- 5/27/97
- Purchased the lot.
- 6/8/97
- Began clearing trees on site
- 6/14/97
- Walked land with surveyor.
- 6/26/97
- Began blasting of cellar hole and drive way
- 7/10/97
- Blasting complete
- 7/14/97
- 73 loads of stone removed from cellar/driveway hole.
- 7/25/97
- Footings poured
- 8/1/97
- Foundation blocks delivered
- 8/7/97
- Foundation walls poured
- 8/14/97
- Steel beams delivered and erected.
- 8/15/97
- First load of lumber for floor decking delivered.
- 8/19/97
- Basement slab poured & sealed
- 8/29/97
- Timberline Dome Kit Arrives
Completed installation of TJI floor joists.
- 9/1/97
- Main floor deck complete
- 9/4/97
- Riser walls erected
- 9/5/97
- first row of triangles
- 9/6/97
- Second & Third rows up
- 9/7/97
- Hub & strut assembly complete
- 9/10/97
- T-Blocking & Stud installation started
- 9/17/97
- Cupola pipes and connectors installed
- 9/19/97
- Electric power connected
- 9/21/97
- My first stairs
- 9/30/97
- The Garage door is installed
- 10/5/97
- The Plywood goes on the roof
- 10/11/97
- Mezzanine floor joists installed
- 10/18/97
- Mezzanine floor decking installed
- 10/20/97
- Septic tank installed
- 10/20/97
- Cupola roof framed. Tree placed on top. (why do people do this?)
- 10/24/97
- Skylight framing kits installed
- 10/25/97
- The Extension roofs are framed and sheeted
- 10/28/97
- Finally get the Cupola roof on
- 11/4/97
- Our Intermittent Sand Filter septic system is installed
- 11/9/97
- Framed in the Extension wall faces
- 11/12/97
- Plywood sheeting on the Extension wall faces
- 11/16/97
- Ground covered with snow.(We wouldn't see the ground again till April)
- 11/22/97
- First windows installed
- 11/30/97
- Front dormer completed
- 12/2/97
- Started installing exterior doors
- 12/4/97
- Mezzanine floor (level 5) completed
- 12/7/97
- Sewing room dormer completed
- 12/8/97
- Roofing started
This view also shows the kitchen/sewing room extension with dormer
and to the far left, the mezzanine extension out the back.
- 12/14/97
- Front
and mezzanine sliding doors installed. Roof is progressing too.
- 12/21/97
- Cupola window openings framed in.
- Pause for:
-
- A week of 0 degree F weather (Shingles are brittle and crack)
- The Christmas Holiday
- The New Years Holiday
- A week of snow (2 feet total)
- A week of freezing rain
- 1/10/98
- Began wiring in the outside walls in preparation for insulation.
- 1/14/98
- Ice and water shield roof coating complete.
- 1/16/98
- Another foot of snow.
- 1/20/98
- Gas fireplace installed.
- 1/23/98
- Installed the skylites in the group of 4 over the mezzanine.
Gas connected to fire place. (Without insulation and cupola windows,
it doesn't warm the house much.)
- 1/27/98
- 11 degrees below zero F. (-24 C)
- 1/31/98
- Roof complete, Yeah!
Cupola windows installed
Remaining 3 skylite windows installed
- 2/10/98 Banner day!
- Icynene spray foam insulation installation
completed - perfect product for a dome.
Boiler installation complete - we have heat
Heat means we can turn on the water - and flush a toilet!
Garage door opener connected, so we can lock the door.
- 2/12/98
- Moved in
- 2/13/98
- Hot water
- 2/14/98
- Temperature outside drops to -18 degrees F (-28 degrees C)
Inside temp holds at 60 degrees F (15 degrees C) with just the gas
fire place for heat on the main level. (and a 30,000 btu hot water fan/radiator
unit in the basement)
- 2/15/98
- Appliances functional
- Stove
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Washer
- Dryer
- 2/16/98
- We have a working shower - all the comforts of home are in place.
The Icynene foam is useful too.
- 2/19/98
- Began interior partitions on the main level -
foyer & main floor wash/powder room framed in.
- 2/25/98
- Main floor partitions complete
That is the master bath shower unit in the background. The floor in the foreground
is a storage loft over the washer/dryer area of the main floor powder room. The window
to the right is above the garage door. There will be a claw foot bath tub in front
of it. The window to the left is over the bed in the master bed room.
- 2/26/98
- Ledger beams
hung in the
Timberline Ledger Hangers.
- (completed beams)
- 2/27/98
- Micro lam beams installed to support the free span sections of the second floor
over the conversation pit,
kitchen, and living room.
- 3/4/98
- Relaxing after
completion of the second floor (level 6) joists.
This floor includes:
- The sewing area.
The little square in the floor is where the dumb waiter will come up.
The ramps in the lower left will be replaced with a stairway up from the
mezzanine level.
- and the
library area.
There will be a wall
along the back side of the library, and a railing on the front. A circular stair
case will start here and go up to the cupola. The two skylights are in the master bedroom below.
This is the floor that is suspended
from the hubs of the dome shell using the Timberline "Ledger Hangers".
(Of course the other ends of the joists rest on interior partitions.)
- 3/8/98
- Second floor plywood decking complete.
The picture window
over the front door is finally here (intact ?) and installed. We were pleased
with the view thru it.
Here is the interior view
from the second floor balcony looking down into the mezzanine area.
- 3/15/98
- Completed trimming the excess Icynene foam (back to flush with the studs).
This took 2 full weekend days and several evenings.
- 3/22/98
- Began installing second floor partitions. These are trickier because the
tops meet the shell at odd and varying angles.
- 4/3/98
- The duct work
for the heat recovery ventilator is installed.
- 4/8/98
- Majority of interior partitions studded in. We are beginning to
get a feel for the room layouts and how open the design really will be.
(Pictures soon)
- 4/18/98
- Majority of the plumbing is roughed in
(PVC soil pipe 90%, copper supply pipe 60%)
Most of the electric wiring is in
place too (My son, Adam, has pulled over 3000 feet of wire). Living in the house under construction
allows you to realize where you need another switch or outlet before you can't add it any more.
- 4/25/98
- Cupola floor installed. Although we installed the perimeter boards when we
put up the shell struts and studs, we had held off on installing the floor until we decided
where the spiral stair case that would lead up it would land. Looks like it will
work out. Spiral stair is on order. More to come.
- 5/2/98
-
First sheets of sheet rock hung. Lots
left to do inside walls, but we needed the psychological boost.
- 5/3/98
-
Plumbing rough in complete for 2 bath rooms and powder room / laundry.
- 5/4/98
-
We have a second working toilet, in the main floor powder room. (Walls around it would be nice.)
- 5/5/98
-
Put the walls up around the toilet.
- 5/10/98
-
Dry wall installed on under side of cupola
floor. Staging is a must because the space below is open down to the main floor.
- 5/11/98
-
First coat of joint compound on the
under side of the cupola floor.
- 5/16/98
-
- Holes dug for the three decks (Front porch, kitchen, and Mezzanine).
Used an excavator due to the rocky soil.
- Sheet rock installed on the dining room walls.
- Sink installed in the main floor powder room (next to the toilet with the walls around it).
- 5/22/98
-
Three decks framed in. Now we can back fill around the posts and start final grading.
- 5/24/98
-
First bedroom (the one above the front door) completely enclosed in sheet rock.
(We have to use the door now.)
- 5/29/98
-
- Second bedroom (on level 2) completely enclosed in sheet rock.
- Back fill around deck post complete.
- Final grading started outside
- 5/30/98
-
Dry wall complete in main floor powder room/laundry.
- 6/1/98
-
Stone walls (boulders actually)
built on either side of the garage to hold back the dirt.
- 6/2/98
-
Top soil complete.
- 6/5/98
-
Weekend off for the Balloon Festival
- 6/8/98
-
Driveway top coat installed. It is like driving on carpet compared to the rocky
ledge rubble we have been driving on.
- 6/12/98
-
Dry wall complete in
Kitchen,
Dining, Living room & Foyer.
- 6/15/98
-
First coat of taping completed in bedroom over the front door. Between the
dormer and the 3 hubs (where 6 sheets of dry wall come together) in that room,
it took a professional taper a whole day. The "Strait Flex" tape is working well.
It produces nice straight joints where the
triangles meet (and come together at the hubs).
- 6/20/98
-
Dry wall complete in the bath room near the lower level bedroom.
(We had to cut off the tooth brush holder)
- 6/20/98
-
Dry wall complete in the master closet.
- 6/26/98
-
Taping complete in two bedrooms and the kitchen/dining/living rooms.
We continue to hang drywall, trying to stay ahead of the taper.
- 6/29/98
-
Painted a coat of primer in the upstairs bedroom. Actually looks like a room now.
But step out the door of the room and you see studs and insulation.
Hanging drywall outside that upstairs bedroom. We put up a few sheets that
we didn't have to cut.
- 7/3/98
-
Paddle fan hung from the bottom of the cupola floor. Hope we don't have to change the
bulbs any time soon. (Put in compact fluorescents to extend that time)
- 7/4/98
-
- Paint complete in the
two bedrooms.
My Daughter and Son each painted their own rooms, in their choice of colors.
- Staging down from the center of the house. Hooray! No more limbo going up and down stairs.
- 7/5/98
-
Hung 4 doors and put jambs around 2 closets to get ready for carpet installation.
- 7/6/98
-
Major smile day!
- Carpet installed in the kids bedrooms. They finally have a permanent home
that looks like a real room.
- The
siding installation started. It is beginning to look like a real house.
(Although friends of mine dispute that it will ever look like a real house.)
- 7/10/98
-
Weekend off for a balloon festival (I am a balloon pilot).
- 7/14/98
-
Completed drywall in the master bedroom. It was a challenge with the 22 foot
high wall meeting the shell.
- 7/17/98
-
Completed drywall in the master bathroom. When you hang the last sheet in a high
tight place, there are no more studs to hang on to.
- 7/19/98
-
Completed drywall in the mezzanine area. We are finished all the verticle walls.
Only shell triangles left (about 10 of them).
- 7/22/98
-
Completed drywall on the dome shell. Just a few pieces left but no more to be hung
from staging.
- 7/23/98
-
- Two windows in the cupola motorized and controlled from the main floor.
- Second shower functional.
- 7/25/98
-
- Door installed in the upper level bathroom.
- Light fixture and mirror installed over the sink in the main floor powder room.
I can SEE to shave now!
- 7/27/98
-
Paint completed in the master bedroom. We can finally get the staging down and
put our bed back in.
- 7/31/98
-
Finished drywall in the cupola.
- 8/1/98
-
Begin installing the kitchen cabinets.
- 8/4/98
-
Siding complete on the outside.
- 8/5/98
-
Last piece of dry wall tape applied. Just a little more joint compound and sanding left.
- 8/8/98
-
Kitchen sink installed. What a convenience.
- 8/9/98
-
Dry wall complete. Hopefully the end of white dust.
- 8/12/98
-
All the remaining carpet was installed (this is the conversation pit floor).
Just the wood flooring left to install.
- 8/17/98
-
Interior painting complete. I believe we have taken the staging down for the last time.
Here is the master bedroom. And looking up the wall over the gas
fireplace; the view laying in bed.
- 8/19/98
-
Vinyl flooring and toilet installed in the upper level bathroom.
The toilet is a "Western Toilet"; a 1.6 gallon toilet that actually flushes.
We now have 3 of them.
- 8/23/98
-
Massive monolithic maple staircase installed. Had to call some friends for this one.
- 8/25/98
-
Last kitchen cabinets (on hand) installed. Looks like we need to order one more.
One cabinet, a 42 inch wide double door unit, was hung on the shell wall. Yes, you can do that.
I had to build a tapered cleat to hang it from. The cabinet touches the shell wall
on the upper left and the lower right corners. The other corners are about
1 and 1/4 inch away from the wall. It straddles a diagonal seam between shell triangles.
We will be installing a filler strip that matches the cabinet wood to fill the gap.
- 8/27/98
-
We have been installing closet shelving a little at a time.
This shows where we put some on an outside corner at the shell/extension joint.
The closet in the
lower level bed room is complete. Some hanging space is now functional in the
two other bed rooms. We are using the Closet Maid
wire shelving. It is a little more intricate with non 90 degree corners and, in
some cases, non verticle walls (yes, we are putting some on the exterior shell walls).
- 8/29/98
-
Replaced the staircase from the main floor to the mezzanine with the finish unit. It
is a maple tread over southern yellow pine stringer unit to match the massive monolithic
above. They are really striking. The old temporary staircase moved out doors to
become the stairs up to the front door deck. We can now use the front door as an
entry, not just as a balcony any more.
- 8/31/98
-
Washer & Dryer moved to main floor laundry room. Bordering on luxury.
- 9/4/98
-
Last kitchen cabinet installed; knobs too. If only we had a counter top.
- 9/6/98
-
Cupola interior painted. Thanks to Amanda.
One year anniversary of the hub and strut erection. It is amazing how much
we have done in one year. At the same time, it is surprising that it has taken
this long. There are a lot of details; large and small.
- 9/7/98
-
Master bath vanity cabinets installed.
Laundry cabinets installed over the washer & dryer.
The one on the left is a laundry chute receiver. To the left of that in the wall
is a laundry pass thru from the master bedroom closet.
- 9/9/98
-
Dishwasher connected. (Today, I was a plumber)
- 9/13/98
-
Shower door in master bath. That puts another shower in operation. Don't have to
wake up the kids to use theirs anymore.
- 9/17/98
-
Kitchen counter installed (and kitchen sink re-installed). I had hoped we were
done with that much saw dust. Fitting a counter to the curves of the (straight)
wall creates a mess.
- 9/23/98
-
Completed installation of the spiral staircase to the cupola. That is the last
of the stairs to be installed. It is now 51 steps from the floor of the basement/garage
to the cupola. (Guess I won't need to buy that stair stepper)
- 9/24/98
-
Installed the sinks in the master bath. We used kitchen cabinets so we wouldn't
have to bend over so far to use the sinks.
- 9/29/98
-
Built a desk into a corner cubby in Amanda's room. One less cardboard
box used as a piece of furniture.
- 9/30/98
-
Finally vented the dryer outside. The basement should be dryer now.
- 10/2/98
-
Started installation of the Formica flooring planks. This is a long story so I
put it on it's own page.
- 10/10/98
-
Completed installation of the Formica flooring on the mezzanine level. We finally got
the knack of it. It turned out great.
- 10/11/98
-
We moved a sofa, end tables, and 3 bookshelf/entertainment units to the mezzanine level.
A living room all of a sudden. Another major livability step. We even unpacked some boxes.
- 10/12/98
-
Installed the vanity top and sink in Adam's bath lower level.
- 10/13/98
-
Installed the vanity top and sink in Amanda's bath upper level.
This is the last of the sinks, 8 total, and completes my role as plumber.
- 10/24/98
-
A heat zone from the boiler connected to radiators in the lower level bed room.
This room is insulated on all 6 sides. It heats up quick.
- 10/25/98
-
- Formica flooring all but complete in the foyer/living room/kitchen. That leaves
just the master bath floor.
- More furniture moved in from storage.
- We had supper on a real dining room table and chairs.
- 11/7/98
-
- Formica flooring complete in the master bath. That is the last of the flooring.
- A heat zone from the boiler connected to the upper level bed room.
With the house now cut up into rooms, the heat from the gas fire place doesn't
reach everywhere as well as it did last winter. I guess the boiler was a wise investment
We have 2 more zones to connect; the main living area, and the master suite.
- 11/17/98
-
First snow of the season. Not much, but it was enough to cause me to reflect on
where we were at this time last year. And to appreciate all we have accomplished.
A year ago, we were framing extensions in freezing weather. This year we are
working on interior trim, and moving in, in heated comfort. Thank you to all who
helped make this possible. It is quite humbling.
- 11/18/98
-
Home energy Audit. The house is very tight. Without the power ventilator, there
are 0.12 air changes per hour. I believe a typical house is 0.5 to 1.0 changes per hour.
This tells me that the Icynene has sealed us up very well, and that the heat recovery
ventilator is definitely necessary.
- December 98
-
Beginning to wrap things up. It really feels like home now. Check out the interior
photo tour.
- Lots of detail work this month. Things like doors and door knobs (level handles actually),
balcony nosing and railings, a few light fixtures and outlets, door bell, wall paper,
pictures on the wall, and general settling in.
- We even put up a Christmas tree.
- 12/26/98
-
Hosted an extended family Christmas party with 56 people. The comments we received
were great. I believe we can safely say WE DID IT! Thank you to all those that have
helped us along the way. It was definitely a team effort.
- 12/27/98
-
Rested. Tried to remember how to relax.
Now we begin experiencing what it is like to "live" in our new home.
There are still many projects to complete, but the pace will be a little slower.
- Winter 99
-
We succeded in building a home smaller than our last. We spent some time organizing our "stuff".
Fortunately, our high basement walls allowed for storage lofts. We built 2 of those to get stuff off the
floor so we could get the cars in. (Just before the blizard).
- Spring 99
-
We are finally comfortable enough with the inside, to begin to work outside. We cleaned up some of the
fallen trees left from site clearing, and Juliette has done a great job with the landscaping and
perenial gardens. Some of them show in the new arial photos.
Lost some space in the garage to Adam's next project, restoring a 1972 VW Beetle.
- Summer 99
-
The original plan called for two smaller doormer windows either side of the front doormer. One in
Amanda's room, and one in her bathroom. I started those on 7/15/99. (Just for old time sake, I took
some vacation and built a doormer.)
- Fall 99/Winter 2000/Spring 2000
-
When I was working on the house, which is less of the time now, I was working on
details like door and window trim and base board moulding. Also put in the
backsplash on the kitchen counters. There were interesting angles in a few places,
mostly along shell walls. It sure looks finished now.
- Summer 2000
-
The original plan also called for a roof over the front deck/porch. We put that up
in August. Also finished laying the stone walk/steps up to the front deck.
- Fall 2000
- Back inside, we had also planned for an in-door space for the hot tub. An alcove off the garage in the basement.
This fall, we framed that in and decorated it, so we wouldn't have to look at open floor joists, basement clutter,
and un-finished projects as we relaxed.
This project was completed with left-overs, drywall, studs, paint, salvaged doors, etc. I did
have to buy one bucket of joint compound (you use a lot with smaller pieces of drywall).