What's Happening Now: Late January
The sun is getting higher in the sky -- it's not only rising above our south hill, but at midday just about clears the tops of the conifers.
By the end of the month, our photovoltaic system had produced 33.8 kilowatt-hours of energy in its 220 hours of operation (it shuts itself down at night).
Siding
Workers Shawn Burnett and Eddie Moran have finally finished the long process of installing the siding.
The last step was the intricate work of fitting Hardie-shingles into the narrow angled spaces around the tall front windows.
Windows & Doors
People from Sierra Pacific came and finished the installation of the exterior doors and windows.
They installed door levers and window handles.
They also put screens in the windows and on the sliding doors.
Interior Railing
Spencer West installed railing along the stairwell to the basement.
The "live" edges to the wood, as well as the wooden pins securing the ends, contributed to their rustic look.
Trim Work
Spencer West, Scott Smith, and Jeff West continued their work on the trim around windows, doors, and other openings.
The picture at right shows Scott on a beam, working on the tall windows on the south wall of the great room.
The "Bug Room"
After doing the cedar paneling on the wall of the bug room earlier, we decided to continue by installing an alder ceiling (using alder cut from our site, of course).
This proved to be much more difficult than we expected!
Alder is a wood that twists in about every direction you can imagine, and it was difficult to get the tongues-and-grooves to match up. (We're even more impressed at the skill involved in installing the alder floors in the bedrooms!)
Finally, we got it finished! It's not perfect, but we figure that this also fits in with the "rustic look."
Deck & Exterior Stairs
Shawn and Eddie began using cedar to box in the treated wood of the deck and exterior stairway.
The ipe (pronounced "ee-pay") wood that we'll use for the decking arrived. Shawn and Eddie cut the posts, carefully sanded them, drilled holes for the wire "railing," and then installed them.
Mirrors & Interior Windows
We installed mirrors in all of the bathrooms.
Window glass also arrived, and we installed it in the interior windows. There are four interior windows, high on the wall above the great room. The four windows are lined up with skylights, bringing light from the skylights into the master bath and laundry area.
There is also an interior window in the master bedroom and the guest bedroom, both overlooking the great room to share in its light.
Appliances
The cooktop arrived, joining the other appliances, and we've begun putting them in place.
Now we're just waiting for the washer and dryer!
Just had to show you how things are shaping up! Here's the view from the walkway overlooking the great room.
Flooring
The process of laying down the wood flooring is complete, so work began on sanding it. Coats of finish should be applied soon.
Getting Ready |
Well |
Milling Wood |
Excavation |
Concrete
Framing |
More Framing |
Plumbing |
Electrical |
Floors |
Roofing
What's Happening Now:
Late Oct |
Early Nov |
Mid-Nov |
Late Nov |
Early Dec |
Late Dec
Early Jan |
Late Jan |
Early Feb |
Late Feb |
Early March |
Mid-April - Done!