Exterior plaster finished, cabinets start

Sometimes we go up and it is hard to see what was done during the previous week. Then there are other times, like this week, when things come together and the house takes a quantum leap. During our visit today, the exterior plastering was completed and we had our first meeting with the cabinet maker. In addition, the concrete for the pool surround was poured and the insulation finished.

As we arrived at the site and I got out of the car, I watched one of the plasterers fall backwards from scaffolding 10-12' above the ground. Fearing the worst, I ran down but by the time I got there he was already on his feet and yelling that he was ok. I was afraid that we'd find out how good the ambulance service in the valley is but he was back to plastering a short time later.

Plaster crew

One of the best things about finishing the plastering is that not only is it done, but the scaffolding is gone, the plastic protecting the windows is gone, and the plastic covering all the surfaces below the plaster is gone. Our general contractor is very, very neat (the site is kept broom clean and free of debris or trash) and he was glad to be free of the mess of plastering. By the end of the day, we were back to a clean site with open views.

Pool surround

I really wanted to see the crew do the concrete pour for the pool surround but they started at 8 AM. By the time we got there, I passed the concrete pump truck as it was leaving. I did get to see the final smoothing though. One of the high tech tools they used for smoothing the rounded edges was an empty, flattened plastic sunflower seed bag. As one of the guys said, "It works".

The surround is interesting in that it overhangs the pool on 3 sides and the underside of the overhang is shaped to receive the tracks for the automatic pool cover. This shape is provided by a Styrofoam form which is removed after the concrete has cured for at least 12 hours. While the surround should be the last of the concrete around the pool, the plaster on the pool won't be done until the end of the project since the pool has to be filled shortly thereafter.

As mentioned previously, we decided to go with a hybrid insulation strategy. Areas where we needed to maximize insulation had a full 3" of closed cell spray-in foam. These areas included the roof, bedroom walls exposed to afternoon sun, and the wine closet. Other exterior walls had 1 1/4" of foam and a layer of fiberglass. Interior walls and floors used fiberglass alone. Last Friday, the spray foam was almost complete, there was no fiberglass, and we noticed little difference. This week, everything is done and the feel is very different. Since we can't look through walls anymore, the rooms actually feel like rooms now.

Incidentally, if 3" of insulation doesn't sound like much, keep in mind that you can sleep on snow if you have a closed cell foam pad less than an inch thick.

Insulation. Foam on the left wall, foam/fiberglass on the right

The best part about finishing insulation is that sheet rocking starts next Wednesday. Our contractor cautioned us not to expect much by Friday since he thought it would take them 2 days to bring in the materials. The sheet rockers will be working for about a month since in addition to the hanging the rock there is a coat of plaster on all surfaces.

Solar water collectors to be installed on the roof.

In the afternoon, the cabinet maker came by to review the plans for all the cabinets. Most of the discussion was between the architect and cabinetmaker since Susan and I had already had extensive discussions with the architect. The cabinetmaker brought a book of pictures of his last job which was much bigger than ours and included furniture in addition to cabinets. I was impressed; the work was far beyond my capabilities.

Now that the plaster is done and the sheet rockers will be taking over the interior, the crew will finish up the exterior siding, the driveway, and more of the landscaping features.

The plan for the "hardscape" (non-plant, permanent features of the landscaping) is pretty much complete and Susan is working with the landscape architects on plant placement and selection. She is also working on a separate plan for a "working garden" out of the view of the house. This garden will be for vegetables, cut flowers, and some fruit and olive trees.

Finishes

"...Not the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning"

Churchill captured the feeling I have lately. We've made lots of progress over the last 2 weeks but most of it isn't all that visual (new pictures next week). We passed framing inspection which is a major milestone. This means that we can close in the walls and start finish work. The foam insulation is almost complete and the fiberglass will go in next week. Drywall starts a week later. The drywall work will take about a month. The concrete pool surround should be poured next week and the final plaster coat should also go on. As soon as the plasterer is done, the siding can be finished. By the end of September, I expect to be at the beginning of the end.

We finalized the finish materials this week and the first decision was to use Sydney Blue eucalyptus for the floor. Unlike the eucalyptus in California, this eucalyptus variant provides useful wood. When Australians came to California during the gold rush, they brought eucalyptus trees thinking that this fast growing tree would provide useful lumber and firewood. Unfortunately, instead of bringing one of the many useful species, they brought ones whose wood is generally twisted and split.

The choice of this flooring made the choice of wood for the cabinets problematic since you can't get Sydney Blue eucalyptus lumber suitable for cabinet making. It turns out that Oakland has one of the premiere suppliers of hardwood veneers. Their showroom is a veritable fantasy land of exotic woods. I've been a woodworker for 30 years and I saw some woods I'd only read about and others that I'd never heard of. Many are certified as coming from sustainably managed forests. We picked a eucalyptus veneer that closely matches the floors and the company will laminate it to the substrate that the cabinetmaker wants.

We can get the veneer either highly figured or straight grain; we'll be using the figured grain for panels where it will be most visible. When I asked if they had enough veneer for the kitchen cabinets, library, and office, the owner said he had 30,000 square feet of this particular variant. I was so impressed with what I saw, I asked for a tour of the factory in back. As we walked out of the factory, the owner pointed out a big stack of veneer which he said were the ones we picked out. When I asked how many trees it took to generate that much veneer, he laughed and said it took less than one. It was then I realized that this is how exotic hardwoods will be used in the future.

On top of the eucalyptus kitchen cabinets will be stainless steel counters. We were originally going to use stone but we've seen several kitchens with stainless counters and really liked them. They are fabricated as a single unit with an integral sink and backsplash so there are no seams. Our architect says they kind of "disappear" and which would be good in the open kitchen/dining room/living rooms space. We really didn't want the space to be dominated by a counter material with a very strong visual impact. Stainless is also recyclable.

Out by the pool, wood cabinets didn't seem appropriate so we are going to use a material called Richlite. It is similar to a solid surface material like Corian but it is made out of paper. (It is also quite durable since it is also used for countertops.)

Our architect felt that we should visit a local concrete fabricator he claimed could make just about anything out of concrete. We came away amazed at what could be done. I was also amazed that another nationally known green supplier was located in Oakland. This shop was in the process of finishing up a fancy custom counter with integral sink for a house in Miami. They had a bunch of cool lounge chairs that were part of a 40 chair order for a resort in Puerto Rico. (I wonder how much it costs to ship 40 300 lb concrete chairs to Puerto Rico?)

The end result of our visit was that we are going to use concrete for the counters (with integral sink) for the pool cabinets and bath.

We haven't made the final tile selection yet but we've narrowed it down to a couple choices.

Once the drywall is up, I'll post another video walkthrough since the interior spaces will be much better defined.

Plaster, roof, and more

It's been quite some time since the last update. Last Friday (Aug 3), we went to the house after spending almost 3 weeks of vacation in NH. We were expecting lots of progress and our expectations were met.

The finish siding has been completed on the north side of the house and it looks great. There are some color variations but these will be dealt with via another treatment with the magic aging solution. (This is a secret mixture of water, iron particles, and acid. After it is allowed to "ferment" for a period of time, it causes rapid darkening when sprayed on redwood.) The majority of the siding is applied in a "reverse" board-and- batten pattern but it is highlighted with sections of smooth horizontal sections. I really like how this mixture of styles looks.

North side siding.

The plasterers have come and put on the first two coats while we were gone. (That is why the windows and floors are covered in plastic.) The finish coat will be applied after we get a sample of the tinted finish plaster and verify it is correct. (For those of you on the east coast, one of the advantages of plaster is that the color is in the plaster so no paint is necessary.)

We are using plaster around the outside fireplace, on the soffits (the underside of the overhang), and on the ceiling of the patio and walkways. The color of the plaster is critical because the house is designed so that it looks like the interior ceiling continues out to the soffits; if the plaster color doesn't match the ceiling color, the illusion won't work. (The fact that the windows go almost to the ceiling also helps.)

Plaster ceiling in outside patio and soffits.

One of the crew mentioned that the plasterers were "interesting". They left 2 sculptures, one of a giant eye with a quarter as a pupil. You can see a picture of the other one below. (Those are quarters as eyes.)

Sculpture left by the plaster crew.

Framing inspection (this has to occur just prior to application of insulation) occurs next Wednesday. The electrical is all in, including power, lights, network, audio, video. Smoke detectors and security are also complete. (In a rural area a security system seems kind of silly but it is required by the insurance company.) The final rough plumbing has also been completed.

Network and power wires.

While on vacation, we made a final decision on the insulation. The simple solution, fiberglass, is by far the cheapest. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that well compared to newer insulation types and isn't very green. The state of the art choice is closed-cell spray in foam. The problem is that it costs about four times as much as fiberglass. The foam contractor is very up on the technology and very aware of his cost issues; he worked with us to come up with a hybrid approach that uses both foam and fiberglass. For areas where efficiency is critical (roof, walls exposed to full sun, and the wine closet) we're using foam. For interior walls and floors, we're using fiberglass. This reduces cost differential down to something more palatable.

The roof is now complete. All the panels were manufactured on site with a machine that works like a giant version of a seamless gutter fabricator. The roofer orders a large roll of flat steel pre-painted in the desired color. It is then run it through the machine which bends and cuts it into the required size and shape. This eliminates the need to ship a huge number of large, easily dented pieces of thin metal. The sheets are joined via a "standing seam". The roofers loosely connect the panels then use a powered crimper that runs along the seam doing the final crimping. The end result is (hopefully) a leak proof roof that will last for decades.

Roof panels.

Roof seam before crimping.

Panorama from below. (Click for a larger image.)

When we moved the pool due to the soil conditions, the downhill part ended up being essentially above ground. We were all worried about how to make this fit with the landscaping since it really stuck up. The simple approach would be to just pile dirt up next to the pool. Unfortunately, this would probably end up looking like dirt piled up next to a pool. The solution was to add a retaining wall downhill from the pool that would create a raised planting bed below the top of the pool. The final grading will be used to soften the line of the retaining wall. Susan is working with the landscape architect on what should be planted in these raised beds; lavender is one possibility.

New retaining wall below the pool.

Next week the pool concrete work continues, the framing will be inspected, and the insulation crew will start. We are going to finalize the wood for the floor (a Eucalyptus variant called "Sydney Blue" which is much harder than oak or maple) and cabinets. We should also start to look at color schemes.