Island Cabinets (Day 420)

Day 2 of the cabinet installation. Its going pretty well, but we ran into a few more problems in the afternoon which will delay completion of the job. More on that later.

In the morning, Brian and I finished installing the west side (range and oven) cabinets and we were acting pretty cocky by lunch time. Still to do are the hanging cabinets. The two on that wall straddle the hood, which should do up first, then we'll trim out the hanging cabinets with fillers. Levi Ross came by and installed the gas line extension, which goes from a floor mounted valve on steel pipe up to the Wolf range top via a flexible pipe. That way we'll be ready to set the range top in place when the counter tops show up. There is a third hanging cabinet (resting really) that goes on the right side of the refrigerator case. This cabinet is really a double door cabinet that sets on an appliance garage, where the coffee maker and toaster will be stored (sound familiar, Bill?). However, since this tall cabinet ultimately rests on the counter top, that must go in first, hence the delays on completing the kitchen (reddish) cabinets. These are quarter-sawn red oak with a burgundy stain and lacquer top coat. (Note to Shelly Little, they look great and you should see them installed soon).

In the afternoon we brought all the cabinets for Island. There are 7 cabinets in this set that all get ganged together to form a 3' x 6' island. They are also quarter-sawn red oak but with a wheat (very light) stain and lacquer top coat. We set the prep sink cabinet first since it straddles plumbing and electrical. Once that was in place, we moved to the right with a recycling (two waste can) cabinet and a double drawer cabinet. This finished off the far side half of the island so we anchored it all down and moved on to the more complicated back side (toward you in the photos). This side has (from left to right) a shallow cabinet (glasses?), two wine racks, and a spice cabinet with false door panel. Well this is where the trouble occurred. The spice cabinet was spec'd out at 23", but supplied as a standard 24" unit. No big deal, just had to cut an inch off the back end, but on the finished side. This meant getting a straight cut with no tear out of the plywood veneer. Brian and I covered the end with tape, cut through the veneer with a knife, then used a skilsaw to rip the inch off the cabinet. Then I planed the end down to the veneer line. It came out pretty good, but I still need to work it over so the seam with the wine rack is absolutely straight (this will show). The bigger problem is that the false door panel, which goes over the spice cabinet, was made about 2" too wide (factory error), so this panel will have to be replaced. So for now, we still have to screw together this side of the island cabinets then figure out how to attach the glass counter top that will float above the granite top. I'll likely loose some sleep over this one before its all done. Today, I'll do clean up and take an initial look at the range-top hood and see how this sucker is going to get bolted in place. It attaches to a 800 cfm blower that is already in place and I keep kidding Nancy that it will probably suck her hair straight up when she powers the fan up. We'll see.

P.S. On Wednesday I finished the island cabinets. Still in a quandry about how the glass counter top will be supported off the end of the island, but I put extra wood backing in the island just in case we have to router a slot to accept glass corbels or mount metal standoffs.

P.P.S. On Thursday (New Years Eve) I worked all day and got almost nothing done. Took my two exterior doors (fir) that go between the main floor and basement and upstairs out to Bill McCutchen to have the birch thresholds that he made fitted to the doors. They turned out great. Otherwise, we'd have black aluminum thresholds with red birch on either side—butt ugly, prevented. In the afternoon, I spent 4 hours cutting a hole in the island cabinet for an electrical outlet, then wiring and fitting the outlet and cover. Turned out great, but that's not much progress for a whole day. Some days you kill the cat, some days it kills you (today). Happy New Year.

Kitchen Cabinets (Day 418)

Its the Monday morning after Christmas and we started in on the kitchen cabinets. Since these are a $20k plus part of the house, there is no room for screw ups. Brian (the trim guy) showed up on schedule at 8:30 am, but I'd been at the house for an hour setting up for the big event. We moved a half dozen boxed cabinets into the kitchen area, and got them ready. Since its an L-shaped cabinet layout, we started with the corner cabinet, which is fondly known as a Super Susan (think big Lazy Susan). We set this cabinet first, getting it squared up in 3 directions so everything that gets built off of it is level and plumb. We had to plane off the bottom and back edges since the Hardiboard flooring sweeps up a bit along the walls.

Right off the bat there were a few problems I hadn't foreseen. Firstly, I'd installed a wall outlet for an instant hot water faucet (optional) in the right side of the sink cabinet, but not quite in the right spot. It turned out to be behind the seam between two cabinets (not a good thing), so we cut a hole in the drywall. I pulled the wires over and will put an electrical box in the rear of the sink cabinet tomorrow. Second problem was the gas turnoff valve for the Wolf range top. Turns out that you have to be able to turn off the gas to the range top for maintenance (or leaks), so we need to cut out the back of the cabinet and put in an access port (I bought one tonight). So by 10 am we had a plan for solving the problems and started setting cabinets.

We worked to the left from the corner cabinet along the south (sunny) wall of the kitchen. Two cabinets, then a 24" opening for the dishwasher. Then a drawer cabinet and the big kahuna—the refrigerator case (left side of first photo). Swore I wouldn't have another of these after our Denver experience, but here we go again. The problem in Denver is that the original case was only 30" wide, and the refrigerators got wider with time. When we went to replace ours after 10 years, the narrowest refrig made was 32" wide, so I ended up cutting the case in half and widening it by 2". Now a days, 36" is the standard width, and some builders plan for 48" or more. Anyway, the refrigerator case is built out of two side panels (32" x 96") and an intervening upper cabinet (see second photo).

To the left of the refrigerator case is a narrow pantry cabinet. 12" wide and 24" deep, with a slide out case in the bottom and two shelves in the top. We've pulled a little trick on all of these cabinets. Nancy wanted deeper than normal counters since she's a half pint (5'3"), so I built a stub wall 3.5" deep behind the lower cabinets. This way we got 28" deep counters and only paid for standard 24" deep cabinets. A side bonus is that the refrigerator case is 32" deep, but only sticks out 4" beyond the other cabinets. This gives the impression of a counter-depth refrigerator rather than the standard depth French door model we ordered. Counter-depth refrigerators are the biggest scam perpetrated on home owners in the past decade. They are shallow and nearly twice the cost of standard depth ones. Price a few and see what I mean (yikes).

Anyway, by the end of the day Brian and I place all the cabinets along the south wall (sink and refrigerator), and positioned the ones along the west wall (oven and stove top). A good days work for amateurs, I'd say.

Merry Christmas (Day 415)

With all the holiday activities, we've taken a break from the house, so progress has slowed to bitty stuff like cover plates & cleaning up, and sticking a plant in the ground when the weather warms up. The garage has filled up with the kitchen cabinets, interior doors, and now the plumbing fixtures, all awaiting installation in the coming weeks. Plus more cabinets are due to be delivered in mid January, so you can see what the New Year has in store for us.

In the spirit of the season, Nancy and I gave each other toilets for Christmas. (Hey, I don't want to see any crappy jokes in the comment section.) We tossed in a bath tub for the New Year; who says we don't now how to party any more! We'll hit it again come Saturday; brushing lacquer on the fir window trim, more cover plates, and prepping the kitchen walls for the cabinets, which will start going in on Monday.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and
a Happy New Year.

Someone is watching (Day 411)

So this morning I get an email (see below) from Brian Wright:

Michael

I am the Wedi western US Sales manager and one of my customers sent your blog link to me. Thank you for using our system and I am glad it is going well for you. I just wanted to say that I noticed that I didn’t see any sealant at the most important joint and this is between the Pan and wallboard or most places between the boards in the corners. I just want to make sure this performs perfectly for you. The application looks great and I like your center niche’ detail. Good job! If you wish to call me @ 206-423-0705

Thank you

Brian Wright
Wedi Regional Sales Manager

It seems that some anonymous blogophile (I suspect Jim Quandt) spilled the beans to Brian about my shower stall. Well, its a small world where you can post a blog in on a Thursday and have someone notice a problem the next Monday (I have visions of George Orwell's 1984 + 25). To calm the worries of Brian, I responded to his email as follows:

Brian, thanks for the heads up. I ran out of wedi sealant, hence the missing area and lack of a sill yet. Have to go to Seattle for it, so I'm waiting for other reasons to go. Amazing who sees my blog, and why. Cheers, Michael

If anyone is over in Seattle and wants to pick up a couple tubes of Wedi sealant from Daltile, it would be much appreciated and calming to the corporation. It'll make it worth your time in beer. Cheers, Michael

On a different front, Gary Estes (Craighead Electric) and I took on the light switches and power receptacles (plugs) today. Gary did the lights and GFI plugs, and I did the normal plugs. We managed to use up all the switches, so Nurse Nancy ran to the Home Depot in Sequim to restock our surgical supplies. Just like Mash and the 4077th, just a little less imperative (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M*A*S*H_(TV_series)). I think I wired about 50 plugs in 7 hours, which is an average of about 7 per hour or one every 8.57 minutes. Not breakneck speed, but at this rate we'll be done with most of the electrical by tomorrow evening. Hot damn, we'll have power and lights through out the house. Time to party (oops, no can yet).

PS. Tuesday, Dec. 22. Finished all the light and receptacle installation, including the 5 exterior lights. Still have a bit to do, like the two fans and 3 TV boxes but those can wait. Next I have to buy the trim rings for the 65 Juno recessed cans, a couple track lights for the garage, sconces for the staircase, and a couple hanging ($$$) light fixtures. Its only money and time; don't have an excess of either right now.

Moving cabinets and doors (Day 410)

We've been storing the kitchen cabinets (Kitchen and Bath Studio) and the interior doors (Carls) in the rental house garage since early summer. Now its time to reclaim the garage and move it all up to the new house. Its been cold and snowy of late, so getting the cars back in the garage would be a real plus. The weather looked dry for Saturday, so we decided to do it before the next Pacific flyer arrived (every 3-4 days it seems).

Brian (trim carpenter) borrowed his buddy's truck and big trailer for the job. We have about 25 boxes of cabinets, another 14 packages of trim pieces, and 15 doors (five with glass), so the job took five round-trips. We'll start by placing the interior doors where the underlying flooring is already installed (wood), then go to the kitchen cabinets, probably after Christmas. The remaining doors will have to wait until the tile is laid in the bathrooms and the cork planks are placed in the pantry. We spent last Monday in Seattle at Dal Tile and brought home the first batch of samples. If picking out the counter tops is any indication, this may take a several trips since we're just starting looking for tile. This exercise ranks up there with picking out wall paper, and is just slightly above having a root canal. I guess that's why people hire interior designers—to make these decisions and take the blame if things don't work out.

Wedi Board (Day 407)

Sounds like something from Star Wars and the Jedis. No, its a German product for lining shower stalls. We'd seen it at the Seattle Home Show several years ago and Jim Quandt had recently installed the product on a bathroom remodel in Kala Point. Basically its high-density blue foam board coated with a modified polymer cement and fiberglass mesh for strength and rigidity. The boards we're using come in 3' x 5' 0.5"-thick sheets and the preformed shower pan is the same size with a centered drain (http://www.wedi.de/usa/products/fundo/fundo.php). The key here is that this is a waterproof system with a locking drain collar. No more worries about a leaky shower liner like my sister encountered on her home in California (meaning leaks and rotted subfloor and joists—kachine!).

To assemble the shower stall, first you plumb your 2" drain pipe in the center of the 3' x 5' opening (other sizes are available). Cut the pipe off flush with the floor, then put the locking ring over the pipe. Drop the pan into place and secure it with a bed of polyurethane sealant. The sides of pan are rabbited out for the side panels. Since we made the stall exactly 3' x 5', we could use full sheets, vertically on the ends and horizontally on the back. The product is fairly expensive ($30 a sheet and about $300 for the preformed, sloping pan with stainless steel drain). We're into it for about $500 in materials. The alternate solution is to use Hardibacker board and to pour your own pan with mortar mix. A bit sloppy and hard to get a uniformly slope, but I did it years ago so its not rocket science. Wedi's pitch is that you save buckets of labor putting their system in. So far we have invested 6 hours of my time and 2 hours of Jim's time.

To make life interesting, we built a recessed nook in the wall that will accommodate all the manditory shower stuff—shampoo, soap, razors, etc. When the tiling is being done (by us), we'll get some of the leftover travertine countertop material from the bathroom and have 3 shelves cut for the nook, and cement them in place.

The Wedi board is screwed and glued in place. The screws go through large washers that help hold the board, then the washers and all joints are caulked with polyurethane. Pretty simple, just make sure you don't have any big ridges of polyurethane sticking up that will interfere later with the tile cement. So the pan and side boards are in place and I still have to build a small sill that will hold the glass door. However, we haven't priced or bought the door yet so the sill will have to wait for a while.

Trimming out (Day 412)

I'd made good progress on the paint-grade trim and was ready to start the fir (clear lacquer finish) trim for the downstairs windows and doors. Brian Van Dalsum (finish carpenter) came over on Wednesday and we made a serious run at cutting and attaching the fir trim. Most of the windows and doors are trimmed out the same way with 5/4 (1") x 6 tops, 4/4 (3/4") x 4 side pieces, and 5/4 x 4 base pieces (windows). We're not placing any sill extensions on the fir windows since they may have furniture against them. Even though Gary and Troy did a great job framing the house, the drywall is either proud or thin around about 1/2 of the windows and doors. So we either planed down the adjacent drywall or added small jamb extensions (1/4-3/8" thick) so that the trim would mount correctly. Even with this complication, Brian and I trimmed out the French doors, the front and mudroom doors, and 10 window units in 13 hours (one hour each). We still have about 8 more doors to trim, but they aren't mounted yet (waiting to get tile, cork or remaining hardwood in place).

Brian is so fast and careful that I expect to use him on the kitchen, pantry and mudroom cabinets and other little projects where I can. I suspect he saves me 60-75% of the time I'd spend on a task. In other words, if I takes me 10 hours to do something, he and I can do it together in 2.5-4 hours. At that rate, we might make our May deadline without flaming out.

The one problem with having help like this is keeping up with him. Material has to be ordered, picked up (or delivered), then planned out, and prepped (trim drywall back, etc). So to use Brian effectively, I can only work him every other day. So for now, I suspect he'll be on site 2 days a week, and I'll spend the other 3 getting ahead of him and doing other chores like wiring lights and receptacles.

Trim costs are right up there. Vertical grain fir is pretty pricey. However, it really gives the house a Craftsman look which is what we're after. For example 1x6 vg fir (no knots, parallel grain) is going for about $6 a linear foot ($6.50 a board foot). The bill for trimming out the 10 windows and 3 doors so far is about $700, or $55 a piece and an hour of labor. Add to that about 200 linear feet of 1 x 6 base trim ($3/ln ft) and the 8 additional doors (at $65 each) and the total cost for the fir trim materials will be about $1800. Add labor, both to mount and finish off and we'll be coming in at about $2500. Not too bad since the fir windows and doors cost roughly $10k.

Bathroom Cabinets (Day 409)

Nancy (the painter) finished painting the clerestory window in the master bath on Monday, so I was ready to place the cabinets in there. They have been in the garage for a couple weeks and I figured it would be best to start on these (6) cabinets than the more complex set in the kitchen (20+ cabinets). I moved them into the bedroom and unpacked the boxes, saving the cardboard for floor and cabinet protection down the line. The bath setup includes his and her sinks and plenty of storage. The 6 cabinets are ganged together to fill a 12' 8" wide opening between the shower and the toilet room.

The bath cabinets include (from L to R) a full-height linen closet (30" w, 24" d), His drawers (18" w, 21" d, 34.5" h), His sink cabinet (30" w, 21" d, 34.5" h), a middle bank of shared taller drawers (24" w, 24" d, 41.5" h, Her sink cabinet (30" w, 21" d, 34.5" h), and Her drawers (18" w, 21" d, 34.5" h). With this setup, we had 3" of extra space (aka wiggle room) that was taken up with 1" fillers at each end and a final 1" piece between the bank of cabinets and the linen closet.

I was a bit more than nervous about this cabinet install. I'd done all of this before, but long ago in Denver under the watchful eye of Bill Hart (master cabinet maker of older times). I'd spent the better part of the morning cutting a hole in the side of the linen closet for a power receptacle (His). This had to be square and just the right size to hold the metal mounting box and conduit that protects the electrical cable. I managed to get it right, but by lunch time the idea of drilling the entry holes in the sink cabinets for the water and drain pipes was giving me the willys.

So I called up a finish carpenter that Tom Christopher had put me onto this last year. His name is Brian Van Dalsum, 40'ish and a recent emigre to PT from Florida. Brian had his own carpentry company with 30 employees in Florida before the housing meltdown, which took his business with it. So as they say in the business, it was time to strap on the tool belt again. He and his wife moved to PT about the same time as us (Summer 2008) and he found work with Tom's builder—LD Richert. However, business slowed down here last winter and Brian hit the streets, looking for work on his own. I gave him a call and he came over to scope out the job (these cabinets and possible other work later). He offered me a good price and within 15 minutes screws were turning and wood was flying.

Three hours later, we were done mounting the cabinets. Level tops and square fronts, just like it should be. We worked pretty well together so I offered him some trim work and probably placement of the kitchen cabinets. Lord nows we have plenty to do, so his help will speed things along and allow us to star thinking about the tile and plaster, which are two big jobs on the horizon. Tomorrow I'll rehang the cabinet doors and adjust the drawers, then cover them all up to protect the beautiful finish (Pecan stain on Cherry, shaker style cabinet doors).

Landscaping (Day 404)

The trees and shrubs we've been buying were stacking up on the property, so with the delivery of another bunch it was time to plant the trees. They'll grow roots in the winter here, when the ground isn't frozen. We had our first hard frost around the 1st of December, but it was still mild (40s in day, 30s at night).

Tim Hamm, a hardscaper from Sequim, had been building some small rock walls for us and had his small tractor on the site. So on Saturday Dec. 5th, he divvied up the big piles of top soil (30 yds) and bark chips (15 yds) that I had delivered last summer. He moved them around the property, closer to where plants and trees would be going. That saved me a couple days behind a wheelbarrow and a sore back. I started digging tree holes in the morning and planted about 8 by early afternoon. When Tim finished the first rock wall, he helped me for an hour and we planted another six trees. It was getting dark and cold, so I left the remaining 4 trees for another (milder day). Plus our friends Ken and Deb Olsen were arriving that night and I had to do a serious scrubup with Lava (soap) to be presentable.

After our wholesale tree cutting last year to clear the lot (60-80 trees), we've replanted the following:

2 Leyland Cypress
3 Giant Sequoia
6 Western Red Cedar
3 River Birch
3 Vine Maples
2 Autumn Harvest Maples
1 Sweet Gum
1 Umbrella Pine

Still out of the ground are 8 Rhodies, 8 Portuguese Laurels and 2 English Laurels. So far we have about $2000 into the plants, but most were bought on sale this fall at the two local nurseries and Home Depot (laurels). Also looking for a couple Holly trees, which do well here.

We took Sunday off to play with the Olsens and it snowed about an inch. No big deal (icy, mainly) except that was the start of a week of freezing temps (19° F min). The upshot is that the ground is pretty well frozen as well as the hoses. So it looks like those last 4 trees and shrubs will have to wait for a rain storm to melt the ground.

Wine cellar vs wine cooler (Day 398)

We have a big basement, which is unusual for the Pacific Northwest (i.e., no tornadoes, so why worry). However, when we lived in Denver we got used to having one, so how much could it cost to dig a bit deeper. Well, a lot it turns out. Extra to dig, extra to haul away 260 cubic yards of excess material (and find someone to take, not buy, it) and a bunch extra for 112' of 4' high concrete wall and a 30' x 26' slab. All told, I suspect it was a $10-15k add on. So we better use it, and appropriately. We used about 20% of it for the mechanical elements of the house: hot water boiler, radiant heat distribution, central vacuum, and eventual water conditioners. We partitioned off a 10' x 10' room for a wine (beverage) cellar since the basement is unheated. Heck if those fancy wine guys in Napa can have caves, we'll have a cellar. That left about 1/2 of the basement for storage, but the space is big and tall enough for a entertainment room (pool table) or workshop.

To complicate matters, when we bought our appliances from Fredricks in Redmond they sweetened the deal by throwing in a wine cooler and a microwave. Didn't need the cooler but agreed that the microwave could live in the butlers pantry. Some how it doesn't seem right to see a microwave and a 6-burner Wolf rangetop in the same room. We mainly use one for defrosting, heating up fluids, and leftovers for lunch. Free is free, so how could we lose.

The wine cooler turned out to be a refrigerator size unit capable of storing 144 bottles. Just enough for your average party. It was 6' high, 2' wide and 2' deep. I say was, cus I off loaded it on Craigslist today. Say what your want about Craigslist taking down the regional newspapers, but it's one efficient and cheap (free) way to sell stuff. Over the past 3 years I've sold about 100 items on it (no kidding), including 3 cars, 4 pinball machines, old furniture (a favorite), and all kinds of miscellaneous stuff. Usually there is no or only minor haggling about the price. Also its nice since you don't have to actually meet the buyers until the deal goes down; all the prelims are done anonymously. Cash is king.

So on Thursday evening, in a Trypyophan stupor (chemistry.about.com/od/holidaysseasons/a/tiredturkey.htm), I posted the wine cooler on Craigslist with a couple-paragraph explanation but no picture since the unit is still boxed up. Set the hook and dangled it out there on the ethernet. By the morning I had one bite and three nibbles. The bite was from a women in Seattle that was setting up a home-wine tasting business and needed some way to keep lots of bottles of wine cool. Apparently, but law she has to have $3000 of inventory on hand to be legit. Sounds like a little wine store to me. Anyway, she bought it sight unseen, and arrived at noon with cash in hand. I help her husband load it into the pickup truck, tie it down and watched her drive off. Kachinge. Now I have money to build wine racks and a table in the cellar.

Jammin (sung to Bob Marley) Day 397

Before Turkey Day I'd built the window jambs out in the bathroom and really struggled. Built them thicker than needed, then planed them down to be flush with the drywall. Big mistake (no. 1.1). I realized that I should just make them stand 1/16" proud, then back caulk any gap that might form behind the final trim. Duh!

So today I took the new approach to the window jambs. Did 5 in one short day, which was about one an hour. Not bad, but it seemed ironic that as I started the first one an old Bob Marley tune came on the light jazz station— specifically Jammin:

Ooh, yeah! All right!
We're jammin':
I wanna jam it wid you.
We're jammin', jammin',
And I hope you like jammin', too.

Holy Shit! That was definitely a karma moment. Yeap, built 5 jambs, attached them and didn't screw up a single one!. By 3 pm, I figured I had tested my luck, so I bailed out and went to Carls for more jamb lumber (1x5 vg hemlock). All set to do the last 2 downstairs, then tackle the garage and upstairs (10 more windows).

On another positive note, I off loaded the 144 bottle wine cooler that Fredricks Appliances had thrown in on our appliance package. Since we have a space dedicated to a wine cellar in the basement, why would you want to use voltage to keep wine cool. I posted the sucker (new in box) on Craigslist at 5 pm last night, and had 4 offers to buy it by this morning. Sold it to the first person for cash and it left the garage at 1 pm. Damn, I love Craigslist even if its going to run all the big newspapers out of business.

Major screw up (Day 392)

When we ordered the window package for the house from Sierra Pacific, the salesman asked me what the jamb thicknesses would be. 5.5 " is the normal answer now days (0.5" drywall, 2 x 6" wall, and 0.5" plywood sheathing). So that's what I put on the list for most of the windows, well at least the fir ones that would be finished off with trim and sills on the inside. I had this vague notion that we'd use rounded drywall corners (and did), so I figured that we'd just wrap the drywall into the window and terminate it against the jamb. Well, you can do that with plastic windows, but not windows with wooden jambs. The upshot is that I have to build jamb extensions for about 15 windows in the house, then trim them out in a conventional manner. Major screw up on my part. This will take me a week extra. I already spent a day doing 3 co-joined clerestory windows in the master bath (10' x 18", overhead location).

To take my mind off this brain fart, I went back to laying the Hardi backer board today. Nancy helped me to the kitchen floor. 14 sheets of 1/4" board, mortared and screwed down. Started at noon and finished 8 boards (120 sq. ft) by about 4 pm, so we should be able to polish off the kitchen tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, the landscape guy is going to bring some one-man boulders over with his tractor and we'll do some rock-wall building. Should be a cinch for an old geologist like me. More on that later (going to the store to buy some Advil).

Red Birch Flooring (Day 389)

On Tuesday (Nov. 17th), Mike Mills of Mills Interiors (Hardwood, Bainbridge Island) showed up to start the hardwood flooring install. Him and another guy jumped on it, and 6 hours later they had laid about 1/3 of the flooring. This involved the hall like run of flooring next to the kitchen tile (photo 1) and parts of the living room and den (photo 2). Had to have them reinstall the floor header (perpendicular to flooring strips) around the fireplace where the hearth will go. I had laid it out at 12" x 5', and it didn't look right. By the time I returned after lunch, they had this done, but no worries. They ripped it up, pulled out one strip and relaid the hearth frame at 18" x 6 ft. This way we can use full 18" square tiles on the hearth and allow the fireplace mantle to rest on wood or tile. In reality, the mantle and hearth should be in, then they could just put the flooring around them. Mistake diverted, but just barely.

By Thursday afternoon, they had laid all the wood that was delivered, but were still about 75 sq. ft short. This is a sign of the times; wasted wood (or any product) comes off the bottom line (profit) for them. So he ordered enough red birch to finish the job after Thanksgiving. No hurry on our part since we had lots to do before the door frames go in. Before we hang the doors, we'll need to have all the flooring in place; that includes the wood and ceramic tiles. Since we haven't even shopped for tile, we're at least a month out on doors. In the den, we won't have a hearth since it would eat up a fair bit of the room. These gas fireplaces don't require a hearth, so Mike just picture framed around the fireplace to finish off the flooring (second photo).

The floor looks great. Went with a no. 1 (not select) product, which shows more grain and notes than the select grade. Saved a few bucks and it gives the floor more character. The select grade was nice, but a little monotonous when laid out in big sections. They won't do the floor sanding until all the trim work and painting is done. We'll have them apply a satin finish (either polyurethane or an oil-based product) at the end; a first coat after sanding then a final coat just before we move in, which is looking like about Day 940 (May 1, 2010). However, eagle-eye Nancy noticed that there is a $6500 IRS credit for move-up house buyers (owner builders included) if you occupy by April 10, 2010, so there may be a pretty good reason ($$$) to occupy the house by this date. More on this later.

Hardi, Har, Har (Day 386)

The hardwood floor is going in this week, so I started to lay down the Hardibacker board for the tile floors. There will be tile in the bathrooms (3), kitchen, and mudroom, about 600 square feet in total. In order for the tile and flooring to come out flush, we needed to use the 1/2" (0.41") backer board. I bought 45 sheets of the 3' x 5' board at Home Depot last week and brought them home in our little 1000-lb capacity trailer. I was guessing that the board weighed 15-20 pounds each, so that meant the payload would be 700-900 pounds. No problemo.

[P.S. There is un problemo. I thought the kitchen tile was 1/4", but the hardwood guys say floor tile is 3/8", so I should have used 1/4" backer board. Oh well. The flooring guys will make thresholds for the two places where there are transistions (master bath to master bedroom, and guest bath to great room floor. I can return the remaining 1/2" Hardibacker board for 1/4" so there won't be any elevation changes from the kitchen tile. I can live with this.)

Well, after the HD guys loaded the board, the tires were pretty low. Went over to Costco, which is always the second stop on our trips to Sequim. The guys at the Tire Dept. pumped up the tires from 20# to 55#, and noticed that one of the lug nuts was almost off. Looks like I should have been doing some maintenance on the trailer, in advance. They torqued all the nuts, we did a visual on the lights and all was well. The load trailered nicely on the 25 mile trip home. However, when I looked up the specs on the Hardibacker board for installation, I noticed that they weight about 40# each. So the real payload was about 1800 pounds, plus another 80 pounds of paint (2-5 gal buckets). I guess I'm lucky I got it all back to Port Townsend in one piece.

I started the tile backing board project by laying out the sheets, as efficiently as possible on the floors. You don't want any four-way corners as they are weak points, so you need to stagger boards. I cut and laid out all of the board board in a half day, which seemed pretty fast. This even included cutting two sheets with circular holes for the toilets. The fastest way to cut these holes is with a Sawzall and narrow blade. 30 seconds and you're done. As for cutting the board, Hardi Corp suggest using a carbide bladed knife to score the board, then breaking it. That might work well for the 1/4" stuff, but not the 1/2" board. I resorted to my battery powered circular saw with a carbide bit. It throws off a lot of dust, but its only Portland cement and sand so a dust mask is advised.

Today I started the more time consuming job of cementing and screwing the boards in place. Since the under layment is Warmboard, with the vulnerable pressurized-Pex tubes right there, you have to map out their routes and trace them on the top of the Hardiboard. This was pretty easy since you have a 1/8"-1/4" gap between the boards which exposes the Pex. After tracing all the Pex routes, I took up one board at a time, applied a thin coat of modified thin-set mortar with a 1/4" notched trowel and put the board back in place. Walk all over it, slide it back and forth, and she's pretty well bedded. Then its screwed in place with 1 1/2" square bit drywall screws on 8" centers. It took about 6 hours to lay 8 sheets of board, which works out to 10 sheets per day. It takes one 50 pound bag of mortar to do 5 sheets, for a coverage rate of 75 sq. ft per bag. Most of the mudroom is just rectangular pieces so that will go faster, whereas the guest bath is irregularly shaped and has a toilet. Nevertheless, I should finish the those areas in an other day, then one for the kitchen (later) and another for the upstairs bath (much later). Tiling will be much slower since it involved cutting a myriad of tiles, and grouting. I won't actually tile any area until the adjacent cabinets are installed.

On Tuesday, the hardwood installers are coming over to lay the job out, and perhaps nail a few in. That's another blog for another day.

We score a Trifecta (Day 382)

Today we scored a trifecta, of sorts. Actually a quadfecta, if there was such a thing. Nancy and I finished painting the man cave (room above the garage, mainly for building kayaks and other manly things). Still have to paint and trim out the windows, add flooring and baseboard, but all that will have to wait for additional funds. I figure if we recycle all the aluminum cans from our house, we'll have the money for this in about 2060.

As for the trifecta part, it went this way:

1) Picked up the 6 cabinets for the master bath from the Kitchen and Bath Studio in PT. Cherry shaker style cabinets with medium stain and lacquer finish. Two 18' wide (21" deep) drawer units, two 30" wide sink bases (21" deep), a central drawer unit that is 6" taller and deeper (24"), and a linen closet (24" wide, 84" high), all with toe kicks. Since these are a manageable lot, I think we'll install them first as a test for the bigger assemblage of cabinets in the kitchen, pantry, and mudroom. The countertop will be an Italian banded travertine. We picked out the slab from Metagranite in Seattle, and Richerts in Sequim will do the cutting and installation hopefully towards the end of November.

2) They hid the hose. We'd earlier had a central vacuum system installed by A-B Vacuum of Puyallup (still can't pronounce this one). The did all the piping before drywall, then needed to return to install the cover plates, the vacuum unit, and hoses. These are quite cool—the hose retracts into the piping. We saw it at the Seattle and Denver home shows over the past few years, and the system was priced comparably with standard, haul the hose systems. Anyway, they'd had a cancellation on an install that day so they decided to come up. Three hours later, they were installing, testing and teaching us how to use the thing (simple).

3) The hardwood flooring arrived from Seattle. It was supposed to be here in the early afternoon, but they got buggered up with closure of the Hood Canal bridge for 90 minutes (testing). It was dark by the time they arrived, but we unloaded 1000 sq. ft (3000 linear ft) of red birch flooring. It is standard nail-down stock; 4" wide, 3/4" thick, tongue and groove. We stacked it up in three piles on the radiant flooring to dry out in the next week, prior to installation by Mills Interiors, Bainbridge Island (flooring and tile). We'll have the floor installed now, then sanded after all the door jambs and tile is installed. That should be months away at my pace of work. Hopefully, the installers will be more carefully than Classic Hardwoods of Sequim. They did the Christophers house in PT in June and managed to hit Pex tubing in four spots. I'll be watching carefully, like an old grandmother.

Now that the garage is back in a usable condition, we'll start to move the kitchen cabinets (39 boxes) over from the rental property. All the appliances are already on site, so the garage is going to be filled up soon. I set up the chop saw and table saw in the pantry, which will become the new workshop for all the remaining trim work.

Cleaning house (Day 375)

Only time for a quicky post.
In order to save a few bucks (i.e., beer money) I told our painter that we'd clean up after he finished. No big deal, just some paper on the floors and plastic on the windows. Oh yeah. Nancy and I spent most of today (Thursday) pulling down plastic, pulling staples and ripping up paper. Interestingly, the thin Kraft paper that Franks daughter laid down to protect the floor did a pretty good job where it stayed down or in place. After a few coats of paint dried on it, the paper was more like a thin tarp. This made it easy to just fold it up into reasonable size bundles and load up the trailer for another dump run. We put the 14 empty paint pails (5 gals) in the trailer, but I discovered that its rated as recyclable so I'll try to unload that stuff for free. Now the shop vac is coming out for a final cleanup before the flooring gets delivered next week. By the way, that shop vac is the 5 HP, 10 gal one I bought from Sears to remodel the Denver house in 1976. 33 years old, butt ugly, but it still sucks—big time.

Exterior Complete (Day 374)

The Architectural Committee met today and reviewed our case. We've been on their minds for a year now and I'm sure they want to clear our case from the docket. Our representative (aka task master) on the committee dropped by at 9:58 am to review our progress so they could make a decision on our case at the 10 am meeting. You can see that the house got a lot of scrutiny. He walked around the front yard asked few questions and said it looked good and he'd recommend that we be considered complete and get our refund (half of the $1000 deposit). The other half goes for cocktail parties I presume. Anyway, all that work and a two-minute review. Case closed.

Even though we're done, we not really finished. I started to put up the exterior lights and learned a lesson about Chinese lighting fixtures. Their mounting brackets don't go onto an American style recessed box, so some drilling and mods have to be made. This is the sort of thing that would add a day to the electrican's bill and $500 to the cost of the lights. So off to the hardware store for a abrasive bit, some washers, and different screws. Should have them all up tomorrow if the rain holds off.

Frank the drywaller finished shooting the topcoat on the main house today. Actually, his daughter Jessica did the painting and Frank did the back rolling. 2 hours to paint about 12,000 square feet of wall and ceiling with 25 gals of latex (Home Depot Premium Plus). It looks pretty good, but now we need to strip all masked windows, skylights and doors, and remove the paper from the floor. That should go pretty fast, then some cleaning up and the house will look sort of finished inside.

Craig Wallin, our former neighbor in KP and my building mentor, will be happy to know that we bought a slug of cabinets from Discount Cabinets of Washington (Sequim, WA) for the butlers pantry and mudroom. Steve and Jere are quite a pair: they sort of remind me of the Bob and Ray show on PBS. Jere is the color guy and Steve is the measure, design, and price guy. We'd had a first estimate from them about 2 weeks ago, but it was a bit rich for our rapidly diminishing budget. So we called them back and made some simplifications. Eliminated 4 cabinets and a large bookshelf, which I'll build myself. The pantry cabinets are Omega (brand) all plywood with stained Cherry frames and doors (Shaker style). The mudroom cabinets are the same but with a burgundy stain to match the kitchen cabinets±. They should be ready and delivered about mid December in exchange for the second half of the invoice. Looks like I need to find another consulting gig and Nancy needs to double up on her hours for the Xmas season.

Trick or Treat (Day 370)

Its Saturday, Halloween, and I'm hoping for treats not tricks. It rained buckets in Seattle yesterday, but not a drop fell on us in Port Townsend so I made some real progress in terms of painting the exterior of the hose. As you'll recall, all the shingles are up on the back of the house and now we need to get paint on them (upper level) and Hardiboard (lower level).

I fired up the "Ken Olsen Spray Tech 2120" rig, its a real monster. Feeds from a 5 gal bucket through a 50 ft hose. After reading the manual, I went to PT and got a replacement spray tip and a swivel extension, which saved my bacon. The extension is 3 ft long and allows you to spray a vertical pattern 10 ft high, so I didn't need to operate off a ladder on top of the scaffolding. I actually felt safe for a change. Anyway, after getting the rig set up and loaded with paint, I sprayed the entire north-facing section of the house (a triangle, 48 ft long and 12 ft high) in about 10 minutes! Then I back rolled it all (forces the paint into the shingles) with a 9" roller. I used a 6" foam roller to squeeze paint into the porous ends of the shingles so they'd be painted too. After about an hour, I reshot all the shingles with a light coat and back rolled it all a second time. Start to finish was about 4 hours, including a hour to clean up the sprayer. We're using oil-based stain (Cabots), so clean up is more complicated than latex.

Today, Darrell Olson (not a relative of Kens, but should be) is coming over so we can move all the scaffolding around to the back side of the house. Then I'll spray those shingles, break down the scaffolding, and start spraying the Hardiboard from ground level on Sunday. The weather forecast is for mild temps (50s) and decreasing rain through Wednesday, which is our current deadline for completing the exterior. Its looking like we'll be in for a treat ($1000 refund), not a trick (fines) from the Architectural Committee.

Nancy and I are starting our new careers as amateur landscape gardeners. A local nursery (Secret Gardens) is having their end of season sale through today, so yesterday we went down and picked out 7 trees and a dozen scrubs in exchange for a M-note. At 35% off, it'll save us some bucks, but plants are expensive if you want a yard that doesn't look Lilliputian. The idea is to get the bigger plants in the ground now so their roots will get established over the winter, then add foliage in the spring. The trees include a giant redwood, birch, 2 western red cedars, a colorful maple, and 2 flowering dogwoods. Now the trick will be to keep the deer from eating all the new growth in the spring. I'm thinking paint ball gun so we can scare and mark the vandals in one pull of the trigger.

Back in the Saddle (Day 367)

Well, not much has happened for two weeks. We took a break from building, partly for rest and partly because we had two trips planned. Did the GSA meeting in Portland for a long weekend, worked two days getting ready to paint the exterior, then headed off to Denver for a final trip.

The USGS wanted me to clean out my office on the off chance they might hire someone new, some day. One day of work and mission accomplished. Threw away the leftovers from a 35-year career, shipped 4 parcels to myself, one to Jeff Knott, and gave the other good stuff away. Then Ken Olsen had his 60th birthday so we couldn't miss that, followed by the Hobie Fleet Fall Party and a chance to see Steve and Judy. On Sunday we scooted off to South Dakota to see son Tom , Jenn, and the kids, then back in 24 hours. Returned home on Tuesday to find out that we'd had a couple inches of rain and more on the way. So, slow it goes for now. Next and final deadline is Nov. 5th for the exterior. If the sun shines, the airless sprayer is coming out and paint will be a flying onto the shingles and then the Hardiboard. Can't wait to finish this part of the project; then we can concentrate on the interior during the winter months. New move in date is May 1st, god, weather, and bank willing.

Nancy and I are agonizing over a basic paint color for the walls and ceilings. We'll narrow it down to 3 color choices tomorrow, then get 3 oz. samples from Home Depot and see which of the 3 we like the best. We need to coordinate the basic color with the American Clay plaster, the kitchen cabinets, red birch flooring and the fir trim (both of which will be natural). If we don't like the color, we can always repaint at a later date. Frank is scheduled to shot the whole house (but not garage) next week, so the paint has to be on site by Monday evening. It will take about 60 gals to do the whole house, then another 5 gallons for accent colors that we'll roller on at a later date.

Meanwhile, more pavers are on the way for the front walk, I'm looking at basalt boulders for some short walls that we need for landscaping, and we have to pick out a bunch of trees while the fall sales are on. No problem finding ways to spend money right now.

Spray Away (Day 355)

Its Wednesday, Oct. 13. Approaching the one year date for the house, having felled the trees on our lot on Oct. 23, 2008. Doesn't seem that long, but then again there were some cold rainy days last winter that I'd prefer to forget.

This week I need to finish laying the shingles on the back of the house, but the hard part is finished now. I think there are about 3 bundles (75 sq. ft) left to hang. Then I need to spray all the shingles (above) and then the hardiboard (below). The paint goes on fast (like a gallon a minute), so most of you time is spent in preping the windows and vents, and moving scaffolding. If the weather holds, this should be done in a week or so.

The drywallers are done. Frank's no. 1 daughter put plastic over all the windows and installed doors in the house and will finish the garage this morning. Then daughter no. 2 will be by to clean up all the debris and mud boxes (about 20) before they shoot the PVA paint on the walls. PVA is a primer with vapor barrier in it. (Poly Vinyl Acetate is a professional primer sealer for new construction and all unpainted interior drywall and texture coatings. A proprietary formula that includes acetate instead of the usual acrylic which is an improvement for sealing out moisture and odors. Designed for the professional painter and for the quality conscious consumer. Formulated for excellent adhesion, even sealing and holdout, it provides a uniform foundation for alkyd or latex paint.) After this is dries, Frank will roll up his drywall texture machine (cement mixer with a pump on it) and start shooting the texture on all the walls that will get painted. Three walls will be left alone: 2 for American Clay plaster and one for the rock fireplace surround. So, if all goes well, the house will be back in our hands by Friday night. Off to Portland for the GSA meeting, where there is a special session to honor Michael's career in geology and a dinner to roast him. This is something that Jeff Knott cooked up—apparently its easy to impress (or fool) him since he's from LA. It'll be a welcome break from the house, an opportunity to see Portland and some old friends (including Bill and Mary Scott).

When we get back into the house on Tuesday, it'll be time to start spraying all the walls with another coat of primer (not PVA) and the finish coat of paint, which will be backrolled. That ought to be quite a workout for the old arms, but the house will start to look finished with color inside. If we paint all the drywall, that would be 16,000 sq. ft. I'm figuring 15,000 sq. ft at 250 sq ft/gal will require 60 gals of primer, 50 gals of the basic color paint, and 10 gals of highlight colors. At $15-20 a gallon (average), the paint bill will probably run $1800 to $2400. However, Home Depot offers contractor prices to everyone if you purchase $2500 or more. You need to set up an account, give them a materials list (paint, backer board, mortar, some tile, electrical outlets, etc), and they'll give you a bid at reduced rates (ca. 5-10% off). At those prices, paint and electrical suppliers can't complete. We'll see how it goes. Right now we're in a race between the checkbook, the end of the year (for taxes and income), and completing the house. I suspect the checkbook will lose.

Day of Reckoning (Day 347)

Well, Monday was the day of reckoning (9 month + 2 month extension) in terms of the Kala Point Architectural Committee, which meets today (Wednesday morning). I'm sure our house will be the topic of much discussion since we didn't exactly make our "finished on the outside" deadline. But from the attached photo, it looks done to me. (PS, don't look in back). The concrete driveway is curing and the forms come off tomorrow, so there won't be any visible signs of construction. If that doesn't satisfy the committee, then screw them. Nancy has been painting around the exterior doors and window in preparation for the BIG SPRAY JOB, which is a week or two away. I've been hanging more frickin shingles, and painting them around the edges so we can mask off the other stuff. I included Darlene's (Richard Berg Architects) 3-D sketch for comparison to what actually got built. Not bad if we say so.



Pouring the driveway was an education in itself. Call it Concrete 102, whereas the Foundation was Concrete 101. My professor was Mike Fitzgerald, a 60s'ish bearded biker with a big old soft spot for dogs (especially German Shepards) and Miller Genuine Draft beer. I came highly recommended but I had a hard time reaching him (was in divorce court then on a road trip--think Easy Rider). Anyway, he gave me a price, then we negotiated. I guess the guy liked us since we were doing a lot of the work ourselves, so we cut a deal involving some labor on my part & cash. Apparently, he's not inclined to make many more fiscal donations to the ex. After the deal was made, I called him and said I'd also like to pour a little pad for a shed in the back before the driveway went in. I formed it up and put the wire mesh and rebar in place. He came out, helped pour it and finished it off. I asked him what I owed him and he wouldn't say, but in the long run a case of Miller evened the score.

About the driveway concrete. Normally, you'd spec a standard concrete mix. That is 5 bags of cement per yard (cubic) and 3/4" aggregate (crushed is best). However, in Kala Point exposed aggregate driveways are popular and look really good. The downside is they are more expensive and sweeping them off is a pain, so most everyone has one of those hideously noisy leaf blowers. Looks like I'll be buying one, perhaps the electric (quieter) version. Our formula for the exposed aggregate went this way: 6 sacks of concrete, pea gravel (<3/8"), fiber, and heat. The fiber acts as a binder for strength and heat, in the form of sodium phosphate, quickens the initial cure so the concrete can be worked in cool weather. After the mud is poured (concrete talk), you spray the surface with sugar water to retard the curing of the surface. Coke, 7Up, molasses, etc. all work, but sugar water is cheap and easy to make. Depending on the mud mix and amount of heat added, it'll take 2-5 hours for the mud to set up enough to get on it. Then you take a stiff brush and hose and wash away the top layer of cement, thus exposing the aggregate. The result is a pebbly, dark concrete surface. Easier on the eyes and it has good traction.

Mike told me to negotiate the concrete price with our local supplier (to remain anonymous, for soon to be obvious reasons). So I made a visit to the local mix master, and you'd think I'd stepped into the 60's. A bunch of 60-70 year old guys in a plywood shack, chewing. I suspected that there was a poker game going on in an adjacent room. After a few warm up comments, I asked my familiar question: What sort of a deal can I get. Well, he said, for multiple loads I can get 5% off, and if I pay cash I can get another 8.4% off (that's exactly the same rate as the tax, what a coincidence). Well, I ordered 24 yards and went away smiling. When I went to pay yesterday, I handed over $2500 in cash, the mix master tore up the load tickets, and we called it even. No receipts, just like 24 yards (48 tons) of concrete evaporated.

So it pays to negotiate, ask a few questions, and be willing to supply the green stuff. If I'd used my first concrete guy, the bill would have been about $10.8k for labor and tax and another $2.8k for concrete, for a total of $13.6k. That's quite a driveway, I'd say. In the end, we spent $4.6k for labor, $20 for a case of Miller, and $2.5k for concrete, for a total of $7.12k. That makes up a bit for the $37k foundation last November at full price.

PS. We stayed away from Wednesday's committee meeting, but later on a neighbor came by and said that since we were so close to making the deadline that the committe had granted us another month extension. (Nov. 5). That was easy, but we're still not done with the shingles and painting. However, Nancy has dipped her final shingle (about 5,000), everything from here on will be sprayed thanks to Ken Olsen and his old airless sprayer (Happy Birthday, Ken). We've asked for a 6 month extension on the rental house (until May 1), and figure it will take most of that time to complete the interior (paint, trim, doors, hardwood floor, tile, showers, cabinets, and final electrical). The new schedule gives us some breathing room and time off to travel to California after Christmas and maybe a little side trip to warm water. Oh boy, we'll need it. Ciao for now.

Tape and Mud (Day 343)

The commentors say "No blogs for a week, they must be busy." You got it right. The extended deadline for the exterior of the house is Monday, Oct. 5th and there is still a bunch to do—mainly shingling. However, the driveway is formed out and will be poured the 5th and 6th. The hand-dipped shingles on the master bedroom wall are hung, but I still have to finish high up in the mudroom porch, which means putting the scaffolding up on the porch (a bit tricky). I've started the back, big wall for shingles and laid a fifth of it yesterday in 4 hours, so there is a couple more days work left there. The Giraffe guys put on the gutters and look good (gutters are off white and downspouts are gray, in photo with the Vespa). I connected the downspouts to the perimeter drain system, so now the rain goes directly to the dry wells (the peanut filled holes) instead of along the side of house and on the siding.

To be finished on the exterior, we have to paint all the raw shingles and Hardiboard (a week) with Ken Olsen's HD sprayer, hang 5 exterior light fixtures (1/2 day), finish the mudroom porch shingles and soffit boards and trim out the two skylights (2 days), and move all the construction stuff to the rear of the house, where it can't be seen. Looks like we'll finish all that about the time the drywall is complete, weather permitting. Its starting to get cooler and rainier—Fall is definitely here.

Inside the house its a mess. The drywall hangers have gone and the scrappers (2 young girls) got all the drywall scraps out of the house and off to the dump (5 pickup loads full; not so environmentally friendly, but gypsum is a natural earth product). Then they patched the paper covering all the floors (basement and garage too). The mudders arrived on Wednesday and started in with ernest. These two guys really fly through a house.

First they did all the overhead seams and right-angle corners, then the wall seams. The second day they did the corners (mostly rounded) and base mouldings, and yesterday they did the overhead transistions; seams that are at lesser angles in the ceilings. This takes a special tape product that is 6" wide plastic with a flexible middle. Anyway, they'll hit the nail holes and any other uncovered spots today, so the tape and first coat will be done. Then there is a second coat, several day wait, and a finish coat and sanding. ETF is Tuesday Oct. 12th, if the hunting season doesn't get in the way. BTW, the finishers get $0.20 per square foot from the DW contractor, so they'll net about $3200 for the finishing work, whereas the hangers got $0.18 per square foot ($2880). You can see the pecking order already. Plus finishing DW is a lot less work and more craft than hanging it.

Say Uncle (Day 334)

Remember when you were a kid and someone had you in a half Nelson, telling you to "Say Uncle." Well, we said uncle this week on the dreaded shingles. With about 28 bundles (3000 shingles) left to dip, Nancy and I decided to finish off the master bedroom part of the house with dippers and then hang and spray the remainder of cedar shingles on the upper backside of the house, were no one will ever see them (from the road).

So this week, I've been banging them up, post haste and she's started to dip a couple bundles to complete the bedroom area. Today I'll finish the S & E sides of the second story part of the house, and will just have the big kahuna gable section left (N side). This is the part of the house that rises 27' above ground level (yikes). The upper shingled part of the gable is 48 ft wide and 13 ft high, so it will take about 350 sq. ft of shingles (about 14 bundles). So, it looks like I might have miscalculated on my original shingle purchase, having bought 80 bundles but only needing about 70. No worries, the little tool shed that we'll build out back in a couple of years will have Hardiboard below and shingles above, so that will eat up 200 sq. ft of shingles (8 bundles). As you might recall, the singles were my first GOOD DEAL, having bought them directly from a mill in Forks, WA, about 100 miles west of us.

Last Tuesday we made another foray into the big city (Seattle) in search of a slab of travertine for the 3 bathroom vanities. This should have been easy, but wasn't. I was keen on getting a banded travertine that had some character, but most slabs were looking like Melba toast to me. Went to Dal Tile, Michelangelo's (were we bought the kitchen slabs), Oregon Marble and Tile, Pental, and finally Meta Granite and Marble. By the time we arrive at Meta, we were pretty worn out and had decided that maybe we'd have to use another rock type. Then bingo, we found just what we wanted and it was the cheapest we'd priced all the day. Some times this stuff just works out, if you're persistent.

Our fabricator (Richerts) called in for sizes and prices and actually told me what the rock cost to them! The 2 cm thick (3/4 inch) slabs were $18/sq ft and the 3 cm (1 1/4 inch) slabs were $22/sq ft in polished form. That equates to about $980 for the 3-cm slab, plus the governors tariff (8.4%). The total bill for vanity tops will be about $2400, which breaks down to be $980 for rock, $750 for three sink cutouts, $475 for cutting and polishing 7 edges (21 linear ft), and about $195 in tax. Some where in this breakdown is overhead and a charge for picking up the rock in Seattle. Its a nearly 300 mile round trip that they typically make once a week to pick up a dozen slabs. In terms of fabrication costs, it works out to about $30/sq ft for the slab, whereas the rock is about $22/sq ft. Travertine and marble is soft and easy to work, so these costs may be relatively low compared to "granite" (all igneous and metamorphic rocks).

If you're looking for cheap granite counter tops, you can buy prefabricated ones (25" x 96") that are manufactured in China and India. Home Depot, Lowes, and others sell these, but then you still need to have someone do the cutouts and cut them to size. Nevertheless, this is how you get rectangular granite counter tops for $50/sq ft rather than at the more common installed prices of $100-$150/sq ft.

Hanging Rock (Day 330)

Now I'm not talking about Picnic at Hanging Rock, the novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay and a 1975 movie directed by Peter Weir. The story is of a group of schoolgirls who mysteriously vanish after being drawn toward a mysterious rock formation in Australia in 1900. Geology Rules.

I'm talking about the process of getting drywall up and attached to our ceilings and walls. Nancy and I've done this before (in an amateur way) for our old house in Denver and one house was enough. Professionals that do this have special tools such as stilts, drywall jacks, and scaffolding that make it easier, but its still no picnic.

Evergreen Products of Sequim delivered 16,000 sq. ft of drywall (aka rock; roughly 320 sheets) to the house yesterday (Wed). Two scrawny guys and two big trucks. In 2 hours, they hand packed the rock to various rooms and stood it up according to usage. 5/8" on the ceilings and 1/2" on the walls, all in 12 ft long sheets. Since the walls are 9 ft tall, they supplied 54" wide drywall so you only have one seem along the middle of the walls (2 x 54"= 9'). Rock for the second story rooms (garage loft and second bedroom) were delivered back in June before we put the last windows in place (see blog Day 236). For those keeping track of our declining nickel jar, the drywall job was bid at about $17,500 or roughly $1/sq ft with $1500 of that going to application of light texture and priming all rock with a vapor barrier paint. An alternate way of calculating the square footage cost is that the house is about 2700 sq. ft, the garage and loft are about 1200 sq. ft, and the basement is about 750 sq. ft. This adds up to 4650 sq. ft of drywalled space, or about $3.50 per sq. ft.

The rockers (not to be confused with Led Zeppelin) say it'll take 5 days to do the house, basement, garage, and loft. They start with the lids (ceilings), putting up the 5/8" rock first. These 4' x 12' sheets weigh about 75 pounds each, so they are tough to lift and position. This is where the drywall lift comes in. John, the big guy, says that this device alone has saved him a lot of back aches and allowed him to keep hanging drywall at 45 when he should have quit 10 years ago. Bob, the small guy, does most of the cutting on the ground, whereas John is the fastener. They tack the sheet in with a couple of drywall nails, then use a drywall gun (power screw driver with special bit) to secure the sheet it to the ceiling or wall. They told me they're getting $0.18 per sq. ft, which equates to about $9 per large sheet or about $3000 for the whole hanging job

The finishers, which in a caste system would be several notches higher than the hangers, will take about the same time to make it all smooth. So for now, it looks like we should have a White House on the inside by about the first of Oct. The hardwood flooring should sit inside at ambient temperature and moisture for at least two weeks, preferably longer. Meanwhile, Fredricks Appliances wants to offload our stuff ASAP, which means after the garage drywall is finished and before the driveway gets poured.

We've reoccupied the garage for the shingle dipping ceremonies. Nancy hasn't dipped one in two weeks and is starting to act surely; surely a sign of her addition to dipping.

All of these issues makes moving in by Halloween more of a trick than a treat.

Airtight and insultated (Day 325)

The Wooden Boat Festival was great; Bill Hart and Steve Cooley should have been here. Steve, I know you have an affinity for plastic boats, but there were some pretty wooden ones here, especially some former racing boats that had been restored to Bristol conditions. However, I digress from the business at hand. We're airtight (not uptight) and insulated—hurray!

At the last minute I realized we hadn't plumbed in a water line to the refrigerator for ice making. However, with Pex tubing this is a cinch. I got an outlet box from my plumber, nailed and screwed it to the wall behind the refrigerator alcove, then cut the waterline in the crawl space, below. Put in a T fitting, ran 5 ft of 1/2" Pex through the joists and up through the sill plate. Used the Pex tool and voilà, we had water to the fridge. If city and county building codes (like Colorado) don't allow this type of water piping, someone is trying to protect plumbers and their unions.

Still putting major time in on the exterior of the house. Nancy has been painting the garage doors (two coats, two colors) on days its not too hot, and I'm up on the roof doing some final detailing. I bolted on the remaining Corbels gabled dormers on the upstairs) and have been painting them and the facia in preparation for gutters. The gutters are formed on site (rolled out through a form) from prepainted aluminium, and the downspouts come in 10 ft long sections. I have one estimate from Giraffe Gutters (good name) for $875. This is for 180 ft of gutter, 50 ft of downspouts and some offsets. This works out to about $5 a foot installed, which seems reasonable since I paid about the same in Colorado six years ago. I need another estimate to be sure, but two of the three companies I called haven't responded (people need work now, right?).

The drywall guys are next, so there won't be much to write about for a while. Franks Feltes daughter should be in the house on Wednesday putting paper on the floors to shield the Warmboard from drywall mud. When they finish hanging the rock the rooms next week, they'll finally have their final form, which should be interesting since we've been looking at the skeleton since March.

Chimney going up, insulation going in (Day 322)

So the weekend ended pretty well. Wayne the Mason (Franks former assistant, now the main rock layer) showed up at 7:30! with a helper and up they went to start the chimney facing. They loved the big platform we built, so they mixed up some mortar and put the scratch coat on the wire mesh. By noon they had about 1/4 of the chimney finished and broke for lunch. They worked til 3 pm, and promised to be back bright and early on Saturday (today). So far so good, with an expected completion either today or Monday.

Meanwhile Tracy's insulation guys (Floyd and Brian) showed up at 8 am (early) and off-loaded as much insulation as they could pack in their 16 ft van. They started up stairs with the bedroom and stuffed every little crook and nanny with fiberglass batts. They almost finished up there (except for some 3.5 in sound barrier insulation) and started on the downstairs. They couldn't work the weekend (a funeral, yeah sure) but will be back on Monday and finish it the job on Tuesday. If all goes well, we'll have the insulation inspection and Pex pressure test on that afternoon or Wednesday am, and start the big drywall job. This will take about 4 days to hang and 4 days to tape and finish, so for now the target for a white house is Sept. 28th. Meanwhile, Nancy and I are back to shingles, painting, and prepping the driveway for concrete (after drywall).

Sometimes you have to be an asshole (Day 321)

With reference to our subcontractor problems (previous blog), sometimes you have to be an asshole to get results. So here is the headcount on these jerks:

The mason is a week late. Said he had a family emergency. Turns out he had to go to sin city (Vegas) to straighten out his sisters son who is a druggie and alcoholic. He's back in PT and says he'll start tomorrow. All is well, maybe.

The insulation guy went AWOL. But is was worse than that. I went down to the HS football field and side wiped him. Between coaching plays I approached him with "when are you going to get going on my insulation, blah, blah blah. He let me stew for about 20 minutes (football practice is too important to interrupt I guess), then fessed up that he'd gone out of business over the weekend. At least I got a straight answer. Seems like the bills piled up, and he owed the State money for something, so they revoked his license and his company was toast.

The septic guy got over the flu and showed up this morning on time. Finished off the job in a couple hours and hauled off his little blue backhoe, which should make the neighbors happy (it was actually a cute little machine). Invoice is pending.

The electrician came by, unexpected, and wired the exhaust fan for Nancy's 900 cfm (hair sucking) exhaust hood over the Wolf range top. Took an hour ($70) and he'd outta there for a while (cover plates, switches, etc are next, much of which I'll do).

There is good news however. I got two insulation estimates this morning. The old (bankrupt) one was for about $6700 for the entire house. So a guy from Bremerton came up (Richard Gifford contact) and walked through the house. Seemed ok, but found several places where things were complicated. He worked up the estimate and agreed that he could start in two days. $7700 ($1000 more than anticipated). The second insulation company (Tracy's) has done a bunch of Kala Point houses and was recommended by a local builder, Kelly Shields. Tracy (himself) showed up quick as a bunny (they are still hungry for jobs) and went through the same routine. However, his company is much bigger (2 vs 17 employees) and it was a routine job for him. Can start tomorrow (Friday), will take 3 days, and wanted $5950. Sold. We're good for drywall after an inspection on or about Wednesday. So, my guy goes AWOL, I lose a week of construction time, but I save about $750, which will be sucked up faster an a dust bunny in a Hoover, on some other unanticipated job. Cheers, I'm getting a beer.