This blog is solely about the start-to-finish construction of a house.
It is recommended to start at the earliest post and proceed chronologically.


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March 31, 2015

Breakfast Nook Progress

Installed the fir flooring in the Nook today.  Took hours of hand sanding with my little vibrating sander. 

Now to add the window sill extension, and the edge trim, then put a finish on it all.

After that, the cantilevered table and benches.

Hail Yeah

Had a short intense hail shower today.  The pea sized hail collected in the leaf catcher to the point of spilling out on the ground.


Radiation

Master Bedroom radiator
The first 3 of 5 radiators have been installed.  They look great.

More pics below.

March 27, 2015

Cabinets, Phase 1

Dining room seating bench, with veneered wall at the stair. 
The first phase of the cabinet install is complete.
Pictures below.

Lights

Some of the lights are going in. 
The electrician won't let us turn them on yet, however.

March 24, 2015

Hot Ragtime

Today I discovered that the guy trying to fix the wood floor left this in the trash can inside the house:

...a pile of oil soaked rags

Apparently one approach to "fix" poor workmanship is to BURN THE HOUSE DOWN.


Cabinetry Underway!

Look what started today...dining room cabinets and paneling.

The kitchen cabinets are delayed for who knows how long, but the dining/stair and bathroom cabinets are going ahead.

Rain Stoppage

Started spreading gravel under the areas of hardscape. 

This is how far we got before the rains came, turned the nicely graded site into sucking mud, and put a stop to our lil' gravel party.

March 22, 2015

Sills & Such

Worried a good bit about this corner prior to attempting it.
A few shots of our new wood sills & trim at the living room.

The interior sills are extra deep to cover the thick walls insulating the concrete foundation, and to provide a place for plants, objects, etc..

More pics below.

Dos Angles

A little preview of a coming attraction. 

Originally intended to be  steel "T"s (ST3x6.26), which turned out to be prohibitively expensive, we improvised with a pair of angles and a little welding.

March 19, 2015

More Problems

We are currently grappling with two problems that have arisen very recently:

The Big Dig Out

See the whitish line halfway up the concrete foundation?  That is where the grade used to be.
The grade adjustments continue.

For months the house has felt partially buried; now things are starting to feel "right".

March 18, 2015

Earth Moving, Part 2

The dirt pile "Mt. Rex" at the back of the site is finally going away! 

Along with a massive amount of dirt from the rest of the property as we (finally!) shape the grade to its final state.  Then comes the driveway and other concrete paving.

Going to be rather messy around here for a while.

March 12, 2015

Ladder on Ladder on Ladder Action


One lesson I've learned from this job, is how to construct and trust rather sketchy arrangements for accessing difficult locations.

March 10, 2015

Table Saw Down

Maybe I did work it harder than usual

My saw fritzed out on me last evening, mid cut.
Just when I need it most!

Did not have a new table saw in the budget for the house.

Lets hope we can get this repaired, and quick!  Really need it.


*EDIT:
Saw is back!  Thanks to Charles H. Day Co. for a very quick and reasonable repair.

March 07, 2015

Window Sills & Interior Trim

Random Window Sill
Interior woodwork is now underway, and things are starting to look rather completed. 

Wood Flooring is Sanded and Oiled

First coat of floor finish
is curing upstairs on the fir end grain flooring.

Completed Ceramic Tile

Master Bath Walk-in Shower
Our bathroom ceramic tile is now complete!

Hard to photograph, since the rooms are tight, but here is what I have to show.

March 03, 2015

I Am Simply Floored

Flooring in the Study
And suddenly we have a beautiful wood floor in place.