Dec 8th - Electrical Begins

Pat completed the interior details for the framing in the master bedroom today. The oak is so hard, very unforgiving and heavy to work with. Most of the material left is never quite straight and must be ripped down. I've given him a hand installing the final piece. We have more blocking to take care of, but it will require insulation to be installed between the rafters on the exterior walls.

Greenbay continues to work on the loft framing, where every stud cut is a different length. While it may not look like a lot of work, it's tedious building the short and sloped knee walls. By this weekend, the framing on the loft should be near completion.

This morning I removed a few stones from the fireplace and managed to attach a piece of conduit to the end of the vacuum cleaner hose. The extension allowed me to get into the hollow channel space behind the glass blocks on the fireplace and clean out the small amounts of mortar I discovered last night behind the glass. It's a difficult space to work in but I have now cleaned up the small amounts of mortar and resealed the end of the chase with tin and silicone. This will keep mortar from entering the space. I carefully attach the 2 old cast iron building stars to the the 2 stones Mike has cut and installed above the glass bricks. The fireplace and stove are both fired up and cranking out the heat and while it takes a while, by late morning it's comfortable working inside. Hagen should be back in a few days to finish up.

I've begun hanging recessed light fixtures downstairs and have been working with Lynn on the layout of the switches and outlets. It takes a lot of forethought to get this area set up. I've framed in a partial dropped ceiling in the downstairs 1/2 bath and then proceeded to cut a 4" round hole thru a 4" piece of micro-lam with a new hole saw. By evening I have the recessed light fixture in place as well as the bath fan. I have had to return 2 of the fans as they need to be wall mounted within a 6 inch space and the ones I have are for minimum 8" ceilings.

It will be a busy week ahead preparing for my trip back to Iowa and I am hoping the weather will hold.

Dec 7th - Fishbowls and Fire

Greenbay has nearly completed the framing on the third floor and has also reorganized the lumber out back as well as the garage.

I spend a portion of the day preparing the water filter for installation and also hooking up the main shut off valve in the crawlspace. Pat has loaned me his torch and I do what little soldering I need to do to prepare the valve. I am a bit discouraged to find that there is some water in the pipe and while not much, it has the temporary valve we used to test the system last summer, frozen solid. I am hoping that the pipe isn't frozen below the surface of the gravel in the crawl space and I won't know until we actually turn the water on. I've also installed the shower valve in the 2nd floor bath and managed to install 4 recessed lights on the 2nd floor.

I have been helping Hagen place the glass blocks I cleaned earlier this morning. They look great but tonight before I leave, I find some of the mortar has dropped down in behind the glass blocks and so tomorrow we will have to remove a couple of stones and somehow vacuum the excess mortar out of the cavity. Hagen has also cut a couple of stones that Pat brought by and he's cut them in 11" squares. I have drilled a center hole in each stone with a masonry bit and
these stones will sit above the glass blocks and the mantle. Hagen will be close to wrapping up the stone work tomorrow.

So why is this post called Fishbowls and Fire...Mike Hagen's wife called today to tell Mike she smelled smoke in the house....ready for this. In a south window, there is a kid's fish bowl sitting on a table with some newspapers on the table. The sun hits the fish bowl just right and the convex shaped fish bowl appears to have become a magnifying glass and the sun pin points on the newspaper and the smoke appears on the newspaper. Luckily Mary was there and smelled the smoke. Mike said she kept the newspaper with the black burned hole in it... Only in Rico. Mike wonders what the insurance company would have said if he had told them the fish bowl burned his house down...

Dec 6th - Plumbing Rough-in Complete

Today I've finished running all the water lines to their location from the manifold. Pat has helped me in the crawl space pull pipe into the old cabin. I've also completed the drain lines on the 3rd floor while Greenbay works on the framing for the 3rd floor loft. Pat has been working on finish framing in the master trying to prepare it for drywall as soon as the electrical and insulation are complete.

Hagen is coming along on the fireplace and tonight I have to take the glass blocks home and clean them up for tomorrow's installation. The stone he has used looks great and by tomorrow it should be close to being finished. Only the installation of the mantle remains on the fireplace. Mike has even lit a fire and it draws perfectly.

Chris has come by to take a look at installing the entire heating system. I hope to have the bid this week.

Pat and I stay late tonight cleaning up and trying to organize some. It's amazing how quickly I can make a mess...I think Lynn will agree.

Dec 5th - Lumber Run

I spent the morning making a list of items we need in Cortez. Lynn and I take off for Cortez with several stops along the way.

We stop at Val's place in Dolores and Lynn takes the truck to the market while I search out the lumber I need to build the stair stringers and landings. Wider dimension lumber is scarce in Val's yard and so it takes me a while to find what I need. One piece I find is dry and weathered and 25' long. Luckily I've brought my tree saw and cut it down to length to fit in the truck.

With a stop at Standard Plumbing and Slavens I finish my list while Lynn picks up supplies at Wal-Mart. We head back to Rico.

Dec 4th - Crawlin' in Space

I've spent 4 hours in the crawl space this morning drilling through floor joists. I have a number of PEX water lines to run in the crawl space. While there is enough space to crawl around it's still not an easy job and my knees aches from the gravel. I also had to pull my boots off quickly a number of times when my feet cramped. Pat comes down into the crawl space now and helps me pull pipe through the many holes I've drilled. By days end I've run most of the water lines and used up all 1200 feet of pipe. I will need another 200 feet to finish the job.

Pat has been up in the master framing the linen closet and completing the blocking for the siding. It's my goal to complete the master first so that when I come back in February, I can actually move into this part of the house. Hagen has also started laying stone for the face of the fireplace. It won't be long and we will be setting the glass blocks in the face of the fireplace. It looks great...pictures coming soon.

Tonight we have stayed late and Pat and I manage to nail up all the electrical boxes on the 2nd floor. I will start drilling and running wire tomorrow.

Dec 3rd - Plumb Crazy

Today I've spent most of the day drilling and pulling the PEX tubing thru floor joists and walls. It's freezing in the house most of the day and the old pot belly barely keeps up. Using a right angle drill can be tough as the drill bits and hole-saws have a tendency to catch and when they do, you had better be hanging on, but letting go of the trigger. On more than one occasion the drill catches and nearly breaks my wrist.

Lynn has come by to help me pull the pipe through the holes I've drilled while I push. It's a big help, especially when the distances are long. Before long the strands of blue and red pipe are sticking out of the walls and floors all over the 2nd & 3rd floor. My arms and shoulders ache from the overhead drilling and pipe pulling at the end of the day.

Dec 2nd - Fireplace Details

Greenbay has showed up for a few hours to work on more framing up on the 3rd floor.

Today I have to prepare the old cast iron clod buster wheels that I have cut up in sections and get them ready to bolt up to the masonry structure of the fireplace. It's difficult to attach the odd shaped iron brackets to the masonry wall, but I manage to using Tapcons and a masonry bit. I also have a short section of the wheel that I will have Hagen install horizontally that will act as a hanger for fireplace tools. It will mount on the stone in between the fireplace and the backside of the fireplace where the dining room wood stove will end up.

Today I have unhooked the wood stove and moved it away from the wall so that Hagen will have room to work. Pat has donated a section of stove pipe and I hook it back up and not long after I have a hot fire going trying to warm up the chilly house that is about 10 degrees inside. I have chosen a nice thick wide handhewn oak slab for a mantel and cut it to length. Using Pat's metal brake, I fabricate some galvanized sheet metal channels that will hold the antique glass bricks I have selected to use on the face of the fireplace as well as behind the wood stove.

I also managed to dig out of one of the crates, some old cast iron building stars that I will have Hagen attach to the face of the fireplace. I have picked out some square stones at Pat's that we will drill a hole in the center of to attach the stars. The antique glass bricks are some I found years ago in a salvage yard in Helena Montana. They came out of the old Anaconda Copper Company's factory office that was torn down a number of years ago. I had nearly 1,000 of them and have enjoyed using them on different projects. The particular ones I have chosen for this project are ones that are much different than the others. They are dark green, amethyst and clear, 2" thick and 6" square, with an impressed line about 2/3rds up the side. The corners are chipped. My intention in having the glass bricks installed in the fireplace face and I will run rope lights through conduit I have routed through the masonry structure. The lights will lay in the channel and light the old antique glass blocks and will give a nice touch to the downstairs rooms.

Dec 1st - It's A Small World

Last night we got a knock on the door from Lynda who runs the hotel. She informed me that someone who knew me was in the restaurant and wanted to buy me a drink. I met Todd and Nadine Webber in the restaurant and while I had never met them, they have been customers of mine for a number of years. The question came up on how they found me. On their way back to Prescott, AZ from Paonia, CO, they had decided to spend the night at the Rico Hotel. Last night had been Noel Night in Rico and the local businesses were open on Main Street and a considerable amount of people were out on the street. Lynda had recommended they take a walk out on the street. There they met Ken Hazen, a long time resident of Rico, who wanted to know where they were from. When they told him Prescott, Arizona, he informed them that another couple living in Rico was also from Prescott. Yes, they knew this couple! and had been friends with them for over 30 years and had raised families together, but had never visited their friends here.

Ken hooked them up with their friends Kim and Mick McClain who we had just met a week ago. In a conversation, Mick mentioned to Todd that a neighbor Dave (me) owned a truck like his old Dodge Power Wagon. Todd had asked Mick where I was from and when he told him Iowa, Todd realized he knew who I was! Into our conversation further, I find he is also good friends with my close friends Jack and Lynn Garner, who also live in the Prescott area as well! Small world out there!

Today they come for a visit to the house and I find out we are invited to a dinner party at Kim and Micks tonight. We enjoy all their company thoroughly.

Today at the house, I have been drilling for the final stages of plumbing on the 3rd floor. I have to get the final drain lines drilled and up through the floor. Bob Akey comes by today with details on light fixtures he will be ordering for me next week. His years of experience as a master electrician will help me out a whole lot.

Greenbay and Pat are working on many of the small framing details on the upper levels of the house. They leave early to help Greenbay repair a tire. Also another neighbor, Fraser stops by to see what I'm up to. Hagen has also showed up with a load of the stone for the final veneer of stone on the fireplace. This means I will have to once again shift gears and do some necessary prep work on the fireplace.

Nov 30th - Warm Board - Cold Night

Today Pat, Greenbay and I started and completed the installation of the warm board on the 3rd level loft. The left over warm board was to be used on the original cabin floor but since we needed the warm board in this area to complete the framing, I've decided to use the remaining sheets and scraps up on the 3rd level. It takes some careful planning on my part and after making a sketch we are able to complete the entire 3rd level with only 1/2 a sheet of warm board remaining. I stay a bit later to figure how I will route the lines on the floor. It's a tall stair well opening at 27 feet high and lots of ladder climbing is required to maneuver from one floor to the next.

Nov 29th - Cold, Cold, Cold

The temperature has been steadily dropping into the single digits today. We can at least work inside. Pat has been up in the master framing the loft area over the hallway and installing blocking for the vertical siding to go up on the house at a later date.

Greenbay and I have been working on the floor framing and have been installing the rough sawn exposed rim joists. These you will see from different vantage points on the 2nd floor and will provide a base for the 3rd floor walls to be installed. As you look up at the knee walls from these rooms you will see old rusty corrugated metal we have pulled from the roof of the cabin. I think it will look great. We will have partially vaulted ceilings in all the 2nd floor rooms and then a small storage area located over the shower and laundy on the 2nd floor and accessible from the room above.

It is near zero tonite and Murphy, Pat's dog, appears to want to stay at the house. Pat has gone to Cortez as has his wife, Darcy, and I am not sure if Murphy can get in. Even with the stove going full blast, I begin to worry about Murph, wondering if he will be warm enough. At 11 pm I return to the house. Murphy is curled up by the fire, but the stove is nearly out. I stoke it, plug an electric heater in for him and leave.

The wind has really picked up around midnight and is howling. With a strong north wind our apt. cools off unbelivable quickly and by morning the temp inside is around 50 degrees and it feels very cold. The air temp outside is close to 10 below and with the wind chill was around 25 below zero.

Nov 28th - Blizzard

It has been snowing all day with blowing snow. We have at least 12" on the ground and it is drifting and blowing everywhere. We haven't had much wind lately but today is exceptional and anywhere the snow can find a way in, it does. When we walk into the house our plastic drapes have let a ton of snow pile up in the house. Greenbay works only a few hours to make some temporary OSB doors. We use bungy cords to make them self closing. Pat has been shoveling snow most of the morning so we can at least traverse around the house and in through the doors. I spend most of the morning cleaning up piles of snow throughout the house and stuffing cracks with insulation scraps from fiberglass batts. Even with the stove going full blast, the house is still very cold but at least warm enough to work in. We staple up plastic wherever we can to fill holes and keep the wintry blast outside.

I am having trouble with my rib cage hurting as well as some tendonitis in my elbows making it tough for me traverse even a simple ladder. The boys recommend I see Holly Bennett who does acupuncture, homepathic remedies and massage. I feel so much better having paid her a visit.

Nov 27th - Let It Snow

The sun was shining this morning but there are predictions out for a big snow storm. There are some things I want done before the snow comes. Pat is up on the roof between the chimney and the master installing some trim boards above the metal siding. It's a tough place to get into with a dry roof, but with snow coming we have to complete it. Greenbay helps him cut the necessary trim boards he needs to complete the job.

I have spent the morning down on the north cabin installing the metal skirting around the foundation and bottom logs. It comes out nicely and a large piece of plastic tacked above on the wall helps protect me from the wind which has now picked up. The sky is clouding up. Greenbay leaves before lunch to get to the bank in Telluride as this window will probably be the only one for a few days, especially if you don't have 4wd. Lynn has taken my truck to Cortez to shop for food and pick up the loft windows at the glass company. About the time she arrives back in Rico, the snow begins, light falling at first, but as the afternoon progresses the intensity picks up.

Greenbay and Pat have installed the first of two remaining windows on the north wall of the master. With the final window to install, we find the size is wrong for the opening. Upon inspection it appears to be a tempered glass window for the bathroom. Up on the scaffold, I remove the window that was just installed and Pat and I move into the master. This leaves us one final new window and we must now change the framing and install a new header over the window that is longer. Within an hour or so, Pat has the tear out and new framing completed. He steps out onto the scaffold and we install the last window.

With the oncoming storm, it's now time to button up the rest of the house with plastic over the door openings. One final thing I want to do is insulate the floor of the bay window and install the treated plywood underneath so we aren't laying in a foot of snow. At 5 p.m. Pat is nailing on the plywood underneath.

I am inside sharpening some hand tools for Mary Jane. Pat takes off for Cortez to do some shopping and drop off her tools on the way down. Half an hour later Pat returns and has decided not to go tonite as the roads are bad and traffic is at a crawl down the highway to Dolores. He turns around and comes home...good thing as tonite the wind is howling and the snow coming down like crazy.

No traffic on the highway and only the plows are out. Forecast shows snow for the next two days. I am relaxed tonight with a new sense of ease. Other than some missing doors we are officially dried in and now ....let it snow.

Nov 26th - Roof Completed

I can hardly believe it but today at 5:30 Pat and I completed the roof. We started this morning by completing the fascia on the front of the cabin and then Pat and I installed the necessary flashing. Pat has been on the roof all day and once again I can't say how thankful I am that he loves being on the roof. Soon we are installing the final roof panels on the south side of the roof and we finally come to the final roof panel. Pat installs the ridge cap and the rake flashings and we are done. I have added a few more screws in the flashing on the dining room bay window and we are done for the day. It's good we finished when we did as tomorrow there is a major winter storm coming in..

Nov 25th - Dried In

Pat and I have spent today completing the drying in of the cabin roof. Once the thin layer of plywood has been applied to old roof spaced sheeting, he has applied the felt paper over this and completed the vapor barrier. Next the 2 x 10 rim joists are applied on the south side of the roof and these will create the border for the insulated panels. I spend most of the day cutting the insulated panels and de-icing the necessary edges of the panels that go up against the 2 x10's.

We are now on the final sheets of the insulated panels and my figures on how many panels were needed were really close. Near the top of the roof I have had to use remaining scraps to complete the installation and considering we had over 2,000 sq ft of roof area, we have only small scraps left after the job is complete. Pat buttons the roof up with another layer of bithuthane and felt. We have 3 fascia boards to install and the installation of the metal to finish. Tomorrow we hope to have the entire structure completed with steel with only the porchs remaining to frame and roof.

I have a muscle around the left side of my ribs that has been giving me fits and is slow in healing making it difficult for me to make certain motions. I am hoping it will get better soon. Since tomorrow is Sunday, we hope to have some quiet work inside once the roof is on and hopefully I can get further along on running the water lines. Our timing looks good on the roof as a major snow storm is expected this week...More pictures coming soon.

Nov 24th - Cabin Gets A Roof

Pat and Bill have come today and we have started on the cabin roof again. We first complete the insulated panels on the north side of the roof. We have also added the main fascia board on the north side of the cabin. Pat has cut the steel for the north side of the roof. Bill and I begin the fascia for the south side and then apply the plywood on top of the space sheeting. I have to notch the oak beam and post on the southwest corner of the new section of house. This has to be completed before the side wall flashing can be installed. I've managed to split my finger open in the process and several hours later, Bill slices his finger on some staples inside his tool pouch.

Later in the afternoon it begins to look like snow up on the mountain, but none is in the forecast. A bit later the snow starts to come down and Pat is still on the roof. Hurriedly we get the remaining felt tacked up on the south side of the roof. With only 3 more pieces of plywood to go we will be done, but the snow is coming and it has to get covered. Bill and I drag the reinforced plastic up on the roof for Pat who pulls it over the north side of the roof. We have learned that the snow doesn't slide so well off the roof when there is paper and cleats. Hopefully it will be clear tomorrow and then by pulling the plastic off, the entire roof is clear of snow and ice.

Once Pat and Bill leave, I head back upstairs to install the remaining water lines in the master. While the PEX is easy to install, the much harder task is drilling through some of the floor joists.
The TJI's are much easier because they have knock-outs installed about every 16". Simply hitting them with a hammer, they pop out nicely and make a perfect hole for installing a couple of water lines.

The PEX tubing is nice because it requires no tape measure... just run the pipe along the route you need, hook up the 4 piece fitting to the Manabloc manifold, which is a simple procedure, and then install the necessary plug or angle fitting where the pipe is to be attached to the fixture. By evening, I have completed all the water lines to the master.

Nov 23rd - Thanks-giving...er I mean roofing..

It's Thanksgiving day and we will have dinner at the Rico Hotel. Lynda and Aemon run the restaurant which opens tonite for the weekends. We always look forward to one of his famous 5 star chef meals... but in the meantime work goes on at the house. Only Greenbay has come up today and we get in a few hours of work before a neighbor asks us to be quiet around noon. With an open roof it is difficult to stop, but we do and cover the roof up with plastic. A big storm is brewing for next week and I have to get the roof on the cabin completed.

Lynn has done a thorough house cleaning and sweep up of the entire house which was desparately needed. At least you can walk around in the house without tripping on scrap wood. She has even cut up remaining scrap and stacked it on the wood pile in the house. The wood pile outside continues to grow and there is at least a couple of cords of scrap wood on the ground.

After lunch we start running more PEX water lines up into the master. I figure if I can work on it a little every day, especially after everyone has gone home, I should have it completed in a few weeks. Today, I complete the water lines to the master vanity and and toilet.

Nov 22nd - Roof On

Pat has completed the entire roof over the master bedroom with all the steel needed. It is indeed a relief that the weather has held and is still holding with warm and sunny weather continuing.

I have gone up on the road by the mill to get a small 4' piece of lodge pole pine to use to patch two of the rafter upper ends that had been cut out for a brick chimney years ago on the old cabin. Up on the road above the mill, which isn't maintained this time of year, I drive past the old landmark Douglas Fir Tree; probably the only surviving old growth timber in the area. This one was saved because it was used as a survey marker. At the base it is around 5' in diameter and who knows how old. A little farther up, I find a fallen dead pine and I cut the small section out of the tree and head back into Rico.

Something is making a noise under my truck and I stop on the main road only to find my right rear tire has been cut by a protruding rock and completly ruined. I've never had a flat on the truck before and proceed to change it out with my spare. Luckily I have a spare with me and I find that the wheel wrench is the wrong size. I happen to have my tool box with me and a spare socket that fits. It turns out this little hunk of dead timber not only cost me some time but a new tire as well. When I return to the house, I find it's a common incident losing tires up on the mill road...and part of living up here.

Greenbay and Bill continue on the old cabin, installing fascia on the north side as well as some old thin weather plywood I have to go over the space sheeting on the roof. Portions of the plywood need to look old as the sheeting on the inside will be exposed. Near the end of the day, Pat joins them and they have a portion of the 2 x 10 rim joists and roof panels installed on the north roof.

Nov 21st - Roof Off

I have helped Pat move steel up on the roof. He will be close to finishing the roof today. How he can continue to stay on the roof all day is still hard to understand, but he seems to love it. By tonite the roof is completed except for the ridge cap.

Bill and Greenbay have completed tearing off all the old tin and cedar shingles from the old cabin. We have had to remove one piece of the skip sheeting on the roof because of some old holes cut for a stove pipe. Thousands of square headed nails have to be removed from the sheeting. This indicates that the shingles are probably original and still intact after 125 years which is amazing. I've kept the old tin and stacked it along the fence and hope to use it somewhere in the house at a later date.

I have continued on with preparing the north wall of the north cabin for tin along the bottom. This will keep the weather out. I have installed the two foundation vents as well as the insulation. I'll be ready for the steel tomorrow.

After hours, I tackle a broken PVC pipe fitting in the crawl space that I managed to break while installing water lines. It takes me nearly an hour to get the fitting out without breaking the larger fitting it was originally glued into. I also add a vent for the floor drain in the mechanical room. I return home late.......Lynn's return is evident as I open the door to delicious smells of a hot cooked meal.

Nov 20th - Errand Boy

I have had numerous errands to run in Cortez, Dolores and finally Durango where I've gone to pick up Lynn at the airport. We have returned home late.

Meanwhile, Greenbay and Pat have completed the fascia on the master and installed the neccessary flashings. Everything is ready for steel now.

Nov 19th - Man-a-bloc

I've begun the installation of the water lines today. I have had to complete the foam insulation on the walls where the Manabloc will be mounted. This device distributes water to each appliance with the same pressure. Without the use of branch lines and in-line tees, the Manabloc is a great improvement over copper water lines. Not only does the pressure remain constant, but installation takes a fraction of the time. I've installed a piece of 3/4" plywood on the wall, attached the Manabloc and then drilled holes through the floor joists and run supplies to the 1st floor 1/2 bath.