August 25, 2010

True Grit Friends

In spite of missed tee times and excuses not to join his golf buddies for their weekly round of 18 holes, Kirk's friends are still willing to come back for more punishment and help with projects that need more than one pair of hands. In July they showed up to help lay some of the tongue and groove flooring on the second floor. Everything worked out beautifully until Sarah showed up the next day and decided that it had to be changed. I don't think we will ask the guys to come back and redo their handy work, but look for before and after pictures at a later date in the blog.
Sarah was not popular and she had to work hard to win her argument. She remains The Princess



Al in foreground, Gary in the back getting stuck in. As a team they made great timing.



Between the beams. Pat, Gary and Al.



Captain says "I'd rather be playing golf!"



Kirk and Al concentrating hard on the nailing pattern.



Gary doing what he does best, playing with wood. He is a master in his field and we have him booked for several specialty jobs down the road.



....and the prize for "Best Legs on a Ladder" goes to...........



In spite of clear signage on the easement we share with our neighbours and their three kids, some do not drive as slowly as they should, so we decided to put in some speed bumps to remedy the problem. It worked!



Sarah applying paint on either side of the bump for good visibility.



It was time to dump some of the dirt back around the house and build up the footing. This picture shows Kirk right before he hit that big post with the tractor and split it perfectly in two.......OOOPS



This post actually, but he forbid
any photographs of the boo-boo and meanwhile we put up a temporary support and then Sarah took the truck to Home Depot to pick up a replacement post which we installed in the same location. By the grace of God, the house did not fall down nor did the roof collapse. We can laugh about it now, but at the time it was just a tad stressful!


Dumping dirt and leveling the ground.


Sarah pressure washing the fascia boards before painting. We hope the paint will match the exterior color of the windows that were ordered a few weeks ago.

August 23, 2010

Beaming



This series of photos shows life back in the interior. All of the beams shown will be exposed in the dining room and living room. These babies are very heavy so Kirk was very appreciative of Wayne's muscle and expertise. The beam hangers are made of welded 1/4" steel plate and fasteneres of stainless steel




View from kitchen looking through dining room windows.



Below shows a straight shot from living room through to the mud room.



View from the top.



We started staining these Douglas Fir beams a few months ago. They will require touch up down the road as construction is a dirty job. No need to point out the fingerprint smudges, just another fixer down the road.



Surfing anyone?