We own some Serpentinite (Day 279)

After picking out our kitchen counter top material at Michelangelo in Seattle, we sealed the deal by writing a fabrication contract with Richert's Marble and Granite in Sequim, WA. There are hundreds of fabricators in the region, but we like these guys (locals) a lot. It started a couple of years ago when we stopped by to see their operation. Susie and John run this shop with 3-6 employees (I'm guessing, business is slow now days). Good display room, nice clean shop and very friendly. Then we noticed they have a Subaru (just like ours--more to talk about). An they are sailors (Caribbean bareboaters). Shoot, we could hardly get outta the place. So we asked about lunch, and Susie suggested the Old Mill Cafe in Carlsborg, about 2 blocks from there place. Great restaurant, the owner Larry is quite a character and waitress Jeanine and her husband (Brian Kawal) make high end custom furniture in Sequim (take a look at www.briankawal.net).

Anyway, over the past few years we'd stop by and chat with Susie, who manages the front end of the shop. She does all the layout for the slabs, and John does the cutting and fabrication. On Monday we went over to see our 2 slabs of Verde Vermont Antique. John had selected two for us and brought them over to Sequim along with a dozen other slabs for current customers. They looked just as good as in Seattle, but my photos aren't great due to reflections from the polished surface of the rock.

The company that markets this material isn't doing themselves any favors by calling it Serpentine (or green) Marble. Marble, as you may know, is a low grade metamorphic rock almost always composed primarily of calcium carbonate (calcite). One of calcite's (and thus marble's) interesting traits is that it is soluble in acid. Now who would ever put acid on a counter top you say: Try vinegar, lemon, tomato, wine, coca cola, etc. All in the 2-4 pH range. Each will etch the surface and leave a visible ring, which cannot be removed.

So we literally did the acid test on the Verde Vermont Antique. White wine (pH 3) and a slice of lemon (pH 2.3) overnight on a sample we got from Michaelangelos. Sat overnight, then I wiped the mess up in the morning. Both left a slightly darker spot, but no etching of the polished surface. The dark spot disappeared as the rock dried, so that was a surface effect. In our minds, the rock passed the ACID TEST. So in reality, the Verde Vermont Antique should be marketed as Serpentinite, but that's not nearly as intriguing a name. Here is a little blurb on the geology of Verde Vermont Antique for my geology friends (from www.vtverde.com). The quarry is located about 2 miles north of Rochester, VT, on the eastern margin of the Green Mountains.

Vermont Verde Antique while having the “look” of marble is a serpentine and classified as a hydrous magnesium silicate. With the hardness and durability of most granite and its low absorption rate and high flexural strength, it is an excellent choice for both interior and exterior uses. Vermont Verde Antique is the commercial name for the serpentine “marble” derived from highly sheared ultramafic rocks that have been rewelded and metasomatized by the process of serpentinization. Numerous lense-shaped serpentinite bodies of varying size occur along the spine of the Green Mountains, west of the Adirondacks. The ultramafic bodies, once thought to be of igneous intrusive origin, are now recognized as segments of ancient oceanic crust that became part of the eastern North American continent during the Taconian orogeny. This is considered to be middle Ordovician in age, around 450 million years ago. More deformation and metamorphism took place during the Acadian orogeny around 360 million years ago. This may have resulted in the polishable Vermont Verde Antique serpentine.

A Craftsman Touch (Day 275)

Last weekend, Troy Ellis (framer's son) and I installed the front door. Now you'd think this was like any other door, but not so. This was the Big Kahuna—36" wide Simpson (made by Reed Mill Corp), vertical-grain fir door with custom leaded glass entry door. 7 1/8" thick jamb, because its a sheer wall (5/8" sheathing, 5/5" thick studs (2x6), +5/8" plywood, and 1/2 " drywall). You have to know this BEFORE ordering the door, or you'll be building custom jamb extensions.

This little baby cost $1153, which included a modest discount from Carl's (thanks Melissa). So you don't want to screw up this install. Troy messed with the door for an hour before it was plumb, square, and level. Something we didn't consider was hinge placement. The key to getting a well hung door (easy ladies), is to replace one or more of the door hinge screws (normally 1" long) with 3" screws that go all the way into the king stud. However, because we have 5/8" plywood and 1/2 " drywall inside the stud, there's no meat to screw to. So we nailed a 1-1/8" block to the stud opposite the hinges and screwed to this. All was well; the hinges are bedded in real wood and the door is stable now. Mikey solved this problem, that makes him an apprentice framer.

Nancy is the detailer at the house, thus all finishing touches are in her arena. The photo to the right shows her putting the second coat of varnish on the exterior of the door. We'll probably end up with four coats for now, then a couple more per year. Keeping a finish on an exterior door is like playing cards with the devil. You win a few rounds, but at the end of the night your wallet is empty.

We're using Man-O-War varnish, semi-gloss sheen. Has the maximum UV protection (for sunlight), and goes on pretty well (according to our master painter). The interior of the door, which hopefully won't see the elements, is finished in brushing lacquer, semi-satin sheen. This stuff is easy to brush on and dries really quick (like 30-60 minutes).

Since this blog is sort of a home-building journal, the other stains and finishes are listed herein so I can remember them in 10 or 20 years when the house needs repainting.

Exterior finishes and materials:
Facia boards and door trim boards: Cabot Solid (Oil) Stain, Cinder color except facia on small gables (latex)
Soffit, shingles, and garage door trim: Cabot Semi Solid (Oil) Stain, Pewter color
Garage doors interior: Cabot Solid (latex) Stain, Cinder color; garage door trim: Cabot Semi Solid (latex) Stain, Pewter color
Corner boards, belly board, Hardiboard, and garage door interior: Cabot Semi Solid (Oil) Stain, Pewter color
Decking: Trex Accent, Weathered Grey, solid boards (1/1" x 5")
Rock: Eldorado Stone, Mesquite Cliffstone (see Day 258), corners and facing rock. Mortar is type S with one shovel of lime per bag of mortar mix.

For those of you keeping count, I just used up the first box of staples for hanging the shingles. 5000 per box, 2 per staple = 2500 shingles currently hung. Not bad, but that means there are about 5500 to go. God help us. If you EVER hear anyone say "the only way to paint shingles is to dip then before hand", then ask that SOB if he's ever done it.

Open and Close (Day 274)

The garage doors that we got such a good deal on back in June were delivered and installed on Monday (July 20th). Lee Hitt of Olympic Garage Door Co. (between Port Angeles and Sequim) showed up a bit early and was eager to hang those big boys (9' wide, by 8' high). I had trimmed out the openings with 5/8' plywood (to match eventual drywall in garage). In about 4 hours, Lee had hung the roller hardware, assembled and hung the four panel doors, and put up the motors and tracks, and fine tuned the whole act.

The motors are 1/2 HP (free upgrade) Liftmasters, and they are REALLY quite. They have kevlar belts (like fan belts) and make almost no noise at all. The control boxes are next to the garage/mudroom door and show alternating time/temp. Three buttons so you can program both doors and a fence/gate if you have one.

The doors are insulated, steel panels: heavy duty for sure. We got a great deal on the doors. We walked in to Olympic Garage Doors looking for a deal, but needed a special size (9 ft wide, 8 ft high). The owner mentioned that they happened to have a set of high quality doors that had been ordered, but sized incorrectly by the client. Their mistake was our gain. They had been painted for the original buyer, so we'll repaint them to match the trim and shingle colors. After we got done dealing (35% off, plus some upgrades), it was the easiest and fastest deal we had made on the entire house. And now that they are up and working, we can put another check on the big list for the Architectural Committee.

D DAY (Day 273 of 273)

Wednesday, July 23, 2009.

On Oct. 23rd, 2008 we started the building process by cutting down trees on our lot. According to the Architectural Committee, in 9 months we should be done (at least with the exterior). We're not close and won't be, so there will be HELL to pay. However, they started their 9-month meter at the Nov. 5th committee meeting, after neighbors have had 2 weeks to comment on our plans.

So the real drop dead (and we may) date is August 5th, or day 296 by our "Build It Now" clock. We'll probably be at this for 600 days before the entire house is finished (or maybe never). We still would like to vacation a bit next winter, so once we're in the house our schedule and enthusiasm may wane. We hope to move in by Halloween, but we'll to need to have a County Building Occupancy Permit in hand. To move in, you need normal house services: electricity, plumbing (one working sink, shower, and toilet), septic system, cover plates on outlets, smoke detectors, etc. It doesn't need paint, flooring, carpet or all those things you normally associate with a real home.

So on August 5th, the first Wednesday of that month and about 2 weeks from now, we'll bring our case (an appeal really) to the committee, asking for an extension to complete the exterior of the house. We'll see where we are at the beginning of August and create a plan for getting the exterior all done. I think we can make a case for 2 extra months considering the winter weather, lack of resources (paid guys bouncing around the house), the shingle-dipping and hanging process, and the type of house (custom) we're building. If they deny our request, we may have to set up a machine gun nest in the front yard and defend our property as a Sovereign Nation. Stay tuned to Machettes vs. the Grand Defenders of Timely Building.

That is a lot of crap (Day 269 of 273)

Now that is a lot of crap, you say. Actually will be contained in 2-1000 gallon tanks which were installed last week (ca. Wednesday, see photos). Richard Gifford (Gifford Construction—Septic) dug a big hole for them, then Rocky came over from PA and delivered 2 precast 1000 gallon concrete tanks. Tank No. 1 is for the primary effluent (polite speak for crap), and its divided into two compartments. About 60% is for the turds, piss, dish water, shower, etc., and the other 40% is for the gray water that comes off the brown water. Then the gray water gets filtered, and flows via a 4" PVC pipe into Tank No. 2, which you might call not-so-gray water. This tank is the secondary pump tank, which contains a pump, a float and inducer (signal maker for effluent level), and miscellaneous parts. Since we have a pressure (not gravity feed) system, the pump gets turned on a regular basis; depending on flushes, it may pump 50-100 gallons into the drain field every four hours (all this is to be decided by the septic engineer and our usage patterns). The design calls for 250 gals of inside water use per person per day, so our 500 gallons would be passed along to the drain field each day.

Watching the tanks get delivered and dropped in place was pretty special. Rocky (and sidekick Roxy, a brown lab with bad hips) backed the rig up to the holes, lifted the secondary tank and slide it in place like a pillow into its case. The truck has a 14 ft extension boom, which wasn't enough to put the primary tank in place, so Richard back filled around the secondary tank and Rocky backed up to the edge of it, just enough to drop the primary (upstream) tank into place. A little jockeying and all was well. Later this week, Richard plumbed the two tanks, laid the 4" sewer pipe to the house where I'll connect the ABS drain pipe (3"), and installed the pump. Richard will be back in about 10 days to do the manifold installation, lay the pipe in the drain field, and pressure test the system. At that point we’ll be ready for our septic system inspection, which is conducted by the County Health Dept, not the Building Dept.

One complication in our layout is that the sewer and water pipes cross over each other, so we had to amend our approved septic plan (+$175) and install 2" shielded conduit for the water pipe. The logic, however flawed, is that during a big earthquake (the Cascadia one I presume) the ground might shake and settle, thereby breaking the sewer and water pipes, allowing the contents to commingle (always a bad thing) and polluting our water supply. That would be the least of our problems, since we wouldn't have water pressure (broken pipes, remember) to fight the ensuing fire that consumes the house. But I digress.

If all goes well, we’ll have the lot regraded to final form after the inspection in about 2 weeks. Richard will put 12-18” of material (mostly silty sand and gravel) over the drain field lines and then about 6” of topsoil. We can only grow shallow-rooted plants over the drain field, something like grass. Nancy prefers lavender, and bought her first 18 babies at the Sequim Lavender Festival yesterday.

Countertops (Day 268 of 273)

We spent Wednesday and Thursday in Tacoma and Seattle looking at counter top material (rock), lighting and plumbing fixtures. What a mind numbing experience, even for an ex-rock jockey. I've got to tell you three things about shopping for rock counter tops:
1) They have three types of rock: granite, marble, and other stuff.
2) No "granite" rock name is realistic or even descriptive. Its all a bunch of plunk. Delicatus, Seafoam, Gold Blush, Aquamarine (you'd think you were ordering drinks at a fufu bar), and
3) You can't tell what anything costs other than: D, costly; C, more costly; B, expensive; and A, don't even ask—its for the rich and famous.

Every rock dealer is the same. The smaller shops will have 30 granites, 10 marbles, and a couple travertines. The big dogs will have 3-4 times the selection, but you'll see everything the smaller shops have, so just go to the big ones first. They only sell wholesale to certified fabricators: that is, regular customers with resale licenses. Occasionally you can find a supplier/fabricator that stocks a moderately wide (i.e., popular) selection of materials, but this is what you'll also see at Home Depot or Lowes. Nothing wrong and prices are lower, so if you need "granite" to update the kitchen go to those companies and save some bucks.

Now if you're particular about the type of rock (or partner) you want to spend the next 20-30 years with, you better shop around. I think that Nancy and I have looked at counter top materials at least a dozen times, both in Denver and in the Pacific NW. In South Seattle they have 5 big warehouses within a 3 block radius, so its easy to see a 1000 slabs in a day. For us, it came down to Pentel (the big dog) and Michelangelo (the well trained dog). When we went over for this shopping extravaganza, we were sure we'd get soapstone for the main kitchen counter tops (a decision we'd made years ago, reinforced when we saw and played with the Mackey's soapstone in Denver) and some sort of porphyritic (coarse grained) granite. I had liked something called silver seafoam and seafoam silver (two different versions of same), so that is what we focused on. (see, Nancy got to choose the main counter, and I got to have a vote on the island). Well it didn't come out that way.

The soapstone we saw, and it wasn't abundant up here, was not what we wanted. Mottled with little veining (white streaks of quartz), little movement (or fabric) and mostly dark. Then we spotted something called Verde Vermont Antique, which is marketed as a serpentine marble (it can't be both). It is a real serpentine, but polishes like a marble (softer, carbonate rock). Well hells bells, this stuff is beeaauutiful, harder than soapstone, acid resistent, and polishes like real granite.

We only saw it at Michelanglos, and they didn't have samples. So we pressed the salesman, because he said it was resistant to acids (tomatoes, lemons, wine—all as in a regular dinner meal) but was marketed as a marble (fizzes with application of acid!). He called a local fabricator that had bought and cut some Verde Vermont last week and went over to pick up a scrap. The second problem was we couldn't get all the perimeter counters out of a single slab according to Suzie Richerts (Richerts Marble and Granite, Sequim), so we were going to be blessed with about 2/3rds of a slab that would not be used. Sounds like expensive vanity tops, so we decided to make all the kitchen counters out of the same material—Verde Vermont Antique. You can see more about this American quarried rock (fabricated in Italy) at the following site: http://www.marblemodes.com/html/vermont_verde.html. On our next trip, we'll pick out two slabs and plunk down a wheelborrow full of greenbacks.

And we have gas (Day 265 of 273)

No, we didn't eat of load of old pinto beans, but instead had the propane tank installed. Not a big deal, you just write a check and sit back. Well it is a bit more complicated, really.

First, you have to decide on how big a tank, to own or lease, and whether it will be above ground or buried. For us it was 500 gallons, own it (20 year lifespan) and buried (nothing to see). This is the more expensive option upfront, but cheaper in the long run (20 yrs). You get a better price on propane the more you buy at once, and we'll only have to get the puppy filled twice a year. Propane is about $1.29 a gal here this summer, so that is $500 per fill (they only fill to 80% of capacity for safety reasons). Plus there is a "500 gallon club" in Kala Point. A bunch of old geezer got together and they negotiated a volume contract with one of the local suppliers, who comes out and services 20 to 30 members of the club in one fell swoop.

When you put the tank in the ground, all you see is the snorkel which is covered by a green top (not in photos yet). This lid is hinged so that the fittings are exposed above ground. The lid sticks up about 6 inches above grade and can be surrounded by plants or shrubs. Pretty slick.

So on Monday afternoon, the county inspector came and approved the propane installation. Richard Gifford (Gifford Construction, septic) backfilled the propane hole and trench leading to the house and regraded this part of the lot. Then we had 15 yards (three 5-yd loads) of topsoil dumped in the back of the lot. Once the septic tanks are installed (next week), we'll no longer have truck access to the rear of the house. We didn't want to be moving the soil from the front to the rear of the lot by wheelbarrow. That would be just about as onerous as shingle dipping, which continues in earnest. Nancy has dipped 24 bundles (2400 shingles) so far, or about 30% of the lot. She's acting a bit dippy, but what can you say.

Crabby (Day 262 of 273)

Remember those stories back in the 1970's about guys wanting to cut their own wood to save money on heating. First its the chainsaw and accessories, then the pickup truck, etc. etc. Bottom line was the divorce settlement. After 5 cords of wood the net expense was roughly $15,000 a cord. We'll I've got a similar deal going with crabs, hopefully no divorce.

It all seemed so simple, primal, and obvious. Crab is good. Crabs live in Puget Sound. We live just off Puget Sound . . . thus I should go crabbing. A few glasses of wine later, and I've got a deal going with Hugh Musser, one of my Kala Point Cooking buddies (that is another story). We found a good used fiberglass crab boat (double hull rowing type) for $300 and split the cost. Now I'm in for $150, but have 1/2 of a boat. Not bad. Got my license that afternoon for $13, since I'm a full time Washington residence for > 6 months now.

We'll you need some crabbing gear. You're not going to get many crabs off the pier with a string and rotten chicken leg. Saw an ad in the local paper--crab pots on sale at Swains. Off I go. A crab pot (cage) is $22, plus 100 ft of leaded line, a sling, bait pot, and bouy. Total bill with tax = $77. Now I'm in for $240, but no crab.

The season opened on Wednesday, July 1, so Hugh and I got out early and dropped our pots in the water, just 100 ft off shore. Pretty easy row, baited them with some salmon parts Hugh got for almost nothing.

Yesterday out we went again, this time to check the pots and enclosed booty. BINGO. Hugh had one rock crab, which is a keeper at >5" across and of any sex. Dungeness are the preferred crab here, but you can only keep males >6 1/4" across. Off we go to check my pot, which is a bit larger than Hugh's: TRIPLE BINGO. 2 male rock crabs (>6") and a female dungeness, which went back in the water. We rebaited the traps and will go out Saturday to check them again. The crabbing season is roughly July 1 to Labor Day and from Wed-Sat only, meaning the traps have to come ashore this next go around.

Hugh didn't think his one crab was going to make a meal, so I got all three (next time he'll get the booty). Boiled them up last night and cleaned them for dinner this weekend. I think the 3 crabs weighed in at 4 pounds (shell and all). So the bottom line for the season so far is $240/4 pounds, for about $60 per pound. But I have bragging rights, dinner, and something to counter Flemings 36" northern Pike, which he snagged off his dock in Canada.

Did I fail to mention that New Day Fisheries in Port Townsend has live Dungeness crab for $6 a pound. Its going to be a long season.

PS. Two more crabs on Sat afternoon for another 3 pounds. Down to $35 a pound for the season so far. Break even point is 40 pounds of crab or about 25 of those little nippers.