocabulary. Oh, well. I have learned to trust Susan's judgement when it comes to design and aesthetic matters.
Things are progressing nicely. Much to our surprise, Gem County has graded Timber Flat Road, and is in the process of laying gravel the entire 1.4 miles to our gate. This means we will actually be able to access the property when it gets wet and snowy.
The driveway is being improved, the pad for the shop has been leveled, and we have gone over our plans with our builder. It looks like we will be able to have the house built before the first snow flies after all.

From dusk to dawn...

2005-08-17T22:58:00.000-06:00

As one day ends and another begins, we get a taste of what our new life will be like. A cool mountain breeze blows through our little trailer, and we sleep like logs. Yesterday we met with a steel building manufacturer and ordered our shop building. We should have the plans in a couple of weeks so we can begin placing the concrete footings and pouring the slab. We also met with the Gem County health inspector to conduct soil percolation tests for the septic systems. There will be one for the house, and another for the shop. I topped the day off with a little target practice - another benefit of country living.
Today began with a 35 mile trip to Emmett, ID to pick up our septic system permits, and apply for our building permits for the shop and the house. Upon our return, we met with the surveyor and our neighbor to the south to mark our mutual property line. Later in the day we met with the representative from Idaho Power to establish the route for the power lines from our neighbor's property to the shop and the house. It was a full day, and we felt it was a productive one.

Before and After...

2005-08-16T21:02:00.000-06:00

Here's what vision, determination, and a lot of hard work will do. Susan provided the ideas and a whole lot of the hard work. I took care of some of the big stuff. The result - one neat-o little camper.

Our not-so-new camper trailer...

2005-08-16T20:25:00.000-06:00

I have to give Susan credit... she saw a silk purse where I saw a sow's ear. This is our $200 1954 West Coast trailer by Westfield Mfg. of Los Angeles, CA. I said no way, and she bought it anyway. Well, after about three weeks of constant work, the interior is completely refurbished and decorated. It's great! It's perfect for staying overnight at the ranch, so we don't have to make that 120 mile round trip every day. I must admit, I really enjoyed working on it, and thanks to Susan's decorating talent it's really quite comfortable.
Now, where did I put that polishing compound?