Barn Boards Begin (photos)

The house starts to take on it's final look as the board and batten is applied. The boards are 1-inch thick, old cedar salvaged from barns taken down two years ago on the property. The battens are new, and we likely won't be able to cover the whole house in old cedar.

Jason decends the stairs after putting up another board.

PIt's all coming together. The house presents many unusual details to the viewer.

Fire in the Hole (photos)

Another milestone today, fire. This is my brand new Czech wood buring cookstove. Right now it sits in the open, but I intend, over time, to surround it with a bar on the back, and some sort of counter on the sides. I hooked it up, put a few cedar chips in and presto, heat. It was only a test, but I was truly excited beyond words to know that with near certainty I will spend next winter warm, dry and clean for the first time in two years.

There is no microwave oven, no hot plate, no gas or electric stove, just wood burning.

My first flame.

Fire as viewed through the "hob". Yes, there is a hob knob of sorts.

Porch Railing Almost Complete (photos)

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I decided to "peg" every balluster to the railing, but when I tried to conceive of how the railing should look, it was the only solution that I could see. As it turns out, once the jigs were up and running I went from making 2 sections in two days to 5 in one day to 6 on the last day. Pounding the hundreds of pegs in proved to be almost a sublime pleasure. A small boy will spend hours pounding play nails into a workset or shapes through openings in a toy, thus it should not surprising that an adult boy would be able to do the same.

Railing almost complete.

Pegging detail.

Ballusters all in a row. Only the top plate is missing.

My First Shower (photos)

Last night, for the first time in two years in my own domicile, I took a hot, pressurized shower in a clean well lighted bathroom. It was made the more thrilling being illicit (not supposed to be "living" there until occupancy) and that the bathroom is lacking a door at this moment. Nonetheless, everything worked flawlessly. The water, coming as it does from the sky and not the ground, was soft and clear. Little droplets glistened as they beaded up nicely on the gleaming chrome and the fresh tile.

Me taking my first real shower at home in two years. You were expecting more?

Railing (photos)

Much to my own surprise, this part is turning out to be one of the most rewarding elements of the project. I hadn't designed a railing system for the porch, but I knew I didn't like what I'd seen in magazines and books. The requirements are also pretty strict. The railing must be at least 36" high with no more than a 4" gap between ballusters (vertical rails). Inspired by the pegged joinery inside the house, I determined to dowel peg the railing. I ordered the lumber, but I was a bit unsure about how much time it would take. I set up a couple of jigs to keep things reasonably square, and as the pictures I hope show, I'm very pleased with the result. I did the shortest rail section first as a test.

This crude jig makes a hole in the top of the balluster

This form, ensures the railing comes out square.

The finished (sample) railing. The 3/8" maple pegs will sit proud of the rails.
The pegs are unglued and only 8 screws are used to secure it to the posts.
There will be a top plate screwed in above. Something to set a cool drink on.
Four feet of railing done. Only 136 to go.

Bathroom Done (photos)

The bathroom is complete. It is hard to photograph being about the minimum possible size for a bathroom with a tub at 5' x 7'. Here is the ingredients list:

• Matte white subway tile from Pratt and Larson, Portland, Oregon.
• Tub is a vintage, 1930s cast iron built-in. $75 used from the ReBuilding Center, Portland, Oregon
• Wall lamps circa 1930 from Hippo's, Portland, Oregon. $100 the pair.
• Mirror frame is an old window found in the woods on the property. $9 for the mirror glass.
• Sink was found on the property. Delta faucet about $90 at Home Depot or Lowe's.
  
• Tile floor is my own pattern. Not as hard as it looks. The tiles come in 1' x 2' sheets in black or white, and the small area (about 20 square feet) made it more affordable. Again from Pratt and Larson. A shop well worth visiting.
• Toilet is a Kohler, Serif model. About $140 at Home Depot.
  

Vintage $75 tub gets a new home..

In the mirror you can see reflected theedge of the 22" Sun Tunnel
and the light in the shower/tub area.
The light works, but I was still experimenting with bulb power and type.

Floor pattern of my own making. Turns out the tub edge is curved making cutting of
all those individual tiles the most difficult part.
Otherwise the floor was easier than any of the subway tiles.

Sink and Ceiling (photos)

Some photos of progress on the interior up to the time of this post.

Looking at the north half of the house (minus the den to the right). From left to right:
front hall, bathroom, kitchen sink area, kitchen. All tiled.

The front hall and door before the ceiling went in.

5" cedar tongue-and-groove (T&G), finished
with linseed oil, drying on the porch.

Looking at the hallway from the front hall with the ceiling installed.
The black "box" on the far wall is the exhaust duct for the
wood buring cookstove that will be moved into place soon.

The kitchen sink is cast iron and was found in the old garage. It
has a few dings, but is very servicable. Open shelving will be
installed over it as drying racks and storage for just washed items.
The sink is located close to the water heater (20 gallon marine
type in the ceiling/attic area) and in a nook so dirty dishes can
remain somewhat hidden from view.

Porch Progress (photos)

Here are a series of pictures taken in May till this posting capturing the tremendous progress on the deck. The deck is made from "rough," locally milled cedar (rough means that a 2x4 is actually 2" x 4" not 1-1/2 x 3-1/2).

Jordan drives in one of the over 500, 4" stainless steel deck screws.

The roof gleams.

The porch roofline becomes visible.

The rafters are the same 7 in 12 pitch as the roof.

The house from the west.

The Zoeller's make a great team.

Plumb, square and level. Raw cedar and blue sky.

Front Hall Done (photos)

The front hall is the first room to be completed. The room is designed to be an airlock between the front door and the rest of the house where wet, muddy clothing can be removed. The tile is one of the few overseas imported elements in the house. They are made in Italy. It is a pattern of 5 colors (of which I used 4), 6x6" with distressed edges and uneven texture like slate. The four colors are: Asia Jaipur Blu (grayish), Asia Rajastan Verde (more brownish), Asia Bangalore Nero (ranges from caramel swirl to all black) and Asia Madras Rosso (which is red).

Sunlight from the front door windows flares on the front hall floor.

Porch (photos)

Front door.

Stacks of locally milled cedar.

Fort Vesper.

It's all downhill from here.

Energize!

The milestones are coming fast and furious. Today I hooked up power to the house, and nothing blew up, no breakers tripped and the lights in the basement came on.

I already had electricity to the little shed I built to house the solar equipment, and I had burried the 3" conduit the 100+ feet to the house. All I really needed was the wire to connect it. 200 amp service wire is big. Wire sizes get bigger the smaller the number. But once the wire got to zero instead of going negative, they just add zeros. Thus 0, 00, 000, 0000 abbreviated 1/0 2/0, 3/0, 4/0 and pronounced one-ought, two-ought, three-ought, four-ought. I needed a 3-wire set of either 2/0-2/0-1/0 copper ($450) or 4/0-4/0-2/0 aluminum ($150).

I hadn't decided whether to splurge for the copper and I was talking it over with Jordan last week when my neighbor Steve showed up. By his own admission he knows nothing about electrical wiring, but he heard us talking about it and mentioned that there was a coil of "really big wire" laying in the yard. I said it had to be really big, and he said it was, so I followed him over to take a look. Under a piece of plywood sitting in the grass was indeed a large coil of wire. I looked over the casing. 4/0-4./0-2/0 aluminum. It was the right stuff, but was it long enough. We uncoiled it in the driveway. I needed 128 feet. I paced it off. 120 feet. So close. I knew my calculation was generous as I had left an ample amount so as not to come up short.

I told Steve that it was so close the only way to find out if it was going to work was to try it. He agreed to help and we coiled up the monster and tossed it in the back of my truck. I had already pulled the leader rope through the conduit. We taped and tied the rope to one end. Steve went down the hill to pull. I stood at the top and pushed the cable in sections, pausing to apply a generous quantity of special wire lube. Steve didn't have to pull much as the cable slid down easily and once some weight was in the conduit, gravity assisted.

About half way down the cable became hopelessly jammed on something and we had to pull the whole thing up. This took both of us as the now slick wire was difficult to grasp. LIke pulling a 50 foot eel out of a hole. We guessed the problem was that one of the three ends stuck out a bit. We cut it off with a hacksaw (this wire is about 1/2" thick. Too thick for normal wire cutters). We also taped half a plastic soda bottle over the top to make it run smoothely. Back in it went.

This time we had no problems and within a few minutes the other end popped out at the bottom of the hill. It still seemed close. After feeding it through the wall at both ends it was clear it was long enough with only perhaps 3 feet to spare. "Sold" I told Steve.

Today the lights came on. Sadly the roof still leaks. The saga continues.

Roof Chimes Not Leaks

We tried another strategy for the leaky, high-tech vent and chimney seals. We surmised that water must be backing up under the standing seam of the adjacent panel and so caulked the entire seam up to the ridge. This was done several weaks ago, but with no significant rain in months, there has been no real-world testing.

But on the 16th and 17th we had a small amount of rain. Truth to tell I was affraid to look, but lo and behold, not a drop. It will take passing through a major storm till I'm really confident, but we seem to have licked this one.

Meanwhile I was able to create a makeshift hook-up my 300 gallon holding tank to the gutter. In the little bit of rain collected a week ago, the roof yielded 275 gallons. In the rain we had over the two days this week 200 gallons was collected, even though the downspout detached one of those days. The collected water has been used to test the DWV and mix the concrete for the porch footings.

An unexpected benefit of the roof design is that when it rains the gutter acts as a water chime.

Passing Muster

Today was inspection day, and I passed with flying colors. Because it is such a long trek to get to my house from Astoria, the county seat, I try to group the inspections together. On the list today were: drain-waste-vent (DWV) final, plumbing and electrical rough-in, and the footings for the porch posts prior to pouring concrete. In essence I was asking to be able to cover up the interior walls and proceed to finishing. In fact, I had already covered half of all the interior walls (the backs were visible) and, of course, because of the construction, the exterior walls arrive from the factory already sealed.

DWV
Code requires that there be the equivalent of a 4" vent pipe of venting total for the house. In most houses with two or three bathrooms, and perhaps other venting needs, this is accomplished by a collection of vents. But in my house, with only one bath and everything deliberately grouped close together, as in homes of yore, I have a full 4" stack running out of the house. The options for testing its soundness is to pressurize it with air or to simply fill it full of water. To keep the water from running out into the septic tank there is an inflatable plug that can be inserted into the system (not unlike balloon angioplasty) and expanded with air to hold back the water.

I bought one of these and stuffed it into the cleanout in the basement, pushing it up the pipe and inflating it with a bicycle pump. We filled the stack, about 20 feet high, and all the branch arms with water. As the water came gurgling in the pressure built on the fittings. As it filled to the level of the cleanouts, a few drips from the threaded fittings began to drip. Not crucial, but I decided that they should be refitted with some plumber's goo to ensure there were no issues. This meant draining the system. I took the bladder inflation tube and pressed the little pin of the schrader valve (like on a bicycle tire) and let the air escape. Pssssst WHOOOSH, water burst out of the opening in fire hydrant volumes, jetting up to the ceiling and soaking everything in its path. Jordan, acting swiftly, placed his two hands over the outlet only to direct the flow down onto his pants and boots. In a flash the whole episode was over and we laughed as water dripped down into the pool on the floor, making the dark, back half of the basement even more cave-like. Upon inspection it was clear that the plug had been driven down into the lower pipe, past the cleanout and thus effectively blocked the flowing water and directing it all into the pipe.

The Color of Electricity
There are two bundles of 11 wires each (5 pairs and 1 ground) that run in conduit up from the basement to the attic space. There the emerge from a junction box as Romex and spill down into the walls from above. I used up a full 500 foot roll of white (neutral) and black (hot) wiring just doing the basement, but when I went to Home Depot to buy more they were out of white. Instead I bought a very pale yellow wire. So pale in fact that it could be mistaken for old white wire. In anycase, I was sure that it could be "recolored" by applying a piece of white tape at each end.

Matt, my inspector, took one look at them and declared them "conductor non grata." It seems that only huge wire, larger than number 6, can be relabled. For size six and smaller the neutral must be white. What's really odd is that the off-white, pale yellow wire, which I think could easily be mistaken for neutral can be used for hot! The mysteries of the building code.

Plumbing
I've been living out of 5-gallon water containers again. The pump I had been using at the trailer to give me running water at the kitchen sink was called into service to pressurize the new house for testing. I simply put one end of the pump into a bucket of water and the other temporarily connected to the PEX lines. I had one leak and one hot-cold mixup, but otherwise everything worked splendidly. It was great to see water running into the tub. Ah, I can almost feel the warm water of a future bath.

Matt quickly approved the footings, which are built more like those needed for a highway overpass, and was about to leave when I offered him the spectacle of draining the DWV. He had remarked at the weight that my oversized lines were carrying, and wasn't going to miss this. This time I had drilled holes in a 4" cleanout plug to minimize any backwash. Again, and for the last time, I grabbed the pressure hose. This time i was determined to let only the tiniest puffs of air out until water could only seep around the side, and so let it gently drip out over time. Psst. Nothing. Psst. Nothing. Psst. Nothing. Psst - WHOOOSH. The cap didn't block the outflow of water, but instead concentrated it into a energetic jet of water that streamed out through the center opening. Everthing was soaking again, but at least for the last time. And more importantly I had a good laugh with Matt. And in the end humoring one's inspector is more valuable than a wet basement floor.

Gutters (photos)

The first section of gutter is up. Like the roof it is stainless steel. I first saw this half-round design with cast clips on youth hostel in California. I've wanted to use it ever since.

The half clips blend well and maintain the clean lines of the rest of the sturcture.

The half-round shape means plenty of fluid capicity with no place for debris to accumulate.
The clips are aluminum and are riveted in place.

Hosed (photo)

The pumps and filters are all installed. This photo doesn't quite capture how spiffy the whole thing looks.

From right to left:

1. Water comes in from a 300 gallon holding tank that catches water off the roof. It is filtered by a 5 micron filter.

2. The water is then pumped back out and uphill to 3000 gallons of storage by a special, low-power Dankoff Slow Pump.

3. Water returns from the tanks and goes through a 1 micron filter.

4. The water is pressurized for household use (ah, I can almost feel the rush of a real shower again), by a very cool Grundfos integrated pump and pressure tank.

5. Finally, the passes through the Trojan UV light to kill anything left in the water. The blue box is the controller for the UV light.

Liberation (photo)

I am not a mouse.

Before dawn, before the birds' song, before my first cup of coffee, I arose, donned my long underwear, thermal socks, and cashmere hat and exited my icy shack. Frost covered the windows, and the ground yielded underfoot like chilled cookie dough. As I traversed the 200-yard walk down to my bogged-down tractor, I noted with satisfaction that the standing water had formed into tiny, frozen ponds.

The weather man had been right for a change. Cold and clear. The mercury substitute standing at just above the 20-degree mark. Everything had a light coating of frost; preparing to shimmer the moment the sun crested the low eastern hills.

I climbed aboard and turned the key to the first position. The orange glow plug light came on and I paused for it to extinguish, indicating the machine, Tommy Mow, was ready to start. All was still. A commercial jet, chased by its contrail, made its silent, lumbering way across the sky. I turned the key full to the right and the engine cranked and caught immediately. Like an aging smoker Tommy expelled a few belches of black gunk and then ran smoothly. This time I checked carefully that everything was fully retracted. I grabbed for the seatbelt, but it was frozen to the chassis.

I revved him up to 2500 rpm, and put my foot on the accelerater. Confident, sure-footed and purposeful, Tommy rose up out of his lumber reinforced mud hole, moved forward to a small patch of high ground, obidiently turned to the right, crossed a narrow rivulet and was free. Like a returning comet we swung around the burn pile at the bottom of the garden, and headed home.

The sun rose, the birds sang our praises and everything shimmered.

Mud Wrestling (photos)

It has been an abnormally dry year. While California and British Columbia got soaked, Oregon remained sunny and warm. But on the east side of my new house a river runs through it.

On Friday afternoon, after the work crew had finished prep work on the porch footings, I decided I needed to really get after digging the new footing drain. Now that the porch footings were located I could see exactly where the new drain line needed to go to avoid them.

I wheeled the tractor into place and started digging with the backhoe. It was mucky, but I was pointed downhill and I figured I could my escape just by coasting down to the bottom of the yard, making a right at the burn pile and I then would be on relatively dry ground again.

After repositioning the tractor several times to dig the 30 foot long trench, I was done. I mounted the drivers seat, reached back to pull on the two levers that retract the hydraulic, stabilizing outrigger arms, turned my head south and started to exit the bog. After 10 feet I came to a stop and began to sink. I looked back, and the outrigger, on the opposite side that I had leaned to, had failed to retract. It had been stuck by the suction power of the clay, and dragged through the mud like an anchor. Whether or not this was the actual cause of my getting stuck, I will never know.

I tried using the bucket to raise the front wheels, I rocked it back and forth, I checked that I was in four-wheel drive. But the tractor just kept sinking, eventually settling at the axles.

Making my own stream

Where my tracks had been, water now flowed freely down and pooled under the tractor. It was getting dark. I decided to abandon the effort that evening. I was gone the next day, but swung into the driveway in the early evening upon my return just to make sure it hadn't sunk any farther. It had not.

Animation: Raising the Deere

Today, I went out to raise the Deere. Using the hydraulic outriggers, the bucket and lots of large lumber I was able to raise it up. My plan now is to wait till Tuesday morning when it is supposed to be below freezing overnight and hope that hardens the ground a little. I have also dug a channel in the mud above the backhoe that is diverting the water around the tractor. I could have a neighbor pull me out with his own tractor, but where's the challenge in that? Plus, instead of the ignomy of getting my tractor stuck in the mud and having to be towed, I will be the guy who managed to get a tractor stuck in the mud up to the driver's seat (all tall tales grow taller) using nothing more than his wits and his Leatherman. Am a man or am I a mouse? We will find out in short order.

Let There Be Light (Photos)

I arrived back home from a trip to town just after noon to find the first, upper story, tall window had been installed. I didn't really want to inquire how. The windows are 3 feet x 6 feet, hefty and delicate. Nonetheless there they were. The first one was in and the opening for the second one, shrouded since September, was uncovered. The interior space came to life with the kind of light and joy that only the sun and the sky can achieve. The rays of the sun sped past the openings and drenched the upper back wall exactly as planned. These valuable photons will be collected during fall, spring and winter by cementitious panels that are designed to radiate the energy back at night and otherwise moderate the temperature fluctuations in the house.

As I stood outside looking up at the windows a bald eagle flew from left to right across the roof. A sign of good fortune.

Front Door.

Front Door.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Doors! (Photos)

The front and back doors are in. I have a key to the house. Adding some foam around them and sealing the windows make it start to really feel like home.

The doors were made by Mountain View Window and Door of Scappoose, Oregon. I provided the material of 2"-thick, salvaged fir planks from the old shop. The interior doors are also made from salvaged fir, but have panels of solid cedar from the shop exterior. The wood is probably 50-years old. Even so, it's not old-growth. It's simply finished with teak oil.

Front Door.

Back Door

The door hardware is from Emtek and is sandblasted brass. The doors have an easy mass to them. The design is a simple Shaker-inspired pattern of a cross. The doors have numerous pits, bores, channels and from bugs. There are nail holes and the resulting nail stains. There are places that one can see tiny rays of light coming right through the door. They are quite dramatic.

It Leaks, But It's Still Stunning (Photos)

The roof was completed last week under dry weather. Since then Mother Nature has mocked our puny attempts at waterproofing. What is stainless steel and silicone compared to a tortoise shell or the fur of an otter? That's it, a fur roof!

Jordan attaches the final piece of ridge cap.

Finished Roof

The roof leaks like water torture, in maddening, persistent drips, around the vent and chimney penetrations. The four skylights that were "flashed" the old-fashioned way are gloriously dry, and I expect will be so for a hundred years. The other two holes were flashed using the latest, most modern, installed-from-the-top design. The high-temperature silicone for the chimney is spatula-red (apparently this stuff only comes in one color no matter what the use) and has an astounding temperature range of -100 to +450. The ads say, "... lasts for years but installs in minutes." We have concluded that the old ones have to be removed, which means removing part of the chimney, the roof thuroughly cleaned in that spot and a new, square one (different brand) installed.

The rather unusual "turnbuckle" detail that will support the gutter.

View from the east.