Save The Date: Lumberjack Days 2012!

It's Back!

Hosting the first annual Lumberjack Days was one of our favorite 2011 highlights!  If you're interested in enjoying the great outdoors while using all manner of woodcutting equipment, be sure to mark your calendar for June 9-10, 2012.  Not sure what to think?  Check out a recap of last year's celebration.

Stay Tuned for Details!

Steady Bathroom Progress

The second floor bathroom project was Scott's main focus this weekend.  Now that the bulk of the addition design work is done, he has more time to focus on construction.  He may be ready to start the tile work next weekend ~ which would be a lovely way to begin the month of May!  Here are a few photos to catch you up on this project:

By the end of March, most of the drywall was in place.  The shower stall (in the corner) was waiting for a bit more insulation.

Is it any wonder Scott isn't always working quickly?  Look at his crowded "workshop" space in the basement.

1-inch thick rigid insulation was added between the furred-out cement board so that it could fit over the edge of the shower pan.

We were playing around with where to place the band of glass mosaic tile, so the best way to figure it out was to lay it out on the floor. What do you think?

This step involves adding a nice glop of Versa-set mortar behind each of the Permabase cement board pieces, then securing with screws.  Once the cement board is in place, the tile can go up!

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

Number Crunching

Well, we got our bid back today for the new addition - and it's just a bit (ok, quite a bit) higher than we anticipated.  We are going to go through all of the items, crunch some numbers, and figure out how to proceed.  Never fear!  I'll soon be able to report all the design details.

Thank Goodness the Weekend is Nearly Here!

Biding Our Bidding Time . . .

We had hoped to receive the total construction bid this week but as with so many things in life, we must wait a while longer.  Our contractor is still working on crunching the numbers and will be out of town on business this week.  We should have a meeting next Wednesday (April 25) and finally receive the good (fingers crossed) news.

Until then, I am trying to crack the whip on Scott, encouraging him to work on the second floor bathroom.  I hope to post an update on that soon!

In the meantime, please enjoy this picture that I stole from the Internet . . . American Gothic Kitties!

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

Infrastructure Changes Come First

Unless you're a civil engineer, "infrastructure" isn't very exciting.  Yes, it's important to have utilities and roads and drainage...but architecture is a much more glamorous profession.

Except in this case!  

OPPD came to noTTafarm the other day to map out where a new underground electrical service may go.  The current overhead line will need to be moved before construction can begin.  OPPD discovered that the existing line needs to be replaced, and that it may be easier, more convenient, and less expensive to bring our new service from the street underground.

The little white flags they left behind are another indication of progress! 

Breakfast Time!

Scott put some corn out for the deer Sunday night - and they happily discovered it Monday morning.  This was a lovely scene to get the day started!

Next Step Taken Toward New Construction

At 9:00AM on April 3, our general contractor, Terry, convened a pre-bid meeting at noTTafarm for potential sub-contractors.  The purpose of the meeting was to provide the information necessary for each of them to provide a precise bid for their particular portion of the project.  Each of the contractors received a set of plans and the materials list and was welcome to roam around the site and get a feel for the wonder that is noTTafarm.  It was a very interesting to hear the questions that arose and to see how Terry dealt with each of them.

Before the contractors arrived, Scott measured out the addition, marking the corners with bricks.

Shortly after 9AM, Terry led the parade of subs up the driveway.  

The early arrivals were shy and parked east of the house on the driveway.  Everyone else then parked even further east on the driveway.  They had quite a hike!

After being handed a set of plans, the sub-contractors quickly turned to the pages that reflected their trade.  

We had plumbers, electricians, painters, the window guy, a foundation guy, and a geothermal guy in attendance.  The mason and trenching sub-contractors will come out later this week.

Terry asked all of the sub-contractors to have their bids to him by next Tuesday.  He will then take another week to get the entire bid ready for our review.  The City received a set of plans yesterday, and the 4-week-long permitting process is underway. 

Can You Believe this is Really Going to Happen?

Trail Maintenance

What's better than lounging on the couch on a 90-degree March day?  Why, spreading wood chips on the trail, that's what!   Scott convinced me that we could make short work of the task ~ and he was right, of course!  He's been maintaining the trail on the west slope with the help of the mower but the pile of wood chips created during Lumberjack Days last Memorial Day has been taunting Scott for the last 10 months.  Luckily, we had the Ranger to help us with the loading and dumping fun.

 While Scott took the mower around the trail, I started loading up the Ranger with wood chips.

One scoop at a time!

 The dumping bed of the Ranger came in handy...one of us inched the Ranger forward as the other one tried to gauge how fast the chips would come out.

 We made about 10 trips with loads of chips - until the pile was finally depleted.

 Here's proof that (1.) I helped and (2.) I got to drive!

The trail is now about 5/8ths' of the way covered with a nice coating of noTTafarm woodchips.  We'll have to rent (or buy, some say) a chipper again soon in order to complete the task.

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!