Sheetrock
Last weekend we were in NYC visiting Holly and Sam so we didn't go up to the house. As usual, we had a great time even though it seemed like 200% humidity. The best part was a circumnavigation of Manhattan on Sam's family's boat. This provided a unique view of the city and sights which few people get to see. Who would imagine that when rounding the northernmost tip of of Manhattan island, motoring along in the Harlem River, that there would be woods along the bank?
While we were gone, the sheetrockers were busy. The common areas have all been rocked and taped and the bedroom areas are substantially complete. The change in feeling is amazing since the rooms are now enclosed. In addition, the white colored sheetrock reflects light which brightens the space. Once the rocking and taping is complete, the surface will have a skim coat of compound which will be perfectly smooth. We considered actually using real plaster but due to it being ridiculously expensive and old-time plasterers being hard to find we were saved from that decision.
We thought the exterior plastering caused a mess but it was neat compared to sheetrocking. It will be nice to have the sheetrock completed so we can walk around without dodging the debris.
As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the design goals was to provide the illusion that the interior ceiling was contiguous with the outside eaves. With the ceilings sheetrocked, you can now see that this actually works.
Susan met with a local landscaper on the last trip to plan her "working" garden . This will be a collection of raised beds out of sight of the house where she will grow vegetables, fruit trees, some roses, and flowers for cutting. The plan is to put in a "road" (actually more of a lightly rocked path) to the site so that we can bring materials to the site via pickup even in a wet winter. Susan hopes to have the beds built and ready for spring planting. I am lobbying for also planting enough grapes to play around with making a small quantity of wine.
The vertical exterior siding is almost complete with only 2 small areas remaining to be done. The crew will then do the horizontal siding that is used under the covered patio. This same horizontal pattern is used around some of the windows which provides a nice contrast.
The final exterior finish trim work was also started. The support columns under the covered patio and out by the pool are wrapped in anodized aluminum. The same material is used in other spots such as corners and between the large windows in the common areas. This work was completed out by the pool patio and it looks really good. It is pretty unforgiving work for the finish carpenters, however, and I suspect the trim work will take a while.
The 8 solar water panels were also installed while we were gone. When using solar energy for electricity generation, you can dump unused electricity either to the grid (net metering) or to batteries. When you use solar energy for heating water, excess heat also needs to be dumped somewhere. For our house, heat is stored in a 500 gallon insulated water tank and the pool.
I was hoping the panels would have minimal visibility as we approached the house and due to careful positioning by the contractor(s), they are completely invisible. They are very prominent when viewed from below the house but most people won't walk down the meadow to get this view.
While we were gone, the sheetrockers were busy. The common areas have all been rocked and taped and the bedroom areas are substantially complete. The change in feeling is amazing since the rooms are now enclosed. In addition, the white colored sheetrock reflects light which brightens the space. Once the rocking and taping is complete, the surface will have a skim coat of compound which will be perfectly smooth. We considered actually using real plaster but due to it being ridiculously expensive and old-time plasterers being hard to find we were saved from that decision.
View into the common area from the covered patio
We thought the exterior plastering caused a mess but it was neat compared to sheetrocking. It will be nice to have the sheetrock completed so we can walk around without dodging the debris.
As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the design goals was to provide the illusion that the interior ceiling was contiguous with the outside eaves. With the ceilings sheetrocked, you can now see that this actually works.
View from the common areas out to the covered patio
Susan met with a local landscaper on the last trip to plan her "working" garden . This will be a collection of raised beds out of sight of the house where she will grow vegetables, fruit trees, some roses, and flowers for cutting. The plan is to put in a "road" (actually more of a lightly rocked path) to the site so that we can bring materials to the site via pickup even in a wet winter. Susan hopes to have the beds built and ready for spring planting. I am lobbying for also planting enough grapes to play around with making a small quantity of wine.
The vertical exterior siding is almost complete with only 2 small areas remaining to be done. The crew will then do the horizontal siding that is used under the covered patio. This same horizontal pattern is used around some of the windows which provides a nice contrast.
Vertical and horizontal wood detail
The final exterior finish trim work was also started. The support columns under the covered patio and out by the pool are wrapped in anodized aluminum. The same material is used in other spots such as corners and between the large windows in the common areas. This work was completed out by the pool patio and it looks really good. It is pretty unforgiving work for the finish carpenters, however, and I suspect the trim work will take a while.
Aluminum trim detail
The 8 solar water panels were also installed while we were gone. When using solar energy for electricity generation, you can dump unused electricity either to the grid (net metering) or to batteries. When you use solar energy for heating water, excess heat also needs to be dumped somewhere. For our house, heat is stored in a 500 gallon insulated water tank and the pool.
I was hoping the panels would have minimal visibility as we approached the house and due to careful positioning by the contractor(s), they are completely invisible. They are very prominent when viewed from below the house but most people won't walk down the meadow to get this view.
Panorama from below the house
posted by Jim Barstow at
8:32 PM
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