Moved in!

It has been a while since we updated. We've since moved in and we just have a few projects left to do (mostly landscaping). Official pictures were taken and are on our architect/builder's page:



Looks like a house!

A quick list of updates:
The house is weather proof now.
All of the windows and doors are in.
Sheetrock and insulation are on the ceiling.
The first couple of layer that go under the stucco are up (2 layers of building paper and a mesh screen).
The pump house is framed.
The rough plumbing, electrical and cat-5e wiring are mostly done.
Exterior siding is in progress.


Before the final pieces of ceiling drywall went up, we got a peek at the blown in insulation under the mesh.


The rust is progressing nicely on the roof. The kids' room is ready for wood siding and the main space is ready for the first (of three) stucco layers.


The wood siding started going up on the entry today. I love it!

Windows


The first two windows are in!

Photo catch up post! [part2]

Entrance of the house and a pink sunset

All wrapped up in cozy insulation (in addition to the insulation that will go inside the walls)

The metal roof is on! It has already started rusting since the first rain. (It is supposed to rust, in case you're wondering ;))

This was my time cramped attempt at summarizing the last 1.5 months. Details you might not see are rough plumbing and electricity, loads of new framing indoors, the HRV system, more taping and air sealing over each new layer, flashing, and stacks of brand new windows sitting inside, ready to be installed this week!

Photo catch up post! [part 1]

Roof trusses make it feel like a house!

From the loft

…and from the loft within the loft

Looking towards the bedrooms and loft

…and towards the patio-to-be

Side projects

The most recent side projects that Kirk and I have been working on for homework involve finishing wood and hunting down materials.

We've collected some miscellaneous odds and ends: very cool salvaged wood that turned out to have lead paint on it (dang it!); new redwood from an auction (for things like the pump house); funky but possibly neat wood windows for outbuildings; old and awesomely tall french doors for outbuildings or sliding pantry doors.

Most recently, I made several trips to a local sawmill to pick out some rough sawn planks of douglas fir for our bedroom ceiling. The wood is very rough- the splinter that went under my thumb nail today was unreal!- and very charming (the wood, not the splinter. The splinter was not charming at all). We tested some different finishing methods (light sanding, brushing by hand, and sealing). It turns out that clear matte sealant is pretty much invisible on smooth sanded wood but looks faintly greasy and plasticy on deeply textured wood. The planks looked beautiful when sanded with an Osborn brush but it was definitely a more finished and smooth look than the rough and rustic edge were going for. We couldn't find a halfway point on the sanding though. Trying to clean up just a little bit of spotting yielded a totally smooth patch that stood out amongst the deep grain. It was all or nothing and so we went for nothing- no sanding and no sealant. We did our best to clean off the dirt and loosest debris with a stiff bristled grooming brush that turned out to be the best tool for the job. We cut them to size and slid them up onto the beams.

We have also been taking stock of our logs. We plan to have five peeled logs holding up various patio overhangs. Oaks are plentiful on our property. They are not as plentiful as pines, which grow like weeds, but the oaks have more interesting curves and there were enough that needed to be removed for power lines, leach lines, etc that we chose to use them for the tree posts. The challenge was finding enough of them that were least 6" thick over an 8-13 ft span. Our trees are still quite young so it was easier said than done. Once we tracked down a handful, I got to try my hand at de-barking. Some sections peeled away like butter, putting me in a hypnotic trance. The majority, however, were more of a hand burning fight against a very tight fitting skin.

Partially peel oak log



A different log (peeled and braced by our builders) on the sleeping porch.

Framing

The blog is so behind!
Last time we talked- there was a concrete slab. Now- there is a house!

I don't even know where to start. How about the first two walls? The end walls were tall and heavy and so they required a crane to lift them into place. The rest went up in smaller sections that could be pushed up by hand. The plywood was put on after they were up to keep the weight manageable.
Framing the first wall


End walls are framed and clad with plywood- up they go.

The second wall gets set into place.


The end walls are up and braced- all done with the crane.


Side walls went up in sections so they could be lifted by hand.


There is a wall there- it's hard to see it because it will be mostly windows.

Looking out the south wall of windows.


The kids' room pops out the south side.


The interior stair wall (looking into the bath and bedroom).


The entry (a.k.a. shoe room).



We've spent the weekend cutting and cleaning up rough sawn planks for the exposed bedroom ceiling.

Rain on concrete

Remember those beautifully smooth and cloudy concrete floors?


Finished floor- Wed at noon


Yes?
And, do you also remember that Wednesday evening rain flurry that I mentioned?



Thursday morning- 12 hrs after rain


I am into funky and distressed materials but I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed when I encountered the rain stained slab the next morning. It was still physically smooth but the water permeated the porous concrete and stained it with a very pronounced dot pattern that was still dark 12 hrs later. Some speckling would be neat- but leopard print was a bit much.

We soaked the slab that morning and again in the afternoon and evening. I'm not sure if the raindrops just dried out over the course of the sunny day or if each soaking and drying cycle evened out the moisture content and the color.



Friday morning


Better! I like the bit of speckling that is left (although that will probably fade too over the course of the month). We are also starting to see the expected increase in contrast between the integral color and the surface handeners as it cures. We really like how it has evolved but can't get too attached yet because it is still a work in progress. Curing, inevitable staining from our red dirt, mechanical dings from framing, natural cracks, and sealing will all change the look over the next 30 days. Basically, the floor is at the mercy of the environment for 30 days, at which point we can seal it with polyurathane or wax. The sealer will enhance the colors and give it a finished shine. It will also protect it from liquid staining (right now if anyone spills a glass of red wine on it, we would have to make them mop the whole floor with wine!)

Speaking of cracks- there are none yet! We opted for no control joints in the main living space. Typically they cut a large grid of thin lines into the concrete (or occasionally curved lines or any other shape) to control where the concrete cracks under the surface. We prefer the unpredictable randomness of natural cracks to the mall-like grid pattern of control joints. We expected the first big cracks to show up within 24 hrs when the majority of the curing happens (the cure takes a month but it is exponential). But so far- nothing! There is some beautiful texture emerging from micro cracks (I think), but nothing big.



Micro-cracks or more effects from water drying patterns?

Concrete floors are born!

The weather reports this morning threatened to cancel our concrete pour. This wouldn't have been such a big deal except that 1) all of our guys have the week off to let the concrete set before framing, 2) the whole schedule would stop in it's tracks without the slab in place and 3) the concrete team is busy and hard to schedule and so the delay could impact our schedule badly.

The thunderstorms were mostly predicted to hit around noon- right about the time the floors should be finished- so everyone decided we should just go for it. Thankfully, the weather held out until the evening. We even got some blue skies at just the right time.

The team of six guys was impressive and fast. They never stopped moving while that concrete was flowing. A couple of guys were ankle deep in thick goop while others moved around the edges, working from one end to the other, moving forms and troweling surfaces.

Pouring the slab

We chose to add integral color to the mix (light gray, which is a bit darker and grayer than the natural gray / beige color). But in order to achieve the depth and variation that we were after, our concrete contractor suggested tossing on some color concrete hardener. This is a cheaper way to add color than acid staining. The looks are similar but not identical. Acid staining has the advantage of being applied later (so floors don't need to be protected as much during construction) but it also has the disadvantage of costing about ten times as much. We like a distressed and vintage look anyway, so we aren't worried about the finished floor getting a little banged up during framing. And, as much we like the shadowy non uniformity that multiple colors adds, acid staining was just not in our budget. So this alternative was the perfect solution.


The contrast was intense when the hardener first got sprinkled on.
Woah! What have we done?!


The first few stages of troweling really smooth things out



By the time it's dry enough for boards and hand trowels, it looks amazing


Beautiful!

It will keep changing as it cures. The main concrete color will get lighter as it dries but the added colors will stay the same and so the contrast should get a little a little more dramatic over the next few days. I love how it turned out and I can't wait to see how it progresses!


Under the slab-to-be

Last week, the underside of the slab took shape. The earth around the stem wall was pushed in cover more of the wall and then compacted. Some very large piles of gravel were scooped inside of the walls and compacted.


The girls playing in their bedroom


A huge amount of effort went into laying pipes and conduits for water, waste and wires. Once that slab gets poured, nothing is moving, so they had to get those pipes located right on the first try! This is one way a house with a crawl space is easier- you can lay the pipes once you have something to connect them to instead of the other way around.

Once Dave was confident about the pipes and the inspection was done, the next layer of insulation went down- 2 inches of foam covering the gravel and butting up against the foam that wraps around the inside of the stem wall. Together they create a thermally isolated valley for our concrete floors to be poured into.


Insulation wraps around the interior and covers the bottom

Next came plastic and rebar to get us ready for the next concrete pour.

Of course, Murphy's Law toyed with us this last few days. After a state of emergency level drought all year and a dry hot summer, we finally got some much needed rain.... just when we needed it to be dry.


Almost ready for concrete

We sponged out buckets full of water from our new swimming pool. The water kept accumulating in big puddles, an inch or two deep- you would think a mop would be easier but the rebar grid made it a pretty tedious task, best performed by hand with sponges (for me) and water guns (for Astrid).


Getting rid of puddles the day before the concrete trucks arrive

After spending the afternoon sponging it dry, Dave covered it with humongous tarps just in time for the night's rain.