A surprise at the front door...

December enters like a lamb...thankfully.  Work continued on the screened porch, the fireplace wood stove is in, and Matt springs a gorgeous surprise on the front porch.  You can always tell the true woodworkers from the construction people by how excited they get about a small detail on the house...and Matt was like a little kid with an erector set on Christmas.  In his new cabinetry shop, he fashioned some beautiful entrance roof support pieces from rough-sawn timbers, worked in some artistic curves, then assembled them himself over our soon-to-be front door.  We love it!

Looks like highway workers, four people watching and one guy working.  Matt on the front entrance roof while Jenny talks with Matt's son Ed and our neighbor Mike who came down to check on vineyard progress...none yet.

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Matt feeling high up on creaky timbers...but they sure look good and solid.

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From the east, strong but elegant curves...

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Screened porch is roofed and (by the time we left) decked out...working to get the electrical in so that we can get to the close-in inspection with the County.

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Workshop quarter of the basement, plenty of outlets.  Also showing the main power panel with the generator panel on the right (vital-circuits for you military).  We'll bring in a generator in Phase II which will power kitchen lights, kitchen outlets, appliances (stove is propane), wood stove fan, well and water system, and one heatpump.  Buried propane tank will top off at 250 gal. (6 months of normal usage).

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The Xtraordinar combination wood stove and fireplace.  It has a fan that brings in fresh air from the outside, heats it, and then forces it out the front, supposedly heating 1800 sq ft.  75% efficiency versus a fireplace's 35% efficiency.  Plus it has a big glass front for a good fireplace-like view of the fire and you can even enjoy the fire with the doors open, at a lesser efficiency.

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View from the south, heading toward the future bridge path.

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Matt's front entrance roof almost complete, looks very Japanese at this point, which of course we like!

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A better frontal view, shingles still to be laid.  Matt ran the front porch light wire down from the top timber so we can hang a nice period-piece light fixture to match the european country theme.

Next up, Dave and Jenny contribute sweat and splinters to the project!...

Winter arrives....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all had enjoyable times with family and friends...and some turkey!  My mother visited for a week, so we headed down to Lake Anna to see what was going on and to try some late season winery touring.  Visited Cooper Vineyards, a humble winery but with a lengthy tasting list, recommend the Coopertages!  Then off to Barboursville Vineyard for the first time.  A much more established winery, featuring the ruins of the mid-1800 Governor Barbour's mansion, designed by Thomas Jefferson.  A great behind-the-scenes winery tour, and a cracking fire in the tasting hall, as we left in the midst of a golden sunset.  I was surprised to see that they turned loose several Black Angus cows in the vineyard to mow the grass between the vine rows, I thought there would be danger of them munching on the 10 year old vines, but there they grazed.

With the holidays, just a few notes on recent additions:

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Biggest change is the roof on the screened porch, to the right of the mudroom extension.  Should be a nice space about the size of our current screened porch 

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View of the screened porch, towards the mudroom side entrance... work in progress.

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View of the screened porch from the front porch entrance, good views. 

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Checking out the dock with Mom.  It's been about a year since we saw the property for the first time and decided to go for it.  Time flies when you are having fun, and staying busy!

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This is the frame of the basement "barn door" in a symbolic fit-up.  Jenny and I made some good progress on the door this weekend, should have the first door done next weekend.  One down, three to go!

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Mom and I survey the lake on a clear, crisp November morning.  Good winds for sailing but the water was a bit nippy.

 Next up, big push until the Xmas holidays...

Into the beehive...

So, Miss Sandy passed us by lady-like.  I noticed a few smaller trees had split and fallen, but with 10 acres of hardwoods, one doesn't say "Oh God" but, "Oh good, some firewood for next season".  The house was none the worse for her wear, and Matt had the men back in the crosstrees with a renewed enthusiasm this week!

Visiting today was like walking into a beehive of activity.  The 3 or 4 electricians worked in a blur, nailing in switch and fixture boxes, drilling through studs, and running cable and wire.  A couple of plumbers worked high and low on hot & cold water supply lines, the main drains complete in their transit throughout the walls.  The HVAC guy, a jolly old soul, mostly walked around and admired the works in progress.  The attic furnace and upstairs venting are all in place, and the beginnings of the first floor venting are seen.  Basement furnace (2 zone) has yet to arrive, but the basement plumbers are enjoying the freedom of the open overhead.  So, on to what we saw:

Driving up, all the trucks alluded to the busy-bee environment we were to walk into.  The endless roof appears almost done, if an endless roof can be such.  One of the shinglers takes in the late autumn view from our good ship's peak.

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Screened porch underway, but the two carpenters are drawn in four directions: finishing the last of the interior walls so the electricians can wire them (yes, we threw a couple change-orders at 'em), finishing the roof shingling, setting the stairs, and completing the deck.  Good weather though, 75 degrees in mid-November?

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Finished main-to-second floor stairs delivered and ready to go, but I think Matt is saving them till after all the rough-in work, since we have "working scrap" stairs in place currently.

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An example of the frantic HVAC and lighting work in progress.  This is the masterbath tub & shower area, two recessed-can lights over the tub on the right, two recessed-can lights over the shower area to the left, a ventilation supply duct, and (hard to see) the rain-shower head pipe in the overhead (up high, just to the left of the second stud from the left).  Nice light from the porthole, eh!

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Some more details, plumbing and electrical fixtures in the master bathroom, master closet beyond.

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More plumbing and electrical work:  2nd floor Guest Bath from upstairs landing

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For the Mechanical Engineers, the attic furnace/heatpump unit and ducting.

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Down in the basement, in the utility extension.  The main drains converge here to pass through the foundation wall on the way to the septic tank.  The 10 ft ceilings allow easy passage and maintenance of all the plumbing, something I learned was important as a Naval Officer.

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Jenny in the living room, working the trades to get back on schedule and under budget.

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Stairs in place down to the basement.  Some more stud walls to be placed.  This will be the equivalent of a three-car-garage in area, but with just two large bays either side of the stairs.  Initial thoughts are wood shop, boat storage, general storage, and recreation area.

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View from the north-west, the screened porch roof will fair under the extension roof in the end.

Up next, ... finish rough-in utilities and the screened porch...start septic and well...

Growing panes...

As we prepare to greet Sandy (Hurricane S), we are glad the boys were able to get the windows in and just about all of the sheathing on (hoping it stays on in tomorrow's winds).  So here are some photos of how she looked last Friday, and crossing fingers that she'll not look to much the worse for wear after the hurricane.  I'm guessing we'll at least be picking Tyvek out of the woods for a while.

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Windows are set.  They are Pella Architect series, double-hung, aluminum clad exterior and unfinished pine interior, cross-hair grid in the upper pane, and no grid in the lower pane.

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Jenny, checking out the window tilt-in cleaning function, but apparently she doesn't DO windows, haha! (oops, I'm in trouble...)  This is the master bdrm.

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Looking into the master bath from the master bdrm.  Sinks will be on the left, toilet, shower and bathtub around to the right.

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Round window in the shower & tub area.

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Living room, windows by the fireplace.

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Living room and dining area windows, just as we pictured them and the view they give (there is still opaque protective wrap on the windows so no view yet).

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Square casement window in the mudroom.  The exterior door will lead to the screened in porch.

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Frame-up of the kitchen pantry closet.  When you look at the door heights, you get a feel for how tall the 10 ft ceilings really are.  Donna Lebo Monger and I would be challenged by these ceilings, not to mention getting onto her shoulders in the first place.

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View from the back.  Matt provided me the basement door sizes so now I can start fabricating these to close off the basement.  Rough-in of plumbing and HVAC will start next week after Sandy skips town.

The shape of things...

Big rain last night...but head back, chest out, hands on hips, I laughed in haughty imperviousness, knowing our roof was on and the house framing was kept dry (mostly).  The past week has seen the full roof in place, the side extension framed & sheathed, the chimney framed, and the interior walls built out.   The windows arrived on site and will probably be set next week.

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A misty morning after the rains, notice he chimney built out and the extension peaking at right.

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View from kitchen toward living room, fireplace/wood stove opening is forming up with the chimney sheathing behind, some wall sheathing still missing (a bit irksome).  We plan to leave the center beam exposed. Thinking to put a built-in reading bench under the window to the right of the fireplace.

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A better view of the side extension.  The front window belongs to the 1st floor guest bathroom.  The side door leads into the mudroom & laundry room, where the powder room is also located.  The window above the side extension roof belongs to the 2nd guest bedroom on the upper floor.  Imagine if you will, a continuation of the extension to the right for the attached screened-in porch.

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View from the front, I really like how Matt's crew extended the chimney up so you can see it from this vantage point (peaking just over the roof at left).

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Autumn view out one of the master bedroom windows.  Windows will eventually constrict this view, but today I spent about 10 minutes there watching, well... serenity, calm, peacefulness.  After a while a flock of ravens flew over cawing madly heading for the corn fields on the farm across the creek, a hawk then glided over their way a bit later, screeching for them to be quiet.

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And this gives you an idea of what you will see as you drive up to the house, a touch of Autumn color. There will be a gravel driveway approaching the extension, entering into a gravel circle in front of the house, and then another gravel drive leaving the circle from the left side of the house joining back into the existing drive at this point of view.

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Next up, windows on our small (but all we need) world...

Gimme shelter!

Sorry for a bit of time since last post.  We had steady, but slower, progress over the past couple of weeks as our two carpenters were abandoned by their helpers, apparently our fairly steep 12/12 pitch roof scared them off.  But Matt and the carpenters moved forward with some Herculean lifts of beams, rafters and sheathing, so now we are under roof for the main house.  Matt tells me they are working on framing up the remaining gable-end and interior walls this week, will be down on Friday to have a look.  Want to get the west extension framed up and under roof as soon as possible as the deck has been in several rain storms already.  Matt is starting to bring in the utility trades to scope out the project as the framing wraps up.  Want to thank my Dad for joining me on several trips down to check on the work!  It's always more fun to visit with someone to bounce views off of, and he's had some great recommendations that will make the house better!

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The view a week ago, Jose just starting the roof sheathing after fitting the ridge beam and rafters.

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View from the west.

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Each corner of the second floor will have this sloping roof feature, which we love.  This is the second floor guest room looking north.

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Roof on! Mostly.  Now we can visualize the house outline, though the west (right) extension (behind the dumpster) is not framed and roofed yet, nor the chimney on the left side.

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From the direct front.  You can tell by the ladder that the stairs are not yet in place, but Matt has them on order.

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*Disclaimer: Not our view*  Had dinner with my Dad and Jenny at Patowmack Farm in Loudoun County, Virginia, an organic farm and restaurant near Point of Rocks, Maryland.  The near trees are Virginia and the far, sunny trees are Maryland, the Potomac River runs under the bridge.  I recommend it for a special, "out of the ordinary" dining experience, but its far from home and don't blame me for the bill!  Support local agriculture!

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Next up, considering modern conveniences...

From one story to another...

The framers continue their work and we are getting a good feel for the 1st floor spaces.  My good friend Vince visited last weekend and helped hack out some more trail through the scrub and thicket, getting about 30 yards before my lopper broke and the machete dulled....oh, well, we went sailing instead.  My father is now visiting from Hemet, California and we all travelled down on Friday to see how it's coming along.  This is what we saw...

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The 2nd floor is decked out, the 2nd floor front wall is up.  We will probably alter the driveway approach during finish grading.

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A closer view of the front.

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View from the 2nd deck towards the back.  Jenny climbed up the ladder for the shot since the stairs have not yet arrived.  Looks like it will be a pretty nice view into the forest, but unfortunately, no view of the lake or the farms beyond.

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The 2nd deck looking towards the front, master bedrm on the right, guest bedrm on the left beyond the "stairs railing".  Master bedrm will get the morning light, master bath faces south so good light throughout the day.  Guest bedrm and bath will get the late afternoon light.

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The living room viewed from the entry.

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View from the living room towards the dining area, then the kitchen beyond.

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View out the living room window towards the south.  This will be a three double-hung window set.  The dining room will have a matching two double-hung window set.

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My dad and I standing in "the living room"

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Next up, second floor takes shape...