New Season, New Plan

It may be quite hot and humid at the moment, but there is no denying that the seasons are shifting. The sun goes down so early now! And those long, distinctive shadows in the afternoon... <sigh> A new school year has started. Summer is on its last gasp.

I think I am coming to grips with the fact that I really am a very slow house builder. I am still very enthused and committed to the project. I also don't seem to have any desire to try to speed up my process. I would rather continue to mosey along, working thoughtfully and methodically, having the time to shift my plans as new, creative ideas come to mind. All this means that I know I have no chance of finishing the JayBee before the next winter season. That means spending another winter in my old wreck of a house. That does not exactly thrill me, but I do think it is the best decision. This will allow me not only to finish building the JayBee but also to finish the monumental job of downsizing myself out of the old house.

I have started to work for pay again--part time. While it is sad not to be working on the JayBee 100% of the time, it does feel good to have some money coming in--to counterbalance some of what goes out. So far, working part time is leaving me plenty of energy to work on the JayBee during my off hours.

My recent progress...

The electrician came back to make adjustments to the wiring. That west-loft window framing is now free of wires, so I will be able to install the awning window there. The extra outlets I needed are installed. For some reason not shared with me, the electrician did everything on the list except attach wiring to the thermostat--so I cannot declare the wiring to be completely done.

Here are only a small portion of the templates I have created to help me cut pieces of metal roofing for the roof. Now that the electrician is basically done with his work, I think I can let roofing pieces proliferate all over the floor of the JayBee.

I have been working on the half of the JayBee's closet that will have permanently-installed walls (as opposed to the half that will swing open on ball bearings). After spending way too much time staring at the space, I had this great brainstorm: I decided to install a ladder on the inside of the closet wall that will be used to access storage high up in the closet and to climb up into the west storage loft. Here is that closet wall in process.

I pegged all the holes where I drove screws to hold the ladder rungs in place.

I would have finished sanding the ladder framing...if my sander had not broken before I was done.

I mentioned those long shadows... See who is sleeping in the irises?

I like going down to the river late in the afternoon because the light can be so spectacular then. Bear often comes with me.

A couple of days ago, George came with us as well!

Mish Mash Catch-Up

Okay. The phone calls have begun, so clearly I have let my blog entries slide too long again. I have been doing many different things these last few weeks to keep the JayBee project moving forward...

I have made a small list of adjustments that need to be made to the electrical wiring. The most obvious is illustrated by this photo.

Oops! It would be kind of hard to install a window in that opening, don't you think? Not sure how that blunder happened, but since I need the electrician to come back and make a few other adjustments, it's not the end of the world. When I went to install the vent for the air exchanger (ERV--Energy Recovery Ventilator) I had purchased, I discovered that it would not fit between the studs in the JayBee wall, so I sold it on Craigslist, did the research to find another one that would work better, and bought that one. This new air exchanger will be installed in a different location than I originally intended, so I will need an extra outlet for it.

I have been up on the JayBee's roof a bunch of times--making templates for cutting roofing pieces. It has been so hot and humid that working on the roof is a killer. How do people build houses in hotter climates?

I have been working to prepare the north wall for shingle installation. In the process, I discovered that the electrician had used very long screws to attach the breaker box to the exterior sheathing. Really?! I ended up using a hack saw to cut off these protruding screw ends, and decided to just be grateful that at least these screws had not been driven through finished shingle siding.

I have made decisions about all the openings that need to go through the north wall, and I have been trimming them out. I installed a light- and motion-sensing light on the north wall.

Here's a bunch of wood trim and metal flashing in process.

All the lower north-wall openings.

A box for some exterior electrical outlets.

A box for incoming electrical power. (If/when I add a photovoltaic solar system, I will be able to plug it into the house here.)

A vent for the dryer.

A spot for the city water meter.

A spot for an exterior water faucet.

I have one more opening to create: the one for the new air exchanger. This six-inch opening will go up above the north double window.

I have begun to experiment with painting faux azul macauba (a blue granite from Brazil). Rather than buy the real stuff, I'd like to create a reasonable facsimile on wood with an epoxy top coat--to use for the kitchen counter in the JayBee. In the photo below, I am using printed photos of real azul macauba (in the top portion of the photo) to help me paint my faux version (in the lower portion). Not good enough yet, but not bad for a first attempt.

I missed an entire day of housebuilding when I won tickets to a Counting Crows show at the Maine State Pier in Portland. The photo below shows my perfect view of the band's sound check. They mostly played full songs during the sound check so it was like having a personal concert. Citizen Cope was one of the opening acts; he was great, too! After the sound check, I had my photo taken with the band. What a kick!

George ruling the roost.

Siding (West Wall) 5

Three more rows of shingles done on the west end.

I have now installed all the shingles I can on the west end until the roofing is installed on the bumpout.

Also see:
Siding (West Wall) 1
Siding (West Wall) 2
Siding (West Wall) 3
Siding (West Wall) 4
Siding (West Wall) 6
Siding (West Wall) 7
Siding (West Wall) 8
Siding (West Wall) 9
Siding (West Wall) 10


If it seems like I've been moving slowly, that's because I actually took a few days off for a mini-vacation.

I drove my son and his girlfriend way up north so they could pick up the Appalachian Trail at Bald Mountain Stream for a few-day adventure.

Since I was already so far north, I hopped over to Moosehead Lake. Every time I crest this hill and catch this view of Moosehead Lake, my heart soars.

Lily Bay State Park is one of my favorite places in the world. Pristine water, loons calling, peaceful breezes, and waves lapping.

<sigh> This was a perfect (if brief) getaway.

Back home again and finishing up the siding on the west end, this guy kept getting underfoot.

Siding (West Wall) 4

Three more rows added since my last post about the west wall siding.

Another row.

And another one--finished just as a new thunderstorm moved in.

Also see:
Siding (West Wall) 1
Siding (West Wall) 2
Siding (West Wall) 3
Siding (West Wall) 5
Siding (West Wall) 6
Siding (West Wall) 7
Siding (West Wall) 8
Siding (West Wall) 9
Siding (West Wall) 10