Rain or Shine....

we'll be well protected. The roof is now finished. Our new, standing seam, dark bronze, roof is expected to last a lifetime. Good thing we really like it! I think by the end of next week, when the siding may also be done, or at least coming along, we'll get to see how well our color scheme works. It looked good in our mind's eye.

Everything AND the Kitchen Sink

This morning, I was emailed the kitchen design. I love it when it's no longer left to my imagination. They even added a view over the kitchen sink.

Testing, testing.....

Andy bought one box of the siding we had picked out for us to 'try on' and for the crew to see how well it goes up. Everyone agrees...it's a 'go'. Andy will now place the full order and the rest of the siding will begin to go up sometime next week.

ROCK ON!

The stones are being built up on the fireplace in the den. In this picture, the blue-stone hearth is covered by some boards, but you can see the very substantial blue-stone

mantle. We decided to go with a stone mantel because the heat being thrown from the fireplace was apt to dry out and warp a wooden mantel.

Fireplace Progress Report

Glenn has begun the work of putting field stones onto the fireplace. I can imagine if a field stone had feelings it may be pleased to know it was going to end up on a fireplace right on the land from which it was taken.

On the House

no.....not free beer. We're trying to decide which type of shake to put on the house as siding. We for sure want synthetic (i.e. never have to paint it) shakes. But what color? what texture? what length? straight or uneven? etc. etc. Eenie meenie miniee moe.

Down and Up

The scaffolding that surrounded the house for long time is now down and the soffits that will forever surround the house are now up. Next decision, what material to use to underline those soffits? V-groove pine? painted sheet rock? Also down...our pine bough...in order to make way for those soffits. Next up?

Up on the Rooftop

The top of the chimney is done. Now the field stones will be cleaned, sorted and applied to the fireplace inside

. It should take Glen about a month and a half to get the two fireplaces complete. I'll post pictures of his progress.

Afternoon Visitors

Don went up to the property to cut some wood this afternoon and was visited by a Mama Moose and her teenage twins.

Behind the Scenes

The plumbing and wiring are being installed, all tucked into the walls, to ultimately be hidden by sheet rock. While it's not too interesting to look at in terms of progress, what could be more important than water and electricity? It's been a pleasure to meet all the talented tradesmen, like the plumber and electrician, that Andy has collected to work on the house.

Snow on Sugar

We've been making daily trips to collect sap from our tapped maple trees. We're feeling like maybe we should have built the sugar house before our house. The trees have been producing lots of sap, and today, even with the cold and first-day-of-spring snow, they were dripping away.

Through the roof

The living room fireplace is now

ready to go through the roof. Next week the mason will build the chimney on top of the house. Let's hope for good weather.

Mile markers

I've been spending lots of time in the basement of our current house, trying to throw out old toys and tired looking holiday decorations stored away in the closet, donating the pool table to a local church youth group, and sneaking out Don's junk when he's not looking ;O). One thing I did today, was put a fresh coat of paint on the woodwork, which meant

covering up some old mile markers we'd been keeping there. Kinda sad.

Coming from behind

Since we are always approaching the house from the front, we seldom see how the back of the house is looking. And because the house backs up to the woods, where the snow has been so deep this winter, we are apt not to venture back there to look. But this weekend, while out hanging sap buckets, we had our snowshoes on and were able to get a good look. It's going to be an amazing back yard!

Bricks and mortar

Glen, the mason, is now working on the fireplace. Although it will be made with stone from the property, the firebox and flue will first be constructed with cinder block and bricks. It is designed to be Rumford style. Rumford fireplaces are tall and shallow to reflect more heat, and they have streamlined throats to eliminate turbulence and carry away the smoke with little loss of heated room air.