Lookin' for a home

Sandy and I took a long walk around the property on Sunday. The sun was shining and the temperature was about 58. We looked carefully at areas near and at the bottom of the south-facing hill. We discussed the possibility of a larger pond and locations for our house. We decided we might need to arrange for a survey of at least the area near likely spots for the house before deciding on one. Further, since we can see large rocks at the surface at spots on the hillside, we will try to find someone who might be able to survey under the surface so we don't pick a spot where we'll have to dig or blast out huge rocks before we can dig a foundation.

We are certain we will find a great spot that will provide nice views down the hillside, an unobstructed south face for solar heat gain, sound buffering from the state road, and easy access to other areas of the property.

When we finally select the site I'll start sharing pictures from it at different times of the year.

Can't believe it's been over a month

Tonight I realized it's been 36 days since my previous posting. One might get the idea that we haven't been making any progress, but that just isn't so.

Here are a few of the things that have been done since then.

1. We finished blowing insulation into the attic.

Here are two "before" and two "after" pictures:

 

 

2. The first floor walls have been framed.

The first floor is where we will have our clothes washer and dryer (which I hope we will use sparingly in warmer weather), a toilet and a large wash tub. It will also be used for storage of things that need a bit more protection than provided by the heavy shelving on the east wall. The first floor has a concrete slab and can get pretty cold. I built the walls with 2X6's supporting two rows of 2X3's, 24 inches on center. This will allow thicker insulation on the first floor that, for the most part, will not be heated. Since neither wall surface will touch the other side of the wall, the 2X3's will prevent a "thermal bridge" between the inside and outside wall surface.

3. The water manifold has been moved to an inner wall.

If I'd thought enough about it to begin with I would have put it there in the first place. Though all the walls of the utility room will be insulated, putting the water distribution manifold on an inside wall will give it a few extra degrees of buffer on the coldest days.

4. Most of the radiant heat grids have been placed.

There are still some grids to place, but they go pretty quickly. Then comes the metal plates that distribute heat from the PEX to the cement board. Next I'll run the PEX tubing into them. After that they are covered with the 1/2 inch cement board. Here's a picture of the bedroom floor so far.

5. The stairway is installed.

You'd think I'd have taken a picture of the stairs, huh? I'll post one soon.

6. Lots of miscellaneous tasks.

It's amazing how a day can go by and nothing particularly visible gets done. The bathroom has been wired, but without the fan and medicine cabinet and its lights, one can only throw the switches on and off with no results. And they're quiet switches so there's not even a click.

I hung up some bird feeders. Dozens of birds showed up and are there all the time. At one point there were seven male cardinals around the feeder at once.

I made some time to organize the "shop area," currently just a section of the first floor defined by clear plastic walls.

I had to rework the walls behind where the shower will go because the shower base we purchased goes against the studs, not the drywall, and an additional stud was needed on each wall where the glass shower walls abut the solid walls. Lesson learned: buy, or at least decide on, everything as early as possible so dimensions and requirements can be incorporated the first time.

Still more to do, but the end is in sight.