Our Home Building Adventure

Sheep!

2012-02-08T14:16:00.002-05:00

Now that we have the Barn, Loralee and I decided to dive headlong into raising animals last year. We've had the chickens for four years now, and have raised pigs two years in a row... what next?

We settled on Sheep. Lor picked out a small flock of a half-dozen in the spring of '11, and we raised them throughout the summer and Fall... Tomothy and Patrick loved the experience. THese six are now in the freezer, but we are looking forward to starting our own permanent flock in the spring.

Expanding

2009-07-06T12:14:00.003-04:00

It has been a long time since I have updated this blog, and a lot has changed. Timothy our first child is now twenty-five months old, and Patrick our second is 4 months old.

With the collapse in the cost of building materials (and labor rates), we decided to expand the farmstead this spring by adding... a barn! I began getting estimates in late winter, even talking to the folks that built the house. We had hoped to do the barn in post-and-beam, but the estimate we recieved were way out of line for our expectations- and budget. We opted for a stick-built structure, and I designed it myself.

The barn is a classic new-england style story-and-a-half cape, with a 12/12 roof pitch. We built it into the bank to make accessing the hayloft easy. as of July 6th, the barn is complete except for power, painting, and the main door. We used a local carpenter, Wayne Carr out of East Burke, and he was great to work with.

How will the barn be used? In the short term, as a multi-purpose utility building. we want both kids out of diapers before adding animals; We are considering sheep, some pigs for slaughter, maybe a milk-cow, but who knows how we'll feel in a few years. the stucture offers a lot of flexibilty which is key for us.

Our builder's brochure

2007-12-11T13:13:00.000-05:00

A couple months ago, our builder took some photos of our house, and interviewed me for a marketing brochure. The results look great, and it's a nice summation of our experience.

We are coming up on our second Christmas in the home, and our first Christmas with our son Tim. Its really great to be back to our daily routine of firing the Masonry Heater. The house looks beautiful decorated for Christmas, we have the tree up and Welcome lights in a couple windows. Also, since Thanksgiving, we've had a great blanket of snow on the ground... As of today, we seem to have a solid 10 inches, with more in store for tonight and this weekend.

It looks like it will be a white christmas, after all!

Here is a link to the Old School Builders brochure. The pictures came out great, better than any I've been able to take of the interior. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

http://www.oldschoolbuilders.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=3745

Timothy Edward

2007-06-24T17:00:00.001-04:00

After some gentle prodding from Dale, I am finally getting around to updating this page with some big news, and big it is, indeed!

Timothy Edward joined our family on Monday, May 21st, 2007. He came a few weeks early, after a very difficult labor. All turned out well in the end however, and Loralee and Tim are doing wonderfully. At birth, Tim weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 21 inches long-- Good thing he came early!

He is beautiful, and everyone is right: NOTHING prepares you for this. We've had him five weeks now, and every day is a new experience, a new adventure. He's settling into a schedule, and has begun sleeping for longer stretches, which is really nice for Mom and Dad.

We've made the decision that Loralee will be staying home next year. This is a big leap of faith for us, but we know it will all work out. Loralee has already been scheming plans to keep her busy come the fall... French tutoring, perhaps, or starting a home-cooked meal catering business... We'll see. For now, we are nesting, keep the garden going, and trying to do a little landscaping between feedings and diaper changes.

Spring has arrived

2007-05-06T17:19:00.000-04:00

May 6th, and May is finally here. We've recovered from the April 15th snow and wind storm, and are now getting ready for summer. My father came by today with the Bobcat and power-rake, and we graded the road. Loralee is feeling uncomfortable, but with only four more weeks to go, we've been blessed with an easy pregnancy. Here are some spring-time pictures we took today:

2 months to go

2007-03-20T16:09:00.000-04:00

Loralee just entered her 3rd trimester; Everything is going great. we have the nursury pretty much together, except for the crib. Loralee looks radiant!

Meanwhile, Even though tomorrow is the first day of spring, it's still winter here in Vermont. I took the photo below last week; we got 8 inches of snow on Friday, and tonight the temperature is supposed to dip down to minus-10 F!

Energy Star Rated

2007-02-23T12:56:00.000-05:00

Boy, it's been a while since I've posted here. We have had a good winter, and really enjoyed the Holidays in our new home. Loralee is doing very well with the pregnancy; a lot of our time has been taken up with preparing the nursury, exploring baby names, and mentally preparing for the next big adventure.

Last week, we got one heck of a Nor'Easter on Valentines day. The biggest storm in a decade dumped 30 inches of snow on the Northeast Kingdom; we have been wanting snow, but were'nt expecting it all at once! The snowbanks and drifts remind me of my childhood growing up here, and we have been enjoying getting out- snowshoeing, x-c skiing, etc.

As far as the house goes, we have really settled in and love it more every day. I am amazed at how warm it stays, and how important all the south-facing windows are for passive solar energy. The Masonry Heater is excellent, and we have found that by lighting two fires a day when the thermometer drops to bitter sub-zero readings, we still stay nice and cozy.

On a very positive note, our Efficiency Vermont report came back, and our home qualifies as a "Five-Star-Plus" rated home! This is the highest level of energy star rating you can get; we recieved a certificate from the State, which I need to register with our Deed at the Town Clerk's office. It doesn't really mean much, aside from the comfort of knowing that we aren't killing ourselves trying to heat the place, but it gives us something to brag about at cocktail parties.

Settled In...

2006-11-30T08:32:00.000-05:00

It's after Thanksgiving, and November is Winding down. This has been the warmest and LEAST snowiest November on record for Vermont, and today, the 30th, it's fifty degrees out. We are wondering if there will be a ski season, or if we'll need our snowshoes after all...

Loralee and I have spent the last few months getting settled in. The more time we spend at home, the more we love it. By now, most of our friends and family have come over, and we hosted our first holiday ever- Thanksgiving- in our new home. We moved in just in time, and we have something very special to be thankful for: Loralee is pregnant! I cannot adequately express the joy and excitement that we both share.

The house has come together beautifully, and we've spent quite a bit of time nesting. At some point soon, I'll try to get a post or two up about my thoughts on the process, design in general, and any other wrap-up thoughts we may have.

It's not over yet...

2006-09-28T16:12:00.000-04:00

Despite moving in last weekend, there has still been a lot left to do. The chimney is not finished, so Michael will still need to work on that. Also, Paul has spent about 3 half-days wrapping up the plumbing: Installing our 3 Myson radiors (master bedroom, 2nd floor bath, and mudroom), and remaining fixtures (washer/dryer, utility sink). One other item was our air exchange system, and that got wrapped up on Wednesday.

Tuesday afternoon, we had our final inspection, and we are closing on the mortgage tonight. We had a few things deducted as incomplete (chimney, mudroom tile, fridge, etc) but nothing major. However, we did have two minor crises... Firstly, stairs off the dining room doors had to be installed-- This was on my 'to do' list to save money, but on tuesday night after the inpection, I called Jeb to come and complete it. They are wrapping it up to day.

The second crisis was our fridge-- We've been living out of coolers since the weekend, and expected delivery yesterday. Well they showed up with it: Wrong size! The Sears sales associate ordered the wrong size in the same model! We needed the smaller one, to fit in a 33-inch opening, but they delivered the larger, 35 -inch model. I was able to resolve the screw up with Sears, but the correct one will not be available until late October. ugh. At least they are giving us a loaner to use in the interim.

Our closing is tonight. Our banker Joyce Littlefield will be out at 5:00 PM. Lyndonville Savings Bank has been a real joy to do business with, and we have been very pleased with the process. These Photo's are all from the closing inspection report; I love the lighting. The road in the one below is Jones Road, the class IV road we live on. Foliage has been great, although this weekend we are supposed to get more rain which could do it in.

More photos

2006-09-26T16:28:00.001-04:00

People have asked for more photo's, so here are a few.... Click on each to see a larger version. As we get settled, I'll take more:

This stained glass window was a wedding gift for Loralee and hangs in our master bedroom. It was made by the "Glass Goddess" shop on Main street in Littleton, NH. Loralee selected the design, a celtic knot, and the colors. The blue represents the feminine, while the red represents the maculine and the green represents thier union.

Our custom latches were hand-made by Dennis, a blacksmith in Glover VT. They were a gift from my Mother, who has impecible taste... The wrought iron looks excellent throughout the house.
The very messy den/library portion of our living room. Still getting settled!

Our dining room, sunday evening... The antique ice chest was in my Grandmother Wall's farm kitchen when I grew up, and the dining room table was my Grandmother Tester's. Both really fit with the comfortable country feel of our home.

More photos

2006-09-26T16:28:00.000-04:00

Post-move update

2006-09-25T14:43:00.000-04:00

Friday-

The team worked overtime on the house this week, to get ready for our Saturday Move. Paul got most of the fixtures wrapped up on Friday, with the exception of our Meison raditors (for bathroom, master bedroom, and mudroom), and the 1st floor bathroom sink. Terry from Viking worked on our lighting, but needs to add two dimmer switches, and a couple more lights. Jeb, Shane and Jason managed to get all the odds and ends on their punchlist complete, so spent most of the day just picking up and taking care of little odds-and-ends. Michael continued to work on the chimney, but has about 3 more days to go. (PHOTO: Shane, Jeb & Jason of OSB.)

My Mom took Friday off from work, and along with my Grandmother (Who is 80!) and her friend Doris, spent the whole day cleaning. What a help! It was such a daunting task; Really, we should have reserved one weekend just to clean- Every surface was covered with a film of dust. (PHOTO: Emma & Kate Wall)

That morning, Loralee brought coffee and breakfast up for everyone; I swung by that afternoon to thank them, and to touch base. Jeb and I chatted for a while; He is such a craftsman, we will really miss working with him. We could not have asked for a nicer group of people.

That evening, Loralee and I stayed to continue cleaning, and get ready for the next day’s move. Chris arrived from New Hampshire around 6:30 and helped out, but we broke by 8 and hit the Trout River Brewery for the requisite pizza and beer. Any time Chris comes up alone, we try to hit there as his Wife, Wendy cannot eat pizza. Poor Wedny. Dinner conversation focused on how best to move the piano.

Saturday-

Back at our rental, 6 Westview, the dogs are anxious and know something is up. Boxes everywhere. The day dawns cold and drizzly. Unfortunately, there was not a rental truck to be found in the area, so we’re stuck with a U-haul cargo van. Chris walked the dogs while I ran errands and grabbed the van. Loralee wrapped up packing. Did I mention the rain? (PHOTO: Tucker, worried he'd be left behind, packed himself in the car)

Dale came by 10 AM… Thank God, his truck has a cap on the back. Earl was not far behind. We started loading, then took the Van, Earl’s jeep, Dale’s truck, and Chris’ half-ton up to the new house with the first load. Luckily, it’s only a 4 mile ride. Loralee was joined up at the new house by our friend Sarah, and they stayed there to unpack and shuffle boxes. My Mom came back and helped them by continuing to clean.

Back at the rental for the second load, Dad came with his truck and the piano moving equipment. John Young, who is the band leader for the Slant Six Swing Band which played at our wedding (They ROCK) is a piano tuner and let us borrow his equipment. This consisted of a heavy steel ramp, padding, and a piano dolly. We proceeded to ignore the piano while loading the other vehicles.
The piano would not fit in the cargo van—Therefore, we decided that despite the rain (sporadic and drizzly at this point) that the best way to move it would be in Chris’ truck sandwiched between two queen sized mattresses. WARNING: this method is NOT recommended!

We lined up Chris’ truck to the front door, and it what here that Dale earned his name for the day, “Mcguyver.” He suggested that we take the tailgate off the truck, as it would not handle the weight of the Piano AND the ramp. As we got the piano on the dolly (all 5 of us lifting), then lined it up to the ramp, Earl remarked “So, why didn’t you get Loralee a flute, instead?”

Pushing the piano up the ramp was stressful enough, but not as bad as Chris’s drive with that thing in the back of his truck. It was big, tippy, and awkward. Every time he hit a bump, the piano would sway violently from side to side. We had it sandwiched between two queen sized mattresses and wrapped in a blue tarp to keep the water off, and must have been the worst piano-packing job ever. With five vehicles now in the caravan, we crept the four miles across town, Dad leading in the big red one-ton with Chris following, and Dale after that to watch the load.

The climb up our driveway from the road was rough, and Chris had to feather his brake as well as stay on the gas to maintain a slow steady speed without spinning out. He made it, though, and we backed up to the house to unload. That was another crazy process, led by Dale and involving belaying ropes and cardboard, but suffice to say that the piano made it safely into it’s new home. That piano will never move again.

The rest of the day was a flurry of moving furniture, unpacking boxes, and getting settled. Earl, Dale, and my Father hit the road, but Chris Lor and I went over to my grandmother’s for a home-made. lasagna dinner with meatballs and sausage. She had also baked a fresh apple pie, which was delicious. We didn’t walk out of there—We rolled! After picking up the dogs, we got back to the house by 8:00 PM.. Full, exhausted, and drained. Mostly, we spent the next hour sort of hanging out, staring at the house, the beams, the braces, the cabinets and floors, and the masonry heater. All three of us dragged ourselves to bed by 9. (PHOTO: Chris in post-move decompression mode)

Loralee and I are very lucky people. We cannot express how much the love and support of our friends and family mean to us, not only through this big ‘move weekend’ but throughout the entire home-building process. For this weekend, I want to especially thank:

Mom, Nana Wall, Sheri and Doris- For all their great help cleaning and helping get the house ready for us to live in.

Dad, for picking up all the heavy-duty piano-moving equipment, and helping with the most difficult job of the day.

Chris- For his can-do spirit, incredible time commitment, and cutting wit to keep things real. There is no better friend.

Dale- For coming back up to Vermont 3 days after through-hiking the Long Trail just to help us move. His common sense ideas were a huge help.

Earl- Despite a bad back and near-allergic reaction to physical labor, Earl was a HUGE help and made us all laugh the most throughout the day. I promised not to tell his wife how hard he worked, it might raise the bar at home.

Sarah, because her drive and no-nonsense approach was an inspiration to Loralee as they got things unpacked and settled at the house; It really helped us get the house ready to be lived in!

Final week?

2006-09-19T13:16:00.000-04:00

As you can imagine, it was a busy weekend for Loralee and I. The fall foliage is really coming out nicely, and the weather was beautiful, but we did not have much time to enjoy it. Our big push was to get the 2nd floor finished so the OSB team to wrap up the trim on that floor.

I picked up the sander from the rental agency on my way home Friday afternoon, and we went to work as soon as I got there. Cleaning and sanding the floor 3 times- 36 grit, 60 grit, and 100 grit-- took us until nearly 10:30 Friday night. For dinner, Lor ran down to the House of Pizza, and we scarfed it down while sitting on the front porch.

Saturday, we returned around 8 AM, and finished cleaning the floor then hit it with the first coat of urethane. My Mom came by, and helped with raking/seeding the lawn while I put up the mailbox. Then , we puttered for a few hours waiting for the floor to dry... Lor did more urethane work on the stair treads and railings, while I put shelves in the kitchen pantry and put a new 4-prong plug on our oven. We were there until 5, but the floor was still very wet.. No second coat on Saturday.

With the weekend running out, we still had two coats to go. We committed to getting up early, and were back at the house by 7:30 Sunday AM. The first coat looked great, so we sanded it and laid down the 3rd coat. Headed home to rest/relax, but came back at 5 for the third and final coat. Unfortunately, the floor was still pretty tacky, and we had to give it another 2 hours before we could start... But, laying down the 3rd coat by 7, we wrapped up by 8:30 PM. The last big job of ours was done!

We are supposed to move in on Saturday, but it seems a lot is left to do:

- Install finished stairs
- install 2nd floor trim
- install door latches
- install pluming fixtures
- install bathroom heater
- finish the lights
- finish kitchen counter
- tile shower
- install appliances
- finish the chimney

Yesterday, Jeb got the stairs in, and the countertop tile was laid (it looks great!). I can't wait to see what is done tonight....

bath tile, cabinet and boiler

2006-09-14T12:55:00.000-04:00

Here are some images from the past week:

This heating system consists of a propane boiler and water tank. note the red hoses for our radiant heating in the basement slab. This, of course, is our 'backup' system and will be used for domestic hot water.
A great shot of one of the kitchen cabinets. we now have the hardware installed- We love them!

A good shot of our vanity and tile in the 2nd floor bathroom.

Endgame

2006-09-13T16:17:00.000-04:00

We are a week and a half away from moving in. That's right, we are scheduled to move in the weekend of the 23rd and 24th. Believe it or not, it looks like we are going to hit that date. So, what's been going on? To be honest, my mind (and body) is mush. Last Saturday, I made the whirlwind trip to Connecticut with my Father, and we cleaned out a bunch of furniture from my Grandfather's old house. It ended up working out well- Loralee and I have thier dining room set for the new house, as well as a nearly-new electric stove and a riding lawn mower. Although we really want a nice gas stove at some point, this one is in excellent condition and will work out extremely well for now.

Sunday, while I ran back up to Dad's to borrow his small tractor and equipment, Lor worked at the house- Painting the new vanity, urethane doors, and a ton of other things. She got a lot done, and it all looks great. Oh, and Chris and Ray came up to do some mountain-biking, and stayed over night. I think they thought we were totally burnt out (which we are), but it was great to see them both and connect a little bit-- It almost felt human.

THis week, aside from paint/urethane work, we have been working on seeding and mulching the yard. Meanwhile, the tile guy is setting the tile in our bathrooms and kitchen counter. Jeb milled our finished stairs, which came out great. The rest of the doors are being hung, and we're just waiting for the door hardware. Michael the mason got to the ceiling, and is breaking through to finish on the exterior. Paul is installing the furnace and plumbing.... Really, we are ALMOST THERE!!

This weekend, our big job will be to finish the floors in our bedrooms. Next week, Jeb can wrap up the trim there, and focus on punch out.

As soon as I get a chance, I'll get more images up here...

Cabinets in

2006-09-08T16:11:00.000-04:00

Two weeks to go. Today, we have perfect weather... When I woke up it was around 40 with a heavy fog.... But, it has warmed up to about 80, with clear blue skies. The sun is beautiful on the trees that are beginning to show hints of reds and gold's....

This week, cabinets went in, our boiler went in, and more trim put up. The 1st floor doors are hung. We are pushing the mason to get up to the ceiling so the stairs and 2nd floor trim can be completed. He plans to be up there by Monday.

Loralee has been spending her afternoons after work urethaning the doors, and I've been doing a lot of running around (getting sinks and faucets from the evil HD, picking out a dishwasher from sears, etc). This weekend, I need to run to Connecticut with Dad and clean out my Grandfather's house on Saturday. Sunday, I am borrowing Dad's smaller Kubota and some equipment to level and seed the yard. I am hoping to grab the brush-hog, if that will fit as well.

First Floor Finished

2006-09-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

Thank God for 3-day weekends. So, Jeb and the OSB team finished laying the wide pine boards on the first floor last week. I had planned to finish the 2nd floor this weekend and have the 1st floor done professionally at a later date. However, Jeb really wanted that first floor done so they could get the baseboard in, and have the kitchen cabinets installed on Tuesday. So.... It was the first floor for us this weekend, as no professionals were available.

The job was HARD, but not technically challenging. Saturday, Loralee and I started at 9 AM, going over the floors with a medium grit sandpaper. Then, I sanded a second time with a fine grit paper. We were happy with the results, and it was about that time that Jason stopped in to see how we were doing, and if we needed help. We seemed to be doing okay, so continued to press forward. We vacuumed the mess completely, working at the cut-nail holes to dig out the embedded sawdust. To be honest, I think that was the hardest part. Next, we cleaned all the other dust - the walls, the windows sills, etc, and wiped down the floor with damp rags. Then it was time to put on our respirators, and lay the urethane. It was 5:00 PM by the time we finished that first coat, and we went home tired but satisfied.

Sunday AM found us back at the house by 9. We had a wedding to go to that afternoon (Nathan Stahler and Carrie Baker-- We had a blast!), so HAD to be done by 1:00 PM. I sanded with 120 grit paper, while Loralee followed behind with the vacuum. It went a lot faster than the day before, and we actually had the 2nd coat of urethane down by 11:30.

Today, Labor Day, Loralee had to teach up at BMA so I was flying solo on the 3rd and final coat. I got to the house around 8:45, and was immediately impressed by how GOOD the floor looked--- So good, I almost didn't want to touch it! However, I got right to it, and used the 12o grit paper to do a hand-scuff across the entire surface. Next, I did a thorough vacuum, followed up with wiping down the floor with a damp cloth. Working straight through, my back was killing me, but I wanted to lay the urethane down so it had as much time as possible to dry. This final coat went on much smoother than even the second coat, so I am hopeful it covers well.

All in all, the floor will not be perfect, but I am pretty tickled we did it ourselves. I am going to try and target the weekend of the 16th for Lor and I to finish the 2nd floor as well. Hopefully, Jeb can work that into the schedule. It really saves us a lot of money... We had a price of $1,600 to finish the first floor; By doing it ourselves, I figure it cost about $300, still saving $1,300... Which at this point in the project is really important! If we can do the 2nd floor as well, we should achieve the same savings.

Preparing the floors

2006-09-02T19:20:00.000-04:00

This weekend, Loralee and I are finishing the wide pine floors on the main floor. Day one down, with the sanding and one coat of urethane complete. Tomorrow, one more coat after a quick scuff- sand and cleaning. Dirty, exhausting work. Here are some photos for you to enjoy:

One sub done

2006-09-02T19:13:00.000-04:00

Brent wrapped up on Friday. The dirt work is complete- the leach field, the driveway, the yard leveled and the topsoil laid back on. Oh, and our retaining wall is complete. This was a last-minute adder; We were going to build it, but we just could not get to it. Our original plan was to use the pre-fabricated square blocks, but we had all these really great stones from the excavation, it was a shame to use a man-made product instead. I thought I was going to be able to save money with this one-- The original plans called for a cement retaining wall, coming in at $600. I nixed it, and said "I can do it for less!".... Yeah, right... As we priced out materials to do it ourselves, the price neared $800 plus. So much for saving money. In the end, we asked Brent to do it with his excavator. It was expensive (over $1000, but I won't tell you by how much), but the look is perfect for our house. And we once again managed to use a natural, locally grown resource.

The 'screw it' stage

2006-08-29T13:14:00.000-04:00

First off, I need to start this post by saying that both Lor and I are burned pretty crispy. The long days and weekends tied up working on the house are beginning to take their toll. We are just tired.

Now that that's out of the way: the house looks great! The interior painting is done, and Michael made a BIG PUSH to get the heater up to the ceiling in the first floor. In fact, all he has left is to cap the heater, then start working on the chimney. He was here until 10:30 PM on Friday night, but the effort paid off, as the OSB guys could start the finished flooring this Monday. That is looking very good, and they expect to have it done by end of day, today. I am really glad we went with the wide pine and cut nails.

Lor and I worked on the trim all weekend. It needs two coats of urethane, which is back breaking work. However, its a lot easier to do before going up on the walls. Right now, we have most all the trim with one coat, but a second coat would be ideal. We are working on that all evenings this week.

Also over the weekend, we seeded and mulched along our driveway, and the areas that have the final grade. Brent is working on our retaining wall... We were not planning on paying him to do it, but said 'screw it', and asked him to take it on. Overall, I am glad we did. He is using a lot of the large stones from the excavation work, and it really matches the house.

One other thing getting done this week: Final wiring. Hans with Viking got most of the plugs and switches done yesterday, and expected to be *mostly* Wrapped up by end of day today! God, we are close. Lor will need to check in with Calendar Brook to see where our cabinets are at, they should be delivered next week.

Cool pics

2006-08-23T10:02:00.000-04:00

Above, I'm sitting on the heater, taking a break from painting the stairwell.

Jeb Harris, our lead carpenter, working on the box to hide the electrical meter. Bluff, the dog to the right, is Jason's lab.

The north side of the house is now completely sided. Acutally, the siding is nearly complete, and will be wrapped up today (Wednesday).

I took Tuesday off to help Loralee wrap up painting. Almost there- just need to finish the master bedroom, and two bathrooms. I spent most of the day in the vaulted stairwell, which was a real bear. Also, we had our propane tank installed (underground), and the leach field is almost done. We've been pushing Michael to get the heater done by the end of the week, so the flooring can go in next week. He should be able to do it.

You Want Color??

2006-08-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

With a big painting push this weekend, we are in really good shape. The first floor is DONE (priming plus two coasts of finish paint), except for the mudroom and bathroom. On the second floor, everything is primed, and one of the smaller bedrooms is done. We should have it all wrapped up by Wednesday, in time for the guys to come in and start installing trim.

So, you want color?? Loralee wanted to go bold in some areas, so that's what we did. Most of the house is Navajo white, except the sitting area in front of the hearth, and our master bedroom. We chose a terracotta color for the sitting area, which compliments the cherry braces very nicely. It breaks up the first floor, and creates a very warm area for sitting, relaxing, and conversation.

For our bedroom, we went with a sagey green-- And, boy, once we got it on the walls, it's GREEN! It feels very soothing, and really adds to the organic feel of the home. I think once we have our furniture and curtains in, it won't be as overpowering as it feels right now. One other room, the guest bedroom, will also have some color- Lor chose a dusty rose. Once coat is on, and it looks good. We'll see how the final coat comes out.

Michael worked through the weekend, and the heater looks great. The first shelf of the woodbox is done, and the main firebox is framed in. He is pushing to get off the first floor by the end of the week so OSB can lay the finished floor there.

Also, on friday, our well pump was installed and the water connected up in the basement. As soon as it's wired up, we'll have water!

Below are some great photos over the past couple of days. Can you believe the loons? Those were taken at my parents camp on Lake Parker in West Glover. The image of willoughby gap was taken off our front porch.

Painting, painting painting...

2006-08-17T16:11:00.000-04:00

So, with the taper running behind last week, we had to cancel our 'painting party'. We weren't able to actually start painting until Tuesday. This is good and bad. We've been so burned out that Loralee and I just took Sunday and did... nothing! It was great, a quiet day at home with no responsibilities, no where to go, and no projects to work on.

This week, however, we are making up for lost time. Lor started doing the interior wall priming on Tuesday, and got nearly all the 1st floor done, with the exception of cutting in. I've worked on that the last two nights, and as of yesterday evening the 1st floor was fully primed. The second floor, with all the vaulted space, will be a lot harder to do. We need to have the house primed and two coats on by next Wednesday. It's going to be a very rough weekend.

The cost of our driveway just went up, as the town made us put a culvert across the road. This is the kind of unforseen stuff that just drives me nuts. Oh well, the money is spent and the work is done. Brent is working on the Septic, now. Actually, there was a very near accident last night, as he was setting the tank with Hopkins & Sons. The truck has a crane, and the bottom half of the tank went in with no problems. However, as the top half was being lifted off, the load shifted and the truck tipped, almost rolling! Luckily, nobody was hurt, but the top tank did get chipped. Not bad, Hopkins will just give us a slight discount and we'll be all set with it.

So, onward. We'll be painting all weekend, and I am taking next Tuesday off from work to wrap up. Once that is done, the OSB boys will have the siding complete so they can start on the interior trim work. Our mason should be working through this weekend to get the brick-work wrapped up as well. He has another good week and a half to go.

Purple Loostrife

2006-08-14T11:53:00.000-04:00

Years ago, back in the early 90's, I attended college in the Boston area. I remember as I headed south from the Northeast Kingom through New Hampshire and on into Massachussettes noting many of the beautiful wetlands that I-93 traversed. Once in Mass, the native cat-tails were replaced in mid-summer by a form of vegetaion with beautiful purple flowers. "how amazing", I used to think, "too bad our Vermont welands don't have such an attactive flower".... At the time, I did not realized that the purple flower as Loosetrife, and invasive species from Eurasia.

Loostrife is one of those very successful species that out-competes the native plants such as lilly pads and cat-tails. As it expands, the loostrife tends to completely take over a wetland, choking out these other plants, and actually cutting down on available wetland for waterfowl and other animal life. I have come to hate Looestrife.

Over my years of trips back and forth to Boston, I watched as Purple Loostrife became more and more prevelant along our roadside. By the mid-90's, you could see it outside of Concord, NH. By the turn of the century, it had reached Vermont's borders. Now, we can find it in small clumps here and there throughout the Kingdom's wetlands. If left unchecked, it will eventually consume these beautiful but fragile areas. (note, the photo above was taken outside my office in Littleton, NH-- Just over the river from the Northeast Kingdom).

For more information on Purple Loostrife, and how to manage the weed, check out this website:
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/lysa1.htm

August is definitely here

2006-08-10T09:52:00.000-04:00

It's hard to imagine, just a week or so ago we were having trouble sleeping at night due to the heat and humidity. The weather all this week has been perfect- low humidity, 70's during the day, and cooling right off at night. This coming weekend, it may be 'unseasonably cold'.... August is definitly here!

Loralee and I are starting to burn out, burning both ends of the candle at the same time. We've felt a but under the weather this week, but we are getting through it.

The tapers are nearly done, although they are about a day behind. The first layer did not dry as well as they had hoped, and that put them behind. It should still all be good to go for painting this weekend. Meanwhile, we have been keeping up with the siding, painting it as it goes up. This has made the job a lot easier to manage.

Since we'll be painting the interior next week, we've also been struggling with what colors to paint. One thought is to just do the whole thing in Navajo White, and deal with colors later. However, we want do have some color, and use it as a strong accent for some of the rooms. So far, we have decided to do the master bedroom in a sort of sage green, and do the sitting alcove in front of the Masonry Heater in a sort of rust color. We have a big question mark for the rest of the house though... I just don't have the vision for it, we can't tell anything from those little paint chip samples. We need colors that will compliment the natural woods- the yellow of the pine and red of the cherry. My concern is using colors that will 'wash out' those tones. That leaves us with a pretty limited pallette- Earth tones and greens. Blues are nice, but too cool for the house in general. Ah well, we'll continue to work on this; We have a few days left to decide. One thing, if anyone is interested, check out some of the other OSB houses in the Gallery on www.oldschoolbuilders.com to see what other's have done with interior colors. two houses, the 'Vermont Cape' and 'Modern Cape' both did some amazing things with different shades of green. They're worth a look!

The masonry heater is really coming along- We love the look of the used brick. Oh, one more thing: Note in the image at the top of the page the main entrance. We are really happy with the roofline over the doorway, that turned out really nice. I am pretty disappointed that the electric company made us put the meter right next to the doorway. We are going to box it in so it's not as obvius.

Perfect Weather & Weekend update

2006-08-07T10:26:00.000-04:00

Talk about perfect weather! The heat wave finally broke over the weekend, and Saturday was one of those 'perfect' Vermont summer days. It was in the 80's, but with very low humidity (for a change.) And, to top it off, it got so cold on Saturday night that our furnace actually kicked on! what we call around here 'good sleeping weather'

So, what did we do this weekend? Well, paint, mostly. Loralee focused on getting the south wall of the house (The only one sided) painted. I worked on the white trim, but also urethaned interior windows. The main floor windows are done, but we are working on the 2nd floor. Mom came up and helped us on Saturday, which was great-- She taped the windows so I could just follow up with urethane.

Sunday, we headed to Burlington. We planned to hit a tile store over there, but it turns out it was closed! What a bummer... Anyway, I visited Earl, while Lor saw Andrew and Megan. It was nice to have a break, which may be the last one until Labor Day. We have a ton of painting to do.

Brent never showed up last week- That puts him a week behind. Not a big deal, and it may actually work out better. In about 2 weeks, the OSB guys will be completely done outside, so Brent could do everything-- Septic, final grading, etc.

What got done last week? The heater core is complete. Also, the sheetrock is all hung, and the taper starts this week.

Painting Party

2006-08-04T08:34:00.000-04:00

... Well, it's going to be more like a 'priming party.' The sheetrock was all hung this week, and the taper starts on Monday. It should only take him a couple days to get the taping and mudding done. That will leave Loralee and I ONE WEEK to do the interior painting! So, we are having a Painting Party! From Loralee's email:
_____________________________________________________________

Hi Everyone!
Well, yesterday saw the completion of all our sheetrocked walls! It is hard to believe how different the house looks with them up, and it is becoming even more real that we'll be moving in just a couple months. The taper is coming in next week, and in trying to keep up with our builders' schedule, we're trying to get the walls painted as quickly as possible.
So, just in case you didn't have anything better to do next Sunday (the 13th), we were wondering if you'd care to join us for a painting party! We thought we could get started around 12:30 or 1:00 (or whenever works for you) and then pull out the grill for dinner around 5:00 PM.

Let me know if you can make it--there's no pressure, though--I know how busy all of you are!
I hope all is well. Looking forward to seeing you soon, if not next week, then at our Open House this fall! Please RSVP me at: loraleedawnATyahoo.com
Loralee

Sheetrock and stuff

2006-07-31T20:18:00.000-04:00

Sunday was the 'perfect' summer day. Dry, not humid, with a high of 75. The 'eye on the sky' is calling for more humidity and heat this coming week with temperatures in the 90's. Over the weekend, we did some painting, picking up, and we insulated interior walls for soundproofing. Basically, any wall with a water pipe, plus all the bathroom walls, and some key walls in the 2nd floor bedrooms. Hope it helps.

I spoke with Brent, our excavator, on Saturday AM. He'll be back this week to install our leach field and trench for the water and propane tank. He didn't show up on Monday, but I expect we'll see him on Tuesday.

Today, the OSB guys started sheetrocking the interior. Another big visual change! They've got a few days to go, but the mudroom is rocked in, as well as 2 of the 1st floor closets. Apparently, they're pretty hard to do. Michael, the mason, came mid-day, and worked on the heater core. It's getting there- That should be wrapped up this week. Meanwhile, Loralee finally settled on a paint color-- Believe it or not, its the darker one she has preferred initially! She got a lot of the south wall done, about 1/3, and it looks great. Darker was the way to go. Later in the week, when more is done, I'll get some pictures up of how that looks.

Well, well, well....

2006-07-28T08:43:00.000-04:00

The well is in! Faulkner came yesterday (thursday) around 11 AM, and the well was complete by mid-afternoon. They drilled 260 feet, right through granite, and got a draw of 35 gallons per minute. A really great well. Now, we'll have Brent Newland come back to dig for the hose, and once that's done, tri-state will be back to install the pump and tank. The well is one of the biggest unknowns when building a house, and having ours come out so well is a huge weight off my shoulders. In addition, the cost of the well was wrapped up in a land deal I did with Neal last year, so the cost of the well doesn't hit the bottom line of our budget.

The OSB boys got the south wall siding done today, and Loralee followed up with the staining. She acutally got half the wall painted in about 4 hours, which is pretty good. However, after seeing just how light the stain color we have selected is, we realized that it's just too light. She's going to pick up a darker shade today, and we'll see how that looks on the house.

This weekend, we'll be up at the house again: insulating interior walls for noise-deadening, wrapping up the 1st floor window eurethane, and exterior painting. We'll probably work a half day on Saturday, and a full day Sunday. We also need to do a lot of picking up-- I finally managed to get the loft floors done, so all that wood can come out, now.

It's hot (high 80's) and very humid... It may break over the weekend, but I'll believe it when it happens. Summers are short around here, so it's hard to complain. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of the corn has topped out over the last few days. The hot humid weather really helped the crop catch up, but I thought it all still seemed a bit short to top off....

Midweek Update

2006-07-27T09:36:00.000-04:00

Well, despite the rain of early summer, this Mid-summer has proven to be hot (80's) and humid. We are still getting the random late-day thunder storm rumbling through, but at this point those storms aren't affecting progress. The OSB guys have been working on the trim and siding, focusing on the south wall, and it looks great. The siding is quarter-sawn spruce, locally grown, with similar longevity characteristics to cedar. For cost reasons, we have gone for a 4" reveal, although a 3" would have been more traditional. The siding is pre-primed light grey, and we will be staining it a darker grey (possibly starting this weekend).

Almost all the rough stuff is done inside, with Paul expecting to wrap up rough plumbing by the end of the week. Next week, everyone will be back inside hanging sheetrock. Still on target. Once concern is still the well-- Faulkner came by on Friday to check things out, said he'd be back in two hours, and hasn't been back since. I'll follow up with him today, and I'm sure its just a matter of time, but...

Mike Thronson is pushing on getting the heater core complete. It's nice to see some mass on the main floor. He actually stayed overnight last night, so as to get another good full day in today. He doen't work on Fridays.

Lor and I have been urethaning windows, I've been wrapping up the loft floor, and whatever else needs to be done.

post-weekend update

2006-07-24T21:26:00.000-04:00

We took Saturday off from working on the house. Chris, Ray, and Dale came up from NH, and we hit Kingdom Trails on the Mountain bikes. the morning was great (the rain held off until about 2), but after 19 miles my legs were Jello. I just don't have the miles on this summer that I usually do. Anyway, it was nice to have a break, and we had a blast with the guys. Loralee, despite only picking up mountain-biking 2 years ago, and out-bike me up any hill we encounter. So far, I can still stay ahead on the single track, but not for much longer.

Friday, Neal Faulkner (tri-state wells) showed up in the afternoon, and said he'd be gearing up to get the well in. He told Lor he'd be back in 2 hours, but never showed. As of Monday, we still haven't seen him. I'm hopeful we get the well in this week though.

While Lor was at the site, I hit Home Depot after work, and picked up our lights for the house. We decided to go cheap for now, and upgrade to better lighting when we had the money. We have a $1,000 light budget, and that really doesn't streach (Wendy, did I spell that right?) too far. I hate home depot, and am glad we haven't had to use them much.

Sunday, Lor and I were back at the house. I worked on the trim, and Lor worked on urethaning the windows. Today, Lor wrapped up the trim while I put a second coat on the remaining windows on the 1st floor. Also, we picked up the hardware for the 3 doors. We had priced out the hardware at Home Depot, Allen Lumber in St. Jay, but ultimately got the best price at Wheeler's in Lyndon. To be honest, this has consistently been the case throughout the project. For example, we are installing six-panel pine pre-hung interior doors, with black hinges... At home depot, these doors run $170 and you can't get the hinges in black. Wheelers, however, is giving them to us for $130 each, and will special order the black hinges. To me, it goes to show that Home Depot seems to be over rated.

Windows in

2006-07-19T19:55:00.000-04:00

We are really pleased with the windows... Despite the snafu on the cut outs for 4 of them, that was quickly resolved, and the OSB team managed to finish the installs today. In addition, they got the french door for the Dining room in as well. They look great, and everyone is impressed with the quality. We opted for standard double-hung windows from the Marvin Integrity line. This is thier 'value line', but are still thermal pop-outs for easy cleaning.

The rough wiring is complete, and the Mason has finished his foundation for the heater. Paul expects to get the rough plumbing done by the end of the week, which means they could start sheetrocking very soon! As a matter of fact, Jeb reviewed a rough schedule with us today, and its aggressive but very doable:

7/24- Work on siding
7/31- Move inside, hang sheetrock
8/7- (Jeb vacation,) have taper work on interior
8/14- Lor and I work on interior painting, while OSB does the siding.
8/21- install pine floor, sand and finish. Meanwhile, mill the trim.
8/28- install interior doors and trim.
9/4- install kitchen, work on trim, install countertop.
9/11- install finished stairs
9/18- Punch out!

Hard to believe, this has all gone by so fast, but the end is really in sight. The exterior trim was delivered yesterday, so Loralee has begun painting it. We have the rest of the week, as they won't need it until next week. In addition, we need to urethane the windows.

A new week

2006-07-17T20:11:00.000-04:00

One thing you get used to, building a house: extreme highs and lows. It was a real high, at the end of the week, to see our porch go on the house. Lor and I are both very please with how it is coming out, and have already begun enjoying sitting on it.

At this point, the rough electrical is almost done. Lor has really worked a lot, pulling cable and cutting out boxes, over the last few days. Over the weekend, we pulled some data cables, and I worked on my loft flooring. Saturday we tried to work at the house all day but had so many visitors it was hard to get anything done. I did manage to pick up the brick from Chuck and Nancy, we'll see if the mason can use it.

Over the weekend, Lor's brother Andrew and his fiancee Megan came over with thier son Axel. We had a nice visit, and at one point, Andrew and I started talking about design and architecture. The book, "A Pattern Language" came up. If any of you are considering building a house, FIND AND READ THIS BOOK. It was written in the 70's, and is a bible for anyone creating a home. It describes timeless principles of design (that many modern architects seem to have forgotten). One thing that amazes me as I walk through our house is to see many of these principles come alive within the structure.

So, those where the highs.... Today, we had some lows. The power run from our pole to the house ended up being way over budget, and we just got the bill. We are so on the edge of affording this house that any overage matters a lot, and there isn't much room to cut. In addition, we had a minor crisis with the windows. As the OSB team went to start installing them, they found four that were too big for the rough openings. In the end, it will all be fine, but it does mean some re-work. It was due to a typo on the spec sheet! What a stressor...

Oh, one final thing: the photo below is of a finch that made her nest in the basement ceiling beams. her babies hatched a week or two ago, and we're hoping they fly off before we get the whole thing enclosed.

A House Embalmed

2006-07-14T11:00:00.000-04:00

Just so you understand where I am coming from: A few years ago, I 'wintered over' in a mobile home in Charlotte. I had sold my first house, and had been looking for a new place when I was laid off ('voted off the island') from my place of employment... So, I rented a trailer. It was a long, cold winter, and I would lay awake at night staring at a plastic ceiling, listening to the vynl siding creak and pop in the wind and frozen air. The sound still sends shudders up and down my spine. So, to put it mildly, I dislike vynl siding. with a passion. I think it epitomizes everything that is wrong with American home design, and is the current generation's attemp to cheapen our landscape and pass the buck on to the future generations.

Anyways, there is this cute little cape just up the road from us. adorable, with dark blue/grey stained cedar shakes. Classic roofline. Classic windows layout. Nothing over the top, just... nice. So, the other day I was driving by and noticed that they were replacing the siding... Embalming it in plastic. the house has gone from 'cute' to 'generica'.... WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING?? is vynl really that much less expensive? Does is really require that much less maintenance? Did the shakes really need to be replaced?? The house just became one more blight on our landscape of fast food fat factories, 68-oz slurpie service stations, sheetmetal strip malls, and multi-lane roads.

Our saltbox is a vynl-free zone. Locally grown quarter-sawn spruce, pre-primed. With proper care, it should need to be stained about once a decade, and should last 200+ years. No landfill fodder. No toxins (well, less toxins). And a look and feel that can only be described as 'authentic'.

Recent Pictures

2006-07-14T10:52:00.000-04:00

Here is a photo of our central stairwell. It's amazing how much cozier (read: smaller) the main floor feels as the space gets filled up!

The stairwell starts in the Kitchen, heads up WEST to a landing, then 3 steps south to the 2nd floor hallway. For some reason, we LOVE the idea of coming downstairs right into the kitchen.

Now, this picure below is taken on the 2nd floor looking EAST towards the cathedral ceiling in our master bedroom. Note how the light plays off the pine on the ceiling. The framed wall there will separate the bedroom from the rest of the house and will be sheetrocked in.

Quick update

2006-07-12T12:42:00.000-04:00

Okay, the past few weeks I've fallen off the blogging waggon-- Bad Shawn! As the weather has heated up, so has the project. A quick summary of recent accomplishments:

The 2nd floor (subfloor of 2x6 T&G Pine) is in.
All interior walls are framed up.
Stairs are in (not finished, but framed and useable).
All 4 subs have started: Electrical, Plumbing, Air exchange, and Mason. This is HUGE!
The metal roof is on.
The house has been wrapped in Typar.
we have POWER!! Installed by Lyndonville Electric last friday, 7/7/06. What a painful process.

On Sunday, Loralee and I went and sorted/stacked the boards for our finished floor. We got the rough lumber from our family friends, the Bishops. We have 1800 Board-feet of 1x10" pine. Although it will wear hard, we love the look of wide pine floors. On Tuesday, my Dad trucked it to Heath Lumber for milling, and brought it right back. My Co-worker, Ed, helped me unload and stack the finished lumber in our basement for acclimation. It's quite a stack to work around, but it will be ready to go in September.

Oh, and Falkner Well Drilling called this morning. They will start the well next week. That's another biggie, and once it's done we can have Brent Newland back to finish our leach field and grading.

THis week, Lor is looking into getting our propane tank installed, ordering paint and other materials, and generally doing a ton of running around.

Meanwhile, I'm finishing our loft floor (more 2x6 T&T), and pulling data-comm wires so we have some 21st century elements in our 18th century home....

... I've still got a ton of pictures to get up here, and will get some more detailed updates in the next few days...

2nd floor in

2006-06-28T15:50:00.000-04:00

Lots of progress over the last few days, despite the ongoing rain. The OSB team managed to get the tarp and strapping on the north side of the roof on Tuesday, which helped protect us somewhat from the rain. Also the second floor was almost completely laid. Today, they planned to frame up the 2nd floor walls... Thier goal was to get as much done inside so the the subs could start next week. That means, plumbing and wiring. It's all looking good!

Still no power-- But, the electric company did show up yesterday to install the anchor-wires for the poles. Maybe, just maybe (if we're lucky) the power company will wrap things up by the end of this week. The big issue Lor and I are struggling with is our finish flooring. We want wide pine, but there isn't enough $$ in the budget to have finished floors in both the 1st and 2nd floors. We may try to get the floor done on the 1st floor, and do the 2nd floor on our own later.

Where to begin?

2006-06-25T16:31:00.000-04:00

Boy, it's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I have not had a chance to post at all. The most exciting event has been that Loralee and I were married on June 17th! What a great time we had! The ceremony and reception was held at Burke Mountain Academy, overlooking Willoughby Gap. The weather was ideal, and we had the perfect day to celebrate with our family and friends. My uncle Keith and his wife Heater catered it, we had a top-notch swing band from Glover (the Slant Six), and just over a hundred guests. Lor was beautiful in her homemade dress. She put a ton of work into planning the whole thing, and I think it amazed everyone. Meanwhile, my role was to a) pick the band, and b) set up chairs. It was tough, but I managed. I am a lucky guy.... Although we were too wired to totally enjoy the day, everyone says they had a great time ;-)

Work progressed significantly on the house while we honeymooned in Acadia. Although, we enjoyed perfect weather in Maine, here they apparently had to deal with daily thunderstorms and a severe wind-storm on Tuesday the 20th! Despite that, the stress-skin walls and roof were installed. It now looks like a real house. While going through the home design process, we explored using a stick-built baloon frame around the timberframe, but ultimately settled on Stress-skin. These are basically 4x8 sheets of 6" solid insluation with OSB on one side and sheetrock on the other. Although costing more in materials, the labor to install them is much less- It took the team 3 days to install all our walls and roof. The biggest benefit of stress-skin is the high insulation value they provide. Since there are no studs every 16 inches, there are no holes for heat to leak out of. These walls are what will make our house so efficient.

Now that the wedding is behind us, we can concentrate on building the house. Lor is done with school for the summer, so she will be working on the jobsite from here to September. In a few weeks, the siding will arrive and she can start pre-painting it before it goes up. Over this weekend, she and I sanded and oiled the beams on the first floor. Once the second floor is in, we'll need to do that as well.

One final note: Image upload is not working on this site. I am trying to find upload alternatives, but be patient with me. I've got a TON of great pictures!

An amazing day

2006-06-11T13:36:00.000-04:00

Now that I have time to step back and take a deep breath, I have the opportunity to share more details about the raising day. Once again, the weather looked iffy. We started out by meeting the Old School crew at the Miss Lyndonville Diner for breakfast at 6:30. from there, they headed up to the jobsite to start the raising, while Loralee and I ran several errands.

Around 9 AM, we were at the Town Clerk's office getting our marriage licence, when Jeb called "Where the hell are you? The house is half up!" We dropped everything and headed up to the homesite. Incredible! 2/3's of the 1st floor was done, many pieces having been pre-assembled on the ground the day before. Derosher's crane would lift these sections into place, and the crew would assemble them... Sort of like a giant errector set. It was a lot of fun watching everyone work together, getting each beam to fit into the next.

Although by brother Aaron beat us there, Chris arrived around 10:30, as did a few more friends and our neighbor Chuck Fergus. It was also around this time that the first rain show passed through. The Crew, however, did not slow down. Linley, Keone's wife, and a few other of the wive's arrived with a mid-morning snack and coffee. They had thier kids with them, and it was a lot of fun watching the crew work, while the kids played and the rest of us just watched the house go up. The sense of community and family was very strong, and both Loralee and I felt so good being a part of it and seeing our home created before our very eyes.

Around noon, with everyone's family there and more of our friends arrived and we all paused for lunch under the tent-- Quiches, ham, salads and pie. Things had progressed quite rapidly up to this point, but the afternoon was going to go a lot slower. A few peices did not fit together quite right, and event the big mallets (the "persuaders") could not solve the problem. However, some simple measuring and cutting took care of most of the issues. The rain kicked up again, but it did not last. As the afternoon progressed, Chris and I broke into the beer... I can't recall the last time I drank ALL afternoon. Although Jeb had predicted getting done by 3, it was well past six by the time they told us to go hunt down our good-luck tree.

This is a Nordic tradition, to nail a fresh evergreen to the peak of the roof as a good-luck symbol. It represents the new growth and life springing from the 'roots' of the new home... Lor found the tree, and asked me to nail it in place. Randy Derosher, the crane operator, had the brilliant idea of strapping me in a harness and winching me to the peak. What a wild ride! Everyone cheered when the tree was nailed in place, and I was lifted gently back to the ground...

... Well, half-way, any way. Randy paused the winch and said "While we have you there, your future wife wanted me to say a few things to you..." Everyone laughed, while I danged 20 feet off the ground...

After pausing for pictures, everyone broke into the beer in ernest, and we hung out talking about the project. What a day.

Raising Day Photos

2006-06-10T15:17:00.000-04:00

What a day we had on Friday! I don't have time to write up the details now, but will do so tomorrow. Suffice to say that despite the iffy weather, the entire frame is up and the Old School Team was great! I want to say a quick note of thanks to all of them and thier families that made our raising day so special. Here are some images to hold you over until tomorrow:

Deck is On!

2006-06-08T21:21:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it, but the deck is on the foundation! Despite another rainy week with temperatures in the 50's and 60's, Jeb and the OSB crew managed to push through, not only getting our deck done, but also completing a lot of the post-and-beam sections that will be going up during Friday's raising. Well done!

We had one good day, Tuesday, and a lot was accomplished. The basement frame was completed, and the 2x6 tounge and groove subfloor nailed down.. Well, mostly. Good thing, we had our first bank inspection the following day, and all this needed to be done. Tuesday night, Loralee and I managed to get out and oil the ceiling frame beams. It's a lot easier to do while they're still on the ground.

The week was full of accomplishments: Lyndonville electric got the pole in, so we should have power by mid week next week. Faulkner Well Drilling (Tri-State) called, and wanted to drill on Wednesday. I had to push them off one week, with all the frame material laying around the job-site. Tuesday night, while the weather was good, Lor and I began the work of oiling the timber frame. This has the effect of sealing the wood, so as not to hold dirt. Eventually, we will need to have ALL the exposed wood in the house oiled.

Friday is Raising day, Rain or shine! OSB is meeting for breakfast at 6 AM. We've been invited, but I don't see getting there before 6:30. The crane shows up at 8, and the team goes to town. We'll be hanging out watching, until lunch at noon. It's a catered affair, provided by Old school. Jeb says they expect to be wrapped up by 3:00 PM. Wish us luck!

Deck in progress

2006-06-05T19:29:00.000-04:00

With the pad poured, the Old School Builders team were able to start working on the main deck of the house on Friday... Initially, the weather was iffy and we expected rain, but were in luck as it held off. Jeb and his team got the sill plate on the foundation walls, and were able to start the deck... Now, by "Deck" I mean the first floor of the house, which the rest of the frame will sit on.

The weather turned sour again over the weekend. Enough rain already! This proved especially vexing, as Chris Bonner had planned a "Bachelor's Bike Weekend," with our wedding looming 2 weekends away. None the less we made the best of it, and like fools hit Kingdom Trails for an incredible day of riding. It turned out to be a ton of fun, with thrills and spills all the way around. "Memorable" is the word for it, especially after we repaired for the evening to Dad's camp for a cookout, and Earl's car got hit along the road. But, that's another story!

Back to the house: The rain continued through to today, and the OSB team made slow progress until it broke in mid-afternoon. Tuesday and wednesday look good, but there is a lot to do in order to prepare for Friday. Much of the frame is assembled on the ground prior to the raising, so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Pad Poured!

2006-06-01T15:55:00.000-04:00

The weather has been downright tropical the last few days. Humid, in the high 70's every day with thunder showers every evening. We had a very narrow window to get the foundation pad poured, but through the herculean efforts of Brent and Paul the work got done. Paul was back on Tuesday, and stayed until around 9PM laying out the pipes, the insulation, and the pipes for radiant heat. Brent had called for cement, with a target delivery time of 9 AM Wednesday... The weather looked iffy, and when he got home had a message that it would be delivered on Wednesday-- at 7 AM! So, he was back at the jobsite at 4 AM, laying and tying rebar.

The cement trucks rolled in at 7, and the cement was able to set up before the thunderstorms started at 4 PM. Apparently, this rain is good as it slows the cement cure time, resulting in a stronger floor. One downside, Lyndonville Electric did not run power. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it happens by the end of the week-- They won't put up a pole if there's even a HINT of thunderstorms.

I spoke with Jeb today. He is still pushing for the raising on the 9th. he'll need to work around the weather himself, so it will be nip and tuck. Next week Loralee and I will be busy in the evenings oiling the frame. This consists of coating it with a mix of linsead oil and thinner. Jeb also asked me to mow under a section of field where they'll put up a big tent to work out of. Ah, Progress!

Long weekend

2006-05-29T10:04:00.000-04:00

The long weekend provided us some time to get some serious work done on the homesite; Nor did our contractors get a break either. Saturday started with light showers, perfect for burning brush. It was a pain to get the fire lit, but we had our giant brushpile going by 10:30 AM. Loralee tended the fire, while I cut more trees for the drainage ditch. By 11:30, the weather broke, and we spent the rest of the day working under clear blue skies and temperatures around 70-- A perfect summer day!

We had hoped to see the plumber on Friday or Saturday-- he needs to lay both the sewage pipe and the basement radiant system so we can pour the foundation slab this week. Right now, getting that slab done on time is our biggest risk factor; Old School just wrapped up another big project in Kirby, so hopefully we should see more resources coming our way over the next week. It won't take them long to get the deck up on the house, and we'll need that done by the 9th to hit our raising date.

I headed back over on Sunday (Lor had the Green Mountain Run for BMA), and cut out the two remaining trees earmarked by the electric company. I also cut out some small stuff near our field bridge-- Brent will help us out by excavating the silt from the upper end, hopefully preserving the bridge. At some point, I need to look into why that has silted up as much as it has. I would like to find a long-term solution to that problem.

Oh, another note: Brent dug a hole in the southwest corner of the property to bury some stumps and immediately hit heavy clay soil and water. Someday, it could be a good area for a pond... Someday...

So, for this week, I hope to see the following:

Pour the foundation slab
Install power pole (Wednesday?)
Run electric up from pole
Start work on decking

Break from rain

2006-05-25T11:21:00.000-04:00

Last night was another long one at the homesite. I ran by after my 'day job' to check on work, and decided to stick around to help Brent get the foundation insulation done.-- He was ahead of schedule, so this would enable him to keep moving forward. Lor came up, and we worked until almost 9 PM. It came out well, and Brent can finish the curtain drain today, as well as most of the back-filling. Loralee and I picked up the jobsite after sundown, with a clearing sky overhead and Jupiter just visible in the southeast.

Today I had planned to pick up the conduit and wire for our electrical run-- 320 feet from the pole. However, when I talked to Jeb this AM, he said that our electrician Hans would be doing that instead. Okay, I'm off the hook for that piece. Jeb also confirmed that Paul the plumber will be there around noon Friday.

The weather report currently looks good for the next 3-4 days. Partly sunny and in the 70's. I am keeping my fingers crossed it stays that way. Even without having to run the electrical conduit, it's going to be a busy weekend....

Foundation insulated

2006-05-24T15:57:00.000-04:00

This morning, we woke up to the 15th straight day of rain, but luckily it's been clearing throughout the day. Yesterday, Mt. Mansfield got 3 inches of snow, and Burlington officially recorded the wettest May on record.... Ah, springtime in Vermont! On the positive site, things have really been greening up and the weather is supposed to be a little better.

Last night, Brent met me on site, and we got 3/4 of the foundation insulated. Lor came by 7:00, and helped me wrap up-- We were done by 8:00 PM. The project was manageable, one of those easy ones for the homeowner to knock off. Brent had tarred the walls earlier that day so we slapped the insulation in place and tacked it with a single screw per sheet. Brent will be back today (Wednesday) to finish the curtain drain and backfill.

Unfortunately, the plumber has not showed up! our intent was to have the floor ready to pour the slab on Thursday, but that is not going to happen. Jeb now has a commitment from him to do the work on Friday-Saturday, with the pour scheduled for next Tuesday. I'm keeping my finger crossed.

In other news, I've priced out the wire and conduit for our underground power line... Not cheap. The pole installation is scheduled for next Wedneday, 5/31. I'll keep my fingers crossed. The three big tasks we have for this weekend are:

- Pop a couple more trees for the power line
- burn our brush pile
- cut a couple small trees along the road for drainage.

This week's tasks

2006-05-23T13:41:00.000-04:00

Things have really greened up with all the rain we've been getting. unfortunately, all this rain has caused our schedule to slip. Paul the plumber was supposed to work on the house yesterday, but never showed up. Likewise, Brent was supposed to have the tarring done on the walls, but couldn't because of the weather. We have a bit of slip, and are still on track for the raising on the 9th of June, but it all depends if we can pour the foundation pad by the end of the week. Let's pray for sun!

Tonight, I am meeting Brent on site, and will start insulating the foundation walls. I'd like to get half of it done tonight, with the goal to wrap it up by the weekend. On Saturday, I'll be burning our big brush pile. Oh, and today I priced out the underground conduit and wire-- 320 feet from pole to house... Yikes! $5/foot for wire. The conduit isn't cheap either.

Hopefully, we'll see some progress by the end of today....

Crisis Averted

2006-05-18T09:18:00.000-04:00

What a rainy week. We've had rain for 7 days straight, so it's a good think we were'nt trying to pour the foundation pad yet. On Monday, we met with Jeb from OSB and our plumber Paul and discovered a possibly significant problem... Our plans have been to install a basement bathroom at some point. In addition, much of the basement plumbing was intended to be in or below the floor, as it is hard to hide pipes in a post-and-beam. It turns out, however, that the slope from the basement to the engineered septic leach field was not great enough: you need 1/4" drop per linear foot, and we just did not have it. This left two options:

1) Install a 'pump up' system in our basement
2) move the leach field.

The pump-up would cost at least and additional $1,000, and be a possible failure point in the future. It's also a system that requires electricity to run, thus adding operating costs. On the other hand, Vermont's strict new septic system laws are restrictive and costly to navigate. To install a conventional septic system, we required 4-5 feet of perkable soil above the ledge... The question is, would we have it in the new suggested location. Luckily, our excavator thought yes.

After a few frantic phone calls, we got our engineer back the following night and with Brent dug a few new test-holes in the pouring rain. In each new hole, we had a solid six feet of sandy soil before hitting ledge, meaning the leach field could be moved. The State Permit will need to be modified, but our engineer though that he could get by with an 'as-built' addendum, since the overall field only moved about 20 feet downhill in the same soils. I called Jeb to let him know, so the plumber could get started with his basement prep work. I now know more about septic flow than I ever wanted to.

In other news, the electric company is on track to get power to the site by the end of the month, and we now have builder's risk / homeowner's insurance in place. This weekend, Lor and I will be in Saratoga NY for my Brother's graduation, but next week will be a busy one as we insulate the basement.

Foundation in

2006-05-14T18:39:00.000-04:00

The forms came off our new foundation on Friday. It looks great. Once again, we are on schedule, and we are very pleased with teh quality of work. The weekend has been pretty wet and rainy, so it's a good thing we've gotten as much done as we have. On friday, I called for quotes on homeowner's insurance-- It's gone up since the last time I needed it! We should have that in place by next week.

In addition, Tim cleaned up the cutting for our power, and there was very little we had left to do on Saturday. It's time to get Lyndonville Electric in there, and get them hustling on the power line. We hope to only need one pole, installed at the base of the drive, from which we will run power underground.

Monday night, Loralee and I will be meeting with Jeb from Old School and Paul the plumber. They are preparing to start laying out the basement plumbing as well as the Radiant Heat system in the slab. Radiant works very well in stone or concrete, but does not conduct as well through wood. We've made the decision to run Radiant ONLY in the basement. Since our primary heat will be the Masonry Stove on the main floor (another form of radiant heat), it does not make sense to install a redundant radiant floor system there as well-- They would complete against each other.

Also this week, Brent will tar the foundation, then Lor and I will insulate it. The 2" insulation board is already on site and ready to go. It would be great to coordinate the installation of the board with Brent backfilling at the same time, but I am not sure it will be possible.

Good Omen?

2006-05-11T19:51:00.000-04:00

I took this image Wednesday evening at our homesite. Sunset, looking east at the near-full moon and a spectacular rainbow:

On Wednesday, Brent wrapped up getting the forms ready, and Tim wrapped up the cutting for our power line. Today was partly cloudy and very breezy, but the good news is we poured the foundation walls today. It all went very well; The one challenge we will have is that the drop from the foundation to the leach field will require a pump-up for our future basement bathroom. not a show-stopper, but this will add some cost. This evening, I met with Jeb Harris at the site. He was dropping off the blue-board insulation which we will use to wrap the foundation. Lor and I will tackle that project next week. Meanwhile, Jeb will be working with Paul our plumber to lay the radiant system in the basement floor, in preparation of the slab pour. Over the next few days, we expect to accomplish the following:

Clean up cutting for power, and schedule Lyndonville electric for installation.
Call regarding homeowners insurance.
Schedule well drilling.

Forms going up

2006-05-09T21:20:00.000-04:00

The black flies are out! It was a bit overcast and around 70 today, we spent an hour after work puttering around the homesite. I did some more cutting for drainage, while Loralee moved brush. The foundation footings went in without a problem yesterday, and Brent started setting up the forms for the foundation walls today. It looks to be almost done- We may be on track for a pour on Thursday, if the weather holds. Later in the week and weekend isn't looking good rain-wise, but for now we're okay. As homeowners, it's pretty exciting to see those forms go up!
From this image, which is taken from the southwest looking northeast, you can see our walkout basement to the left.

Pouring foundation footings

2006-05-08T13:32:00.000-04:00

Our excavator/foundation guy worked through the weekend; Satuday was nice until the rain moved in by mid-afternoon. We did have a problem with the ledge in the basement's southeast corner, but solved it by moving the entire house footprint two feet to the west, and changing the drop-downs slightly. A quick, inexpensive fix to a potentially big problem.

Sunday we had clear blue skies, but temperatures never got out of the 50's. Really, ideal for working outside. Brent set up the forms for the footings, while I cut wood for drainage ditches and our underground power line. We are planning to pour the footings today, and should get the forms for the foundation walls up by Thursday. Weather permitting, we could have poured walls by the end of the week!

Cellar hole is in!

2006-05-05T18:35:00.000-04:00

We lucked out on weather this week. Tuesday, we saw some rain, as well as Wednesday afternoon and night. However, Thursday and Friday both saw clear blue skies and temps 65-75. WOW! Our Excavator has been busy, getting the base in for the driveway, which looks very good, as well as digging out the cellar hole! So far we are on track, although I am a bit concerned about a 'hump' of ledge in the southeast corner.... This may need to be blasted, I'll check with Brent over the weekend-- That could put us behind, unless we can find a work- around.

Also, the cutting for our power-line looks good as well, and is about 2/3 complete. I would expect that one more solid day of work could take care of it, then some cleanup. I may need to chip some of the downed wood, or at least move it so the power company can pull the wire through the cleared lane. Next week, I'll need to call Verizon about getting phone service. That will take a long time, but if we don't have it by the time the house is complete, it's not the end of the world. That's what cell phones are for.

This weekend, I'll be doing some brush cleanup and skidding some logs so Brent can finish the end of our driveway. Loralee is heading to Maine to visit her friend Chris and finish working on her wedding dress.

Good news & bad news

2006-04-30T18:33:00.000-04:00

We got a bit of very good news on Friday: Loralee and a friend went for a walk on the property, and found our excavator, Brent Newland, clearing the topsoil from the homesite! He wrapped up his other project a few days early, so was able to get his equipment to our site a few days early and start moving earth around. "Set expectations, then exceed them". We took a run up Friday evening to see what he'd done, and he was still working at 7:00 PM. While talking to him, his wife and daughter showed up to pick him up. he roughed out the driveway, so for the first time we can drive up to the homesite. Next week, he plans to dig for the foundation and lay out the forms.

Sadly, we also recieved some bad news on friday: My Grandfather, William Tester, passed away. for the last six weeks he has been battling congestive heart failure. He lives in Connecticut, and last weekend my Dad and I took a quick trip down to see him. He wasn't doing so good, but we managed to talk and I was able to say goodbye. Last Sunday, he had a massive stroke, and he just faded away this week. Lor and I will be running to CT on Monday for the funeral, returning on Tuesday.

Good Weather?

2006-04-28T09:27:00.000-04:00

Here's to hoping for good weather next week! Our excavator is planning to start on the driveway and dirt-work, and we are anxious for a good start. The last two days this week have been great-- Sunny days in the 50's, although cold at night. Right now, the weather reports look good for Monday, but the rest of the week may not be so good. We'll see.

I had lunch with David Van Houten yesterday. He and his wife Margaret build nearly the same Old School Saltbox last summer, and had a very good experience with the builders. David and I have been meeting every few weeks, and he is a great resource. He just gave us a pile of lighting and bathroom fixture catalogues for us to persuse. Believe me, I think that is the most overwhelming part of the process right now. There are literally THOUSANDS of choices. We are looking for very good quality but lower priced solutions, but it is very hard to decide which choices are right.

I've posted here a photo of the view from our homesite. This view is to the north, overlooking Willoughby Gap (A glacial lake in the Northeast Kingdom). We own 15 acres, purchased from my Grandmother, which is adjacent to her farm. This land was not part of the original Wall farm, but part of the old Jones farm. It was purchased by my family in the late 90's when Alma Jones moved into a nursing home.

The roof of the old Jones homestead can be seen in this photo. It, along with 200 acres, was originally known as the "Butternut Farm" in the early 1900's, and is currently owned by Chuck Fergus and Nancy Brown, two writers from Pennsylvania.

To Loralee and I, the homesite is a very special place, old hayfields bisected by a spring-fed stream. The northern half is still hayed by a local farmer, while the southern half, reached via an old fieldstone bridge, is slowly regrowing into hardwoods. 3 sides of the property have remanants of stone walls, those bones that were once painstakingly hand-cleared and are now sinking back into the earth. Cat-tails and moose-wood grow in the swampy southeast corner, which is criss-crossed by game trails. The peaceful, soul-soothing character of the land enables me to embrace the term 'sacred space' when describing it.

Masonry Heater

2006-04-25T10:09:00.000-04:00

I just mailed out the deposit for our masonry heater. We are having it built by Michael Thronson, Earth and Fire Masonry. This will be our primary heating system for the house, as well as the 'heart' at the core of our home. So, what is a masonry heater? Basically, it's a firebox enclosed by some kind of stone or mason work. It burns wood, which heats the stonework. The stone, in turn, radiates out the heat throughout the day, heating the home. They are considered very efficient wood-based systems. Most homeowners fire thier heaters once a day, sometimes twice on the coldest days. The heat generated can be regulated somewhat by managing the size of your fire, and the type of wood you burn.

Our masonry heater will be brick faced, with a warming bench, woodbox, and baking oven. The oven is a 'must' because Loralee bakes all her own bread. It will look something like the picture here, although probably without the bluestone elements. This is one of the most expensive elements of the home (Don't ask!), but it also forms the 'heart' of the house, around which all activity will revolve.

In addition to the masonry heater, we will have a 2nd chimney flue to support a basement wood stove. Our backup (for when we go on trips, etc) will be a propane furnace with a radiant system in the basement slab. The house being as tight as it will be, this should provide enough heat to keep it from freezing if we go away during the winter.

Why the masonry heater? First off, I am very concerned about fuel costs... We are adherents to the 'peak oil' theory, and feel that petrolium products will continue to be expensive for the forseable future. Second, we LOVE the feel of wood heat, and having a hearth in our home is a priority. Third, wood is renewable and locally grown!

Weekend update

2006-04-23T18:30:00.000-04:00

Today is Sunday, and the weather is more seasonable. It has rained light but steady all day, with temperatures in the mid-40's. Loralee made a run to NH, and hit Lowes and Home Depot on the way to price out bathroom fixtures and tile. We're not especially fond of the big-box stores, but they can save time. I just got off the phone with her, and she managed to find several nice fixtures (Bath sinks, toilets, and tub), all well within our budget. Also, she found some nice tile for the mudroom. Since she is a teacher with the summer off, she is planning to do all the tiling in the house-- Since most tilers in this area are charging $4/sf to lay tile, this should save a lot of money.

Myself, I met with Tim today, who will be cutting the line for our power. I also had tea tea with Chuck Fergus and Nancy Brown, our future neighbors. They have been great, giving us the easement for power, and even some old brick that was in the chimney of their house before it was restored. This coming week, I'll be putting a deposit in for our Masonry Heater, but beyond that we are playing a waiting game until our excavator can get to the site to put in our driveway and dig the foundation.

Back-story

2006-04-20T13:21:00.000-04:00

Today, April 20th, is another stunning spring day. Unseasonably warm with temperatures near 70 and clear blue skies. It reminds me of last spring, when Loralee and I started the homebuilding process. We both wanted very similar things in our home. We appreciate classic architecture, and were leaning towards a traditional cape design. Meanwhile, I had previously seen the work of a local builder, Old School Builders (http://www.oldschoolbuilders.com/), and had fallen in love with their work. Their primary focus is on building sustainable post-and-beam style homes.

For us, the core design elements of the home would include: A small footprint that would integrate into its surroundings; an open but cozy floor plan; Energy efficiency; traditional style. Loralee specifically wanted a light-filled home. I had read a lot of Sara Susanka’s ‘not so big’ literature, and am impressed with the ‘quality over quantity’ message. As always, though, cost would be a constraining factor. (this can be good, though: It creates a natural barrier to building an oversized home!).

We looked at a lot of plans and a spoke to different builders, but when Keone Maher, the principal of Old School, walked into my workplace with his plans for the “Old Salt Box” last spring, we fell in love with it! The house is an expression of everything we were looking for. (Side note, if you are thinking of building your own home, I STRONGLY suggest reading the book “A Pattern Language”. It contains timeless advice for creating communities and homes).

It starts with the large mudroom, on the north side of the house (Necessary in Vermont). The area has space for a coat closet, a bench, and small desk for mail sorting or bill-paying. From there, you walk into the kitchen. On your right, a short hall leads to the small pantry and half-bath, then next are the stairs leading to the second floor. As you move forward through the kitchen, you find yourself in the dining area, with south-facing windows. Turn right, into the sitting area in front of the Masonry Heater. This is the heart of the home, and we intend to use the heater as our primary heat source. It will be brick-faced and include an oven for baking bread. Moving on, you will find yourself in the living area, which will be split onto two spaces—A sitting area, as well as a den-like space with bookshelves, our piano, and computer.

The second floor will have a full bath at the top of the stairs, a master bedroom to the left with walk-in closet, cathedral ceiling, and sitting area, and two small bedrooms to the right… for guests OR children. All this in 1800 square feet. There is expansion space in the attic as well as a walk out basement that may eventually be finished off into living space or an in-law apartment.

Stay tuned, more to follow….

The Adventure begins...

2006-04-19T15:33:00.000-04:00

Today is a beautiful April day here in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, with temperatures in the 60’s an clear blue skies. The buds are about to burst, and grass is starting to green. Loralee and I are in “go” mode on the house. In March, we cut the wood line for the driveway, wrapped up our permits, and made sure everything is lined up. One thing I need to get done before construction is cut the access for power across the Fergus property, and last night I figured out how to get that done.

Tim Baker owes me $500 for a trailer he sold last year. Due to his eye problems, he got deep into a financial hole, and has been unable to pay me back. However, he’s an honest guy, and I believe has every intention of making good—when he can. So, I called him last night, and offered him an opportunity to work off the debt by cutting out for our power line. He jumped at the chance, and I’ll be meeting him this Sunday at the property to go over what needs to be done.

Lor and I are very happy with the house design. It will be a post-and-beam saltbox, with a very…organic… feel to it. We want an efficient and environmentally friendly house, and some of the core features to that end include:

- Extremely tight, high R-value (R-42) construction using Stress-skin panels.
- Primary wood heat using a Masonry Heater.
- Use many Vernacular wood products, including lumber from Fed Bishop in Wheelock, and Quarter-sawn spruce siding.
- South facing windows that maximize passive solar gain.

In addition, the design is very efficient, with the core living area coming in at 1800 square feet, and possible expansion into a walk-out basement. Our front porch extends the living area into the surrounding landscape. This is ‘not so big’ house construction at it’s best!