Racing Against Winter

Although the never ending rain held us up considerably, the roof is now complete! If you go by the house, you can see it. We are pleased with the shingle color and think it will go well with the color of the house.

Meanwhile, Henry's crew is working on the wood siding repairs and the window and door trim in preparation for painting the exterior of the home, which is scheduled to start in the middle of next week. Paint cannot be applied when the temperatures are below freezing...so we are racing against winter. But, just to be safe, we are using low-temperature paints. These (acrylic) paints allow paint to be applied in 35 to 50 degree weather. However, we'll need to keep a careful eye on the weather each day. The paint must be applied at least one hour before temperatures drop below freezing. 

We've set a deadline of finishing all exterior painting (house, shed) and sealing (porch, stairs) by the end of the month. Ideally, it would be best to have the drywall finished before installing the decking in order to minimize the potential for damage to the deck as materials are trekked in and out of the house. So, we're moving as quickly as we can: Before the drywall can be installed, however, we need to finish the electrical and insulation work...

On Tuesday, we met with our electrician Jeff Marney (Marney Electrical Services) to finalize our rough wiring plans. It is amazing how detailed a lighting plan needs to be. You not only need to select the exact location, fixture type (and, ultimately, fixture) for all lighting, but you also need to think through which lights require their own switches, which ones should be switched together, and where to locate all of the switches.

Peter, our realtor (and design consultant), helped us with our first draft of the lighting scheme for the house. As we have refined the lighting plan, we have walked through the house many times, envisioning how each room would look and how the home occupants would use each room and its lights, where it would be convenient to have switches, which lights required dimmers, etc. In addition to aesthetics and convenience, we also needed to consider structural constraints that affect where (and what type of) lights and switches can be installed. Finally, we had to consider Energy Star and LEED for Homes requirements.

In addition to lighting, the electrical work includes includes wiring for all appliances, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, thermostats and the heating system, phone and cable lines, and electrial outlets.

So, at this point we know exactly where each appliance, smoke/carbon monoxide detector, thermostat, phone/cable jack and electrical outlet will be located.

So the electrical work began yesterday and continues today. Jeff's crew (Matt and Josh) began running wires for the telephone and cable lines yesterday. Multiple phone lines (allowing for phone, fax and wireless internet) are being provided in the kitchen, family room and all bedrooms. Cable lines are being provided in the family room and all bedrooms. We expect the electrical work to be completed by Monday, and the insulation work will follow...