A week ago today, our cabinet bases arrived wrapped in old bedspreads and blankets. Jake Shetler and his driver/installers brought them from his Utica, Minnesota workshop on an open trailer. It was a big day.

Inside the house, Ryan King (the finish carpenter) moved saws, stacks of wood and a tangle […]

As we begin the week, we are a few brush strokes away from completing the interior painting—and it’s looking good! And had it not been for the great preparation work the Newman Drywall crew did in recent weeks (see March 4, 24 and April 1 postings), I’m sure it would have been a bigger chore […]

Ceilings are one of those things that are easy to take for granted—after all, who really ever looks at ‘em, right?   Well, after seeing all the attention our ceilings have received over the past couple of weeks from so many builders, it’ll be hard to ever take them for granted again!

The sheetrock taping, mudding […]

When the weather was arctic, deep driveway ruts were never an issue and clean floors were an upside. But with the snow slowly melting away, it’s smart these days to get in and out of our driveway early or late in the day, when the ground is still frozen. This past week, grading and gravel […]

In late October a crew from Expert Insulation filled and packed the outside six-inch cavity of our house walls with cellulose insulation. In January they came back to fill the attic with 30 inches of loose-fill cellulose. Just 10 days ago they were back again to pack the interior cavity of our exterior walls with […]

Temperatures are rising, but snow still squeaked under my boots as I walked to the house Thursday morning. Inside I found Jeff, Troy and Scott beginning the day’s work with interior framing, which has been the focus on many of these bitter cold days.

All of the interior walls are now framed, upstairs and downstairs. The four-inch cavity between the OSB sheathing (continuous […]

We’re really quite pleased with how the house is taking shape. This past week ended with much of the second floor roughed in and the first of the roof trusses being put in place.

From ‘inside’ the house, we’re increasingly getting a feel for the rooms, their sizes, and their window views; it was particularly […]

The sun is showing itself in all its glory this week, with temperatures in the 90s and humidity that’s wrapping us in a blanket of heavy warmth. At the same time nightfall is coming earlier, hinting at cooler, darker days ahead and nudging us to learn about lighting.

Our current assortment of lights is a haphazard […]

Site work is scheduled to resume later in the week when plumbers and electricians return to bury more pipe and conduit just ahead of the final concrete work and gravel back-filling within the house foundation.

In the meantime, Nancy (especially) and I have been working to get ahead on other details, this past weekend focusing […]