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

day 179: wood

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.