Week
One
(This wasn't really
week one, but the weeks prior to
this
point weren't very exciting, as it was mostly
cutting the brush down and clearing debris.
Thursday, February 14, 2002
Preparing to build the deck.
Digging the post holes
(30" x 4' for three holes)
Current interior conditions:
| There
is electricity next to the upstairs door, but nothing wired inside
upstairs. No water, no septic, no insulation, no heating, no stairs,
one plywood door, one icky window, and one skylight. If you look
closely at the upstairs area from the front, you may notice that
next to the wiring there is a cutout of a wide doorway. That is
the current opening door. It is mostly used for lighting the interior. |
These images were taken 2-14-02
| Kids standing next to the special shovel
and spoon used for digging these large holes. |
Plans being discussed for the barn. |
Hole digging in progress. |
More discussing plans. |
| |
|
|
|
Week
Two
Holes for posts completed, Posts stood up, cement poured in one hole.
Saturday & Sunday, March 2 & 3, 2002
Week
Three
Forgot
camera.. oops!
Was snowing out this weekend. It was very cold outside.
Thankfully, it was fairly dry out with spotty snow showers.
Holes filled
up totally now. Progress has been slow thus far.
Next Step:
Hoist beam for
deck up and into place. Thursday the 14th is the target day
for this project. The deck surface and stairs should fill the remainder
of the weekend.
Week
Four
Pics
are here from this week!
There were also some firewood splitting lessons given by Grandpa
to Grandson.
Here are scenes from these lessons caught by camera. :)
The problem was.. the axe was stuck in the wood...
The solution.. Let Grandpa get it out!!
Tuesday:
Moved the refrigerator into place to make room for construction to
begin on the hearth.
Cleared out light fixtures from corner to find a suitable place for
breaker panel.
Thursday:
Plans did not
happen due to extremely cold temperatures. The hearth was not started
because of missing some parts necessary for its assembly. The beam
was not lifted into place for the deck because of falling snow and
slush outside. BRRRR! There were a few sheets of plywood lifted up
into the attic space for the kids to have a warmer place to go to.
They enjoyed this new place to hide quite a bit. :)
Plans are for
the primary beam for the deck support to be lifted into place.
I will begin work on the marble hearth. I will continue working on
digging the ditch for the septic pipes.
If all goes well hopefully the location of the incoming water lines
can be found and the ditch for that started.
We purchased an emergency ladder which the kids and I need to test
out. The kids and I will be hoisting the remaining marble tiles upstairs
with the pulley so they are ready when I need them for the hearth.
The kids will be tidying up the barn, cleaning up sweeping and in
general getting cozy there. We have some boxes to fill of stuff that
we had been storing up there for the past 5 years. Hopefully, we can
seriously reduce the quantity of junk remaining there soon! :)
Friday:
Plans include
assembly of hearth, and preparation for wiring. Purchasing of materials
for interior. Insulation and ceiling sheetrock are priorities now.
We need to make it as warm as possible right away, even if it is only
a small area. Updates to follow soon. Keep checking in.
Saturday:
Had a
very long day! I was digging a fairly deep ditch in the slippery mud
to put the septic lines into. Leif, Bruce & Jamie were hoisting
the beams into place for the deck supports. Some floor joists were
attached also, remaining joist locations are marked out and brackets
are hung now. Electrical was started. There are now outlet boxes in
the dining and living room areas under the roof. Hopefully today we
can get the wires in connecting those and maybe making those live
outlets soon. Took photos, but have not pried them out of the camera
yet. Things are getting too hectic now.
Sunday:
The weather today was supposed to be snowy, but it turned out to be
ok. Today we got the rafter baffles installed in about half of the
barn. The Liv, Dining, kitchen, bathroom and above attic spaces are
set for insulation as soon as electrical is done. Have almost run
out of rafter baffles, need to purchase another big box of them. At
least the kids and I are capable of putting them up under the roof.
Insulation has been purchased and as soon as possible the kids and
I will probably be doing it. Hopefully, we can get the ceiling sheetrock
in soon after the insulation, followed by the ceiling insulation,
followed by ceiling plywood for kids attic space. Soon after we hope
to get sheetrock for walls so kids don't destroy the insulation. (Itchy,
Itchy!)
We have
not gotten anything done on the septic lines other than ditch work.
All energies have been focused on heating it and keeping it warm at
this point. I believe as soon as the electrical is under control the
septic is the next thing to focus on.
Today
we are going to be up there all day again. We hope to finish up the
septic ditch, start the water ditch, finish getting the joists up
into place and working on a wall to support the landing for the stairs.
(Stairs are planned to go in next weekend, on the 23rd. This could
pose a challenge!) The weather is frozen out and is supposed to stay
that way for a few more days. Yesterday the weather was cold, sometimes
rainy, sometimes slushy. Brrrr!
Life is good, challenges bring adventure, adventure brings strength.
C. Appling
