Day 92: Drywall joint compound and plaster preparation

The Consolidated Drywall folks applied joint compound to the drywall seams, screws and electrical box openings. Here is a pic looking east from the kitchen.

More plaster preparation tasks completed today:

• Joshua installed diamond mesh metal lath at the intersection of the north wall and porch roof
• We covered the soffits and one remaining window on the north wall using plastic sheet and masking tape
• Raphael set up burlap along the south wall to shade the lime plaster while drying
  

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Day 91: Plaster preparation and shower enclosure

In the continuing saga of plaster preparation, Trevor started to set up scaffolding along the south and west walls. I applied masking tape and plastic sheet to the interior of all windows and all doors except one.

Trevor and Raphael installed HardieBacker 500 board to the shower enclosure. This material will support the shower tiles. Below is a pic looking at the south and west walls of the enclosure. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 90: Plaster preparation

We did more plaster preparation tasks again Monday.

• Joshua completed installing diamond mesh metal lath around the interior window frames
• I applied masking tape and protective paper to 2 ledgers to prevent plaster contamination
• Trevor set up scaffolding along the east wall
• Trevor applied masking tape and plastic sheet to the exterior of the east windows and soffit

Here is a pic of the east wall almost ready for plastering

The spiral staircase from Stocklin Iron in Santa Rosa, CA was delivered today.

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Day 89: Plaster preparation, continued

We are getting closer to being ready for plastering. Here is the list of plaster preparation tasks we worked on Friday.

• Trevor continued filling electrical and plumbing channels in the walls to provide a level surface for plastering
• Joshua continued applying diamond mesh metal lath to the interior windows
• I completed applying foam insulation to cracks and holes in the walls
• Trevor applied masking tape and plastic sheet to the northeast corner windows to keep plaster off the glass and frames
• Trevor installed a metal door and frame over the fire sprinkler valve on the north wall
  
• Trevor removed soil from the east wall to a point approximately 6 inches below the final grade

To prepare for erosion control during winter rains, I spread, raked in and watered seed on the steeper slopes. I look forward to seeing it sprout in the coming weeks. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 87 and 88: More plaster preparation and drywall

I worked late again Wednesday. We did the same things as Tuesday, so that's my excuse for skipping a post. On Thursday, Trevor and I continued to prepare the walls for plastering while a crew installed drywall on the ceiling and interior walls. Here is a pic taken from the loft.

It is nice to see smooth clean surfaces replace the view of joists and insulation. About 6-1/2 inches of the curved glulam beams remains exposed. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 86: More plaster preparation

I worked late today, so I am just posting a quick list of what was done.

• Joshua completed installation of diamond mesh metal lath to the exterior of all windows, and to the interior of one window
• I installed spray foam insulation around the interior of several 2nd story windows
• Trevor continued to fill the slots containing electrical wiring and plumbing pipes with mortar
• Marty tested spraying drywall joint compound and veneer plaster on the interior walls. More to come before the final decision on an interior finish.

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Day 84 & 85: Final grading and plaster preparation

Joshua, Justin and I ran a successful test of a Tirolessa plaster gun on Friday. We shot the northeast corner wall with a coat of NHL 3.5 lime plaster from Saint Astier. Here is a vid of the gun in action.

Steve completed final grading around the home on Friday and Monday. Here is a pic of the home from the southwest.

Some of the other tasks started or completed Friday and Monday:

• Trevor waterproofed the utility room retaining wall built Thursday
• Justin and I completed application of weatherproofing on all windows
• Joshua and I installed diamond mesh metal lath to the exterior of several more windows
• I trimmed excess foam insulation around the interior of several windows
• Erik completed all rough electrical wiring inside the home
• Marty and Trevor filled slots containing electrical wiring and plumbing pipes with mortar to provide a uniform surface for plastering
• Justin and Marty installed a vent pipe for the bathroom ventilation fan

I’ll close with a pic of Cindy cutting down scotch broom with her new electric hedge trimmer over the weekend. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment.

Day 83: Swales, plaster preparation and another retaining wall

Steve completed creating 2 swales; one to the east (uphill) of the home and one to the west (downhill). I will plant fruit and nut trees in the downhill sides of the swales. Winter stormwater surface runoff is slowed down, spread out and sunk into the soil by a swale. Soil under a swale will still have water in the drought season after surrounding soil has dried out. This will reduce the amount of irrigation water needed for the fruit and nut trees. The east swale will reduce the amount of surface storm water reaching the home. The west swale will reduce the amount of surface water running off the property from the south yard. Here is a pic of the east swale.

Some of the other tasks started or completed today:

• In preparation for plastering, Joshua cut and installed pieces of diamond mesh metal lath to the exterior of several windows.
• Justin applied weatherproofing to several second story windows
• I applied foam insulation around the interior of several windows
• Alan Dodd of Live Oak Design delivered beautiful doors for the bedroom, bathroom, closet and entry. Alan is also building the kitchen cabinets. All of the wood used is FSC certified.
  
• Erik installed some Cat5 cables and began working on a conduit to run audio wiring from the north to the south side of the family room
  
• Trevor waterproofed the southwest retaining wall we built yesterday
• Trevor built a small retaining wall on the northwest corner of the utility room. The retaining walls were built from leftover pieces of APEX block.
  

Stella status:
She is still getting bigger and about 5 months old,

Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 82: Insulation, grading and garden wall

The folks from Tri County Insulation finished spraying foam insulation today. They completed a 7 inch average thickness application in the entire ceiling. The R-value of the 7 inch layer is approximately 40.

Tri County Insulation also installed UltraTouch batt insulation in the interior stud walls. This insulation will reduce sound transmission between the bedroom, bathroom and family room.

Steve continued doing a great job grading and shaping the landscape while Justin, Trevor and I built a small garden wall by the southeast corner of the home. The wall will prevent collapse of the east hillside in front of the bedroom patio door.

Green comment for today:
Consider using UltraTouch batt insulation from Bonded Logic to insulate your wall or ceiling cavities. The advantages compared to typical fiberglass batt insulation are:

• It is made from recycled cotton denim resulting in lower manufacturing embodied energy
• It emits no harmful particulate matter into the air resulting in improved indoor air quality
• You can touch it during installation without getting irritated skin

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 81: Insulation, grading and site cleanup

The folks from Tri County Insulation continued spraying foam insulation today. They completed a 5-1/2 inch thick application in the ceiling over the family room.

Steve and Trevor completed placement of all the underground pipes and drain lines today. Steve began to do final site grading. It is nice to finally have a normal step down from the porch and patio doors. Here is a pic from the southwest followed by one from the west.


Raphael cut the remaining large logs on the site into smaller pieces ready to split for firewood while I sorted leftover items from construction into various piles. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments.

Day 80: Insulation

The folks from Tri County Insulation started spraying foam insulation in the ceiling over the kitchen. Here is a pic showing the first 5-1/2 inch thick application.

Green comment for today:
Consider using a soy based spray foam insulation like BioBased to fill your wall or ceiling cavities. Insulation R-value per inch is equal to or greater than common fiberglass batt material and air leakage is lower than with any other type of insulation. BioBased replaces a portion of the petroleum product with natural renewable oil and blows the material with water resulting in a more environmentally friendly product than common polyurethane spray foam insulation.

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Day 79: Drainage and insulation prep

Here is a pic of Trevor and Steve on Friday installing the downspout drainage line along the west wall.

The folks from Tri County Insulation hung plastic sheet inside to protect the windows, walls and beams when insulation is blown into the ceiling next week. It gives the place an eerie slasher movie kinda feel.

Raphael cut channels in the north wall to run solar water heating and photovoltaic conduits and pipes between the roof and utility room.

With Steve on site, Gabby is never far away. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Day 78: Earth moving, continued

Steve continued trenching today for gutter downspout and French drains on the north and west sides of the home while Trevor assembled components for the drains. I cleaned up the site in preparation for Steve to do final grading. There was not much new to photograph today. Thanks for reading. I enjoy reading your comments.

Day 77: Earth moving, part 2

Steve, who we have not seen since the first week of the project, was back Wednesday to operate the backhoe. He started to backfill trenches on the north and east walls.


Steve also made trenches for the French drain and gutter downspout drain lines along the south wall. Trevor installed the 4" diameter corrugated drain lines.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments. I'll close tonight with a pic of Cindy posing with the "Key Note" art piece during a dust storm at Burning Man 2009.