22 December 2015
Left Fern Lake well before dawn. Only slowdown was a five mile stop-and-go backup
just before Albany due to a disabled vehicle on the left shoulder. Had to push pretty hard after that to make up
time, as we suddenly had an appointment to potentially sell the Prius immediately
after I got to Virginia. Arrived at the
old homestead in Springfield 9 hours (to the minute) after leaving Kate’s
place. An hour and a half later, signed
over the title to the Prius in return for our full asking price in Benjamin
Franklins, less than 24 hours after posting the car for sale on craigslist.
21 December 2015
Ian and Doug here at 7 for a productive half
day. Ian built the hatch that will allow
access to the attic (a fire code requirement) from the garage and an insulation
cofferdam above the hatch to keep cellulose from pouring down when the hatch is
opened. In environmentally-friendly
mode, to create the hatch
and cofferdam, used “scrap” Advantech Zip System® sheathing, some lumber that formerly was used for making cement forms, and reused the hinges and
latch from the door that was on the old dock shack. Doug installed Roxul® R-15 insulation (until we ran out) in basement wall cavities that I know
will not have any electrical, plumbing, or HVAC lines / ductwork in them. After the guys left at noon, I called Fyles
Brothers and asked for a delivery to both our house and Kate’s for
tomorrow. Five minutes later, their
truck showed up to fill the propane tanks.
Now that’s good service!
(Actually, they were doing half of Tuesday’s route today so they won’t
have to work on Christmas; makes sense.)
After lunch, I did a quick cleaning in the house, then changed and went
to gather all the paperwork needed to get a Vermont Enhanced Drivers License. MAJOR PANIC! Was sure I had put my passport,
Chree’s and my birth certificates, and both of our Social Security cards in my
computer case the other day. No could
find. Searched Kate’s house high and low
(even looked under the bed) and took (I thought) everything out of the
computer case. No could find. Sick at heart, called Chree, who (brilliant
wife that she is) suggested a long walk to lower my stress level (which was in
high orbit). On my way out, intercepted
the Goodro’s truck delivering another four bales of Roxul®. Got back
from clearing my head and immediately found the missing items… in the one
pocket of the computer case I had neglected to empty. By this time, of course, the Rutland DMV
office was about to close… probably just as well, as I was having the worst
hair day of my entire life after the sauna last night. So broke out the scotch, instead of driving
to Rutland. Don’t know if I’m celebrating or trying to drown my sorrows, but it
sure do taste good!
20 December 2015
Woke up to a nice dusting of white on the local landscape. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Continued cleaning the house basement for most of the morning. Responded to an urgent voicemail from Merry at noon triggered by her receiving a phone call about a low heat alarm at Chez Lapidus. The heat in the house was fine, so called Marshall’s Alarm Service, suspecting a problem with the alarm system. Cory Marshall was very prompt in responding. Turned out that the thermostat that is tied into the alarm service was set just a little too high compared to the house thermostat, which is turned down pretty low ‘cause the Lapidii are enjoying a week in Jamaica at the moment. Reinstalled the snow blower on the Kubota. Proficient in their engineering the Japanese may be, but writing directions is not one of their fortés. Eventually figured out how everything was supposed to fit back together… and made copious annotations to the instruction manuals. Perry came over late afternoon and, working together for an hour, we installed the copper heat shields behind the sauna stove. Then fired ‘er up and enjoyed the heat, and a delightful new ambiance, for a couple of hours.
19 December 2015
Saturday = cleaning day. Except, that as I was moving the Kubota from
the Man Cave around to the shop door (in order to shovel out a couple bucket
loads of “stuff” destined for the burn pile), I kind of got distracted by two
rocks that were sticking up out of the driveway just enough to be possible
impediments to the snow blower. Which is
another way of saying that I haven’t had any play-time in far too long. So I dug the rocks out. In typical Leicester fashion, two inches of
rock on the surface was attached to another 1,000 pounds in the ground. Nothing like a good challenge. At least it was spitting snow while I was
digging. About time, there, Old Man
Winter!
18 December 2015
An extra large glass of red wine sure is sliding
down easy tonight. Day started off okay:
Ian and Doug got here at 7 and we continued the soffit building project. At 9:20 I got a voicemail from the Brandon
Post Office (the call was at 7:15) saying the express mail package from Chree
(containing some financial documents that I had to sign, urgently) had arrived.
The post-mistress wanted to know if they
should hold the package for pickup or send it with the mail delivery person,
and would assume the latter if nothing heard. Called back immediately. The mail
delivery person’s taillights were still visible, but gone he was, with the
package. Delivery finally happened at 1:30 pm.
The person who needed the signed documents departed for Christmas
vacation at noon. The upshot of this disconnect is that we probably won’t have
money in the checking account to pay the bills that will be due in early
January. Lovely!!!! Goodro’s delivered
another 40 2x4x12’s mid-morning… right after we had ripped enough
“scrap” 2x10’s into 2x4’s to just about finish framing. Speaking of noon, by that time the basement
interior wall and soffit framing was complete; all blocking and ceiling drywall
nailers were installed (subject to verification by Sean). Only having a couple
of very small carpentry projects yet to do (other than the sun room vaulted
ceiling that needs Sean’s expertise), I sent the guys home after lunch. After mailing and emailing financial
documents back to Virginia, spent the rest of the afternoon thoroughly
reviewing the construction budget. Boy,
that wine sure do taste good…
17 December 2015
Another productive day
of framing. Ian and Doug were here by 7
and got to work finishing the soffit in the first guest bedroom. I left for Middlebury and Brandon to do
errands soon after their arrival.
Returning to Fern Lake at 10, I found that the Goodro’s truck had
dropped off another 40 2x4’s (more than enough, we thought, to finish the house
framing) and the guys were busy putting up the basement wall between the
stairway and the hallway that leads to the storage room. I took over the job of assisting Ian with
that job so that Doug could finish the framing between the master bedroom and
the walk thru closet. Though Chree has
acquiesced to having a rectangular doorway in that wall, far-sighted guy that I
am, I had Doug frame the wall for the doorway and a pocket door, should
there be a post-occupancy change of heart.
After lunch, Ian and I finished the garage ramps and landing while Doug
got started on framing the soffits in the shop.
Ian and I joined the shop soffit framing project at 2:30. Doug left at 3. By the end of the day we were, once again,
almost out of 2x4 framing lumber, so I called in yet another $216 order
to Goodro’s.
P.S. If you’re wondering why the blog
entries lately are full of start / stop times, that’s because every two weeks I
have to reconcile the Goose Creek bill for labor with the house building
budget, which has 109 separate line items.
The blog is how I’m keeping track of how much labor is going towards
each budget item. Not nearly as exciting
as tales of catching mice or Delores’ peccadilloes, I know…
16 December 2015
Ian and Doug here just after 7. We extended the flat ceiling over the rest of
the kitchen, then tried to figure out how to build the fourth side of the sun
room vaulted ceiling. At 10 I called a
halt, as it became obvious we needed Sean’s expertise in order to make any
headway… and he’s currently taking a much-deserved family vacation at Disney
World. Ian and I moved on to
constructing the double ramp and landing that will allow wheeled access from
the garage into the rest of the house.
Doug went to work finishing the blocking on the main level, then he put
in all the blocking in the basement. At
2 o’clock, with Doug finished with his project and Ian and I at a stopping
point, we three began constructing the basement level soffits (i.e., dropped
ceilings in certain areas needed to conceal plumbing, HVAC duct work, and
electrical wiring). By quitting time,
the soffits in the lower level hall and first guest bedroom were virtually
complete… and we were, once again, nearly out of 2x4 stock. Chree and I decided to use the Kohler
Bancroft pedestal sink in the half bath, and compromised on a rectangular
doorway (vice an arched doorway or a pocket door) between the master bedroom
and the walk thru closet. We also
decided that whichever interior door sticking (Shaker or Ovolo) was least
expensive would be our choice. Went down
to Marty & Merry’s for pizza, a not-too-awful-bad 2012 Sterling (Napa
Valley) Cabernet Sauvignon, and the usual delightful conversation.
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