Ladder? Stairway!

Today was the day the carpenters came and made our stairway to ...the second floor.  It is a real pleasure to walk the stairs.  The rise is 7 7/16" and the tread is 11 1/4", a very easy staircase to go up or down.

They also put in one more wall upstairs, the water wall for the tub.

 

Electrifying Progress

Tuesday was a big day here. The carpenters were here finishing up their work on the walls of the second floor. The electrician, Kevin, came in the morning and we had discussions on where everything electrical would go. He started working in the afternoon placing wiring and boxes in the walls and ceiling, and the plumbers showed up.

 

Kevin has been concentrating on the first floor - under the second floor.  

We went 'window shopping' last night at Lowe's to look at lighting fixtures, and whom did we run into but Kevin who definitely knows his way around the lighting department.  We have decided on some 6" recessed lighting in the kitchen and living room and a shower; most of the other fixtures need a bit more research.  We also viewed the plumbing fixtures for the bathroom to see what was available.

We discussed with the plumbers the work to be done, and the placement of fixtures (tub, sink and toilet) in the upstairs bathroom.

Bill is working on closing up the tunnel/utility room so the walls can be plastered. The South visor or overhang still needs the final coat of plaster.  

Weather is getting so nice that we are planning on starting some of the outside work.  That work includes contouring the garage dirt 'roof', covering it with the insulating umbrella and finishing with dirt and grass on top before the hot summer.

The Carpenters Have Done Some Magic!

The stud walls on the second floor are almost finished. The carpenters were here Wednesday, Thursday and today, Friday.  

The wall between the bedrooms (Manuel and Felix)

The West wall and doorway to access the storage area

Bruce and the East wall with the electrical closet

 

The framing on the second floor looking North from the South wall

They will return when bad weather prevents them from doing outside work with their other clients.  Other work they can do here includes the stairway and half wall that separates the living room from the kitchen.
Electricians, it's YOUR turn!  Plumbers, it won't be long before we ask for your services again. 

The Thrill of Accomplishment

The inside of the house including the West Annex is plastered.  The exhilaration of having walls look like walls is going to keep us going toward completion with enthusiasm.

Our crew are expert 'flatwork' cement finishers.  They had experience doing vertical surfaces and floors. Guadalupe had experience of flipping cement onto walls in the old fashioned way.  He tried our mortar sprayer, but found that it didn't put the cement exactly where he wanted in the thickness that he could get by hand.  None of them had experience with ceilings.

Guadalupe putting down base coat

Fidel and Fernando finishing the 20ft high ceiling

The overhang (or visor) to the South is now in base, to be plastered upon the finishers' return, probably next weekend, weather permitting.

 We are looking into insulation to use as our PAHS blanket insulating material.  One product looks to be easy to use, has waterproofing properties, and radiant heat resistant properties as well.  We plan to try it out first on the garage.

We used a heater in the pantry/utility area to get the room temperature up to 50 degrees F. The paint for the metal bows requires it.  Now that we have done that painting, we are ready to clean and paint the floor. When all is prepared, we can get the water installed in this area.

The carpenters have been notified of inside work availability and we have the materials to have them magically make stud walls appear on the second floor.

Bill and I have started experimenting with the outer end of the earth tubes.  It involves putting a barrier to animals in it, along with a clip for a cord which will remain resident in the earth tube.  Here is a prototype. Cutting the six inch PVC pipe is the tricky part.