Landscaping…Day 13

Andy and the JLM landscaping guys were back this morning and started on the job of “buttoning up” the backyard for the winter. The are laying down hardwood mulch throughout the boulder field and above the modular block walls to control the mud and protect the walls from rain water. They also plan to create the beginnings of the crushed red limestone trail system and install the “ball diamond” dust on top.

The trails will start from the far corners of the house (the music room and the back of the garage), then connect to each other and the breezeway entrance and finally run all the way down to the paver patio outside the basement walk-out door. Hopefully this work will allow us to navigate the back yard without our mud boots on!

Siding…Day 7

Arsenio and the Tappe guys are back today and by noon had worked their way to the very front of the of the “L” Shaped House. The porch and front walls above the standing seam roof both present new challenges for the siding crew. If you look closely in the first photo you can just see the siding and trim wrapping around the ends of the house to the porch. Protecting the nice new standing seam roof as the trim and siding is installed will slow the crew down some on the upper front wall.

The second photo shows the dining room bay window with the beginnings of the MiraTek trim boards installed. Every element of the siding and trim on the front porch has some fussy details associated with it. The Tappe guys will work their way across the front wall and also install the bead board ceiling.

Heating & A/C…Day 7

The heating folks were back this morning to continue their work inside the house. They installed the fireplace in the living room framing and attached the flue (they also completed the fireplace flue hook up in the basement). Importantly; they fired up the temporary furnace in the basement storage room.

We now have heat!

Sheet Rock…Day 3

The drywall guys are hard at work this afternoon finishing up the second floor at the “L” Shaped House. The were just about ready to move into the bonus room as I was leaving around noon. The first photo shows some of the progress from the book nook archway at the top of the main staircase.

The second photo shows Anna’s bedroom from the Northwest corner. Here we can see the kid’s room layout with two closets inside the doorway that is repeated in each room.

Thanksgiving Week…In review

Thanksgiving week brought a lot of changes at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the warm glow of  lights coming from inside the house just after sunset. The moon rose early and the clear skies provided an opportunity for this nice twilight scene. This photo of the “L” Shaped House is the first I’ve posted that “feels” like we are on a path to achieve our original mission (expressed here)!

The next photo shows the preparations underway to protect the standing seam roof over the porch as the siding and trim is installed on the front of the house. The Tappe guys plan to get started on the front first thing Monday morning.

 

The next two photos show the back wall of the house with the siding and trim installed. In the right hand photo the siding, trim, soffit, eave, and roof details all come together at the valley above the stairwell window. An oversized gutter and downspout will be installed here that will direct rain water down the back wall and into the PVC drain that carries water to the back side of the yard.

The last photo shows the area at the top of the stairs from the inside corner of the book nook. The sheet rock installed upstairs this week is starting to make the place feel like a house!

Siding…Day 6

The Tappe siding crew has continued their rapid pace installing siding at the “L” Shaped House. Arsenio and his crew finished up the back of the house and were setting up to start on the front late this afternoon. The first photo shows the back side as they were installing the last few pieces of Hardie board above the music room.

The next photo was taken from the breezeway porch looking toward the back wall of the kitchen. The kitchen windows are purposely positioned below the bedroom overhang and the trim board that wraps the house. The photo shows many details of the siding and trim…including the seven household utility systems that penetrate the back wall at the rim…nicely.

Arsenio (at the left) and two of his guys were nice enough to pose for a picture near the end of their work day.

Sheet Rock…Day 2 (progress report)

Tim and his drywall crew made quite a bit of progress Friday. The first photo shows Helen standing in front of the freshly sheet rocked book nook at the top of the stairs. The whole place looks completely different with the walls in place.

The panoramic photo below (taken from the door) shows the master bedroom with sheet rock installed all around. Tim and his crew plan to have the upstairs finished early next week so the insulation can be blown into the attic.

Siding…Day 5 (Progress report)

Arsenio and the Tappe siding crew worked until almost 5:00 pm last night. Helen and I stopped by this morning and wandered around looking at the progress they made. It looks to like the the siding is about 2/3 complete. The first photo shows how they have worked all the way up to the Southeast corner of the house at the front porch. It’s a little hard to see…but most of the details inside the breezeway entrance are also complete.

The next photo shows a wide shot of the “L” Shaped House that includes progress made by both crews working on the back side. The first crew has also made it to breezeway entrance and has most of the detailed work complete. The guys who started at the basement walk-out are now about half way up the back wall of the main house.

The last shot gives a closer look at the back wall and breezeway.If you look closely you can see the bead board installed in the breezeway ceiling and the multiple utility penetrations along the wall below the kitchen window. Mike Kloti’s “thin white line” and eave details are starting to show up nicely in all of the photos.

Sheet Rock…Day 2

Tim Engstrom and his crew from BIG SKY Construction are well into the drywall installation at the “L” Shaped House. Helen and I stooped by this morning and had a nice visit with the guys as we watched the sheet rocking process. Tim told us that they will probably use about 10,000 screws as they install the 500 sheets of drywall needed to cover the inside of the house.

The video shows Tim (on the left) installing one of the drywall sheets on the vaulted ceiling above the main stairwell. These guys have to be pretty good at working together as they maneuver the panels into place.

The photos below show Tim and his crew as they fasten sheet rock to the wall studs. The second photo shows one of the panels being installed in the close confines of one of the master bedroom walk-in closets. The interesting attic spaces in the “L” Shaped House provide for a whole bunch of funny angle cuts and close quarters.

Siding…Day 5

To all the things I have to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving day…I need to add that Arsenio and his guys are hard at work siding the “L” Shaped House. They have three crews working this morning. The two working around the house from the back end of the garage and a third that is now starting at the basement walk-out door. The first two photos show the two crews working on the back side of the house. The first crew has almost made it to the breezeway porch.

The second crew has siding and trim installed just beyond the top of the basement walk-out door. This photo also shows the progress made on back side of the garage nicely.

The video shows the third crew installing the first siding board above the trim at the top of the patio doors into the basement family room. These guys are doing a very nice job on the fussy little details that are an important part of the siding installation.

The last photo shows the crew working their way around to the front of the house. The have “turned the corner” and are starting to install siding on the first wall facing Cottage Lane. In this photo you can see Arsenio (in the yellow hood) carefully inspecting the work as the crews progress around the house.

Sheet Rock…Day 1 (Evening report)

Helen and I visited the “L” Shaped House this morning to wander around and check out the sheet rock installation.  The first photo shows Helen(s) walking out of Sam’s room into the hallway to the bonus room. The sheet rock crew is concentrating on the ceilings and angles in anticipation of the blown-in attic insulation installation on Wednesday morning.

In the next photo Helen checks out the new walls in the master bath. The sheet rockers are finishing the bath and Laundry rooms first to accommodate the ceramic tile installation.

The last photo shows the taping and joint compound supplies stacked in the music room. There is going to be a lot of sheet rocking in the “L” Shaped House!

Siding…Day 4

The Tappe siding crew is hard at it in spite of the crummy weather and muddy conditions. The two crews are each working their way around the “L” Shaped House from the back end of the garage. In the first photo we see the progress on the back side of the garage and stairwell to the bonus room.

The next photos show the second crew slowly moving toward the front. I caught them preparing to install the “thin white line” that wraps the house as I arrived around 3:00 pm. It feels really good to have the siding going up and each passing day the house looks better.

The last photo captures the East of the house from the Steinhauser’s back yard. This is a shot that has only very recently become possible (the leaves are mostly gone). We get a good sense of the scale of the house (it’s big!) and proportions as well as a nice view of the trim and siding working together. I think Mike Kloti did a very nice job with the design and hope it continues to please our new neighbors.

Sheet Rock…Day 1

The sheet rock crew arrived at the “L” Shaped House early this morning. They are starting on the second floor “lid” (ceilings and angles) to get the house ready for blown-in attic insulation early next week. The first photo shows the master bedroom with the ceiling and attic wall rocked.

The next photo shows the master bedroom walk-in closet completely sheet rocked. The last photo shows the second floor laundry room. They are going to finish the upstairs laundry and master bath first to allow our old friend Matt Sletten an opportunity to get a jump on the ceramic tile.

Siding…Day 3

The Tappe siding crew has started working their way around the “L” Shaped House. They had two crews working Monday afternoon; one on the back of the garage…the other on the front. The first photo below shows the progress on the back side.

The next photo shows the progress on the front side of the garage. They are working in the breezeway porch and have trim installed almost to the front corner of the house. Unfortunately it rained almost all day (…again…) and the siding crews stayed home. We are all hoping for better weather tomorrow!

Sheet Rock…Day 0

Tuesday noon brings the delivery of sheet rock to the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the delivery truck (and trailer) from Drywall Supply backed into the driveway, hoisting sheet rock into the house.

The video shows the crane on the back of the truck in action. What you cannot see is the really cool wireless control they use to remotely operate the crane. The guy in the window is running the crane with a couple of joy sticks on a box about the size of a shoebox.

The next photo shows the sheet rock delivery to the second floor of the house. They have the bedroom window removed and  install a nice plastic guard in the window that protects the sill as the sheet rock slides off the forks. The last photo shows how they have separated the load and moved some into each room of the house.

 

Landscaping…Before & After

Rain this morning made for a slow start by the siding crew at the “L” Shaped House. They were just getting started as I arrived around noon and I did not take a single photo (believe it or not). The wet ground brought back some bad memories from October so I decided to make up a before and after basement patio shot to remind me of how much worse things can be!  The two photos were shot from approximately the same spot inside the basement walk-out door looking into the back yard. What a difference a month can make…

Siding…Day 2

The Tappe guys have siding and trim up on the front side and back end of the garage. I took these two photos as the early morning sun cast a nice glow on the “L” Shaped House. They were taken as I got my first real look at the house in its final form. I think all of the details work nicely together.

The North East corner of the house is a spot I have rarely taken photos from because the leaves in the trees normally block this view. The second photo is taken from a spot near the head of the trail through the woods…I think the house looks especially nice from a distance.

Siding…Day 1 (evening report)

The Tappe guys have a whole bunch of siding and trim installed on the front wall of the garage. The  first two photos show a long shot of the second garage stall & bonus room dormer and a close up of the MiraTec trim and James Hardie siding coming together at the front service door wall.

 

The next two photos show the fourth garage stall with the trim, siding, fascia, and soffit details all coming together above the back corner. This gives us our first look at a Kloti Chop in it’s nearly finished form!

Landscaping…Wrap-up (phase one)

Andy and the JLM landscape crew finished up what we are calling phase one of the back yard plan yesterday. They will be back to add the crushed red limestone trails and work on the walkways out front later but are done with the grading, drains, walls, patio, and tree planting. The first photo shows the new back yard from on top of the dumpster. Here we see all the elements of the plan together for the first time.

The second photo shows the boulder walls, and boulder “out-croppings” in the grade rising from the patio on the un-structured side of the basement walk-out. the painted line marks the edge of one of the limestone trails.

the last photo shows the upper “look-out” drain that runs all the way to the back wall of the house by the breeze way entrance. This will bring water from the gutters and dog run on the back side of the house to the top of the hill at the edge of the woods. We have purposely placed the outlet in the hill above the trees to provide watering in this area.