Yes Oma we are still working on your house...

Boy, miss a few days of posts and everyone gets very vocal.  I am getting calls from Switzerland, emails from Dubai, and even little old ladies questioning our work ethic.  

Well I was out for about 2 weeks and Casey had a "friend" come visit for 5 days.  Also the Pagosa contingent of labor went back home.  That and his broken leg did slow things down a bit.  The dutch don't understand the concept of relaxation.  But things are back on track now.  

We would be remiss if we did not start out todays photos with a picture of break time.  The third guy is the roofer.  Yep OMA the roof is going on today.  

And look we have a porch with a "lid" on it.

Here is the porch from a different angle.  Facia board will go on as soon as I finish this blog.  You can see the facia up top on the previous picture.  That lumber on the porch is the bats for the siding.

Here is a shot of the porch lid.  It has been stained light grey.  Looks nice.

And we have some new tubes and vents.  The heater has been installed above the bath.

Here is a shot of the roof.  You can see the vents are installed along with her 2 sun tube skylights.  Soon that will all be covered.

And what is that - a condensor.  Oma will have real AC.  Better yet, there is no switch to turn it or the heater off so she will have to use them.  Same for the lights.  All LED's but on all the time (kidding).

Here is the heater in its little home above the bath.  Tight fit is an understatement.

Beware the Tentacles

We have an octopus

OK, it only looks that way- the HVAC guys have been working on installing the  heating and air conditioning unit. It will live above the bathroom.  Mom will have a comfy environment, winter or summer.
After today, Casey will be taking a short vacation. Joanie is coming to visit and they are going sight seeing.

The HVAC unit is going in

Cool and Hot

We passed inspection (Not the kind you think)

I am not talking about building departments...
My brother Hans is here to help with getting Mom ready to move out for a long weekend.  He brought Mom down to inspect our progress.
It is actually impressive that we are still moving forward like we are, because:
Casey is working on a broken leg
Steve and his son Aubrey left back to Pagosa Springs last week
My neice and nephew, Lauren and Keegan left for PS on Saturday
And Robert decided it was a good time to take a two week road trip last Thursday!

Still, Mom is very pleased.  She spent hours with Casey going over every detail.  Her timing was perfect.  She could make choices for her siding, decking, tiles and more.  (Did we say, "Thank God Casey is the builder often enough? Between an incompetent architect,  making sure this goes the way she likes best and his understanding of what is needed, this would never have turned out as well as it is)

Best news is that (drumroll please) the cottage is bigger than she imagined!
You need to understand that she is living on 2 1/2 acres in a 3 bedroom house, with a separate, full sized building as her studio and a full, separate garage.   She has a house with very high ceilings and a bedroom that is bigger than my living room- so she was concerned.  She did not want to feel boxed in.  So the fact that it feels bigger than she imagined is great!

Robert, on the other hand, is cruising New Jersey and the rural roads of Pennsylvania in antique Oakland automobiles with Elise and his Oakland Owner buddies.  (Jealous of missing a road trip...)
Today he heads to DC for some sight seeing, visits Elise in NY again and heads off to the Indy 500 for the race.  Poor baby, he has so much traveling to do.

In the meantime- we have progress...

Check out all the old Oaklands...

Back at the homestead- the porch is really taking shape.  The beams are up and the rafters are going up.

The goal is to have her moved in and ready for her 90th birthday celebration in July.  Casey and Andrew have their work cut out for them!!!
Now- off to Home Depot to get the stain for the porch

Annette, filling in for the vacationing Robert

Getting old is hard to do

Casey put up a valiant effort.  Tuesday we got him an orthopedic boot and he hobbled around the work site keeping everyone busy. Wednesday morning his leg still hurt and he had a horseshoe shaped bruise wrapping around his heel. Time to visit the doctor.  An X-ray or two later confirmed that he had actually broken the bone. The good news is that it is a clean break not requiring surgery or a cast.  He just needs to stay off of it for a while.  Easier said than done with that boy.

I am off in New York Visiting Elise.  We are going to PA to visit Mr. Oakland and my car. There is also a driving tour of the area we will attend.  We are borrowing a car from the collection of Mr. Oakland.  Should be fun.  After that I meet Scott in Indy. Hopefully Annette will keep the pictures coming.

Days without an accident - 0

Not to worry everyone has all their fingers.  Casey stepped off the porch and his ankle went a different direction with a loud "pop".  Not good. We had to put him down.  We will miss him.  

OK they would not let me shoot him.  I was sad.  He spent the rest of the day ordering people around from his lounge chair in the shade.  He had ice on it.  Annette came out and helped Lauren put up the porch posts.  He stayed off it all evening and we are waiting to see how he is this AM.  

Meanwhile, back at the build.  

The inspector was out and we passed the nailing/roofing inspection.  That is goodness.  We can continue to move forward.  Workwise most of the work right now is inside.  Ceilings were put up in the kitchen and bathroom.  Then flooring went on top so the heater and storage spaces were ready.  Light cans, switches, and plugs have all been placed and wired.  We have power in the panel and a couple of live plugs.  

Here is a shot looking into the kitchen

Here we are looking from the middle of the great room into the bath and studio.  A 180 from the last picture.  

And here we are looking from the back of the studio toward the great room.  

A roof over our heads

Building continues.  The outside sheeting and the roof sheeting have been the main focus over the last couple of days.  Bodies, saws, and nail guns everywhere.  

Here you can see the front partially completed (sans porch).  

Here Andrew is working on the side while Steve is actually working something on the roof.  The large steel posts are earthquake sheer.  

Here is the first piece of roof sheet in place.  This is in the studio.  

 Keegan and Steve spent the day aloft.  The entire roof was skinned in a day.  

Here you can see the great room with a lid on it.  

 And from the top, here is the view.

More crew, more stuff....

Casey's kids Lauren and Keegan arrived this weekend to assist in the build.

The new power was pulled in from the box in the back.  4 #3 wires.  Took lots of snot (aka wire lubricant) and all hands on deck.  We got it to within 10 feet and then the chinese finger wire puller came off.  No problem.  We cut the conduit and pulled in the extra footage and then glued in a coupler. Looks like it was designed that way.  With the wire in place, the fuse panel was installed.   We can power up the panel now with the flick of a switch.

Here is a shot of the utility area.  This is the end wall of the kitchen.  You can see the stub up for the kitchen sink dead center.  Big window above the sink.  On each side are steel sheer panels.  We will be visiting OMA when the "big one" strikes.  Outside on the left just out of view is the sewer cleanout.  The little pipe on the left is cable TV, telephone, and data.  The silver pipe is her gas which runs across to the right side.  On the far right is the white gutter drain pipe.  The copper comes up out of the ground and feeds what will be the water heater mounted above the end of the gas pipe.  Cold and hot water enter the house at this point.

Casey continues to put up the roof.  Determining the exact layout of the roof has been "interesting".  Once again making me understand the wisdom of bring Casey out to build this.

Here is Keegan shooting up a spacer on the great room ridge.  You can see the rafters going up.

Here Casey is adding a rafter.

 Here is a view from the front.  Looking pretty darned good if I do say so myself.  Remember there will be a porch across the whole front.  

And a view from up on the hill looking towards the kitchen.

Here is the pad behind the wall for the AC unit.  I will be hard wiring the heat and AC so she can't turn it off (you really have to know her to understand that reference).

 I am working on putting in the power outlets.  The studio is now wired.  Today the rest of the place.

Another day, another beam

It was a beam o'rama day.  The good news is we rented a beam lift.  The bad news, they don't get on the lift by themselves.

In the studio....

Nailing it in place.....

Steve gets into the act with the great room ridge. ....

Securing the ridge beam over the front wall....

Just another day in the office and a job well done!

Here is a shot of Oma's cottage rising from the dirt.  This was taken from the hillside on the other side of the valley.  

Same picture with less zoom.

Moving on up...

Walls are almost complete.  Casey and crew are now installing beams.  

Here is the wood pile.  Actually down from earlier as we have used up the wall and flooring portions of the deliveries.  All this was hand carried to the job site.  

Here Annette and Casey make executive decisions at the front door and dining area.  

The pad for the AC unit was also completed today.  

Thursday is a no work day.  While we could lie and say it will be too hot we are really headed to LA for the American Idol taping.  Robert scored tickets.  Not to worry Oma we will be working this weekend to make up for lost time.  

Been too long....

I was scolded by Annette for no post since Sunday.  Well don't assume that nothing has been going on.

Gas line connected - check
Water line connected - check
Back wall up - check
End wall of studio up - check
Front wall of bedroom up - check
Kitchen front wall up - check
Steel sheer walls at bench seat up - check

Here you can see the kitchen front wall and the sheer posts

Bathroom/studio wall with front wall of the studio on the right

The crew hard at work

A couple of shots showing the progress from up high

And perhaps you have been wondering what Oma is doing these days.  Is she really moving or are we building an elaborate guest bedroom.  Well she is working away at her house sorting through stuff and packing things up.  Annette goes up every monday and helps her pack and move boxes.  The past couple of weeks Annette has returned with the truck full of boxes.  Last Saturday Annette had a garage sale selling 20+ boxes of books.  And now Oma has her own storage space down here where we are starting to move items destined for her cottage.  It is getting closer every day - what fun!!!!