Some finished photos. I want to have it professionally done, but I have to clean up first….
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Finishing Details:
It’s all in the detail
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…and necessity is the mother of invention. Dave and I collaborated on just how to fill the spaces above the doors and windows, and we came up with this neat herring-bone look that utilized a lot of the shorter pieces we had left over.
a-sidin’
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Moving ahead. We attach the siding. The challenge is making sure they are up straight and plumb. One only needs a few tricks to make this a breeze.
Rockin’ the Steps
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Oh yes, there was much merriment and boogie on the job-site. Dave and I had a genuine music exchange program. MC Chris one way and Lettuce the other and much, much more. I now have a better appreciation for the rhythm and poetry even if I am not much better at understanding it. I learned as much about classic rock, which I still find generally distasteful. It may be the most appropriate music to use a nail gun too. Fact. Don’t bother trying to listen to Head and the Heart while building. We did a lot of blues and bluegrass which is more agreeable to me and just about as good to build to, so if you are doing a weekend project and not feeling motivated try another station.
The POWER!!!
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Oh the things you can do with a bucket truck. You could pick cherries or spy on your neighbors within inches from the window (creepy) or install power to the powerless in our society. A sincere ‘thanks’ to all the guys working for the village. They are really quite timely and capable characteristics which are not as common as they should be these days.
Cookin’ the Kitchen
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I had some help setting up the kitchen because I was at the Passive House conference. I came back to it being almost done. The counters sure are cool!
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LOOK MOM! I’m on TV…the news! And, not because I was throwing pinecones at pedestrians while in a tree, ranting and naked. (for the record that never happened)
Corrections:
1. I didn’t design the little green house they said I did.
2. Dave helped me because I designed it; I helped Dave because he was lead carpenter.
3. I think she says we are a Texas company which is nonsensical.
It’s nice to be recognized. I really like what Ellen says about extra things not bringing us joy(or not what we expect them to).
Painting and Paneling
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I chose a standard ACX plywood in keeping with my theme of refining the standard materials. The paint is, however, not standard. Lime, not the fruit, is the secret. It is the binder that makes this paint exceptional. (see: Unearthed Paints) Unlike the acidic fruit the lime in my paint is very alkaline which will keep it from growing mold…ever. So in a small house with a bathroom and a kitchen that is used just the same as would be in a larger home, moisture will be a factor. The is 100% all natural and has zero VOCs, which is great! And it is cost competitive with low VOC paint which still has toxic fumes, but it is not that easy to apply. Basically, you have to brush it on, so if you get paint like this, get a really big brush.
Flooring
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Marmoleum is a marvelous material once known as linoleum. Lin’ from linseed and ‘oleum as in oil, but over the years it can come to be conflated with vinyl as in polyvinyl chloride a cheap and durable material with one of the most toxic processes of production known to humanity. So, this is one of the things that we dished out for. We paid a premium to have a really great, commercial quality flooring that will last and is not made out of cancer. Plus, it’s really pretty!
