Tag: tom

Chairs

photo by emma lucier.
photo by emma lucier.
photo by emma lucier.
photo by emma lucier.
photo by emma lucier.
photo by emma lucier.
photo by emma lucier.
photo by emma lucier.
photo by emma lucier.
photo by emma lucier.

Throughout this whole endeavor, we have been collecting wooden chairs of all shapes and sizes. The plan was to paint them white and use the lot for our dining room chairs. My Aunt Marie, Uncle Tom and cousin Emma came to help, and one of the day’s projects was to paint some of the chairs. Emma took them outside and hosed them off, and photographed them as they dried.

Working outside.

We were quite busy this weekend, and the primary focus was the exterior. We did a bit of staining and painting. We just barely put a bit of stain on thebarn stain close-up. front porch, but we did stain a large part of the front of the house, and painted the trim as well.

On Thursday, though, Billy and I had taken the day off of work. We were fortunate to spend quite a bit of time at the barn with Tom. He got some more windows installed, and we also repaired a few of the floorboards. So it’s official: people can no longer plummet through cavernous holes from the main level into the basement.
Hooray for tiny victories.

Front door.

Front door.

As this project progresses, we are finding such joy in each little piece.
It was very, very cool to see the latest update.

Tom cut a hole where a window once was and installed the front door to our home. Once that was completed, he put in the treads to the front steps; (he waited until there was a door, of course: why would we have needed steps if we couldn’t enter that way?!).

And weeks ago, Billy and I had pulled out one of the stanchion posts from the horse stables; we want to reuse them elsewhere in the house, since the stables will one day be our basement. We suggested that one be used out front for the main entrance, and Tom made it happen.

Exciting stuff (for us, at least).

All hands on deck.

All hands on deck.

It was all hands on deck today at the barn…… both figuratively and literally. Tom was in town with Dave and Adam, both my brother and my father came to help, and Billy and I joined in, too. And in a flash, the front porch was built. Pretty awesome.

Tom also found a front door (which will be installed just about where the window is overlooking the porch), so that will be a functioning entrance before long. Speaking of entrances, Tom also had installed a new side door, which means that our house no longer has to be padlocked. Also pretty awesome.

Aside from the porch going up, a window was installed, the hall closet was framed out (thanks Tommy and Dad!), the driveway was cleared, the scraps were sorted and tossed, and the upper and mid-levels were cleaned up. This was certainly the most productive day we’ve had in quite some time. It was good for both our house and our spirits.

And some more framing.

master bedroom, from barn doors.
master bath, from barn doors.
master bedroom, from bridge.
master bath, from bridge.
from bridge: office left, living right.
midlevel bedroom interior window.
midlevel landing, into living room.
midlevel landing, office on left.
view from where the front door will be.
same photo, with descriptions.

These photos are from just yesterday, 3/26.

A note about the living room: it appears in several photos, and looks like a big mess.
The future living / great room is where the old work rooms and hay loft were. Some of it remains (the hay loft, in particular), as it has been used as make-shift scaffolding.  It will all get torn out eventually.

So exciting.

More framing.

our bedroom (almost) has a floor!
….and so does our bathroom!
the midlevel bed and bath with walls.
midlevel bed and bath from hall.
midlevel bedroom from barn doors.
master bedroom from barn doors.
on the bridge.

On 3/3, we paid a visit to check out the progress.
The midlevel bedroom and bathroom had walls, and the floors joists were down on the master level.
Pretty awesome.

Framing

dad and tommy on the bridge.
bottom to top: kitchen, midlevel, bridge
stairs from midlevel up to bridge.
billy, tommy, mom and dad: midlevel.
that’s where our bedroom will go.
the location of our future bathroom.

So here’s the first batch of updated framing photos, as promised.
On 2/6, Tommy, Mom and Dad met us at the barn to see the progress.

Framing spaces.

fake-napping in the mid-level guestroom.
kitchen below, guest room above.
kitchen on left, stairs on right.
going up?
kitchen, facing the stairs.
kitchen, facing the back of the house.
hiding on the midlevel.
midlevel landing.
across to the hayloft.
attic, above the lower level bedrooms.

So we wanted to get these photos up before Tom comes to town and makes more ridiculous progress.  It’s amazing what he can get done on his own, nevermind with helpers who actually know what they’re doing (read: not me and Billy). Anyway, last week, Tom and his crew (Dave and Adam) came and did a whole mess of work; in just a day, they completed the ceiling joists in the downstairs guest rooms, framed out the kitchen, built some temporary stairs, and started on the mid-level guest room.
Pretty amazing.

But please ignore the lousy photo quality: it was dusk when we got there (which means poor lighting), and didn’t we didn’t have our camera (which means cell phone photos only).

We’re relieved to be making some forward progress with construction, as we’re not making forward progress with the loan.  (We’re still waiting on various and sundry organizations to get their collective acts together…… and we’re loosing time, money and patience).

Ah well.  In due time, I suppose.