WRAPPING IT UP FOR THE YEAR PART 1

SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER & EARLY NOVEMBER

While Vangie kept doing all the usual things--meals, cleaning, laundry, and "grubbing," Frank began working on John and Tonya's barn. He added electricity and lighting.

He built storage for all the wood we had left over from building the house, as well as the lumber he made with his "portable mill."

Next he began to work on the last bay in John & Tonya's garage--the bay designated to become a wood shop. He partitioned it off from the rest of the garage. He added more lights and outlets. Then he insulated it; plus he began to put up dry wall.

John and Frank built a lean-to on the side of the barn and the end of the garage.

John and Tonya decided they wanted him to finish their garage. After they moved their belongings to the near side of the garage, Frank began by adding lights, outlets, insulation, and dry wall to the far side.

Next came the taping and two coats of paint. At this point, one day as Tonya drove into the garage, Jenna remarked, "Oh! It's so beautiful!" Here it is before the paint job.

ODDS & ENDS

MAY 17, 2010

Again it seems like we didn't accomplish much this week. You decide.

Frank finished installing the drip edge around the edges of the roof, and installed the hurricane ties in the car port. This is where he found his little yellow level, which has been lost since Operation Roof! I "grubbed" and raked together roots, branches, or other wooden tree parts, and hauled them off to the slash pile.
















Frank made a large planter box for Tonya, and designed "corner covers." We chose to have corner posts instead of having the logs overlap on the outside of the house. The outside of these posts look like an upright log, but the inside looks like a rough-cut "v"--not too attractive. Frank made "covers" with a "v" on the backside to fit into the corner, and a flat surface on the face. These I sanded so that they are ready to install.

Frank started working on the electric. He installed a breaker box in the mechanical room, made a hole in the meter box and wall. He pulled the main cable into the house and on into the mechanical room and breaker box.








































We moved all our belongings away from the all the walls, and recovered them with plastic in an attempt to keep them clean. Frank then framed around the stairs.

















Meanwhile Vangie started sanding the logs on the inside of the house. They have discolored from exposure to the elements and dirt, and have become "dinged." I am sanding them to restore the original color and smoothness. I have completed the master bedroom and the pantry/laundry room.




We went to Morgantown today for electrical supplies--all sorts of boxes, cable, smoke detectors, and lights--also a few new tools for this project. We also ordered breakers for the various lines and stain for the inside walls.

THEN DIVIDE

MAY 10, 2010

This past week while I worked on finishing Insulation Stops and Nailers, Frank worked on putting partitions in. The third one he did was between the pantry and our bedroom. These also included doorways. Next he worked on the partition between the two bedrooms. This was a double one because it held the closets.

















I started sanding the inside log walls.





We took everything out of the mechanical room, setting up another set of shelves to hold the nails, screws, etc. that were there. We folded tarps and placed clear plastic over our belongings. Frank then finished the partitions in the basement. This is the longest inside wall in the house, and separates the garage from the rest of the basement. The last partition does the same thing on the other side.



















I found this guy caught in the net around my plants. We cut him loose, and he immediately went back into the net! Frank cut him out again, and I carried him out into the neighbor's field. I removed the net, and put plants the deer might eat on the deck in window boxes.




Frank found the drip edge, and started putting it on the edge of the roof. The wind kept trying to take the tar paper off the roof. Now it can't.

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GOING UP?

MAY 3, 2010

Finally, the door over the garage was safe with the deck in place. So, what did Frank do? He sawed a hole in the floor for the stairway. We want to keep Jenna and Lauren safe, so he put in long days finishing the stairs. Our plans and supplies called for using 4 by 12's! We did. Frank calls them "stairs for elephants!" They are solid--no give.

I finished moving the scrap wood. I vacuumed the basement and main floor. Then I worked on putting in the insulation stops. These are pieces of 2 by 4's that go between the rafters to keep the insulation where it belongs. I finished the main floor on Saturday. Then I worked on nailers. You can see them here. The nailers are attached to the side of the wall. The insulation stops sit on top.

Frank began working on the partitions. The first one is the one beside the stair well, for safety's sake. It will separate our extra bedroom from our Great Room. The second one is between the kitchen and pantry/laundry room. Therefore, the half of the house that will be the Great room has been partitioned off.

While we were working, this is what Daisy did! We don't know what it was--probably mud.

But isn't the house beautiful?

We have now had several days of rain which we needed badly--over two inches. The nice thing is that the house stays dry!