Wire, Wire Everywhere And Not A Light To Blink

  On Tuesday January 11, 2011, Mom went Home. Two months shy of 89, she was eager for the journey, and looked forward to being reunited with family that she missed so dearly.  If I have half her strength and determination, I'll be a lucky woman. I'd like to think she stopped by on her way to see the house, since she loved watching the progress on the blog.






   I returned from California to find the wiring still in progress, which was no surprise. I wish we had thought to keep track of how many feet (or miles) of wire was going in. Electrical wire, phone wire, structured wire for every possible kind of television and entertainment toy known on the planet.
   There is an electrical panel and a sub panel, with a total of 60 breakers. Ed says that two breakers on each panel are dedicated to tying the two together and then running out to the generator for emergency power. I'm glad it all makes sense to him because my eyes glaze over. He's told me several times which circuits cover which switches and lights. It's a good thing there won't be a test because my brain is a sieve when it comes to that stuff.

  The walls look like spaghetti on steroids. No more walking through the stud walls. I have to actually use the doors...which is kind of fun. I find myself walking around the area that will be the kitchen counter and the island.
   Ed and I have both commented on how much it feels like home already, even though it is unfinished.
We're starting to get excited about moving in, although we realize we still have a long way to go.

A Happy New Year

   
   After a period of heavy rain, we've finally hit a dry spell. It's been a week now of cold, dry weather, glorious sunrises and cold, crisp days. The stairs are really slippery, and I make sure to be mindful when taking a trip (the operative word) up or down the stairs.

  The doorknobs I ordered last week from Knobs-Etc.Com arrived in record time.  We decided to continue the Emtek doorknobs in the same style as the exterior door sets. Now I have to start looking for doors to put them on. I'll need 14 interior doors for bedrooms, closets, bathrooms and the pantry. Of course, they won't be prefinished, so I'll be a little busy. But I will NOT put the stain rag in my pocket again!

   While I was ordering the doorknobs, I went a little crazy and ordered doorbell covers to match the front door hardware. I can see where it would be  easy to forget the budget and just buy things. It's fun to look at very high-end hardware and see what's available, but I have no need for a doorbell cover that costs more than some folks earn in a day. Someone buys that stuff, but it won't be me.

 In spite of that, I did manage to order a central vacuum system which will arrive next week. A much appreciated luxury. We will always have pets that come in the house. Living in the country, we will always have more than our fair share of dirt, mud and sand. I told the salesperson on the phone that I wanted something that was so powerful as to be a threat to small children and farm animals. I'm not sure she knew I was kidding...or was I?  We have ordered from Central Vacuum Stores before and been very happy with their customer assistance.
   I've also been working on ideas for the tile surrounds for the upstairs and downstairs fireplaces. Again, buying Rookwood tiles or similar period reproductions are heart-stoppingly expensive. I don't have a kiln to try to make my own reproduction tiles (sorry, Martha Stewart),  but maybe I could make an alternative. Something with a National Park Lodge feel but with more easily obtained products.

  

Slate is beautiful and inexpensive. It's easy to find in many sizes and easy to cut. It's been used a lot recently but every time I see it in someone's home, I love the way it looks. I have a tile saw....maybe I could make my own keystone arch with 12" tiles and the saw. 
  

   Then I could lay out the 3"x6" tiles in a traditional pattern, and add a touch of modern with a slate mosaic strip. The tiles here are sprayed with water to show the color. When installed, they will have a coat of sealer that will do the same thing. I think this would look great on the downstairs fireplace. I'll either repeat it upstairs, or come up with a variation on the theme.

   Ed is still plugging away (pardon the electrical pun) at getting the can light housings set in place. He wants to get them all in before Lance-the-electrician comes out next week to work with Ed on the wiring and subpanel.  We have plenty of windows on the south side of the house, but on very cloudy winter days (and there are many of those) it can get surprisingly dark inside. Ed is being generous with the lights, and that's a good thing.

It's Raining Cats And Dogs

   Not much to show for this week. Not that things didn't get done, but how many pictures of roughed in plumbing can anyone be expected to enjoy? Surely, there is someone out there who is breathlessly waiting for the plumbing chapter...
   Boyd from Gallow and Smith Plumbing was completing the rough plumbing. Boyd came to Ed and said  "I have to drive into town and pick up some more black pipe 90* elbows. I thought I had enough in the truck, but I don't." Yikes! Town is an hour each way.

    Ed says..."I think I have some of those in the barn." After running down to check..sure enough, he did! Which is why, whenever I'm sent on an errand to buy two of something, I come home with three.
   Ed built the deck for the spa tub. This is a Kohler Archer 6' jetted tub. One of the reasons I bought this particular tub was that it had an in-line heater. That also means that Ed had to remember to wire for two outlets..one for the jets and one for the heater.

   He also framed in the support walls in the laundry/craft room for the shoe rack and dog rinse . On the left will be a shoe cubby, since this where we will be coming in and going out most of the time. Instead of shoes winding up in a muddy pile, I'll have a nice, neat place to put each pair. Just to the right of the shoe rack is where the dog wash will be. In a perfect world, the dog will be trained to come in this door (only), and go stand in the shower pan until being told it's ok to come out. That way we can rinse his/her feet.I don't think this will work well with the cats. It is unbelievable how much dirt and mud comes in on pet paws! We can also put very muddy wet boots here to drip dry a little, and hang wet coats. Then to the right of the dog rinse will be the stackable full sized washer and dryer. At the corner will be a counter, then a laundry sink.  

  

   My kitchen is also plumbed. The sink will look out into the rest of the first floor and out the big expanse of windows to the valley below. I also have a prep sink in the island. Boyd also put in a gas pipe for the propane for our stove. Here, Midnight is checking to see if there is any food in THIS kitchen.

    While Boyd has been working on the plumbing, Ed has been putting in the vents for fans. This is not his favorite chore. Some of the vents go through unheated attic space. That means all that vent pipe has to be wrapped with insulation. We don't want steam and moisture going up into the vent in the attic, condensing on the pipe and running back down into the wall as water. So Ed has been standing on a ladder, wrapping that nasty fiberglass insulation around the vent pipes and taping it down.  It's ugly, itchy work.

   Yesterday Chuck-the-building-inspector came out and signed off the rough plumbing and the framing. 

    Ed says it's time to get serious about electrical wiring. I need to order the central vacuum system. The entryway, dining room and island light fixtures have been ordered. The interior doorknob sets should be here next week.

A Plumborama

    It's been a busy week. The delivery trucks have been here so often with plumbing fixtures, I've started setting a place at the dinner table for the truck drivers. Shower pans, tubs, toilets, faucets, drains,valves. It's a Plumborama.
   The Swanstone shower pans came last week. This week we received all the Kohler faucets for the bathrooms. It was overwhelming trying to pick out the perfect faucet, so instead of choosing a different style for each bathroom, I made it easy on myself and stuck to one classic style for all.
   Thursday afternoon we were scheduled to receive delivery of the Kohler toilet fixtures and the pedestal sink for the powder room. Mayflower said they'd bee here between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sun sets at about 4:35 here this time of year, but it doesn't get really dark until about 5:15. 5:30 came and went, and by 6:15 we decided they got tied up and weren't coming. We started following our usual evening routine..shower, a glass of wine, dinner. At 7:40 we hear a truck transmission gear down and the grating of brakes. Ed and I looked at each other in disbelief. It's night, in the Northwest, a week from winter solstice. It's overcast, and we're at the end of a very rural road. So to say it is dark outside would be a serious understatement. I ran over and threw on the porch light while Ed grabbed the car keys and headed down the stairs. He started the Jeep and threw on the lights so they could see to come in the driveway. The two delivery guys were as cheerful as could be. He says, "Yeah we stopped at a restaurant in Grays River (20 miles away) and asked where this place was, and everybody there started giving us directions."  Ten minutes after they arrived we had five toilets and a pedestal sink stacked up by the garage and they were on their way. Poor guys..they had one more delivery to make before they drove back to Portland.


   Ed has been working on the basement, specifically the area that will be the home theater. He put up soundboard on the interior walls and placed the cans for the  lights. This is going to be a fun spot. We'll elevate the screen on a small stage just in case the grandkids ever want to give a performance, but the room will be big enough for "Soup and Movie Night" with friends and neighbors.

   The thing that really felt like a step forward was the arrival of the plumbers. They will be placing the waste lines, the water lines, and the valves. We had to wait until those fixtures arrived before scheduling them to come out, and when they got here they didn't mess around.  Ed and I went over each room and made sure we were on the same page for placement of sinks and toilets, baths and showers, laundry and...well..you get the idea. It's amazing how much two guys can get done in a couple of days.

   The weather forecast said we would have a few days that might be relatively rain-free, so Ed thought it would be a good time to do something about the entrance to the basement. We needed the road to be wider, and we needed retaining walls on either side. It didn't have to be pretty...it just had to be solid.

   Sam Longtain showed up with his equipment and began scooping out dirt, and placing huge interlocking
blocks. These blocks are made locally at Southwest Concrete. When they have a truck come back to the shop with leftover cement, they pour them into these blocks. They may differ in the mix, or the amount of calcium, etc, but, boy can they hold back a ton of sand!   And that's just what we need.

 
 When he was done, the entry to the basement was wide, clean and solid. As an added bonus, we will have a path up to the other side of the hill between the house and the barn.
   No, don't flinch. I'll plant grape ivy, or nasturtiums or something along those blocks to make them look less industrial.




 

I Think That I Shall Never See A Poem As Lovely As A Tree

  
  I've been playing with tile for the fireplace surrounds. I would love, love, love to get something like Pratt and Larson tiles, or some other kind of handcrafted, period specific tiles, but since I'm not filthy rich, that's out. for the most part, slate tiles have been done to death, although they are used a lot because they are beautiful.I spotted some 3x6 slate tiles and decided to mix in some accents and see if I could find a pattern that wasn't too far off the mark for Craftsman style. I'm still working on it.

    Saturday, Ed and I drove down to Tsugawa's Nursery in Woodland. They have a wonderful  selection of Japanese maples and dwarf evergreens.  Ms. Lawrence spent quite a bit of time helping us decide which trees to bring home, and how to best place them. What a font of information she is! We came home with a kousa dogwood "Milky Way", the largest tree, and three maples, "Red Dragon", "Crimson Queen", and "Tamukeyama". As soon as Ed gets the sidewalks repoured, I'll put them in the ground. Winter is the best time to plant these trees, since it gives them time to set roots before the growth spurt in the spring.

   We've been impatiently waiting for plumbing fixture deliveries. Finally, on Monday, we received three! First was the Kohler jetted tub, followed by Swanstone shower pans, then Santec shower unit for the craft room mudpan. Still MIA are two more Kohler tubs, and Grohe shower fixtures. Somehow they don't have the expected drama just sitting in the cardboard boxes. But ohhh, when they're in!

    In the meantime, Ed has been plugging away (no pun intended) with the electrical. He's been nailing in those little blue junction boxes everywhere. Starting in the basement he has started fishing wire from box to box.We should keep a count and see how many miles of wire it takes to complete the job.

Thanks Be To God

Thanks be to God for roses rare,
For skies of blue and sunshine fair,
For every gift I raise a prayer,
Thanks be to God!


     Today is Thanksgiving, and there are not words enough to express my humble gratitude. We've worked a year on the new house. No one has been injured, fallen ill, ..or fallen, for that matter. Family and friends are all well and happy. 

   Last Wednesday the fireplaces came. They are BIS Tradition CE, which are non-catalytic zero clearance stoves, installed by Woodstove Warehouse in Kelso.
Ed had previously built the frames and chases, so it was just a matter of making a few adjustments and beefing up the base support. The doors aren't here yet, and the big aluminum protector plate will stay in place until the tile is set on the surround. 

  



  In the meantime, I stand where the kitchen will be, and admire the view. I love the openness of this floor plan. It will be nice to be in the kitchen and still be a part of whatever is going on. There will be craftsman style bookcases on either side. 

    Upstairs in the family room and library the other fireplace awaits. This is the view from the bedroom door. The entertainment cabinet will be on the left, and will have the TV, stereo and miscellaneous electronics. To the right will be a box for firewood. My guess is that we will spend the day downstairs in the kitchen and craft room, and evenings upstairs.  Time will tell. 

   In the wintertime, the view from the balcony completely changes. The big leaf maples,alders and cascara trees lose their leaves which allows us to have a clear view of the middle pasture and the creek. The creek takes on a life of it's own in the winter. We don't have rain storms, we have weather events. With 100" of rain per year, that creek can be really scary! Fortunately in the five years we've been here, it's only come over the top once.


   It's hard to believe we drove up here on Thanksgiving Day five years ago. We had the truck packed full, and pulled a trailer with the second car which was also packed full. Everything else came by moving van a week later. Ed commuted 800 miles each way to work for four long years. By Thanksgiving next year we should be in our new home. Thanks be to God.   

Good News, Bad News

   We've had Mount Vesuvius in our front yard since the basement was dug a year ago. Most of the dirt went down into the pasture, but we still managed to keep quite a pile. Now that the bulk of the heavy delivery trucks have come and gone, we wanted to regain some semblance of a front yard. I've been trying to figure out what I want this area to look like, but it's tough to get the picture in my mind when there is a monster pile of mud in the center.

 Fall and winter are the best times to plant trees and perennials, so Ed wanted to move the dirt around before the heavy rains start. The rule is:
  " If there is sun, outside's the one. If it is wet, inside's the best bet."
 Ok, it's a cheesy rhyme, but it's the best I could do in a pinch.  Not only is the dirt heavier if it's soaking wet, but the tractor churns up the mud like a Cuisinart on steroids. It took two days to move the pile, and put it down on the road he's been working on. The first day was a nice day. The second day...not so much.

   By the end of the second day, things were pretty wet, but most of the dirt was gone. We spent the afternoon picking up construction debris and loading it into the truck. We then made the second dump run in a week.
   Now I can start planning! I see a kousa dogwood tree, a few small Japanese maples, some small lavender, rhodys...whatever the deer won't eat.

  Once the rains started, Ed moved back inside. The fireplaces will be installed tomorrow. Ed finished framing the upstairs fireplace.
    He also had to re-work the framing in the east bathroom. Because the plans showed no route for the HVAC ducting, we had to improvise. Some of it came up through the upstairs bathroom which completely changed the configuration of the bathroom. To retain the elements we wanted, ie, double sinks, we decided to take out the linen closet, put the sinks where the linen closet was going to be, and use an antique armoire for the linens instead. In practical terms, this meant, Ed had to rip out some framing that was already completed and re-do it. In mental terms, it was like removing a tooth with pliers. But once he made the decision, he went right to it. It'll be perfect.

He had some other details to complete upstairs, such as finishing the final pieces of fire blocking.

 He also had to frame in attic access panels in each upstairs closet, and one from the east upstairs closet to access the attic over the craft room. I'm not sure why these are code. I'm sure there is a logical reason...I'll let you know if I think of one.

    The good news is, tomorrow I fly south to visit family for a few days. The bad news is, the fireplaces will be installed tomorrow and I'll miss it. Hopefully Ed won't be too busy to take some photos. I'll only be gone for a few days, but things have started happening at a rapid pace.