Finishing Touches

Wow, Did you see that - The outside is DONE! We can't believe that it's ours. How did we get so blessed? Check out those decks on the lake side - drinks will be on the decks.





And how about those finished walls - we really went out on the edge this time - something other than white. Do you think we went over the edge? Too bad - it's too late for us and the walls.
What's that they're carrying? The cabinets! They were not exactly lite - but these guys from "White Glove" were exactly that - very careful.

The installers came, and abra cadabra - look at that! We have cabinets!



Once again, the whole place looks different - better of course!

I know many of you are curious to see our new "Beast" - well here she is in all her glory. The new, larger, better AC unit. Have you ever seen anything like it? Anyone got good recommendations for bushes large enough to hide this beauty (the AC, not the guy).

The details seem to take forever, some of the things can't be done together, and everything has a special order. I think we've replanned our dates for carpet installation at least 4 times.

We just got the counter tops in last week - wow are they nice. They are also putting the wood on the vaulted ceiling. They match like they were made for each other - it's unbelievable! The cabinets are natural birch and the ceiling is black ash - sometimes you get lucky I guess.

They are also working on the trim - the windows are nearly done and they have several of the doors installed too! They do great work - the corners match exactly and he makes sure that the doors line up with each other too.

Check out that bathroom sink and tile - can't wait until we actually have hot water and can try out that tub! It's getting a little cool sleeping out at night and washing up with 38 degree water from the well, so we are looking forward to getting heat and hot water. It'll be worth the wait.

You'll have to come up and see the finale sometime!

Details

So, now we're down to the details that take so long. Lots more to do to get everything looking just right.

Last week the cabinet maker just got all of the wood and the cabinet doors, and hadn't started putting together the pieces. We filled the shop!

By the end of this week, we have cabinets! Take a look at the coloring in the natural birch - wow. Should look really sharp!

The painting crew is also hard at work. That is also time consuming labor. Gotta like to putz. It'll take a few weeks for them to finish. Gotta be done by the end of next week though - cause the tile is scheduled!




The building crew is busy building the decks and finishing the siding on the outside. Starting to look like a real house. Can't wait to see the whole thing!

Who's that guy on the roof? Looks like some computer geek looking for a wireless signal. Not to be found though - darn.

The weather is starting to get nicer and watching the moon rise over the water in the evening is becoming a favorite pastime.

3 Weeks - Fast and Furious (Part II)

So much has happened in the last 3 weeks, that I am blowing up the network with too many photos. You should really read Part I (below) first and then pop back here - Sorry!

See the insulation? That's on an interior wall - guess we won't have problems with snoring guests keeping us awake in this house! Should be quiet as a mouse.



It's a deck! Ice cold drinks now being served on the deck! Oh, guess that you will have to wait just a few more weeks.

These walls and the ceiling are filling up with so much stuff that we'll never be able to hang a picture on the wall without drilling into something!

The clear white tubing is the Wirsbo in-floor heating system. Can't wait to have warm feet. The silver tubing is for AC - to bad it's not hooked up yet - it's been a bit steamy up here the last week or so.

We'll have to figure out how this whole new heating system works now.

They plan to start taping the sheetrock next week. The tile is ordered and the cabinets are scheduled for the end of August. We must have the best builder in the midwest - he can motivate anyone to get in and get the job done ASAP - even the homeowners!

3 Weeks - Fast and Furious (Part I)

Hold on to your seats, cause this thing is really taking off! It's hard to keep up with the progress. And it gets better by the day....absolutely loving every aspect. Well, we had to make a few compromises, but that is life.

Take a look at these trusses - absolutely picture perfect the way they line up.

The first priority was getting the roofing on to protect it from the rain....and they did. Only a very small amount of rain got in. Yahoo!

The next step was windows - what a maticulous job.

OK, now the inside framing can be finished so that the other crews can begin the race - got to get the interior work done before they spray the insulation and put up sheetrock.

Look! All of the windows are in! Each step changes the entire feel of the place. Before they put the roof and siding on, the place seemed like it was huge - a part of the woods. Now it is starting to shrink. The incredible shrinking house!

There have been 10-15 people working on this place ever since. Electricians, plumbers, venting experts, insulation blowers - plus the 5 on the building crew!

They're getting the plumbing in all of the walls. And now the decisions reach their peak - Where do you want the switch for this light? Is this a 2-way or 3-way switch? Where is this light centered? Is this a drop down light, a can, or a ceiling mount light? Oh my, I guess I should have picked out the lights by now. Oh well, we'll get ones that fit now.

We've got stairs! Now we can go between floors without having to walk around the outside of the house. This will work out better - especially in the winter! We tossed around the idea of a pole, but it just didn't seem to work out.

And check out that new siding! Perfect. Love that green with the cedar look.

Not done yet - they also got the sheetrock in the upstairs! Another transformation occurs! Check out that cool machine that holds it up for you - now that's the way to do it.

Do you get the feeling that this might be the house of some sort of computer geek? What gave you the first clue? There's a lot of labor of love in them there wires! The two of us put in 2 back to back 12+ hour days wiring the computer, phone, tv, and speakers! I hope it works! We were just trying to keep one step ahead of the electrical and AC crews so the trusses were not full.

We got done only a few hours before the R-Tech Insulation guys arrived at 5am to spray the ceiling. Yes, we worked into the dark with a flashlight. Check out the sprayed insultation on the exterior walls - it really seals everything in there tight. And it gets very hard. They put 3 layers on.

Now it's starting to look almost finished. I keep thinking the progress will slow down, but not the way it looks now. The end is near! We'll be moving in September - just in time to enjoy a beautiful fall on the north shore! What a blessing!

We've Been Framed !!

Finally the place starts to take shape!

When Michael arrived on Tuesday, the lower level had already been framed. Nancy was busy working (as usual) in her new office (room with a view)!


Oh my, there's the bedroom. Everything is aligned perfectly! How do they do that?

This was a busy week - 12 workers on the job site building the garage and the house at the same time.


These guys are working on the garage. Look at that nice concrete floor! It's a beauty.

Nice weather for building. It rained on almost all sides today, but not at our building site. Hope that continues for another week until they get the roof on the house.




I'm sure glad I don't have his job! I can't even run a chain saw or stand on a 2x6, let alone trying to do both at the same time! Lord, protect these guys on our site.






They sure know how to use the big equipment to do the hard work. You still couldn't pay me enough to be up there on those trusses!





Who's the gardener? Don't recognize the gal in shades. And where did she get those plants? I hope they're not stolen from a house that is for sale.

Oh boy, the deer and bunnies are lining up with plates and silverware in hand for those tasty salad leaves. Any bets on how many hostas are left now?

They spent the next day putting up the siding and roofing. Gotta like that green! I hope the 2 colors on the garage match....

Dale and crew framed the upper level walls today too.


It's really something to see the real house in 3D after looking at the plans and wondering what it would look like. A few days later...they are putting up the roof trusses! Wow, that really changes it again. But it won't stay like this either - once the walls are enclosed we'll lose our view of the sky and woods (too bad, we like the openness now - a little drafty though).

We sure spent a lot of time trying to figure out the location of the house and garage - they are set in stone now.

Hey, that looks nice!

Well, Well, Well

We're back with another update!

Lots of new things at the site this past week. Dug the electrical and phone wires to the house and the garage. They're plenty deep so I won't have to worry about digging them up when I'm gardening!

Take a look at this well drilling rig! Wow! What a site to watch. We had expert help selecting the site and they drilled 283 feet to find an artesian well!

Now that's pure and very cold water - pouring out at about 2.5 gallons per minute! But the fun has only begun, now we have to figure out what to do with the water in the winter. Hmmm... Sounds like a perfect problem for a water resources engineer - wonder where we can find a good one?

They excavated for the garage footings and placed the forms - we hear that the concrete has been poured for the garage floor, but we're stuck here in the BIG city and haven't made our way up to see it yet.

Better yet, they poured the concrete for the house floor! Oh my - don't stand in there too long guys - you might get stuck. When you come visit us - if there are rubber boots sticking out of our basement floor - you'll know what happened!

Boy were they meticulous - 3 hours later they were still on their hands and knees smoothing it out - let's be sure to get it perfect guys!

They also finished the septic mound and put the tanks in - we'll spare you the photos - although pretty exciting, you'll have to come visit to experience it in person (and maybe use it). We even have our own private porta-potty!

Now for the latest news (up-to-the-minute) - they started framing the house too! Let us out of here! If you see a blue truck speeding by, wave to us on our way up!