Jeff worked on the all three bathrooms today, the shower in the master bath, the vanity sink in the powder room, and the claw foot tub in the loft bath.

Dwayne and crew got the emergency electrical generator fired up and running today for the first time.  It is fairly quiet and will not present a noise problem for sleeping in the rooms on the west side of the house.  Dwayne installed a hook for the pendant light in the loft bath, closet lights in the two bedroom closets, lights in all the knee wall (foxhole) closets, and ran another electrical wire to correct the short under the loft catwalk.  All the outside lights are now installed and functional, including the lanterns at the basement door, the two bumpout doors, and the rear entry door which has a hanging lantern similar to the front entry.  The breezeway rear entry has two small but strong spot lights.
The paint crew was active today and now the door to the kitchen and the door to the garage are the same color as the breezeway walls.  The window seat and the knee wall closet doors were given a nice finish coat.  They also applied touchup to minor dings around the house.

Doug and Chris were hard at work finishing up the insulation and aluminum panels on the basement walls.  With the panels in place they also applied interior trim to the basement door and one of the two basement windows.  The door trim was complicated by an intrusion sensor from our security system, but Doug called the security company and got them to ignore the warnings from our sensor until it was reinstalled on the new trim board.  This was Chris' last day on the job as he heads off on vacation tomorrow, so that's a sign that work is quickly coming to an end.

Doug installed the main entry brass oak leaf door knocker from the 2009 State College Arts Festival, how appropriate that this is the week of the 2010 Artsfest.

We told Doug we were going to the Peoples Art Fest in Boalsburg. He suggested we look for Dave Ferree, a Centre Hall wood crafter whose house he worked on.  We talked to Dave for quite a while.about how much respect we have for Doug and the team at Envinity.

Walnut brace in the kitchen has been installed.  It's a decorative brace, only penetrating the walnut tree about 1/4" with 2 pieces of walnut laminated to simulate a limb with heart wood and sapwood.

Chris finished the trim around the hearth but will put some quarter round on the back splash tiles later.  This softens the edge and toe-stubbing factor.
Mike the painter has filled all the wood work nail holes and is now putting on the finish coats on the windows and the initial coat on the folding doors at the laundry.
Doug applied MinWax Spar varnish and stain to the cherry vanity, shelf, and trim for the powder room.  The pieces are drying up in the loft on the window seat.  The difference in the color of the local cherry and the Ft. Washington cherry is amazing.  We'll have to ask Findley about that. The varnish really makes the end wood darker and stand out so the dovetails show better.
Bill plugged the basement railings, oiled them, and caulked the trim baseboards at the landing.

John and Chris finished off the closet shelving and hanging poles: guest closet with one rod and shelves, laundry with bifold doors, and the master closet with 4 rods and floating shelves.

Scott and Julian have added some more 1 ft tiles in the shower, have applied  the 1 inch glass tiles to complete the 6 inch stripe around the remaining wall and inside the soap cubby as well as put a diamond of glass tiles on the bench seat.

We had a nice thunderstorm here around 1030 with some good thunder; Buddy was shaking so Paul sat next to him and he calmed down. 
Paul put out some fertilizer on the fruit trees and some of the thermal cover evergreens before the rains came and also threw down some buckwheat seeds next to the asparagus.

Daffodil powder room

Doug worked on the powder room sink and shelf.  Once again I had a concept in my head and not much else for Doug to work with.  His design  and execution is better than my vision.  The cherry for the sink base came from Fort Washington.  The live edge piece on the privacy half wall, also cherry but significantly lighter, is local.
John and Chris were at work in the master bedroom closet setting the clothes rails and installing shelves.
A paint guy was at work filling holes in the wood work; he will next address any wall paint repairs.
A bear tried to join us on our morning walk near the upper Dreiecke.  Gambol, off leash, simply stood and looked.  Buddy, on leash, went crazy barking and pulling toward the bear.   We detoured back down the hill.

Jason painted the sunshine yellow powder room and the darker shade green of the window section of the great room.  He also added a second coat to the blue upstairs bedroom.  A couple of touch ups and a second coat in the breezeway and the interior painting will be finished.

Paul helped WOCC show Bald Eagle Area HS how to plant trees.  The football team was able to plant and tube about 250 conifers and hardwoods in the new conservation area behind the high school.  They used a dibbles. We donated many of the tubes.
Paul has been planting White Pine, Norway Spruce, and Blue Spruce evergreen plantings in Cardinal Run--thermal protection in the winter for grouse and other birds. Paul doesn't use a dibble; he digs a big hole, replaces the rocks with compost, and then plants his little trees.  Instead of plastic tubes, he protects his trees with a metal cage.

Doug, Chris, and Cody finished off the left dormer, so now the entire front of the house has siding.  Cody also applied the concrete treatment to the front and rear of the house this week, so all that is left is the left wall.
Chris applied flashing to the bottom of the left wall so that it is ready for the first course of siding on Monday
Jason is virtually finished with the loft side walls and he has started in on the master bedroom..

Toby and Cameron were at work in the shed and the warm weather helped dry the finish quickly so they got some of the interior doors finished today.

Scott, Jesse, and Julian have all the tile work in the entryways completed. They also installed the fiber board underlayment for the hearth.  Jesse applied grout to the upstairs bathroom. 
Tim Mauer stopped by to estimate the volume of dirt that will be needed once the initial grading is finished (that will be after the water line and gutter downspout lines are excavated, installed, and covered back up.
At the end of the day I got a call from John Zook at Glicks Custom Kitchens asking how we liked the cabinets.  I told him we were very pleased with all of the cabinets and island.  Also we were pleased with the installers, Dave and young Dave.  I explained we were a few weeks away from getting the granite tops installed, so John said to call when we are ready and they will be out to finish off the cabinets (toe kicks, and any adjustments needed.
Vigilant Security will be out to run lines from the garage to the house on May 10, Kohlhepps will be out to measure the countertops on May 11.

afternoon report

Most of the bump out tile is done--maybe 6 more pieces with Scott, Jesse, and Julian cutting the tiles to fit around the posts that are in the bump out.  Exhaust vents for the master and upstairs bath were cut into the sides of the walls and vent pipe up through the roof.  Jeff's (identical)twin brother Jim, a carpenter, assisted Jeff in getting the roof vent installed.
Jason and Mike painted the kitchen, dining room, great room, master and upstairs bedroom hallways, and stairwell. 
Doug and Chris braved the wind and put up the window trim and front siding on the left dormer.
Jonas and Bill installed one of the two remaining stairway baluster sections going from the landing to the loft.  This baluster is the first of two trapezoidal shapes to fit the stairs as they ascend from the landing to the loft.
Cameron and partner continued finishing the oak window and door trim boards down in the shed.  The winds today were gusty, so the shed was a good place to get that work done out of the wind.
Visit from Kohlhepps to measure the countertops was rescheduled for the week of May 10--we want to have the master bath tiled to show the seat and shelf in the bath, and we want the bathroom vanities installed in the baths, which will require the tile to be grouted.  The granite cutting takes about 2 weeks to complete after measurements are taken, so we have time. 
We had a couple visit with Jerry today to see a timberframe structure and gain information on how it is put together with the SIP panels.  He is an astronomer and she is an architect. 

Jason and Mike are almost done with the paint on the kitchen, stairwell, and great room walls.  (Mike has short hair while Jason has dreadlocks.)

Julian is finishing the breezeway tile while Scott and Jesse are finishing off the bump out tile.  Chris, Doug, and Cody are working on siding.

 Jeff hooked up the faucet and drain on the claw foot tub and has drilled the holes for the water supply and drain for the tub after determining the optimum position for the tub in the bathroom.  He is now drilling vents to the roof from the knee wall in the upstairs bath.  In the shed Cameron and helper are finishing the trim boards and will then start on the interior oak doors that were delivered yesterday.
Temps are up in the low 60s but it is breezy so that may force them to apply the finish with the shed doors down.

Jesse and Julian (the guy who broke his wrist a month ago)finished about 90 percent of the breezeway tiling.  Scott laid down the central pattern in the bump out.   Master bathroom work will await the release from customs of our tile shipment.  The custom inspector found a bug/bugs in the shipment so the tiles were impounded and will hopefully be released in a week or so.  The tile in the master bath will take about 10 days to complete with the floor, shower ceiling and floor, seat, and soap dish cubby--a lot of work to be done there.
All the paint primer has been applied. Painting is inside is being done by Jason and Mike.
Dwayne worked on the island switches for the monorail lights and receptacles.  One change will be to put the switch for the dining room on the wall between the post and the windows just to the right of the last kitchen cabinet.  Other options of putting that switch on the island were just not working out because of available space.  He also has the location of the microwave (upper shelf in the butler cabinet) and our switches will
be the standard toggle type with switch and receptacles all in ivory color.
Chris put down the maple flooring  on the staircase landing going down to the basement.

 Cody hung the mirror over the vanity in the basement bath. He also installed pegs where they were missing on the timbers and cut back the exposed pegs to about an inch so they are all a uniform length.

 Doug cut out the hemlock blocking and installed them where our great room sconces will be mounted.  Along with some minor modification by Dwayne, this will allow the sconces to be positioned on the rafters without hanging down below the lower edge of the rafters.  The blocking will also allow the sconce design to cast an interesting shadow pattern across the rafters.

Tile work by Scott in the front bump out and Jesse at the rear entry. Douglasfir railings by Jonas and Bill. 

 Basement bathroom fixtures and vanity installed by Cody. 
Priming and painting by Jason-on his knees, standing, on a step ladder, and on an extension ladder with paint brush, roller, and a spackle/putty knife for fixing nicks in the walls caused by the other trades.  In the shed the trim boards are being sprayed with water based finish and sanded between coats by Cameron.
Figuring out the installation of the cooktop downdraft vent, cutting holes for HVAC vents, and sawing hemlock blocking for the wall sconces by Doug, when he isn't supervising all the other work that is going on. 
Woodwork and preparing the flooring on the stair landing to the basement, including fitting the bullnose trim and pegs for the screw holes, by Chris. 
Electrical work, including circuits, placement of fixtures and receptacles, and lighting choices by Dwayne. 
HVAC, geothermal heat pump, ducts, vents, and louvers to control the air flow by Adrian. 
Plumbing, including toilets and sewer pipes, water, and the water manifold to service the kitchen, baths, and laundry by Jeff.  It is a multi-ring circus with Doug as the ring leader.

It is a busy time at the Barony.  The house is evolving every day.  Dan the floor finisher stopped by to plan his work over the next couple of weeks. He finished our maple floor above the garage in 2004--said he remembered coming up our driveway! 

Appliances on a rainy Monday

Scott and Jesse laid down the tile in the upstairs bathroom.
Painting continued with priming in the great room, particularly around the wall of windows and doors and the Irish Creme finish coat in the basement bath.
In the shed Cameron continued applying the water based finish on the oak trim boards. These boards are getting two coats of finish Satin Emulsion advanced oil and water wood floor finish from Basic Coatings, 81619-4312) in the shed and then after installation, a third coat, if necessary.  They have a clever drying rack that reminds me of 7th grade art class drying racks.  It's a quiet job down there all by himself.

No exterior siding work today as the weather continued cloudy and rainy all day.
Doug and crew picked up all the bathroom fixtures for the basement bath (toilet, vanity and top, towel bar and ring, vanity light, curtain rod and toilet paper holder). Installation will start as soon as the finish paint has dried and set and any touch up completed.
They cleaned up the basement so that future HVAC, plumbing, and electrical work can go forward.

Chris was involved in some woodwork, plugging over the top of screw holes and then cutting off the plug at the wood level.

Mike's Appliances delivered the kitchen appliances this afternoon (refrigerator, cook top, down draft vent, oven, microwave, and dishwasher.
Jerry called Kohlhepps and they will come out on Thursday to measure for the granite tops.

Paint

The painters began their work today on the walls that will have built-ins on them.  The kitchen and master hall have color.  Several other rooms have primer.
Our copper sconces from Lightcrafters are ready for installation.  These will go around the great room.

Bill and Jonas delivered the douglasfir railing for the rear landing.  It's the same style as the loft without the copper wave and in a light wood.

Cody has been tasked with stuccoing the foundation that won't be covered with landscape soil. It's a slow process while Scott, Jesse and Doug continue with the HardiePlank installation.  The front window wall took a long time because of all the tiny pieces between the windows that had to be cut. 

Then it was lunch time.  We had pizza from Faccia Luna for the team to thank them for their dedication to our job.

Paint

Sherwin Williams

• Basement bath--Irish Cream (SW 7537)
• Breezeway walls and ceiling--Rice Grain (SW 6155)
• Master bath--Privilege Green (SW 6193)
• Master bed--Coastal Plain (SW 6192)
• Guest bath (upstairs)--Coral Island (SW 6332)
• Guest bed (upstairs)--Tradewind (SW 6218)
• Loft-- Oyster bay (SW 6206)
• Great Room window/doors wall--Retreat (SW 6207)
• Great Room tall wall, dining room, kitchen, rear entry, stairwell up and down--Oyster bay (SW 6206)
• Powder room--Sole' (SW 6896)

Flooring upstairs almost done

 

upstairs catwalk to loft

The crew is moving into their new workshop in town today; that will be used to not only carve our timber frame rear entry but also the support stringers for our stairs going from the basement to the main floor and then to the loft. Our basement windows came into the supplier warehouse yesterday and the crew will pick them up today. Installation might be today or early next week, depending on how the workshop move goes this morning.

 

floor in upstairs guest room

The crew is just about finished the flooring in the upstairs bedroom. They still have to put down the last board or two against the wall which involves some special, time consuming fitting. In the basement we now have some wall insulation and blocking that will help support the stairs and keep the stairwell a bit warmer.
In addition, the paint guy applied the initial finish on all the windows. This was an effort to protect the windows from the dust that will be flying around from the drywall mudding and sanding.

from catwalk into great room

The heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) guys were out yesterday to scope out the project and get a feel for the way they will get the conditioned air up to the second floor. One of the HVAC guys worked on the system in our current house. This house’s deep well geothermal heat pump will not only heat or cool the house, but it will also provide a reservoir of warm (110 degree) water that can be used to “kick start” our tankless water heater so it won’t have to work so hard heating water from 55 degrees. We expect that will help with the precipitates that caused the failure of the first tankless heater. Because of the difficulty with the ducting we will have 2 zones:  the two bedrooms and baths and the rest of the house.  The drywall separates the two zones.  Master control will probably be in the master bedroom, at least for the bedrooms’ zone. 

stairwell into basement and bathroom in basement are more heavily insulated

This bathroom will be decorated in rugged utilitarian and could be used as a dog washing station.