Not many workers on site today. Keith was here with a sidekick and they got most of the trim done on the screened porch ceiling and the lower back porch ceiling covered. I'm told an inspector showed up, I think to look at propane connections. Snow is melting off but we still have some on the ground.
Keith got all of the cedar up in the screened porch today. Just some trim boards and it will be finished. Looks good in my estimation. Masons also worked today but their work was all covered up by the time I got here. I finished the heat tape hookup in the pole building so frozen pipes there should be a thing of the past.
Ok, enough already with the weather. This is supposed to be short lived but not short enough for me. Hopefully this will be gone tomorrow.
The masons have worked their way across the front of the garage and are now working on the end. They're hoping to get one more good day around that side before the rain gets here.
The upper porch ceiling is now complete. It looks good all trimmed out.
The screened porch got mostly covered today with knotty cedar. This really looks good and I can't wait for it to be completed. Now we're talking. Weather is clear and in the forties but rain is due to arrive back tomorrow night.
The masons worked today. They have the post bases completed and everything above the porch. They also have the areas in the front of the garage done. Just the face on the front porch needs to get done and the front of the house will have all the stone applied. The weather was crystal clear and in the forties, perfect for working outdoors. For my part today I put heat tape on the pipes in the pole building so we don't have a repeat of broken pipes like a couple of weeks ago. I figure if I'm all prepared it will almost guarantee it won't get that cold in January.
Short day for most today. Masons were here for a while and I'm told plumbers were also here for a short time. Mark was here later in the afternoon and ended his day by installing the boxes for the garage lights. They are all weather proofed so the weather will stay out where it's supposed to be. Merry Christmas to everyone. Hope you all enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and stay safe.
The heat pump that went for a journey last week has been set in place. That's good because we need heat.
Masons moved to the front of the house so porch ceilings could be finished. This is adding a nice finishing touch to the front of the house. We did a walk through with Mark and Josh this morning. It was cold. We can't wait to see insulation going in and sheet rock going up. Sheet rock should be scheduled for the first week in January according to Josh.
Porch covers are going up. The beaded sides are exposed. One might call this a last minute decision. We do like the look.
Low voltage will be completed this evening. A lot of wire coming into this panel. Hopefully they can keep all of the straight. Mark keeps wiring backup power and masons keep masoning.
More detail work is getting completed. Trim boards are all up around the screened porch and this particular block is for the intercom at the front door. Porch ceilings look to be going up tomorrow and they should be close to completion on the outside of the house. Low voltage continues to be wired and if not complete, it's very close. Mark is running wire through the conduit to the pole building so the pumps will be on the backup system. A lot of people doing a lot of things. Days will now start to get longer, a red letter day on my calendar.
Mark was here later yesterday evening and mounted a few more can lights. These are in the great room and I think are actually the last of them. The 'decorative' wires that were hanging and coiled at the side of the room are now gone and up in the ceiling where they belong.
This is the wire for the fan that will be eventually installed in the peak but it gives the appearance that Mark might need some sort of intervention.
The heat pump is now in the garage until it's installed next week. There was a delivery problem so we had it delivered to the warehouse and I brought it home during the day today.
Low voltage wiring was started today and is supposed to be finished Monday. New colors of new wire to add to the house.
Masons actually didn't work today but this shot shows more of the detail on the loggia posts. Siding work continues with post wraps and trim. It's Friday..........hooray.
Masons are working on the loggia. I can't wait for this feature to be completed.
Arches were framed today on the front porch. Post wraps are also being applied. Mark is getting the generator wired in. Things are moving along and the weather is supposed to get better as the week ends.
Our new house needed a new guard dog. We picked up this ferocious West Highland White Terrier (Westie) the first of the week. His name is Tavish. There's a new sheriff in town.
The masons were able to get back to work today after the cold weather. They got the post finished they started a week ago. They expect to get the back porch finished up tomorrow.
Siding is almost done. This is up into the peak of the screened porch. Pump people got the damaged pipes repaired today so there's water back in all the new lines. Weather is almost 50 degrees and supposed to go over the 50 mark later in the week. That's the good news. The bad news is those temperatures come with rain..........a lot of rain. At least you don't have to shovel rain.
Our project this weekend was to get pictures of all the wiring before it gets covered up. We photographed every wall plus all the notes Mark put near all the boxes so we can look back later if need be to see how things were put together. I'm sure the wiring will be fine but it will be nice to see where things are if we want to hang pictures or other things on the walls after insulation and sheet rock are put up.
More trim and more siding went up Friday. They are getting closer to getting it finished up. Mark is getting the generator wiring in the underground conduit from the shop to the house. Cover approval has been given on the wiring so we will move to some finish work soon.
Siding is mostly up on the lower porch wall and the bay window is getting trimmed out. Sunny and dry today and made it all the way up to 33 degrees.
The two inch pipes in the pole building have become ice sticks, even shedding the PVC. All 2 inch pipes are broken but oddly the smaller pipes seem to be OK. They are coming tomorrow to replace the damaged pipes which is basically all of them. Weather is supposed to get warmer which of course will give us some snow and freezing rain. Hope that doesn't get too carried away. Conduit for back up power to the pole building is in the ground and buried. Mark is getting the generator hooked up and will wire it soon.
Siding installers have worked their way around to the west, and last, side of the house. It will be nice when it warms up so the masons can come back.
We just couldn't stand it. We had to dig one more trench. It's part of the back up power install to get the water pumps hooked up to the generator. We had a low of 9 degrees last night but they are forecasting a low of 20 for tonight so it's starting to warm up. We have a frozen and broken pipe on our new pump system. It will be repaired when things thaw out.
Siding was finished today on the front of the garage. We're glad we are not the ones working outside today.
They also got most of the front porch area done. Note the window over the front door is the last one to be installed. It's the right size and not broken.
This is not our new in floor heating system. It is however very effective at thawing out frozen pipes. Plumbing was drained but fire sprinklers were not and we ended up with a split pipe. Electrical work is being wrapped up and the heating system was started with a temporary water heating set up this evening. We are supposed to have one more night of middle teens for a low temperature and then start warming up slowly. The arctic air can go back to the arctic now, I've had enough.
Siding continues to go up. The north walls are now completed. Of course there's more stone to go on but it's getting closer.
They started on the front of the garage and put up these magnificent garage doors. Well at least it will keep out the wind. Electricians worked Saturday and Sunday and their work is nearly done for now. We have temporary lighting in the basement so the whole house can now be lit up. That will be helpful with the short days. Lows are supposed to get down into the middle teens tonight and tomorrow night then start to slowly warm. Plumbers drained pipes so they hopefully won't freeze. For me it's just plain cold out there. Brrrrrrrrr.
North gable end was finished today and looks nice.
It's been a while since I put a full picture of the front of the house on. It's coming together. Framers are still at it as well as masons. Mark brought some help in with the electrical and he says he'll be working tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for checking in and especially for leaving a comment once in a while. It appears comments are easier to get if non-related posting is done. :)
The masons got one of our posts done on the back of the house. They were working on the other one at the end of the day. They will soon get to the loggia.
The new generator arrived today. We had one on our old house but it didn't have enough capacity for our new one. It is placed behind the shop. They don't make a lot of noise when they run but there's enough distance with this install that we won't hear it inside the house at all. Siding was put up on the north side so the garage wall is completed and most of the gable end on the main part of the house. Framers are working on arches in the basement and the other things they are finishing up. The Ducks won the Civil War game this evening so we are headed to the Rose Bowl. It was a good day.
Something new today. Gutters started going up but they are not all done yet. They will help a great deal when the rains come again.
The framers are still working on things. They put sheeting on the fireplace chase. We like the curved hearth in front of the fireplace. Can't wait to see it when the stone is put on.
Someone was very happy the County approved the fireplace install. Masons are working on the concrete posts on the lower back porch. They completed the wall under the deck on the north end of the house. A lot of garbage was hauled out today but there is still a lot to go. Weather is clear and sunny but a bit cool. A year ago we were buried in snow, a situation I'm glad we don't have just yet with this project.
The framers were back today to finish up some things. They installed this window in the dining room but the transom window over the front door is the wrong size. This would be the same window that was broken when they delivered it the first time.
More siding was put up. This is the gable end over the master bedroom.
The window in the master bath was also trimmed out. We are slowly getting things sealed up. Masons continue on their quest but they covered up today's work with tarps making it difficult to take pictures.
The plumber was here today and installed two more water heaters, or at least what I believe are water heaters. They all fit into the pan that was previously installed.
More siding work was completed. This is the gable on the west side of the house. It looks good and now is sealed up. Globe Lighting was here with Mark to go over some lighting issues, one of my favorite subjects. Masons continue to do their work and the weather continues to cooperate, cool but not raining.
The masons worked all weekend. They removed the scaffolding that went up to the chimney and finished just about all the prep work for the rest of the house. They started installing the stone on the back side of the house working their way toward the loggia. Weather is cooperating, clear and sunny, and it's supposed to stay nice through Thursday. They should get a lot done this week. We had visits this weekend by cousins Al and Joann and friends Leryl and Vic. Both have recently moved into new homes and information from them has also been helpful during our project.
