Christmas II

We enjoyed some time off at Christmas, and one special thing that we enjoyed was a "fire dance"that our neighbor, Milo, did Christmas Eve, right in the center of the main boulevard of downtown Harlan.

Before that we all raised a glass full of a Margarita from the upper balcony. We waited a long time for this.

christmas

So, a number of things were finished at Christmas time and we were able to eat Christmas dinner in the house.

Besides that, the washer and dryer were brought on line, as well as the tankless water heater and the gas stove. That was partly due to the fact that CoEnergy installed a 120 gal. propane tank outside the shop area. By the way, you can only see the dryer in the bath mirror!

On top of that, the used bamboo flooring that we got at the Rebuilding Center in Portland (as well as the blonde bamboo flooring we were given), was installed.

You can also see the wood trim finishing the pop-out in the upper bedroom, as well as one of the louvered doors installed as a grille work in the wall to allow heat off the double wall stove pipe to warm the room. That idea works really well, especially after installing the metal "draft stop" above the wood stove to keep the bedroom from getting too hot.

Finally, you can see the 8foot high used

french doors that we also found at the Rebuilding Center. Close off the entry way during the coldest weather, keeping the house even warmer.

Habitat cabinets

This week we made a lot more progress. With the sheetrocking almost finished, we started taping the rooms. That will take a couple of days, so the finish work has begun. Best of all, Pam got the rest of the shower tiled and started on the kitchen counters. She is using tile that we found at the Rebuilding Center in Portland. It is a great resource if you are close to it.

And, I started deconstructing and dreconstructing the cabinets that we got at the Corvallis Habitat ReStore. It is an interesting challenge, but things are going pretty well, finding ways to fit the pieces together in the new space (which they were not layed out for). The uppers will be the most difficult because there aren't very many of them and the doors would be difficult to fabricate.

Last of all, we took delivery of the new washer and dryer, which will be stacked in the small bathroom.

So, next week I'll work on the uppers and the bamboo flooring (also from the rebuilding center) will begin to be installed.

Insulation and interiors

We're back! We finally managed to get the camera and the computer together in the same place for once, so we shall update the blog. Where to start? First, while there was still sun, Pam finished off the shingles on the upper balcony and capped two protruding steel blocks (parts of the container) with copper.

Then we movedinside to many other jobs. You can see me (Fred) working on the curved staircase, which took a bit to get in according to the norms. Those 3 inch Torx screws with the impact driver are almost indispensable!

And then there is son Aaron working on the wiring, and stoking the first fire in the wood stove which will provide heat for the house. Since we live in the middle of a forest and the neighbor cuts and sells firewood every year, it makes the most sense here to heat with wood.

Insulation, and the required R38 in the ceilings! This really changed the temperature inside the house. That wood stove puts out plenty of heat.

Here goes the tongue and groove pine in the kitchen/dining ceiling, as well as the ceiling fan, which we need to move that hot air around.

Now we are in the bathroom, putting in the shower stall and putting down the tile on the floor. We are also putting up sheetrock where it needs to be. Some rooms (the bath) need it, while others need only a little, or none at all.