Tuesday, August 19, 2008

More Elevations

I told you Heather was fast...here's more elevations for your viewing pleasure. Click to enlarge.



We are supposed to get the actual hardcopies soon and they will include little cut-outs of mini-furniture to play with. This scored bonus points with Dionne, who is the quintessential homemaker.

North Elevation Sneak Peek


John of Pharoah put us in touch with a draftsperson named Heather Barnette. Heather's work is fast and affordable, and she has been able to recreate our main house plans to include all of the changes and updates we made which varied from the original Healthy Home Plans blueprints. Above is a preview of what the north elevation (back of the house) will look like when viewed from our backyard meadow. The garage will be off to the right, and, as you can see, we're building on the side of a slight hill. It's so satisfying to be able to visualize this stuff!

Monday, August 18, 2008

So, What About That House You Were Building?

It's been a long 3 weeks since we mentioned anything about the home construction, but there's certainly a lot to tell! Pharoah Construction is working out well and is well-connected to the local contractors. Here's the garage when we last saw it here on the blog:


And here it is as of Friday, August 15th:



Despite the ominous clouds, framing is complete and everything is moving along nicely! As you can see, the roof is now up with 30-year asphalt architectural shingles covering the tarpaper. Soffit (the part up under the edge of the roof) and facsia (the edge of the roofline that faces outward) are nearly done.

The entire garage is also wrapped with the vapor barrier material and is now ready for siding. Here's a shot of the wrap going up...

I love how these guys have no fear of heights! Inside, you can really get an idea of how the final space will look even though the drywall isn't up yet.

We've made nice use of some otherwise "dead space" by creating several storage nooks built into the walls of the second floor...


Although not the intended usage, the dogs will love to sleep in these cozy spots! Plumbing is going in and here you can see the downstairs laundry room hook-ups...

...upstairs kitchen...

...and upstairs bathroom...

Just in time for the tub/shower unit!


On a side note, we visited the site this past weekend when nobody was around and witnessed a herd of eight deer (including a buck) crossing through our backyard meadow. We look forward to views like this on a daily basis!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

No Traction Means Need for Tractor

We've been getting more rain recently. It serves to replenish underground water sources, rejuvenate flora, reduce dust and generally cool things off (Dionne read 107 degrees Fahrenheit in the Suburban's thermometer the other day!). But it also creates a serious lack of traction for construction vehicles on our home site. The ground quickly turns to a slippery red mud and we've had several victims so far including the siding installers and their trailer, and then our project leader John. It sounded as if another party that got stuck (two vehicles besides John's yesterday), I think it may have been the roofer or possibly the siding material delivery truck. On a side note, the structural engineer with his 4 wheel drive Isuzu Trooper made it through just fine. We may want to consider 4 wheel drive for our next vehicle. Anyway, in some cases, we've been able to use spare wood to wedge under the tires. In the case of larger vehicles, we've twice had to call upon our neighbor, Tom Black, who owns a tractor. For his assistance in towing out stranded vehicles, Tom earned himself a case of Milwaukee's Best and a promise to donate some crush-and-run to his back driveway (which is scheduled to be installed tomorrow). Never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait to get my own tractor! Concrete pour scheduled for today has been delayed until Friday or Monday depending on driveway completion.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Name That Chick

From Chicken and Eggs

The kids finally settled on some names for the three new chicks. The photo above shows them dirtbathing with mother hen "Beach Bunny." The golden chick with the black stripe is a Buff Araucana mix called "Cheeto" (born second). The Araucana Black Star mix next to Cheeto is known as "Sleepy" although it's sometimes called "Little Red". The largest one (shown sitting) is a pure-bred Araucana called "Checkers." Checkers is the first-born and the most aggressive when it comes to feeding. Here's Maya mugging with Cheeto and Sleepy.