day 228: doors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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