One Step At A Time Or What Are You Stairing At?

     Ed has made the substructure of the balcony so it will drain properly. The plywood subfloor goes down over the graded joists, then he has to install a heavy liner material, usually used for koi ponds. For the record, this stuff weighs a ton, and the stairs aren't finished yet.

     

Ed and Rick manhandled the roll of liner into the house and rigged a rope hoist to pull it up the stairwell. As they were hoisting from the second story, the whole thing began to list to one side. For a moment I thought the whole thing was going to wind up in the basement. Then I realized while they were up on the second floor tugging with all their might, the edge of the roll had snagged on a nail. I dropped the camera, grabbed a pushbroom and shoved the roll off the nail so they could finish pulling the liner up to the second story. 

Now a nail hole is not what you want in your liner. I mean, what's the point? Fortunately it was in a place that they could trim off. And what a surprise! It rained the next afternoon so we could check the water flow. It was perfect, by the way.   

  

Next came the deck joists. The Trex deck will go on top. We'll put up a tempered glass rail and have an amazing upper deck, accessible from both bedrooms and the family room. 

   Things have been progressing in bits and pieces for the last few weeks. Depending on which inspector was due, and what materials were here, Ed had to jump from project to project, something he hates to do. Construction got to the point where he needed the main power panel installed in the basement. Running extension cords out of the garage, across the walkways, through both floors of the house construction  and to the basement was becoming a major irritation. It was inefficient and cumbersome. It looks good here, but that's with my flash!

    So we pulled another permit, this one from the State of Washington for the electrical to the house, and proceeded go live.  Ed salvaged the main wire that used to go to the doublewide, and ran it from the meter through to the new house. A penny saved...The state inspector came out, checked everything, and signed it off.                                                                   came out, checked everything, and signed it off. 

  

 Meantime, back at the ranch, Ed and Rick got back to work on the rest of the deck. Not only is the deck under the porch overhang, but extends to behind the craft room and next to the garage. This portion won't be covered.

   

   But footings still have to be poured, and that means forms and a wheelbarrow. Yes, the old fashioned way..a little tough on the back but it does work. How is it that the first sack of 60 lb. Quickcrete feels like it  weighs about 45 lbs, but the 10th bag weigh about 110 lbs? 

   

   This house is surrounded on three sides by deck, which is going to be wonderful, but it sure is a lot of space. Who knew I should budget for patio furniture? 

   Finally the Trex decking arrived.  There are about 3/4 of a mile by lineal foot of the stuff, enough to cover over 1000 feet of deck. In my mind that is a monstrously huge pile of deck. Goodness knows the check to pay for it was big enough! So when I saw the stack that came off the truck, I was a little disappointed. 

   "Where's the rest of it?" I asked Ed. 

   He looks at me....

   "That's it." he says. "Five big stacks. There should be plenty."

What do I know? He's been amazingly accurate until now.  I'm just the lady with the camera. 

    For the last week, in between cement and electricity, Ed has been working on getting the stairs in. This is a big deal. The maze of ladders going from the basement to the main floor, and from the main floor to the second floor is scary.

    But the real clincher was when Midnight, our sumo cat, went up the ladder to the second floor and was afraid to come down by himself. I won't say who went up and hand-carried our 20 lb boy down, but it wasn't me. Doors and windows are due next week, and those will require stairs to carry  up to install.

  

Remember all that math you learned in high school, then promptly forgot? It's a good thing Ed still remembers, because he uses it every day in this project, especially when making the stairs.  They have to be perfect. And, since it's a Big Ed Project, they are.

   For the first time, we could walk the stairs from the basement to the second floor. It was a giant step...ok..a series of reasonably sized steps, but a momentous occasion none the less. Our 11 year old border collie, Abby, went upstairs with us for the first time. She really hated being left downstairs when we used the ladders. And Midnight waddles up and down the stairs with ease..not grace, just ease. 

   

And as if on cue, the doors arrived this morning. Six sets of French doors and the back door of the craft room. Windows are due a week from Friday.