Launch Reset: T Minus 34 Days and Counting...

Drywall that won't dry...sub-contractor delays...flooring glitches...etc...

Our new moving day is January 18th! We've taken the week of January 14th off to paint, receive deliveries, and have flooring installed. Our best friends, Lynn and John, are coming the weekend of the 19th to help unpack...and to be the very first overnight guests in our home! Dream homes take patience and, even though our patience is running out, we know it will all be worth it in the end!

This is probably our last blog post until after the new year. We'll be in Southern California for Christmas and Tucson for the start of the new year. We pray you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday season. Please plan to visit us at Cabana de la Cruz in 2008!

T Minus 15 Days and Counting

The movers are coming Monday, December 17th so we only have 15 days left in the apartment! We'll be painting Thursday-Sunday this week. Feel free to come by to help!

OUR ELECTRICAL POLE

The wiring is in a trench leading to the house so there are no overhead wires. Maybe PG&E will finish their part of it this week so we'll have power in the house by this weekend?

The stairs leading to the front door are taking shape.

THE BASEMENT DEN

THE CLOSET IN ONE OF THE GUEST ROOMS

THE STORAGE ROOM

The tankless water heater is waiting to be installed.

THE KITCHEN

This is the wall where the sink and cabinets will go. The back door is at the left of the photo.

THE GREAT ROOM

The front door and stairs to the basement are toward the left of the photo. The log columns are the entry to the hallway which leads to the master bedroom and bathroom.

THE GREAT ROOM
...with the great view

Mulligan

We arrived at the house 2 weeks ago to find that the roof was complete...

and the WRONG COLOR!

Today it was fixed.

Before...

After...

We're still hoping to move in sometime in November...

The Waiting Game

Sorry we haven't posted anything in such a long time, but there just hasn't been much going on.

When we'd go to check on the house each week I'd think, "There'll be something more to report if I wait another week on the blog." And each week there would still not be much progress. So, here's where we are...

The deck is mostly finished and we've even had a meal out on the deck, enjoying the view to the southeast...

...and the view to the northeast.

This is the view of the laundry room/pantry...looking through the framed walls to the opening for the front door. Plumbing, air ducts, and electrical have all been started.


Here are some beautiful visitors to our property...or...more accurately:
Here are the original inhabitants of our property.


The cedar shingles are installed on the side of the house. The roof and windows are due to be in this week. Hopefully, inspections will happen soon so they can close up the walls and
begin the finish work on the inside. There is still MUCH to be done and our latest finish date is "November." We'll keep you posted.

We've Been Workin' On The Log Walls...All The Live Long Day

Glasses? Check! Hat? Check! Face Mask? Check! Gloves? Check! Brushing Tool? Check! It's time to get to work!

We brushed the walls to bring out the wood grain. Steve did everything up high..

Vanessa did everything down low...

Vanessa blew the sawdust off...

Steve sprayed the clear sealer on...

And after four days of exhausting work, we're left with sore muscles...

and beautiful, log walls!

Nothing much looks different on the outside, though the back end of the house is sealed up and ready for cedar shingles. The front and back porch roofs are done and ready to be shingled along with the main roof.

In the next several weeks the electrical, plumbing, propane tank, septic tank, and decking will be installed. After that, installation of fixtures, flooring, and appliances will be put on the inside. Our contractor is still saying we'll be in by the end of Septemer. We pray he's right and will keep you posted!

Lumbering along.....

Nearly all the interior walls - both upstairs in the log portion and downstairs in the basement - are framed. This is a view from the great room looking toward the front door. The hallway to the master bedroom and bathroom will run between the two logs near the center of the photo.

There's plywood on the roof and the shade inside is wonderful. We'll be especially grateful for that shade when we start brushing and sealing the interior walls in a week or so. This is the view we'll have from the great room.




Here's a view from the hill behind the house. The front door is to the right side - the back door is to the left side. The slab in the foreground is where the garage will go...eventually. The deck is on the opposite side of the house, facing the street.



Here's the view from the back yard, which is actually more of a side yard. This is our back door which enters into the pantry/laundry room.

And here's the view from the driveway. Kinda pretty, isn't it? Well, we think so. When we were there on Saturday, they were starting the staining/sealing. If you look closely, you can see a darker section where they started the stain by the front door.

Walls & Stairs & a Deck...OH MY!

The framing is done for the deck (AKA: the man-zone)! Most of the basement walls are also framed and in place.

Steve's checking out the deck...and the view. You'll notice in the far left of the picture that some of the main floor walls are framed and ready to be put into place!

We also have stairs!

This is the view from the hill behind the house. The roof trusses arrive on Tuesday and we hope the roof (and solar tiles) will follow shortly thereafter. We're also working on getting the outside logs washed, sealed, and stained. Once that's done and the roof is on we'll start sanding and sealing the inside log walls.

THE LOG STACK!

THE FIRST LOG!

This shows the progress they had made by lunchtime on the first day.

They made AMAZING progress by the end of day one! We ate lunch with the crew and watched the log stack under the white canopies. We needed the canopies for shade on day one (temperatures in the 80s) and for protection from wind and occasional raindrops on day two (temperatures in the 60s).

Here's the placement of the second log of day two!

The logs for the purlins (roof support) were nearly the last logs to be placed. Colby was an awesome crane operator!

Rich and Mike are placing THE LAST LOG!
Here's the view of the front door! (Eventually, there'll be stairs leading to the door so you can come visit!)

Here's an aerial view of the shell of our log home, compliments of Jason, a member of the Treehouse Log Homes crew.

Our best friends, John and Lynn, came to visit and watch on day two.

INSIDE OUR LOG HOME!

So, what's next? Our general contractor gets to get back to work on all the details to finish our new home! We'll keep you posted!

WALLS!

The walls are nearly ready for logs to be stacked on top! We excitedly await the log stack on June 4, 5, and 6. Check back next week for photos of the log stack!

We visited the site on Memorial Day and found that our neighbor down the street is quite patriotic.

"Land of the free, because of the brave"

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

As you can see, Sunday was another beautiful day in Garden Valley, CA.

Another beautiful sight: the beginnings of basement walls!

The rest of the foundation slab will be poured Tuesday and the basement walls should be done by Friday.

After that, there are only ten days until the logs arrive!

If you're in the neighborhood, feel free to join us on Tuesday, June 5th to watch the stacking of the logs!

Delays and Visitors

The Good News: The foundation has been poured! The Bad News: It rained last week and we're now in a holding pattern. The rain caused the mason a delay in his previous job, so he hasn't even been to our site yet. There actually hasn't been any new work done at our place in over two weeks. The log stack is still scheduled for June 4, 5, and 6, but the contractors will be working LONG days and weeks to be ready in time. If you're in the area, come join us for the log stack on Tuesday, June 5th!

Our friends, Lynn and John, came to see the site the last weekend of April. We hiked through oak trees, shrubbery (makes you think of Monty Python, doesn't it?), and rocks to the top of the property. Afterwards we went to lunch to celebrate Lynn's birthday at a great little Mexican restaurant in Georgetown, about 10 minutes from our property.

Last Sunday, May 6th, we had more visitors at the site. These visitors were the four-legged variety. Man! They are SO fast and graceful! There were three of them and they seemed to be having a game of follow the leader. By the time I got my camera functioning, one was long gone, but I captured two on film. I suppose once we move into the house and these beautiful creatures begin to eat my garden and flowers I may not be so complimentary of them...but I hope that doesn't happen.

Sorry we haven't posted very often, but there just hasn't been much happening. I imagine we'll be fast and furious here pretty quick...at least that's what we're hoping for!