Wren's Plumbing

One of the contractors that Todd Mobley referred us to is a character...  Aaron Wren is a very interesting person -- he is a good, hard working plumber with good people working for him, but he is a very interesting person...  Let's just say he has a whole list of pretty good jokes, and he likes to share them...

When Aaron's guys come over to work, they get after it in a hurry!  And, they do a good job.

So far, the plumbing has been about the quickest parts of construction -- prior to pouring the concrete, and then again after the framing was done.

We appreciate Aaron and his guys, and his jokes as well :)  The kids look forward to going over to his place to fish sometime as he has a very large pond full of fish...

Radiant Heat is Turn On!

Well, it is going to take a LONG time for the floor to get warm...  But, we are very happy to have the heat actually operational!

Here are some pictures of the rooms that I sealed yesterday, but couldn't get pictures of until it dried...

The Miller's

One of the next contractors that we met here in Ohio are a family of Amish builders -- Daniel, Ervin, and John Miller.  They primarily build pole barns, but I contracted them to frame our house, and also to do the roof, siding, and put the windows and exterior doors in.

15 miles for the Amish gives new meaning to "commuting"...  They would drive their horse and buggy for an hour and a half every morning and then again in the evening, and they worked from 7:30 to 4:30 -- that is one long day!

These guys are some of the hardest working people I've ever met.  They got the job done very quickly and under budget!  And, generally, they did a pretty good job.  They are fast, and there are things that another framer would have done differently, but all in all, they were well worth the money I paid them.

We have gotten to know this family personally, and it has been extremely interesting to discuss life and differences as well as similarities.

During the building process, two of these brothers had new children born, and the third brother is expecting another child in May.  They are in their early to mid twenties, so they are pretty young.

All in all, we are very pleased to have made these new friendships, and we very much appreciate the hard work and very fair price...

Finished First Coat of Sealer!

Well, we were able to complete the first coat of the sealer today -- it really looks pretty good...  Though, I am disappointed to find that perfection continues to elude us...

I hear there is going to be a new helmet law on the books in Logan County -- just for our hallway!  My wife envisions sliding contests down this 36' hallway!

This is the only good picture I can take today because I can't walk on most of the floor!

I would like to actually put down 2 more coats of the sealer, but time and temperature may make that difficult...

At least we have the first coat on, and the next coats will be easy to get done -- time is my only problem...

Logan Construction

The second contractor we met when we first came to look at the land in December, 2007, was Todd Mobley, yes, the brother of Dave and Kelly.  Todd has done my excavation and has subcontracted the installation of our septic system.

Todd is a builder -- has built log homes for many years, and has spent more time in recent years focusing on the excavation part of the building process.  He loved building, but he felt he was short changing his family getting home at 7PM and having a stack of 15 or 20 phone calls to return, so he decided to make a change in his business.

He has been one of the many people whose knowledge I have regularly drawn upon all through this building process.  Todd has been a huge help in pointing me to several other contractors for plumbing, electric, etc, in addition to a specific bank that he knew would work with us.  He has worked with the people that he referred me to, and so he knew they were good people.

The Mobley family is one of those pillars of the local community, and if the rest of the people here are anything like them, then we couldn't have chosen a better location!  I have a feeling that the Mobley's are generally a cut above, but there are still plenty of good people here.

Thank you, Todd, for your help and patience!

Sealing Floor

We have made much progress today, though we aren't quite finished with the first coat of sealant.  It is really turning out just about as nice as we had envisioned.  There are flaws, and I get frustrated when I think about them, but I'll spare you and just let you believe it is perfect ;)  Actually, some of the "flaws" give it the character and uniqueness that is our home...

Here are some pictures from earlier when we were first applying the sealant.

Then, here are several after it has had more time to bring out the color...  It isn't dry yet.  The temperature has dropped drastically today, so it will take longer to dry than we had hoped, but we will be patient.  We may need to even wait a day or two to finish the first coat due to low temps...  The flash seems to have made this look a lot lighter than it looks in person, but lighting is everything with the look of the house...  Guess you'll just have to come and see it personally!

M&M Concrete

Yesterday, I mentioned that we have met many people who have been so helpful and friendly since we first decided we were going to build a home here in Ohio.

The first contractors I contacted and met with in December of 2007 were Dave and Kelly Mobley of M&M Concrete.  They happen to both live within a couple of miles of where we are building, and they have been some of the best people to work with...

We are using concrete as our floor, and so we colored the concrete (as you can see in the post I made earlier this evening).  All through the process of pouring the foundation up to the slab itself, Dave and Kelly were excellent to work with and worked long hours every day to get the job done.

We have continued to be in contact from time to time -- after all, we are practically neighbors!  My wife and I have definitely found some new friends in our new town, and the Mobley's are among the first...

Thank you Dave and Kelly, and we look forward to being neighbors soon!

Cleaning the Floor

We spent the entire day today cleaning the floor...  We are pretty happy with what it looks like -- when it is wet, but it seems to be returning to a dreary gray when it dries.  So, the question is what will it look like when we apply the sealer...  There are imperfections and irregularities, but that is sort of what we wanted.  There are some lines where I had put plastic down, and it caused irregular color variations.

We believe the sealer will darken and bring out the color, but we'll find out tomorrow...  We bought a mop to damp mop it before we apply the sealer.  We will actually apply the sealer while the floor is still damp.  They tell me they often apply the sealer early to help keep the water from evaporating too soon, so there shouldn't be any problem -- as long as we don't have water setting on top.

We do have to caulk the stress cuts that run across many of the doorways and two across the hallway...

We tried to capture the floor color on camera today, but it is really difficult.

Why...

As I have mentioned before, we are in the process of relocating from the beautiful foothills of the Smoky Mountains in Knoxville, Tennessee, to the rolling (relatively flat) farmland of western, central Ohio...

Since we first came up here to look at the land and start the process of lining up contractors, we have repeatedly faced the one question from many different people: Why in the world would you move from Tennessee to Ohio?!?

Well, we had our reasons -- primarily, we wanted to be closer to our families.  It is really difficult to get to visit with family often when you have to plan an entire day to drive to most anyone.  Our families live in states surrounding Ohio, and so that reason made sense enough to us...

But, that was before we knew there was another really good reason to live here.  Actually, there are many good reasons to live here -- the people...

Starting from the first contractors we met who did our concrete and our excavation, we have found people to be consistently friendly beyond what we have really ever experienced before.

Don't get me wrong, we have both lived in several different places, and we have always found that people in general are friendly.  It may have something to do with us being friendly -- it takes a friend to make a friend.

But, there has really been something different about the people here in Ohio...

Over the next days / weeks, I plan to spend a little time telling about some of these people who have made our building process such an enjoyable experience...

Cleaning Floors and Installing Outdoor Outlets...

Well, I seem to never complete anything in one day, but we sure have been making progress on a few different things every day.

Today, I started out working on the outdoor outlets.  I marked and cut the siding for all of them (except for the one that will go outside the garage).  Then, I drilled the corners so I can find the places inside the OSB that need to be cut out...  And, I went ahead and installed one of them on the front porch.  I had done one a while back to see how bad it was going to be, and so now I have two done...

Then, we started to prepare for cleaning and sealing the concrete floors.  We looked for a "water broom" attachment for my power washer, and the closest one we found was more than an hour away.  So, we spent a lot of the day driving to get that -- and as it turns out, I had a problem getting it to work.  I think it is clogged, so I'll have to either take it back, or figure out a way to clean the spray heads out.

After getting back from getting the "water broom", we went to get the concrete sealer because they are only opened for part of tomorrow morning, and we had to make sure we had it when we get ready...

It was around 3:30 this afternoon before we actually were able to get started cleaning the floors, and we were able to get almost a third of the house floor washed by the time it was too dark to see...  We used the power washer, a squeegee (with a handle for floors), and a wet/dry vacuum.  We are hoping to be able to get it sealed first thing tomorrow, though the way the water was pooling in places, that may not work out as we plan...  It really cleaned up well -- just a little power washing, and the squeegee and vacuum together really made quick work of the dust / dirt that has built up...

I really wish I could have found my camera to take pictures.  I used it the other day to get pictures of the whirlpool decking, and I'm not sure where I put it...  It was probably too dark to get good pictures by the time I started looking for it...   You'll just have to tune in tomorrow or Sunday -- whenever we find the camera and get around to taking pictures.

All in all, it was a pretty profitable day...  Lots to do yet, though.

Truss Bracing and Water Softener

Yesterday and today, I made some good progress on putting in the bracing for the trusses.  Still have about half of it to go, but it is coming along well...

We also were able to get the water softener turned on today, and that has been recharged.  So, I am currently draining the hot water heater (turned off for now) so that we won't have hard water in it...  We used the test strip that came with the water softener, and it said we have very hard water -- like 60 GPG -- the highest level on the test strip.  So, we will be interested to see how the soap lathers once we refill the hot water heater with soft water...

We are preparing to wash and seal the concrete floor tomorrow or Saturday.  We have to sweep it all again, and we also need to go get the sealer, and then we'll be set...  Shouldn't be as big of a deal as we are anticipating, but we'll just have to try it out...  Hopefully, we'll have some good pictures of a colored floor in a day or two...

Whirlpool Decking -- Nearing Completion (Warts and All)

We are generally happy with the results we're having for the decking around the whirlpool -- it isn't quite as perfect as we would like, but nothing else is either...

We took a break yesterday sitting in the whirlpool relaxing, and then today, you can see that I was able to get the shelf put on the top of the backsplash...  Now, we just have to lower the whirlpool into place on top of the decking.  That will be a definite challenge, but we'll just go slow and easy, and hopefully, we won't make too many marks on the decking...  The trick will be to have it exactly positioned when it first makes contact; otherwise, the surface will mar...

Working on bracing today along with getting the chair rail put on the bedroom side of the whirlpool wall so we can have him drywall down to the chair rail...

Whirlpool Decking -- Glaze Coating

We were able to do two coats of the glaze on the backsplash and the bottom of the shelf.  We would like to get the backsplash boards in place tomorrow afternoon or evening -- glued to the OSB we put against the wall.  That way, the wallboard will come down to the edge of the backsplash.

Here are some pictures of the progress today...

This is after the first coat of the glaze, with plastic (carefully) suspended over the work to keep it warm...

Three pictures after the second thicker coat of glaze -- before we put the plastic back in place (you can see the racks to that we clipped the plastic to -- tightly strung across)...

The little white blob was not on the shelf -- it must be a reflection...  Note that we didn't have to go all the way to the edge of the shelf bottom because it will sit on top of the backsplash.

Whirlpool Decking -- Staining!

Well, I am pleased to have company today -- my wife, Dawn, is here and the other two of our kids are here also...  And, it worked out so that I was completely ready to do the staining just shortly after she arrived...

We went over to Owen Yoder's (our doors and trim guy), and he had matched stain on poplar to the sample of cherry from our cabinet makers, the Bontrigger's.

So, we brought home a half gallon of stain (turned out he didn't have to do any mixing -- it matched Washington Cherry on poplar almost exactly to the Huntington on cherry)...  We were able to get all the staining done, and we put plastic drop cloths over top of the pieces partially to keep dust off, and also we put a heater under the plastic so we could keep them warm enough to dry quickly -- it is around 40 degrees here today, so we needed to get them warmer...

Heat rises, so it is working great -- keeping the plastic up off the stained wood...  We will be able to do the glazed coat tomorrow and Sunday (have to do the backsplash first and then put it in place so we can glaze the decking around the tub.  We will be basically ready to lower the tub onto the decking by Monday!  Then, we can finish the plumbing and the whirlpool will be ready for rough in inspection!  Maybe we'll even put our bathing suits on and try it out, too!

Here is the plastic over the backsplash and shelf in the garage...

And, here is the whirlpool with the decking covered with plastic...

Early Mother's Day Thankfulness

Today, I pause to say "I love you", Mom.

Some nine years ago, we nearly lost her due to complications in breathing after repeated bouts with sinus infections that descended into her lungs.  She was in ICU for over a month while recovering, on a respirator for a lot of that time.

Of course, no one wants to think about losing their Mommy, but one can scarcely realize the blessing of a Mommy without having lost or nearly lost her...

As I have mentioned before, I lost my first wife suddenly nearly six years ago.  It was watching my children -- particularly our then 7 year old and 11 year old -- that I relived the near loss of my own Mommy with a lot of guilty feelings mixed in.  Guilty feelings because I still had my Mommy to call up and ask questions about whatever or to relate whatever is going on in life.  And, of course, my children no longer had that opportunity...

Today, my Mom had a sinus surgery that is long awaited and probably long overdue to help relieve her of the constant sinus problems...  She came through the surgery with little or no packing, and has little pain at this point.  We are anticipating great things in her future!

I also pause today to say "I love you" to my wife, Dawn.  Thank you for becoming the Mommy to my children -- all of them.  My adult step-daughters and adopted daughter that live in Texas as well as to all three of our children in our new blended family.  Thank you for helping me give them all a "normal" family, even though all three of them can barely remember that time before they lost their "real" parent...

Having step-children, I have often contemplated through the years that Jesus knows just exactly what it is to be a step-child and to live in a blended family.  And, of course, God knows what it is to adopt children and choose to love them in spite of the fact that we are not His "begotten" children...

Anyway, I am truly thankful today that I still have my Mommy... And, I am truly thankful that my children have a loving Mommy-figure...

Whirlpool Decking -- Awaiting Stain!

Well, I now have almost all the preparations done for the wood under and around the whirlpool ready for stain...  I have to do a tiny bit of wood filler to fix one of the joins on the decking, but it is one that isn't quite as immediately visible, so it shouldn't be too critical.  I must say that the joints came together on the decking much better than I had expected.  I am going to glue underneath the boards now just to completely secure them to the 2x4 framing rather than using finish nails through it.  It should be pretty solid...

I also finished the routing around the front deck boards, though the detail is really hard to see in the pictures -- the flash "hides" the shadow the detail shows in normal indoor lighting...  The stain and finish should bring it out a lot, but it will still be difficult to capture in pictures...

Shelf and Stain Sample

Today, I went and got a sample of the cherry with the stain so we can have Owen Yoder match for poplar trim and doors.  We are going to use the same stain from his match on the decking, backsplash, and shelf around the whirlpool.  He happened to have another job of poplar which looked like a pretty close match.  I should be able to pick up some stain tomorrow, and then we'll be able to get the decking, etc, stained this weekend!

Here is a picture of the sample.

Here are two pictures of this sample beside two other pieces of poplar that are close matches...

And, here is a picture of the shelf that the Bontrigger's cut for me on their bandsaw and sanded...  I have to route the edge and finish sanding it so I'll be ready to stain it tomorrow or Saturday.

Whirlpool Decking -- More Progress

Well, I have been making some good progress on the whirlpool deck, and it is starting to come together!

Here is the shelf that will be in the corner above the whirlpool.  Below, I show the lines this curved shelf will look like...

The boards were not long enough for the backsplashes, so I had to splice two boards end to end.  All these splices were done using a buscuit joiner.

This is the makeshift clamp I used to force these boards together since I didn't have an 8 foot bar clamp!  I took a 10 foot 2x6, and attached a block at one end, and then cut two blocks with 30 degree edges, and attached one of them, and then clamped down the other so that it would shift toward the board as it is clamped.  Worked great, and now I can take it apart and reuse the 2x6's...

Hopefully, you can make out the faint curves.  There are two of them across the center, but I'm going to use the one toward the top instead of the bottom.  If you can't see the lines, wait a day, and I'll have a picture of the cut shelf :)  I took it over to Bontrigger's today so they can cut it on their bandsaw, and they also offered to sand it for me since they have all the tools right in the workshop...

Here are two pictures of the backsplashes cut and routed.  The routing ends before the shelf will begin so the shelf will be setting on the flat.  The two decking boards along the back walls are both actually attached in place -- glued using buscuits.  The front pieces are partially routed, but I'll finish that when they are attached in place.  I'll have to stain the decking boards in place, but I'll stain the backsplashes in the garage so they won't run...  Once again, the whirlpool is still setting up about 2 to 3 inches above the decking until I get the stain and glazing done.