Day 131: Doors and hot water

Over the long holiday weekend, Cindy finished the entry door and interior doors with AFM Naturals Clear Penetrating Oil. The finish makes the doors look even more beautiful. She also installed hardware on all of the doors and weatherstripping on the entry door. Here is a pic of the entry door from the inside.

Today I got the heating system producing domestic hot water. Cheers to hot showers and clean dishes. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 130: More soldering and Thanksgiving dinner

On Wednesday I continued soldering the water and space heating system components together. On Thanksgiving, Cindy and I were able to cook dinner in our new kitchen. It was a very special occasion. A toast and thanks to all of you who helped us get this far.

Day 129: More soldering

On Tuesday I continued sweat fitting heating system components in the utility room. This will be my sole task until there is hot water in the storage tank. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 128: Water, electric and cooking

Over the weekend and on Monday, we made fine progress with final plumbing and electrical work.

• sliding door hardware installed
  
• water supply connected
• cooktop & oven hooked up
• electric boiler hooked up
• kitchen sink & faucet hooked up
• TOTO dual flush toilet installed

I'll close with a pic of the oven and a vid of the most important seat in the house. It was a monumental day having water running in the home for the first time. Now I need to get back to work on the heating system so we can have HOT water. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 127: Pump house and soldering

Friday was a light day compared to Thursday. Trevor poured a small concrete pad on which to rest a pressure pump. This pump will turn on to pressurize the home's water supply whenever a faucet or other water using device is opened. Trevor finished just as the rain started. Below is a pic showing the pad (right), the water storage tank (left) and the pressure pump (left, foreground).

I began soldering the heating system plumbing components. With several hundred joints, this job will take a few days. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 126: Countertops, plumbing and electrical

Thursday was very busy. The folks from Marble City installed granite kitchen countertops. The color is verde fantastico - they sure look fantastico. I like how the gentle curve of the bar edge compliments the curves of the sink. Here is a pic of the kitchen from above.

Other tasks from day 126:

• Erik installed some of the final electrical details
• I continued working on the water and space heating system installation
• Adam and Coady started installing plumbing fixtures

I'll close with a pic of the shower looking more complete with the handle and head. Thanks for reading. I enjoy your comments.

Day 125: Kitchen cabinets, heating and net meter

On Wednesday, Alan from Live Oak Design installed all of the drawers on the kitchen cabinets while I continued to layout plumbing for the heating system in the utility room. Here is a pic of the kitchen peninsula cabinets. They look fabulous.

PG&E installed the digital electric net meter which we are now officially spinning backwards. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 124: Shower completed, cabinets and heating

On Tuesday, Joshua finished applying grout to the the remaining shower tile joints. Here is a pic of the completed shower from the bathroom door. It looks amazing!

Alan from Live Oak Design continued work on the kitchen and bathroom cabinet installations. Below is a pic of the kitchen cabinets in progress - they look beautiful. It is exciting to see the finishes work out so well.

I continued to work on layout of the water and space heating system in the utility room. I'll close with a pic of that work in progress for the thermal geeks out there. I told Joshua that this is my plumbing mosaic art ;-) Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 123: More finishes and heating

On Monday, Joshua started applying grout between the shower tiles. The pic below shows a portion of the south shower wall with grout completed. As awesome as the shower looked on Friday, it looks even better today with grout.

Alan applied Osmo Polyx-Oil finish to kitchen cabinet doors. I continued working on the water and space heating system in the utility room. Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 121 & 122: Shower and kitchen cabinets

On Thursday and Friday, Joshua finished the shower tile work. Below is a pic of the completed floor. I'm trying to build a green home, but this tile work is going to make me take longer showers :-)


Alan continued to install the kitchen and vanity cabinets on Thursday and Friday while I started laying out plumbing for the heating system in the utility room. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 120: Shower floor and downspouts

On Wednesday, Joshua continued work on the shower floor tiles. All of the material used for tiling the shower is leftover scraps from local kitchen countertop fabricators. Joshua's art is to cut the stone and create a beautiful tile mosaic with the pieces. Here is a pic of the work in progress.

Marty, Georg and I installed downspouts. Here is a pic of the souteast corner.

I finally removed all of the tarps protecting the south wall lime plaster while it dried. Below is a pic of that wall from the southwest. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 118 & 119: Shower, downspouts and electrical

On Monday, Joshua completed installing tile on the shower walls while I cut triangular tile pieces for the shower floor. I sprayed salt water on the copper downspouts to accelerate patina development. Here is a pic of the southwest shower corner followed by a pic of the downspouts.


On Tuesday, Joshua started working on the shower floor. I continued spraying the downspouts with saltwater. Erik stopped by and installed a few outdoor lights and outlets. Below is a pic of the entry porch lights at night. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 117: More interior finishes

On Friday, interior finish work continued:

• Joshua continued tiling the shower walls
• Erik continued electrical wiring
• Raphael and I applied gypsum plaster to a wall in the utility room
• AT&T installed the phone line

Below is a pic of the exterior west wall with the finish grade. It is exciting to see the end in sight. Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 116: Final grading

On Thursday, Steve did final site grading. All of the walls have been backfilled with soil to the final height, and surface storm water drainage paths are complete all around the home. Here is a pic of the east wall showing final grading to compare with yesterday's pic.

Here is a pic of the kitchen peninsula cabinets from Live Oak Design in process.

I'll close with a pic of Joshua's shower tiling in process, WOW! Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 115: Site cleanup and interior finishes

Tasks from Wednesday:

• site cleanup in preparation for final grading
• kitchen cabinet installation began
• shower tile work continued
• electrical fixture, switch and outlet installation continued
  

I'll close with a pic of the east wall which I havn't shown for some time. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 114: Plastering completed

On Tuesday, Joshua, Trevor, Marty, Raphael, Georg and I applied the finish coat of lime plaster to the exterior of the south wall. This was a monumental day being the completion of plastering on the home. Below is a pic of Raphael, Marty, me and Joshua at the southwest corner. You can see that everyone’s clothing has taken on a yellow tinge. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 112 & 113: Exterior plaster

On Friday, Joshua, Trevor, Marty, Raphael and I applied the finish coat of lime plaster to the exterior of the east, west and utility room walls. On Monday the same crew applied the finish coat of plaster to the exterior of the north wall. The plaster has an integrated mineral tint, so painting is not required. I think the color and finish are beautiful. Below is a pic of the west (right) and north (left) walls. Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.