Monday, October 31, 2011

Learning patience


Earlier this summer, we bought 14.5 acres of property with our pal Charlie McCutcheon. The property is about a mile and a half south of Confluence on Mae West Road.

The land is mostly wooded with maybe three or so acres cleared. In the open area are a couple of ponds, one fairly large and impressive with a fishing dock, and the other about a quarter of that size, more of a shallow frog pond. There's also a third pond at the edge of the woods near where the house site is. It's frog-size too, but close to the house, so I've got lots of damp garden ideas running through my head.

The house is going to be rustic and two-story with a loft, bedroom, and bath upstairs. The first floor has two bedrooms, with the living room, dining area, and kitchen all open. The kitchen and dining part are beneath the loft. The living room has a cathedral ceiling that includes the loft. It is going to be so cool, I can hardly stand it. 

The porch wraps around three sides, and the house is turned at a slight angle to face the bigger pond, so we can sit on the porch and watch herons poking about for fish.

Okay, enough of the fantasy stuff, here's reality.
Oh yeah, we've got a long way to go. A very long way. This photo was taken around October 21.
We hoped to get the foundation dug and walls poured by mid-September, but the weather got in the way of that plan. September, in this part of the country anyway, turned out to be the rainiest it's been since weather has been tracked in the U.S. It was unbelievable. Charlie came in the middle of the month so we'd be ready to jump into construction when the foundation was done, but he ended up going back to Denver after waiting around for three weeks.

October has also been rainy, cold. And now, it's October 31. The foundation forms are finally built. Today is dry, so far anyway. There's a chance of rain, but then after today, it isn't supposed to rain for the next three or four days. Do we dare hope that we'll finally have walls made of concrete instead of rigid foam? I sure do hope so. The guys are not looking forward to working in the freezing cold, so now is the time to get crackin', eh?
Tom and Charlie will dive right into getting the first floor on and covered as soon as they're able. Then, the windows and the patio door will be installed, so we'll be closed up tight. The foundation forms are the insulation for the walls. Once the stove is installed, it'll be warm and dry in there to work. Our hopes are pretty modest for the rest of this year. Getting the basement dried in is about the best we can wish for. And when that happens . . . oh man, it will be so great!