Fun Finishes

It became clear to us that the decision to paint our walls with COLORS instead of white, would be a commitment. We really wanted to do it, but were afraid of making bad choices. This scary decision was soon changed into a fun challenge when our friend and professional painter Fidelma stepped in to be our consultant. What a treat to have her thoughtfully guide us toward what we liked in colors without having them look "wrong" together. Fidelma is passionate about her profession and communicates her knowledge well. She also has a lively personality and wonderful Irish accent, which makes working with her all the more enjoyable. We feel grateful to have her on our team. Thank you Fidelma!
Here's Fidelma and Eileen having a laugh over the fan deck:

More fun as Eileen rolls the colors onto brand new walls:

The second coats will go on after the floor, door and window trim are installed. This is a view through the rooms on the second floor:

Speaking of flooring, here's the first truckload of oak flooring from the trees we cut last fall. It was kiln dried, milled to three different widths and random (but delightfully long) lengths.

It takes some fine carpentry to fit the flooring around the birch tree column:

A piece of flooring cut to fit:

Looks good:

John taps it into place:

A nice fit:

As promised, our invaluable neighbor Paul helped install the flooring.

John cut while Paul set and nailed the pieces:

A mallet is used on the pneumatic flooring nailer to set the nail:

John finishes the last few pieces upstairs. Later, the floors will be sanded and finished.

Oh, more progress.... the plugs and light fixtures are now activated!

And now.... the best part for last: Mr Bean has a beautiful and healthy new baby sister, Stella!

A Fine Newel Post

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We previously left off with beadboard installation. Before finishing the lower section of the stairway with it, John had to install the remaining newel posts. This one goes up through the center section of the stairs where the winders are. Two others were previously installed at the second floor balcony, and one last post will go at the very bottom of the stairs. The newel posts are made from fir timbers that were salvaged from a Westfield factory demolition. We bought them from Tony Mason (who also kiln dried and milled our oak flooring). John cleaned up and planed the timbers into the square 6x6 form that you see in the photos; final shaping and detailing will come later (when we decide what to do with them...it's an organic design process that we use!)
Umm, how does one cut a timber to fit here? Here's a look at the section mentioned:


Another look from above:

A few cuts later, it's ready to install! (Whoa, how on earth did John do this ??!!)

The installed newel post and adjoining beadboard:

Here's more beadboard on the adjacent wall in the stairwell:

A skylight helps light this area:

BeadBoard

(Dear Readers: Please note that this Blog allows comments. We'd love to get more than the few since last fall, and encourage you to leave them. We know you're out there -- You even have the option to remain anonymous, so say whatever you want!)

The sheetrock is now installed and painted with primer. Next, the beadboard will be installed. John found a good deal on bead board during one of his daily scouts on Craig'sList. It's 3/4 inch tongue and groove pine that is already primed. This will be used as wainscotting in the first floor main living area, and on the knee walls and sloped ceilings upstairs. Here's the stock:


John prepares to cut a curve for where the HRV enters the guest room:


Ahh, wood is so much nicer to work with than sheetrock!


We decided (once again), to be unconventional and install the boards horizontally.

It creates a nice effect:

You may have noticed some color on the adjacent sheetrock wall. We've been choosing colors and doing lots painting, too. Stay tuned.

Rock On

For the past several weeks, John has been working on installing the sheetrock. It seems endless. Attaching it to the studs is just the beginning. Taping and "mudding" (a.k.a. applying joint compound to smooth the edges, seams, and nail holes; then doing it all over again...and again, then sanding, and touchup), has been his daily activity for a while now. Let's just say that he knows every inch and corner of our walls very well ;-)

The good news is that it's finished! Better yet, we have saved thousands of dollars doing it ourselves versus hiring a subcontractor, which was our original intent to save time. Two of our wonderful neighbors (you know them well by now), Paul and David, helped out. Once again, many thanks to you guys!

Paul and John started with the upstairs ceilings which had to be done prior to insulating. After insulating was completed, John and David, with the assist of a drywall lift, started the drywall installation. Here's David pulling another 4x12 foot sheet to cut:

He seems to be enjoying himself...

This piece goes on the kitchen wall where the sink will be:

John and his screw gun in action:

John and his RotoZip rout out the excess sheetrock around a window:

Remember John "contemplating" the skylights last January? Here's a follow-up photo. It looks like he's figured what to do with them now:

Sheetrock defines the rooms and walls:

Eileen helps fill nail holes:

Meanwhile John has been rotating through the house applying joint compound to smooth the edges, seams, and nail holes; then doing it all over again...and again, then sanding, and touchup. After the first week, he dreams of being a carpenter again....

Finally it's ready for a "mud roll" (sounds like Woodstock). A mud roll is watered down joint compound that is rolled onto the sheetrock surface with a paint roller. It's then immediately troweled off. This creates a consistent smooth surface that's ready for paint. Paul returns to help John finish this final prep of the sheetrock:

Now the walls are ready for primer and finish coats of paint.

Meanwhile During March & April... (continued)

Where were we? Oh yes, we're still catching up on the progress during March and April while the heater was being built. We've covered plumbing, HRV, electric wiring (actually this wasn't covered, but it was done), flood management, numerous decisions (i.e. where to put lights and switches), etc., etc.
John took the soffit boards that Rachel had painted, created a custom design and drilled ventilation holes in them. The holes then needed painting on the inside. Our dear friend Sarah, (remember "Tired of that 'cooped-up' feeling? Try Sarah's Fresh Air Eggs today!"), took on the challenge as she really wanted to contribute to our house building. Sick and weak as she was, she was determined and painted over 600 holes! Then with the help from her six year old son, they stapled screening to the back of each board. Well done! (BTW, Sarah is feeling much better now.)
Here's a view of the installed soffit vents:


Some spots were tight so John folded himself up to fit in the corner:


The cellulose insulation crew arrived:

This is the hopper/blower machinery in the rear of the truck that blows the cellulose through a large hose into the house:

Before insulating, the walls were prepped with fabric and furring to hold the cellulose:

One of the installers fills the stud bays

The attic has 18 inches of cellulose. These pipes are for future solar hot water, wiring, and radon mitigation (if necessary).

The walls are finished. They have 8 inches of cellulose.

Spring arrived and the tree canopy is budding:

During a break, Mr. Bean (shown viewing a beaver lodge), and Ei enjoy a nature hike.

The next post will cover a favorite: SHEETROCK and JOINT COMPOUND!

Meanwhile, during March and April...

Once the masonry was finished, the roofers returned to complete the metal roofing and ridge vent near the chimney and to finish up other miscellaneous roof-related tasks.

Here's Tim cutting the plumbing vent hole:

Not sure what he's thinking about here (contemplating career options?):

Mr Bean and Eileen spent an afternoon building houses with the left over pieces of firebrick left in the yard.

And the basement flooded a few times. The water did no real harm to anything, but John spent many hours pumping it out each morning.

Here's the unfinished drainage ditch which Gary dug out more to help drain the footings. Once all the site work is finished, the flooding will no longer be a problem.

Don Pittsinger, our plumber arrived. He tolerated all the commotion going on around him with ease.

He does quality work, too.

Don installed pipes for future solar hot water. Plumbing for baseboard heating is also in place for if /when it's desired. Notice that Don also got his semi-annual haircut.

Rachel came one day and painted the pre-cut boards which will become soffit vents.

When he wasn't pumping water from the basement, or digging out the drainage ditch, or collaborating with the subcontractors, John installed the HRV (heat recovery ventilation) system. An HRV system basically brings fresh outside air into the house and pumps out the stale indoor air. It takes heat from the inside air and uses it to warm the outside air. "Popular Mechanics" explains it nicely:

• "A heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) is similar to a balanced ventilation system, except it uses the heat in the outgoing stale air to warm up the fresh air. A typical unit features two fans—one to take out household air and the other to bring in fresh air. What makes an HRV unique is the heat-exchange core. The core transfers heat from the outgoing stream to the incoming stream in the same way that the radiator in your car transfers heat from the engine's coolant to the outside air. It's composed of a series of narrow alternating passages through which incoming and outgoing airstreams flow. As the streams move through, heat is transferred from the warm side of each passage to the cold, while the airstreams never mix."

This is what the HRV unit looks like:

When the panel is removed, the core can be seen:

Here is a section of ductwork running along the knee wall upstairs:

This (not quite completed) duct will bring fresh air into the dining area below:

It's a pretty amazing invention. It's also quite impressive that John researched and consulted with an expert on the installation so that he could confidently do this himself. We saved some serious lettuce by doing this work ourselves.

The next post will continue with more progress from March and April: Insulation, sheetrock and spring popped somewhere in there too.