diggin' it up

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time to beautify the site. the removal of the tree guard, and digging up the old driveway, the site now looks like a war zone. the flatwork forms are done, and after some tweaking, the rebar has gone down. hopefully, this thought of a landing strip-type driveway in my mind works well in reality. with the weather cooperating, the concrete will be poured sometime early next. additionally, the interior casework is going in. all the built-in closet casework is going in.

floor and door

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The solid oak wood floors are installed and they look great if i can say so myself. they are solid 5" wide northern white oak floors. we will stain them a dark ebony as the project finishes. also being planned are the cabinets for the closets and study bookshelf. designed both on the plans and also on the wall, quick drawings were made directly on the sheetrock with the finish carpenter. also on the garage is a temporary garage door while we decide on the final doors. things from now on will come fast, with interior doors, trim and cabinetry starting at the end of the week...hold on tight...

tar in the house

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the flooring installation has begun. the black gooey stuff in the photos is tar. yup, tar on the floor. because this is a single story home, the solid hardwood flooring would buckle if it was directly installed on the concrete floor, which is a porous material. therefore, the technique of screeds embedded into a tar covered floor is used. the tar is heated up to a high degree to make it more viscous, and poured directly on the slab. once the tar begins cooling down, the screeds, made of 2x4, are placed into the tar. once cooled, the solid hardwood floor is nailed to the screeds. this technique creates an air cushion between the slab and the floor, therefore enhancing the thermal break of the house. in the meantime, don't breathe too heavily since this tar can be extremely smelly!

pink sheetrock with details

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here are some pictures of additional details of the home including the main beams travel from inside out of the home, the recessed main mirror in the master bath and the level 4 drywall finish, which explains the pink mud on the wall. next up, flooring.

light me up!

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the brick on the fireplace has been installed, and it is nice to have an earth tone color in the home now to warm things up a little. the brick on the fireplace against the commercial type windows looks great. it make it look like the brick goes from outside-in just like the main beams of the house. additionally, the main beams have been painted its light gray color. these beams pop nicely against the soft white exterior. a few more swipes of the mud on the wall, and paint and wood floor will be put in.

gypsum it up!

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in a day the gypsum board crew put up the sheets lightning fast. the shape of each room is finally taking shape. additionally, the white color of the boards really give a sense of how the finished rooms lightning level will be. this house has a great glow during dusk as the sunset light streams into the home through the three clerestory windows that were a late addition. stay tuned for additional mud and tape of the Sheetrock and the installation of the brick on the fireplace.

no more echo

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additional progress has been made over the past two weeks. the exterior has been caulked, primed and painted. exterior has been painted a soft white, while the beams are painted a light gray. the galvanized flashing around the brick and main beams are left exposed, while the flashing near the panels have been painted the same color. inside, speaker wiring and conduits have been run, and insulation installed. hopefully all has been put in order now, since the drywall will go up this week. this will make a very large difference when on the inside.