PHASE FOUR Weeks 20 & 21 - Interior Work

Weeks of October 13th & 20th -

***Last week & weekend Norman and I FINALLY finished applying our log preservative and pesticide treatment and our subs finished the interior log siding in the great room. ***This week our subs are working on insulation, trim for the windows, and caulking of the exterior logs so that staining can begin next week. We are also putting some good flooring in our attic (not OSB board) and insulating the attic rafters as well as the floor as we will probably want to finish it at off at some point. We have 570 s/f of attic space, so there is room for plenty of storage plus a small room (maybe an exercise room).

***We met with our landscaping consultant who has taken soil samples and come up with a beginning plan for us. This guy is pretty cool, by the way, with "decades" of experience in plant biology. He is a naturalist who also into wholistic healing and big on organic farming. Want to bet that he also subscribes to Mother Earth Magazine (as do we)? He has tested our soil, which is about as hard as concrete right now and contains various toxins, and will grown almost nothing until we rework it. We are to have it turned 4-6 inches, mixing it with granulated gypsum. Gypsum, we have learned, will encapsulate all of our toxins and provide several needed nutrients for our soil such as calcium and carbon. Next we are to plan oat seeds and Austrian winter peas over the whole site and to cover all with straw. Once the oats and peas are about 1" tall, we spread a fertilizer called Greensand over it with one of those handheld spreaders.

*****Charles Thomas, who did all of our excavation, is going to give us a price to do all of this, along with completing the ditch for our underground electric , closing it up, and setting up our electric meter about 60 feet from the house. (If we put the meter on the house it will be an eyesore we can't disguise, so a friend suggested we move it a few feet away from the house. This will also be much nicer for the meter reader, as he won't have to get as close to our barking doggies.) In addition to owning and using heavy machinery, Charles owns a local nursery and was filled with good ideas on inexpensive landscaping. He also helped us decide where to locate our final parking area/driveway, suggesting that we add another turnaround. It will be on the left side of the house as you drive up then a walkway (probably of flagstone) will lead from the driveway to the house. Since we will end up with two attached turnarounds on our driveway, I guess we should rename our home CRAZY EIGHT BLUFF DRIVE!?

***We have also hired back our "mountain man," Ronnie, to haul off our most recent huge pile of construction debris, to chop up and haul off various and assorted branches and wood debris, to help us with the staining next week, and to put plastic (moisture vapor) under the house. Ronnie don't read or write and I had to pay him soon as he filled his truck with the first load so he would have enough gas to haul our stuff off. We hear his wife takes his pay as soon as he gets home every day and they go out to eat with it.

***We are putting up temporary doors this week so we can get the house secured. One of our subs has some old ones he is letting us use. The front and mud room doors we will have are being framed and won't be ready for at least three more weeks.*** We have contracted with an alarm company that will do the preliminary wiring in the next few days before the interior is completely finished. ***DECISION ABOUT DOOR KNOBS HAVE FINALLY BEEN MADE (That was agonizing, thanks Mother, Dad & Marti, for your advice - we have gone with oil rubbed bronze exterior knobs & handsets, and antique nickel interior knobs, which should complement our brushed nicked bathroom & kitchen fixtures.

****As I write it is a rainy Friday. We have to get our T & G cathedral ceiling sealed so that's our weekend project. We WILL, however, be taking at least a few hours off for the UT game, watching it at the home of our friends Bethany & Tim. Go VOLS!