July 23, 2016

Hurry up and Wait...

"Hurry up...and wait!"  That has to be our motto for the last couple of weeks.  I'm sorry to have been so neglectful of the blog updates.  We have been so busy and yet it seems like I spend  a lot of time waiting around for the next thing to do on the list. 

Adding soffit and facia


Last weekend our daughter and her family came out to camp for the night with some friends.  They had planned to go to Redfish Lake, but had to change plans at the last minute and so they just decided to camp out at the little river house.

The crew pitched a couple of tents, had a campfire and then floated the river the next day. 
 

The funniest thing... I  went out that morning to check on a few things.  It was all pretty quiet except for a couple of framers working on the facia and soffits.  I didn't see any sign of the campers until I came around the corner and saw this little bundle of cuteness...


His mom was just down by the river but it was so funny to see him sitting there in a construction site, sound asleep!



The great news is that the whole dry wall, tape and texture process finally finished up this week.  They worked for about 10 or 12 days and really pushed to finish up as fast as possible.  The fact that the temperature has been in the 90s most of the last week, really helped things dry quickly.


The doors were delivered so the finish carpenters could start working on window and door trim, closet packs and a custom mudroom cabinet. 

We've had a few Uh-ohs this week and the doors were the first one...
As we walked into the garage, Mike noticed right away that these were not the doors he thought we'd ordered.  There was definitely a miscommunication somewhere along the line. We had picked out a nice, simple smooth, two panel, shaker style door. The doors in the garage were two panel, but they were a raised panel, wood grain door.   After a quick phone call, the matter was taken care of and new doors are ordered and on their way.  It shouldn't be a hold up because the door jams are all fine and the actual doors won't be needed until we are about finished.


Uh-Oh number two this week...

As we were walking through with the job manager for the finish work, we were talking about the beams in the great room and he said "You have a problem..there's a return air vent right where your ridge beam will come out of the wall".
  
We can't believe we didn't notice that!  Mike talked to the heating and cooling guys and they are going to come out and lower it so the beam will fit.
With Mike being the general contractor on this job and the fact that he is not expert or that he hasn't built a house for twenty years, this is just one of the many boo-boos we keep making.   Some are no big deal, some are a much bigger deal.  We have tried to just  roll with it and make the best of each situation.  So far, we've done a pretty good job.  Things have gotten a little testy a time or two, but for the most part we have agreed on things and enjoyed the challenge.

The neighbors are in the dry wall, tape and texture phase.  They have all of the exterior siding completed.   I didn't get a picture of that, but I will.



Ed has continued to work on the road and it looks great.    

We did realize that by putting the septic tank drain field where we did, we have scrunched up the front drive area and now the circle is too tight.  We are still trying to figure out how to make that work without losing the circle. 
 
I've always wanted a circle drive, so I'm not letting it go yet!

And finally this week, we completed buying all of our light fixtures and most of the plumbing fixtures. ( just a few are still being shipped).  We're lucky we have an extra room to store all of our purchases in!


Signing off until next time...

July 13, 2016

Summer Doldrums....



Summer Storm on the River.


It was great having my mom and dad here and then to top it off, my brother came up for a couple of days as well.  He's always been interested in houses and was anxious to check out the build job. 
Family checking out the garage insulation
Dry wall




Mom and Dad


Well things have slowed down considerably.  I knew this would be the case when the dry wall, taping and texture process began, but we had a bit of a delay getting the dry wallers started, then the tapers were absentee for a couple of days.  A few days ago they showed up for half a day, then disappeared again for a day and the word is that they are back to taping again today.  Fingers crossed!  Then we got the news that once the texture is on, we will have another week or two to wait for finish carpenters. The closer it gets to being done, the more anxious we all get to move things along.  




The building in the Boise area has exploded and after the crash many of the subcontractors got out of the business and went on to other things.  Now that the demand is back, there are just not enough good subs to go around and so we wait.  



Mike trying to paint before the storm comes.









Last night, while we were out meeting the roofer and the excavator, a huge thunderstorm blew through.   It  was so beautiful in a really ominous way.  Sitting on the back patio will be a perfect perch to watch sunsets, thunderstorms and life.  I can't wait!







July 5, 2016

A Fourth of July Float

Looking back toward the bridge.
Photo: Donna Palmer

This week we celebrated Independence Day with a short float down our little river in Pat and Donna's raft.  It was a short thirty minute float from the bridge to the little river house.  We've talked about doing this since we first saw the property and found out that it's a local favorite pastime on a hot day.  We've been floating rivers in Idaho for about thirty years off and on.  We've had some pretty exciting (in other words terrifying) whitewater trips and some very fun times.  We've done Hells Canyon and several stretches of the Payette (many, many times).  This is a lazy little stretch below the Black Canyon Dam.  It will be perfect for the grandkids to float and maybe even for Grandma Vella, too!


Captain Pat and first mate, Mike
Photo: Donna Palmer
Land Ahoy...you can see Pat and Donna's barn in the distance.
Photo: Donna Palmer

Getting out was a little tough only due to the fact that we haven't even begun to clear the river bank of the high grass, fallen trees and other vegetation.  It's going to be a big job one of these days.  We envision a nice little sandy area or deck with fire pit and chairs to relax in and watch the river go by.
  Today it was a jungle to be conquered!  




Pat backed the trailer down through what will someday be the backyard and then we all lifted, carried and tugged the huge thing on the trailer.  

Mike realized a few days ago that we needed a mantel immediately.  That's how it goes sometimes. Plan, plan, plan and then all of sudden DECIDE!!


We took a trip out to River Valley Woodworks near Homedale.  We looked there a few weeks ago for posts to hold up the porch roofs.   This is family owned and operated business and they have some amazing stuff!  This time Anthony was there to help us and after hearing us describe what we were looking for, he walked us down to a pile of very old logs that were from an old log house in Jordan Valley, OR.  

It had been built lincoln log style and some of the logs still had the notches in them.  He picked out one that was about six feet long for us that he said came from a section which was over the door.  He emailed us some pics of the log house before he took it down.
He said he could plane each side down and make a nice looking mantel and it would only take a half hour or so.  He even said if we didn't like the looks of it once it was cut away, we didn't have to take it.  

What a unique experience to be able to watch as he and his son created us a mantel from a log that was over a hundred years old!  

First they took out all of the old nails they could see and then used a metal detector to find any hiders. 

The next step was to set it on then sawmill and line it all up to make sure he got the right dimensions.  


Then they turned it on and whirrrrrrrrrr.....the first cut was made and we could see it was going to be beautiful!


They shaved all four sides, and left a little bit of the original rough edge and the two ends rough.  We wanted to have some of the aged part showing.


We love it!  We love the memories we will have of watching it be made and the history of it too.  Win, win, win!


When we got home, Mike sanded it all smooth and the next day he and Pat installed the mantels at both houses. It will need to be stained at some point, probably before the rock goes on.
 
A few other things got finished up this week as well..

The insulation is all done and the electrician came out and switched out the panel box for a larger one, and wired a few extra sockets like the one above the newly installed mantel. 

Mike and Pat also installed most of the windows in the barn and Mike built all the attic access boxes.
 
This is a little teaser...I worked on these and they are finally just how I want them.  Any guesses what they are or where they're going??