Dody House

day 351: full house

2011-12-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

Dad + Mom are mostly moved into the new house, and they waste no time enjoying their TV + WiFi.

We spent some time filling the living room shelves with books and treasures, at least as a starting point. It will take some time to arrange everything to their liking. They plan to get a large ottoman and maybe put a small recliner where the Christmas tree is right now. and Mom promised to reupholster the furniture after they settle in.

the kitchen island will have some counter stools eventually. otherwise it seems to perform nicely. the giant pantry is probably the best feature.

ikea kitchen cabinets with Samsung quartz countertops and Maytag appliances.

the 48" x 88" kitchen island looking into the dining and sitting areas.

i forgot to lower the dining room chandelier before i flew back to new york.

the fireplace heats the entire public area of this floor. it is a very warm house!

day 350: early morning

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Homer Lane on an overcast morning.

view of the house from the upper field. further back you can't see the house at all.

the east side, early morning. see the Christmas tree in the living room?

from the southeast

northeast

northwest

south. landscaping will have to wait until the spring.

mom admiring her new house.

mom buries her food scraps in the area she wants to plant a garden.

Merry Christmas + Happy New Year

2011-12-29T23:33:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas from Homer Lane Farms

day 330: unpacking

2011-12-10T16:45:00.000-05:00

Eric, who installed the mantle and stone upstairs, came and installed this old barn beam in the family room while mom and dad were away in Wisconsin. i think there is a lot of steel behind that wood to hold this on the wall. it's heavy! and you can see that they are starting to unpack and place things around the house. This will take some time, but stay tuned for some pictures. or visit.

day 328: driveway

2011-12-08T09:44:00.000-05:00

Bob Reese from Tri-State extended the driveway over to the house while they were away in Wisconsin packing for the move.

This part of the driveway was laid using recycled blacktop asphalt and a topping of small-scale limestone. No more getting stuck in the mud.

day 324: moving day

2011-12-04T21:00:00.000-05:00

Dad and Mom drove from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, Dad in the moving truck with all their stuff and mom in the minivan with the pets. Moving day finally came on day 324. congrats!

day 323: packing + loading

2011-12-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

mom and dad went back to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving and are packing up the house.

Mom said she tried to bring a lot of the boxes to the first floor to help make loading day a little easier.

Our long-time friend and professional truck-packer, Eddie Horvat, came to make sure every square inch of the truck was utilized on loading day.

Almost full. Here's a note from Dad about loading day:
"Josh the move was incredible! Eddie Horvat said in the middle of the move that it couldn't all go and to start to pick and choose. We then filled the dining room with stuff to leave. Well Eddie started to call for more things and more things and more things and when we were done the dining room was almost empty. Toward the end of the move i stuck in that big painting of Jesus so we decided He enlarged the truck and it was our bread and fish moment."

A huge thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday to help load the moving truck. Mom wishes she had taken more pictures because it was quite a sight to see. There were enough people that they formed a "bucket brigade" line from the house to the truck and just passed boxes from person to person. Here are some of the guys posing for a photo with Dad.

day 308: grills

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

the air registers were installed in the slate floors

... and in the wood floors. it was either white or this color. and apparently the design on these hasn;t changed since i saw them as a little kid.

mom+dad bought the "surprise artful toilet seat" for the guest bathroom. haha!

day 306: towel bars

2011-11-16T16:00:00.000-05:00

two days of mopping in the family room downstairs.

towel bars master bath.

towel bar guest bath.

day 305: sink

2011-11-15T15:00:00.000-05:00

downstairs bathroom vanity installed. foyer.

day 304: vanity top

2011-11-14T14:00:00.000-05:00

the master bathroom vanity countertop was installed today with two under-mount sinks.

day 302: guest rooms

2011-11-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

Bedroom 3, the non-yellow room

Bedroom 3 98% complete

Bedroom 2 closets

Bedroom 2

Bedroom 2

day 301: snow

2011-11-11T23:56:00.000-05:00

first snow of the season

fireplace stone still drying

driveway

day 300: bookshelves

2011-11-10T22:23:00.001-05:00

Kevin delivered the living room bookcases. they are 7'-6" high to align with the light shelf.

they just need the baseboard and the outlets installed. and now Stevie can install the baseboards in the room.

day 299: lots of progress

2011-11-09T22:00:00.000-05:00

the pocket door to the pantry is finished now that it has a door pull, and the Steves trimmed out the kitchen window, which might have been the last window. The countertops on order won't be installed for quite a while, so they opted to put in some OSB temporary counters and get the sink hooked up.

Overall kitchen view with temporary plywood counters and completed toekicks and cabinets. Looks like it just needs a few pulls installed.

Most of the trim work is complete, so the Steves started outfitting the closets. (Left) the linen closet in the 2nd bathroom, and (Right) a coat closet in the entry foyer.

Progress continues on the fireplace stone and mantel.

the excavator laid out a parking lot and brought in some ground-up blacktop to give everything a solid base.

dad painting the rooflet and the built-up driveway

smoothed out lower yard

the door at the back of the garage now has a stoop. this is one of the unearthed concrete slabs.

day 298: farmer... again

2011-11-08T21:22:00.000-05:00

maybe dad is getting the hang of this farm thing? you look good on a tractor, dad!

day 297: garage doors

2011-11-07T20:37:00.000-05:00

garage doors! almost what i ordered.

closed in garage

day 297: dirt yard

2011-11-07T20:31:00.000-05:00

The excavator has been grading around the house lately. and the eaves have finally been painted white.

the north slope is built up. and white eaves. didn't know if that would ever happen.

most of the work lately has been filling in the giant hole in the yard and transitioning the ground down from the house into the pasture, now the yard. it still needs some smoothing.

day 293: propane

2011-11-03T16:10:00.000-04:00

Suburban Propane were back today with a 500 gallon tank. they came last week sometime but the tank they were bringing sprung a leak on the way over so they had to take it back. The house only uses propane for cooking and the backup furnace to the heat pump, so this size tank should be plenty large.

they set the tank on a slab that was unearthed while the excavator was grading the west side of the house up the hill. The excavator trenched the line over to the house. Dad said they stayed until someone from Breese Heating and Cooling came to install the propane to the furnace. so now the furnace is complete and there is heat. again. just in time for a warm spell.

day 292: pantry

2011-11-02T16:01:00.000-04:00

my cousin steve, who we always called stevie, installed the brackets and shelves for the pantry. the right side shelves are narrow, perfect for food items; the back wall is regular 12" deep; and the left side is partly 12" deep shelving above with two deep 18" shelves at counter height and below. Mom was so excited she wanted to start moving stuff onto the shelves right away before i asked her to wait.

day 291: mantle

2011-11-01T15:52:00.000-04:00

Eric, our stone guy, installed the solid cherry mantle beam. the chunks of cherry wood sitting there on top will be mounted under the beam as corbels, even though they apparently won't actually be doing any work holding up the mantle. but that is the idea. Eric also installed the stone arch.

day 290: backyard

2011-10-31T15:45:00.000-04:00

the backyard is mostly graded. dad reused a big slab they dug up as a pad for the propane tank.

day 286: furnace

2011-10-27T15:25:00.000-04:00

the guys from Breese Heating and Cooling finished installing the Heat Pump (not pictured) and the backup propane furnace, seen here. Since we don't have propane yet, they set the system to run without triggering the backup furnace. So the house has working heat. i'm also told that there is a working toilet in the house as well.

day 283: fireplace stone

2011-10-24T12:21:00.000-04:00

Dad got the guys down the street to cut the mantle and corbels for us, and there has been some progress on the fireplace stone. see Dog?

Dog wants to move in, or at least a ride home.

day 281: hearth

2011-10-22T14:27:00.000-04:00

the stonework on the fireplace began yesterday

day 277: lights & laminates

2011-10-18T18:00:00.000-04:00

laminate flooring being installed in bedroom 3

flooring complete in bedroom 3

bedroom 2 flooring and wood trim is also installed

closet doors came primed, but they still need to be painted

the HVAC guys have been working all week installing the furnace and this heat pump/air conditioner.

electrician has been steadily progressing through the house.

the ceiling fan in the living room is one of seven fans in the house.

the light shelf in the master bedroom. the hole in the wall will get a return air grill covering it.

day 275: kitchen

2011-10-16T22:00:00.000-04:00

i installed most of the drawer and door pulls in the kitchen and for the laundry room cabinets.

and we have appliances

who wants to install the over-the-range microwave.

the powder room is mostly complete. it just needs a mirror and a light.

day 266: dirt + pot

2011-10-07T21:55:00.000-04:00

Uncle Paul built a base for the island cabinets in the kitchen

the master bathroom has a toilet!

Rich, the lead plumber, working on the master shower.

Body sprays installed.

The excavators have been bringing earth over to the north side of the house and smoothing out the area west of the house. It's a nice view up the hill too. Inspector Dave is in the background, as always.

i had to laugh; it looks like someone used drywall screws to mount this decorative grill. It looks nice now that Dad painted everything black behind the grill.

day 265: trim+

2011-10-06T22:17:00.000-04:00

the rest of the beadboard in the foyer appears to be about complete

cousin steve continues trimming the windows. this double window looks east over the fields from the fireplace area in the dining room.

the south windows in the dining room

the basement slate floors are laid, grouted, and sealed. Sunday looks pleased. i think she's claiming it for herself.

mom painted the large bedroom downstairs a non-yellow color called antique white. i plan to sleep here when visiting in the future.

the plumbers have also started work. here one of the guys hooks up the new 80-gallon water heater.

day 260: millwork

2011-10-02T15:51:00.000-04:00

dad hired someone to install all the fireplace components. the metal pieces still laying around are part of a trim kit that allows you to cover the fireplace with stone and keep a crisp edge. we have a stone mason coming to install the (real) stone veneer and the hearth stone. i wonder how they are going to get that slab of limestone into the house. we've only used moved it using a tractor. it's so heavy i even put extra floor framing at the hearth.

Kevin Bertocchi from SMD Custom Cabinets installed the cherry wood cabinet next to the fireplace. The cabinet is nine feet high and at least three feet wide and two feet deep, so it's quite large. The lower part is made to hold firewood. i covered the bottom with raised metal bars to keep the cabinet from getting scraped up too badly.

day 259: screens

2011-09-30T23:46:00.000-04:00

the Hostetler crew came back to put the screens on the porch

Dad said the screens are pretty open and don't interrupt the view at all.

the guys also added some cedar trim to conceal the porch floor beams and... some other stuff.

day 259: trim + dirt

2011-09-30T16:00:00.000-04:00

mom and dad returned to the new house this week with a new/working digital camera other than their iphones. here are some pictures they sent with updates.

before: chicken coop is near collapse and not a pretty sight

after:cleaned up yard?

before: back of house needs a lot of fill

after: dirt from chicken coop area starts to fill in around house and garage.

inside, some windows are trimmed out. and look, outlets. don't listen to electricians when they tell you that outlets need to be 18" above the floor or that horizontal orientation is too hard.

some doors installed and trimmed out. these are the walk-in closets in the master bedroom.

master bedroom door to hall and master bath

stair to basement and hall baseboards; beadboard in the entry foyer

day 241: misc

2011-09-12T13:20:00.000-04:00

chicken coop is being recycled as fill on the north side of the house

uncle steve brought in help. cousin steve will get all the trim going.

stevie threw in some beadboard for the powder room

the missing window sills arrived. uncle steve is spraying them so stevie can start trimming the windows.

mom and dad and i quickly assembled two giant 39x14x94 cabinets for the master closets before i left for NYC.

basement slate floors are mostly installed. we can't decide on a grout color yet. something gray/brown/green maybe.

subway tile in the guest bathroom

subway tile

the wood floors got their thrid coat of poly yesterday, so dad covered them in paper for protection.

and i installed the base cabinets along the back wall of the kitchen and put in all the drawers. next up is the island!

day 240: cabinets

2011-09-11T23:52:00.000-04:00

progress from the day before. getting the correct hardware and mounting the suspension rail took a lot of time yesterday.

uncle paul lent his carpentry sills. dad helped by watching. i took a picture.

upper cabinets are installed, base cabinets are leveled but need hardware to mount to wall.
after dinner we brought all the drawer kits back to uncle paul's and assembled them in front of the tv!

day 240: bath

2011-09-11T16:01:00.000-04:00

the master bath is fully tiled. Brian will grout everything once the wood floors are complete; the bathroom is inaccessible right now.

sink area under a skylight

future throne

open shower

5ft x 5ft shower

shower head and controls, body sprays, niche

curbless shower

day 239: cherry

2011-09-10T16:00:00.000-04:00

someone came and sanded the cherry wood floors and applied two coats of poly. it's a little streaky here, but there will be at least one more coat of poly.

the master bedroom floors almost finished

southwest view

south elevation

southeast view

getting there

day 231: stair

2011-09-02T14:34:00.000-04:00

there was some trouble getting the shop-built staircase into place, but it was nothing a small saw couldn't fix. and can someone show dad how to patch drywall?

partially installed cherry wood stairs. it just needs some trim to cover the gaps along the stringers.

day 228: doors

2011-08-31T16:00:00.000-04:00

the garage is now a spray room for the doors.

the master cabinetmaker is on site. uncle steve works on a door jamb. we ordered pre-hung doors.

a finished door. we ordered these 3-panel, solid-core doors from interiordoors.com

day 224: septic

2011-08-26T16:00:00.003-04:00

pipes for the septic hookup and leach field came late thursday evening. our kind neighbor alerted us that someone was at the house. dad and uncle paul checked it out only to find that it was just a delivery!

waste line from under the lower patio out to the septic tank

day 223: bird shower

2011-08-25T09:28:00.002-04:00

master shower wall finishing up soon

master shower floor already water tested

dad said the birds love sitting on the snow guard to take in the morning sun. otherwise i never saw birds on the roof.

day 221: stone

2011-08-23T18:30:00.001-04:00

day four of stone wall stacking

a little high, but some backfill will solve that

what a massive undertaking. dad said i was crazy when he realized what was being built

entry into the walled patio area on the south side of the house

stone steps into kitchen

completed walls at the end of day four

stained columns under the screen porch. good job, mom.

the scrap from the cherry wood floors will make great kindling for the fireplace

day 220: higher

2011-08-22T23:01:00.029-04:00

day three working on the stone walls

the house is starting to look anchored to the site

best part of the wall is the enormous stone near the end of the barn foundation wall

the ground and the wall is finally high enough to begin the upper patio portion.

back side of the rebuilt barn foundation wall

cladding the lower screen porch columns in cedar to make them more robust looking

base detail

steps into the screen porch from upper patio

7'-4" long stone steps into the kitchen reused from the farm. awesome.

day 217: stone

2011-08-19T18:10:00.002-04:00

the concrete truck returned

crew spreading the garage slab and sloping towards the floor drains

garage slab curing. Uncle Paul's Dog kept walking on it but didn't really leave impressions.

wood floor completed in the dining room and living room

the transition from slate to cherry wood is marked with a metal edge, barely visible here.

the boss watches the crew continue work on the stone retaining walls.

stone wall progress at the end of the day

end of the "original" barn wall

small patio outside the family room door was poured the previous day. there was a slight hiccup when we discovered that the septic line terminated under the concrete. the guys dug up the wet concrete while the excavator went and picked up some extra pipe and fitting so it could be extended past the patio area. but you can't tell that there was any drama just looking at it.

the dry-stacked stone walls are terraced and curved.

day 216: concrete

2011-08-18T23:34:00.001-04:00

formwork for the concrete front porch and steps

here comes the concrete truck

pouring the front porch

the concrete team

apparently a good time to smoke a pipe is when you are spreading concrete

the front porch after some floating and broom sweeping

before the concrete came, the guys made formwork for the wall footings

bringing over the concrete block

laying concrete block where it won't be seen

the excavator helps build up the ground

what's wrong with this picture?

the dirt pile's biggest fan

day 1 progress on the stone walls

terraced walls are dry-stacked barn stone since they have no deep footings

meanwhile, a smaller crew started installing the wood floor upstairs. what a nice view in that chop shop.

floor installation in the living room

later that day

day one progress on the dining room floor

meanwhile, the tile installer worked on the master shower floor

day 215: landscape

2011-08-17T20:35:00.000-04:00

mom demonstrates how to use her edging tool in the dining room.

dad puts a second coat of paint in the living room.

back-filling continues.

excavator smoothes out the gravel with one swipe just to spite my shoveling efforts.

brooder coop, your days are numbered..

dad wants to turn this trickle of water from grandpa’s spring into a water feature. he figures he will name it Homer’s Folly.

i want to use these giant cut stones for the water feature. but there’s no time this week.

the ground is rising, but there’s still a lot more to do.

day 214: backfill

2011-08-16T20:20:00.001-04:00

back-filling near the front door.

no more 10 foot drop from the front door!

dad and i assemble the kitchen island cabinets

tile begins at the master bath double sink area

day 213: kitchen

2011-08-15T20:18:00.001-04:00

most of the Ikea kitchen cabinets

mom and i consulting the directions. why don;t the legs stay on?

some assembled cabinets

base cabinets. we finished all the cabinets for the main kitchen wall. all that is left are the cabinets for the island.

excavator working on filling in the south side

my request for a footing 8’-0” long in a straight line gets me an H-shaped footing.

day 212: porch

2011-08-14T20:37:00.000-04:00

found mom and dad !

110809-2: the dog inspects the paint job on the screen porch.

day 209: master bath

2011-08-11T20:35:00.001-04:00

earlier Brian installed cement board backer on the floors. over this he laid out the heat mats

floor tile installation progress

finished floor in the sink area of the master bath.

day 208: shower

2011-08-10T20:33:00.002-04:00

brian installed cement board on the shower walls and...

a pre-made Kerdi shower floor pan with some additional fill around the sides for the extra-large size of the shower.

day 207: doors

2011-08-09T20:30:00.000-04:00

our doors came in this giant truck. the driver attempted a crazy off-road maneuver and had to call in a tow truck.

15 doors in two crates

dad and uncle steve opened the crates and walked the doors individually to the garage.

day 189: slate

2011-07-22T18:56:00.000-04:00

slate tile down the hall to the laundry room and master bedroom

day 188: painting

2011-07-21T10:03:00.000-04:00

painting continues despite the heat wave.

day 186: slate

2011-07-19T11:18:00.000-04:00

brian tiled most of the kitchen floor yesterday.

mom's handiwork on the screen porch ceiling. painting in all the grooves of the barn siding ceiling was a bear.

day 185: slate

2011-07-18T16:25:00.000-04:00

the first tile was laid today. mom shared a picture from this afternoon.

day 180: prep

2011-07-13T16:28:00.001-04:00

dad priming the screen porch ceiling

brian, the tile installer, installed backer board for the slate floors upstairs.

day 179: tile layout

2011-07-12T23:07:00.001-04:00

i asked dad + mom to layout out some slate tile so we could choose a final pattern.

16"x16" slate, running bond: foyer, hall, powder room, laundry, kitchen, pantry, basement, etc.

12"x24" porcelain tile, running bond: master bathroom walls + floor

tiler hauler noted, "My shirt matches the wall paint!!! :-)"

day 179: wood

2011-07-12T10:56:00.004-04:00

a few years ago dad hired some amish guys to come to the farm and harvest a couple trees from the upper woods. they came in the winter time when the ground was frozen so it was easier for their horses to haul out the trees without having to deal with all the mud. so they took the trees away and milled the logs down into these 5" wide cherry boards that have been waiting patiently for us to build the house. hopefully they all seasoned equally and are all the same color.

this morning dad and uncle paul moved the tongue & groove wood strip flooring from the 'storage house' to the new house. again, it's the tractor to the rescue.

day 176: stain

2011-07-11T20:00:00.000-04:00

the original plan for the screen porch was to paint everything white to match all the trim on the house. but then we got used to seeing it in natural cedar. so we wanted to rethink our decision. i used some photoshop magic to help get an idea of what the screen porch would look like painted vs. stained.

mom staining the porch railings + columns

good thing that we chose the cedar colored flooring now that the porch is also stained cedar. so now they match even though the flooring is something similar to Trex.

day 175: tile pickup

2011-07-08T18:00:00.001-04:00

dad borrowed uncle paul's giant pickup truck and drove down to get the tile. it's close to an hour drive each way, and he had to make a second trip since our order was so large. he picked up 16x16 slate tile for the basement family room/kitchenette/hall/bathroom, a different 16x16 slate tile for the upstairs foyer/powder room/hall/laundry/kitchen/pantry, and a 12x24 porcelain tile for the master bathroom floor and walls. He may have also picked up white 3x6 subway tile for the 2nd bathroom.

tile came from Pro Source in Cranberry Twp

16x16 slate tile

uncle paul used the tractor and a chain instead of unloading the tile one box at a time. notice the back tire lifting off the ground from the weight of the slate.

garage staging area. the rest was driven straight to the basement and slid inside using wood 2x4's.

day 174: paint

2011-07-08T16:30:00.003-04:00

dad sent pictures of the house with paint. enjoy.

the entry/foyer/Link. mom declared that the house would be painted YELLow.

the kitchen will have white cabinets. Dad is picking up the slate floor right now. counters TBD.

hearth area. the niche to the right of the fireplace will be a full-height built-in cherry bookcase. stone will surround the fireplace.

looking past the fireplace into the living room, which has the only other color right now.

TV wall of the living room.

this wall of the living room will be covered (mostly) with built-in bookcases, painted white.

the garage just has a coat of white primer. i thought i'd give your eyes a rest from the yellow.

Bedroom 2 down stairs. the sun really bounces that yellow paint around. furniture should help tone it down some.

even the storage and furnace rooms are yellow. haha!

most importantly, we have gas lines now for the kitchen range + furnace + patio grill!

day 174: more paint

2011-07-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

here are a few more pictures of the paint.

basement family room looking into the kitchenette

stair and basement hall. the color looks most accurate in these first two images.

master bedroom

day 164: ceilings

2011-06-27T15:00:00.002-04:00

still waiting for the gas line. waiting. uncle paul finally got the plumber on the phone today. he promised to come by the house early in the week and run the gas lines for our propane range, patio BBQ hookup, and backup furnace.

it's nice to have amish workers at the house again.

the drywall crew came back to put on another coat of plaster. dad begged for a picture of Jake.

the guys had to walk around in stilts to work on the walls.

i returned from picking out paint to find the drywall crew putting a heavy texture on the ceilings with something that looked like a big mop. i said, "uhhh, can we stop this?" i didn't realize people still did this anymore.... i'm still in shock. so the basement is textured, but half of the upstairs will be smooth. sigh.

day 163: concrete block

2011-06-26T23:51:00.002-04:00

if you jerry-rig a hose to a dehumidifier, it will run continuously without anyone having to empty the water it pulls out of the air.

i had a really long hose so i ran it all the way to a ditch where the floor drains will drain out of the basement.

pile of drywall waste.

uncle paul gave me some brief instructions on how to operate the tractor. so i drove it from his place over to the farm and used it to haul concrete block from behind the chicken coop that will be demolished at some point. driving the tractor and working the bucket was fun. hauling block on the other hand...

i did a lot of work.

the stack of old concrete block was full of spiders, some field mice nests, and a whole lot of other bugs. but i also saw a lot of spiders in the house over course of the weekend, like this one.

uncle steve pointed out this snake under the screen porch. he came over to see the house and talk about possibly installing the wood trim. my uncle, not the snake.

did i mention that we have two bird nests in the porch ceiling? it's fun to see the robin chicks pop up their beaks looking for food. but this dumb dove mostly just sits and stares.

after a hard day's work, it's nice to sit back on the screen porch, relax a bit, and enjoy the view.

mostly i just looked down on my hard work. it looks like about 170 block.

everything grows quickly on the farm. and it's surprising how many of those growing things have thorns.

day 162: drywall

2011-06-25T20:56:00.003-04:00

drywall!

day 144: final door

2011-06-08T13:50:00.002-04:00

Uncle Paul drove his 4-wheeler over and installed the door between the garage and the house. this was the final exterior door. since the place was now closed in completely, dad and mom ran a dehumidifier for a few days. the drywaller had called to request that we lower the moisture content of the wood framing downstairs before he started installing the drywall. otherwise we might have problems later on with cracking, seam separation, and nail pops.

day 141: garage + insulation

2011-06-05T21:00:00.002-04:00

finally progress!

it was a relief to see the mud dried up and the garage with some backfill out front. Dad and Mom and I met the excavator the talk about how to grade the remaining part of the driveway and backfill around the house.

Bob the excavator filled the garage with gravel... a lot of gravel. once we get a pair of floor drains installed it will be ready for a concrete slab. the last exterior door is on site but needs to be dragged up from the basement and installed.

it's starting to feel like a house. you can actually walk right in without climbing a wall and balancing on a plank of wood to get into the foyer.

this will soon have a concrete porch and steps. you can see the outline cut into the siding along the side walls. and the wiring is in place for exterior lights, door bell, and power outlet.

the interior has started to look a little more solid now that the place is insulated.

the exterior walls and main floor ceilings are insulated for heat loss, and the bedrooms and bathrooms are insulated for acoustics. the return air for the furnace runs through an open stud bay that become a plenum of air - like a built-in duct - once the drywall is installed.

this basement bedroom is temporarily pink with insulation.

i guess this one strip of insulation was flipped over because there are air ducts in that joist bay.

this single strip of insulation is a curious sight. i'll have to give them a call.

the well is installed just north of the house. water and power for the well runs along the west side of the house and enters just before the plywood wall you see here. the well driller installed this water storage tank and water filters and softeners. next in this line will be the water heater.

Uncle Paul installed vents on the house. here you see the fresh air intake for the fireplace and the vent for the basement bath exhaust fan. Another bathroom exhaust fan vent is on the north elevation, and there is a dryer vent on the west side.

day 86: context

2011-04-10T11:59:00.000-04:00

day 85: electrical

2011-04-09T21:52:00.003-04:00

the electrical rough-in is almost done. lucky for us they are still working. dad bought a few antique sconces he couldn't live without so i had to find a place for them and ask the electricians to install gem boxes and a switch. here are some pics showing the progress.

the electrical panel in the basement.

electric meter on the west side of the garage + sealed conduit over to house. the power company will come and install permanent power after we trench over to the utility pole and have it all inspected. i will try and get the telephone/DSL line installed at the same time.

recessed light housings in the the kitchen; boxes for outlets and switches.

lights in the hearth area

living room

master bedroom lights + fan, outlets, switches

day 84: clean up

2011-04-08T21:33:00.002-04:00

the house was absolutely filthy. the floors looked almost like they were just made of dirt. that's what happens when the site is mostly just mud. also the electricians and plumbers drilled holes everywhere leaving a wake of sawdust. and the crew cut a lot of the cement board trim inside the house. so it was bad.

sawdust and electrical scraps are even between all the studs.

so i bought a broom and started sweeping.

this shows just one room's dirt and debris. the dirt filled in the cracks of the OSB subflooring, which was not easy to sweep. and sweeping out the stud walls was tedious. i woke up saturday with a crick my neck from too much sweeping on one side. i still can't look to the right.

but it made a huge difference, right?

here's the living room all cleaned up.

the basement was probably filthier than the main floor, but the smooth concrete was easier to sweep. before.

after. i'm sure the house won't remain this clean for very long, but at least i was able to get rid of all that dirt.

day 83: progress

2011-04-07T21:00:00.001-04:00

there has been some progress in the past two weeks. some.

the Hostetler crew installed some of the snow guards.

it comes as long stainless steel bars that had to be cut to fit between every standing seam clip.

they installed the east side of the house and the north end of the west side of the house.

and the north side of the Link.

here's the overall view of the snow guards, S-rail type. the fire took care of the scrap wood and cardboard boxes and misc garbage.

the crew also started drilling 4" holes for the eave vents. i ordered these nice vent caps that just slide right into the holes. they look nice when you look up at them, but mostly they go unnoticed. the east side of the house is complete. hopefully they'll come back soon and finish. they found it easiest to drill them from the interior, and soon we will be insulating and installing drywall.

the well driller started once the excavator helped him get his rig over to the north side of the house. he hit water 65 feet down but needs to go a little further. then he'll test it and see if he should stop or drill deeper.

i met the well driller and talked about how the ground might be graded near the well cap, how to run the water line to the house, and a where to place a reservoir tank inside the mechanical room.

day 63: driveway

2011-03-18T19:00:00.001-04:00

the driveway was in really bad shape. construction has meant an increase in traffic on Homer Lane, and sometimes that includes large, heavy trucks and tractor-trailers. the ruts got so deep that people were afraid they would never get out again. the plumber actually called last week and asked us to do something about it.

the excavator came a few days ago and bulldozed the top layer of dirt to get rid of the ruts. he also opened up a few of the ditches along the drive. over by the other house and garage they added a drain pipe and ditch. then he brought in new gravel. except that gravel doesn't really describe it. it's really large, sharp, chunky rocks. this should be a good road base that will last. we are waiting until we do the grading around the house before we have him bring it all the way to the new garage.

an example of the mud. you should have seen the place with deep ruts!

new drain pipe

new gravel

the lower road

here you can see how large the stones are

day 62: siding

2011-03-17T15:55:00.000-04:00

i didn't visit the site last week, so today was the first time seeing the house with siding on it. i took some pictures while walking around starting at the southwest corner.

the hvac crew completed all their rought work, including supply and return duct work, thermostat lines, fresh air intake and exhaust pipes, and all the lines to the compressor.

plumbing drains + vent lines are completed. water lines are about to begin.

electrical outlets are far along on the main floor, wiring and all, but nothing in the basement yet. only a few lights and switch boxes are in on the main floor.

it's time to light a fire under the trades. let's go people!

southwest

northwest

north

northeast

east

southeast

south

mom + dad pose with their house. someone put on two different boots.

locating exterior lights.

the house viewed from up at the orchard.

day: tbd

2011-03-03T19:05:00.002-05:00

i drove to pennsylvania this morning before even the sun got out of bed. no one is working at the house today but i need to check up on everything that has been happening before things get too far along in case i need to make corrections, changes, or additions.

the framing crew installed almost all the trim on the house. siding is coming in tomorrow so that should be installed pretty soon. they also built the little roof over the sliding door to the kitchen. it’s cute. i think the braces need to be bigger and more angled.

the inside view of the kitchen sliding door. it has a great view to the spot where dad wants a water feature.

dad, you can move in! someone hooked up the gravity vent that directs some of the fireplace heat to the living room. i wonder who installed it?

return air grilles will be above the light shelf in the living room. i wish we had the budget for narrow linear grilles here, but they shouldn’t be that noticeable.

the return air system uses the wall cavity as a plenum. here are the holes down to the basement.

the crew framed out the basement walls since i’ve been here. i’m going to separate the hall from the family room with a shorter opening and probably a dropped hallway ceiling.

this will become the kitchenette as viewed from the family room.

i am still working out how and where to furr down the ceiling to cover these ducts in the basement kitchenette. plus i need access to the dampers on each branch duct. homework for me.

the mechanical room feels bigger than i imagined. but i don’t know what all equipment will need to be housed here.

storage room with supply ducts in the center, return air duct on the left, and fresh air exchange pipes going outside. the plywood sheer wall is supposed to prevent the basement walls caving in.

the plywood panel on the sheer wall is nailed every 2”, and the sheer wall is anchored to the concrete slab.

supply branch ducts run between the basement ceiling joists, sharing joist bays where practical. one feeds a floor supply upstairs and the other feeds a ceiling grill in the basement. we have 3 zones: entire basement; master bedroom suite and laundry room; the main floor living spaces.

the hvac crew has commandeered “bedroom 3” for their supplies.

day 22: slab + siding + standing-seam steel

2011-02-18T21:00:00.002-05:00

cement truck came to pour the basement floor slab. The driver remarked on our mushy driveway. i said i was worried about getting my car stuck, to which he said, “at least you don’t weigh 80,000 pounds.”

Uncle Ben worked the shoot and one lucky guy hoofed the concrete in a wheelbarrow over to where it was needed.

other guys spread the concrete and ran the screed board.

newly completed basement floor. One of the guys came back after this picture was taken and floated the whole floor again on his hands and knees.

the guys framed an opening for dad’s favorite thing to talk about - the fireplace gravity vent to the living room.

while not the most suitable construction vehicle, it has served me well so far. i was feeling bad about the coating of salt from last week’s drive through a snow storm, and now i’ve added a new layer. the driveway is a mess near the house.

not a tornado, but it looks like it. all the siding came with a plastic sheet that had to be peeled off, and the steel roofing panels came in wood crates. i retrieved a 4x8 sheet of rigid insulation that blew all the way across the lower field. not an easy task in the wind this afternoon.

installing window trim on the house

installing the front entry door

the crew installed all the garage siding and finished the standing-seam roof. All we need to complete the exterior is the correct ridge vent cap for the roof, the 4" siding for the house, and the guys need to install the sliding patio door to the kitchen. and some clean-up.

Monday the crew will be framing all the basement walls and finishing some miscellaneous framing. i gave them a short list of tweaks i needed, most of which they finished before they left today. but they are headering out the ceiling joists in the kitchen for the recessed lights, as an example.

day 21: windows + roof + siding

2011-02-17T19:19:00.005-05:00

Monday, day 18, we passed a plumbing inspection for the drains. so tuesday, day 19, the crew poured part of the basement slab.

a large portion of the basement ground was frozen from the blowing wind and ice from many storms ago. but it was 60 degrees today! the guys took advantage of the weather today and dug out the ice and frozen gravel. then they leveled the ground and prepared screed boards for pouring the rest of the concrete slab tomorrow.

the downside to the warm weather is the muck. i joked with one of the guys that i grew 2 inches taller just walking over to see him. i hope i can get this mud off my shoes... and pants, and everything else.

i finally got to see the screen porch up close. it has nice views.

uncle paul brought over the fireplace from his shop this week. the crew loaded it in so they could install the chimney, which they needed in place for the roofing. who wants to install all the bits?

the standing seam steel roof has been going in for the last few days. i think it looks great. we had the wrong ridge vent cap, so we'll have to wait for that before it's really done. we have returned a lot of parts in this project because everyone keeps assuming we are building a shallower pitch roof.

you can look out from the house finally. it's so great to see the windows going in. most of them were in place by the end of the day. this is the view south from the dining room.

this is the view from the living room windows looking east over the lower fields. this looks bigger in person and without the sheet metal bender in the way, or whatever it's called.

the other major thing happening is the James Hardie cement board siding and trim. dad switched the color to a dark red at the last minute, despite putting it to a vote and losing. some day i will get this painted the dark grey i wanted it to be. haha!

the garage gets 6 inch siding and the house gets 4 inch siding. hopefully we won't have to wait forever for the house siding. here you can see the house roof almost finished and the skylights getting installed and flashed.

north elevation

north east view

the east elevation looks a lot larger with the windows. those windows are 6 feet high.

and finally, i just thought this was funny. the low corner of the garage needs a lot of fill before they pour the concrete slab floor. until then you can walk the balance beam.

day 17: errands

2011-02-11T17:40:00.003-05:00

today i ran errands and no one worked on the house. however, i saw that the plumbers completed the drains in the basement floor. they are just waiting for the inspector to come out. then we can warm the place up and pour a slab.

I met a tile installer in the morning to show him the project. it was so cold that after i set down my yogurt for a few minutes to talk, i ended up having frozen yogurt for breakfast. i had to go warm up after that. i transported the chimney and fireplace parts down to the house, had a pulled-pork sandwich (thanks mom!), priced out some doors at a few places, went out and bought a used torpedo heater after some research and telephone calls, and had a cinnamon roll at Panera while updating the blog. i'm still doing that now. i guess i had better go drop that off that torpedo heater before it's completely dark.

upper screen porch done

windowless house is really just a big advertisement

light shelf in the living room / hearth area / dining room

lots of framing, lots of ceiling heights

drains in basement gravel

bathroom in the walkout basement

chimney and accessories for the fireplace

lumber

day 16: shopping

2011-02-10T17:20:00.001-05:00

After stopping by the house and surprising the plumbers, i went with mom and dad to a wholesale flooring place about an hour away. longer if you stop at Starbucks.
We found a porcelain tile to use in the master bathroom. It is a light color like mom wanted, it comes in 12x24 size like dad wanted, and it has a pattern that was acceptable to everyone. price was not so great.
most of our tile was spent looking at a limited selection of slate. We have a small amount of slate already that we hoped to match as close as possible. dad + mom liked the sample pieces we saw, but then hated them after seeing a sample area that was installed in the showroom. i wasn't able to sway them to anything darker or more uniform.

porcelain tile

dark slate

greenish slate

multi-color slate

we laughed because our floors are from the Homer woods, and made by Amish

pendant we laughed at but then liked

day 15: screen porch

2011-02-08T16:02:00.000-05:00

Dad + mom finally saw the house on tuesday. the framing crew was there finishing up a lot things. The highlights include finishing the faom sheathing + tyvek over the exposed basement walls, the low hall ceiling + pull-down stairs to the attic, framing the light shelf that runs through the living and dining rooms, and building out the screen porch with frames (minus the screens) and the railings. i had them make the railings out of hog fencing that slips in a dado cut in the top rail, and in a gap in the cedar that wraps the 6x6 columns.

the plumbers had started over the weekend, but didn't get done what we had hoped they would do first. while they started diggin in the basement floor for the drains, they seemed to do a lot more work upstairs installing drains and vent lines. They wanted to be sure where the drains were going to down down to the basement. but because they didn't finish in the basement, the framing crew packed up there tools and left for the week.

basement drain ditches

master bath vanity and washing machine hookup

framer between low and regular ceiling joists in the hall

hall to laundry and mbr, stair to attic

attic above living + dining high ceilings

trimming out the hog fence railings

covering everything with cedar

underside of screen porch floor - TimberTech (like Trex)

day 12: plumbing

2011-02-02T18:18:00.003-05:00

despite an overnight ice storm, the plumbers started work today. The goal is for them to get the waste lines run so that we can pour the basement slab, frame the walls, and get the HVAC work started.

i didn't take any pictures because i was too busy searching for the shower valves for them. and then i had to leave for the airport. i hope they know what they're doing!

snow day

2011-02-01T19:19:00.002-05:00

no work done today. there was at least 6 inches of snow overnight so the crew didn't come in today. oddly enough there was no more snow all day, though now its raining and everything is icing over. good luck tomorrow. i predict another snow day and another canceled flight home for me.

day 11: walls

2011-01-31T20:13:00.005-05:00

it was 3 degrees when i went to the house this morning. my big toes were mostly frozen right away thanks to the steel-toed boots i was wearing. luckily i had to run to the store on errands, so i warmed up in the car and switched to my shoes. and by lunch it was in the mid 30's.

the plumber never showed up today as promised, but the framing crew came out and worked like crazy. i'll bet they had to just to keep warm! they framed most of the walls on the main floor, finished the high ceiling joists in the living room + the stub walls down to the other ceilings, framed the skylight wells in the master bathroom-twice, and framed the fireplace opening. they also finished up some work in the garage roof and put foam sheathing + tyvek on the north + south sides of the house.

It's kind of difficult to take pictures of framing since you see right through everything, but try and see what you can.

driving to work at 3 degrees

Homer Dody House

starting the stairs

dining room

walk in closets + master bedroom beyond, living room foreground

skylight over the sinks in the master bath

through the wall is the shower + toilet area with skylight above

hall looking back to kitchen; i wish i could keep that open

fireplace surround

no more ladder

day 10: finishing garage

2011-01-28T20:06:00.003-05:00

today the crew finished the garage roof eaves + sheathing + waterproofing. they installed the tongue + groove ceiling for the front entry porch. the plumber stopped by and we talked a little about what he was going to do starting monday. they installed a lot of the collar ties for the house roof. these will also serve as the ceiling joists for the high ceilings in the living and dining rooms. i was too busy helping to lay out the walls on the main floor to take pictures at the end of the day. but here are some pics from morning doughnut hour and around midday.

garage eaves

t+g at open eave on house

open eave at gable end

Uncle Ben's trash hauler

sheathing on back half

finishing osb sheathing

day 9: garage + elec

2011-01-27T15:00:00.001-05:00

i was supposed to be at the house this morning but New York City got 19" of snow overnight and shut down all the airports. So more pics from Uncle Paul. i managed to get to the house after the crew left for the day but before it was totally dark.

the Power company finally came and installed the temporary power. This involved putting up 3 new telephone poles and stringing power lines over from near Aunt Sharon's house.

the crew continue working on the roof of the house installing OSB sheathing + ice guard waterproofing. The other guys finished framing the garage walls and started the roof of the garage. they sure are quick.

day 8: roof sheathing

2011-01-26T15:00:00.002-05:00

The crew installed sheathing and ice guard waterproofing to the roof of the house. By code you only need the ice guard at the edges and peaks and valleys, but it's good to just cover the entire roof. The stuff won't stick to the roof if it freezes, so they tried storing it in Aunt Sharon's basement to keep it warm. That didn't really work because she keeps the doors open so all the wild cats and other animals can get in for a little warmth. So Chris had Uncle Dave rent a blast heater so they could thaw before being stuck on the roof.

they also started installing 1" R5 rigid foam insulation and Tyvek house wrap on the walls. This extra insulation should help keep the heat inside the house. a wood framed house looses heat at all the studs, so exterior foam covers all the studs to stop that heat loss.

3/4" tongue + groove OSB roof sheathing

peel + stick ice guard

sheathing on the west side of the roof

screen porch roof

east side done, with temporary 2x4 anti-slip bars

day 7: open eaves

2011-01-25T16:00:00.001-05:00

More pictures from Uncle Paul while I was away. The crew continued framing the walls and roof for the Link. They also added the flying rafters and installed tongue + groove barn siding at the open eaves. Much better than looking at OSB.

skylight openings and roof framing

the Link framed, rafter tails notched for soffit boards

a finished eave on the house using tongue + groove barn siding

soffit boards installed for the open eaves

exterior elevation drawings

2011-01-24T16:21:00.000-05:00

here are the exterior elevations for the house. they are all quite different. enjoy.

south elevation

east elevation

north elevation

west elevation / section thru entry link

west elevation garage with house in background

day 6: roof

2011-01-24T16:00:00.001-05:00

Uncle Paul took these pictures of the roof rafters going up on the house and the Link getting framed. enjoy! and i hope you like the larger pictures.

day 5: main floor framing

2011-01-21T15:52:00.002-05:00

We need 3 exterior doors for the house and garage so Dad told me to check out a salvage place. He heard about it from an old high school friend that lives in the area. All the surplus building supplies were laid out nicely in a cold warehouse. The doors were organized by size and swing so it was pretty painless to browse. i found some that might work for about half off Home Depot prices, and they are all brand new.

i got back to the house just as the crew was taking off for the day. They had covered all the windows and even the ceiling joists that they had already put in. That should keep out the snow and the curious over the weekend. well, it didn't keep me out. here are some pictures.

southeast corner

plan table: who to call with questions

living room looking south

master bedroom

looking into kitchen

looking north through the house

tool belt

day 5: framing walls

2011-01-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

We got at least 3 inches of snow overnight, but the job must go on.

After checking in with the guys at the house i went to pick up a masonry saw and some donuts. i rushed back so i'd get there before their morning break. Also, they had some walls already framed and i wanted to see them get raised into place. but 3 walls were up when i got back. oh well. here are some pics.

Homer Lane

Homer Farm

framed walls

east elevation

north elevation

filling in the link with gravel

Fuzzy, the excavator

Link (entry) foundation

gravel in the crawl space

vapor barrier

foreman

framing continues

nice view

interior bearing wall

more bearing wall sections - hall to master bedroom

finishing bearing wall

hoisting beam over kitchen island

day 4: floor framing

2011-01-20T16:00:00.002-05:00

I don't yet have pictures from when Dad and Mom were at the site on Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll try to post those later.

Here are pictures of the first floor deck going in. I was surprised at how quickly the guys got it done. What a great construction crew! I still have to get to know some of the guys, but i know that i have two uncles and some cousins in the group.

Rim board + porch columns

hoisting the last PSL beam in place

coolest construction crew

Uncle Chris supervising

floor joists

view north from window in Bedroom 2

basement almost covered

subfloor + lowered shower floor

view northeast

view south

day 3: block foundations

2011-01-19T16:00:00.001-05:00

The footings cured enough that today the crew was able to build the block wall foundations for the garage and Link. Mom said dad was too excited to remember to take pictures, but he managed to snap a few.

Yes, the foundations stick out of the ground quite a bit. This happened because the house was also set higher than we planned. you'll have to ask the excavator what that's all about. But we can work with it. The good thing about building in the middle of a farm and on a hill is that there is a lot of dirt around and you can set the finish elevation to whatever you need. And you can bet that the excavator will make it up to us by making the grading all work out.

The crew also seems to have installed the rim board for the first floor of the house.

garage cmu block foundation

...and link to the house resting on the
support ledges built-in to the basement walls

day 2: footings

2011-01-18T16:01:00.000-05:00

Also going in today were the treated wood posts for the screen porch, rebar for the garage footing, and later the concrete for the footings. Perhaps at some point we can change the wood posts for stone columns.

straight 6x6 columns

wood columns down past the frost line

rebar for garage footing

rebar for garage footing and for the "link"

day 2: garage foundation

2011-01-18T16:00:00.000-05:00

Dad took these pictures of the first day the construction crew is on site. the materials arrived on 2 semi trucks. the Amish crew installed the sill plates on the basement walls of the house and staked out the link and garage foundations. The excavator came and dug out the footings. Then the crew went right to putting in the rebar and mixing and pouring concrete for the footing. Dad took some digital pictures for the inspector.

Superior Walls sign, no Homer Lane sign - stolen again!

lunch buckets

2 semi trucks full of materials

lumber but no beams

prep on the walls - shoveling

staking the link + garage

digging footers + bolting on sill plates

garage footer

built in ledges for Link foundation

day 1: basement walls

2011-01-14T12:01:00.000-05:00

The basement walls were installed on Friday. Uncle Paul took some pictures for us of the walls being placed by Superior Walls. While it looks like the entire basement is above ground, the back side will be back-filled and only the window side will remain completely visible. So that side has a gravel footing down to the frost line.

Construction has begun!

2011-01-14T12:00:00.001-05:00

dad said the basement walls were delivered and installed on site today. i wish i had been there to see them go in. i haven't even seen a picture of the site since the excavator began last week.

materials are being delivered to the site on monday and the framers are starting on tuesday! and excavation will probably also begin on tuesday for the garage and "link" foundations. i can't believe construction is starting. i've been stressing out about all the preparations. for example, the temporary power might not be installed yet. yikes!

i've been working on getting the windows ordered the last few days. first i had to correct the previous quote we had because it was missing a window, one window was sized incorrectly, and i had added another window in the meantime. the total price came in over our window budget. then i figured out that we could save a lot of money by changing the hardware finish. and i discovered that i could get the jamb extensions we needed for the main floor (which i'm pretty sure weren't available before) with the money i saved on the hardware. In the end the final price is slightly under budget, and i'll save money on the finish carpentry. yeah! sadly, i hadn't accounted for tax in the budget.

i am flying to pennsylvania next week wednesday after work, so i'll get to see the walls on thursday morning and go over things with the framers before they get too far. i can't wait!

house model

2011-01-01T22:39:00.016-05:00

Here are some pictures of a 1/4" scale model of the house. The roofs and the first floor lift off so you can see the inside spaces, but i did not snap pictures of this feature. But enjoy the exterior.

staking the house

2010-10-10T14:25:00.001-04:00

Can you see the house layout? Exactly. That's how difficult it was to stake out the house in the jungle of weeds and trees growing at the barn site. Dad and I spent a lot of time bushwhacking our way through the tangled mess. I have the scratched up arms, burrs on my clothes, and a thorn still stuck in my finger to prove it.

The other challenge was not having any points of reference. We had a few stone foundation walls from the old barn to help us start, but we usually couldn't see them through the jungle to locate the rest of the corners of the house. Every point we measured out seemed to be completely crooked, and Dad was good about pointing that out at every stake I located.

Luckily i had written down most of the diagonals so we could triangulate the main points and stay true to the plan. I think.

Redesign

2010-09-01T18:56:00.004-04:00

Staking out the house at 30 degrees

2010-04-09T19:40:00.001-04:00