Study has furnishings

Well, the "pumpkin room" as Dave calls it - the "morning bright" as I think of it is nearly finished. Just a the windows to go. All the windows will be done nearly last. I took some short video clips and put some pictures in the gallery (check out the last editions at the bottom).


sharonbetts
passivesolar
Turbo Tagger

Several items - Shower Vanity and Living Room Ceiling

A quick catch up on interior work. We have finished all the tongue and groove! Wasn't sure that I would ever be able to type those words. We have tongue and groove on nearly all the wood framed walls and most of the ceilings now. Some still needs polyurethane - but it is up. Took a break from the tiling to install a vanity in the shower bathroom. Our cabinet maker, MidMaine Furniture (did such a fabulous job on the Hickory kitchen) is extremely busy and won't be able to get to our final work until summer. We can wait for the pantry, towel closet and dressing table - but really needed a sink in this bathroom. So, here it is - he is going to match it as well as possible. It is a good brand, but I can certainly see the difference in this and his products.

The last few days have seen Dave back outside - he discovered that he needed to take some of the winter build-up off the roof (I'll blog that separately). We have had some ice and that makes the driveway a skating rink - slid down it using the piles of snow as bumpers last week. So, he is working to try to get some traction somehow - next year we are going to get a pile of sand to use when this happens. Having sun today and yesterday - brought the house temp up to around 80 and helped a little.

The study floor is filling in - having a non-square room is not conducive to quick tiling. The den is where the jog in the floorplan appears - lots of triangles....
We now have the fan and wall lights ready to mount in there - that may be the first completely finished room! It will be good to get my corner cabinet and the computer back into that room and out of the garage and dining areas.

Looking at a Vermont company, Hubbardton Forge, for the lights in the dining and living room - Love their products and like the idea of purchasing from a US company (especially one in the NE).

sharon+betts
bermed
Maine
HubbardtonForge

Bold but Covered

The last tongue and groove is being stained as I type! There is a lot of concrete in this house - and now there is also a lot of tongue and groove. A long time ago, we decided that we really disliked any form of wallboard. So, we have covered as much of our walls and ceilings as possible with wood. Using stain and bold colors for some walls, we hope this makes it both warm and easy to maintain. But, it is a challenge. There are some pictures of other ceilings and walls in the Gallery. The weather isn't being passive-solar friendly today. Warmish (around freezing) and cloudy. The last storm was messy ending with fine rain which froze to a crust on the pretty snow. Not hard enough to hold even the dogs, it is miserable and we can no long hike through the woods on the logging paths. That is really discouraging. We will see what the next weeks bring. The Ford Sport Trac is doing quite well on any slush and snow - I recommend it to anyone who must have a winter vehicle although it is only getting around 20 mpg. I look forward to going back to the Civic and doubling that in the Spring. So, the fire is burning in the Tulikivi and I am about to settle down for the Super Bowl - not usually a football fan, but this year....

sharon+betts
bermed
Maine

Updates on Perfect Passive Solar Day

Since the berm construction is pretty well complete for the house and the detached garage only needs a ceiling and insulation, I haven't posted much lately. But today is just too good to pass up. It is 12 degrees outside with the sun shining - our house is around 75-78 inside with no heat . smile.

Work on the interior is progressing also. We are finishing the ceilings followed by the woodwork. Nearly all of the ceilings are tongue and groove - which means some sanding, staining and poly before putting them up. Since I am still working, the actually hammering is only on weekends. Even at that, we finished the study and are now working on the dining room.
Floors will break the monotony of ceilings. There are still quite a few concrete floors - which although utilitarian, are not very attractive. The tile is ordered for the study and should arrive in the next week or so. We have picked all the others out -some slate and some tile.

I plan on posting more information about "rural Maine living" as Spring approaches - and promise more updates on the finishing touches of the house.
More pictures of everything at our Gallery.
sharon+betts
bermed
Maine

The Ceiling's the Limit

The plan has always been to use tongue and groove on the ceiling above the dining / living / kitchen open area. As things progress, it has become obvious that this could make a spanse of wood that may not be exactly cosy. So, we decided to divide the kitchen off visually (I outlined with blue so you can see). Dave has mounted a frame for the divider. We plan on using a "beam" effect for this. He will build the 'box' and search for wrought iron to use over the sink 1/2 wall. I would like to find a "cut-out" of fruit or animals which would match the decor.
You can see the location of this visual divider in the picture.

Got the estimate back for the walk-in shower. There will be small tile on the floor with 6x6 on the walls. We have wavered back and forth on the ceiling - finally decided on the original plan of using wood (something water resistant of course) and wrapping it down the wall to the location where the wood meets the concrete. The tiler that we chose uses a water proofing method that sounds perfect. I will try to get some shots of his progress and the steps involved. Now we are just waiting for the final boxes of tile to arrive.

I love seeing the floors taking shape - but am getting anxious for my kitchen counter tops and some doors.

passive_solar
sharon_betts
bermed