Last Stone

Our projected date for having all of the stonework done was August first. We made it with two days to spare! It feels wonderful to have an end of stone and cement, and the finished product looks spectacular. There are easily 10,000 individual stones on the seven walls of the first floor. Sam has got six sides of the second floor finished with the shingles he individually cut with the scalloped design…only one left to go. Soon we should be able to put up the rest of the trim and moldings in preparation for a coat of paint. Jim

If you have ever seen Fight Club then you may understand. Walking to the house, behind Jim I was not sure of his presence or mine. Was he of my imagination or was I his shadow? On days like this things just come together. Time freezes and flashes forward at the same instant. The house, when we stop to look is almost a mirage. But it is real. He is real. Am I a shadow? Sam

Cupola Floor

Tell the world that the cupola floor is up! Something fantastic has transpired. The welder brought over the frame for the floor in two pieces. He and I lugged it up and got it laid in place. Very sturdy. This last week has been a bout of supply gathering. Two maple beds on Monday; field stone on Tuesday; limestone and wood trim on Wednesday; cut cedar shingles on Thursday; field stone, limestone, and wood trim on Friday. With brief periods of laying stone and shingles, interspersed with numerous water breaks. A fine week for supplies but not one I would readily want repeated for weather. Hot and humid. Sam

I am hot. I am tired. I've been bitten everywhere by mosquitoes. It is hard to maintain enthusiasm for a project this daunting in the mid-summer heat and humidity. We are still a little behind schedule on the stonework but the cupola floor is in! It is going to work out well and should be the showplace of the house when completed. We also managed to get all of the concrete bases set for the victorian porch that will grace the front three sides. Sam at twenty-five handles the hot and humid weather a LOT better than someone my age! Where is that Canadian cool front?? Jim

Outside Composite

July 3

Summer is in full swing and the afternoons often get hot enough to slow down the work. We are hoping to have all of the stone applied by the end of this month but the building already is proving to be quite eye-popping. The texture of the stonework in sunlight is very appealing and the cut shingle work on the second floor has proven to be a nice compliment. All work is focused on the exterior as we hope to get most of that done before the winter sets in again. We also attached a number of the corbels that we made last winter to the soffit and fascia and they add a finishing touch to the roof. All that is left is to add the moldings between them to complete the look.

Today we poured the ten footings for the Victorian porch that will go around three sides of the house. We won’t know how well proportioned it will be to the rest of the house until several of the support columns are up.

In a surprising turn of events today I managed to locate enough stone in a farm field to finish the exterior. I had exhausted all the sources I knew of and our piles were growing a little thin for making selections as the last walls go up. Sam’s brother is here for a couple of days and that has been a help in moving supplies. Jim