Fans, Fixtures and Floors

There is a lot of work that goes into building a house and once it's closed in and the inside "finish" work begins, although there are people there working every day, it seems that progress comes to a crawl.  It's not like having walls go up or siding being installed where you can easily see a lot of progress. But, never the less, daily progress is being made.  The electricians are putting in the light fixtures and fans and the tile floors are being installed.

Grading On The Curve

Over the weekend Brian Baker (Baker Excavating) graded our back and side yard.  He makes the front end loader look like an extension of himself.

Here is Brian putting on the finishing touches at the back of our property.

Looking up the hill.

This is the back yard after the grass seed and straw have been put down.  They seeded with fescue and rye.

Brian brought in several yards of dirt and smoothed it without touching the fence, the house or anything else with the front end loader.

Painting Is Easy When You Don't Know How, But Very Difficult When You Do. Edgar Degas

I think that quotation applies to more than oil on a canvas.  Dan the painter is trying to keep up with our last minute changes in room colors and at the same time stay on schedule.  The primer is being sprayed on now, after that, two coats of flat finish.

Dan spraying primer on the ceiling in our bed room on the first floor.  He's been doing this for 35 years.  I think he knows all the tricks; see below.
 

Here is Rick and Crista's bed room on the second floor after it has been primed but before being painted.  Notice how Dan has tinted the primer the same color as the room will be painted.

No More Xray Vision - Looking Through Walls

The dry wall craftsmen have been at work for the past couple of weeks.  It's hard, difficult and often dirty work and these guys are like artists making seams and screw holes disappear.  Walking around on stilts all day, craning your neck back looking at the ceiling should be in the book of Yoga exercises.  Below is some of their handy work.

Here is the entry hall after the drywall was hung, but before it was taped.

This is the same view after the work is complete.  The man at the left is Dan the painter.  He is in the process of prepping the walls so the painting can begin next week.

The drywall inspector makes a surprise visit.

Getting Stoned

The stone masons have been at the house for a couple of weeks putting the stone facade on the front of the house.  We decided to use cultured stone, man made, rather than real stone, found in nature, for several reasons.  It is much more cost effective, it goes up faster and it is difficult to tell it from the real thing.

 The above picture is of some of the individual stones before they have been put on the house.  The bottoms of these stones are flat and adhere to the house very uniformly. The stones for the corners of the house are formed at a right angle at one end so they wrap around and look natural.  Double click on the above picture to see how natural these stones look.

The firs step is to nail wire mesh to the side of the house.  It looks like the same kind of wire mesh that is used to plaster a wall.

When the mesh is up mortar is troweled on to create a flat surface.  These gentlemen, Tom and Rick, (not me and my son-in-law) are in the process of covering the mesh with mortar.

When the wall is dry or almost dry, the stones are placed on the wall by putting mortar on the back of the stone like a bricklayer would do on the bottom and sides of a brick. Then, the stone is pressed on to the wall and it just stays there.  Later, after the mortar behind the stone has dried, they come back and fill in between the stones with more mortar.  They use a tapered canvas bag (like a baker uses to decorate a cake) filled with mortar and they squeeze it between the stones.  A small trowel is then used to smooth out the mortar.

Here is one section of the front about 3/4 completed.  The stone is shipped in the pallet sized boxes in the foreground.

Is It Drywall or Sheetrock ? Joint Compound or Mud?

The drywall was delivered about a week ago and the craftsmen are busy hanging it.  They worked on the garage first because they wanted to get the mud on out there before the weather got any colder.  We will have heat if we need it when they start to mud in the house

Drywall Ready To Go On The Walls

The Appropriate Drywall Was Delivered To Each Room.  One Of The Upper Windows Was Removed To Get It To The Second Floor.

Garage Taped And Mudded .

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Where The $$ Are Going

"We've got to put a lot of money into changing behavior."
Bill Gates

"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money.  Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them.  So, spread your love everywhere you go."
Mother Teresa

I'm guessing that this project is near the half way point.  Here are how the costs break down so far.  These are construction costs only.  They do not include any of the preliminary expenses such as tear down, unhooking the old utilities and tree removal.

Comfortable and Quiet

Above is the kitchen wall after the insulation has been installed. The ceiling in the kitchen and the family room will be sound proofed so that I can bang around pots and pans on Saturday mornings and not disturb sleepers up on the second floor.

Below is the wall between the family room and the first floor master bedroom with the sound bats installed. There will be a television on the other side of this wall and hopefully this will keep the noise out when Bo and I are trying to sleep.

The picture above is the second floor furnace room.  It is sound insulated and will have a solid core door to keep the noise to a minimum.

The brown things between the trusses are cardboard bats that allow the attic to "breathe" after the ceiling insulation is blown into the attic.  The insulation will be blown in below the cardboard bats and will keep it from going into the soffit area and clogging the holes that allow air to freely flow through the attic.

Seeing Stars

A couple of months ago Crista and I were sent on a mission to pick out a front door for the house.  When we saw this door we both knew it had to be.  Texas stars in Missouri.

Siding Begins to Go Up

Paul, the siding expert and his crew began installing the vinyl siding today.  This is the back of the house where the work started.

Before The Work Began

Siding Going Up!!!

Water, Wire and White Walls

It's been a while since I posted to the blog.  I have been very busy and although a lot has been happening it's all been plumbing and electrical.  Steve the electrician and his crew as well as Matt the plumber have been working diligently to get their work done.  Today the rough in inspections for both electric and plumbing were done and so now things will be moving to the next phase shortly.  Also, about a week ago over the weekend Bo and I painted the walls of the basement white. So, here are some pictures.

The Whole House Water Filter Is Installed

These Wires Will Look More Neat When The Job is Finished

Basement Walls After being painted

Enough With The Concrete !!!

If we pour much more concrete on this property we will be able to apply to the FAA for a runway licence.

No More Concrete In The Back...I Promise.

From This...

...To This

New Workers Arrive :-))

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Patio - Phase 2

Today the concrete workers put in the second half of the patio.  Our builder told me that there was a three part guarantee on all of the concrete work: 1) It's guaranteed to get hard, 2) it's guaranteed to crack and finally 3) it's guaranteed no one is going to steal it.  Makes me rest easier.

The Gravel Base

Smoothing the Concrete

Finished

Closer To The Grid

The conduit for the electricity was buried this week.  The electric line comes across our neighbors yard, to a poll mounted transformer.  We are going to have the drop to our house come down the pole from the transformer through the underground conduit to the meter.  Here is a picture of the conduit in the trench, ready to be buried.

“Progress is not accomplished in one stage.” ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Now that the house is "up" it seems like things are really starting to happen all at once.  Concrete work, HVAC ducts going in, basement framing.  Even a fireplace.  

Phase One Of The Back Patio

The Caterpillar In The Celing 

Entry To The Rec Room

Looking Into Bo's Cedar Closet

For Those Cold St. Louis Evenings

Windows and Doors

In addition to the roofing work last week, most of the windows and external doors were installed by the carpenters.

Carpenters Installing the Back Patio Door

View From My Office 

A Roof Over Our Head

The roofers showed up last week and did their work.  We put a new roof on our house on Beaver Dam Road before we sold it.  Bo liked those shingles so much that we used the same ones on this house.

Roofing The Back of the House

 

Almost Finished

The Roofer's Truck.  Lots of Miles, Lots of Character