Septic melt down, HVAC and electric almost done

It's been two weeks since I last wrote...what has been accomplished you ask?  Well... Dave the finish carpenter came one day and did part of the kitchen molding install and then left.... saying he needed me to have the sliding door stained before he could do more.  Huh?  But off he went and didn't come back until this past Monday.  And no one else came and worked either.... had to have a little "come to Jesus" moment with Irv, my general contractor, and said I needed better communication and planning to get this project done.  He needs to step up and get his folks in here.  The same old excuses but this past week it's been very busy...

I prepped, sanded, and stained the door over the weekend...and stained all the new cedar for the porch wrap thinking otherwise Dave would use that as an excuse to not do that work too.  And just to be doubly ready for him I took my trusty pick ax and broke up the dirt to get the area around the front step cleared for him and at grade.... He returned on Monday and spent the day finishing things in the kitchen....walking around the door he claimed he had needed.  Then on Tuesday he worked on the porch...and Wednesday on the step....(sigh)  He has now actually hung the door he "needed" and most of the trim is complete...he still has the front closet to do but I may just do it out of frustration when finishing up the area's I have to do.  Arrrrghhh.....

The electricians arrived and worked all day Thursday, only small mishaps of wiring which fortunately I caught as they were walking out the door so they fixed and everything seems to be working now.  One of the guys had wired the switch to my cabinet overhead light so you had to have the switch to the sconces on or it wouldn't work.  Took us a while to figure out why it was malfunctioning but all working now...I had made a quick run into Menard's (Our local home store in Menomonee Falls) that morning to get the last of my track lighting so everything is up, light bulbs in place, and illumination has occurred....I discovered this afternoon they forgot to put the outlet in for the water heater so I guess they will be back for that at some point...

Heating and ventilation was here as well hooking up the forced air vents and running the last of the hookup for the floor heat.  When they went to re-pressurize the system two valves in the "old" system leaked so had to shut everything down.  They just left today ($315.00 on top of the original bid) with everything repaired and operational... as the heating guy was leaving he came up to the kitchen where I was sanding on the front door (having arrived home from work) to tell me he thought my septic tank was overflowing.... sure enough, I ran down and it was seeping around the edge and down the hill.  Somehow, really!  I feel like I've repaired, replaced, and fixed up every system in the house to some degree during this build.  The only thing that hasn't failed in some way (so far) is the well.... but the plumber was here today running copper for the sink so we are just starting into the water system now...

Anyway, back to the septic....I quick got on the phone and called my usual septic folks but hey, it's Friday at 4:30 and they don't do after hours calls (4:30 is after hours?) ....so on to Angies List and looking up other people.  Called the next people on the list but they were just leaving for a reunion out of town and couldn't do it.  They recommended I call Rural Sanitation in West Bend so looked them up, called, and managed to get someone...and convinced him I REALLY REALLY needed them to come...but they won't do it until tomorrow morning...big deep breaths Sandy...it will all be fine....

Tile and siding complete!

Front entry tile.... it looks so great with the log walls!

I have tile!  I really love the tile in the entry/pantry.  It's perfect.... but I was surprised by the "brightness" of the tile in the kitchen.  It will certainly make the kitchen a light filled space.  The creamy pattern has slight swirls with an undertone of beige and it looks good with the cabinets and the cleaned log walls.... it's just so different from the brown log world of the rest of the house....the tile guys did the entry/pantry/closet one day and the kitchen the next.  Everything is done...floor complete!

Kitchen with windows painted, trim boards ready to be installed, and tile complete!

Oak trim stacked ready to be installed for base
board and around doors.    Tile folks will return to do
tile for stove surround and "backsplash" between windows
once the countertops are installed.

Other than that, the past ten days has been very slow but some progress...Last week Irv brought all the poplar for my window trim so I spent my evenings after work sanding that all down and priming it, then two coats of paint.  I also painted out all the windows and their returns so it will "bounce" in the light.  I chose to paint the trim and window returns the same color as my ceiling- only in satin finish.  It looks nice.  Not too yellow but a good warm white...which I will appreciate in the depths of winter here.  I've decided to stain the patio doors and only do the returns and trim in white.... if I decide later to paint it, I can but I want some wood tone to frame the porch.... and I may decide I even want the trim to be oak...but at this point I don't have enough oak to do it and Irv had provided poplar for it so I will put it up and then live with it for awhile... They also measured for countertops and back splashes so I am looking forward to that happening!  It just seems to take forever between events- I know I work from a theatre mindset where we collaborate and coordinate tightly with an "opening" night that is our deadline but this feels like it's taking forever.
This week finally the siding was installed and everything is trimmed out.  After all my work to get the "old" siding cleaned and re-stained the installer used the full lengths in the barn and then used the restored lumber for smaller areas....so I have a lot of 4'lengths of cedar now....arrrgh.  It was "easier" for him.  Stupid men.
This is exactly why I prefer to be present when they are working because they always choose to do what is fastest and easiest.  I don't understand how much of a time savings it really was since I had all the boards labeled as to where they should be installed and all the stacks of boards distributed around the house close to where they were to go, everything labeled, AND I had talked quite specifically to the "installer" and not just Irv, my general contractor.  Apparently the problem came in that he started on the tallest area using the new boards in the barn (which is what he was supposed to use for that area) and that was so easy he just kept on using that lumber and didn't use the labeled lumber for the shorter areas until he had to start fitting under and over windows..... so, instead of having enough "new" cedar to do my porch wrap and trim, I only have three remaining lengths of cedar and a whole lot of useless cut off boards now.  Know anyone who can use some cedar in 3-4' lengths???   Birdhouses???  arggghhhhh.  And I'll be paying for cedar for the porch trim....

Cedar installed and trim completed.... now to do final stain...

And of course, the lumber from the barn all needed to be cleaned and stained so most of my labor these previous weeks was wasted.  Yesterday I pressure washed the installed cedar, let it dry, and started the staining process.  It goes fairly fast since it already had one coat on it but being stacked in the barn for several years, it needed to be top coated.  I have the East exterior wall complete including all the soffits and trim..and everything else cleaned.  I just ran out of daylight and strength.  While everything dried, I spent some time working on "mouse proofing" the old foundation area and have the bottom edge of the original house cedar all cleaned, spray foamed up into the narrow bottom cavity, and cedar ready to be applied to fill the gap once George gets home and can help...I need four hands.

After mouse proofing,  I sorted my oak for all the door trim.  I had moved it to the barn and stacked it on shelves after the demolition was complete and I had cleaned it all, removing nails and sanding the rough areas.  Hopefully the finish carpenter will be back next week to install it.... and my hope is by sorting thru the oak and standing it next to the door it is to be installed on this time it might actually be done correctly.  So.... I sorted thru piles of oak boards to find the right lengths, loaded it on my wheel barrow and wheeled it up the hill to the house, and distributed it around the rooms, leaning the pieces against each door and on the floor where it will be installed.  Amazingly, I think I have enough oak to do everything.... and since they don't have any other oak laying around to use they might actually get it right.  Oh yeah- I think this blog was something about learning to "let go".... lol....

Porch light and entry chandelier came in so went and picked them up.  Not sure when electrician returns but can't be soon enough for me....as well as HVAC.  We've had a few nights now down into the 50º range and it does get a bit nippy without any heat....We've had fires in the fireplace to take the chill off in the living room at night and I put the down comforter on but having heat again will be a good thing.  Fortunately, it's been warmer these past few days.

I know my frustration and exhaustion stems from the juggle of being back at work and also trying to stay on top of this renovation.  But I'm really ready to have my home back, a kitchen with appliances, less noise and dust, some privacy, and order.  I need organization and access to my things.  After a long day at work dealing with students, teaching class, having meetings for fruitless administrative missions and agendas that frankly seem mostly like "make work" instead of having anything to do with teaching or helping students, and then to come home to this.... I'm just ready for it to be done...I need Irv to get things scheduled and stop this "drift" of day's when nothing is happening.  And in my  spare time, I've designed the Tragedy of King Lear but I need to complete the scale model so best get off this blog and get to work.... more as things progress.  Best to all- Sy

Cabinets installed!

The cabinets are installed, window extensions in, vent hood delivered, the porch floors are completed, and the ceiling is in in the front porch... Dave, the finish carpenter had a busy week.  He works solo so things go at his pace, regardless, and he has his own way of doing things....

Irv had the cedar for the porch ceiling delivered so I could get it pre-stained before it went up.  I was at work when it was installed and am uncertain I like how it looks.  The soffits are installed with the woodgrain going lengthwise and the ceiling woodgrain is going now at a right angle to that.... my eye saw it immediately but no one else seems to see it and I realize it probably made for easier installation.... I'm going to just "float" on it for now... some hills just aren't worth dying on.

View of the front entry from the dining room.  Closet (old entry) is  the left log opening.  Walls are painted a soft "fern" green.... new tile will soon be going in to make this all one level and far prettier!  Opening in the entry goes to the "pantry" with a pocket door to close off the space.

View of the painted kitchen wall where my cabinet will eventually be placed and a view out the doors to the screen porch.  

Front entry and front porch.

Kitchen cabinets in place.... box with plywood top and stools are our prototype for the center table I hope to build.    I think it probably has to be longer but the width seems to work at least until I get the big cabinet in and we discover it might need to be more narrow.

Now that the cabinets are installed it's far easier to see the footprint of the work area... This is going to change everything about how I prepare food!  I put a box with a plywood scrap on top to replicate my future table for the center of the room.  George and I are trying to figure out how big it should be- how long and how wide.  Given the amount of storage I don't really need space to "store" things... but I would love a big harvest table (counter height) in the middle of everything.  What a perfect place to sit with a cup of coffee and watch the news in the morning before heading off to work....I have the lumber in the barn to build it- I just need to design it now that I can see the space.