Washington New Old House

Repaint, Rebuild, Relax

2012-01-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Ed wants the man-cave to look..well, like a cave...or a mine shaft. He's been working for three weeks on faux painting the walls...all of them... to look like rock. Apparently few people have done this, because it's next to impossible to find any pictures on the 'net. So he's been winging it. He used a tan base coat and began sponging on progressively darker colors mixed with glaze. It's a huge job and includes the ceiling.
The bad news is, after the terra cotta coat, the brown coat, and the black coat, it wasn't the look he was after. So, back to square one and try a different method. He put a coat of tan and glaze over everything to mute the other colors a bit, and we'll try ragging instead of sponging.

After having an unusually dry winter, the week after Christmas we had 14" of rain. This was not a good thing for our creek restoration project. Slow and steady wins the race. This was not slow or steady. The deluge (or weather event as the project manager calls it) overwhelmed one of the structures and tore a new hole in the creek bank. It In three days, it washed away a section about 40'x60' including all the burlap and planted willow sticks. It collapsed part of the support for one structure. Mother Nature has a mind of her own, and she holds very strong opinions.
Darin Houpt, Wahkiakum Water Conservation District, was quick to come out and evaluate the problem. He created a damage-control plan, and will coordinate further work in the spring.

Just before Christmas we ordered stainess steel counter tops for the craft room. This was one of the last big projects to be done inside the house. Thursday, Mark from S&R Sheet Metal came out and installed them. There was a little bit of trimming to do where the backsplash lip fit under the window sill.

After a dry fit of all the pieces, he put down liquid nails and troweled down. The sheet metal pieces were put into place and weighted down for the night.

Ed knew that the space between the door to the hallway and the edge of the cabinet was going to be close. But this is beyond close. I think I might be able to slide a piece of paper between the edge of the cabinet and the door, but I haven't had the courage to try it yet.

After the glue was dry we moved the weights off the countertops and began polishing. Now I know that the tops will get scratched and dinged. That's why I had stainless steel put in here. I can use it and abuse it with abandon. But somehow...when it's new...you just want it to be perfectly beautiful. Even just for a day. Ed and I spent several hours going over small (and some not so small) scratches in the surface. First we used an orbital sander with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Then we spritzed the surface and used the sand paper by hand on some deeper scratches. After that Ed went over the whole thing with a Scotch Brite pad. Our hands and shirts were black with what looked like graphite powder. I'll probably have to bleach my fingernails to get the black color out of the nail beds.

Later that day he installed the laundry sink and faucet. Oops..no ABS glue, so the drain will have to wait until next week.
Next to the sink I'll put in my Boraxo dispenser. Remember these? Every gas station bathroom along Route 66 had one. I found it in a junk shop and brought it home. There is nothing like Boraxo to clean hands covered in dirt, mud, grease or whatever trouble you can get into.

Last night it began snowing. Each year we get enough snow to enjoy, and not so much that it becomes a major chore. It usually lasts about a week. I have a pantry full of supplies and time on my hands. I think I'll make some oatmeal-chocolate chip-craisin cookies...or maybe molasses-cinnamon cookies. It's a good day to curl up by the fireplace and relax.

Work It!

2011-12-26T08:55:00.000-08:00

Now that the basement floor is waxed and burnished, we can start putting the gym together. We've had the mat flooring on site for some time, sitting in shipping boxes. I ordered gray and red. When I opened the boxes, I saw that the red was much more orange than the red paint on the wall. Oh well.
We ordered the floor mats on-line from American Floor Mats. They were shipped very promptly. The mats are 2'x2'x5/8". They are textured on the upside, smooth on the floor side, and they are a dream to install.

In 45 minutes we had the floor together. Each square has removable edge pieces on two sides, so after it was all together I went around and alternated color strips for the edge. We also decided to make it just a bit bigger, so I ordered a few more squares. It will just be a matter of pulling off the edge strips and putting down the new squares.

Ed had the gym equipment down in the barn, which was not a fun place to work out. Freezing cold in the winter (literally) and hot in the summer, it was also a hike in the rain, which around her is most of the year.
He had to disassemble it, load the pieces into the Gator, haul it up to the basement, and put it back together. This meant not losing any parts or pulleys and not forgetting where anything went. It's old and creaky, but then, so are we. For $60.00 at a garage sale, it will do until Ed decides to upgrade.

I ordered an inversion table and roman chair (back extensions) on line, so he also had to assemble those. We already had the recumbent bicycle. We still need a good set of dumbbells, a bench press, and one or two other items, but for now, this is enough to keep us tired.

And this is why we work out. I love to cook, and I love to eat. It would take no time at all for me to have to step sideways to get through the door. So, grumbling all the way, I manage to haul myself downstairs and climb onto the bike. There is plenty of room to do yoga, or heaven forbid, zumba. And in the basement, nobody can see.

Yuletide Is Upon Us

2011-12-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

Winter solstice will be this week, and while we've had a unusually dry and clear winter so far, the days are very short. We are in a valley, and even though we are surrounded by hills rather than mountains, it definitely cuts down on hours of sunlight. by the 21st, the sun won't clear the ridge until 9:20 in the morning. It will skirt the edge of the hills, and set by 4:15 in the afternoon. After that, the days just get longer.

I managed to finish the eagle transom for the front door this week. Hopefully Ed can get it installed this afternoon. I made sketches for the sidelights, but I'll need to order glass before I start those. I don't think I have enough matching glass to do both sidelights to match the transom. there isn't a supply store within a reasonable distance. Having glass shipped is always a risky proposition. Sometimes it gets here in one piece, other times...not so much.

Ed has been putting coats of wax on the basement floor. One coat of Butcher's Ironstone and six coats of Butcher's Amplify, and he'll call it good. Then he will use a burnisher (basically a floor buffer) to complete the last step. The wax is a sacrificial surface that protects the stain on the concrete. Since the basement won't get daily use (except to the gym), it should last a long time. It's been a long process to finish this floor but he's done a great job and it looks gorgeous.

Last week we had the back area graded. We wanted to get some protection down over the dirt before the rains returned. I took several bales of hay and spread them over the fresh dirt. Hopefully it will slow down the debridement by heavy rain, will compost in, and may just leave enough seed to start some grass. As an added bonus, it keeps a lot of the mud off Abby's feet.
It may actually rain next week.

Tis The Season

2011-12-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

We had two weeks of unseasonably warm and sunny weather, warm being a relative term. Ed has learned to schedule projects based on the weather-of-the-week.
We can't get the house finaled until the porch rails are complete (among other things). In order to preserve the view off the back porch, Ed plans to have a large staircase, spanning several of the back columns, come down to grade. In order to do that, he has to actually have grade, hence the project. Enter Sam Longtain, his equipment, and Digger, his dog.
Digger was a busy little guy, chasing the tractor, birds, anything that moved, and generally investigating absolutely everything, all while staying out of the way of the equipment.

The blocks are made by the local cement company. When trucks come back with a partial load, they pour these blocks that they sell for retaining walls. I have no idea how much they weigh but I'll bet if one landed on your foot, or in this case, hand, it would really really hurt. Ed's right hand is still swollen and sore from his injury two months ago. It really made me nervous to watch him position these blocks, which were swinging like a modern day mace. Happily, neither dog nor man were maimed or crushed.

The blocks are not what one would term "architecturally attractive", but after some creative landscaping, they will be acceptable. Not only does it create a landing for the stairs, but it makes the newly terraced lower area easier to mow with the rider mower.
After the blocks were installed, Ed hauled in many loads of fill dirt with the help of the Gator, to finish back-filling the blocks. Once the weather turned cold and drizzly again, he went back to shingling the back columns. He has one left to do on the back of the house. Of course, there are still the eight left on the garage, but that's another day.

I've been working sporadically on the stained glass piece for the front door transom. I bought a pre-cut beveled eagle cluster two years ago in anticipation of this piece. Unfortunately I used the given dimensions for the transom, which were for the entire transom, not the glass portion. That meant I had to nose the eagle down a bit to fit. It still works, but isn't quite as dramatic as I would have liked. I have most of the glass cut, and will start foiling this week.

I love Christmas. Finally, after two years, I have room to take out my Christmas stuff. I greeted each piece like a beloved friend as I gently unwrapped ornaments from their tissue blankets. I have one glass ornament that Mom gave me when I was first on my own. A hand-made ornament from a good friend, now passed on. A little red stocking ornament, knitted by Ed's Mom. Dressing up the tree is a bittersweet task, filled with warm and happy memories. Life, like winter, is fleeting. It should be lived with flushed cheeks, laughter, rewarding work and quiet rest.

So they all went on the tree, 50 year-old glass ornaments and new LED lights. It's the first Christmas tree in the new house, and that makes it special indeed. The cats, including the new one, haven't tried to climb it or knock it down....yet. This year I'll buy a few new ornaments. Someday, God willing, they'll be 50 years old and on someone else's tree.

What's Cooking? or One In The Oven

2011-11-29T11:58:00.000-08:00

Ed wanted to get the front columns shingled before family arrived on Thanksgiving. Neither rain, sleet, snow nor hail...well ok..rain and snow, but he did meet his goal. We're expecting good weather this week and Ed's hoping to get the back columns done too.

All the kids flew in Tuesday night for Thanksgiving. I was so happy to have them here. Dan and Ellen, Aimee and Elicia made for a house full.
Wednesday morning Ed and Dan started working on finishing the stairs by installing the banister and newel posts. I had to cringe because we had made sure the house was squeeky clean for the Big Weekend and then there were hoses and power tools, saws and tape everywhere. I should have known better. Soon enough, the whole project was complete, tools put away and floor vacuumed.

I was so worried that the banister and newel posts wouldn't look good. The maple didn't stain like I expected and I was afraid that it just wouldn't blend in. But the acacia floors have such a varied color pattern that one more color variation isn't a problem. There is still a little trim work to be done, but I couldn't be happier with how the stairs turned out.

Thanksgiving Day, Ellen's friend Tiffany and her friend Josh drove down from Portland to celebrate with us. It was everything Thanksgiving should be ...good food, family, friends, warm house..so many things to be thankful for.

Sister Brigit lived up to her name and was the center of hearth and harvest. Ham in one oven, sweet potatoes and rolls in the other. The cooktop was in full swing, and the turkey was out on the BBQ.
As we sat down for dinner Ellen announced that Elicia had a school project where every person should say what they were thankful for. I should have known something was up. We went around the table with the usual pronouncements... family, good friends, being together. Finally it was Ellen's turn.
"I'm grateful for my husband Dan, for my family, and for the new little one that will be here in May."
Pandemonium at the table!
After much crying, hugging and kissing Thanksgiving dinner is under way. What a happy, happy day.
Sunday evening the kids flew home and life went back to it's quiet normal self. It's always hard to send them home, but this time more than most.

Monday morning, just when I needed it, my new washer and dryer were delivered. There was even enough room for the delivery guy to get back behind and hook it up. It's so nice not to have to go outside then to the garage to do the laundry.

Today I'm hoping to get started on the stained glass piece for the front door transom. I've had it set up and ready to start for several weeks. Now I finally have the time to begin.

Who's Counting?

2011-11-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

Putting the finishing wax coats on the basement floor is on hold. The wax that was recommended to us has become an elusive item. We might be able to get it this next week...or not. Ed was hoping to get the floor done before family arrived for Thanksgiving, but I don't have any hopes for that happening. We need to put down five coats, then burnish it.

Ed has shifted gears and began working on the front columns. We really wanted to have these rocked, but the cost was prohibitive. If Ed uses shingles, it will be about 10% of the cost of having rock installed. There are four columns in front of the house, four in front of the garage, and the same number at the back of the house. Like so many things, it starts one little shingle at a time.

I have had the tile for the kitchen and bathroom backsplashes for several weeks, but just stalled out on getting anything done. I finally stopped procrastinating and broke out the trowel. My favorite part about the backsplash tile for our bedroom is that they sit very tightly together and don't have to be grouted! Once I managed some forward motion, it took very little time to do. The floor tile in this bathroom is silver travertine, and I like the way the grays in the backsplash tie the countertop granite and the floor together.

Ed continued to work on the columns as weather permitted. The porch overhang gives him some cover, but if the wind is blowing and the rain is coming down hard, it's not worth the aggravation. He's finding he can get about a column per day completed.

I got the upstairs bathroom backsplash finished so quickly, I thought I'd do the kitchen while I had some forward movement going. It wasn't until I got the first section up that I realized the plan was for the kitchen backsplash to be two tiles high, not three. I had to quickly pry them off the wall. Did I know where the scraper was? No...but I was in the kitchen, and I did know where a spatula was. Hey...it worked.

Fortunately the mastic was easily wiped off the wall with a wet sponge and I started over. This time, two rows high and with a 1" pencil trim to top it off. The honey onyx is a good match for the stove, and is the same color as the yellow flecks in the countertop. I'll grout it next week.

Ed had one rain delay and one day lost to a trip into town, but he has finished the shingles on two of the four front columns. When they are done, he'll put a row of green trim at the top of the shingles, a capstone, and encase the upper part of the column in a wood sleeve painted white. Only six more columns in the front and eight in the back. If we're lucky we might actually get that many sunny days before spring.

The Acid Test

2011-11-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

We stained the concrete floor of the basement this week. This is not a project for the faint of heart. Or lungs. If someone has health issues...especially respiratory problems, this is not the DIY project for you. In fact, I'd recommend a week-long vacation someplace far far away.
We decided we would do the labor, but we hired a pro to be the head of the project and lead us through the process. You only get one shot with this stuff. Once it's down, it's permanent. Greg gave us a list of chores to have completed prior to staining day, and a list of items to have on hand.
Ed had the surface sufficiently sanded and vacuumed, and we taped protective paper along the painted walls. Greg put the acid stain in a plastic sprayer. As he sprayed, we scrubbed it in with plastic scrub brushes attached to pushbroom handles.

This stain is acid based. It uses muratic acid which reacts to the calcium and lime in the concrete to etch the color into the surface. This, like many chemical reactions, causes very nasty fumes to accumulate rather quickly. There are no windows in the basement, only a roll up door at the other end of the building. By the time we got finished spraying and scrubbing the gym area, we were coughing and sucking air. We took a break, located several box fans and shouldered on. Once you start, you can't stop until it's done.

By afternoon we had the whole basement (except the woodpile room) stained. The chemical process takes several hours, so we waited until the next morning to apply the neutralizing solution.
That was a good thing because it took that long to clear our lungs and start feeling normal. I was a little concerned about the neutralizing process because it requires a mixture of household ammonia and water, applied liberally, then mopped up, in several applications. Was this going to cause a repeat of yesterday's gasping and coughing? I was pleasantly surprised. It was a bit of an aerobic workout however. We mopped the whole thing with big heavy cotton string mops, over and over. After the last rinse, Ed had the room heaters, several fans, and two dehumidifiers running for several days to thoroughly dry the floor.
Yesterday, Greg returned to start sealing the finish. The sealer went into a new plastic garden sprayer,was misted on the floor, then mopped in with a new microfiber string mop. That way there aren't little pieces of cotton lint permanently left in the finish. Two coats of the first sealer, five coats of the second sealer..sprayed and mopped.
We've ordered the high-solids wax which finished the project. It should be here mid-week. That will be five more coats mopped in, then burnished for hardness. So far, we're really happy with the end result..and that we lived through the process.

Dereliction Of Duty or A Stain On My Record

2011-10-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

I failed in my duty to make an entry for two weeks. No Excuse. Well, yes... of course I have an excuse, just not a good reason. Still, the new stuff is to a minimum.
We have begun prepping the basement (AKA Mancave) to stain the concrete. The original concrete job was one of the few nightmares of this project. Three guys showed up. One was so hungover he couldn't function and wound up crawling back in his truck to sleep it off. The other two guys made a mess of the surface. Ed spent hours and hours trying to make the surface acceptable for the staining project. It doesn't have to be perfect. It is after all...a cave. So it went like this:
Sand, shop vac, sand, shop vac, sand, shop vac, sand, shopvac, sand, shopvac, sand,shopvac,sand,shopvac,sandshopvacsandshopvacsandshopvacsndshpvcsndshovc.
Like that. For hours. And days. Very boring work.

We also did a patch test in an area that will be covered by cabinets. This is an acid stain. After it is stained, we will neutralize the acid, mop it a gazillion times, put sealer over it, then give it a coat of wax. We went with a color that is more brown than terra cotta. Some were very orange, and one was green. Staining the floor will be Tuesday's project, so it should be done by next week.

We had some dear friends visit the first of the week. Ed worked very hard to get the bathroom mirrors installed before they got here, but we ran into a little glitch. The light fixtures are centered on the wall, but the darned sinks aren't. Do we center the mirror on the wall, or do we center the mirror to the sink? The mirrors are beautifully made, but Ed will probably re-make mirrors.

This time of year is definitely a time of change. The day can be warm, evenings are cool, the next day it may rain. Monday morning I drove into town for a few errands. As I drove east along the river, the clouds seem to kiss the edge. It was as if Narcissus had just discovered his own beauty, and couldn't help but to reach out to touch his own glorious reflection.

Later in the afternoon, as I was coming home, I was gifted with a completely different view. The big leaf maples were the color of amber, while smaller maples had touches of henna. Vine maples were a riot of hues, all against a varied backdrop of greens. It is a beautiful time of year and I enjoy it. Winter is just around the corner.

Sprain And Fall or Stop Stairing

2011-10-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know. You think I mistyped and it should be Spring And Fall. Nope. This week was injury week. This job has been remarkably injury free, and although the bruises we have are relatively harmless, they hurt like the dickens.
Monday Ed was driving the Gator up the tractor road and caught the wheel in a rut, which wrenched the steering wheel suddenly to the left. Unfortunately his thumb and forefinger were in the way, and he got a very nasty sprain to his right hand. It's been almost a week and it's still very swollen and sore.
Thursday I was coming down the wood apartment stairs. They were wet, with a bit of algae...a dangerous combination. My feet went one way and I went the other. Fortunately, I landed on my most padded part. I'll spare you the pictures, but the bruises are spectacular.
Needless to say, we've been taking it easy the rest of the week. We drove into town for supplies and a few appointments. The weather has cooperated with lovely days and cool nights, so we've taken several walks down by the creek. By yesterday we were back at the projects.

We did get several things checked off the "To Do" list. Ed adjusted the propane on the oven. We may have to send off the thermostat to be rebuilt, but at least it's usable. I ordered backsplash tile. We picked up the cement sander but haven't started with that yet because we stained and varnished the stair rail pieces yesterday.
For the record, I did not slop stain over these like a kindergartner with finger paint. I was surprised how unevenly the maple took the stain. And yes, I used prestain wood treatment. It's a good thing the acacia floors have such a varied color pattern. Maybe the stair rail pieces will blend in...sort of like camouflage. We'll give them a good sanding and another coat of varnish this afternoon.

Ed has also been working on frames for the bathroom mirrors. They will match the trim on the interior doors and windows. We ordered the mirror glass this week, and by next weekend, barring any new injuries, we should have them installed.
I've also been designing stained glass for the front door transom and sidelights. I love working with glass, and it feels good to be back at it. The transom will have an eagle bevel cluster, with the Columbia River and mountains in the background.
Ed is hoping to get the basement floors sanded in preparation for staining while the weather is good. We'll have to keep the roll-up door open during that project to vent dust and fumes. It'll be a race with the weather. We've had a beautiful autumn so far, but it's due to change...any minute.

Tiger And Wood

2011-10-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

House construction has taken a back seat to winter preparation for the last two weeks. Winter is plodding steadily toward us and will be here in earnest by the first of November.
We had quite a lot of wood left over from last winter stacked and dry down by the barn. all of that wood, spiders and all, was moved into the basement for this year's fires. Six rows deep, it totaled about three cords. My guess is we'll use two. We'll see. The house is a lot bigger and we have two fireplaces.
In any event, after all the wood was stacked in the basement, Ed needed to get the TV cable ready for the satellite TV guy to come out and install the dish. He had to climb on top of the woodpile and six rows back to hook the outside cable to the inside cable. He had a special tool for crimping the connectors together...nothing else will work.
Now I'm upstairs at the computer when I heard a lot of banging and clanging, and I thought "Gee...I thought that crimping tool was going to make it easy. He's sure having a tough time hammering that thing together." The banging continues.
Several minutes later, Ed comes up out of the basement. "Didn't you hear me calling you?"
"Uh...no... I heard some pounding but I just assumed you were working down there" I said.
"I was yelling and pounding on the ceiling for you to come help me."
Oops. He had dropped the crimping tool down the back of one of the stacks and needed a flashlight. I'm just glad he wasn't hurt and yelling for help because I would have never heard him.

Now that all the old wood is up into the basement , Ed has been splitting all the wood left over from the creek restoration project for future winters. The creek restoration required one existing alder to be removed. Part of an old big leaf maple had fallen down and had been dragged out of the way, plus there were some large cut-off pieces of douglas fir that were discards. Wood's wood. Ed hooked the log splitter up to the tractor and went to work. Day after drizzly day, Ed has been cutting the logs into 12" rounds, dead-lifting the rounds up into the splitter. When the wood is split, it gets piled into the Gator, driven up to the barn and then stacked at the side of the barn to dry for next year. See those logs? I don't know how much a 12" round off of one of those things weighs, but my guess is after you've lifted those all day, you probably can skip a trip to the gym.
Ed gets frustrated because he's been pulled by time-driven chores like the wood cutting, and not been able to work on the house. He was working so intensely on the house for so long, then pulled away by the need to cut the wood before winter. Now he feels the pressure of unfinished projects inside the house.

Small Items:

1. Adjust oven on the old stove. The propane to oxygen balance is incorrect, and there is too much moisture
coming off the heat to use the oven.
2. Hang drapery rods in bedrooms. We don't need them but guests feel a bit exposed.
3. Stain stair rail parts..ballisters, rail, newel posts. I'm looking forward to this one.
4. Hook up spa tub.
5. Order and install backsplash tile. This is my job and I just haven't done it.
6. Sand basement floor in preparation for staining the concrete.

Big Items:

1. Shingle the columns.
2. Re-grade part of the back yard, install retaining wall so he can
3. Build back porch stairs.
4. Install upstairs balcony glass rail.
5. Install porch rails.
6. Pour cement between house and garage.
7. Rebuild stairs to apartment to meet code.
8. Get the final on the permit.

I use the terms "small" and "big" loosely. They would actually be "big" and "humongous" if most people were doing them. Ed always makes them look so easy.

In the evenings we have been preoccupied with pets. We have a new cat, Tiger, who lives on the porch at night. Our other male cat, Midnight, is definitely top cat. Once Midnight goes into the garage for the night, Tiger appears on the porch for dinner and some attention. He's not a feral cat, but he's not a tame one either. It's taken several weeks to get him to the point where he will let us pet him and pick him up. He's only about 6 months old and trainable. We managed to get him to the vet last week for his shots and a tune-up. After re-establishing trust for the last several days, we were able to coax him into the house. He doesn't seem to be concerned with Abby, the dog. Kendra, our geriatric house cat is afraid and hides. Tiger scoped out the living room and then tried out the furniture. It was a perfect fit. But he only stayed there for a minute, then had to run for the open door to make sure he wasn't trapped. He's a funny boy. We're hoping he and Kendra can work out a deal where Tiger can sleep inside out of the cold.

201 Fish And A Bunny

2011-09-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

While construction has slowed down, there is still plenty going on. We had friends come up for a few days at the beginning of the week. Ed actually took a day off and we went exploring in Astoria. Although it had rained the day before, Monday the weather was perfect and so was the company.
Wednesday we were back to helping the crew with the creek restoration project. As part of the re-channeling process, the fish fry that are in pools must be netted and moved to the new active creek area. As we walked the top of the creek edge we heard a splash but didn't think much of it. Moments later Ed, Michelle and Terza were in the creek wrestling with the seine net while I was up top with the camera. A frantic movement caught our eye, and there, caught between the high bank and the deep water, was a very wet little bunny. It must have been startled by our walking and fallen in. After a few false starts the bunny wound up in the bucket and was escaping into the grass. I was so absorbed watching the rabbit rescuers, I forgot to take a picture!

Once the girls got the hang of the seine net, they started scooping fish like crazy. In two days they were able to relocate 201 steelhead fry, a few sculpin, several lamprey, and a bunny. Personally I could do without the lamprey but I guess they're part of the package.
Thursday we were expecting more rain, so we went into town for various supplies. While we were at Home Depot, I asked if our stair parts were in, and they had just arrived the previous day. The handrail, stiles and two newel posts went into the truck. It'll be my job to sand, stain, and seal them.

Friday the crew from Sloan Excavating put the finishing touches on the creek restoration. This is just the heavy stuff. Later a different group will come in and plant trees (willows, spruce, etc) to stabilize the bank. Instead of a 10' sheer drop off, we have a 30* slope covered with jute and soon to be planted with willows. We're hoping for a mild couple of winters in a row to let things settle in and take root.

Friday afternoon as I was walking along the creek looking at the project, an agitated splashing caught my eye downstream. "That silly bunny fell in again!" I thought. But as I looked closer I saw a beautiful steelhead swimming upstream to spawn. She had to be at least 28" long...maybe longer. No fish tale here, I had my camera this time! Yes, there....just to the left of that log....that dark spot.

Still can't see her?

Well ok...how about here?

Later in the evening we spotted another one. They wait in the Columbia until the first good rain freshens the creeks, then they start the push toward the spawning grounds. We had had about an inch and a half of rain last Sunday and that was apparently enough to get these two going. We're expecting another good rain in the next few days, so we anticipate seeing more fish later this week.

We have a very low tech rain gauge, although it works very well. I just have to remember to dump it out at the end of each week and write down the totals. I wonder if we'll break 100" this year? For the sake of the creek, I hope not!
Next week I need to start on those stair rail parts...

It's All About The Fish

2011-09-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

While we've been working to put the house together, the Wahkiakum Conservation District has been working to keep the house where it is. The creek has made severe migrations in the past several winters during major rain storms. It has eroded deeply into the middle pasture and scoured the creek bed. Of deepest concern, it is starting to move precariously close to the base of the hill. Oh yeah....and it has seriously compromised the migration of spawning salmon. Those are the Magic Words for the various agencies who hold and disperse the grant money for this project.
Before we built the house we had a soils engineer come out and look at the site. "This is great", he said. "as long as that creek stays away from the base of the hill. Then all bets are off." We've been watching with increasing dread as the creek has creeped slowly north winter after winter.
We have been saved by the Conservation District's project and we are profoundly grateful for their help. We like the fish. We like watching them fight their way upstream in the spring. We like watching the fry swim and dart around in the summer and fall. And when they are mature, we like fish on the BBQ. It's all about the fish, and restoration of their habitat... and saving the house.
Darin Houpt is directing the project. His midwest drawl, easy smile and sense of humor mask a very sharp mind.
Last week Darin, Ed and I were standing at the edge of the creek where the soil had been disturbed.
Darin says "You think there may be gold in the creek? This part of the creekbed hasn't been disturbed for a long time and I thought I saw some color."
Now, he doesn't push the thought. He lets it sit there and roam around for a while. Ed is peering into the sand. Finally Darin says, "You gonna go get a pan and try it?"
Ed smiles and says "Not while you're looking. If I'm gonna make a fool of myself, you're not gonna watch."

Part of the project calls for deeply embedded structures in the bank of the creek to deflect water at crucial locations. They dig a pit about 15' deep and 50' back, weave trees together, bolt them together, and cover them up. That's the short version.

The real plan calls for the trees to be placed in a very specific and strategic way. Sloan Enterprises was handling the digging and tree handling, while Darin was directing.
Ed was standing with Darin, looking at the huge hole, and Ed says "You know, you could hide a body in there and they'd never find it."
Darin looked pretty surprised. Ed says "If you want to catch crooks, you have to think like a crook."
So much for being retired.

After a bit I came down to watch. Darin was standing in the creek directing Don The Excavator Driver with hand signals. Log #2, in 2', now pick up the end and move it tight to the bank. #4 needs to cross #1 and #3. All with hand signals. He looked like a third base coach, only he was directing trees instead of runners. Once the first layer of trees was in place, they took other logs, about 20' long, cut the end to a point and drove them into the earth. They used the bucket of the excavator like a pile driver and drove the point about 6' into the bottom of the hole. They literally weave the logs together like cloth.

Once the logs are woven, Adam the Lumberjack, drilled holes and drove pieces of rebar though the logs, tying them together. After the structure is done, the hole is filled in. Later this week another crew will come in, put down jute cloth, plant willow shoots and seed for grass.
This all puts a different light on the old country phrase "God willing and the creek don't rise". Truly we are very grateful to the Conservation District and Darin for all the help they've given us...and the fish.
As a side benefit, they have had to remove a few alders and part of an old maple during this project. Because of the size of the pieces they aren't usable in the project but the will make very nice firewood for next winter.

This winter's wood has been drying next to the barn. Ed moved it into the basement so we can use it. So far he has 2 1/2 rows about 14' long moved and stacked. Only two more rows to go!
I helped him move a little of it yesterday afternoon. Apparently there are several techniques to moving wood. Ed scoops up a big armful and throws it into the gator for transport. I inspect each piece very carefully for spiders or other similarly creepy beasties. Ed moves the spiders out of the way. I smash them into a million pieces. Ed wore a long sleeved shirt because it was raining. I wore a long sleeved shirt and gloves because otherwise I'd be devoured alive by insects.
Speaking of rain, the hydraulic window opened on September 15th. Who knew there was such a thing...besides Darin, that is? Yesterday we woke up to rain, right on schedule. It was so tempting to find one of our old flood pictures and attach it to an e-mail to Darin.

Surrounded By Bright Blessings

2011-09-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

We've been in the house for over a week and we still find ourselves having moments of disbelief. I can't believe I have been blessed in so many ways. I can't believe I live here in this place, in this time, with this person.
Part of the frantic level last week was getting the last few things inside ready for company, and it's still not completely complete. The backsplashes aren't in the kitchen and bathrooms. The bathroom mirrors aren't done. The TV satellite isn't installed. But we can function without those things.
I was, however, in such an exhausted hurry last week that I forgot to post pictures of several things. Not only did Ed install three glass shower enclosures, but he installed the panel to the dishwasher. We had been warned that this is often a tricky endeavor. It must open smoothly and the reveal around the edges needs to be equal. We no longer had the template for the door which added to the complexity. It went on like a dream. Once the toekick piece and the handle were on, it looked like a dream.
He also installed the crown molding around the top of the entry on both sides. It's amazing how much the crown molding dresses up and finishes everything. It's the difference between a Tshirt and a tuxedo.
We hung pictures and picked up stuff, put away more stuff, made several trips to the cardboard recycle bin, hauled out ladders and boxes of nails and screws. We vacuumed and polished, dusted and wiped. It still needs a lot of work.

Even so, I still look around, stunned that I live here. The entry is warm and welcoming. The living room couch is comfortable, and I'm not hesitant to pull my stocking feet up into it or rest them on the coffee table. The red chair isn't as cushy as I would like. It may go live in the upstairs guest bedroom at some point, after I find the perfect replacement. We're still unpacking things for the cabinets. It doesn't have to happen all at once.

The guest rooms still need the drapes to be hung over the french doors. Rugs are on order for the downstairs room. I'm not very good at being patient.

We now have a cabinet for the TV components but no TV yet. That's ok...I don't really miss it. I expect that during the winter months we'll settle in front of it a bit earlier than we do now. In the heart of winter the sun sets at 4:30. We'll mount the screen above the cabinet on a multi-directional bracket, making for easy viewing. When not in use it can be pushed flush to the wall.

Adjacent to the family room is my much longed-for library. Nice cushy roomy chairs, meant for curling up with a blanket...room enough for a toddler or two. There are several stacks of children's books and games on the lower shelves. Cats have their special bed up on the window shelf. Plenty of room for all the books I could ever wish for.

An even more important project is occurring down in the creek. The Water Conservation District is working hard on the creek restoration. This stabilizes the creek, returns it to a more natural meander, diffuses the power of the water during a large weather event, and restores fish habitat for spawning coho and chinook salmon and other species. It also (yea!) keeps the creek from wandering to the base of our hill, washing it away and dumping our home into the pasture below. We are so very grateful for this project and their assistance.

Ed Sr. and Elaine came up this week for a few days. It was the first time they've been up for two years. The last time they were here we were still in the doublewide. I think Pop enjoyed seeing the creek project. It's quite an engineering marvel! The big trees are placed just so, interwoven and rebarred together in such a way as to deflect the power of winter rains. It's all much more complicated than that, but that's the short version.

Last week, the mail brought an unexpected gift. Dan, Ellen and Elicia sent us a beautiful guest book. Dan enhanced it with a personal touch. He found a matching type font and carved "Videan's Bluff" into the cover. It's perfect. We have friends coming up later this week, and are looking forward to many happy visits with family. Being able to share our home with friends and family is everything.

We're In!

2011-09-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

Hectic doesn't even begin to describe the last two weeks. There is no part of my body that doesn't have screaming muscles. This entry will be short and sweet... or maybe just short.

Tuesday the wheels fell off the bus. The guy we signed a bid with to do the rock work on the front columns pulled his bid because he severely underbid the job. The propane guys showed up to install the propane tank but the trainee forgot to put fuel in the tank. We found out the stair parts we THOUGHT were ordered a week ago weren't.
Wednesday we drove into town, ordered stair parts from Home Depot, bought wood to make the fireplace mantle pieces, and various other supplies we forgot.
Thursday the CenturyLink technician came out to move some wiring around, a different stone mason came out to look at the columns, and wonder of wonders the rest of the furniture was delivered...to the driveway. I helped Ed carry as much of it in as I could, but some of it had to wait for someone bigger and stronger than I am to help Ed get the rest into the house.
Friday Ed hooked up the stove and that 90 year old stove fired up without a hitch. All six burners burned a beautiful blue. Meanwhile I had been moving everything from the apartment pantry, refrigerator, kitchen shelves, everything not nailed down...into the house. Next it was the clothes out of the closet and our toothbrushes. I was tired of messing around and waiting. I wanted in.
Sunday afternoon, our neighbor Rick came over and helped Ed get the furniture upstairs.
Monday we moved some stuff down from the barn. When the cat's away , the mice..you know...so most of the things had to be wiped down with clorox then scoured.
Tomorrow Ed Sr. and Elaine come for their first visit in two years. The last time they were here we were still in the doublewide and were just painting the apartment. I've been trying to get everything done for the visit and have just this afternoon come to the realization that it's just good enough. I think I need to find an adult beverage and go take a breather.

Stairway To Heaven

2011-08-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

The stairs have been the project of the week. Last week Ed glued up stair treads from left over flooring. Then he added a bullnose to the front edge and trimmed them up for installation.

Tuesday we went into town for more lumber. We needed hemlock for the stair risers, shop grade plywood to rip down for pantry and closet shelves, poles for the closets, stuff to make fireplace mantles, and trim. Once that was home, Ed ripped down the plywood for the shelving. We've had wonderful weather all week, so the staining and varnishing went without a hitch. At least I got to work outside instead of in the dungeon...er..basement.

When the hemlock was ready, Ed went to work on the stairs. The unfinished stairs are the last glaring eyesore inside the house, and he was on a mission.
First he floored the landing. I asked him to set the flooring in this direction for several reasons: It is parallel to the flooring in the living room and the first steps off the entry. It's perpendicular to the stairs from the second floor, giving a visual cue that you're at the bottom of the stairs. That sounds a little silly until you've misstepped and fallen down the stairs, then it all makes sense.

The end result is stunning. He did a spectacular job with the stair treads. We used up almost all of the left over flooring, which decreases our waste, and saved a bundle of money. We still have hand rails, stiles and newel posts to be installed. Those should arrive in about a week, and it's back to staining and varnishing.

It's a miracle that Ed was able to complete the stairs given the various interruptions. Ferrell Gas showed up on Tuesday to evaluate the site for the propane tank. We decided to move some furniture down from the loft in the barn one morning while it was cool. Thursday night the bed frame I ordered from Amish Outlet was delivered. Of course I couldn't just let it sit there...oh no! I wanted to set it up right away. I waited as long as Friday morning, then Ed and I put it together.

Ed went back to work, this time putting in shelves for the pantry. Around here a well stocked pantry can save you, because it's two hours to and from a large grocery store. Sometimes in the winter the roads can be impassable for several days. At least.. that's the rationale I use. Ed says the shelves could use a sanding and another coat of finish. I say...stock those shelves!
This week the propane will be installed, and we'll see if we can get Sister Brigit (the stove) up and running. If the stove works, we'll move in.

Hello Dolly or Highboys

2011-08-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

For over a year, the piano has been living the temporary bedroom in the garage. Sunday afternoon I asked Ed and Dan to move it into the house. I was as anxious about this as I was about moving the stove, and for the same reasons. It's as heavy as a tank, it's a tight fit, and if it gets dropped it's toast.
We pushed it to the roll up door, and with Ed on the tractor and Dan providing traffic control, they positioned the forklift tines just right. Getting the piano past the two garage columns wasn't hard, but getting the tractor tires and forklift tines through was a piece of work. Because the driveway has a sloped edge, the tractor couldn't back straight out. With lots of maneuvering they managed to inch out without damaging the columns or the piano.

Once the piano was out of the danger zone, they walked it back to lean on the back bars of the lift. Then Ed ever so slowly slowly drove it over to the porch where we had the dolly standing at the ready.
With the precision of a surgeon, Ed set the piano ever so gently on the dolly and pulled out the forklift tines.

We thought the stove was heavy at 500+ lbs, but the piano had that beat by a mile. Even with the dolly wheels, we knew that rolling the piano into place would destroy the floor. We brought in plywood and made a runway. The piano fits the wall perfectly. I found some old sheet music from the early 1900s and framed them. They will go above the piano.

Ed teases me about decorating before the house is finished, but I can't help myself. With the exception of some touch up paint and the stairs, the inside is done.

I stained and varnished the stringers this week. They are lumber from the old spruce tree that fell in a storm our first winter here. Yes, I know. Some people would have painted them. We have so much finished wood in this house, why stop now?

Ed decided to make the stair treads and risers himself. Buying stair treads to match the floor was jaw-droppingly expensive, and we had three boxes of flooring left over. As of yesterday he had about half of the stairs made.

The creek restoration project hit a bump in the road...literally. We were expecting more wood to be delivered, this time in a highboy trailer. I wasn't sure what that was, so when it showed up, we went down to watch the unloading. The driver got out and chatted with us for a minute, then says "You'd better move back. Sometimes these things tip over." So we dutifully moved back a safe distance and he started his engine. I was expecting the trailer to dump sideways, but it began to lift...and lift. After a bit of maneuvering the logs were out. He said he had several loads coming in the next day and off he went.
Coming up the valley the next morning, he came through the sharp turn and flipped his trailer over, dumping the trees in the neighbor's pasture in the process.
Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the project that was supposed to start on Monday is now delayed. A small thing considering the alternative.

The hardware is now on the cabinets in the living room, kitchen, and craft room. We're still waiting for some of the items for the bathrooms.
The only thing that isn't done in the kitchen is the front panel of the dishwasher and the final hookup for the propane for the stove. With a microwave and an electric skillet, I could probably survive until Ed gets the propane finished.

That's been his major project this week. He had to dig down 18" to lay the line for the propane. He also wants to stub out for a BBQ and the emergency generator. He briefly thought about renting a trencher, then realized that the machine wouldn't fit in between the garage and the back columns. So he broke out the shovel. Then he had to cut the cement with the diamond blade and pound it out with a sledge hammer. That is hard, hard work!

Tuesday the propane company will come out and take a look. I'll probably be inside hanging pictures.

Fridge, Faucets, Furniture and Family

2011-08-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

This week has been a whirlwind! The new refrigerator came on Monday.
Our first company was due this week, and Ed worked hard to get the water and sewer up and running. Now the showers work, the toilets flush, and the sinks function.
Tuesday the upholstered furniture arrived. This is the first time I've ever picked out upholstery fabric for new furniture, and it was a scary thrill. It's hard to look at a little swatch of fabric and envision it in the color scheme and on the chair. Case in point: That darned chair came out pinker than I expected. It'll go live in one of the bedrooms as soon as I find a replacement.

Dan and Ellen arrived, and Dan helped Ed bring the dining room furniture down from the barn loft. After a disinfectant rub-down and a good polishing, it was ready to go. I still need to re-cover the chair seats. One thing at a time.

Dan is a master carpenter, but what he loves to do is finish carpentry. Ed and Dan put crown molding on all the kitchen cabinets. It really finishes them beautifully.

Then they moved to the entry. I've been waiting impatiently for this part of the house to be completed. The columns originally came to us square, and had to be remade. Ed then waited for Dan's arrival so they could put them in together. Dan ripped down some of the left over crown molding from the kitchen and used it to trim out the columns.
It's perfect.
It's beautiful.
It's craftsmanship.

It deserves two pictures.

Friday night we had our first meal in the new house. It felt so right, so comfortable. I hope it was the first of many, many memorable evenings with family and friends.

Lord Of The Wax Rings

2011-08-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Since the granite was scheduled for installation on Monday, Ed put in all the water shut-off valves last weekend...all 33 of them. I don't know that it was any easier, but he had more light to see what he was doing.

Monday dawned and I was like a kid on Christmas morning. The truck arrived with the crew from Bergerson Tile and Stone. Tony, Derek and Willy checked out the worksite while I drooled over the stuff on the truck. I kept running from one side of the truck to the other. The Golden Night pieces were on one side and the Matrix was on the other. I kept hoping I hadn't made a terrible mistake using two different kinds in the kitchen.

They brought in some of the Golden Night first. Granite weighs 18+ lbs. per square foot. It covers the perimeter of the kitchen and the kitchen desk under the windows. I don't even want to do the math.

Next came the slab for the kitchen island. This is a beautiful piece of Matrix Motion. It has big swirls of white quartz, and streaks of yellow and gold.
Tony, the crew chief was very careful with moving each piece. Every move was discussed and outlined before anyone lifted anything. In this business, there's no "Oops...sorry". And it's a long way to the hospital.

They got the island piece inside without incident and tilted it into place.

The last piece to come in was the heaviest..and the trickiest. This piece has the kitchen sink, a turn, and the breakfast bar. If something horrible was going to happen, this was the one it would happen to.

Tony took a few minutes to think. They studied the cabinet. They walked out the the truck. Tony thought some more. They came back in, looked at the cabinet, went back out to the truck.
Four men, all as strong as bulls, wrestled that piece inside. By the time they got it in the house and next to the counter, they were all winded and sweating.
I think we all breathed a sigh of relief, but the most difficult part was still to come.
Tony thought. He looked. The crew rested and tried to breathe in oxygen to replenish screaming muscles. Tony thought some more.

"Let's just take a few minutes before we lift this." he suggested. Everyone breathed a mental sigh of relief.
They discussed just how to lift, whether to lean and tilt, who should move where and when. Finally Tony said "Ok, let's just do it." And on "three" they did.
When that piece went down, nothing broke and nobody was hurt, I said a quick prayer of thanks.
That crew had worked darned hard, and since we are miles from everywhere,I gratefully fed them. Smoked and grilled salmon, fresh cole slaw, and roasted red potatoes were served out on the deck.

The kitchen is more beautiful than I ever dreamed. The crew stayed late to drill holes, set sinks and finish the seams.

The Golden Night complements the Magic Chef stove perfectly.

Elicia and I grouted the downstairs fireplace in time for the Matrix Motion hearth stones to be set. Ed put the face plate on the front. We still have some caulking to do, and the mantles to be built and installed, but it's all starting to come together.
Elicia helped me fill nail holes on all the baseboards, window and door trim. Ed had already given the baseboards a second coat of finish, so we sanded the window and door trim again and gave them another coat.
I carried the toilet tanks to each bathroom, and made sure there was a lid and seat for each one. Because I'm a wimp, I left the bowls for Ed to carry in. He set all the toilets yesterday.

"You know you live in Washington when it's August and you have to heat the wax rings in hot water because it's not 70* outside." he commented. We now have five toilets set in place. I wonder what would happen if we should ever flush them all at the same time!

Conservation, Proportion and Perspective

2011-07-31T10:29:00.000-07:00

The granite comes tomorrow, so all the undercounter appliances went in this week. The Bosch dishwasher went in first. We are having a cabinet panel made to go on the front and it will be several weeks before it is ready. Ed was very careful to make sure the dishwasher went in plumb, square and level. It also had to be set at the perfect depth to accept the finished panel. It's a good thing he has a very exacting personality.

Next was the Kitchen Aid trash compactor. Now our first thought was "Who needs a trash compactor? How hard is it to take out the garbage?" But then we realized two things: 1. For two people who recycle, we still make an amazing amount of trash. 2. When company comes, the trash pile is bigger than the laundry pile, which is substantial. It's a practical luxury. Ed wanted the reveal around the edge to be perfect, so we took it in and out to adjust the levelers about seven times.

Meantime, back at the ranch, the Wahkiakum Conservation District is doing some creek restoration/salmon habitat recovery work in the creek that flows through our place. Hopefully this will prevent Wilson Creek from eroding further into our middle pasture. Part of the plan is to build woody structures that will divert the force of the water back into a more natural channel and re-build the bank. They will also plant trees and native shrubs to shade the creek and provide proper fish habitat.

They brought in load after load of trees with root balls. These are trees out of logged areas that for whatever reason were not good for lumber, or are from blow-down areas. Truck after truck came rolling in. For two days ... I was only down there with the camera for the first few loads. Later today I'll walk down with the camera to get a picture of the whole pile because it is a huge mountain of timber.

I have been dreading trying to grout the fireplaces. The slate is rough and uneven and I've heard horror stories about people not being able to get the grout washed off the face of the stone. I made a mock up out of left over slate pieces and applied a sealer. After it was dry I smeared grout all over it and wiped it up. Success! The only problem was that the stone sealer/enhancer made the slate very dark and shiny. Better dark and shiny than a muddy mess, so we went to work on the real thing.

Thank goodness for willing granddaughters! We started by re-tiling the hearth front on the upstairs fireplace. I buttered the tiles and Elicia put them into place. Then came the grout. Elicia made a hundred trips up and down the stairs with buckets of fresh water. She rinsed and wrung out sponge after sponge without complaint.
We noticed that the abrasiveness of the sanded grout seemed to tone down the shiny sealer. That's fine with me. It has a more natural look now.

Yesterday while Elicia filled nail holes in the baseboards, I cleaned up the grouting mess, vacuumed up dust and grit, and mopped the floor. The rugs went down and we unwrapped the new chair. Somebody had to give it the rest-test, and Elicia gallantly volunteered. It seems to be working.

Later Ed and our neighbor Rick carried the sofa upstairs. I thought this room looked huge when it was empty. But as things come in, the proportions seem to take care of themselves.

While Elicia and I were working upstairs, Ed and Rick were working on framing the columns in front of the garage. This was one of those things that never got done when we were building the apartment. Once the apartment was done Ed started in on the house, and ...you know the rest. Since the stone guys will be here in a few weeks, this needed to get done right away. Four more columns in the front, and four in the back.

When they were done, we noticed something odd. The columns on the garage were the same size as the house but the proportions looked wrong. Then we realized it was all about perspective. The house sits on a higher foundation than the garage, and is bisected by the line of the porch. Ed will shorten the garage columns by about six inches. While they won't be as tall as the ones on the house, they will appear to match because they will be proportionate to the garage.

It's All In The Details or Full Speed Ahead

2011-07-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

Before I left for a short trip out of state I finished the slate tiles on the downstairs fireplace. We liked the soldier rows on the hearth much better than the larger slate pieces we used upstairs. Ed went up and chiseled them off the upstairs hearth and I'll re-do them. It's easy to re-do now. Once those granite hearth tops go on, it would be really difficult.

Some of the furniture has begun to arrive. We received the upstairs sofa, an end table, and two Morris chairs. I was a little nervous about buying furniture on-line, since my prior experience was such a nightmare.

We bought the chairs and sofa through Furniture Butler (www.furniturebutler.net) and I couldn't be happier with their service and the product. The sofa is comfortable and the leather is delicious. We're going to leave it in the wrapping as long as I can stand it to keep the last of the construction dust off. The sofa will get carried upstairs when Ed has a stronger helper than I am.
See those columns? Those go from the top of that cabinet to the ceiling at the entry...one on each side, of course. The columns mimic the front door and the exterior porch detail.

Ed has finished all the window and door trim, and has been working on the baseboards. Elicia and I will give the window and door trim a sanding and second coat of finish in place. Ed did the same for the baseboards prior to installation, because who wants to spend a week crouched down on hands and knees to do that? While I was gone he installed almost all of the baseboards, and he finished them today.

On the way home from the airport yesterday, I stopped at Lowe's and picked up the Bosch dishwasher we ordered. That needs to get installed before Friday, since we're hoping the granite will come then. Everything is proceeding at lightening speed!

Upstairs Downstairs

2011-07-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ed dislikes jumping from one project to another. If he's working on trim, he wants to complete all the trim before going to something else. Unfortunately, on a project this size that's nearly impossible to do. Before he could install the downstairs door trim, he had to tile the powder room. I originally ordered four boxes of tile instead of six, so we had to wait until the two extra boxes arrived.
These mosaic tiles have woven mat backing and are a little different than working with larger tiles. The mat is water soluble so that it dissolves in the thin set to firmly set the little pieces. Unfortunately that also means if you use a wet saw to cut to fit, the backing immediately begins to dissolve, and you're left with a fist full of little tiles. I had bought a dry saw with a diamond blade that looks like an itty bitty skil saw. It works like a champ.

Setting the mosaic tiles was different than setting regular tiles. The thin set squishes up between the tiles if you set them too deeply, leaving no room for grout. It's not grouted yet, but it's beautiful. I think it would tend to make me dizzy in a larger room, but it's perfect for this tiny powder room. This room will have a pedestal sink, toilet and a little pine antique cabinet.

Once that was done Ed returned to trimming out the downstairs windows and doors. He sorted through the finished lumber (remember the dungeon?) and decided which pieces he wanted on each window or door, made a cut list and set to it. I would have measured one door, cut and installed the pieces. Ed says it's much more efficient to measure all the doors, cut all the wood, then install. He's right, of course. I'm just not that organized. By last night he had the craftroom, back bathroom, and hallway doors completely done, all of the windows trimmed, and everything but some of the crown molding over a few doors completed.

We need to get the fireplaces tiled before the granite hearths come, and that's my project. I told Ed I'd like to do this by myself, knowing full well it'll take me a lot longer than if he did it. He has more than enough to do himself so he gladly agreed. I had to stop and ask him a question or two but he has been very patient and supportive, to the point of very diplomatically not pointing out my mistakes, and there are plenty. I did the upstairs fireplace first, hoping to iron out any difficulties there.
I love the look of the old Rookwood keystone fireplace tiles, but since I haven't won a lottery, I decided to use slate tiles instead. I used some stained glass techniques to make a pattern for the keystone pieces. Using the wet saw, I cut those pieces out of 12"x12" slate tiles. Slate is essentially compressed mud, and is really easy to cut. With a marking pen, I numbered the backs, drew an arrow indicating which direction was up (really...I have to) and set them aside.
Every piece that had to be cut was a trip up and down the stairs. Mark the piece, go down the stairs, change into outside shoes, cut the piece, change into inside shoes, up the stairs. Check the piece for fit, repeat.
When I bought the pieces for the hearth sides, I assumed they were 18"x18". They aren't....and this was the second time I've assumed I knew the size of tile. My mantra is now "Assume makes an ass out of you and me". So I took the 16" tiles, cut the height to match the hearth, and just worked with what I had. I'll do it differently downstairs.
I had a few problems with the first row of mosaic, and the pattern is off a bit, but I'll do it differently downstairs.
I mismeasured the cheaterboard that represents the height of the granite piece, but I'll do it differently downstairs.
Today we're off to Home Depot to pick up some more mosaic pieces and 3"x6" slate for downstairs. That little adventure will be next week. At least I won't have to go up and down the stairs.

Solid As A Rock

2011-07-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

This week has been a little frustrating. Things seem to get started, interrupted, then need parts. It's a long way to the store and it feels like forever to completion.
Monday, Independence Day, Ed mowed the west pasture. Maybe someday we'll hay those fields, but not now. Tuesday was "go to town" day, which means Home Depot (water softener, miscellaneous parts) and groceries. Wednesday we finally got to work.
We knew Bergenson's Tile and Stone was coming out to measure on Thursday. All the cabinets had to be in place for the measurements. Ed finished hooking up the stove venting and got the front on the hood cabinet. He also put some additional blocking under the island and bolted the whole thing to the floor. Once the granite is on, it'll be as solid as a rock.
Thursday evening, Jeff arrived to measure the cabinet tops. I thought he'd just...you know.... measure. Silly me. He walked the site and looked at all the counter top areas, checked for problem spots, and discussed options and solutions. Then he brought out a machine that looked like a laser level on steroids and began mapping the counter tops.

The stylus is tied to the computer and as he touches various points on the surface, it enters data into the computer and draws the area. Once that's done, he goes back to the main screen and enters the overhang, rounded corners, and whatever quirks are required for that particular piece. When he's back at the shop he can plot the pieces on the slabs. He will also take photos of the individual slabs, then cut and paste them onto the layout as they will actually appear when installed. Instant gratification! I'll be able to see them two weeks before getting them.

The craft/utility room won't have granite counter tops. In preparation for the stainless steel counter tops, Ed screwed 3/4" plywood down. He bolted the island down to the floor, finished wiring the two island electrical outlets, and hooked up the outlets for the central vacuum. That door clears the cabinet and plate cover by about 1/4". What planning!
I love the central vacuum system. Since we're no longer dealing with major construction debris, I can now use the house vacuum. No more hauling that huge shop vac up and down the stairs.

The craft room cabinets are now in place. The surface is prepared for counter tops....except...I couldn't find an appropriately sized stainless steel laundry sink at any of the box stores. I ordered a Franke 20"x20"x10" sink on line. The good news is, it'll be delivered to the house. The bad news is, it'll take a week. As bad things go, that's not so bad.

That Sinking Feeling or What's Cooking?

2011-07-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

What a week! Things are starting to move ahead at a breakneck speed.

I began the week by cutting out the slate for the crown and keystone which will go on the fireplace. The slate is really just a very soft sedimentary rock..barely rock in fact. It was very easy to cut. I had my pattern pieces all mapped out, and just marked them on the back with a Sharpie pen like I do stained glass and cut them. They fit well on the flat. We'll see what happens when I put them on the fireplace. I hope for the best.

Ed installed the trim piece for the upstairs family room window. Yes, it's a little corny but I'm not exactly what one would call "sophisticated". Now that all the window and door trim is done in the upstairs, I need to give it a light sand and another coat of urethane.

I also drove into Oregon and picked out slabs of granite. The granite fabricator needs a 4-6 week lead time, so I needed to get this show on the road.
This is a big ticket item and I was nervous about making the wrong choice. When I went into the slab warehouse, I was overwhelmed by the choices. They are all so beautiful. Carrie at Elemar gave me a pad of paper and pencil and helped me organize a list, then turned me loose to wander the warehouse. As I walked around I wrote down the dark colors that appealed to me, and in another column, the light colors.

In cruising the internet I already had some ideas. Some stone, like the Hurricane was much more of a pumpkin color than I had expected. It is beautiful, but I crossed it off the list. Others, like Alaska White were more bland than I had thought. I also brought my paint, floor and travertine samples. This was an enormous help.
Finally I narrowed it down to three. Golden Night will be for the kitchen perimeter and kitchen desk.

I chose Matrix Motion for the kitchen island. The grain and movement is very similar to Golden Night, and the colors are the same, but in reverse. I'll also use this for our bathroom vanity to compliment the silver travertine.

The other bathrooms have walnut travertine on the floors and in the showers. This was where taking flooring and paint samples was really helpful. The granite I expected to use here was too much like the travertine. Others were too orange. The Juperana Persa was just right.
Cut-offs from these pieces will be used to make the fireplace hearth seats.

Ed has been working to get the cabinets in. He's had some help via his pastor, Ryan Frank. Tuesday they started with the upstairs vanities, then moved to the library.

I can't help but grin every time I see these shelves. I have boxes and boxes of books in the barn just waiting to be put up. Do I use the Dewey Decimal System? Do I arrange them by subject matter? I'll probably re-arrange them several times. Too bad I gave away all those cookbooks. There is plenty of room for them now!

Ryan was back on Thursday. The upper cabinets in the craft room went up, and then they started on the kitchen. By Thursday evening, the kitchen upper cabinets were installed, and my stove (Sr. Bridget) was ready for hook up.
Friday Ed connected the stove to the gas line fitting, slipped the vent into place, and slid Sr. Bridget into her new and final home. She looks pretty good for 90 years old. I put on all the handles and knobs I found five years ago, and she's ready to cook up a storm. I can hardly wait.

Yesterday afternoon Ed and I had the lower kitchen cabinets in place. We positioned the peninsula
, put the back on, and placed the supports for the breakfast bar. After that, Ed finished setting the island. Except for installing sinks and appliances, we're ready for granite.

Sinks are my next object of anxiety. The interior dimensions of our sink cabinet are 32"x22". Who knew that most large kitchen sinks require an interior dimension of 34"? Not I, that is until now. I also need 3-4" behind the sink for the faucet mounting, which means the sink will need to be 18" wide. I can kiss my composite sink goodbye. I really didn't want stainless steel, but I'll take whatever works. Stay tuned.

Fit And Trim

2011-06-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

Ed began putting the door knobs on the interior doors this week. With 18 doors, this was a two day job. We are using door knobs that match the exterior door lock sets from Emtek. They are the Old Town glass knobs, with the Arts and Crafts series rosette, in aged bronze.

Once that was done, he began putting up trim around doors and windows. He started with the upstairs arched windows, but I've been unable to get a decent photo because of the backlight coming in through the window. I'll need to wait until it's dark outside. This time of year, that's around 10 p.m. and I'm sound asleep.

The door trim looks amazing! The crown molding is going together very easily, thanks to the construction hot glue gun that Ed is using. And the fit is spot on.

The glue gun was recommended by several construction-savvy folks. Dan, our son-in-law and Michael, a friend in Sonora, both said it would take the stress out of putting up wood trim, and they were right. It's a HiPURformer hot glue gun http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004007/9041/HiPURformer-Glue-Gun-Kit.aspx . Ed has been using the ww30 glue, which has a 30 second set time. He glues the crown molding and mitered corner to the head casing while it's on the workbench, then nails it in place as one piece.
My week was less productive. I spent two days in Astoria looking at granite and one day at the dentist. The granite is a big stressor. It's expensive and a permanent choice so I'd better not mess up. The wood in the cabinets is dark, the floors are lighter but not much. Do I choose a dark granite or something lighter...dramatic grain or understated...2 cm or 3?

I also began plotting the tile around the fireplace. Tiling the fireplaces is my job and I want to do it without depending on Ed, but I also don't want to mess it up. I drew out the header and keystone pieces on graph paper, then will cut them out of slate 12x12 tiles. It's similar to the technique used for making a stained glass pattern.

I am also making the head casing for the upstairs family room door. It will be similar to the one in the apartment. I found that carbon paper (Remember carbon paper?) wouldn't leave a mark on finished wood, so I had to get another piece of unfinished hemlock and trace the pattern. Then, using a small router, I cut out the words and figures. I painted the words and the white on the eagles, being very careful to not bleed paint up onto the higher surface of the board. Then I used a dark walnut stain for the birds' bodies, and let it dry. Once it was dry I stained the board to match the rest of the trim. Just before quitting time yesterday, I gave the whole thing a coat of spar varnish. If in five years we decide we don't like it, we can always pop it off and put up a plain piece.

Loggers, Bloggers, and Sloggers

2011-06-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

When we moved to the country, we anticipated the quiet, bucolic landscape. We looked forward to the wildlife, the sound of the wind in the trees, the peace. A year later, the state sold the timber on the land across the road from us, the logging began, and has been intermittent ever since. I know that logging is the life blood of this area, but semis at 0300, road graders and gravel haulers weren't quite what I had in mind. Fortunately they are usually done for the day by 3:00 p.m. and the evenings are less hectic. They wrap up a project in the fall, just in time for hunting season and the logging road once again turns into a freeway. I wonder who I have to bribe to get a gate on that dirt road?

I've finished my stint in The Dungeon. I've stained and varnished over a half mile of trim, and 18 door frames and doors. Well..half true. Ed sprayed the urethane on the doors. What a blessing!
Ed took a few days last week and went to Montana to help a friend with a project. I thought I would be able to finish it all while he was gone. Wrong! There was just too much of it. But it's done now. Yea!

Tuesday the kitchen and living room cabinets were delivered. I couldn't help myself. We kind of shoved them into place to get a feel for how it would look. We couldn't put the island pieces in the middle because the bottoms still have to be drilled for drains etc. These things are heavy! I admire women who can get through the tough jobs, and I'd like to think I could help Ed get these installed. It's not a realistic goal. Ed will get someone a lot stronger than I am to help.

The living room cabinets were also delivered. That consists of a bookcase on either side of the fireplace with Craftsman style glass doors, and similar cabinets for the foyer. We took the glass doors off to move the cabinets around, but oh, this is going to look so nice!

Ed has been hanging doors for the last two days. There are 16 regular doors and two sets of bi-fold doors. These are the pantry doors.

We've been keeping an eye on a blog that is chronicling a similar home project, http://hoodlumhouse.blogspot.com/ They may just make it into their house before we do, and that's ok. Ed is a one man band and has been slogging through various stages of this project. First he had to build a barn, so he'd have a place for tools, tractors and furniture storage. Then he had to rip off the roof to the garage and build an apartment so we'd have a place to live during the house project. In the meantime he commuted 800 miles each way to work each week and worked like a madman on the project when he was at home. He's been working on the house for 18 months and is at the point where he just wants it to be done. He wants it to be done right, but we both feel like moving day is a dream. Sometimes I think we need to stop and look at the road that got us here to appreciate the path ahead. So here's to loggers, bloggers, and sloggers. We'll cut it down, build it up, and write it out.

Good News, Bad News

2011-06-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

All the tile is now grouted, with the exception of the powder room. In fact, it doesn't even have tile yet. It seems I made a serious error in calculations, and need two more boxes of the mosaic basketweave tile. Home Depot says the bad news is, they're out of stock. The good news is they expect to have it mid-July..or September, depending on who you talk to. Now the question is...do I wait and trust them to come through or go find a replacement product and move on?
The foyer was almost the last of the travertine. Because of the size of the tiles and the layout, Ed decided to put a hardwood border around the foyer, then lay the tiles.

Once the foyer was done, Ed took the last pieces of travertine, definitely not the stellar pieces, and finished the closet in the downstairs guest room. The bad news was, he was one tile short. The good news was, the porcelain tile for the craft room is in the style of the travertine, and the same size. I doubt anyone will even be able to pick that piece out.... unless they read this first.

John from Entek Heating came out this week to put the finishing touches on the heating and air conditioning system. He charged the heat pump, installed the thermostat keypads, set the zones, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I don't get. Ed was as happy as a pig in mud. He asked a million questions and generally hung out and watched, which is good. None of it made any sense to me and he'll be the one to tinker with it anyway.

I stalled out on putting finish on all the trim. I was a little overwhelmed with the number of doors that needed a coat of urethane, sanding, and a second coat of urethane. Ed wanted to spray them but the weather hasn't been cooperative. Finally, I found a method posted on the internet which described using metal L brackets to hook the doors together for spraying.
Ed says "I don't have L brackets, but that gives me a great idea."

And it was. He put heavy plastic down on the floor of the basement shop. Then he used wood blocks to put the doors up like a folding screen. Then he got out the airless sprayer and sprayed the doors in short order. The only problem he encountered was that the Helmsman spar urethane was so thick that the compressor had to work overtime to pump it through and began to overheat. The next day we sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper. After making a few adjustments to the sprayer, Ed gave them a second coat of urethane. What a relief to have them done!

Ed is going to take a few days for a well-deserved visit to some friends, while I will be home with cat/dog/chicken duty. I will be working on getting one coat of urethane on the rest of the wood trim. When he gets home we'll start hanging doors, trimming out windows and installing baseboards.
The good news is, yesterday was glorious weather, blue sky and 84*. It was perfect weather for the Dollars For Scholars Rod And Reel, a car show and sturgeon derby. The bad news is, today we're back to cloudy skies. Will summer ever come?

Sister Brigit Comes Inside

2011-05-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it hasn't been a week since I've made an entry, but so much has happened in the last few days I just couldn't wait.
The first cabinet delivery came on Monday. We were blessed with good weather in the morning...just enough time to get everything inside. The craft room island was a tight fit, but they muscled it in without damage.

I know it's a little self-occupied but I couldn't help but to admire the craft room island. There are large and small racks for my stained glass pieces, and project drawers on the left. There will be cabinet doors over the glass rack to protect any little inquisitive fingers from a nasty cut. On top on the right side, Ed will probably put in a light table. I'm so excited!

Today's delivery was for the craft room and the bath room vanities. I love how the toekicks came out on the vanities. They look great with the shaker style cabinet doors.
Ed finished tiling the upstairs bathrooms. The tile is setting and we're waiting to grout.
While the weather is holding, Ed decided it would be a good time to do one of the jobs we have been dreading: move the antique stove into the house. This is a 1920s Magic Chef 1000 with two ovens and 6 burners. For 10 years I've dreamed about having this in my kitchen.

Because it weighs between 500-600 lbs, Ed wanted to get it in before he put down the travertine in the foyer. The plan is to forklift it up onto the porch and roll it on a dolly through the foyer, down the hall and into the kitchen.
I started by clearing a path in the garage where the stove has lived for the last five years. That alone was no small chore. The garage has become the storage place for stuff for the house...furniture, bath fixtures.

We got it through the garage without any huge problems, and Ed brought the tractor around to pick it up. Here's where I start to twitch, because I have visions of this thing toppling over and smashing into a gazillion pieces. It's built so solidly we could probably just pick it up, brush it off and it would be fine. But with his usual finesse, Ed moved it to the porch without a hitch. He set it down right on the dolly. We put plywood on the floor inside the house, and began rolling it into place.
We had a similar stove at a previous home, and I loved it. We were looking for parts for that stove (not easy to find) when we found out that a convent
nearby was closing and they wanted to sell their stove. I called them right away.
"Sr. Mary Margaret, how much do you want for that stove?" I asked.
"Oh, I don't know.....$200?" she said.
I gasped! "Lock the doors, don't let anybody in but us."
We'll probably burn in Hell for ripping off the nuns.
In atonement, and with affection, I've named the stove Sr. Brigit. My hope is to cook many memorable meals with her help.
Ed is beginning the tile in the foyer this morning, and I will be in The Dungeon applying varnish to wood.

Fingers To The Bone II

2011-05-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

With all the tile down in the laundry/craft room, it was time to break out the grout and begin one of many "favorite" jobs. Ed started with the dog wash because he wanted to get the worst part over first. Me...I usually save the worst for last when I'm tired and crabby anyway.

Ed smeared the grout in, while my job was to trail behind by about 20 minutes to wipe it down. It didn't take as long as we expected. By the afternoon, we were able to wipe the haze off the tile. Mittens came in to check it out. It's been several weeks since she broke her little foot, and she still holds it up. I say little foot...as you can see, she's polydactal (6 toed) and they are pretty sizable. She limps especially hard if anyone goes near the treat bag. Little beggar..
In retrospect I probably should have picked a grout that was a little darker I chose "A;mond". I'll seal it and hope for the best.

I began the grout-wiping with nice new latex gloves, a nice new sponge, and a clean bucket of water. By the time we were done with the room, the gloves were full of water and in the trash, the bucket of water had been changed about a hundred times, and I had managed to sand the ends off my fingertips. Just a little note: Never, never peel fresh garlic if you have just sanded off the ends of your fingers. It hurts like the dickens.

I also managed to finish staining the doors this week. We bought stain grade douglas fir Simpson doors. I didn't anticipate such a variance in grain. I used Minwax pretreat first, then Minwax stain. Still, the doors have a much more rustic look than I had expected. But, we're building a home for friends and family, we're not building a mansion, so maybe rustic is what we want. If we were building a mansion, we'd be paying someone else to do all the work!

I've been looking (mostly on-line) for a few area rugs, and stumbled on a great consignment shop in Astoria. Home Interior Consignments, owned by Kelly Sause, has a great selection of almost-antique furniture and area rugs. The prices are very reasonable so I brought home three.
For the living room, I found a tribal rug with a very good color match.

The rug for the family room was made in Nepal. The wool pile is divine, and the center pattern reminds me of southwest Native American pottery designs.

The rug for the library area is 6' square, give or take a little, and is also a tribal rug.
The first thing Midnight had to do was inspect the new rugs. This made me a little nervous. Since they weren't new rugs, I was afraid he would smell another cat's scent and decide to assert himself. He walked around them all, sniffed for a few minutes, then settled right in and made himself at home. All's well!
Ed laughed because he's still in construction mode and I've jumped ahead to moving in. Ok, ok, I'll fold up the rugs and try to be patient.

While I was shopping for rugs, Ed was doing the real work. He tiled the floor of the upstairs guest room. We'll have to wait a few days to grout...probably just about the time my fingers heal.

Tomorrow, the first of the cabinets will be delivered. Things are really starting to happen in a hurry.

Working His Fingers To The Bone

2011-05-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Just for the record, it's still raining, although we did get two days with actual sun this week. It was glorious.

Woodfloor Masters showed up Tuesday to start putting down the floor. In no time at all they had paper down and flooring spread all over the place. I've not seen professionals put down a floor before, so I didn't know how it's done. They lay it out, very closely together, and then start knocking it in place and nailing it down.

By Wednesday evening they had the downstairs done. The acacia flooring is just amazing. The nature of the wood is such that none of the pieces are very long. The longest ones are about 48", but the grain is so active that your eye doesn't really focus on the shorter pieces. The crew was good about putting the shortest pieces in a pile and using them where the cabinets and island will go, or in the closets.

Friday night, both the upstairs and downstairs were finished. The crew wiped down the floor, picked up their trash, gave us a big wave and took off. Ed and I walked the floor looking at all the different swirls and colors in the grain.
Saturday morning, I gave the floors a wipe with the swiffer and put down protective paper in the most traveled areas. I tried putting booties on the dog, but if you've ever tried to get mittens on a 3 year old on Christmas Morning, you'll have a good idea of how that went.

I'm still working in the basement, or as I've re-named it...The Dungeon. By the time I finish daily household chores and get down there to work, I'm good for anywhere between three to four doors a day. I stained three on Thursday, had a road trip for supplies on Friday, and did two yesterday afternoon. Only 13 more to go.

We need to get the laundry/craft room and bathrooms tiled so we can bring in the first set of cabinets. Ed is the tile setter. He put 1/4" wonderboard down first. All of the wonderboard and tile is a reminder of why we decided to pay someone else to do the hardwood floor. Everything is tough on either the back or knees.
After the wonderboard is down, Ed very carefully figured out where his control line was. The first row has to go down perfectly to keep everything else in check, otherwise the tile takes on a life of it's own and winds up all over the place.

As he was hauling out the first bag of thinset, Ed says "Hey Theresa, where is your Kitchen Aid mixer? I can't find it."
Now I'm starting to get a lump in my throat because I really like my mixer, but I love Ed. What to do!!??
"Nah...." he says, "Just kidding."
That rat!

Friday morning, the first tile, one of many, went down, and he began his task in earnest. Friday afternoon he placed the last piece in the laundry room.

At the end of the day as he was cleaning up he says "Man, the end of my finger is really sore, but I don't remember cutting it."
As I thought about how he did each tile I realized he buttered the back of the tile, wiped the edges clean of thinset and then placed the tile. Since the thinset is essentially sanded cement, he had literally sanded the skin off the end of his finger. Ouch!
Saturday he did the floor in the adjacent bathroom, with a bandaid on his finger and a piece of cardboard for cleaning up the edges.

Monday he'll start on the other bathroom floors. We're hoping to get the grouting done later this next week so we can have the first cabinets delivered the week after.

In the meantime, I'll be working in The Dungeon.

NOAA's Ark or More Showers

2011-05-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

NOAA says we're completing year two of La Nina, and that the weather should return to normal by the first of June. I'm not putting my boat away any time soon. It's Mother's Day and the forecast calls for rain and thunder all day.
This week, with 32 hours on the books, I finished staining 3,110 linear feet of wood trim. Not varnished, just stained. We were hoping for a couple of clear windless days to take all the boards outside and spray on the finish. But I just don't see that happening any time soon. My guess is that I'll be applying it by hand. Did I mention the interior door jambs and doors need to be done too?

Ed has finished the travertine showers. He's going to wait until the floors are down to grout everything at once. Just a caveat for those cutting travertine for the first time: If you have a piece that needs to be cut-and-fit, be sure to check for natural fracture lines before deciding which edge of the tile to cut. Once in a while, that stuff will break like a saltine cracker.

He's done the walk-in shower downstairs and the guest bathroom upstairs in walnut travertine. Then he moved on to my favorite, the silver travertine, which is in our bathroom. It's delicious. It also doesn't seem to be quite as loose as walnut. By that I mean it seems to be less fractious. I can hardly wait to see it all done with the floor and grout!

The wood floor installers will be here next week so Ed is trying to get everything up on the ceiling that needs to be there. He installed the speakers for the sound system, smoke detectors, heat detector, spider detector...just kidding on that one. I was able to get two ceiling fans at Lowe's, and am waiting for two more.

We have used CFL bulbs where we can. We noticed something odd in the bathrooms. Those bathrooms that were painted Sensational Sand, previously tan/brown, now looked purple. not a bad purple, but definitely not the color we started with. We had installed "soft white" CFL bulbs, and will be changing them out to "natural sun" to regain the original color.

Saturday I went to town for groceries and Ed began installing the Steel Partners fixtures for the entryway, kitchen island and dining room. If you buy these lights, consider the size carefully. We ordered the small lights, and they are very substantial. They are beautiful strong statement pieces that will anchor the style of the house. You can see the island light to the left and the dining room light to the right, both still in the process of being installed.

While out and about yesterday I stopped at a rummage sale, and bought four block prints from the 60's. The artist is noted only as "Ken". The style is pure Craftsman. At $1.00 each I could hardly leave them on the table. I'll mat and frame them. They'll be perfect.

Just Weight A Minute!

2011-05-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

While waiting for the hardwood flooring to breathe, we decided to pick up our tile and get started on that. There are two bathrooms with floors and showers, and the foyer in honed walnut travertine, one bathroom with shower and floor in silver travertine, and the craft room floor, dog wash, and bathroom in porcelain tile.
We took the truck. Ed has a Ford F250 for this very purpose. We drove two hours to Portland where the tile loader-guy took a look and said "We might get half of it in." Which is what happened. There was plenty of room, but the weight was a killer.
Once we got home it was way too heavy for the tractor to lift out of the truck so Ed hauled it into the house four pieces at a time.
The next day he repeated the trip, the load and the work with the rest of it.

He decided to do all the shower enclosures first, and began with the dog wash/drippy coat area in the craft room. This is the least important shower in the whole house, and a good place for a refresher course.
One of the first things we learned is that it helps to have the right tools. Our little $40. tile saw has earned it's keep and then some, but it just isn't made to cut 18" porcelain tiles. I bought a Ryobi WS750L. The 1 3/4 HP motor and 7" blade made the cutting a lot faster and cleaner.

When he was done with this one, he moved into the downstairs master bath. The travertine is much softer to cut than the porcelain tile, and is also crumblier. Because of the size of the shower (3x5x9) Ed is using 12" tiles for the shower , and will use 18" tiles for the floor.
We had a bit of a tile emergency. The soap dish fell away and broke in half on impact. This meant another late afternoon trip to Lowe's for a replacement. Between driving time and store time, that's three hours. The replacement got duct taped into place.
While Ed has been tiling, I've been making one trip after another into town for a variety of things. Closet lights, ceiling fans, but the big stressor was furniture. I spent several hours in the furniture store in Astoria obsessing over fabrics. I finally had to tell myself that the fate of the Free World did not rest on the sofa fabric....or maybe it does....
I've also been staining the wood trim. I've put in 18 hours so far and have about half the wood stained. Once that's done I'll put two coats of varnish on everything. Then I'll do the doors.
Friday morning our little (comparatively) cat Mittens got spooked by who-knows-what and took a flying leap off the top of the stair landing to the ground. After watching her limp all weekend, I took her to the vet this morning. She has a little broken bone in her front foot, but since cat-feet bones are really tiny, there's no remedy but rest and time. I have, however, pinpointed part of the problem. Like many of us, a slightly reduced waistline would take a load off. Unfortunately, like many of us, it seems difficult to obtain. Especially when you come upon an unsupervised all-you-can-eat buffet.

Wooden Spring Be Lovely

2011-04-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

This week Ed completed all the finish wiring. That means he put in the trim for all the can lights, set all the light bulbs, and installed all the plugs. I was in charge of faceplates. With a few exceptions, such as the chandeliers and appliances, we are powered up. Last night we turned on the interior lights and the porch lights, stood at the end of the driveway and admired our work.

The hardwood flooring was scheduled to be delivered Friday so several days were devoted to cleaning up the subflooring prior to delivery. The sheetrock mud got everywhere, so Ed used a paint scraper to clean the globs off the stairs.
My job was to vacuum the whole house with a cumbersome shopvac, sucking up sheetrock dust and debris. Using a shopvac is like taking a pig on a walk with a leash. After every room, I had to break down the shopvac, take the filter outside and pound the crud out of it, then blow it clean with the air compressor. Then I put it back together and started on the next room.It's a good thing vacuuming the finished house will be easier! The sheetrock mud got everywhere, so Ed used a paint scraper to clean the globs off the stairs.

Friday two guys showed up to deliver the flooring. We chose handscraped Acacia, a dense hardwood. This stuff weighs a ton, and half of it had to be carried upstairs.
This afternoon I need to open the ends of the boxes so the wood can acclimatize to the house, to temperature and humidity. That way it won't shrink or swell once it is installed.

I couldn't help but to open at least one box as soon as I could. Acacia, or asian walnut has a very active grain and color play, which I love. I'm sure someone a hundred years from now will buy this house and say, "What were those people thinking? That floor has to go." By that time, it won't bother me a bit.

My biggest pending task is to stain all the wood for the door and window trim, baseboards and interior doors, which were delivered last week. If I look at the whole pile, it's overwhelming. So I just tell myself that I can only stain one piece at a time anyway. The amount we save by staining and sealing the trimwork will more than pay for the installation of the flooring.

My workstation is set up in the basement. We put fresh paper down to protect the cement floor from drips. Then as an added precaution we put a plastic tarp down over the paper in the actual staining area. If you've ever seen me stain wood before, you'd realize how important that is.
I set the wood on the sawhorses, usually 4-6 lengths per sawhorse set. I wipe them down with pre-stain wood conditioner. By the time I'm done with the last piece, the first piece is ready for stain. I brush the stain on one piece, wipe it down and move to the next piece. Then they come off the sawhorses and get stacked vertically against the wall. Because the roll up door is nearby, there is plenty of ventilation, but everything is out of the rain.

Speaking of rain, this has been the wettest spring in recorded history. We've had very few days without rain since the first of the year, and most of those have been bitter cold. Two days ago, we had a lovely double rainbow, followed by hail. Finally yesterday we had a full day of sunshine, the first day to break 60 degrees. Come on, Spring!

Red Is The Color Of My True Love's Chair

2011-04-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

   We're going to trim out all the windows, door casings, and baseboards with stained and finished wood. The interior doors will be given the same treatment. Since the elves apparently don't come in the night and do that stuff any more, it'll be my job.
   "No problem," I said, "I know how to do that."
   The truck showed up last week with half the lumber. Shoot me now.
   In fairness, I have to say that I wasn't the one standing in the rain unloading the truck. Ed had expected to pick up the stack with the tractor forklift. It will lift 1000 lbs, but apparently the stack weighed more than that and they had to unload it by hand.
   We are using hemlock. It has enough movement in the grain to have some character, but has less than alder. I wanted something that was different but complementary to the floors and cabinets. Something about the color of the front door. Unfortunately the hemlock accepts the gel stain differently than the douglas fir, so I was on a search for a new stain.
  I began by pulling out every old can of stain we had in the barn...except those marked "Cherry" or "Deep Mahogany". I found a very nice match in a tiny ancient rusted can. It's not even manufactured any more, so it was back to square one.
   Finally, after buying several more test cans, we decided to use MinWax "Early American". Just a caveat when testing stains: The color is significantly different if you use a pretreatment on the wood. The top section is without a pretreatment, and came out blotchier and browner than the second one. I'm no pro and need all the help I can get, so I'll take a few extra minutes and wipe on the pretreatment. They recommend you use the stain within a few hours of the pretreatment, so I will have my work station set up and ready to go.
   Ed is still working on the painting. It was all going so well...we were ahead of schedule. We should have known better.
   Ed just finished painting our bedroom. The plan was for a very very light blue ceiling and soft blue-gray walls. We'd had these colors in a different house and liked them very much.
   It looked horrible. It was like some over-zealous woman pregnant with twin boys was preparing a nursery.

After much discussion, we decided to repaint it with colors used in the other rooms. Ed cleaned the blue out of the power roller and prepared to paint it again. After getting one coat of Biscuit on the ceilings, he checked his paint. He had 3 gallons of Biscuit in the bucket and went to add one more gallon from a separate can. Just as one batch of paint splashed into the other, he realized he'd picked up Bagel, not Biscuit. This was not a good thing.
   Not one to be wasteful of time or materials, he just switched gears and took it down to the basement and painted the gym walls instead.

   I went back to the paint store.  The guy at the Sherwin Williams paint store and I are now Facebook Friends, and I have another carload of paint. Ed put the Biscuit on the ceilings in the Blue Room, and a miracle happened! That horrible baby-boy blue suddenly turned blue-gray. How does that happen?!
   As soon as the painting is completely finished, Ed will be moving on to the finish electrical. He can hardly wait. In fact, he didn't wait. He took a break from the paint roller and put in a few lights, just to refresh himself. Lance-The-Electrician came back to hook up the three-way and four-way switches, and install the bathroom heaters.
   Ed will install the ceiling lights, fans and chandeliers.We used the 5" lights and BR30 CFL bulbs. I like the way they recess a bit in the plane of the ceiling. We used 6" fisheye fixtures in the apartment, and these regular 5" lights are much more subtle.
We also decided to put in way more lights than the plans called for, since we have so many cloudy days here.

I have spent many a cloudy hour in front of the computer researching furniture. If I want actual furniture by the end of July, I need to be ordering it by the first of May. We don't want a repeat of the Saga Of The Sofa. Yesterday I spent the day in Astoria at the furniture store. The first thing I did was tell the sales person my sofa horror story, so that she would have a clear understanding of my fears. Keeping in mind that the items shown are not the actual colors nor are they in relative size, here's the plan for the living room. I won't post pictures of every room, lest I drive everyone to madness.
Madness was about where I was yesterday while looking at fabric samples. Frantic madness, yes that's it. How can you tell what a chair will look like by looking at a piece of fabric half the size of a post card? I wanted the chair to be same red as the accent wall, but there are a million shades of red. We'll see.

Color My World or Bleeding Money

2011-04-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

   This week I did nothing but spend money. We knew that it would be a flood of money out the door (or in the door, depending on your perspective) during the last third of the construction, but it is staggering.

I ordered hardwood for the floors.
CA-CHING

I ordered tile for the bathrooms, laundry room and foyer.
CA-CHING

I sent in a deposit for cabinets.
CA-CHING

I ordered a stove vent insert for said cabinets.
CA-CHING

   Now that's not exactly true. I did do something else. We started painting. Did I mention I bought 75 gallons of paint?
   Now let me say right off, that between the cloudy days, my camera, this computer and fate in general, the colors don't show true. This may or may not be a good thing, depending on how tame you are about color in your home. I personally, am a color wimp, but with therapy and a supportive spouse I have begun to accept paint as my friend.


We started by painting the corners first, so we could roll the paint. Ed has a old but fully functional airless paint unit, which saves us hours of time. We also bought a power roller from a paint supply place. That thing is slick. No more coming down from the ladder to dip the roller in the paint tray. Just pull the trigger and keep on painting, which is what Ed did.
   Now kids, don't try this at home. This is definitely not a recommended or OSHA approved method of painting a stairwell. Ed is a trained professional.

My job was to use the other ladder (in the more traditional method) and paint the corners and cut in the wall colors. The first day, I made over 250 trips up and down the ladder. The second day I could barely move and my knee was swollen up like a grapefruit. But through the miracles of modern chemistry, I kept painting. The knee is still swollen, but the cutting in is done. I rarely make a personal appearance, but I was wearing a Sherwin-Williams tapestry and thought I'd share. Fortunately, the walls look better than my clothes.

Now here's the thing. Craftsman colors are traditionally earth tones, tending toward dark. We took that tendency and just stretched it a little. They honestly look much better in person than they show in the photo. I must admit I had real misgivings, and some downright panic about using red. There will be cabinets below the red to either side of the fireplace. The fireplace surround will be slate.

The red carries into the kitchen. Here I painted the entire wall red, just because I got carried away, but most of this will be covered by refrigerator, cabinets and that butter yellow 1922 Magic Chef stove.

   By now most of you have formed into one of two paint camps:
   1. Wow, I love it!
   2. What was that woman thinking?!
  I'm still on the fence.

Upstairs in the family room and library, I decided on a very soft green. The more I see it on the wall, the more I realize it is a very warm, cozy color. It also leads the eye out to the green outside. Above the fireplace is the same camel color as the foyer hallway and stairwell.

  The two guest bedrooms are a soft cream. Even if the sun isn't shining (yes, we do occasionally get sun), these rooms have a wonderful inviting feel.

   This morning Ed is finishing the green.
We may need to make a trip to Seaside this afternoon. After all that, we still need two gallons of Metro Mist, one of Crabby Apple, and two of Tatami Tan.
CA-CHING

Watching The Mud Dry

2011-03-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

The tapers have finished, and we're just waiting for the mud to dry. Once it's dry, the walls will get a texture coat and we can start painting.
Ed doesn't do down-time very well and was looking for short time projects to do while he waited. He started piecing the waste pipe from the house toward the septic tank. Of course, that meant getting down and dirty. At least it's dry under the deck.

We took the opportunity to make a quick trip to Astoria. It was a gorgeous spring day, and I love watching the big ships come in.
We made the obligatory stop at Home Depot. This time we were looking at tile and slate. I have become obsessed with flooring..hardwood, tile, slate, ceramic or porcelain. I look at it all.

I had an elevated expectation of what would be available in the flooring world. I had visions of huge warehouses of discount tile of every color and texture. After several trips to Portland with varying results, I think we have decided on honed walnut travertine for the foyer and most of the bathrooms. Won't that look great with the cabinets?
I also found an inexpensive ceramic tile that is a very good match with the walnut travertine for the craft room floor. I mean, really, does the dog care it's not the real deal?

Our bedroom and bath will be blue and gray which is different than all of the rest of the house. I found a delicious honed travertine, silver, in nice big 18" tiles. for the bathroom and shower.

Yesterday Bob Redmill of Redmill Drywall returned to texture the walls and ceiling. The house got a smooth coat. The stairwell going to the basement, and the two rooms in the basement got a rougher Venician Plaster texture. We'll paint that to look like stone at some later date.

   Some of these guys do all their work on stilts. Frankly I can't imagine how sore these guys were the first two weeks on the job. They even go up and down stairs in these things. I asked one guy how many times he fell while learning to use them.
  "Four times" , he said.
  "It's a miracle you didn't break your leg." I replied.
   "Yeah, it can get ugly." he answered.
  No kidding...it's an hour to the hospital.

So today we can start painting. Ed is moving staging and the airless paint sprayer up from the barn. I thought we'd still be waiting for the mud to dry and made plans with a friend today, but it'll be my last free-play day for a long time. Paint, tile, floor, furniture, stain, door jambs, baseboards.... they will be my life until we move in.

Spring Forward

2011-03-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

We've gone to daylight savings time this month, and I am really enjoying the extra hour of light in the evening. That's not to say that it is sunshine, because sunshine isn't due here until, oh, July. We do occasionally have a gloriously beautiful sunshiny day. I'll let you know when that happens.
The sheet rock guys have been mudding and taping for a week. Because the weather isn't exactly warm, it is taking a little longer for each coat to dry, in spite of our space heaters.

Ed has been trying to stay out of their way while still keeping busy. It isn't easy. He bought 50 sheets of Durock for showers and fireplace surrounds. The downstairs fireplace will have slate tile in a modified Craftsman style, with bookcases on either side.

The upstairs fireplace will also have slate tiles in a slightly different layout, with the TV on the left, and woodstack on the right.

I am the Chief Purchaser Of The Interior, and I've been frantically trying to find the best price for tile and hardwood flooring. Who knew shopping could be so stressful?

Since it was time for our Annual Theberge Women Hen Party, I took off to California for a few days. I took advantage of the one day of sunshine to take a long walk. The air smelled delicious, like chlorophyll
and candy. And it was no wonder! Blossoms were everywhere. People were wearing tank tops and flip flops. Ahhhh Spring!

By the time I got home, I had Miracle Grow coursing through my veins. I wanted to plant things. I wanted to pull weeds. I needed to be the tender of tiny green shoots.

Actually, there was a huge heavy wet mound of dirt in the front yard that needed to be spread around more or less evenly. There's no use using little tools when you have big tools. Ed got the tractor and the backhoe, which made quick work of shoving the dirt into place. I planted the 6 lavender plants I had previously purchased. Ed put screen around the new dogwood tree so the deer wouldn't snack on it. I put down a nice heavy coat of grass seed, and we'll call it good for now.

When we first moved into the double wide that was originally here, there was a 5' cedar fence surrounding the house. The blackberry vines, with thorny canes out of a horror movie, were growing over the top of the fence. It blocked the view and the first change we made in the property was to take down the fence. We've slowly beaten the invasive vines back. When we put in the retaining wall in December, the last section of fence came down, and we had a bit of grading done on the west side of the house. Today Ed raked down the lumps and I spread grass seed over it. By summer it will all be grass.
Task by task, we move forward.

The First Walkabout

2011-03-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

   The guys from Redmill Drywall showed up Tuesday morning and hit the job like a whirlwind. In an hour they had the two upstairs bedroom ceilings done. I tried to stay out from underfoot, but it was unbelievable to watch.
   I have received several questions about the barrel ceiling, so I wanted to be sure and post a picture of that being done. The crew chief, Valentin did our apartment ceiling, so he knew what he was in for. They used 1/2" drywall on that portion so it would bend. It looked so easy. Once it is taped and textured, it'll be smooth as a peach.
   With a six man crew, they finished in three days. I'm so glad Ed decided to sub this out because it would have taken us forever....if we'd lived.
   Friday the clean up crew showed up and hauled several truckloads of scrap away and put down paper. We're ready for mud!

   So let's take a tour....

   As you enter the foyer, there will be craftsman style display cases on either side of the entry into the living room, with columns going up to the soffit. In the picture here it looks like the ceiling in the living room is dropped, but it's not.

  To your left is the hallway to the kitchen. Feel free to hang up your coat in the closet on the right. The powder room is on the left. You can see the pantry door further down the hall.

As we step into the living room and turn around, you see the foyer from the other side. The stairs to the basement (Ed's Man Cave) is on the left. My piano will be on the wall on the right.

Midnight is taking the tour with us. We are standing in the dining room looking at the living room and fireplace. There will be mantle height bookcases on either side.

The living room is open to the dining room and kitchen.

And the kitchen ... In the forefront is the sink and breakfast bar. The stove, cabinets and fridge on the right, and cabinets on the left. Under the window is a desk and place for all..or rather, some of my cookbooks. The island with it's prep sink is in the center.

Moving into the kitchen you have a view of the dining room. The dining table will be centered on those windows. We'll have a lovely vista regardless
of the weather.

Just down the hall is the laundry and craft room. This was originally a bedroom on the stock plans, but we added an exit door and put the laundry here, giving us a much bigger hall pantry. We have a great place to rinse muddy dogs and hang dripping coats. The washer and dryer will stack just to the right of the dog wash. There is plenty of room for stained glass, painting, and oh yes, folding laundry (if I must).

There is a nicely sized bathroom off the craft room, mostly because the craft room was originally planned as a bedroom. The spa tub is here. I'll most likely make stained glass panels for these windows.

On the other side of the first floor is a large bedroom, with access to the back porch. This will be a guest room until Ed and I are too old to make the stairs, say.... 103.
The bathroom here has a good sized shower with a low step, keeping in mind that the future may someday include limited mobility. We plan on staying in this house until they drag us out.

Let's take those stairs now to the second floor. An oak newel post will be at the base, with fluted 1x4 stiles up the stairs, in the craftsman style, of course.

The family room has that great barrel ceiling that the eyebrow dormers create. The stock plans called for a vaulted ceiling over the living room and a loft between the two upstairs bedrooms, but we wanted the extra space. We also wanted to limit lost heated space.

We put a second fireplace upstairs. We have found that the new woodburning stoves and fireplaces are so efficient, the trick is to not roast yourself out of your house. We plan on heating primarily with wood, although we have a big furnace in the event we need it.
This is also where we will watch TV most of the time, since there isn't one in the downstairs living room. It will go on the left, with a wood box on the right.

What would have been the loft is now my library. I am very excited about this room. I have boxes and boxes of books in the barn just waiting for their new home. I only hope the mice haven't read too many of the books! Bookcases will be window height along the stairwell and under the windows, then taller on the wall on the right. A few overstuffed chairs and a table....ahhh..heaven!

On either side of this area are similar bedrooms. The west bedroom will be a guest room. The plans called for the dormer to be much larger and a storage area, but Ed changed it and I like it much better.

From the french doors looking in the other direction, each bedroom has a large closet and a bathroom. These bedrooms are plenty big for a king sized bed, dresser, seating area with a table and chair, and perhaps a small writing desk. The vaulted ceiling makes it seem it even larger than it is.

We will be in the east bedroom, which is a mirror image of the west bedroom. The bathroom is a little different because of HVAC ducting. The double sink vanity will be as you enter the bathroom.

Then left to the 6' shower tub and toilet.

Shall we head down to the basement? Ed is pretty excited about his home theater. We hope to occasionally have "Soup And Movie Night" with friends and neighbors. A big screen and surround sound will insure we feel the movie as well as see it.

A little refreshment? Let's go next door for some popcorn and a cold beverage. The saloon will have swinging doors, a wagon wheel chandelier and a cowboy bar....just like Bonanza!

Now that we've sat around watching movies and had a beverage or two, we really need to get rid of those calories. Step on into the gym. No pain, no gain.

That concludes the tour. Next week it all gets taped and textured. I'll make a quick trip out of town for a few days, and when I get back I have buckets and buckets of paint to look forward to.

The Bucket Brigade or A Window Of Opportunity

2011-03-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, Ron-The-Stair-Guy came out to take a look at what we'll need for the stairs. Ed will install them but we need parts, and I don't know enough about rails, stiles, and all that stuff to order them on-line. Because the building code dictates what goes where, Ed will need to modify the area where the stairs come down to the landing so that the handrail can come all the way down on one side.

Wednesday was insulation day. Two guys from Gale Insulation showed up first thing in the morning and hit it hard.
I know I'm repeating myself, but the transformation is so startling, I can't help it. The first thing you notice is that the door opening and closing sounds different. The rooms don't sound like you're standing in a warehouse. Walking is muffled. And when I yell for Ed, he can't hear me....at least...that's what he said.

  Abby, the dog is increasingly deaf, and we found her wandering through the house, because she couldn't hear where we were. There are walls where before, there were just studs and miles of wire.
    We used to be able to see from the foyer area through the hall and craft room to the back door. Not any more. I am finally (finally!) able to get a true sense of the size of the rooms.
The insulation guys worked very late Thursday to finish the walls. Ceilings will be blown in after sheet rock is done.

Ed is pretty happy to see the last of the framing and wiring. He's been working on a short list of last minute items. He finished the blocking for the shower arms, towel bars, and tp holders just before the insulation guys started.
   Of course, once the insulation was all done, he remembered One More Thing. One wire for the alarm system had to be fished through the insulation from the basement up into the attic, but that was managed with a minimal amount of swearing.

While the insulation guys were working, Ed started framing in the area for the stair rail. He decided to just make a display box, which is fine with me. If we had originally known we were going to have a display box there, it would have been nice to make it a light box, but the wiring is done now. There will be arts and crafts style stiles and a newel post at the bottom of the stairs.

   Ed also framed out the hearth steps for the two fireplaces. I'll tile these with slate later.
   Meanwhile, I went to town to get paint and more lumber. The truck was in the shop, so whatever I got had to fit in the Jeep. I stopped at Home Depot and picked up 10 2x4x8 and went for paint. Sherwin Williams was having a 30% off sale. When you're buying as much paint as we will need, that adds up! I came home with 30 gallons of paint, with a promise to come back for the rest when I had room in my car.
Sunday I went back for 32 more gallons. I think I saved over $800.00 by buying it on sale. I still have 7 gallons to go. Raw sheet rock really sucks up the paint.

   Friday the sheet rock was delivered. It was two trucks full. Some could go straight through the front door for the first floor, but the second floor sheet rock had to be carried up the stairs.
   One of the guys looked around and said to Ed, "Can we take out that window and load it through the window?" He pointed to the second story arched window, masterfully trimmed and painted.
   "No.", Ed says, "As a matter of fact,I called last September to see if they wanted to load sheet rock early before the window was installed, they said you would just carry it upstairs."
  Easy for them to say. Those guys hoofed all that sheet rock up the stairs piece by piece. Some of it was 12 feet long.
  The road up to the roll up basement door is a muddy quagmire, so Ed lent them some plywood to make a platform for their dolly. They still had to use the bucket brigade method to unload it from the lift onto their dolly.
   Ed and I spent Sunday afternoon cleaning up the inside of the house. We put tools away, swept the debris, filled garbage bags, took stuff down to the barn. Finally we were satisfied that the remaining items wouldn't hinder the guys coming Monday to hang the rock.

If It Walks Like A Duck Or Freeze Frame

2011-02-28T16:37:00.000-08:00

Sunday:

   We made a run to town to (where else?) Home Depot to pick up a few more space heaters so the fire sprinkler pipes wouldn't freeze. It looks like winter. It feels like winter. It acts like winter. It MUST be winter! Not according to the wonderful world of mass marketing. They had all their heaters off the floor, and were pushing dahlia bulbs like crazy.
   After a frantic phone call to Lowe's, we were able to buy three space heaters. And as added insurance, we borrowed the Big Boy heater, a propane torpedo heater, from a neighbor.
   That evening Ed made out another list for the upcoming week. He finds it really helps him keep organized.

Monday:

   We think we'll be ready for insulation next week, that is, if Ed can get this darned list whittled down. He boxed in the vent for the fireplaces, so that when they blow in the attic insulation, it won't touch the pipe. No Touching! That's the rule!

He also had to drape all of the fire sprinkler pipe that was in an attic space with black plastic. This does two things: It keeps the insulation from directly resting on the pipes, which apparently are very sensitive to other chemicals, and it helps trap heat rising from the house,keeping the water pipes warmer in the winter. As our weather progressed this week, each night was colder than the last. Ed got up at 2 a.m., dragged on several layers of clothes, navigated icy stairs, and checked the inside of the house.

Tuesday :

Ed started building soffits to box in all the ducts, waste lines and wire in the basement. He made the ones in the theater room at an angle to make an easier transition for the sound. Surprisingly, it made the huge room look even bigger!
We kept a very close eye on the ever-changing weather report. When they said the nighttime low would be around 18*, Ed threw in the hat and drained the sprinkler lines. There was still water in the sprinkler heads, but hopefully the pressureless lines and the multitude of space heaters would prevent a disaster.

Wednesday:

We woke up to record low temperatures and a little snow. The sprinkler pipes seem to have made it through the night without freezing. Ed went back to work on the soffits. He was getting a little punchy because every night he gets up out of a dead sleep, gets dressed and goes out to check the house. By the end of the workday, he was confident that he would be ready by Friday, and called for his inspection.

Sunset Wednesday night was stunning. The winter sun came in low and lit up the naked alder trees. The snow on the ground and the wisps of valley fog on the hills was a beautiful contrast to the blue sky. Just as the last light faded, a herd of elk stepped out of the tree line and began to feed.

Thursday:

   When we got up Thursday morning, our valley had been transformed. We've seen snow every year that we've lived here, but I am in awe of the beauty every time.
   Ed continued working on the soffits and the last bits and pieces that needed to be done before the county building inspector arrived Friday.

Friday:

   Chuck-The-Building-Inspector arrived, as expected, and signed off the Before-Sheet Rock portion. This was a major stepping stone for us. Ed was confident he could finish the few details needed for the state electrical inspection, so I went on-line and called for that inspection at the beginning of next week. It's still really cold.

Saturday:

   Our kitchen stove will be that old Magic Chef 1000, converted to propane, so it needs to be vented. Saturday, Ed put in the vent, only to realize the piece of flexible Type B (double wall) pipe we got for the attic portion was too long. We'll need to order a 3' piece.
   The space heaters are still on full blast.

Sunday:

   After church, Ed and I went into town again...more hardware, more lumber.
   Finally it began to rain and the temperature came up. Ed turned off the space heaters.

Today:

   This is indeed a Red Letter Day! Doug-The-Electrical-Inspector signed off the electrical work. That means we can proceed with insulation and sheet rock. Unless you have done a project like this you can't understand the enormity of those little green stickers.

I wanted to do something silly like dance around the entire interior of the house, but Ed has a stronger sense of priorities and went back to work. We expect the insulation team here on Wednesday, and he wants to build a closet wall around all this electrical stuff.

We're Under A Lot Of Pressure

2011-02-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

   There are a huge number of cabinets in this house. Bathroom cabinets, kitchen cabinets, craft room cabinets, entertainment and TV cabinets. And bookshelves...kitchen desk, upstairs library bookcases. All I thought about was now nice it will be to have all that lovely storage, and to be able to finally put my books in an orderly, assessable place. I didn't really think about how much all that storage would cost to build. Silly me. The numbers were sobering and have me scrambling to come up with a more reasonable plan. I think we'll stick with the top of the line for the entry, living room and kitchen. We'll go for moderate for bathroom cabinets. I'm still plotting and planning for the rest.
   Ed is scrambling to finish the wiring details. We'd like to get insulation and sheetrock in the first part of February. He wired the doorbell and alarm system this week, and is finishing up the theater wiring. He gets frustrated by that one or two few parts he doesn't have yet that holds up completion, but all of those should be here next week.
   In the meantime MASCO came out on Monday and gave an estimate on insulation that was acceptable, so that we will have that done as soon as possible. Chapter two of this story in a moment.

   Wednesday I drove into Longview to pick up (more) alarm system wire and a few other parts, then up to Chehalis to pick up our light fixtures from Steel Partners Inc. Normally one would buy them from the retailer (plenty of places on-line) and pay the shipping. Well these babies are HEAVY and since the manufacturer was just up the road, I saved myself a bundle on shipping by picking them up myself.
   We bought two chandeliers, one for the entryway and one for over the dining table. We also got a light fixture for over the kitchen island. Let me tell you, these guys filled up the back of my Jeep!
  While I was up that way I drove further north and made a quick run through the antique stores in Centralia. I love these stores, and one of my favorites is the Shady Lady, housed in a former brothel. I found a very nice Belgian cabinet that will make a perfect linen cupboard for our master bath, and a very rustic cabinet that needs some love, but will go in the guest powder room.
   Thursday Simplex Grinnell came out to pressure test the fire sprinkler lines in preparation for our systems inspection prior to insulation and sheet rock. This means they fill the sprinkler lines with water under pressure and check for leaks. As you can imagine, this is very important. You do NOT want to find a leak after the sheet rock is up. The water went in, everyone walked around looking for leaks (there were none) and we were happy. Until.....Ed checked the weather forecast.

   Now the inspector has to check the fire sprinklers under pressure also. That means the water needs to stay in until Chuck-The-Inspector comes out. Monday is a holiday, and we're gone on Wednesday, so that means Tuesday or Thursday. Nothing is insulated, and there is no heat. If the lines freeze,the fittings will leak and the whole system is garbage.
   Friday night the temperatures were supposed to bottom out at 30*. Ed turned on the halogen work lights and left them on all night. He probably got up three times during the night, got dressed and went outside and into the house to check the temperatures.We managed to get through it without any damage. Last night was supposed to hit 29*. At 3:00 a.m. it hit 24* outside, although it was warmer inside the house. Ed stole the little heater from the garage where the cats sleep, and anything else he could think of that would generate heat without burning the house down.
   The weather forecast is for freezing temperatures at night all week. Ed and I will drive in and see what kind of space heaters we can find at Home Depot today. Maybe then he can get some sleep.

We Have Ignition or This Sucks

2011-02-13T11:18:00.000-08:00

Finally, Ed is finished with the electrical rough-in. I wish I had kept track of how many miles of wire have been pulled through the whole house. Every circuit, in both boxes, is used up. An octopus of wire slithers through the walls. 60 circuits in all. 58 circuits for the house, and two for the emergency generator.

But there is no stopping now. Ed went right to work on the ongoing list of tasks.
Bath vent: √
Kitchen gas vent: √
Propane to stove: √
Phone wire: √

And so it goes until he gets one list done, and starts another list.

Ed ran wire for the smoke detectors and tied them into the fire sprinkler system, all to be run into the alarm system. If the fire sprinklers activate, it will set off the audio fire alarm inside, and send a water flow alarm for a fire response. There is also a water flow bell at the front of the house. Of course we're a long way from anyone who could actually hear it, but it's all good in theory.

One thing that is as good in practice as in theory is my beloved central vacuum system. When I ordered this bad boy, I told the customer service representative at Central Vacuum Stores that I wanted something that was a hazard to small children and farm animals. Something that would suck the wallpaper right off the walls, just like the cartoons when we were kids. The folks there are very helpful in making sure you have all the necessary parts for the project. See that rectangular box on the PVC pipe? That's a muffler! I also bought a 40' hose for each floor so I won't be lugging a hose up and down the stairs. I'll have a kickplate in the kitchen and craft room so I can just activate it and sweep crumbs right in. Ed turned it on for a test, and it was music to my ears.

One of the most difficult things about building is trying to anticipate every possible current and future need. Ed has also been wiring for the theater in the basement...games, speakers..TV, DVD, Xbox..Someday this work area will be TRANSFORMED....... into...... I have no idea... but you'll be able to hear whatever it is straight through to your bones.
Tomorrow the insulation company will be out for a bid, and by the end of this week we should be ready for our electrical inspection.

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

2011-02-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

Ed is finally finishing up the electrical wiring this week. He's really tired of it too. He's been working on in one form or another since the end of November, with a multitude of interruptions. He just keeps reminding himself of how much money he's saved by doing most of it by himself. Now he's starting to gear himself up for the central vacuum system, the alarm system, and the structured cable. The structured cable is bundled wires for all the things we think we need in this modern world. ...satellite, phone, computer, stereo, games, and a million things I don't even understand. Who knew there was a scanner thingie you can put in your pantry to scan bar codes so your computer will make a grocery list for you? Well, there is!
In the meantime, I've been playing with paint chips. As of this moment (all subject to change) the paint list looks like this:

Sherwin Williams Paint

Biscuit 6112 Ceilings

Interactive Cream 6113 Guest Bedroom walls

Bagel 6114 Living room, Dining room

Tatami Tan 6116 Foyer, stairwell

Sensational Sand 6094 Guest baths, craft bath

Crabby Apple 7592 Kitchen, Living room accent

Downing Earth 2820 Family room, powder room, Craft room

Quicksilver 6245 Ceiling East bedroom

Mild Blue 6533 Walls East Bedroom

Jubilee 6248 Bath East Bedroom

In keeping with the flavor of the Arts and Crafts period, most of the rooms will be some form of earth tone. Crabby Apple is a dark red, deeper than a brick red, and far far away from pinks. Then in the upstairs bedroom, I'll step out of the box and use a very light blue, with a dark grey for the bathroom. Or.....the whole color scheme could change in a flash.

We took advantage of some dry weather and beautiful sunshine to plant some new little trees and take out an old one. It bothers me to take out a living tree, especially a fruit tree, but this apple tree was leaning like a drunken sailor and gave no fruit. The blossoms in the spring were spectacular but other than that it had no redeeming value. Having said that, I thanked the tree, apologized profusely and gave the signal to rip it out. It was surprising how little root structure there was. Ed cut the apple wood up for BBQ and smoker wood.

We also planted the three trees we bought in November. The larger center tree is a dogwood. I may need to screen it for the deer for a few years. We'll see. the other two smaller trees are Japanese maples.

So things are moving along nicely. Ed is really glad to be done with the electrical work. He is looking forward to finishing the in-wall stuff. We think we'll be ready for insulation in four to six weeks. That'll change the look!

Wire, Wire Everywhere And Not A Light To Blink

2011-01-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday January 11, 2011, Mom went Home. Two months shy of 89, she was eager for the journey, and looked forward to being reunited with family that she missed so dearly. If I have half her strength and determination, I'll be a lucky woman. I'd like to think she stopped by on her way to see the house, since she loved watching the progress on the blog.

I returned from California to find the wiring still in progress, which was no surprise. I wish we had thought to keep track of how many feet (or miles) of wire was going in. Electrical wire, phone wire, structured wire for every possible kind of television and entertainment toy known on the planet.
There is an electrical panel and a sub panel, with a total of 60 breakers. Ed says that two breakers on each panel are dedicated to tying the two together and then running out to the generator for emergency power. I'm glad it all makes sense to him because my eyes glaze over. He's told me several times which circuits cover which switches and lights. It's a good thing there won't be a test because my brain is a sieve when it comes to that stuff.

The walls look like spaghetti on steroids. No more walking through the stud walls. I have to actually use the doors...which is kind of fun. I find myself walking around the area that will be the kitchen counter and the island.
Ed and I have both commented on how much it feels like home already, even though it is unfinished.
We're starting to get excited about moving in, although we realize we still have a long way to go.

A Happy New Year

2011-01-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

After a period of heavy rain, we've finally hit a dry spell. It's been a week now of cold, dry weather, glorious sunrises and cold, crisp days. The stairs are really slippery, and I make sure to be mindful when taking a trip (the operative word) up or down the stairs.

The doorknobs I ordered last week from Knobs-Etc.Com arrived in record time. We decided to continue the Emtek doorknobs in the same style as the exterior door sets. Now I have to start looking for doors to put them on. I'll need 14 interior doors for bedrooms, closets, bathrooms and the pantry. Of course, they won't be prefinished, so I'll be a little busy. But I will NOT put the stain rag in my pocket again!

While I was ordering the doorknobs, I went a little crazy and ordered doorbell covers to match the front door hardware. I can see where it would be easy to forget the budget and just buy things. It's fun to look at very high-end hardware and see what's available, but I have no need for a doorbell cover that costs more than some folks earn in a day. Someone buys that stuff, but it won't be me.

In spite of that, I did manage to order a central vacuum system which will arrive next week. A much appreciated luxury. We will always have pets that come in the house. Living in the country, we will always have more than our fair share of dirt, mud and sand. I told the salesperson on the phone that I wanted something that was so powerful as to be a threat to small children and farm animals. I'm not sure she knew I was kidding...or was I? We have ordered from Central Vacuum Stores before and been very happy with their customer assistance.
I've also been working on ideas for the tile surrounds for the upstairs and downstairs fireplaces. Again, buying Rookwood tiles or similar period reproductions are heart-stoppingly expensive. I don't have a kiln to try to make my own reproduction tiles (sorry, Martha Stewart), but maybe I could make an alternative. Something with a National Park Lodge feel but with more easily obtained products.

Slate is beautiful and inexpensive. It's easy to find in many sizes and easy to cut. It's been used a lot recently but every time I see it in someone's home, I love the way it looks. I have a tile saw....maybe I could make my own keystone arch with 12" tiles and the saw.

Then I could lay out the 3"x6" tiles in a traditional pattern, and add a touch of modern with a slate mosaic strip. The tiles here are sprayed with water to show the color. When installed, they will have a coat of sealer that will do the same thing. I think this would look great on the downstairs fireplace. I'll either repeat it upstairs, or come up with a variation on the theme.

Ed is still plugging away (pardon the electrical pun) at getting the can light housings set in place. He wants to get them all in before Lance-the-electrician comes out next week to work with Ed on the wiring and subpanel. We have plenty of windows on the south side of the house, but on very cloudy winter days (and there are many of those) it can get surprisingly dark inside. Ed is being generous with the lights, and that's a good thing.

It's Raining Cats And Dogs

2010-12-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

Not much to show for this week. Not that things didn't get done, but how many pictures of roughed in plumbing can anyone be expected to enjoy? Surely, there is someone out there who is breathlessly waiting for the plumbing chapter...
Boyd from Gallow and Smith Plumbing was completing the rough plumbing. Boyd came to Ed and said "I have to drive into town and pick up some more black pipe 90* elbows. I thought I had enough in the truck, but I don't." Yikes! Town is an hour each way.

Ed says..."I think I have some of those in the barn." After running down to check..sure enough, he did! Which is why, whenever I'm sent on an errand to buy two of something, I come home with three.
Ed built the deck for the spa tub. This is a Kohler Archer 6' jetted tub. One of the reasons I bought this particular tub was that it had an in-line heater. That also means that Ed had to remember to wire for two outlets..one for the jets and one for the heater.

He also framed in the support walls in the laundry/craft room for the shoe rack and dog rinse . On the left will be a shoe cubby, since this where we will be coming in and going out most of the time. Instead of shoes winding up in a muddy pile, I'll have a nice, neat place to put each pair. Just to the right of the shoe rack is where the dog wash will be. In a perfect world, the dog will be trained to come in this door (only), and go stand in the shower pan until being told it's ok to come out. That way we can rinse his/her feet.I don't think this will work well with the cats. It is unbelievable how much dirt and mud comes in on pet paws! We can also put very muddy wet boots here to drip dry a little, and hang wet coats. Then to the right of the dog rinse will be the stackable full sized washer and dryer. At the corner will be a counter, then a laundry sink.

My kitchen is also plumbed. The sink will look out into the rest of the first floor and out the big expanse of windows to the valley below. I also have a prep sink in the island. Boyd also put in a gas pipe for the propane for our stove. Here, Midnight is checking to see if there is any food in THIS kitchen.

While Boyd has been working on the plumbing, Ed has been putting in the vents for fans. This is not his favorite chore. Some of the vents go through unheated attic space. That means all that vent pipe has to be wrapped with insulation. We don't want steam and moisture going up into the vent in the attic, condensing on the pipe and running back down into the wall as water. So Ed has been standing on a ladder, wrapping that nasty fiberglass insulation around the vent pipes and taping it down. It's ugly, itchy work.

Yesterday Chuck-the-building-inspector came out and signed off the rough plumbing and the framing.

Ed says it's time to get serious about electrical wiring. I need to order the central vacuum system. The entryway, dining room and island light fixtures have been ordered. The interior doorknob sets should be here next week.

A Plumborama

2010-12-18T16:35:00.000-08:00

   It's been a busy week. The delivery trucks have been here so often with plumbing fixtures, I've started setting a place at the dinner table for the truck drivers. Shower pans, tubs, toilets, faucets, drains,valves. It's a Plumborama.
   The Swanstone shower pans came last week. This week we received all the Kohler faucets for the bathrooms. It was overwhelming trying to pick out the perfect faucet, so instead of choosing a different style for each bathroom, I made it easy on myself and stuck to one classic style for all.
   Thursday afternoon we were scheduled to receive delivery of the Kohler toilet fixtures and the pedestal sink for the powder room. Mayflower said they'd bee here between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sun sets at about 4:35 here this time of year, but it doesn't get really dark until about 5:15. 5:30 came and went, and by 6:15 we decided they got tied up and weren't coming. We started following our usual evening routine..shower, a glass of wine, dinner. At 7:40 we hear a truck transmission gear down and the grating of brakes. Ed and I looked at each other in disbelief. It's night, in the Northwest, a week from winter solstice. It's overcast, and we're at the end of a very rural road. So to say it is dark outside would be a serious understatement. I ran over and threw on the porch light while Ed grabbed the car keys and headed down the stairs. He started the Jeep and threw on the lights so they could see to come in the driveway. The two delivery guys were as cheerful as could be. He says, "Yeah we stopped at a restaurant in Grays River (20 miles away) and asked where this place was, and everybody there started giving us directions." Ten minutes after they arrived we had five toilets and a pedestal sink stacked up by the garage and they were on their way. Poor guys..they had one more delivery to make before they drove back to Portland.

   Ed has been working on the basement, specifically the area that will be the home theater. He put up soundboard on the interior walls and placed the cans for the lights. This is going to be a fun spot. We'll elevate the screen on a small stage just in case the grandkids ever want to give a performance, but the room will be big enough for "Soup and Movie Night" with friends and neighbors.

The thing that really felt like a step forward was the arrival of the plumbers. They will be placing the waste lines, the water lines, and the valves. We had to wait until those fixtures arrived before scheduling them to come out, and when they got here they didn't mess around. Ed and I went over each room and made sure we were on the same page for placement of sinks and toilets, baths and showers, laundry and...well..you get the idea. It's amazing how much two guys can get done in a couple of days.

The weather forecast said we would have a few days that might be relatively rain-free, so Ed thought it would be a good time to do something about the entrance to the basement. We needed the road to be wider, and we needed retaining walls on either side. It didn't have to be pretty...it just had to be solid.

Sam Longtain showed up with his equipment and began scooping out dirt, and placing huge interlocking
blocks. These blocks are made locally at Southwest Concrete. When they have a truck come back to the shop with leftover cement, they pour them into these blocks. They may differ in the mix, or the amount of calcium, etc, but, boy can they hold back a ton of sand! And that's just what we need.

When he was done, the entry to the basement was wide, clean and solid. As an added bonus, we will have a path up to the other side of the hill between the house and the barn.
No, don't flinch. I'll plant grape ivy, or nasturtiums or something along those blocks to make them look less industrial.

I Think That I Shall Never See A Poem As Lovely As A Tree

2010-12-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

I've been playing with tile for the fireplace surrounds. I would love, love, love to get something like Pratt and Larson tiles, or some other kind of handcrafted, period specific tiles, but since I'm not filthy rich, that's out. for the most part, slate tiles have been done to death, although they are used a lot because they are beautiful.I spotted some 3x6 slate tiles and decided to mix in some accents and see if I could find a pattern that wasn't too far off the mark for Craftsman style. I'm still working on it.

Saturday, Ed and I drove down to Tsugawa's Nursery in Woodland. They have a wonderful selection of Japanese maples and dwarf evergreens. Ms. Lawrence spent quite a bit of time helping us decide which trees to bring home, and how to best place them. What a font of information she is! We came home with a kousa dogwood "Milky Way", the largest tree, and three maples, "Red Dragon", "Crimson Queen", and "Tamukeyama". As soon as Ed gets the sidewalks repoured, I'll put them in the ground. Winter is the best time to plant these trees, since it gives them time to set roots before the growth spurt in the spring.

We've been impatiently waiting for plumbing fixture deliveries. Finally, on Monday, we received three! First was the Kohler jetted tub, followed by Swanstone shower pans, then Santec shower unit for the craft room mudpan. Still MIA are two more Kohler tubs, and Grohe shower fixtures. Somehow they don't have the expected drama just sitting in the cardboard boxes. But ohhh, when they're in!

In the meantime, Ed has been plugging away (no pun intended) with the electrical. He's been nailing in those little blue junction boxes everywhere. Starting in the basement he has started fishing wire from box to box.We should keep a count and see how many miles of wire it takes to complete the job.

Thanks Be To God

2010-11-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks be to God for roses rare,
For skies of blue and sunshine fair,
For every gift I raise a prayer,
Thanks be to God!

Today is Thanksgiving, and there are not words enough to express my humble gratitude. We've worked a year on the new house. No one has been injured, fallen ill, ..or fallen, for that matter. Family and friends are all well and happy.

Last Wednesday the fireplaces came. They are BIS Tradition CE, which are non-catalytic zero clearance stoves, installed by Woodstove Warehouse in Kelso.
Ed had previously built the frames and chases, so it was just a matter of making a few adjustments and beefing up the base support. The doors aren't here yet, and the big aluminum protector plate will stay in place until the tile is set on the surround.

In the meantime, I stand where the kitchen will be, and admire the view. I love the openness of this floor plan. It will be nice to be in the kitchen and still be a part of whatever is going on. There will be craftsman style bookcases on either side.

Upstairs in the family room and library the other fireplace awaits. This is the view from the bedroom door. The entertainment cabinet will be on the left, and will have the TV, stereo and miscellaneous electronics. To the right will be a box for firewood. My guess is that we will spend the day downstairs in the kitchen and craft room, and evenings upstairs. Time will tell.

In the wintertime, the view from the balcony completely changes. The big leaf maples,alders and cascara trees lose their leaves which allows us to have a clear view of the middle pasture and the creek. The creek takes on a life of it's own in the winter. We don't have rain storms, we have weather events. With 100" of rain per year, that creek can be really scary! Fortunately in the five years we've been here, it's only come over the top once.

It's hard to believe we drove up here on Thanksgiving Day five years ago. We had the truck packed full, and pulled a trailer with the second car which was also packed full. Everything else came by moving van a week later. Ed commuted 800 miles each way to work for four long years. By Thanksgiving next year we should be in our new home. Thanks be to God.

Good News, Bad News

2010-11-16T14:03:00.000-08:00

We've had Mount Vesuvius in our front yard since the basement was dug a year ago. Most of the dirt went down into the pasture, but we still managed to keep quite a pile. Now that the bulk of the heavy delivery trucks have come and gone, we wanted to regain some semblance of a front yard. I've been trying to figure out what I want this area to look like, but it's tough to get the picture in my mind when there is a monster pile of mud in the center.

Fall and winter are the best times to plant trees and perennials, so Ed wanted to move the dirt around before the heavy rains start. The rule is:
" If there is sun, outside's the one. If it is wet, inside's the best bet."
Ok, it's a cheesy rhyme, but it's the best I could do in a pinch. Not only is the dirt heavier if it's soaking wet, but the tractor churns up the mud like a Cuisinart on steroids. It took two days to move the pile, and put it down on the road he's been working on. The first day was a nice day. The second day...not so much.

By the end of the second day, things were pretty wet, but most of the dirt was gone. We spent the afternoon picking up construction debris and loading it into the truck. We then made the second dump run in a week.
Now I can start planning! I see a kousa dogwood tree, a few small Japanese maples, some small lavender, rhodys...whatever the deer won't eat.

Once the rains started, Ed moved back inside. The fireplaces will be installed tomorrow. Ed finished framing the upstairs fireplace.
He also had to re-work the framing in the east bathroom. Because the plans showed no route for the HVAC ducting, we had to improvise. Some of it came up through the upstairs bathroom which completely changed the configuration of the bathroom. To retain the elements we wanted, ie, double sinks, we decided to take out the linen closet, put the sinks where the linen closet was going to be, and use an antique armoire for the linens instead. In practical terms, this meant, Ed had to rip out some framing that was already completed and re-do it. In mental terms, it was like removing a tooth with pliers. But once he made the decision, he went right to it. It'll be perfect.

He had some other details to complete upstairs, such as finishing the final pieces of fire blocking.

He also had to frame in attic access panels in each upstairs closet, and one from the east upstairs closet to access the attic over the craft room. I'm not sure why these are code. I'm sure there is a logical reason...I'll let you know if I think of one.

The good news is, tomorrow I fly south to visit family for a few days. The bad news is, the fireplaces will be installed tomorrow and I'll miss it. Hopefully Ed won't be too busy to take some photos. I'll only be gone for a few days, but things have started happening at a rapid pace.

Two Cats In The Yard, Life Used To Be So Hard, Now Everything Is Easy Cause Of You

2010-11-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

   Who would have believed that the huge pile of lumber and Trex deck in the driveway would be almost completely gone? We can actually use the driveway now!
   This week Ed and Rick finished up the exterior decking and stairs. It's low on the list of priorities, but before final inspection, the stairs going up to the apartment will be completely re-worked and tied into the deck. In the meantime, it'll be a little tight walking into the garage.

   This portion of deck goes from the front side between the house and the garage, to the back deck. There are stairs on either side, one set that come up to the craft room door, then some that come down the back and to the garage entrance.

I can't even tell you how nice it is to have stairs going up to the back door. No more entry ladders! And I can almost avoid walking in wet sand...almost. Of course the dog and cats don't want to go along with the program. Nonetheless, the amount of sand being tracked into the apartment has been greatly reduced. Even so, I could probably make sand sculptures with the amount of stuff coming in.

Kendra doesn't make much of a mess. Oh, she sheds a little, and she's tough on the baseboards which she uses as a scratching post, but for the most part she's about as slow as you'd expect a 17 year old cat to be. She does enjoy a nice winter fire. She sat in front of our Hearthstone Tribute stove for about 20 minutes, staring at the fire like it was a TV. We love this stove. It's attractive, and efficient. Maybe a little too efficient for 700 square feet of living space. We have to be conservative in it's use or we roast ourselves out of the room!

Mittens and Midnight have a different approach to the use of the stove. The stove makes a nice backdrop for the food bowl, which is, apparently, where Midnight spends the..er..bulk..of his time. It's never too difficult to tell which twin is which with these two. Just remember to lift with the legs and use proper body mechanics when picking up one's cat. At 22 lbs., he's a workout.

We had originally planned to put a Hearthstone stove on both floors, but finally decided to go with the BIS Tradition CE woodburning zero clearance fireplace. It is a very efficient non-catalytic fireplace, that will provide plenty of heat for our needs. Of course, we have a furnace system in the event we need that, but wood will be our first choice.

I found a local supplier who will also be doing the installation of both fireplaces. I have every confidence Ed could handle the job, but this is one of those things that MUST be done absolutely correctly. Ed started working on framing up the surround. Since we have a fireplace upstairs and down, getting both stovepipes up the chimney will take some careful planning.
Ed decided to build the surround on a piece of plywood so he could adjust the location when the installer is here, then nail the surround to the wall when it is in the perfect location. How does he think of that!?

We will have a 12" rise for a hearth to make the fireplace more visible. It also makes a nice place to sit. There will be step-back bookcases on either side, in the Craftsman style. A nice book...a cup of tea...does it get much better than that?

You're Stairing or Tread Lightly

2010-10-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

After a very wet and rainy weekend, Ed and Rick framed in the rooms in the basement. The utility room is just off the exterior basement roll-up door. In the center will be a media room, with stairs to the rest of the house, a game room, affectionately known as the Saloon, and the gym.
Once the basement interior was framed, Ed started prepping for more cement. This time he's pouring the front stair base and the footing for the side deck which will connect the house to the garage.

The next morning he knocked the forms apart and started hanging the stringers which he had already cut. Because the stairs are made out of Trex deck, the stringers have to be every 16". This accommodates both the flex (Trex flex!) and the curvature of the stairs.

Each tread piece went from stringer to stringer. Each riser was in three pieces. Between the risers and the stair treads, there were 110 pieces. Each piece had to be individually marked and cut.

   I had driven into town to order fireplaces and run errands. By the time I got home in the afternoon,  the front stairs were finished. This is the first time we have been able to access the house without either going up a ladder, or entering through the basement. I went up and down the stairs several times, just to try them out. Aren't they beautiful?

Storm's A'Coming

2010-10-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ed and Rick have been working to get the last of the shingling finished before the rain starts. Ed says it feels like he's been stapling shingles for years, but has really been two months. They stapled that first shingle the last week of August.
Always thinking ahead, Ed wired in two electrical boxes for the Christmas lights. Then they began putting up the tongue-in-groove pine boards for the front porch soffit.

It looks awesome! In fact it looks so good Ed decided to use it on the back porch soffit as well. We had originally used stained cedar plywood, but aren't happy with how it looks. Ed can just install this right over the plywood, and it will look so much better.
Finally, that last shingle went on. It's a milestone, believe me!

In the meantime, we had a run of really beautiful fall weather. I wanted to paint the basement door to match the faux carriage doors I painted on the garage. It's a little silly because you can't really see the basement roll-up door. But that didn't slow me down.
Over the basic white, and just to be sure, I put a coat of Kilz primer. You can never go wrong with a nice coat of primer. I'm sure that's a proverb someplace..After the primer dried, I applied a coat of Valspar exterior satin, Natural Cork. Then a coat of 3 parts glaze, 1 part Natural Cork, and 1/2 part (?) of black. Brush it on, wipe it off. The darker color gets in the grooves of the simulated wood grain and adds a sense of depth.

How lucky can I get? I awoke to another glorious day..cold in the morning and sunny all afternoon. I got out my pencil, copied my design from my graph paper to the door and mixed the next color. This time, no glaze, 1 pint of Natural Cork, and 2 oz. of black.
If the weather were not about to change, I would have let this dry for several days. OK, maybe not, because I have no patience, but I was having fun.

I started painting the shadow lines.This is what defines the door, and makes it three dimensional. It took staring at photos of doors for quite some time for me to get this because I'm not artistic by nature. I also painted in some hinges and door handles. Later today I'll put some little detail touches on those pieces, using some touches of lighter paint to paint in screws, and create roundness on the door handles.

What a feeling! The entire exterior of the house is secure, locks are on the doors, and sealed to the weather. We were so concerned that we wouldn't have it done in time before winter arrived. Today is going to be the last decent day for a while. It feels good to know it can storm all it wants, without ill effect. Ed has worked so hard to get it done. Now he can take a breath!

One Hot Ragtime or That Burns My Britches

2010-10-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

The shingling continues. Ed is really tired of it, but he expects to be done this week. He's really looking forward to that! This is the east side of the house. Those darned corbels are a pain to put up, because it requires about 6 trips up and down the ladder. Carry up the base. Measure the length and angle. Go down the ladder. Cut the angle off the base. Go back up the ladder. Secure the base. Go back down the ladder. Get the corbel. Go up the ladder. Like that.

After the east side was done, they moved to the back and worked on the second story. I love the way the shingles wrap around the top of the center window. Each shingle had to be cut to fit. Ed has an amazing eye for detail, and it really shows.

   In the meantime, it's been my job to stain and seal the front door, sidelights and transom. I used Minwax pre-stain wood treatment to help the stain go on more evenly. It's a mixture of varnish and paint thinner. Then I used Minwax gel stain, Aged Oak, and Minwax urethane sealer.

   Note To Self: Do not take a rag full of paint thinner and stain and stick it in your back jeans pocket for several hours.
   I was waiting for one coat to dry, and was checking my e-mail, when I felt a horrible pain in my back. "Oh great," I thought "I've pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve or something." It was pretty intense, and getting stronger. I finally realized that darned paint rag in my back pocket had soaked through and was burning my skin. I wound up with a nasty burn the size of ..well..a pants pocket..on my ..er..hip. I probably won't do that again!

The good news is, the door looks great. It is a Simpson door in douglas fir. The stile in the center of the door echoes the shape of the columns on the porch.

The locksets we decided on are Emtek Arts and Crafts edition, with glass knobs on the interior side. I'm thrilled. They are beautiful.
I'm always a little nervous ordering items sight unseen on the internet, but this was definitely a very good choice.

They are heavy and solid. The mechanics work smoothly and quietly. And they just make my heart sing every time I look at them. That's a good thing because there are eight doors that will have them.

Yesterday I stained piece after piece of 6" tongue-in-groove boards for the front porch soffits. No, I didn't put anything in my back pocket.I did manage to get it all stained without further injury.
As soon as Ed and Rick are done with the shingles, the soffit will be the next project.

Just about the time I was done with the staining, the Milgard representative showed up to finish the last of the corrections on the windows. In no time at all he changed out the regular glass and installed the tempered glass. The windows are finally correct and complete.

This morning, Overhead Door Co. showed up to install the basement roll up door. They were done, cleaned up and out of here in two hours. I'll probably paint this door to match the faux carriage doors on the garage, but I'll need three days of good weather to do that, and rain is predicted for tomorrow.

This Is The Song That Never Ends

2010-10-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

Ed is still shingling. Have I mentioned the shingles? They go on and on. Ed finished the west side of the house, which is the weather side. It was also the highest, scariest side to work on.
Now that it's autumn, and the leaves are coming off the trees, you can see the house from the road. As you come up the valley, this is the first glimpse of the house. Those beautiful cedar shingles, placed one by one, are a striking sight.

But....second verse, same as the first. Ed and Rick moved over to the other side of the house and began again. At least by this time, Ed has stopped worrying about the weather. He's confident he can get the shingles on before the heavy rains start. We're also finally getting that beautiful fall weather. It's cold in the morning, and clear and 65* during the day, perfect working weather.

Ed put up the corbels (lookouts..I'm never sure what to call them..) and kept moving up.

Ed and Rick have put up about 50 boxes of shingles. Each box covers 50 square feet. Ed figures he'll use about six more boxes. Two staples per shingle, sometimes three for the big ones. Every piece that angles against the roof or window trim has to be cut to fit. That's a lot of custom fitting. It's a lot of cardboard boxes to the recycle bin. The best byproduct is the trim of the shingles. It makes great kindling for the fireplace!

It just goes on and on. I would be overwhelmed by the size of the project, but Ed says to just take it in small daily steps.

"Slow and steady wins the race", he reminds me.
And, of course, he's right. He's finishing up the sides of the dormer today, and will finish the front this week.

In the meantime, the correct front door was delivered, and I got right to work. The door is douglas fir, so I used a pre-stain treatment on the wood before I stained it. I used the same stain on the front door as I used on the Codel fiberglass french doors, Minwax gel stain, Aged Oak. It comes out a little darker on the fir than the fiberglass, which is fine.
As soon as it warms up a little bit this morning, I'll put on the first coat of sealer.

The bane of my existence has become the Codel fiberglass french doors. Had I known then what I know now, I would not have bought Codel doors. My first inkling was when I tried to call their customer service line after mis-applying the gel stain. That was not a happy or productive experience, but I thought "Hey, every company has an employee that doesn't know which end is up."

We bought six sets of in-swing french doors. As I began to stain one set, I noticed the embossed grain on the one door was completely different than the other five sets. Most of them are embossed to look like an actual wood door. I mean, that's the point isn't it?

   The one set has the grain all going the same direction, vertically. It looks like somebody took a big piece of plywood, cut a hole in the middle for the glass, and called it a door. It's awful! I called the window and door company we bought them through, who agreed it didn't sound normal and said they would have the Codel representative call us.
   Kal, the Codel representative called us the next morning. After some back and forth calling, Kal advised us that the french doors are made in three widths. The wide and narrow width doors are made as a normal door is made, as our five other sets are made. The middle size, is manufactured differently. Neither the distributor in Longview, nor Kal, the Codel representative had even been aware of this, which apparently is why we hadn't been advised when we bought the doors. Codel would be willing to replace this door with a smaller or larger door, but they wouldn't cover the new framing. Just to be clear, framing includes the exterior custom door trim, the shingles that surround the trim, and the transom window over the door, all of which are already in place. All of those would have to be torn out and replaced out of our pocket. And Ed would have to suspend shingling the rest of the south side of the house until the new door and new transom window were manufactured and installed. Did I mention we have only two weeks of decent weather before winter is here? Other than that Codel had no solution for us, nor were they particularly concerned.
   Words fail me. The door looks horrible, and it would cost over $1000.00 to rework the door opening. If I win the lottery, the first thing going to the dump are these Codel doors.

In spite of this aggravation, life is good. Every day that the work gets done without anyone falling or getting injured is a good day. We have food on the table, love in our hearts, and hope for the next day. Bright blessings surround us.

She's Got Me Higher And Higher

2010-09-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

We had family visiting for a few days which is always a treat. Our neighbor Mike very generously took Dan and Ed out on his boat to do some fishing. Dan came home with a real beauty of a salmon. After the fish was filleted, we took the carcass up into the woods for the raccoons to enjoy. The visit was way too short, and before we knew it, everyone was packed in the car and on their way.

All too soon Ed was back to work. The current drive is to get the exterior secured for the winter. That means shingles on, gutters and downspouts in place, doors and windows secured. The gutters are up. Ed has the stuff for the downspouts. Shingles are being stapled up at a furious pace. We're still waiting for Milgard to correct errors with the windows. The front door was supposed to arrive last week. Door locks are on order and should be here in a few days.

The rows of shingles have to match, from side to side. Ed and Rick up to the top of the windows in the front, then moved to the weather side of the house. This side faces west and takes the brunt of the wind, rain , and if we ever get any, sun. It also happens to be the tallest and largest. The maze of ladders and scaffolding makes me dizzy...and I'm on the ground!

  Ed also finished making all the outlooks (lookouts?) which are made from cedar 4x4s. It's too bad that this will be the least visible side of the house, because it's really pretty.
   They just keep working their way up, shingle after shingle. At some point they have to stop, move the scaffolding, and start over. It's a lot of trips up and down that ladder. And it's really far down to the ground.

They both seem to feel secure on that scaffolding, although it scares me to death. I'll be really glad when they are done with this part. That should be some time around noon today, but who's counting?

Fit and Trim

2010-09-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

   The push is on to get the exterior of the house secured before winter. Since we didn't have much of a summer this year, we expect winter to hit early.
   Ed has been working like crazy to get the felt paper on the house. Up the ladder, down the ladder, move the ladder.

   In a perfect world, Ed would be able to get the shingling done in record time, with no interruptions, no hassles. He would have all the staples (stainless steel) he needed on-site, and just exactly the perfect number of squares of shingles.
   Ask yourself, is this a perfect world?
   No.

In spite of those imperfections, Ed is giving it all he's got...and that's a lot. He and Rick have gone through 5,000 staples in three days. Every shingle that edges a window, or a door, or a corner must be custom cut and fit.
If his luck holds, he has seven more weeks of good weather. Subtract a day here and there for the unforeseen circumstances that accompany a building project, and the timeline shrinks at an alarming pace. He'll do the best he can, and it'll have to be good enough.

Just prior to starting the shingles, Ed and Rick cut all the cedar trim for the doors and windows. After priming and painting, the trim went up pretty fast. All the trim needed to go on before the shingles because the shingles had to be cut precisely to fit against it.

We use Sherwin Williams paint for the trim. The color is Shade Tree, which is actually a stain color, but we have them mix it into the exterior paint instead.
It's really beautiful against the cedar shingles.

I love the tapered lines of the trim. It mimics the lines of the front and back columns (once they're done), subtle but gentle on the eyes.

The Entek HVAC crew is finishing up. I mentioned before that the house plans didn't provide for space for the necessary mechanical ducting, so we had to carve it out of available space. In this case, we lost a closet, moved the small guest powder room, and will still have an odd soffit coming down into the powder room ceiling. Every house needs some little quirky something. This one is ours. We'll make it work.

Tim, from Simplex Grinnell is finishing up the fire sprinkler system. That orange pipe could mean the difference between replacing some sheetrock and a few mattresses, or losing everything. The volunteer fire department here has an enormous amount of dedication, heart, and courage. That means it's our job to do everything we can to make sure we don't put them needlessly at risk.

We are miles from almost everything, and there are no fire hydrants to be had. This system includes a 400 gallon water tank in the basement, which we hope and pray we'll never need.

Last night after the work was done, Ed was so tired he could hardly move. I stepped outside to put the chickens in, and spotted a herd of elk moving into our west pasture. They were led by a magnificent bull elk, masterfully in charge of a herd of 25 cows and calves.

This is why we live here, why Ed works so hard. After five years, we are still in awe of the beauty of this place.

A Window Of Opportunity Or The Stripper

2010-08-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Another chaotic week. I guess I'd better get used to it, because it seems to be the norm now.

The Windows

We ordered Milgard windows through a vendor in Longview. In fact, they were the same window style we used for the apartment, and the same vendor. The windows were to be delivered direct from Milgard on Thursday the 19th. Some of the windows were there, some were not. Some of the screens were there, some were not. Some of the windows should have been tempered,,,like that. Some of the windows were correct, so Ed and Rick began putting in the ones that were ok. This particular group of windows is on the north side of the kitchen. The center window is stationary and the side windows open. It wasn't until Ed began to put the windows in that he noticed two little things. The exterior profile of a stationary window and side windows that open are markedly different. Who would have thought. In fact it never occurred to us that this might be the case, nor did our vendor mention it. After staring at it for a few minutes and shaking our heads, we decided we could live with it and Ed finished the install. We went inside to look at it from that perspective.

Now I'm a symmetrical kind of person. I don't do abstract very well. If things are uneven, bad things can happen, like..oh..the earth could start rotating off it's axis or something. So when I looked at the windows, my mind's eye blinked. We went back outside to look again. Yup. the grids for the center window are completely off with the side windows.
After making a list, I went back inside the apartment to call the window folks. I wasn't happy.

Some of the upstairs windows were good to go so those went in. It's funny how every little step makes such a big difference on the appearance of the structure.
That big upstairs window will be in the library. Actually it's more like a very large family room with lots of books at one end, but it's fun to call it my library. I wonder if I have enough books to file them by Dewey Decimal System.

Monday five of the missing windows were delivered. Ed realized he had framed two of the openings a little too small and had to rebuild them. He rarely makes a mistake and isn't very forgiving of himself. First thing this morning he corrected the error and placed the remaining on-site windows.

The Doors

Speaking of mistakes, let me share my fiberglass door fiasco. Maybe in the process I can prevent some other poor soul from repeating my mistake. We bought six sets of Codel fiberglass french doors for the south side of the house. I wanted to stain and seal them, like we had done for the apartment door. Codel recommends Minwax gel stain, but gives no specifics for application. I chose my color, Aged Oak.
On the can it says:

STAIN APPLICATION:

Test stain on hidden area to verify desired color.
Using a high quality natural bristle brush, spread a thin, even coat over the entire surface, starting with the raised panel sections. Always make final brush strokes in the direction of the embossed grain.
Minwax^® Gel Stain remains brushable for an extended period of time. Areas of heavier coats should be evened out before moving to a new section.
Gel Stain, while wet, is easily removed with a rag moistened with mineral spirits.
Allow stain to dry approximately 6 to 8 hours.
To darken the color, apply additional coats of Gel Stain by following the instructions above. Allow approximately 6 to 8 hours between coats for the stain to dry.

Ok. Well I had a medium quality, heavily used bristle brush, but I was pretty sure it was adequate and I went to work. I stained the three downstairs sets of doors. I was having a problem because the gel stain was setting up really fast and getting tacky. Once it gets tacky there's no going over it with the brush. But I worked faster and pushed on. By the time I was done with the third set I realized that they didn't look like oak. They looked like some kind of antiquing paint kit from the 60s. They were a streaky mess. It was several hours of work, but it would all have to come off.

I read what I could on the internet on how to remove the gel stain, with very conflicting information. I didn't want to damage the fiberglass doors in removing the stain. I guess the Minwax folks have such confidence in their product that they can't conceive that anyone would want to remove it because there is no information on how to do so.

I called the Codel door company and explained my problem to the Codel service representative. She was a very pleasant woman.

Codel: "Well it says here, you should wash the door with soap and water and let dry."

Me: "Really? Because this stuff has dried on for 6 hours, and I don't think it's supposed to just wash off. Are you sure that isn't how to prepare the door to stain? I want to take the recommended stain off without damaging the door."

Codel: "I'm sorry, that's all it says under "stain".

I thank her for her time and hang up.

"Hmm, " I think, "Dad always thought highly of Jasco products. He said that Jasco could get stuff off faster than a sailer with a $2...." Well never mind what Dad said. I e-mailed Jasco customer service, and got an immediate response. No Jasco product is recommended for fiberglass doors. Ok then.

Next stop, Sherwin William paint store, where I'd picked up the Minwax gel stain. Those guys know everything there is about paint. I explained my dilemma, and was met with grim news.

"Pretty much nothing will take off that gel stain.Your problem sounds like your applicator." The Paint Guy shook his head, "You may have to just prime and paint the doors."

I was sick. I was blinking as hard as I could because I hate to cry in public. I bought a large bag of rags, a new white china bristle brush, two packages of staining pads and some Goo-Gone. I headed for Home Depot.

Home Depot carries a product called Citristrip, which is a mild, low fume paint stripper. Some internet chatters went so far as to label it ineffective. "That outta be safe for fiberglass", I thought. I bought the big jug.

Sometimes you just hit the sweet spot. The label says to apply the gel, wait 30 minutes and remove the

residue. Granted, there was only one coat of stain and no coats of varnish, but I'd been led to believe that this gel stain was the cast iron of the stain world. That stuff started to lift and bubble right away!

I started painting the gel on the French door and by the time I got around the frame, it was ready to come off. I used a green scrubbie, repeatedly rinsing the gunk into a bucket, then wiped the whole door down with a clean wet cloth. Once the whole door was done, I wiped it down with denatured alcohol. I was ready to stain again. It took about 3 hours to strip the set, and I have two sets to go. I was so happy I wouldn't have to prime and paint them, I didn't even care.

The Rest

In the meantime, Ed was working at getting the cedar plywood up on the back porch soffits. The drywall lift seemed to be the right tool for the job, and sure beat trying to lift them manually.

We discussed using tongue-in-groove wood, or even beadboard, as we have seen done in other homes. It looks beautiful. We decided to made do with the cedar plywood here and we can change it out later if we choose. It looks great and it's easy on the budget.

The HVAC guys are still working on the ducts. All that work, and most of it won't show.

We love the Robinson Plans floorplans. The blueprints leave a little to be desired, as they're short on detail. In this case the detail that is missing is how to run the mechanics from one floor to another. There is no space to run the HVAC ducts from the basement, through the first floor, to the second floor. We had already forfeited an entryway closet and moved the guest powder room to accommodate the ducting, but because of where the joists are, a bulkhead will still need to be run in an awkward path through that powder room. We'll make it work, but it was an unexpected surprise. The Entek HVAC boss, Phil, is very careful to explain each step and keep us in the loop.

It has been a very cold summer, and on the rare warm days we have noticed a lot of moisture on the basement floor. How can this be? Short of magical spells, Ed has done everything possible to insure that the basement is leakproof. Finally he picked up a bucket and found his answer. Under the bucket was dry. The water isn't coming from under the cement, it's coming from the air! Just like a giant iced tea glass, the warm damp air hits the cool concrete and the water condenses right out of the atmosphere. What a relief!

Finally, today Ed and Rick started shingling the sides of the house. Now that the doors and windows are well on their way, the next step to winterizing the structure is to get those shingles on.

It'll take weeks and weeks. Boxes of shingles, hundreds of perfectly fitted pieces. Hopefully this beautiful warm autumn weather will hold, and the rains won't start until mid October. We often have our most beautiful weather in the fall.

Trex or Treat

2010-08-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here's one of those questions smug college professors like to ask second year philosophy students. If complete chaos already exists, and things get even more crazy, what do you have?
The answer, grasshopper, is simple. You have a construction site.

   Ed was all set to go like gangbusters on the Trex deck so that it would be all installed before the windows came this week. He and Rick began sorting out lengths only to discover that there was a huge variance in color between the 16' and the 20' lengths.
   Ed calls Probuild Lumber, who calls Trex, who calls Laura The Rep, who calls us. She says she'll be out the next day to take a look.
   Ed does a re-count and realizes he has enough of the rest to do the balcony deck, and he and Rick start hauling Trex up the stairs completed in the last episode.

They are using the hidden clips. The clips require a bit of a learning curve, but once they're in the groove (pardon the pun) they move right along. Ed was repeatedly interrupted by several games of speed phone tag with the lumber folks and the Trex people, but by the end of the day they finished the balcony. It's a thing of beauty.

We took a few minutes at the end of the day to go up and just sit. I can tell this will be one of our favorite places in the house. The elk and the turkeys in the pasture don't seem to see us, and view is stunning.

   The next day Laura The Trex Rep showed up, as promised, and agreed that the color and texture of the 20' pieces was unacceptable. She calls Probuild who then calls every supplier west of the Rockies to find replacements. We need 84 of them, and they're not to be had. They can get them in three weeks....
   Construction is kind of like Anatomy 101 only different. The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone. So the Trex needs to go down before the windows go in. The windows have to go in before the trim, which is flared out at the bottom, goes in. The trim has to go on before the exterior wall shingles go on. The shingles need to go up before winter, which is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!
   Nick and Jim at Probuild made a lot of phone calls ,did some arm twisting, and I'll guess, some pleading, then called with the very good news that the replacement Trex would be here in three days. Thanks guys!
   It all looks good. What could go wrong? Enter the dumbwaiter. We are installing a dumbwaiter that will go from the basement where wood is stored, to the first and second floors adjacent to the wood stoves. The delivery guy calls from someplace south of Portland.
   "You gonna be home today? We got some kinda elevator for you." , he says.
   "Yes!" I said excitedly, "Do you need directions?"
   "Nope, got it covered." he hangs up without a word of impending doom.
   I take off for the store, and Ed is left to deal with ...The Crate.
   It's smashed big-time. Ed has to call the maker, who has him note the damage on the invoice, then try to make some evaluation of said damage. Will it effect function? Is it just cosmetic? Who knows?
   Monday I sent pictures, with closeups to their service rep, who said there should be no problem and to go ahead with the installation. Fingers crossed, I save the e-mails.

The HVAC guys showed up exactly on time, with everything they needed. Entek Systems out of Longview is a very nice company to deal with. They began to fill the basement with enough stuff to build a battleship. How they build the systems they do and still keep their work area as neat as they do is a mystery to me. I wonder if they do housekeeping...

The basement is starting to look like a frozen food plant. There are chutes and sheet metal up in the ceiling, and there are still plumbing, electrical, phones and central vac to go. There will be bulkheads that will cover it all, but right now it looks pretty industrial.

In the meantime, Ed and Rick have been jumping from job to job waiting for the replacement Trex. Monday, they worked on installing the doors. There are six sets of French doors and the laundry door. The front door won't be here for several weeks.

The PLAN is to train the pets (and their people) to use the laundry door for the daily in and out stuff. The laundry room will probably have tile flooring, or something similarly easy to clean. It's amazing how much sand can stick to wet cat feet!

Tuesday, as promised, the replacement Trex arrived on a Probuild truck. Ed and Rick had already stacked it for loading, and Ed used the forklift tines on the tractor to pick it up. It's a bit more flexible than wood, so picking up this stuff is like getting linguine to stay on a fork. You have to be dead center. Ed got the old Trex on the truck and the new Trex off without a hitch, so everybody was happy.

Now the priority is to get the decks finished, front and back, before the windows get here. They are scheduled to be delivered Friday, so next week is dedicated to mounting the windows. The back deck is pretty much straight runs. The front deck will be a little trickier because of the curve. That will probably be Saturday, so as they say, film at 11.

Ed had a pile of cut-offs and by chance noticed some little visitors. They are little iridescent blue-black beetles of some kind. They don't seem to be trying to eat the Trex as much as use it for a lawn chair. It's nice and warm, and it's been a cold overcast summer.

By yesterday's end, the back deck was pretty much done, with the exception of the portion off the dining room doors. I got pretty excited about setting up a pair of chairs and sharing the new porch with Ed. Soon the sunshine was gone, the overcast was back, but we savored the moment anyway.

By midmorning most of the dining room portion of the deck was finished. By this afternoon Ed will be starting on the front deck. Saturday is supposed to be warm (we'll see) and we can bend the sections for the front steps.

One Step At A Time Or What Are You Stairing At?

2010-08-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Ed has made the substructure of the balcony so it will drain properly. The plywood subfloor goes down over the graded joists, then he has to install a heavy liner material, usually used for koi ponds. For the record, this stuff weighs a ton, and the stairs aren't finished yet.

Ed and Rick manhandled the roll of liner into the house and rigged a rope hoist to pull it up the stairwell. As they were hoisting from the second story, the whole thing began to list to one side. For a moment I thought the whole thing was going to wind up in the basement. Then I realized while they were up on the second floor tugging with all their might, the edge of the roll had snagged on a nail. I dropped the camera, grabbed a pushbroom and shoved the roll off the nail so they could finish pulling the liner up to the second story.

Now a nail hole is not what you want in your liner. I mean, what's the point? Fortunately it was in a place that they could trim off. And what a surprise! It rained the next afternoon so we could check the water flow. It was perfect, by the way.

Next came the deck joists. The Trex deck will go on top. We'll put up a tempered glass rail and have an amazing upper deck, accessible from both bedrooms and the family room.

Things have been progressing in bits and pieces for the last few weeks. Depending on which inspector was due, and what materials were here, Ed had to jump from project to project, something he hates to do. Construction got to the point where he needed the main power panel installed in the basement. Running extension cords out of the garage, across the walkways, through both floors of the house construction and to the basement was becoming a major irritation. It was inefficient and cumbersome. It looks good here, but that's with my flash!

So we pulled another permit, this one from the State of Washington for the electrical to the house, and proceeded go live. Ed salvaged the main wire that used to go to the doublewide, and ran it from the meter through to the new house. A penny saved...The state inspector came out, checked everything, and signed it off. came out, checked everything, and signed it off.

Meantime, back at the ranch, Ed and Rick got back to work on the rest of the deck. Not only is the deck under the porch overhang, but extends to behind the craft room and next to the garage. This portion won't be covered.

But footings still have to be poured, and that means forms and a wheelbarrow. Yes, the old fashioned way..a little tough on the back but it does work. How is it that the first sack of 60 lb. Quickcrete feels like it weighs about 45 lbs, but the 10th bag weigh about 110 lbs?

This house is surrounded on three sides by deck, which is going to be wonderful, but it sure is a lot of space. Who knew I should budget for patio furniture?

Finally the Trex decking arrived. There are about 3/4 of a mile by lineal foot of the stuff, enough to cover over 1000 feet of deck. In my mind that is a monstrously huge pile of deck. Goodness knows the check to pay for it was big enough! So when I saw the stack that came off the truck, I was a little disappointed.

"Where's the rest of it?" I asked Ed.

He looks at me....

"That's it." he says. "Five big stacks. There should be plenty."

What do I know? He's been amazingly accurate until now. I'm just the lady with the camera.

For the last week, in between cement and electricity, Ed has been working on getting the stairs in. This is a big deal. The maze of ladders going from the basement to the main floor, and from the main floor to the second floor is scary.

But the real clincher was when Midnight, our sumo cat, went up the ladder to the second floor and was afraid to come down by himself. I won't say who went up and hand-carried our 20 lb boy down, but it wasn't me. Doors and windows are due next week, and those will require stairs to carry up to install.

Remember all that math you learned in high school, then promptly forgot? It's a good thing Ed still remembers, because he uses it every day in this project, especially when making the stairs. They have to be perfect. And, since it's a Big Ed Project, they are.

For the first time, we could walk the stairs from the basement to the second floor. It was a giant step...ok..a series of reasonably sized steps, but a momentous occasion none the less. Our 11 year old border collie, Abby, went upstairs with us for the first time. She really hated being left downstairs when we used the ladders. And Midnight waddles up and down the stairs with ease..not grace, just ease.

And as if on cue, the doors arrived this morning. Six sets of French doors and the back door of the craft room. Windows are due a week from Friday.