The Wall

As requested, here are pictures of the wall in progress:

Ugly wall once couch was removed.

First coat of paint on installed Plywood.

After second coat of paint / current status.  Tucker's chair in place on RH side.  ;)

Friday Morning

Good morning!  I’m tired but ready to hit the day (and that’s progress)!  The laptop is being argumentative again this AM (what’s new), and so I’m writing offline and will post . . . and respond to your kind comments from yesterday as soon as all the electronic stars line up again.

So, yesterday, I started in on the living room.  Realizing that I haven’t changed the layout there since moving into the house (in September of 2006) – VERY strange for me (must have something to do with being so much busier here at Swamp River Ridge, an unfinished homestead, than the sweet tiny old place, Hastings-on-the-Lake) – I went for it.  Of course, this added, exponentially, to my day’s tasks.  One I got the couch away from the unfinished wall that it was half hiding, I realized JUST how MUCH that wall has been bothering me.  It’s a wall that is getting tongue and groove pine paneling, and one of my goals this fall (hahahahaha!) was to get the wood sanded, treated, and up.  Yeah, well.  But, as I looked at the now much-more-obvious-wall with displeasure, inspiration struck!  I still don’t have time to do the paneling, but I DO have quite a stock of 4x8 sheets of Plywood!  And, I have paint!

I went out to the store of Plywood, selected a decent piece, and, in the woodshed, started cutting (the hole for an outlet).  Back inside some time later – having accomplished that task and a bunch of chores – I stood the 4x8 sheet up, and I FIT!  I didn’t make the outlet hole too small.  Unfortunately, I did make it a little too big, and the outlet plate doesn’t quite cover it all up.  No matter, I had a portion of the ugly wall COVERED!  Next came out the cordless drill with the screwdriver bit attachment and a container of screws, and it was in place.  Now, for some paint. 

I bought most of the paint for all the rooms a couple of years ago . . . except the living room (which will be a light but warm green).  But, since this wall won’t, technically, have paint, anyway, I selected the beige-y color that will go on the middle room wall.  It was the closest I had to natural pine, and I certainly didn’t want to go with the glaring white I used for the dark pantry.

Two coats of paint later and my latest audio book, Hand of Evil by J.A. Jance, finished, I ended the work in the living room for the day.  I then booted up my big home computer and tried to do some MUCH OVERDUE work for Mama Pea . . . but couldn’t find the info she’d sent me for love nor money.  I tell ya, with three computers going at once (the laptop, my home office computer and my work office computer), I oftentimes have no idea which info is on which computer.  And, of course, the info I needed was on my work computer, an hour away.  I could have SWORN that I’d forwarded it to my home computer, but no luck.  I’m expecting an e-mail to be waiting for me this morning, re-sending the info needed (for the, ah-hem, THIRD time!).

So, without further ado, I’ll sign off here and go boot up the big computer to get that work done.  Then, it’s back out to the woodshed to cut the second, smaller piece of Plywood for that wall.  After the two coats of paint go on, I’ll be able to finish that room.  Maybe (????) I’ll even get to some Christmas decorations tonight!

Monday Morning

Well, so much for regular (daily?!) updates . . . but I'm gonna keep trying for 'em!

We celebrated the two year anniversary last week of selling our sweet little Hastings-on-the-Lake house and moving up here (ready or NOT!). That was such a comfortable little place, and suited us well. Of course, we don't regret the move for a second, but we can appreciate what that place meant to us. Besides, after all, it was our first house!

This is what we left on the day we handed the keys over:

And this is what we moved in to:

Good gawd. And, to think that we didn't have a shower for another 5 months yet . . . !

Last Friday marked another anniversary, but a sad one: the passing of Tom's dad, Ernie. Time's a funny thing: it seems soooooo much longer than only 1 year ago. This flower arrangement was one of the neatest gestures.


Ernie was the manager of the municipal liquor store his whole life and still poked his head in nearly every day to make sure everything was "as it should be". Anyway, he garnered the nickname of 'Soup' both for his last name (it was Tom's nickname at one point, too) and because of his "last call" warning to anyone who drank too much at the bar, "Buddy, time to GO HOME and have some soup!" (At least, I THINK that's how the story went. Tom? J?)

Okay, I'll come back to this if/when I need a break later today. I've gotta get some bill paying and budgeting done . . . and then onto more (yes, more) canning!

The Process of Installing a Chimney

Saturday before last, November 10th, my dad came out to help begin the process of installing the stovepipe and chimney for the old (antique?) Kalamazoo stove we have put in the middle room downstairs (where the fireplace will eventually be built). I have the wood cookstove in the kitchen, but we miss pulling a chair up to a crackling fire. Hence this addition - not out of necessity but rather for ambiance.

Anyway, here begins the process with them downstairs . . . Tom actually standing atop the Kalamazoo! (And, yes, the green towel on top of enamel DID make the surface rather slippery - ah-hem.)
Once the hole was cut in the proper place in the ceiling of the first floor / floor of the second floor (pretty boring to photograph), they moved upstairs where the stovepipe will extend through the master bedroom, adding warmth to that space.

The first order of business in the final tricky stage of cutting through the thick Structural Insulated Panel ceiling / roof was removing the ceiling paneling. That's what Tom's doing in this second picture.
Next was tearing the sub-floor of the SIPs out - not an easy job since it was Superglued (or whatever they use) to the 12-inch-thick hard foam insulation of the SIP. (And, yes, you do see wood resting in the rafters of our bedroom . . . but that's a story for another day.)

Finally, it was 12 inches of insulation up to the top deck of the SIP and then the zinc roof shingles. And, this is where the story gets interesting! ;)

When the SIP installers have to cut out any portion of the hard foam insulation, they use this "iron" which melts right through it. The thing must kick out about a million BTUs, and the smell of the melting foam is HORRID! Talk about releasing carcinogens! But, point being, it's a handy tool. (Here you see Tom using it deep in the hole through which the chimney will pass.)
H-O-W-E-V-E-R . . . in hindsight, we now realize we'd only seen it used outdoors or when there were no windows/doors on the house. And, with good reason: VENTILATION.

As my dad is looking on, noting the dangerously hot bits of melting foam falling down onto Tom (yes, some did land on his arm and burned it, I only discovered this past Sunday - a good week later) and commenting on the toxic noxious fumes being released (and that he'd do the job with a saw) . . . we notice the cloud of gasses that, for the third time, was building up in the hole. (See photo below.)

Then, WHOOM!, and the gases IGNITED, shooting a massive fireball out of the small, concentrated space down at Tom!

Is everyone okay? Everyone's fined - just a little freaked out! The hard foam is crackling to beat the band. Is it on fire? If so, will the fire spread along the roof - caught between the zinc shingles and the sub-floor of the SIPs? Where's the fire extinguisher, just in case?

The final picture is of Dad finishing out the job . . . this time with SAW in hand. The electric iron was, by this time, cooling outside on the wet front stoop, and we will not, needless to say, be using that in an enclosed space again.

Ah, yes . . . well, at least it's never boring! ;)

A Sink In The Utility Room!

Every house needs a utility room, and every utility room needs a sink.

A utility room is a place to catch the dirt. A room into which you enter through the back door or side door - the "every day door" (company uses the front door).

It's where stuff gets dumped as you come in with your arms full. Stuff that you're not sure where it goes, but it needs to come in.

The utility room is where "stuff to go out to the garage" gets stacked . . . on top of the dryer. The carpenter pencils found in Tom's work clothes, the box of screws that was brought in during a project but never taken back out.

And, the utility room is where you clean eggs or scrub up with Lava soap after a particularly dirty job. The only problem is . . . we didn't have a sink in the utility room in which to do those things.

So, in the continued effort to grant the wishes of those who want more "inside" pics, here is the new sink in the utility room! I know it may seem like an insignificant thing to many of you, but, trust me, it's not. When the only other sink in the house was the kitchen sink (which you don't want to clean eggs in nor scrub up after a filthy job in) or the sink in the master bathroom upstairs (ditto for the eggs and filthy hands) . . . well, you get the idea.

And, thanks to dear friends who completely gutted and remodeled their house, this pre-mounted stainless steel number was all ours!

These pictures were taken back in August, but nothing much has changed. I'll let you know when we actually panel the walls (and SOMEHOW disguise that hideously brilliant-blue pressure tank)! ;)

4 November 2007

I've been asked to post more pictures of the inside of the house so you can see the progress (or not) there.

Here is west end of the master bedroom (I'd just finished cleaning it). We still need to re-treat the timbers, paint the walls, and install (and stain) the window trim. A finished floor needs to go in, too. But, even in its unfinished state, it's warm and comfortable, and the view out the window above the bed is one most would kill for! ;)

16 June 2007

I know this picture doesn't "look like much", but it is a shot of two of the fabulous Arts and Crafts-style interior doors Tom has been building! The shot is taken in the entrance foyer . . . I'm standing in my office door looking across the hall. The door on the left leads to the utility room, and the door on the right enters into the downstairs bathroom. If you made a 90 degree turn to the left, you'd be standing in front of the front door.

3 June 2007

Tom has also been spending a great deal of time building BEAUTIFUL interior doors for the house! Most of them are in the Craftsman style. Here you see him staining the two-way swinging kitchen door which I'm SOOOOO happy to have (mostly, to keep the dogs out of the kitchen and out from "under foot" when I'm trying to work)!

In all so far, he's built the kitchen and pantry doors, downstairs bathroom door, utility room and my office door, downstairs closet door (still have to put that one on), upstairs bedroom door, and the library door. Remaining are the upstairs guest bedroom door and master bathroom door (and a couple miscellaneous others which don't hold much priority right now).

21 January 2007

On Sunday, Tom got more insulating done. Now basically all the rooms upstairs and downstairs are separate entities unto themselves . . . except for the wall between the walk-in closet and bathroom in the master bedroom suite. It's very fun seeing the big, open (loud and echo-y) house turn into individual, quiet rooms!

20 January 2007

Here is the other end of the sunroom with the French doors that lead out onto the large deck that cantilevers out over the valley. To the left you can see through what will be a doorway (another French door) into the living room. This room will be painted a lush, jungle-like green.

20 January 2007

Here's a view of the sunroom looking north/northeast. Eventually, we will hang a twin bed platform from the rafters along the far end of the room. Just imagine on a hot summertime evening - all the windows open letting the breeze blow through . . . the wind gently swaying the bed back and forth while you listen to the river singing below the ridge and the leaves rustling in the trees above. Ah, yes!

20 January 2007

This past Saturday was Tom's sister-in-law's birthday, so congratulations go out to her! She and Tom's brother (and another couple) are coming up this weekend to lend some expertise. Since Tom's brother retired (early retirement - they're just 7 years apart), he's become a high-end Mr. Fixit in the Cities. He's highly skilled at what he does, and he's offered to help US out! So, the tricky mitered cuts that go along with window trim on our (how many?) windows is what's on the docket for the weekend.

Here's Tom from this past Saturday, insulating the walls of the library upstairs.

23 December 2006

Less than 48 hours before my folks arrived to celebrate the holiday, the house was in a Construction Zone state!