We woke up this morning to dense Sewanee fog (very common on the Cumberland Plateau) and drizzle. We got a call from helper David who had to beg off working today anyway due to his ill 5-year-old son. Later in the morning, Alexis' mom had an episode of dizziness at the Monteagle pharmacy. The store clerks noticed she was having a problem and offered assistance (she'd been standing in line at the post office, then stood in front of the greeting cards at CVS looking for a card for a dear friend... just too much time on her feet). Some very nice folks from Sewanee got her back home, where she called us. As Ruth is 86 & VERY frail (you can knock her over with a feather) the episode was very scary for Alexis. Alexis stayed with her for awhile and she felt better after some tomato soup and rest.
So nothing got done today on the house between the weather and Alexis' mom. Monday morning the front-end loader will put the gravel in the "swimming pool."
I did have a brilliant idea, however... I'm going to reuse my concrete forms to build a storage building... I just love it when you can recycle in a personal and practical way.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Today (and yesterday) we got the inside forms stripped off (NOT easy!)... 48+ tons of gravel
were delivered this afternoon (3/28/07) which we will use to fill the inside of the concrete
stem wall we poured two days ago (up to grade)... the front end loader is scheduled for early tomorrow morning (Saturday)... my plumber friend (the head of maintenance from St Andrews School where I went to boarding school circa 1960 - 1964) will put the drain lines in the
gravel early next week and our hope is to pour the slab by the end of next week... then it's AAC block laying time for me. (Check out Safecrete) Our cozy Irish cottage is coming together. It's all very exciting for both Alexis and myself.
And I found this cool photo of a cottage in Ireland (County Clare) that Alexis thinks captures what she wants the house to be eventually. The climbing roses are Cecile Brunner (not quite right spelling, but...) an 1894 antique rose.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Today is Wednesday March 26th (2008) and David Musser and I are waiting for the concrete truck. An online standup comedian friend of mine says, "Love + Lust + Liquor = Honda Odyssey" ... today, "6 yards of concrete + one very out of shape 61 year old man + impatient concrete truck driver = one tuckered out 61 year old man."
The truck arrived and we began to pour... we discovered that we hadn't braced several of the inside forms as well as we should have resulting in a thicker wall in two or three places than we planned. Happily, the "swelling" was on the inside so it won't cause a problem...the outside form that Mike Harris and I set stayed square, straight and plumb.
Three hours later the 8" X 16" stem wall is poured and the tools cleaned (today's wall sits on a substantial footing that was poured 15 months ago).
Tomorrow we'll let the concrete cure and Friday David and I will remove the inside forms and fill the inside with gravel...hopefully my plumber friend can get the plumbing in the gravel by early next week and I can have the slab poured by the end of next week... the completion of the slab will be our first MAJOR milestone.
The truck arrived and we began to pour... we discovered that we hadn't braced several of the inside forms as well as we should have resulting in a thicker wall in two or three places than we planned. Happily, the "swelling" was on the inside so it won't cause a problem...the outside form that Mike Harris and I set stayed square, straight and plumb.
Three hours later the 8" X 16" stem wall is poured and the tools cleaned (today's wall sits on a substantial footing that was poured 15 months ago).
Tomorrow we'll let the concrete cure and Friday David and I will remove the inside forms and fill the inside with gravel...hopefully my plumber friend can get the plumbing in the gravel by early next week and I can have the slab poured by the end of next week... the completion of the slab will be our first MAJOR milestone.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
And Away We Go!
I am pleased to report that after 18 months of hassle getting access to our land, last Thursday we got the county's approval for our sub-division of property and our building permit which allows construction to resume in earnest... here are the first pictures of work today (Saturday; 3/22/08):
These are my stem wall forms at the west end of our Irish cottage and the 5 cords of wood that Alexis and I split last July... we have a total of three acres of woods surrounded by 100 acres that will not be built on anytime in the near future... we are 1.25 miles from the village of Sewanee... Alexis wanted to name the site Brigid's Wood to honor a cousin of hers who died in 1850 coming to America from Ireland... Brigid died and was buried at sea... she was 12.
Looking south into the woods at the west end of the house... from left to right: David Musser, my helper, Boone Dog who wants to help and me (the before shot of me... I'm bound to lose weight during construction... it's already killing this 61 year old man!)
Looking SE into the woods from the NW corner of the house... we hope to pour the stem wall Monday or Tuesday... then plumbing and insulation goes in/on the gravel and the slab will be poured on top of that (thanks to Mike Harris, my St. Andrews friend, who helped me put the outside form in):
Obviously the land has been cleared, the footings have been poured, the septic tank is in and lots of material has been squirreled away from Internet "good deal" purchases over the last 18 months while waiting for the access to be straightened out (windows, doors, countertops, kitchen cabinets, metal roof, appliances, plumbing fixtures, insulation, etc.)
For those interested, here is a link to the AAC block that I'm going to use in my exterior walls (to be stuccoed) SAFECRETE. It's amazing stuff and is a do-it-yourselfer type of product. I went to school last Tuesday to learn how to lay it.
The house will have the look of an Irish cottage... small (1400 square feet)... cozy (heated with wood)... extremely energy efficient (using AAC blocks and tons of sprayed on insulation in the roof) passive solar... most of the windows are on the south-side of the house with the appropriate overhang for this latitude to block summer sun and let winter sun in... and the best part... MORTGAGE FREE!
We will memorialize our progress in a blog so if you want to follow along, we'll give you the address.
It is all happening in God's time.
Happy Easter... the Lord is Risen!... the Lord is Risen indeed!
Dave & Alexis
Brigid's Wood
These are my stem wall forms at the west end of our Irish cottage and the 5 cords of wood that Alexis and I split last July... we have a total of three acres of woods surrounded by 100 acres that will not be built on anytime in the near future... we are 1.25 miles from the village of Sewanee... Alexis wanted to name the site Brigid's Wood to honor a cousin of hers who died in 1850 coming to America from Ireland... Brigid died and was buried at sea... she was 12.
Looking south into the woods at the west end of the house... from left to right: David Musser, my helper, Boone Dog who wants to help and me (the before shot of me... I'm bound to lose weight during construction... it's already killing this 61 year old man!)
Looking SE into the woods from the NW corner of the house... we hope to pour the stem wall Monday or Tuesday... then plumbing and insulation goes in/on the gravel and the slab will be poured on top of that (thanks to Mike Harris, my St. Andrews friend, who helped me put the outside form in):
Obviously the land has been cleared, the footings have been poured, the septic tank is in and lots of material has been squirreled away from Internet "good deal" purchases over the last 18 months while waiting for the access to be straightened out (windows, doors, countertops, kitchen cabinets, metal roof, appliances, plumbing fixtures, insulation, etc.)
For those interested, here is a link to the AAC block that I'm going to use in my exterior walls (to be stuccoed) SAFECRETE. It's amazing stuff and is a do-it-yourselfer type of product. I went to school last Tuesday to learn how to lay it.
The house will have the look of an Irish cottage... small (1400 square feet)... cozy (heated with wood)... extremely energy efficient (using AAC blocks and tons of sprayed on insulation in the roof) passive solar... most of the windows are on the south-side of the house with the appropriate overhang for this latitude to block summer sun and let winter sun in... and the best part... MORTGAGE FREE!
We will memorialize our progress in a blog so if you want to follow along, we'll give you the address.
It is all happening in God's time.
Happy Easter... the Lord is Risen!... the Lord is Risen indeed!
Dave & Alexis
Brigid's Wood
Getting Started - Finally!
Well, after over a year's delay (19 months but who's counting...) we're finally getting underway on building our retirement cottage on our 3 acres, which we've named 'Brigid's Wood'.
We'd been able to do a few things while waiting for the bureaucracy to do its thing, so the house site was cleared, drive put in, septic dug and the footing dug and concrete poured in it. But recent rains left some sediment and mud on the footing so today we cleaned that up and set up the forms in anticipation of pouring the stem-wall in the next week or so. It was slow going and we're out of shape, but most of it was done.
The most important thing was that the bureaucracy gods are appeased and we can begin building.
So what follows is: The Adventures of Brigid's Wood!
We'd been able to do a few things while waiting for the bureaucracy to do its thing, so the house site was cleared, drive put in, septic dug and the footing dug and concrete poured in it. But recent rains left some sediment and mud on the footing so today we cleaned that up and set up the forms in anticipation of pouring the stem-wall in the next week or so. It was slow going and we're out of shape, but most of it was done.
The most important thing was that the bureaucracy gods are appeased and we can begin building.
So what follows is: The Adventures of Brigid's Wood!
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