The new yard

We had a marathon weekend of house prep that spilled over into Monday, but we managed to get eveything ready for the final grading around the house to be done. Now that the backfill covers the basement the house no longer appears too tall from the outside. Much better proportions. A bonus is that we can now reach most of the house with ladders - much easier for putting up the insulation. The birch are yellowing quickly now that the nights are cooling down. It won't be long before our new yard will be covered with dropped leaves.


Here's the back yard. Unfortunately we've run out of time to get grass seed on the ground. Something to look forward to for next spring.

Now that the grade reaches the first floor we can use the front door for the first time. The entrance steps will be built into the deck walkway which will wrap around this side of the house. Ron also did some nice touch-up work on the driveway while he was at it.

We had the plumbers run the radiant floor tubing while they were here last week. The concrete guys are scheduled to pour the main- and top-story floors on Friday, which will cover the tubing. Until then we're on hold for interior work. This photo shows the kitchen with the base cabinet footprint blocked in with 2x4's. The sink will be centered below the wide window straight ahead.

Nice view out the kitchen window. This looks out towards our second lot that borders the one we're building on to the east. That means we won't have neighbors building a house right outside our window. At the moment all sides of the property are nicely buffered from any unexpected or unwanted development.

What comes after framing?

The framers finished up their last little bits today and pulled out after a long 6 weeks on the job. Now the house is crawling with plumbers and tomorrow they'll be joined by the guys who will put in our air filtration/heat recovery system. Things are getting busy! Here's a look at the stairs heading up to the second floor. We'll have an open banister on the left next to the back room.


Again, the stairs to the second floor. We're really excited about the window seat off the landing - that's straight ahead in this picture.

This is the view from the upstairs hallway looking down over the landing. The window seat bench will be installed after the electricians finish wiring the house in a few weeks. This is on the south side of the house and should be a great sunny spot for a good book and a cup of tea...or a nap. Can't wait!

Max and I got started on the exterior insulation over Labor Day weekend. Now that the weather is turning we've got to hurry to get the septic system installed and the final grading and backfill done in the yard before the ground freezes. We've got just a few more days before Ron the dirt guy comes back with his bulldozer so we better get crackin!

The house is taking on a new look with these super white insulation sheets. I'm happy to see the black membrane get covered up...the days of Darth Vader house are numbered! This building technique calls for two layers of 2" foam board over the house exterior. That makes the basement walls a full foot thick! We were impressed with our very substantial door jam after the first two layers were in place. This should be one warm, dry basement!

Lunar eclipse

We had perfectly clear skies for the eclipse last month so Max left the house at 11pm in search of the best viewing spot. I stayed behind, happy to watch from the cabin and happier to get more than a couple of hours of sleep! I had a decent view through the trees during my outhouse trips but Max got some great photos of the event from campus.