Floors, Trim, and more Gardens
The work on the heating and mechanical systems has started. The house will be heated by hot water circulating in tubes under the floor. In the past, this type of heating required the tubes to be embedded in concrete. It is easier now since sub floor material is available which has channels for the tubes already formed. It also has an integral aluminum heat reflector. All you have to do is lay down the sub floor then push the plastic heating tubes into the channels. One additional benefit is that since the tubes are visible, there is little danger of the nailing of the top wooden floor layer puncturing a heating tube.
Hydronic heating such as this has several advantages. First, it is supposedly the most comfortable since the floor is warm but the air you breathe is cooler. Second, it is easy to zone so different areas can have different temperatures. (This is especially important for bedrooms.) Finally, the water temperature used is lower so we can use solar thermal collectors for the majority of our heating needs.
Once the heating is in and hooked up (within 2 weeks), it will be turned on. This will allow the finish floor material to acclimatize before being installed. The finish floor material is Sydney Blue Eucalyptus which is much, much harder than oak or maple and has a faint reddish tinge. (It is the floor used in San Francisco's de Young museum and it still looks great after hard use.) We are also using a slab of the same wood on a bar dividing the kitchen from the dining room. The cabinet material is also Eucalyptus although a different variety.
The first coats of the final paint color are on the walls. At each stage of finish on the walls, sheetrock then plaster then paint, the feel of the rooms changed. With just sheetrock up, it still felt like a construction project; now it feels like a house.
On this trip, late in the afternoon, we were standing on the covered patio, watching the final pieces of siding go up and talking to the job foreman. With one piece of trim left, out of the thousands already cut and fit, we were speculating how the crew would celebrate when they finished. We had to laugh when they started the Friday afternoon cleanup instead of placing the very last piece of siding.
The landscaping continues. Our original choice of landscape architect just didn't work out so we found a replacement. The vision of the new architect is much closer to ours and we really like his ideas. He also realizes that we have switched late in the process so time is critical. His domains are the gardens near the house which are for looking at and strolling through; the working garden is for vegetables, fruit, and cut flowers.
Susan's working garden is taking shape and I think it will be amazing when it is complete. This week we decided on adding 2 small terraced areas for ground crops (plants that won't be grown in the raised beds). In addition, we sited the fruit trees (cherry, peach, and fig among others) and Susan decided on where her very large collection of roses will be planted. We also made the tentative decision to move the olive trees from near the house down to the working garden.
Subfloor with heating tube channels.
Stacks of floor panels.
Hydronic heating such as this has several advantages. First, it is supposedly the most comfortable since the floor is warm but the air you breathe is cooler. Second, it is easy to zone so different areas can have different temperatures. (This is especially important for bedrooms.) Finally, the water temperature used is lower so we can use solar thermal collectors for the majority of our heating needs.
Once the heating is in and hooked up (within 2 weeks), it will be turned on. This will allow the finish floor material to acclimatize before being installed. The finish floor material is Sydney Blue Eucalyptus which is much, much harder than oak or maple and has a faint reddish tinge. (It is the floor used in San Francisco's de Young museum and it still looks great after hard use.) We are also using a slab of the same wood on a bar dividing the kitchen from the dining room. The cabinet material is also Eucalyptus although a different variety.
The first coats of the final paint color are on the walls. At each stage of finish on the walls, sheetrock then plaster then paint, the feel of the rooms changed. With just sheetrock up, it still felt like a construction project; now it feels like a house.
Final paint color (except for the fireplace).
On this trip, late in the afternoon, we were standing on the covered patio, watching the final pieces of siding go up and talking to the job foreman. With one piece of trim left, out of the thousands already cut and fit, we were speculating how the crew would celebrate when they finished. We had to laugh when they started the Friday afternoon cleanup instead of placing the very last piece of siding.
One last piece of siding to go.
The landscaping continues. Our original choice of landscape architect just didn't work out so we found a replacement. The vision of the new architect is much closer to ours and we really like his ideas. He also realizes that we have switched late in the process so time is critical. His domains are the gardens near the house which are for looking at and strolling through; the working garden is for vegetables, fruit, and cut flowers.
Susan's working garden is taking shape and I think it will be amazing when it is complete. This week we decided on adding 2 small terraced areas for ground crops (plants that won't be grown in the raised beds). In addition, we sited the fruit trees (cherry, peach, and fig among others) and Susan decided on where her very large collection of roses will be planted. We also made the tentative decision to move the olive trees from near the house down to the working garden.
Working garden raised beds.
The engineering for the irrigation system in the working garden is very impressive. They guy who designed and built it has made it really flexible and extensible. The installation is neat and organized which, to me, is a sign of a good design. Both the house and working gardens will have completely automatic irrigation so we don't have to worry about them if we go away during the summer.
Working garden irrigation valves.
posted by Jim Barstow at
11:06 PM
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