And Then There Was One

Anthony had to go to California for work this week. I headed back to school. Natalie was back at day care and my dad had to return home to NY. That left the rest of the radiant panel installation to my mom. What a trooper!

The main floor radiant subfloor is near completion. Laying the plywood strips and aluminum plates happened fairly quickly. It was filling in all the nooks and crannies that ended up taking forever.

Not only that, but when Anthony did return on Thursday he suggested they go over and work after dinner...which turned out to be until midnight!

Mom's always liked puzzles, so we just kept telling her it was one big puzzle that she got to put together. We're just lucky it wasn't great biking weather this week, so really, she had nothing better to do.

- J

Laying It Out

Saturday brought a happy mix of Anthony, my parents, and our friend Kevin over to the house to work. They managed to get pretty far, but there was still plenty to be done on Sunday between church and Easter dinner.

Talking through the rest of the installation. With most of the wood strips down, the details of filling in the holes become important...

and Carol takes a little lie down. (She later reported she wasn't lying down- she just couldn't get up.)

"The Perfect Board" scrawled on one that easily lay nice and flat.

We still used all the others of course, twisting the morning's reading and convincing ourselves that the board the builder cast aside could become the subfloor of our radiant floor warmth.

Don't come near me...I've got power tools!

Zippy also got to experience the doorbell for the first time.

Notice how he's ready for it before it even rings:

Poor guy.

- A & J

What Two Can Do

The mom and dad crew continued to slave away yesterday on their own. They managed to complete all three bedrooms. So what if they can no longer stand up straight? At least they know that this winter they can come back and lie down on an all-house-heating-pad-of-a-floor.

My parents pressing and screwing aluminum panels into the plywood tracks.

Yes, we're putting even more metal into this house!

Anthony returned home in the late evening, and then sometime in the middle of the night got worried that it would rain on our plywood. He entered into a crazy can't-find-the-tarps-solution-seeking fiasco that eventually involved him single-handedly moving all the plywood and then covering it with shower curtains. He was quite disappointed when he woke up this morning and it wasn't raining yet. But then you could just hear his inner voice squeaking "I knew it" in delight when the rain started up mid-morning.

- J

Let there be light!

Lights on in the stairway going into the basement

Yes, light- along with a kitchen in boxes, outside trim painted, insulation in the attic, and radiant panels in the floor.

It was certainly a busy day in and around our little house today. At one point my mom counted 12 people besides us working! So let's back up...

The house was spray primed inside by the painters yesterday.

It was also a marathon day for us at Ikea where the kitchen was finalized, purchased, and loaded into two vehicles (thanks to my parents for meeting us there). I'm so glad we did this on a Wednesday evening. I could not imagine trying to brave a giant purchase like that with the throngs of Boston weekenders.

Checking off our five carts of kitchen cabinets

Lumber delivery

Good old Falmouth Lumber delivered our plywood this morning. Our crew (Anthony and my parents) began cutting strips to create our radiant panels. Zippy also got his spring haircut by my mom in the morning.

An electrician and painter share the yard for prep work as Anthony and my parents cut the plywood strips that the pex tubing will run between for the radiant floor heating

The electricians came and busied themselves. By mid-afternoon the house was powered up, the lights on, and our temporary power supply pole was taken down. Zippy doesn't know this yet, but we now have a working doorbell.

The lights in the kitchen are on!

The insulation guys blew some more into the attic. I thought of our across-the-street neighbor when I saw their truck pull up. A couple of days ago she remarked that she had seem them come and insulate our house, and then it seems like they keep coming back and doing more insulation. Yup. That's the idea with this house. I only want to feel the breeze if I'm sitting on the porch!

Insulation being blown into the attic hatch from the upstairs bathroom

The painters came and worked on the trim. By this time, the sunshine, their radio, and the vast amounts of people around made it seem like a beach party. I guess it is spring break.

Painters working on the trim on the back of the house

By the afternoon our crew had joined the inside ranks. They worked hard laying out the pieces of the radiant floor puzzle upstairs. And to think that they'll work for Cape Cod Potato Chips and granddaughter giggles- we're pretty fortunate! Two rooms upstairs were laid out and secured by dinnertime.

Anthony and I went back and started a third room after dinner. The plan was to continue tomorrow, but the ocean called Anthony away so we'll be on our own without him to supervise. Yikes!

- J

Holes

Holes in the front yard.

Holes in the back yard.

Holes in our bank account...

On Friday we came home to a very large hole, a very big excavator, and a super huge lego brick in our front yard. Apparently it was time to move the septic tank back in.

It was also time to get our mitigation plantings in. Anthony went to two different nurseries on Saturday and filled the Rav 4 with native species. He then began digging...

We're coming down to crunch time here where all the things that make a home need to have been bought yesterday so that we don't slow the project down. This is especially hard on us frugal wafflers, but we're hanging in there the best we can. We keep reminding ourselves that the important items are done (like the insulation), and what we're choosing now can be more or less changed down the road if we can't find exactly what we want at our bare-bones budget right now.

- J

Caffeinated Results

The Mountain Dew and Red Bull seemed to work. The blueboard is all hung (shown below) and plastered (not shown here). No more walking through walls- the real house has taken its form.

Looking down the upstairs hallway from the Master Bedroom

In the Master bedroom, looking toward the closet

Main Floor- the ladder is in the kitchen

Main Floor, looking toward the stairs, dining room and front door

Office in the basement

The shelves below the windowsills are a remnant of the thicker concrete walls along the bottom part of the walk-out basement.

Meanwhile the decisions are still flying at us fast and furious. We're keeping up and trying to stay slightly ahead of the game the best we can!

- J

At Least I hope It's the Drywallers

7:00 this morning I watched the workers pull up and climb through the window to start work. One guy was armed with a 2-liter of Mountain Dew and a Red Bull, so I expect the job to go quickly. Zippy's extra anxious because they also brought a little dog with them today.

- J

Daily Reflections

I feel like every time I visit the house I stand in awe of the day's accomplishments. Sometimes big, sometimes small, these raw changes transform the space into something that I either never really thought I'd actually see (which often results in a "Jodes, you won't believe what...") or that I didn't expect to see (which often results in a "John, I'm confused why...").

This past week and a half has garnered many of each type of response:

Saturday/Sunday: This is the basement window along the south side of the house. Insulating the basement became a bit more involved toward the back of the house. 3" of rigid foam exists behind and between the 2x3 studs where they back up to the concrete foundation. Above this, cellulose was blown in behind a mess into the 2x6 studs of the outside wall. Remember that there is an inch of rigid foam on the exterior of the above-ground sections well.

Monday: You are looking at the ceiling of the main floor. 6" of fiberglass provides sound-proofing between levels. The insulated supply lines for the upper zone of radiant heating is visible as well.

Tuesday: As quality insulation was a big part of our hopes for the house, we've tried to use blown-in cellulose where ever possible on the exterior walls. It works better per unit R value than fiberglass (it's all about the installation). This caused some communication issues when something else was placed there instead. The area along the outer wall where the floor joists are supported was one of those places. However after talking with John, he had the sub pull it out and pour foam instead (shown here in the yellow color).

By now most of the cellulose has been put in the master bedroom outer wall, up to the ceiling, dampening out most of the noise.

Another look at one of the forward bedrooms and upstairs bathroom with insulation.

Wednesday: The main level is now quiet as a tomb. Although I suspect that it will not stop Jody from tap dancing again.

Thursday: More sound proofing for the interior walls on the top floor. You used to be able to see through to the back windows from the stairs, and walk through all the walls but alas, no more!

Friday: Oh my gosh!(Okay, maybe I said something else...) Today they not only delivered all the blueboard and plaster but they put it up in half of the 2nd floor. This front bedroom is completely finished, as is most of the bathroom.

A view from the outside corner of the same room. The closet/stage is almost ready to go.

The drywallers have left their jar of peanut butter, jar of jelly and loaf of bread upstairs, so I know they'll be back soon.

- A

Little Games Along the Way

First a disclaimer: there are no pictures with this post. Anthony's computer has not been playing nicely lately, so my computer has recently been confiscated by him (okay so it was our computer, but I used to use it almost exclusively). All the photos are on that computer, so all you get are words while I type on a different computer.

Some musings that have come up recently...

There are signs we like to look for in certain situations- kind of like little games or mini-milestones. For example, when we're skiing you get points for being the first one to spot the guy skiing in jeans (there's always someone- and the fake points get multiplied by certain factors depending on how straight the skis are, how acid-washed the jeans are, or instantly by a gazillion if he or she happens to be on a monoski).

Another that's more relevant to homebuilding is the current quest to try to catch someone saying the word "shellac" every time we're out looking at house stuff these days.

Today I feel like we hit on a third milestone: buying something off of Craigslist from someone actually named Craig. Not only that, but we included a two-dollar bill in his payment.

I also came across the scary realization tonight that I know way too much about toilets these days. Despite this we still have yet to find the right throne.

- J