BROKEN OAK HILL(R) Dispatches from the heart of Wisconsin At the Farm
Aug. 25-26
Time gets shorter
in the waiting game
I feel like a kid at Christmas, waiting anxiously for the house to be finished. Only I don't remember the anticipation being this strong as a kid.
We arrived fairly late in the day Thursday after a stop in Madison to look at hardwood flooring. We decided to go with 4-inch oak in a Grade 2, which will have some knots for character. Then we stopped at McKinney's in Mauston to take a second look at our choices for the vinyl flooring and the tile we're going to have at the front entry.
It was after 3 when we finally got to the farm, another warm but pleasant day. Our builder, Jim Langen
dorf, was on a ladder putting up siding, but he took time to walk us around the place and discuss anything that was on our mind or his. The new sliding door from the deck, which will open from the other side, is still on its way, and he mentioned that there was a flaw in the front door paint that the manufacturer's rep is going to check out. Otherwise, things seem to be moving forward very nicely. He said he would have started on the front porch supports, but the load-bearing caps he needs for the concrete block still have not come in.
This was a "bonus week" for us because we had just been up last week and have been on an every-other-week schedule because of my chemo treatments evey other week. But because of the national shortage of some cancer medicines - including mine - I didn't get a treatment Monday and my doctor said I can consider myself finished with this round if I want. I'm finished.
Anyway, the good part of that is we or one of us should be able to make it up every week from now until conclusion of the project.
I talked with a couple of propane suppliers earlier in the week, and the co-op in Camp Douglas seems to be the better bet for us. Next week I'll try to get in there and get some more details about their program and make arrangements to get the tank placed in the back yard, just below where it drops off from the garage level.
The siding really helps the place look more finished.
Time gets shorter
in the waiting game
I feel like a kid at Christmas, waiting anxiously for the house to be finished. Only I don't remember the anticipation being this strong as a kid.
We arrived fairly late in the day Thursday after a stop in Madison to look at hardwood flooring. We decided to go with 4-inch oak in a Grade 2, which will have some knots for character. Then we stopped at McKinney's in Mauston to take a second look at our choices for the vinyl flooring and the tile we're going to have at the front entry.
It was after 3 when we finally got to the farm, another warm but pleasant day. Our builder, Jim Langen
dorf, was on a ladder putting up siding, but he took time to walk us around the place and discuss anything that was on our mind or his. The new sliding door from the deck, which will open from the other side, is still on its way, and he mentioned that there was a flaw in the front door paint that the manufacturer's rep is going to check out. Otherwise, things seem to be moving forward very nicely. He said he would have started on the front porch supports, but the load-bearing caps he needs for the concrete block still have not come in. This was a "bonus week" for us because we had just been up last week and have been on an every-other-week schedule because of my chemo treatments evey other week. But because of the national shortage of some cancer medicines - including mine - I didn't get a treatment Monday and my doctor said I can consider myself finished with this round if I want. I'm finished.
Anyway, the good part of that is we or one of us should be able to make it up every week from now until conclusion of the project.
I talked with a couple of propane suppliers earlier in the week, and the co-op in Camp Douglas seems to be the better bet for us. Next week I'll try to get in there and get some more details about their program and make arrangements to get the tank placed in the back yard, just below where it drops off from the garage level. The siding really helps the place look more finished.
Previous report
Summer has filled in the woods along the northeast side of the hill. This is taken from the tractor coming down the new logging road. I had a rare 20-minute escape from the house and did a little mowing at the south end, and then the road over the top of the hill.
Summer has filled in the woods along the northeast side of the hill. This is taken from the tractor coming down the new logging road. I had a rare 20-minute escape from the house and did a little mowing at the south end, and then the road over the top of the hill.
A new house gallery
Along the back of the house, a little of the siding was in place but the rest will get finished up early next week. It looks great, and we are really pleased with the color and the way the LP SmartSide siding looks.
We'll have to decide whether the clear polyurethane finish was the right choice for the car siding that is the front porch ceiling. If we decide it wasn't, we can always paint it later.
This is the look of the "reading nook" after it has been dry-walled. There will be railing around the stairwell, of course, and we are pondering whether to ask Jim's dad, Burt Langendorf, to make some built-in bookshelves for us along the wall at the left.
A view from the south side. The walnut tree at the right will have to be trimmed away from the house, and it's future is in some doubt. This side will present the biggest landscaping challenge, but we may have a couple of retaining walls built from the stone of the old foundation to help with the drop down to the old barnyard level.
Along the back of the house, a little of the siding was in place but the rest will get finished up early next week. It looks great, and we are really pleased with the color and the way the LP SmartSide siding looks.
We'll have to decide whether the clear polyurethane finish was the right choice for the car siding that is the front porch ceiling. If we decide it wasn't, we can always paint it later.
This is the look of the "reading nook" after it has been dry-walled. There will be railing around the stairwell, of course, and we are pondering whether to ask Jim's dad, Burt Langendorf, to make some built-in bookshelves for us along the wall at the left.
A view from the south side. The walnut tree at the right will have to be trimmed away from the house, and it's future is in some doubt. This side will present the biggest landscaping challenge, but we may have a couple of retaining walls built from the stone of the old foundation to help with the drop down to the old barnyard level.
