125 days - from potential to progress


Today marks four months and 2 days since construction started on our dream home.
April 24, 2017

August 18, 2017

Wow!!!  Somehow, the installation of the windows flipped a switch in me – it now feels and looks like a house. But I am getting ahead of myself.  Since my last update on July 27, the team placed the last of the tongue-and-groove planks for the ceiling/roof, fitted the windows, and began the board-and-batten process on the outside of the house and garage.
 
Windows in dining room/kitchen - upper left
Roof/ceiling complete
Boards on basement for board and batten
Close-up of tongue-and-groove
on sun room ceiling
Master bathroom window (left)
Master closet window (right)
Note trim log added to cover up some of the 
foundation - creating a more finished look




























Great room windows
Although we have had very little rain in Montana, it's a relief for the whole house to be under roof. 



   

Also, the team installed the custom stairs that lead you from the first floor to the loft.  I love how the light shines through the second set of steps.  And, we no longer have to climb the ladder to inspect the loft!








We've chosen green/gray shingles for the roof, which will coordinate well with the green trim on the windows.



Trim complete on two of the
four windows
Note progress on board and 
batten on basement
Board and batten complete on garage



































Are you ready for winter? It's just around the corner!  Our mason applied the stone to the chimney, and the fireplace insert is also in place.


Fireplace

If you’ve built a house, you know that a construction site is always a bit of a pit.  Given my bent for perfection, I have had to ‘overlook’ this aspect of the process.  Nevertheless, I couldn’t help the sense of relief from some significant clean-up that has been completed in preparation for the next phases of the process.  The site already looks more tidy! 

Before clean-up

After clean-up
This month rang in another major milestone in the life of the house - the first Midwest visitors to see it - my Mother, my eldest sister and Number One Son's girlfriend.  What joy to give them a tour and a first-hand experience of our dream.  It is likely the house will be finished the next time they visit; it will be fun to reminisce about how it looked 'way back when'! And a reminder to all our friends and family - you are always welcome!

Never ones to shirk from ‘dirty work’, Spousal Unit and I put our muscle to work for a couple of (dusty) days.  We trimmed some dead branches from the pines along our driveway, and cleared some fallen trees along the way. 
Man with Hat shows off
his muscle










We’ve begun meeting with our landscape designer, and are excited about the overall concept.  Part of the design will include flower beds bordered with rock, and so we have begun to collect rock from our own property that can be used for the beds. 


In the picture to the left, the cart contains a pile of knapweed plants; they are considered a noxious weed in our region and we are required to eradicate them.   In our couple of days of manual labor, we might have touched a tenth of an acre (out of eight) with respect to pulling up the knapweed – this will be a long process!

Below is a healthy-sized woodpile gleaned from the construction site – partly untreated wood that will make good kindling/firewood – and partly the ends of logs from the body of the house.   We have many ideas for these logs – chairs and tables for the fire pit, plant stands for potted plants, material for foot paths – the options are endless.  Let us know if you have any ideas for these rustic pieces! 
Dust around a construction site is almost inevitable, but it is worsened by the lack of rain in Montana.  As you can see in the picture to the right, the dust gave a (temporary) boost to my tan!




After this physical, hot and dusty effort, we rewarded ourselves with some beverages and healthy (not!) snacks. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

November in a Nutshell

Image
I like patterns and rhythms and yes, dare I use the word?  Schedules. Before assuming responsibility for Mosaic Monday, I was in a weekly posting rhythm, consistently linking to a short list of memes.  I thought I could adapt to a twice-a-week schedule - one for Mosaic Monday, and one to connect with other linky parties.  But I only managed it for one week before life took over.  So I am pretty happy that I can see a path for two posts this week, including one that links up with my old (well, not OLD, but FORMER) meme buddies.  Coincidentally, this is my November summary, and the last time I published two posts in a week was my October wrap-up.  Maybe this is my new pattern? View from our second floor ONE: NATURE My forays outside have been naturally limited by shortened daylight hours.  Also, we have invested those very hours in key projects such as sowing wild grass seed mixed with prairie flower seed.  Nevertheless, I can offer a few outdoor ph...
Read more

Mosaic Monday #6 - We Interrupt This Programming

Image
I'm looking outside at the snow-capped mountains, and I just sealed the envelope on the last of my Christmas cards.  17 days until the red-suited man comes down our chimney, and I probably should be writing a Christmas-themed post.  But the sun is bright, and the skies are blue, and it puts me in the mood to return to summer material.  So here's Chapter 6 of my summer series ( Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5 ). The scene is the south and east sides of Glacier National Park.  The time is mid-July 2018.  The players are Spousal Unit, his parents and me.  To facilitate access to the Park, we are staying two nights in one of the cabooses on the grounds of the Izaak Walton Inn. (Let's be real -we also chose this lodging 'cause it's just so darn cool.  Who wouldn't want to sleep in a caboose?  When we first arrived in Montana, a friend of ours clued us in about this unique feature of the Inn, and we began to look for an excuse ...
Read more

Mosaic Monday #4 - The Piano Man

Image
Do you own anything that is 100 years old?  Last week, our upright piano was serviced by Daryl Frank, piano technician, and he confirmed that it was crafted at the turn of the century.  This was not a complete surprise since I know it originally belonged to my maternal great-grandfather Clem.  My mother inherited it, and the piano lived with one of my sisters for a time until I adopted it. But Daryl was a veritable font of information, confirming some points I already knew, while adding facts about the piano that were news to me. ONE: The piano is made from quarter sawn oak.  This corroborated an assessment by our good friend Neal, the general contractor for our house who knows a lot about carpentry.  Uprights made from quarter sawn oak were the most expensive uprights you could buy.   TWO: The piano was originally stained and shellacked a dark, almost black, color, as can be seen on the inside of the lid of the piano.  This was news (I am not sure I e...
Read more