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.

Window Treatment

We are being treated to the exciting addition of the real windows to the house. So far, a couple of windows in the basement, and a few upstairs have been installed. I'll post photos as they are installed. This photo are two of the three windows in the master bathroom.

Thank You!

to the farmer who must have spent countless hours clearing these stones from the field, most likely using horse and man power, and putting them into a huge pile in the field, so that we could, in one big shovel-full with some heavy equipment, scoop them up and deliver them to the house to be turned into our fireplace. Whenever we have a fire and admire the stones, I will say a little thank you.

Funny Foam

The house and the workers will be happy to be warm now that the foam insulation has been applied to the ceiling and the walls. More needs to be added, but that will be after much of the mechanicals are installed.

Behind Closed Doors

Inside, progress is being made. Wall studs and stairs are going up (or down in the case of the stairs)