April 24, 2008
Front Walk Completed
Many thanks to Ron Hawes, Trevor and Zack for getting our front walkway completed! Ron was over at our place several weeks ago and noticed our crappy temporary plywood walkway and asked what the plan was for the walk. Originally I had though about flagstone but he suggested some heavy stepping stones. I recall seeing a similar design at his place when we'd go for meetings at the office so we agreed right away. Basically Trevor dug a path about 8 inches deep then placed the VERY heavy stones with the bobcat forks. Sometimes it took a few tries and some fill dirt underneath to get a stone level and steady. Then after a few stones were in place they backfilled in dirt between the stones to lock them in and tamped down the dirt with the digging bar. Trevor suggested I take a turn with the digging bar and I suggested he get his head out of his ass.
The walk looks amazing - I'll post some pics in a day or two!
Posted by Stephen at 10:04 PM
November 18, 2007
Construction Daily
Text coming soon
Posted by Stephen at 7:38 PM
October 21, 2007
Construction Daily
Text coming soon
Posted by Stephen at 7:37 PM
October 20, 2007
Construction Daily
Text coming soon
Posted by Stephen at 7:36 PM
July 15, 2007
Construction Daily
Finished up tiling the master suite today! What a relief, and now I can put the tile saw away for a few months. I am completely burned out on tiling, as over the past year I've tiled four bathrooms floors, one tub surround, one shower, one jacuzzi tub, one fireplace, two vanities, and a kitchen floor. Think I've earned my letter jacket...
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 717
Posted by Stephen at 11:29 AM
July 14, 2007
Construction Daily
Continued working on the master suite tile today. Started the day with a bit of anxiety, as I seriously had NO IDEA how I was going to tile around the fireplace. I figured I'd just let my creativity take me where it may. So as I was considering one dumb idea after another, I noticed a piece of custom tile sitting on the window ledge. We had ordered some hand-made celtic tiles very early in the process but didn't want to overdo the celtic motif. So they ended up just lying around. Anyhow, one piece in particular had a very cool platinum finish to it, so I thought I could turn it on it's corner and put it right in the top center of the fireplace surround. Now the problem became figuring out how to cut a hole in the middle of a piece of tile, because I didn't want it to be in a seam. Got that figured out whilst the HGTV camera was rolling, and hopefully they'll include that scene because that was some tricky shit!
So once I had the little diamond in place I figured out a way to incorporate the diamond motif on the sides of the fireplace. Anyhow, the whole thing turned out pretty neat, and I'll be able to finish it up tomorrow.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 707
Posted by Stephen at 7:59 PM
July 11, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I finished up the floor tile in the master suite, and got started on the fireplace/tub surround. Will take a few more days to finish this up. Lost interest in tiling after a while so I decided to go play with the AV toys. First order of business was to rebuild the supporting shelf in the pantry, as the weight of all the amplification awesomeness was too much for the temporary shelf I had in place. Got that done and put the components back in place, although I still have a huge rat's nest of cabling to contend with, but I'll save that for a rainy day sometime in 2015.
Once I had signal flowing, I decided to unpack the projector and test the feed from the Denon AV receiver up to the loft. After a few minutes monkeying around with settings, I got the projector up and running and WOW is this going to be cool!
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 697
Posted by Stephen at 7:44 PM
July 8, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I finished up the master suite vanity construction, then began the always-fun task of cleaning the room in preparation for the floor tile. I swear this is the 10th time I've cleaned this place, but I seem to keep using it as a temporary work space so oh well. To prep for the floor tile you gotta get on hands and knees and scrape up every glue and drywall boogie to make sure you have a perfectly flat surface. Once that was done, I was able to get half the floor tiled before shutting down for the day.
Daily hours = 8
Total hours = 687
Posted by Stephen at 11:28 AM
July 7, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I began work on the custom his-n-hers vanities in the master suite. As this portion of the room is entirely custom with the vanities/fireplace/jacuzzi there was not really a way to utilize pre-bought vanities. So we are creating them from scratch, and using Hardibacker tile backing board for the main face construction to ensure durability from the dampness. Shannon gets two doors under her sink, and I only get one as I opted to install our large subwoofer under my sink for our master suite surround system. The choice was either between more crap under my sink, or more bass when we watch movies and well....
Daily hours = 4
Total hours = 679
Posted by Stephen at 7:24 PM
July 4, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I installed the water softener and iron filter, both Pelican units. The units came with a ton of extra adapters, PVC as well as copper. But of course nothing is easy and the PVC fittings they sent were for a different kind of PVC than the supply lines in our house, so I had to make a run down to Ferguson in Winchester to get the proper adapters and pipe. Anyway once that was all figured out it was a relatively simple task to get the units rolled into place (they are not light, especially after running them full of water to flush out the particle dust!) but once they were set it was just a matter of getting the PVC "jigsaw puzzle" figured out.
Took about four hours to get it all done, and the literature says the unit takes a few days to reach full operating strength. Hopefully this iron filter is all it's cracked up to be because every single one of our brand new fixtures already has rust stains. I've been able to scrub them out but it took three different brands of rust remover to get it done. Not something I want to do every month!
Daily hours = 4
Total hours = 675
Posted by Stephen at 8:19 PM
July 1, 2007
Construction Daily
So it's over. Our last day in the rental shack, getting out the final pieces and finishing up the move. HGTV was on hand to capture a few touching moments, most difficult was leaving Tristan's room. It was incredibly hard to walk away from that space, thinking about all those nights he fell asleep on my chest in the loveseat. That's also the room we brought him home to. Also tough to think about the other bedroom, and having baby Duncan sleeping in his little seat at the foot of our bed. Seems odd that they'll have no memory of this place, yet in many ways it was so important in their, and certainly our lives.
So goodbye little shack. Thanks for being part of our lives while we built our dream house. Shannon and I had no idea we'd end up living here for nearly three years, but it went by in a flash with everything we've had going on. I imagine we'll drive by every now and again, just to keep an eye on the place and do some reminiscing. And even though we couldn't wait to get out, in a way I'll definitely miss that place.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 20
Total hours = 671
Posted by Stephen at 8:07 PM
June 30, 2007
Construction Daily
Spent all day today working on the move. We had hoped to finish it up but just ran out of time, energy, and basically interest by the evening. We figured even though tomorrow is July 1st there is no way anyone is planning on moving in, so we bailed and went to the new house to get some sleep.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 20
Total hours = 651
Posted by Stephen at 11:27 AM
June 17, 2007
Construction Daily
Moved two more loads over.
Daily hours = 5
Total hours = 631
Posted by Stephen at 4:29 AM
June 16, 2007
Construction Daily
Moved two loads over from the rental. The move isn't going too badly, because we have all that space in the winery. Basically we're stashing most of our stuff in the winery until we complete the house and figure out where things will need to go. Still, we are throwing a LOT of shit out that we accumulated in the rental, looks like we're going to fill up a 30 cubic yard dumpster. Yeah, that's the big long one...
Daily hours = 5
Total hours = 626
Posted by Stephen at 4:24 AM
June 15, 2007
Construction Daily
Moved a truckload from the rental to the new house, what better way to spend a Friday evening after a long day at work...
Daily hours = 3
Total hours = 621
Happy Birthday Mom (Grammy) !!!
Posted by Stephen at 4:21 AM
June 12, 2007
Construction Daily
Today the Conestoga Buildings team installed the big rollup door on the winery. Very solid door, we're thrilled with the installation. So that completes the shell of the winery, now we just have to come up with another $100k to finish the inside. I think we'll let that wait a few years...
Posted by Stephen at 4:19 AM
June 11, 2007
Construction Daily
Moved a truckload from the rental to the new house, what better way to spend a Monday evening after a long day at work...
Daily hours = 3
Total hours = 618
Posted by Stephen at 10:44 PM
June 10, 2007
Construction Daily
Another full day today - started off with some more painting and finished up all the trim. Spent a few hours cleaning up the hallway and the playroom, and we're really starting to get a good feel for the place now that we're spending our entire weekends here. Installed the threshold between the playroom and mudroom - had some trouble with it so not sure if it's going to stay down properly. Might have to re-do that one at some point.
We took the afternoon off to enjoy a pool party over at the Wright's place. Got back to the house and put the boys to bed and decided to get a couple of truckloads moved out of the rental. It's great having the big winery, most everything just goes right inside there except for the few things we really need to have inside the house.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 615
Posted by Stephen at 10:34 PM
June 9, 2007
Construction Daily
Had a busy day today, after taking it easy for a few weeks after the mad dash for the occupancy permit. We've been sleeping in the new house each weekend, and loving it. This morning I decided it was time to get the boy's home theater hooked up (albeit somewhat temporary) so they can watch their movies. Had the HGTV crew over to film some painting, so Shannon took the boys back over to the rental while I got the playroom painted as well as the trim in the hallway. As the afternoon started to wear on I had to finish up inside and get another fungicide application on out in the vineyard.
Daily hours = 8
Totay hours = 605
Posted by Stephen at 10:05 PM
June 8, 2007
Construction Daily
Today Conestoga had their concrete subcontractor come out to pour the floor of the winery. They did an awesome job, especially around the floor drains which will serve the tank area. George was on hand to film it for HGTV. We're so happy with the job Conestoga is doing, really professional work.
Posted by Stephen at 9:34 PM
June 6, 2007
Construction Daily
Today Conestoga had their floor subcontractor come out and put in all the gravel which will serve as a base for the upcoming concrete pour. They were even nice enough to take care of figuring out how high to make the floor drains, and also took care of installing the plumbing for me - those guys rock.
Posted by Stephen at 9:43 PM
May 11, 2007
Construction Daily
We finally have a new house! Tonight is our first night sleeping in the new place, and even though we just threw a couple mattresses on the floor it outranks even the most luxurious hotel in the world. What an absolutely incredible feeling, we've waited for tonight for a long, long time.
Posted by Stephen at 9:46 PM
May 8, 2007
Construction Daily
We made it. Ron picked up our occupancy permit this afternoon at 3:30 pm, an hour and a half before the office closed on the last day before our construction loan expires. Just had to fax a copy to the mortgage company to begin the loan conversion process.
Even though there are still a lot of projects left to complete the house, it is legally available for us to move in whenever we like. It is an amazing feeling, crossing this finish line after the most insane year of our lives. Can't believe it's really over, feels like so much pressure has been lifted. Yes there is still a long road ahead to finish the house and get the tasting room ready to open the business, but we are ready for some time off to decompress. We have been pounding and pounding ourselves into the ground for so long to try to make it happen, and now it's time to pull back and enjoy what we've done. Will be laying low for a while, but will definitely be sleeping in the NEW HOUSE for the first time this weekend!!!
Posted by Stephen at 11:06 PM
May 7, 2007
Construction Daily
Today we passed our gas and plumbing inspections and got both permits! One more to go, the big one tomorrow.
Posted by Stephen at 10:53 PM
May 6, 2007
Construction Daily
Finished up the last two acres of herbicide spraying to start the day. Then headed back inside to grout the master suite sink tops and tub surround top. Once that was done it was time to sweep up and make the place presentable for the upcoming inspections. Actually finished kind of early for once!
Daily hours = 8
Total hours = 597
Posted by Stephen at 10:46 PM
May 5, 2007
Construction Daily
Tiled the top of the tub surround today - another check mark on the way to the occupancy permit. Then caulked the master suite shower. After that it was time to get in the vineyard where I installed four rows of trellis tensioners, then with the remaining daylight began spraying herbicide in the rows to keep the vines clean. Long day.
Daily hours = 12
Total hours = 589
Posted by Stephen at 10:35 PM
May 4, 2007
Construction Daily
Today Trevor did some additional machine work to help out with grading and drainage. He cut in a small creek to allow the runoff from a Sagle Road culvert to drain directly into our pond rather than flooding the field. Other news outside, the landscape crew finished the seed spray application.
Inside Vernon and Tim finished the last of the railings. Those two are awesome - the railings are perfect and they did a great job of figuring out some very difficult angle cuts and designing a great solution for the main floor staircase.
Tom and Lance finished up the last of the catwalk bloodwood. They'll be back in a few weeks to tackle the tasting room floor.
Darren installed the rest of the range hood, and tackled several other punch list tasks. I was busy running from project to project answering questions between installing the shower doors, painting trim, and installing the A/V shelf in the pantry.
The afternoon ended on a high note, as the Tops of the Town crew showed up to install the countertop. Doug and two buddies began gluing the pieces together and securing the top to the cabinets. Such a huge top is not a trivial installation! Took them about six hours to get it done, and then we all enjoyed a few beers together, just to make sure the tops worked properly. :o)
We cleared a major hurdle as well today - we got our zoning permit on the first try! Now one thing left to do - get the occupancy permit next week.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 577
Posted by Stephen at 11:26 AM
May 3, 2007
Construction Daily
Today the landscape crew began spraying the new lawn mixture. They spent yesterday clearing the site of rocks. Pretty cool, they had a bobcat with a giant nylon brush wheel attachment and essentially "swept" the entire property. Then the spray crew came in and began laying down the seed/fertilizer mixture.
The Hawes crew finished up the parking lot, and inside Vernon and Tim completed the loft railings. Darren put a layer of luann on the tasting bar so it would pass inspection.
Tom and Lance were on hand to continue the bloodwood on the catwalk. It is looking great!
Posted by Stephen at 11:23 AM
May 1, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I focused my attention on cleaning out the master suite. Not fun scraping all the glue and drywall mud off the floor, but it was nice to finally get a look at the size of the room without a ton of shit lying around.
The Tops of the Town crew came by to drop of the sections of the counter top. Wow. That's all I can say. This top is going to look so cool. They'll be back on Friday to do the installation.
Vernon and Tim finished up the catwalk railings and will continue on the loft railings tomorrow.
Outside Trevor dug two trenches in the winery for the floor drain plumbing. Glad I didn't see him drive a backhoe into the building, would have had an anxiety attack...
Spent some time in the vineyard installing tensioners for the trellis catch wires.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 567
Posted by Stephen at 12:35 AM
April 30, 2007
Construction Daily
Vernon and Tim were onsite to begin work on the railings. I had hoped to do them myself but considering the looming May 9 deadline it just doesn't look possible. They got the two long sides of the catwalk done, and we are very happy with the design. It's always kind of tense wondering how a design will come together as it never looks the same in reality as in your head, but this is going to look great. Didn't want anything too fancy that wouldn't blend with the rest of the interior architecture, thus I took more of a "deck" railing approach rather than a fancy Victorian-looking thing.
Electricians managed to get the ceiling fans installed. That is a LONG way up (about 28' to the peak of the ceiling!)
Posted by Stephen at 11:02 PM
April 29, 2007
Construction Daily
Today Shannon continued painting trim, and I began working on the master suite sinks. Part of the final inspection will be "finished surfaces" in some key places, namely under the sinks and the top deck of the jacuzzi tub. The sides don't have to be finished but the tops have to be tiled and grouted. Given the small space it was pretty easy to get it done in a couple hours, so now Fred can set the sinks on Monday. While Shannon was finishing up the trim I unpacked the new range hood and got it test fit. Looks like I'll need to boy some different ducting that what I had originally planned, but no big deal that stuff is pretty cheap.
Got done in the house and went back out to the vineyard to hammer up two more rows of trellis wire.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 16
Total hours = 557
Posted by Stephen at 11:01 PM
April 28, 2007
Construction Daily
Busy inside and out today, both with house and vineyard chores. We started off with some interior work, Shannon painting trim and me working in the master suite. We just recently got the gas working. Since we got the water on and hot water heater hooked up we ran the tub for the first time and I thought Shannon was going to jump right in! Then I started working on the fireplace, which essentially meant installing the interior fake logs and the igniter and remote control. We figured it was too far to walk across the room so we'd need a remote control to turn the fireplace on and off! :o)
Had some trouble with the remote receiver and finally figured out that the batteries that shipped with the unit were dead. New batteries, and poof - now that's a fire. Looks like my fireplace installation held up as well which is a real good thing.
After that was done and Shannon finished the trim, it was time for some exterior work, placing the house numbers and installing the new mailbox. Of course since there was a TV camera there we made total idiots out of ourselves, we'd hate to come across like we know what we're doing...
Shannon had to get going so I went out to the vineyard and nailed up four more rows of trellis wire. By now it was getting dark so time to head back inside. I test fit the stone sinks in the master suite, and re-drilled the vanity top in the boys room so the Pooh faucet would fit (it was designed for a wide-spacing but our top was close-spacing - of course.) It is so cute - the boys will love it. Late night, but got a lot done!
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 16
Total hours = 541
Posted by Stephen at 11:01 PM
April 26, 2007
Construction Daily
Some really cool stuff happening today! Tom finished up the music loft while I continued working on the remaining newel posts in the catwalk. Once he was done in the loft they moved downstairs and got to work in the gift shop and WOW what a difference the red oak makes vs. the bloodwood. They were able to use the regular flooring nailer and just absolutely banged through the whole gift shop in about five hours. These guys are pros.
Outside the driveway got installed - that is a wild operation. Basically a dump truck pulls into the end of the driveway and tilts the box. As the stone starts to pour out the truck moves slowly along laying the stone at just the right rate. Then a few quick passes with the bobcat and voila - a driveway. Once the stone was in place, Trevor began building up the old entrance to close off the old driveway. We opted to keep a longer drive, which exits at the bottom of either side of the hill. Figured it was safer than trying to drive out where the old driveway was. Plus we want to plant some bushes and trees to block off the view from the road a bit - nice to have a little privacy while sitting on the front porch.
Daily hours = 12
Total hours = 525
Posted by Stephen at 11:00 PM
April 25, 2007
Construction Daily
Tom Daniels began installing the bloodwood flooring in the loft today. I stopped by for a while before heading to work just to talk through the project with him. As we suspected, the bloodwood was too hard and brittle to use his normal flooring nailer - the large nails just broke off the tongues of the flooring pieces. So the ugly answer to this problem was that every single nail hole had to be drilled by hand, then the nail tapped in and set with a nail-set. Not fun. Tom and his son Lance had a rough day, laying about 150 square feet of flooring as opposed to his normal 400 square feet per day that he accomplishes with his normal tools. BUT they are doing a great job and this flooring looks awesome!!!
Posted by Stephen at 8:22 PM
April 24, 2007
Construction Daily
Marathon day today. Got an early start and headed into Tops of the Town shop to work through the top plans with Douglas, the carpenter who will be creating the Corian countertop. Given the complexity of the curve (even with the template) we felt it was best to talk it through. It was cool visiting the shop, as I hadn't been there in years. That is where I used to work during Christmas and summer vacations, and where I learned much of my carpentry. Still have some of our old pictures and posters on the wall - kind of a "museum" although I don't think the Smithsonian has anything to worry about...
Headed back to the house and got to work on the newel posts. I set the remaining ones under the music loft, and set the four above the kitchen. As the day was wearing on, I realized I needed to route a bullnose edge on some of the bloodwood so our flooring installer Tom would have all the material he needed to begin laying the music loft floor tomorrow. Having him scheduled is really what is driving the installation of the newel posts, since they have to be in before the flooring so that the pieces can be properly cut around them. Another race...
Once the bullnose was routed I had to scrape and sweep the floor in the music loft and catwalk so Tom had a clean surface to work on.
Meanwhile outside the Hawes team continued work on final grading and the driveway.
Daily hours = 15
Total hours = 513
Posted by Stephen at 7:46 PM
April 23, 2007
Construction Daily
Today the Hawes crew finished the the grading around the winery, and also finished up the grading for the parking lot. Really starting to look like a cool entry to the operation. Trevor also began cutting in the driveway. Basically they have to cut out the first few inches of topsoil so the first layer of 2" stone has a solid base, then two layers of 1" go on top.
Posted by Stephen at 7:15 PM
April 22, 2007
Construction Daily
Today was the first day of the newel post installation. For those who've been following along, the first try at anything always involves a few mistakes. Essentially the process involved measuring out the correct distances for placing the newel posts along the edge of the floor, according to code. Then the newel post is set in place and checked for level, which of course it never is. For decoration, I wanted the newel posts to look like they were held in place with pegs similar to the timberframe, thus I first created a 1" diameter hole about an inch deep, which would later hold dowel plugs.
Then holes are augered through the newel post into the timberframe and lag bolts are started. Once the lag bolts are almost tight, I inserted shims behind the post to bring it into level. Then I tightened down the two lag bolts. The last step was to glue in the dowel plugs and tape them in place until the glue sets.
So you can imagine it took a few posts to get this down to an organized process, but after a while it started to go pretty fast and the posts look great against the timberframe.
After putting most of the day on the newel posts, I had to get out to the vineyard to finish nailing trellis wire. Jim was over to help out and we got a few rows nailed up. Before shutting down for the day I covered the basement hallway carpet with heavy paper and plywood to protect it from the ongoing construction and upcoming move-in. Long-ass day but got a ton done!
Daily hours = 14
Total hours = 498
Posted by Stephen at 10:59 PM
April 21, 2007
Construction Daily
Yeah! Today we got the carpet installed in the basement and wow what a difference that makes. It just turns a basic painted room into a nice cozy space, and having the boys room painted already really made such a difference with the carpet. Since we've been together Shannon and I haven't had a carpeted room - hardwood everywhere - so it was a great change and will be a great floor for the boys to run around on.
While the carpet guys were installing the carpet, I finished up sanding and oiling the newel posts. Then it was time to haul them all upstairs which actually was quite a exhausting chore. The first five weren't a big deal, but the last 23 got a little heavy! Once I was cleared out of the room, Shannon started on the master suite cleanup while I began prepping the newel posts for installation on the loft tomorrow. Great productive day.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 12
Total hours = 486
Posted by Stephen at 10:58 PM
April 19, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I finished up the newel posts. Once that was done I needed to switch gears onto another project for a change of pace, so I decided to install the security camera on the front porch. I had attempted this a few weeks ago, but I was having a very hard time getting the signal to show up on the computer so after an hour of screwing around with settings I got the tech support on the phone and they figured out they built the computer incorrectly - installed the wrong video capture card. Sigh. Anyway the new card showed up and go figure everything worked the first time. That little camera is pretty cool - it automatically switches to infrared at night for round-the-clock recording.
Once I was done playing with electronic toys I got back to the newel posts - a lot of sanding and oiling ahead (using the same Danish oil that LCTF used on the frame to ensure a matching finish. This oil is awesome.)
The Hawes subs have been busy on various projects. The front porch railings are complete, the front porch lighting fixtures are installed (although they forgot the downrod on the main light and will have to go back and fix that later...) and the trim around the star window is done. Looks great!
Daily hours = 12
Total hours = 474
Posted by Stephen at 10:58 PM
April 17, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I continued work on the catwalk newel posts. Pretty much just a long day in the master bedroom "workshop" cutting and routing the posts. With 28 posts to make this takes a few days...
Shannon was onhand to help clean up the basement floor. Lots of drywall mud drops, glue, and other assorted nastiness on the floor that would make the upcoming carpet installation impossible. So it took us several hours to scrape up every boogie, then sweep, then vaccuum, then wet mop. Good times.
Daily hours = 14
Total hours = 466
Posted by Stephen at 12:35 PM
April 15, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I headed off to Houston for an event with Avaya. Shannon was able to put in a few hours and got the second coats of blue and green done in the boy's room and spare bedroom.
Daily hours = 4
Total hours = 452
Posted by Stephen at 1:02 AM
April 14, 2007
Construction Daily
Today started with a bit of fun. Got to head down to the Ferguson showroom to pick out some plumbing fixtures - faucets for the master suite, toilets for the tasting room, and floor drains / plumbing for the floor of the winery. Any kind of shopping is more fun than grouting floors!
Had to check in with Shannon a few times as I was figuring out what to get, but after an hour or so I had the order placed and was heading back to the house to work on newel posts. Creating the posts is becoming more efficient as I develop little shortcuts and methods, and they are quite consistent. Check out the pics to see my assembly line (our bedroom...)
Meanwhile Shannon was getting the first coat of paint on the boy's room (blue) and the spare bedroom (sage green). She was able to put in a full day while the Grammies took turns watching the boys. It's great to see the rooms coming to life with the color!
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 18
Total hours = 448
Posted by Stephen at 12:01 AM
April 12, 2007
Construction Daily
Had a huge day today. Started off the day pissed off because the electricians didn't bother to show up, even though they know we're under an extreme time crunch. Seems like they make a little progress then disappear. Yesterday they got some of the lighting circuits working, then today nothing. One more missed day and I am firing their sorry asses.
First order of business was to grout the ladies bathroom in the tasting area. I'm getting pretty tired of grouting so I had put this off for a few days, but now I have to get the barrel vanities set so Fred can finish the plumbing. Aunt Gin and Ginnie Vizi stopped by for a visit while I was doing that, so I didn't get to chat too much so they had a look around on their own.
Fred is making some progress on fixtures - he got the little potty installed in the boys bathroom. That is the funniest thing I have ever seen! The painters have been staining doors in the tasting room, and the natural wood looks amazing against the deep purple - really loving the color scheme. I also got tired of looking at the plastic film on the windows so I began peeling off a few pieces and WOW what a difference. Can't believe the views of our property. Kind of weird how a seemingly insignificant thing can make such a big difference.
Next big task was to finally begin working on the newel posts for the catwalk and loft railings. I've been looking forward to this, as I've had a design in my head for months and now get to begin crafting the posts. As with all test pieces, this had a few mistakes along the way - incorrect measurements, cuts etc. Mom was actually on hand to help out - holding pieces in place etc. It was fun having her there - so many days I've been working alone it was good to have someone to chat with.
I didn't bother chamfering the corners at this point, I just wanted to cut the newel to the general dimensions and set it in place with some balusters. Reason being I wanted to validate the design before beginning mass production. Happily though, the design worked out great, so now the next step is to "operationalize" the process to make it more efficient. Considering I have 27 newel posts to craft, I better figure out some time-saving steps!
Daily hours = 12
Total hours = 430
Posted by Stephen at 12:00 AM
April 11, 2007
Construction Daily
Today was a huge day, thanks to my brother Jim who took a little time off work to help out. The first order of the day was to place our appliances, clearly not something I was looking forward to handling on my own! We started in the kitchen, getting both of the stoves in place. Definitely heavier than they looked. Next up was the fridge, a boy did that big boy weigh a few pounds. I was just glad we got it in place without damaging any of the floor.
Once those were in place, we went downstairs to get both sets of stackable washer/dryers in place. That was kind of a pain in the ass because we had to lift the dryer while standing in the hallway. A little bit tight! We got it figured out, then got all the packing/boxes moved out into the dumpster. Shannon is going to be sooo happy to see the appliances in place!
Next up was to create an exact template for the curved tasting bar. This was a critical step to getting the incoming Corian top cut exactly perfect in my cousin Bill's countertop shop, Tops of the Town. So the plan was to build a luann replica of the countertop, then disassemble it, take it over to Bill's place, then they would use the template to create the Corian tops. Jim and I both used to work with Bill back in the college days, so we knew pretty well how to create the template. The hardest part of course was the curve, so basically we nailed the sheets of luann to the tasting room floor, and transferred the measurements of the tasting bar onto the floor. Once the bar was "drawn" on the luann, we pulled out the nails and took the jigsaw and cut out the shape. It came out in several pieces, and we had to assemble them in place on the bar counters. The template turned out great, with a nice little gap the whole way around the back that hopefully will enable a smooth installation.
Thanks Jim!
Daily hours = 12
Total hours = 418
Posted by Stephen at 10:45 PM
April 8, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I focused on the music loft. Got the remaining side of the PA installed. This one was a lot harder than the previous one, basically because of the way I was wedged into the timber frame. Trying to hold the weight of the speaker with my left arm while trying to thread the shackle with my right was not fun, especially knowing a slip off the beam is a pretty long fall. Anyway, after looking like a dork for 15 minutes on national TV I got it installed.
Then I got the LED lights installed. Mounted 8 up in the top beam. Once those were in I installed a piece of conduit so I could have clean cable runs up to the lights and center speaker. Pulled all the cable up (DMX for the lights, speaker cable, and power for the movie screen and lights.) Shannon came by for a few hours and dusted off her audio engineer skills and wired up the Neutrik speaker connectors!
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 14
Total hours = 406
Posted by Stephen at 10:29 PM
April 7, 2007
Construction Daily
Spent most of the day outside in the vineyard, running trellis wire, and hammering nails. Seems the seasons aren't slowing down for our construction project, and the vines will be coming out soon - have to have this trellis done!
Did get inside for a few hours once I ran out of wire. Placed the vanity, wall cabinet, and medicine chest in the boys bathroom, and laid the cultured marble top in place. I just set the faucet on top, and realized that the holes in the sink top are too close together and will have to be custom cut to accomodate the escutcheons. Fun - that can wait...
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 392
Posted by Stephen at 10:06 PM
April 5, 2007
Construction Daily
Today the Conestoga team continued skinning the winery. It is really coming together, and I continue to be impressed with their efficiency.
Inside, I continued work on the kitchen cabinets. Working my way back from the stoves, I decided to leave myself an extra inch or so of space on either side to avoid difficulty in sliding in the actual appliances. Why struggle? The peninsula proved to be somewhat challenging to secure, since there isn't a wall to screw it to. The solution is to mount a piece directly to the floor (drilling a hole through the grout into the subfloor, not through the impossibly-hard tile...) and screwing the mount directly to the subfloor. Then placing the peninsula cabinet on top, and screwing the base to the floor mount. Additional strength is gained by screwing the peninsula to the adjoining cabinets, which are of course mounted to the wall. The whole thing ended up feeling really solid.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 382
Posted by Stephen at 10:44 PM
April 3, 2007
Construction Daily
Big day today. Conestoga was on hand to begin installing the roof trusses. I stopped by to snap a few pictures before heading back to Rentals Unlimited to re-rent the flatbed to go get the bloodwood. Re-rent you ask? Learn more about that mess...
Got out to Lumber Liquidators about 10 am and talked over the installation with the GM, Randy. He was very helpful and gave me a lot of good tips on installing the flooring, and actually recommended a guy by the name of Tom Daniels who installs a lot of floors for them. Took me a while to get the load secured, and I was making damn sure it was tight because the bill came to over $12,000 for this flooring (and I still have more ordered to pick up later!) Not something you want to scatter all over the road for sure.
Got back to the house and couldn't believe my eyes - in the four hours I was gone the Conestoga team had installed the entire roof. Unreal.
Thus began the miserable chore of unloading the flooring. The first part wasn't so bad - I had bought some red oak for the gift shop, and each box weighed about 50 pounds. Carried in about 22 boxes of that stuff then got to the hard part. Each box of bloodwood weighed in at 100 pounds. The first box wasn't so bad, but after 20 I was definitely exhausted. I decided to ask the Conestoga guys if they wanted to make a few quick bucks and help me unload. Best $100 I ever spent. Three of them helped me out and we got the truck finished up. Once that was done I had to run the truck up to Frederick and return it. After that I called it a day.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 372
Posted by Stephen at 11:11 PM
April 1, 2007
Construction Daily
This morning I began repositioning a kitchenette cabinet that I wasn't happy with. The cabinet over the sink got moved over the refrigerator, and now we're planning on installing a shelf over the sink for the microwave.
Shannon got over early and we got started on the kitchen in the tasting room. First order of business was to install the wall cabinets along the refrigerator wall. Having Shannon's help made this a lot easier than the downstairs! The wall cabinets went in pretty quickly, but once we started on the base cabinets it became apparent that they were going to be more challenging. Using my laser lever I was able to determine that the floor was slightly out of level, angling down a 1/4" from the refrigerator to the peak of the tasting bar curve. Thus I decided to mount the cabinet closest to the refrigerator directly on the floor, then shim up each successive cabinet. In addition, the HVAC subs had installed a floor vent right in the middle of two cabinets, so I had to custom cut the bottoms of those cabinets to ensure proper ventilation into the kitchen. Wouldn't have been too hard for them to ask "where are the cabinets going" but that just makes too much sense...
Shannon had to return home to the rental to relieve Memom and I continued placing cabinets and rough placing some appliances to get a feel for the tasting bar space. Due to the placement of another under-cabinet floor vent I had to re-design the layout of the wine coolers. It wasn't a big deal and the functionality still will work out really well. Finished up pretty late and decided to begin on the other wall cabinets in a few days.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 18
Total hours = 362
Posted by Stephen at 11:11 PM
March 31, 2007
Construction Daily
I spent the morning making a quick run up to Lancaster County Timber Frames to pick up material for the railings. Figured it made sense to use their supplier for the douglas fir to ensure a consistent look as the railings will butt up against the posts. So I was at Rentals Unlimited at 7 AM to pick up a flatbed, then up to York, PA I went. Got there and Chuck and Tony helped me get loaded up with 2"x4"s, 4"x6", and 2"x6" lumber. Turned right around and headed home, then had the enjoyable task of unloading all that lumber into the house.
Once that was done I set off for Martinsburg, WV to pick up all the bloodwood for the floors. Much to my dismay (and subsequent temper tantrum) once I got there I found out they only stay open until 3 PM on Saturdays. Looked at my watch - 3:20 PM. I was so pissed off, because now I had to rent this damn truck again next weekend to get the lumber. Not a good way to end the day. So I turned around and went to Frederick to drop off the truck, then headed back to the house.
Meanwhile, Shannon was downstairs priming the playroom while the boys were at the rental with Grammy. After she finished up I decided to tackle hanging the playroom kitchenette cabinets. Thank goodness for the laser level I bought a few months ago, that thing is worth it's weight in gold for hanging cabinets (no matter how much Shannon pokes fun at me for buying it!) Still was a bit challenging holding a cabinet in place with one hand while screwing it to the wall with the other hand, but using some bracing I got it figured out.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 18
Total hours = 344
Posted by Stephen at 11:01 PM
March 30, 2007
Construction Daily
Conestoga was by today to drill the holes for the post footers. Of course they ran into trouble due to some large rocks that were in the fill dirt we got, so now we get to pay more for the additional machine time. At least it's done, and we're scheduled to have the posts go in on Monday!
Posted by Stephen at 4:03 PM
March 29, 2007
Construction Daily
The winery site is complete, and ready to begin construction. Conestoga Buildings dropped off the materials, and the crew will be onsite tomorrow to drill the holes for the footers. Since the ground behind the winery is so waterlogged, Trevor dug a trench from the well site over to a holding area so the silt-filled water can begin to drain out without getting into the pond.
Inside, Shannon and I began the very un-fun job of cleaning up the basement, and scraping the floors. All the drywall mud spills, and adhesives etc. made a tough job of getting it all flat. Since we'll be having the carpet come in soon, and I'm beginning on the laminate floor the concrete had to be perfectly smooth. It took us about three hours to get the three bedrooms, hallway, and playroom cleaned up.
Once that was done, Shannon began priming the boy's room and I began installing the laminate flooring. It took a little while to figure out the best way to make cuts, and I goofed more than a few pieces (cut the wrong end and chopped off the tongues instead of the grooves - oops) but after a few rows it really goes down quickly. And the underlayment adds a nice spring to the floor, which will be great since I'm sure the boys will have more than a few wipeouts in here.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 20
Total hours = 326
Posted by Stephen at 11:00 PM
March 27, 2007
Construction Daily
Trevor has been spending a few days building up the winery site to ensure proper water runoff around the site. Ron actually got a call from a buddy who was looking to get rid of some fill dirt from a construction site east of Leesburg. So we ended up getting about 30 dump trucks of dirt which we used to build up the pad.
Inside, I got the boy's tub grouted, and then tiled the shower in the master suite. Grouting sucks, and at this point I can honestly say I've gotten tiling out of my system.
On the sub front, the electricians have been "switching and plugging" and getting wires tied into the fuse panel in the basement. Vernon and Tim have been working on trimming the tasting room and catwalk, and we've got some great looking baseboard to show for it.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 306
Posted by Stephen at 10:53 PM
March 25, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I got the boy's tub tiled. Went pretty well, as I used the laser level to keep everything nice and straight. As usual, I forgot to put in the soap dish and had to pull some tiles off and redo it. Shannon applied the primer in the office. Also spent a few hours in the vineyard running trellis wire, as we're running out of time to get that complete - spring will be here soon.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 16
Total hours = 296
Posted by Stephen at 10:20 PM
March 24, 2007
Construction Daily
Huge day today. Grouted the boy's bathroom, installed the base cove in our bathroom, and got the kitchen grouted. Grouting the bathroom was a piece of cake, but the kitchen was much much more challenging. I think the difference was that the bathroom tile had a rougher edge which naturally hides a lot of the grout oddities, whereas the kitchen tile has perfectly beveled edges so every little bump or dip in the grout lines. So it took a lot longer to try and get them all evened out. Anyhow I got done pretty late and just walked away and left a big mess to clean up tomorrow!
Daily hours = 11
Total hours = 280
Posted by Stephen at 10:00 PM
March 22, 2007
Construction Daily
Today was the first day of my time off from work. I've been saving vacation time and will now be onsite every Tuesday and Thursday until the first week of May. Until Emily has the baby that is. And unless ten more gigs get dropped in our Viva lap. Yikes...
Anyway it was pretty cool being onsite with the other subs - usually we're alone on the weekends but today the place is buzzing with activity. The painters are working in the catwalk and loft. The trim carpenters are hanging doors and installing trim in the basement. Ron and Trevor are moving landscape boulders. And I'm running around answering a thousand questions. Maybe I'll get something done today too...? Actually I did hang the backer board in the master bathroom and mudded/taped the joints.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 269
Posted by Stephen at 9:40 PM
March 18, 2007
Construction Daily
Today's main task was to finish up the ceramic tile in the master bathroom. That took a few hours due to the large number of curved cuts. Brian Korte stopped by to help out and finished priming the ceiling down the hall and into the playroom. It was great to chat and get caught up and everything that he'd been up to - check out the latest Brickworkz masterpiece. He also took a few pics and posted them in his gallery.
Had to quit early today since Shannon and I are taking my mom to see George Winston at the Barns at Wolftrap tonight. Heading home to take a quick nap and a long shower, then enjoying an evening out.
Daily hours = 6
Total hours = 259
Posted by Stephen at 9:18 PM
March 17, 2007
Construction Daily
Shannon and I were both working in the basement today. I got started on tiling the floor of the boy's bathroom while she applied primer in the bathroom as well as the ceilings in the bedrooms and hallway. I finished up the boy's bathroom pretty quickly as that was a relatively simple tiling job, then I got started on our bathroom was is nowhere near as simple due to the curved shower pan. Cutting the curves became very problematic and I eventually had to resort to "freehanding" the cuts on the tile saw. Basically I moved the guide plate out of the way and held each piece of tile up the saw blade with my hands. Don't try this at home...
This past week the drywall crew finished up the rest of the upstairs, and all the appliances were delivered.
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 17
Total hours = 253
Posted by Stephen at 10:43 PM
March 3, 2007
Construction Daily
This week the drywall finisher came over and began mudding/taping the basement and upstairs. It took a pretty serious heart-to-heart with Ron and Richard to convey my sense of urgency about the approaching May 9th one-year deadline on the construction loan. They were very receptive to my concerns, and agreed with my position that we needed to begin moving the subs in parallel to speed up progress. Thus while the drywall crew was upstairs hanging sheets of drywall, the finisher was coming in right behind them.
Today Shannon was able to come over for a few hours while we had Grammy support to watch the boys. We took a couple hours and did some pruning out in the vineyard before heading inside. She spent some time testing paint colors while I continued tiling the kitchen floor. She also pitched in and installed some tile. Once she had to leave I decided I needed to finish it up, since we have two large back-to-back events for Viva and I will be in the office tomorrow (Sunday) and then we leave for Miami on Tuesday, and upon arriving home on Saturday I have to stay in DC for another show. Won't be back in the house for almost two weeks. :(
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 16
Total hours = 236
Posted by Stephen at 10:04 PM
February 25, 2007
Construction Daily
Today I focused on continuing the kitchen tile. I never thought this was going to be as time-consuming as it's turning out to be, but the angled layout is proving to be very tough. In addition, the high-quality porcelain tile is extremely hard to cut. Oh well, nothing to do but keep at it. Another late night - check out the pics.
Daily hours = 8
Total hours = 220
Posted by Stephen at 10:24 PM
February 24, 2007
Construction Daily
Debbie Hartwick stopped by today, along with my mom to offer some input on paint colors in the gift shop. I had originally thought we'd go with a different wall color and floor in there to set it apart from the rest of the tasting room. But after talking with Debbie we decided to go with the same beige color we're using in the main tasting area, but go with a different floor (red oak instead of bloodwood.) We also spent some time looking at paint colors for the bathrooms, and decided on Behr Winter Wheat to complement the floor tiles.
Debbie also put some thought into our railing system, and came up with the idea for using a glass railing above the gift shop to preserve the view of the star window and ceiling from the gift shop. Sounds awesome - now we have to get some quotes...
I had started tiling the men's room when everyone showed up, so mom and Debbie installed a few pieces of tile. Shannon also pitched in for some tiling as well, while Memom watched the boys at the rental. We got the bathroom finished up, and everyone took off while I started laying out the kitchen tile project. This would be much more complicated, as the tiles are angled 45 degrees from each wall, thus it was critical to get an accurate center line created to ensure a consistent pattern. Had a pretty tough time getting started within the curve of the tasting bar due to all the weird angles. Finally got out of the curve and quit for the day - will get back at it tomorrow.
Work continued on the drywall in the basement this week.
Today's tasks:
- Completed the men's room ceramic tile
- Began the kitchen ceramic tile
Daily hours (S&S combined) = 16
Total hours = 212
Posted by Stephen at 10:06 PM
February 21, 2007
Construction Daily
Stopped by the house to check out drywall progress. Seemed to be moving pretty slow (go figure) but the work looks really good. All three bedrooms and the kid's bathroom are done, and they are coming down the hallway.
They've also gotten the trench dug to the well, so we should have water to the house by the end of the week. Good stuff.
Posted by Stephen at 1:45 PM
February 18, 2007
Construction Daily
Boys with toys...
Today was day one of the AV component installation. The goal was to get all the high stuff installed so I don't have to put scaffolding on the hardwood floor in a few weeks. Target for the day was to get the dropdown screen, center speaker, main PA speakers, and stage lighting installed. Ken offered to come by to help out with the installation, as it would be pretty tough (not to mention unsafe) to try and wrangle that big thing into place by myself.
Step one was to construct a scaffolding platform with safety railing so didn't have to work from ladders. Once that was in place, we started taking measurements and I realized the screen wasn't going to be hidden behind the cross beam as I had originally anticipated, but would have to hang below. Once I knew where the screen was going, I installed the center speaker. Had to bend some heavy duty L brackets to the proper angle to ensure good coverage, and it was a relatively simple matter to find the center line and bolt it in place.
The more complex operation came with installing the screen. Ken helped me lift it up onto the scaffolding, then up onto the railing. Took some more measurements, then drilled pilot holes into the timber frame for the hardware. Then I climbed out onto the side beam while Ken lifted the screen into place and installed the hardware. Did the other side pretty quickly and voila - a big-ass movie theater right in our living room! Rigged up a temporary AC service to test the motor, hit the button and lowered the screen into place. It took a little while to adjust the stops to get the screen to lower into the correct position, but once it's dialed in it only takes a switch to lower/raise the screen.
Next step was to install the PA speakers, which was a bit more difficult due to having to do the whole install from on top of the side beam. It also took a while to figure out which hardware to use, and I realized I needed a few more pieces from Home Depot, which brought the installation to a halt. About this time Ken had to get home, and the Klauses came by bring lunch and dinner in celebration of Duncan's arrival. So after a tasty lunch and chasing toddlers around the house I headed off to Home Depot to get the remaining bits. Got back and installed the right speaker, and as I was unpacking the left I heard a loud clunk when I picked the box up. Oh good grief now what...? Apparently the crossover transformer inside had come loose and was dangling inside the cabinet. I just plain didn't feel like messing with it so I just boxed it up and decided to send it back. For $800 a speaker I think the damn thing just needs to be right!
So that brought the day's events to a close - not as successful as I'd hoped but still got a lot done, and only a few more hours and the loft AV will be complete (except for the projector!)
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 196
Posted by Stephen at 1:29 PM
February 17, 2007
Construction Daily
Today was the first day of "visible" building - tiling the ladies room floor in the tasting room. I've been looking forward to getting into the tiling for a long time, having done so many other tile jobs when I used to work for my cousin Bill back in the college days. We're definitely jumping the gun a bit since the room hasn't been drywalled yet, but we're really running out of time to get our occupancy permit - the bank gives you one year or else you have to go back to another closing (and closing COSTS) so May 9th is the due date. Given the rate our crew has been moving at lately I just can't afford to wait, so we're taking the risks and tiling ahead of drywall. So I have to leave appropriate space around the perimeter of the room for the drywall, and I'll lay down luann and plywood to protect the floor from the drywall stilts.
Shannon was also able to get her mom to come out and babysit for a few hours so she could lay some tile. So I marked out the floor and spent a lot of time checking where all the cut tiles would lay to ensure I didn't have any odd cuts at the doorway or along the walls. Once the whole project was laid out, it was time to assemble the new wet saw I purchased for all the tile work coming up. And wouldn't you know it, but after getting everything all set up and built the damn saw motor was shot. I turned that thing on and thought it was going to blow up. Soooo pissed, but the worst part was that Shannon wasn't going to get to do any tiling today. We hopped in the truck and went over to Home Depot to get another saw, and by the time we were done it was time to get Shannon home to relieve her mom. After that I went back to the house and started tiling around 7 PM. I didn't finish until after 11, and probaby irritated the hell out of my neighbors due to the racket from the wet saw. Sorry! Anyhow I got it done and went home to bed.
Daily hours = 12
Total hours = 186
Posted by Stephen at 10:15 PM
February 15, 2007
Construction Daily
Today Darren and Kevin finished up the loft subfloor and loaded in the drywall delivery. That must have been a pain in the ass - had to carry all the 12' sheets up the stairs to the loft. Looks like they'll be installing drywall tomorrow - AWESOME!!!
Posted by Stephen at 9:41 AM
February 14, 2007
Construction Daily
Ugh - so of course all the drywall was supposed to be delivered today and we get sleet/freezing rain, then 6 inches of snow, then more freezing rain. The house and yard is encased in solid ice - no deliveries today. :(
Posted by Stephen at 9:33 AM
February 13, 2007
Construction Daily
We got our close-in inspection today - next step = drywall!!!
Posted by Stephen at 9:32 AM
February 12, 2007
Construction Daily
The insulation crew completed the downstairs today!
Posted by Stephen at 9:31 AM
February 11, 2007
Construction Daily
More subfloor work today. After discussing floor joist capacity in the music loft with the carpenters, we decided that the joist were sufficient to someday support the weight of a baby grand piano. But they felt it would be a good idea to add another layer of 3/4" plywood to better distribute the weight. Thus the total floor will be 3/4" of subfloor 1, 3/4" of subfloor 2 and 3/4" of hardwood for a total 2 1/4" == sturdy! I actually didn't finish the entire loft (ran out of time) so the carpenters may have to install the last two sheets tomorrow. One other little task, I installed additional bracing from the tasting bar to the floor for added strength.
Daily hours = 8
Total hours = 174
Posted by Stephen at 9:33 PM
February 10, 2007
Construction Daily
Today we installed the subfloor reinforcement in the kitchen. Shannon was over to help out, and screwed in several pieces of the plywood while the HGTV crew filmed. It was great to have her "getting dirty" after being on the sidelines for 9 months! I took a short break to go to Jim and Shayna's for dinner, and afterwards Ken came over to help finish the last two pieces. They were the most complicated due to the tasting bar curve, but having the extra set of hands really made it an easy task. Enjoy the pics.
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 166
Posted by Stephen at 9:28 PM
February 8, 2007
Construction Daily
Oops - failed our framing inspection the first time, but it wasn't unexpected (they always find something.) So Darren and Kevin had to install a few more firestops and now we're all set for insulation on Monday!
Posted by Stephen at 3:38 PM
February 6, 2007
Construction Daily
Whoo hoo! We passed our rough-in electrical inspection - next stop is framing inspection.
Posted by Stephen at 3:17 PM
February 5, 2007
Construction Daily
Holy crap I can't believe it - the electricians finished today.
Posted by Stephen at 3:16 PM
February 4, 2007
Construction Daily
This weekend I began prepping the tasting room bathroom subfloors. Essentially they needed reinforced to 1) stiffen them to hopefully avoid cracks in the tile grout and 2) bring them up to the level of the hardwood floors which will be in the gift shop. Also, I finally finished the tasting room LCD cable installation. I ended up having to pull the wires out of the catwalk, and go down through the wall into the basement ceiling then back up into the pantry. Fun...
Daily hours = 10 / 8
Total hours = 156
Posted by Stephen at 2:32 PM
January 30, 2007
Construction Daily
Today the electricians hooked up the wires to the furnace and Temp-a-Tron fired it up - we have heat!
Posted by Stephen at 5:30 PM
January 28, 2007
The Geek Carpenter
This past Wednesday while I was working in the house, I was having a chat with the electrician. He asked me when I was planning on framing in the tasting bar and I said in a few months. Not good said he - it needs to be wired in order for the whole house to pass inspection. ACK! OK, I don't want to hold up the show so I figured I need to get this framed up right away, at least good enough to run the electrical boxes.
As I pondered the complexity of the design (essentially a semi-circle) I realized that if I wanted to do this right I would need absolutely precise measurements, and a template for the cross braces. I fired up TurboCAD, the program we use at Viva Productions to design stages and began working on the bar framing. I decided it would basically be 2x6 verticals in a radial pattern around a center point. To keep things sensible, I decided to place a 2x6 every 10 degrees, that way my mitre cuts would be a nice 5 degrees on either side of the braces. Once the plan was done in CAD, it was easy to transfer the radius to the floor in magic marker as a guide.
The key to the whole project turned out to be the scale outline of the cross bracing that I printed out of TurboCAD. This was critical in ensuring the exterior wall would follow a perfectly smooth curve. Step one was to lay out several printed copies along with 2x6 stock to double-check the layout was accurate. It turned out to be a little off, due to the fact that when I cut out the templates I didn't take the line width into consideration - this is how close the tolerances were! So when I cut the master template I just removed the width of the line and voila it was exact.
The building strategy was to start from either side and build towards the center, that way if I got a little off the whole thing wouldn't be lopsided on one side or the other. Turned out to be a good call, because the last two braces on either side of the last 2x6 were about 1/2 inch shorter than the rest, but because they were identical it didn't mess up the curve. Another key to the project was installing temporary bracing to ensure that every 2x6 stayed perfectly level while the glue setup. Oh and for anyone ponder whether or not to get an air compressor and framing nailer - GET ONE TODAY - there is no substitute.
I have to say I have done a lot of carpentry work in my day, but this project felt like a rite of passage. Very complex yet very fulfilling, and it feels like I can show it to "real carpenters" and not feel like a dork.
Enough of my rambling - check out the pics.
Download CAD view 1
Download CAD view 2
Download brace template
Design hours = 4
Total hours = 118
Saturday hours = 10
Total hours = 128
Sunday hours = 10
Total hours = 138
Posted by Stephen at 5:06 PM
January 21, 2007
Construction Daily
Finshed the Audio/Video/Data installation today!!!
Today's completed tasks:
*Installed remaining nail stop plates
*Installed four 19" lengths of conduit in the pantry to come down from the ceiling to the rear of the electronics
Once this was all done I had to spend an hour going around the house gathering all the spare parts, extra cable, tools etc. and getting them all organized and out of the way. What a huge job that turned out to be, but I feel pretty good about the outcome. Also nice to know that an extremely time-sensitive job is over. Technically I don't have to hook anything up until the rest of the work is done, but the cables definitely had to be pulled to get the drywall done. Although I suspect I won't put the final connections off for too long - too many toys to play with now!!!
Daily hours = 3
Total hours = 114
Posted by Stephen at 9:17 PM
January 20, 2007
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Ran speaker wire to the catwalk delay speakers
*Ran three coaxial cables to the loft
*Hooked up the subwoofer cables
*Ran the gift shop in-ceiling speaker wires
*Built and installed an XLR loom to the loft with 6 sends and 2 returns (enough to mic and monitor a duo or trio)
*Ran LED par can DMX lines to/from the loft
*Secured all loft runs to existing conduit and plumbing vents
*Added two more coaxial runs to the playroom to allow for RGB composite signal to the HDTV
*Installed nail stop plates - ran out with four to go >:-[
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 111
Posted by Stephen at 9:25 PM
January 16, 2007
Construction Daily
Today's Completed Tasks:
*Completed the main floor surround speaker wiring
*Temporarily installed the left rear 42" Philips LCD HDTV to check positioning
*Installed extra bracing in the master suite and playroom to support the LCD HDTVs
Roger and Bev stopped by to check out the place. They were blown away by the whole thing, and we got some great footage for HGTV Dream House. They have been so supportive of all of our endeavors, it's great to see them enjoying the end results. OK the "in progress" results!
I began to wonder if the 42" LCD would be too large in our bedroom and overshadow the look of the fireplace and mantel. So I test fit the smaller LCD just to see what it would look like. Still can't decide, so I just made sure I put enough bracing in the wall to support the bracket for either TV. My gut tells me I'll end up putting the larger one in our room - can't justify a TV that nice getting jelly fingerprints all over it while playing "Bob the Builder" on an infinite loop...
Darren and team worked on framing the bulkheads while the electricians continued work on the world's longest installation. Dominion Power came out to install a new power pole to replace the dilapidated one that had been there for decades. And believe it or not they just left the old one in the ground! Assholes! What am I supposed to do with that nasty old pole in my front yard???
On the bright side, we passed our plumbing and gas rough-in inspections!
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 101
Posted by Stephen at 4:52 PM
January 15, 2007
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Re-routed the pantry video/data bundle around the electronic component access frame
*Ran speaker wire for the left side and rear surround speakers in the tasting room
Daily hours = 2
Total hours = 91
Posted by Stephen at 4:45 PM
January 10, 2007
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Installed the fireplace venting. Kind of a pain in the ass, as each joint has to be sealed up with Mill Pac, a high-temperature sealant for direct-vent applications.
Ron came by to dig the hole for the propane tank, and Holtzman showed up to run the gas line to the fireplace and place the tank.
The electricians are well underway in the basement. Funny story - when I got there this morning I noticed that the electricians had run three wires right in front of the exterior fireplace vent. HELLO - did you not notice the huge hole??? So they had to be moved before I could work on the vent system. When the electricians pulled up (not the company owner, just a couple of kids fresh out of trade school...) I mentioned the issue to them and offered up a suggestion for an alternative wire placement - and got a boatload of attitude. Now mind you, I did not introduce myself as the homeowner, and I certainly did not look like one in my shorts, workboots, ratty hair and torn sweatshirt. So after about ten minutes they came back and offered to move the wires to a different location. Then the kid asks "Have you seen the homeowner today? I have some questions for him." Quite slowly I just raised my hand, and watched the blood drain out of his face... Actually, after that we had a very productive walk-through and discussed some minor changes and clarifications. He was very helpful and offered up some great suggestions.
But you should have heard his asshole pucker when he realized he was being a little jackass to the check-writer!
I have to say though, the greatest moment of the day came when Shannon called and gave me the update from her morning midwife appointment. They decided to break her water tomorrow - Duncan is coming!!! :) That news made it VERY tough to concentrate on the work, but I fumbled through and got it over with.
Daily hours = 8
Total hours = 89
Posted by Stephen at 10:46 PM
January 8, 2007
Construction Daily
The electricians began installing wire in the basement today, and Fred set the master suite whirlpool! The carpenters cut channels in the exterior walls to run the plumbing and electrical for the Mitsubishi air conditioners that will supplement the central HVAC unit.
Posted by Stephen at 10:23 PM
January 7, 2007
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Installed the remaining three exterior video surveillance cameras - one on each of the three other walls for 360-degree coverage. Got to drive the all-terrain forklift around and used the bucket to reach the camera locations. Good times!
*Ran the left side/rear surround in-ceiling speaker wires under the catwalk
Daily hours = 6
Total hours = 81
Posted by Stephen at 10:03 PM
January 6, 2007
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Installed the master suite fireplace and exterior vent - don't have the proper pieces to install the pipe because the opening to the outside vent had to be cut off-center from the fireplace due to the layout of the floor joists. I'll have to get some additional pipe and two 45-degree joints to configure the pipe over a few inches before tying in to the exterior vent.
*Installed the front porch video surveillance camera. What a bitch getting the hole drilled through from the inside into the ceiling of the covered porch. Essentially it took over two hours to get a hole drilled and the wiring run through - of course I got to look like a dumbass for the TV camera. Be sure to tune in for this one...
*Installed the kitchen video/data bundle
*Installed the gift shop video/data bundle
Daily hours = 9
Total hours = 75
The painters finished up the second coat on the rear of the house - what a difference!
Posted by Stephen at 9:40 PM
January 5, 2007
Construction Daily
Today the crew from Holtzman came by to run gas lines. They ran all but the master suite fireplace, which they will do tomorrow once I have the fireplace installed. Fred has completed all the plumbing except for the master suite whirlpool tub setting, which is also pending the fireplace install.
The painters put another coat on a small section of the rear to evaluate this as an option for fixing the difference between the front/back and ends. It turned out great, so we are going to have them finish it up. I think the issue stems from the fact that they may have used an oil-based semi-transparent on the front/back and an acrylic-based semi-transparent on the ends. Just takes one screwup at the supply house to destroy an entire job. There is still a slight difference because the rear will now have two coats, but it is trivial compared to what it was looking like.
Posted by Stephen at 9:48 PM
January 3, 2007
Construction Daily
Today Fred came and set the kid's bathtub. Must have been a miserable job, given the fact we got a cast iron one which weighs several hundred pounds. He also set our shower pan in the master suite. Painters arrived to begin the trim - a primer coat then paint. We've discovered an issue with the stain, looks like the ends of the house and dormers are different than the front and back. Even the painter is unhappy with the job his guys have done, so looks like we have to figure something out and get this fixed.
Posted by Stephen at 3:48 PM
January 1, 2007
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Finished the loft floor carpentry (patched earlier subwoofer installation error, completed access panels)
*Completed 3" pantry/loft conduit
*Installed data/video bundle in pantry wall
Daily hours = 8
Total hours = 66
Posted by Stephen at 9:41 PM
December 31, 2006
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Installed second in-floor subwoofer. Big job, required cutting out the floor and dropping the speaker in from the top, then rebuilding part of the floor joist to support the replacement floor section.
*Cut cable access panels in loft floor to allow flexibility for future wiring needs
*Installed plywood bottom in joist bay to create single large cable bay
*Began installation of AV conduit between pantry hub and loft
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 58
Posted by Stephen at 9:31 PM
December 30, 2006
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Installed one piece of drywall to allow for network panel mounting
*Mounted one of two network panels (required some framing to ensure proper mounting support)
Had to quit early today - big family Christmas party to attend!
Daily hours = 4
Total hours = 48
Check out the latest progress pics.
Posted by Stephen at 8:50 PM
December 26, 2006
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Installed home theater wiring in kid's playroom
*Installed video/data bundle in kid's playroom
*Installed main floor LCD cables - 25' and 75' 5-wire BNC HDTV video, (2) RCA audio L&R and S-VHS cable to each 42" LCD. HGTV was on hand to shoot some of the cable installation, as well as get some footage of me working into the night. Got some great shots of the outside of house lit from inside.
Plenty more boxes arriving at the rental shack. Living room is full of lighting boxes and the HDTV big rolldown screen is taking up the kitchen.
Daily hours = 8
Total hours = 44
Posted by Stephen at 10:06 PM
December 23, 2006
Construction Daily
The painter's finished most of the staining - still have the rear dormers to stain, and all the trim to paint. Duct installation continues. Fred began installation of the water supply lines.
Today's completed tasks:
*Installed video data bundles in office and boy's bedroom
*Installed video surveillance cables in boy's bedroom
*Installed three runs of flexible conduit between the pantry and master suite, including a junction box in the mudroom
*Pulled two video and four data cable through two of the flexible conduits, leaving one open for future expansion
Went into Purcellville and bought Tristan a Christmas tree - can't have my boy without a tree on Christmas morning no matter how busy we are!
Daily hours = 10
Total hours = 36
Posted by Stephen at 9:44 PM
December 17, 2006
Construction Daily
Today's completed tasks:
*Installed one of two Polk Audio CSW200 in-floor subwoofers.
*Installed video surveillance wires in the kid's playroom
Had some trouble with the second subwoofer. Apparently the joists surrounding the first one were wider than the standard 16", thus the 13" sub fit right in. But when I went to install the second one, I couldn't fit the speaker cabinet up inside the joists. A 16" joist spacing, with a 3 1/2" two-by-four on top only leaves 12 1/2" of space - obviously not enough to push a 13" speaker in between. So I wasted three hours on that. Next week I'll have to cut out the floor and drop the speaker in from above. Good times.
Daily hours = 6
Total hours = 26
Posted by Stephen at 9:16 PM
December 16, 2006
Construction Daily
So here we go! Today I began the AV wiring installation. I have been planning this project for months, actually years I suppose because this is an integral part of the tasting room experience. Endless hours of research went into the design, but if you want to check out a great comprehensive guide to integrated networks and structured media systems, you can access the Leviton guide here. The HGTV crew was on-hand to capture the beginning of the project, and they were treated to some bad language, cuts and bruises.
In a nutshell, every room in our house will have four cat5e and three coaxial cables running back to the control panel. The four cat5e and two coax will terminate in a configurable Leviton plate which will allow for multiple jack combinations. To start, I'll install (4) RJ45 jacks and (2) coax jacks since the RJ45 can accept an RJ11 phone plug. The remaining coax will be on the opposing wall to allow for various bed/furniture configurations without having to run cable across the floor. Here is another DIY resource with some great photos of an actual installation - check it out. In addition to the complex AV and data systems, we are also installing a closed circuit video surveillance system with four exterior cameras and four interior.
Today's completed tasks:
* Installed the master suite conduit from my closet to the fireplace buildout
* Pulled the AV wire through the master suite conduit (3 speaker for left, right and center audio, and a five-wire for the HDTV LCD)
* Installed master suite surround speaker cable - four boxes
* Wired the Au Pair suite for data and video
* Installed four exterior camera cables (coax and DC power) and two interior cameras for the tasting bar and gift shop
Daily Hours = 14
Total Hours = 20
On another note, the painters showed up today to begin staining the siding. This is going to look so awesome! :)
Posted by Stephen at 9:14 PM
December 15, 2006
Construction Daily
Went by the house today to do my final AV installation walkthrough. Got lucky and bumped into the electrician and talked through a few issues he thought I might run into. So I changed my conduit plan a bit and made my final decisions. Then headed to Tristan's Xmas party at daycare!
After the party I spent four hours at Lowe's this evening (three in the same aisle!) deciding on which pieces of conduit to buy. I ended up getting more components than I really needed - I figured I'd rather have extra stuff onsite than having to run back to Lowe's. So looks like tomorrow will be day one of a very long winter...
Daily Hours = 6
Total Hours = 6
Posted by Stephen at 9:48 PM
December 13, 2006
Construction Daily
The metal porch roof was installed today - WOW! :)
Work continues on the ductwork installation.
Posted by Stephen at 4:45 PM
December 9, 2006
Construction Daily
View the pics from the week.
Posted by Stephen at 11:04 PM
December 8, 2006
Construction Daily
HVAC duct installation.
Posted by Stephen at 10:50 PM
December 7, 2006
Construction Daily
HVAC duct installation.
Posted by Stephen at 10:49 PM
December 6, 2006
Construction Daily
Today the HVAC crew arrived to begin delivering the duct material. Looks like it will take them about 2 weeks to get the ducts installed. We've also run into a snag with cooling loads for summer events. The HVAC sub calculated that a large event (60 people) on a hot day would overload our system, thus they've recommended installing a separate Mitsubishi AC unit on the wall overlooking the vineyard. Shit. Well we don't want to bake any clients in August so we're approving the extra cost for the unit - $1,800 - but there is no way you're sticking an AC unit on my vineyard wall Sparky. We decided it would work just fine placed on the back wall at the vineyard end.
Posted by Stephen at 10:44 PM
December 5, 2006
Construction Daily
Today the roofers came out to install flashing on the covered porch so Vernon and Tim could finish the siding on the front of the house. Siding is complete, only exterior carpentry left is a few more boards on the porch ceiling - just waiting on the material. They also installed the basement staircase, and it is so nice to be able to get downstairs without having to go outside!
Posted by Stephen at 10:40 PM
November 30, 2006
Construction Daily
The whirlpool tub for the master suite was delivered today!
Posted by Stephen at 10:42 PM
November 28, 2006
Construction Daily
Today Vernon and Tim lowered the upper loft. Somehow the original crew managed to overlook the phrase "Use Joist Hangers" which appears on the blueprints. Thus they installed the upper loft joists on top of the timberframe. The net result is that the loft is a foot higher than it is supposed to be, which will definitely cause sightline issues when there are live performances. To verify this, I climbed up onto the loft and Shannon sat in a chair on the main level and we figured that lowering the loft would be the difference between a visitor being able to see a performer's instrument (guitar etc.) or not. So we made the call - lower it.
Posted by Stephen at 10:25 PM
November 27, 2006
Construction Daily
This really isn't a daily entry, but rather a summary of several weeks of late-night Web surfing. I've been staying up late working out the details of the audio/visual systems that I'm installing, and it's now time to start buying gear. We settled on an AV budget of $20,000 which just plain kicks ass - going to get a lot of cool shit. I'll post the complete plan later once it's installed, but suffice to say the tasting room system will rival some small theaters.
Anyhow, I ended up getting really lucky with my purchases - apparently today is known as "Cyber Monday" which is the Monday after Thanksgiving where online retailers give deep discounts. So I came into a lot of savings and was able to leverage the discounts into some gear upgrades. Let there be rawk.
Posted by Stephen at 10:29 PM
November 21, 2006
Construction Daily
Vernon and Tim finished up all the window and door trim on the basement level today. Only thing left for them to finish is the siding above the front porch, but that can't happen until the metal roof gets installed.
Fred has finished up most of the PVC and will have to wait until the HVAC ducts are complete to run copper.
Posted by Stephen at 9:34 PM
November 18, 2006
Construction Daily
Enjoy the pics from this week's progress.
Posted by Stephen at 9:54 PM
November 12, 2006
Construction Daily
Enjoy the pics from this week's progress.
Posted by Stephen at 9:26 PM
November 8, 2006
Construction Daily
Today the siding team put all the siding on under the front porch. In addition, the last French doors were installed. Now maybe we can keep out the stray cats at night...
Posted by Stephen at 3:20 PM
November 6, 2006
Construction Daily
The plumbers started installing the PVC in the basement today. Ron and Fred (plumber) called me and indicated that the sink placement we struggled with and thought we had figured out would not pass code. The drain has to be 15" off of at least one finished wall. Looks I have to go out to the site tomorrow night after work and re-figure it out, as Fred needs the answer by Wednesday morning.
They also installed the star window today! :)
Posted by Stephen at 3:21 PM
November 5, 2006
Construction Daily
Took some pics today to keep track of progress. You'll notice one where someone drew a cartoon on one of the posts. I doubt it was one of the subcontractors - probably a local teenage punk-asshole with nothing better to do at night. No real damage done as we'll be able to sand it lightly then apply some more Danish Oil. I'm pushing to get the door locks in place, and then will try to get a security system in place ASAP.
I really hope I never find out who it was...
Posted by Stephen at 10:55 PM
November 2, 2006
Construction Daily
Today Shannon and I were back at AOL doing a Webcast for their all-hands meeting. So we got out of there by 2:30 and headed out to the construction site for a quick visit before heading home to work. It was cool seeing the siding on the rear of the house completed. The board and batten we upgraded to looks fantastic, and the texture of the battens gives a very classic feel. Ron happened to be onsite, as he had just done a rough grade to cover up some debris that has accumulated during construction. As I was watching the siding team put up the vineyard-facing wall I realized they hadn't accounted for the star window - OOPS. So they'll have to go back and frame that in.
Have a meeting with Richard first thing tomorrow morning - I owe the plumber specs on the urinal for the men's room, so we have to stay up tonight and decide on that.
Posted by Stephen at 11:50 PM
October 30, 2006
Construction Daily
Picked up the star window today! It is awesome. The guys at Loudoun Lumber in Purcellville were so curious they tore open the corner of the box just so everyone could see the window. It is going to be such a unique aspect of the house - can't wait to see it installed!
Posted by Stephen at 11:55 PM
October 28, 2006
Construction Daily
Today we had to finally figure out how we're going to build our master suite - i.e. how is this tub/fireplace/dual-sink configuration going to work out? So I figured the best way is to create a few mockups to give us a really good feel for what the actual tub, sink and bed will feel like. It's impossible to really tell on paper, so I built some life-size models out of leftover blue styrofoam insulation. Once I had the tub surround framed in, I was able to create the sink ledge models, and this was critical in placing the sinks (which the plumber needs to know on Monday.) The HGTV crew was on hand to film the decision process, and Shannon came over to help make the final call. The big breakthrough came when I figured out that I wanted one solid ledge running the entire length of the wall to allow the fireplace and both sink vessels to be at the same height, with enough of an apron above the top of the tub to enable some decorative tile work.
Once the bedroom was done, we went upstairs and drew out the tasting bar on the floor, and ran into a bunch of problems, the main one being the placement of the dual dishwashers is not going to work. So now it's back to the drawing board in the kitchen.
Posted by Stephen at 11:07 PM
October 27, 2006
Construction Daily
Ordered the whirlpool tub for the master suite. $4,600 - zoinks! We wanted something different so we went with a pretty whacked color. Think I'll wait and show the pics once it's installed...
Posted by Stephen at 3:56 PM
October 26, 2006
Construction Daily
The star window is done! I paid the balance and have to figure out when to go get it, but we're pretty excited about seeing it in place. Hopefully the siding subcontractors got the message that another window is on the way and haven't boarded over the area yet...
Posted by Stephen at 3:54 PM
October 25, 2006
Construction Daily
Today the framers returned to move the closet doors in the master suite, as well as enlarge the former downstairs storage closet so it can accomodate the washer/dryer units. They got moved out of the mudroom due to limited space because of the size of the HVAC components.
I had several meetings today:
7 AM - Loudoun Times Mirror interview
8 AM - walkthrough with plumber
9 AM - walkthrough with electrician
10 AM - walkthrough with HVAC team
11 AM - wrap-up with Richard on stairs, catwalk fascia, upper loft flooring (currently incorrect - was not supposed to be joists on top of the timberframe but rather hung within the frame with joist hangers) Shannon and I will decide this weekend whether or not to leave it as-is or make the change.
I felt pretty good about all the walkthroughs, especially the HVAC because we figured out clever ways to hide the main supply/return lines to the catwalk without having any exposed ductwork. The only slightly odd thing will be a small drywall buildout on the back of the kitchen wall, visible as you walk in the front door, but hell we'll hang some coat hooks on it and pretend it was supposed to be there!
I was a little disappointed that we'll have a bulkhead running the length of the basement for ductwork down there, but it beats the alternative of weakening the joists to run it through. I'd much rather have the sturdier floor given the events we plan on having.
Posted by Stephen at 3:41 PM
October 24, 2006
Construction Daily
The siding subcontractor started putting on the Tyvek material, but since it was so windy they didn't get too far. Shingles were supposed to be delivered but didn't show up.
Posted by Stephen at 3:51 PM
October 21, 2006
Construction Daily
This morning Shannon took a bunch of my family (who were in town for my sister Rebecca's wedding yesterday) out to the house to check out the construction. Many of them had not seen the land since our wedding, so this was their first view of the vineyard and construction. Bad news though - when they got inside Shannon discovered that two woodpeckers had flown in. Not good. So she called me (I'm in Houston doing a show) and asked what to do. So I called Ron, and he said try to shoo them out an open window with a broom. Otherwise, get a BB gun.
So long story short Shannon recruited my cousin's husband Gary to help out. He came over (with my other cousin's husband's BB gun just in case) to try and get them out. Luckily they were able to scare them out before rolling out the artillery. Then of course Gary got roped into figuring out how to close off the door openings so they didn't get back in, but luckily there was some plastic sheeting around so he was able to nail that up over the door openings. Good times.
Posted by Stephen at 8:56 PM
October 20, 2006
Construction Daily
Had to pick up color samples for the metal porch roof this morning. Kinda funny, the catalog was at the "Little Country Store" on Harper's Ferry road. Apparently Ron is doing some work for the proprietor and he had the book. Not sure I can make a choice based on colored thumbnails though, since we had so much trouble picking paint. Think I'm going to have to go find a distributor and see some real-life samples up close to make the final choice.
Posted by Stephen at 8:43 PM
October 19, 2006
Construction Daily
Work continued on framing in the main floor - pantry, bathrooms, and kitchen walls are going up.
Posted by Stephen at 8:46 PM
October 18, 2006
Construction Daily
Richard called today about an issue with our door order. Shannon and I didn't see the main floor French doors anywhere, so I emailed them and asked about it. Apparently they weren't included in the original order so he had to place another order. But we've already reached our door allotment of $9,500 so this is going to put us over that budget line item by about $800. Lots of things have gone over, so I have some work to do in the days ahead to itemize everything we've spent so far and determine exactly how much over we are. I have a feeling I will not like the result of that exercise...
Posted by Stephen at 8:50 PM
October 17, 2006
Construction Daily
The framers began putting on the catwalk deck today. Shannon and I went out to the house early to do some HGTV footage, but it was too rainy and cold to take Tristan out of the truck (he's got sinusitis) so Shannon stayed in the truck with him and I did a quick interview under the production crew popup tent.
Posted by Stephen at 8:48 PM
October 16, 2006
Construction Daily
Today work continued on the catwalk floor joist installation. Also, the roofers came and applied the tar paper over the entire roof, both main and covered porch. Good thing, looks like a lot of rain is coming tomorrow. Exchanged emails with Josh from Lancaster County Timber Frame about how I'm thinking of finishing the exposed sides of the catwalk floor - essentially I think it would be best to get thin pieces of Douglas Fir and create fascias to match the exposed beams, and install a display shelf to cover the seam. Josh agreed that keeping the same typ of wood would probably be best, and that the shelf would work out well. So looks like that's the plan - for now...
Posted by Stephen at 10:09 PM
October 15, 2006
Construction Daily
So the decision is upon us - what color is the house going to be??? We have to tell Richard tomorrow what color shingles to order, thus we have to know what color we want the house. We thought we were down to two - a dark navy blue with light grey trim, or a light grey with white trim.
So we went to Home Depot and bought four pine shelves, and a quart of blue, light grey, dark grey, and medium grey. Also bought some trim pieces to mock up windows, and some silver flashing to mock up the covered porch. Once we got home, I created four miniature "front elevations" complete with wall color, silver roof, painted trim. And after lining up the different colors side-by-side it was immediately apparent that the light grey walls were lame. So on a hunch, I created a mockup with dark grey walls, light grey trim, and white windows. So now the decision was between blue/light grey, blue/dark grey, and dark grey/light grey wall/trim combinations. I was having trouble making a decision, but Shannon really liked the dark grey, as it has just a hint of blue in it and looked great in both full sun and partial shade. So to help myself out, I decided to grab some Christmas o