1/2/11 - Flooring finished

Today was a big family work day and we finished the wood flooring throughout the house.  Kristin selected and cut the pieces to length and Grey made any necessary scribe cuts and nailed them in.  Mean while Eli and Asa put on light switch and outlet covers and then built a massive bon fire outside to roast marshmallows.  BTW we had our electrical final right before Christmas and we passed with only 3 corrections.

12/31/11 - Woodstove is installed

Today I completed the wood stove installation.  As you can see I imediately started a fire in it.  After many days of working in the cold this is going to be like heaven.  The stove is made by Morso and is ultra efficient yet beautiful.  Kristin had the floor protector fabricated out of sheet metal and we painted it black

12/7/11 - Exterior Siding is complete (Finally)

Well after a year of green zip wall we finally have siding on the house.  Just in time for the snow.  We used a combination of maple plywood and pine ship-lap for the siding.



Just about done.  There is Eli up on the scaffolding, that has to be an OSHA violation.

View from Northwest corner

View from West

View from South

12/7/11 - Drywall finish and painting is done

During the last month and a half Kristin has knocked out a ton of work. First she finished all the drywall, a job that she says we should definitely hire out next time. She also primed and painted all said drywall. Lastly she oiled all the interior plywood. Now all thats left on the interior is floors, electrical finish, bathroom and kitchen build out.

10/26/11 - Plywood siding complete (almost)

The whole south side of the house is now sided.  As we stated in an earlier post we used finish grade maple plywood treated with a natural oil.  The horizontal seams are defined with Z flashing that matches the roof color. 

There is one small area on the North side of the house that will also get plywood siding.  This should be completed over the weekend as long as the weather holds.  Next step is the ship lap board siding that will cover the rest of the house.

10/16/11 - My First Deer

I killed my first deer this Sunday in the lower part of our field with a bow.  It was the second day of bow season and the young spike buck yeilded about 25 lbs of meat.  I butchered and processed the deer myself and the boys helped with some of the grinding.  We ate the tender loins and the heart within the first few days and they were absolutely delicious.  I am hoping to harvest 1 more deer before bow season ends.

10/1/11 - Siding

I finished siding the entry-way bump out today.  We are using finish grade maple plywood treated with a weather resistant oil.  The horizontal joints have an exposed metal flashing strip that is the same color as the roof (see detail photo below).  Exposed screws are used to attached the panels.  This type of siding will continue around the south side of the house and stop at the screened in porch.  The rest of the house will be ship lap pine boards.