Nitty gritty work

Behind the scenes work continues...

Ken has successfully installed the auxiliary water heater in the master bath, giving us instant hot water since the bath is quite a distance from the water heater.

The master bath is operational now-- sinks, shower and toilets are all installed and working!

I have been working on finishing the windows, doors and stairs with tung oil. It will take several coats to get the proper finish.

Ken has installed the outside electrical outlets and covered the wires that eventually will be outlets on the yet to be constructed window seat in the living room. (The window seat is not needed for an occupancy permit-- but loose wires are frowned upon.)

Floor plans

I just realized that I never included the floor plans in the blog.



Second floor-- all living areas up to maximize the view. Click to enlarge picture.



First Floor-- entry. The bedrooms will be used as our offices. Click to enlarge picture

Fireplace progress

Adam has worked so hard that he now has some back problems. Hope he heals soon. We are loving the look of the fireplace so far.

Stonework on fireplace begun

Adam started working on putting the puzzle pieces together to place the stone on the fireplace front.

Moving the "rock"

Today was a feat of super-human strength. We had to move the big birthday "rock" (hearth stone) from the garage to the second floor fireplace. To do that required 4 strong men, a "custom" wood gurney and two supervisors (Ken and me) to watch out for corners and walls. There was a lot of red-faced grunting and groaning, but the deed was done, and the hearthstone is in place.

Up and over the banister!














The gurney... like carrying Cleopatra.




















The hearth stone in place. This rock is NOT going anywhere now.

More behind the scenes work

I have been working on the woodwork, applying Tung Oil to the fir that has not been previously treated. Not much to see yet... and Ken has been working on installing floor electrical outlets and the fixtures in the guest bathroom. Will post pictures when finished.

More progess on fireplace

After a day of Adam and me carrying stones up to the second floor, Adam started preparing the "scratch coat" to the fireplace before applying the stonework.

Deck railing

Bob H. installed temporary deck railings, which are required for occupancy as a safety feature. We expect the decking material to be delivered some time next week, but the flooring does not need to be installed for occupancy.

Hot Water!!!

Again with some behind the scenes, less glamorous work, Ken has successfully installed the hot water heater--complete with Seismic straps and an expansion tank. We now have hot water!!

Fireplace mantel

We were fortunate to find out about a local mill works and found a beautiful piece of local fir for our mantel. Bob H. cut, sanded and installed in the framed fireplace. We even have enough left over for a bench.

Master Bath-- vanity
Adam finished the stone work (travertine tiles) in late March and Ken has installed the faucets. Water connection is coming soon...

Getting stones ready

Adam and I carried the stones up to the second floor deck. Took us most of the day, loading them into milk crates and carrying them upstairs, but now we are ready. There are 100 square feet of stone and 20 linear feet of corners.

Behind the scenes

Ken has been working on some less glamorous tasks towards completing the project. The water softener is now installed in the laundry room and working properly.

Lots and lots of rock

On Saturday, we took our island truck to Cascade Stone Supply in Burlington and picked up the stone veneer for the fireplace-- another almost ton of rock. This old Silverado has served us well- despite the little inconvenience with the battery episode on Tuesday.

Fireplace progress

Bob H. worked on the framing for the fireplace, so now it is ready for adding the stone face to it.

We made another trip today to get the stone veneer for the fireplace. The island truck served us quite well this time.

We now have 100 square feet of rock and 20 linear feet of corner stones in the back of the truck. They were put in with a forklift. Our job now is to figure out how to get them out of the truckbed. :)

Below is a sample of the stone and how we envision it on the fireplace.