Good Grief Louise has it been hot. Hot in more ways than one - around here anyway. Soaring heat, flaring tempers, flying phones and the few children that have been here lately are scarred for life I'm sure.
It's a good thing Tim and I can laugh about fighting about budgets, progress, what can or can not be done. Gotta have a sense of humor around here, in a big way. I am known, at home anyway, for being marginally pissy about a certain things. I am especially sensitive to individuals that I must drag into a conversation about constructing this or that. It really makes my toes curl a bit when they don't have much to say about the particular topic. I tend to sprout fangs when they suddenly interject some reason why the plan can not be carried out while we are in the midst of carrying out the very plan they didn't want to talk about in the first place. Tim has finally learned it's not a good idea to wake me up to tell me my plan won't work, especially if he's not participated in the discussion. I turn into a foaming, raging, curly haired, crazy woman. He now understands his chances of survival are much higher around lunchtime. Recently I've had the exhilarating experience of throwing the phone, with Tim on the other end, watching it hit the door and totally mesmerized as the phone splinters into a million pieces. I don't think I've ever been that satisfied or felt that empowered or liberated. You can only understand some of this if you're the least bit passionate about what you do and love what you're doing. I do, and that's why I've invested in cheap phones.
Okay, enough of that, we've made great progress, even with all the heat. I think to date, we've had 48 days with 90 degrees or better in a row. The front of the house faces the southwest and about 5pm, it's the hottest place on the planet. Miserable. The gable ends are complete with windows, gable vents and soffiting. We used hemlock for the board and batten and the vents came from Kimball Designs in AK, they're made of western cedar. We'd planned on using western cedar for the siding like we did on the main house but the price is 3x's that of pine. I understand carpenter bees don't care much for hemlock. Too bad it doesn't have the type of poison the hemlock plant has. I hate carpenter bees.
The tin is also on, as you can see. The color is a soft charcoal and it blends so well with the logs. We used a company out of Johnson City, Tn., Weather Tamers. For the most part, they did a good job. I had mentioned earlier about cutting into the logs and chinking to fit in the flashing. This worked out perfectly thanks to Jason, Tony and Mark. I can't say the same for the guys from Weather Tamers. Mind you, they are accustomed to cookie cutter roofs and nothing as complex as this. The guy working for Weather Tamers name is Elvis. We'll,, let's just say, "Elvis has left the building". I won't insult Elvis by showing you pictures of his work, but I am assured by the owner of the company it will be fixed - and not by Elvis. More on that later as we move along.
Doug and Lee have trimmed the outside windows with the wood original to the existing McConnell house. All the wood for clapboard, trim, flooring, etc, from the McConnell house is yellow poplar. How lucky are we to have such precious wood as this. It doesn't rot, those da-gummed carpenter bees don't like it. Tim is begging me not to paint it. It will be painted at some point, but for now, I'm leaving it alone. All the outside windows have been trimmed out and we're waiting for Jason to notch the door jambs for the electrical wires before we put the door trim on.
What a crew! Doug, Lee and Tommy. Doug is the master carpenter. He says of himself, he's slow and sure and is pleased with his work when he's done. He knows it's done right. Here you can see the original beams painted their new color, Wild West Green from the La Fonda Collection (historic preservation colors) and the raw poplar beams yet to be painted. Doug cut down a poplar a few years ago to use for a personal project but decided they would have a better use here as the balance of the floor joist beams. You can also see the walls of the corner fireplace and the stairwell walls. The landing is complete. When the stairs are complete, I'll let you know. I can't wait.
In the next few weeks, I'm going over to Spruce Pine, NC to pick up the poplar bark siding for the back of the breezeway. I'm getting this from Uncle Bud. Uncle Bud is a delightful character and I want to give him is due and dedicate the next entry just to Uncle Bud. You'll enjoy the story, trust me.
Okay, that's all for now. I have a lot of work to catch up on. Thanks for asking about the project. Sorry I've been so long in getting this entry in. It's been a little crazy,,,and I have too.
Talk to you soon
Take Care
Nora Belle
