Fire and Rain (and dogs)

After the drought of the summer we finally got some rain...

And we were only kinda ready as ready as we could be with the addition. David was tied up last week with the Alabama Ballet's Where the Wild Things Are (which was fabulous) and, while it would have been funny, I didn't feel up to decking the upper level alone. David and crew of Crews are working tomorrow to get closer to weather-tight, or at least tarp-able.


I took these this morning and we seem to be weathering (pun intended) the 2+" of rain pretty well. We back painted the OSB with semigloss paint , tyvec taped the headers and wrap seams, caulked the places where the OSB joins the 2x4 at the bottom of the wall, and put plastic over any other sensitive areas.

We area also planning the look of the fireplace. We are using a stainless steel wood burning insert but need to decide on the surround, mantle, etc. I checked some books out at the library for inspiration and these are some of my favorites:

First row (l to r) are for real: off center modern with I-beam mantle and quartz surround; art deco wood surround; sculpted wooden mantle

Second row (l to r) are for fun: Tepee campfire in your living room perfect for my brother, Seth, and other Blackfeet from Winnataska; creative use of large stone as hearth; slightly overstated for my taste but some might like it

Now for the dog pics:

Ginny "Crazy Legs" Gump Weasley Glenn (as if she needs another name)

and her friend...
Winni

What can I say about that picture... she sure has a zest for life. I think she is actually skipping.

More progress

So Monday, in celebration of Columbus Day, we worked on the house. Actually, it had nothing to do with Columbus Day, and everything to do with Tuesday's impending rainstorm. The crew was David, Randy (our faithful crewman), David's parents and me. We finished applying the OSB sheathing and put the house wrap on. I took these photos before we added the tyvek wrap so that the windows were still visible.

Here's what we accomplished...

This is the view from the driveway as you turn off of Montcrest Drive. As you can see, it is starting to take shape.

Here is the view from the back. The hallway connecting the old house to the new house isn't constructed yet.

This is the (slightly slanted) bird's eye view from the roof of the shed. David had to turn the camera to get it all in.

Here's David working on the sheathing near the exterior door outside of the bedroom.

This one has nothing to do with the house but.....

Happy Birthday, Seth!

So a 10' wall...

Is really tall! David and a small crew have been building walls. I got home from work yesterday and David had two of them standing up.



Now that's tall.

Here are the rest of the walls all stacked up and ready to go.



Calvin supervised.