The best that time and fate of all their vintage pressed.

Will someone please design a met office with a window in it so forecasters can at least look out of a window to see what the weather is like before they give their forecast. Last week snow was forecast almost everyday and we had bright sunny days with a few clouds. Today it was forecast to be sunny with a few clouds and it is overcast and snowing. But, I guess somethings are the same the world over and will never change.

Other things didn't go quite according to plan this fortnight either. I was hoping to have all the panelling finished and I nearly made it. That is, I got everything done except the main bathroom, which is only half finished. This was mainly due to a few interruptions and having to wait for a few materials that have been on order for some weeks but didn't turn up until almost the end of the fortnight or that still haven't arrived. More on all that later.

I started the fortnight by staining the bed in the second bedroom. I put a grey wash on the beetle kill pine panels and thinned a darker stain for the posts. This has left all the wood grain still visible and added a bit of colour to the room.

So the room now really is ready for my first guests.

Having got the bed sorted I turned my attention to panelling the remainder of the North Wing. I wanted to start with the main bathroom but, the fan/light for the shower hadn't arrived, despite being ordered on 13 December. I needed to get the ceiling done before doing the wall panelling and without the fan/light I couldn't do this. 

It only took a couple of days to get this wall done and then I was able to do the two bedrooms.

First however, I had to buy some more insulation and install it in order to improve the sound barrier between all the rooms in the North Wing.

The insulation conveniently comes in strips that don't require cutting to fit into the gaps between the studs which are on 16 inch centres. This is just as well because the insulation is made of very fine glass fibre and is really awful to work with. It gets in your eyes and mouth and therefore a mask and eye protection are a good idea - not that I had either.

Again, the panels went on easily enough and …..

….. it only took a couple of days to get the first bedroom done.

It was the same routine for the other bedroom .…

…. which, has a shed dormer in it and is therefore slightly larger.

I'm going to leave the staining, trim and doors until after I have got the floor in the Great Room done but, at least now I have got most of the wood off the main floor which will now enable me to do this.

All the main walls of the North Wing are now panelled and that leaves only the smaller dormer walls and a few other minor places left to do. I'm am going to have to get some more panels because I have only enough left to do the main bathroom. There are also a number of doors and other things that I need this type of wood for. Therefore, when I have got the bathroom done, I'll have to make an estimate of how much more wood I need and put in an order with Glen Mcdonald at McDonald's Mill.

To do the bathroom I needed the fan/light that will go in the shower, exactly the same as the one in the shower in the en suite bathroom. The first one took about four weeks to arrive and so I ordered the second one two weeks before Christmas imagining that with the break for the festive season imposing delays it would be here in about six weeks, which is almost exactly what it took.

Almost on que, the fan/light arrived and it took me a day to mount it, get the vent in to the outside wall and join the two with some insulated ducting.

The vent to the outside wall on the left of the picture and ….. 

….. the insulated ducting across the ceiling to the fan.

With that done, I put dry walling board on the ceiling and  fiberock board for the shower tiles on the walls.

There was some tricky cutting out to do to negotiate the boarding around all the beams but, …..

….. it didn't go too badly and I will be able to patch the gaps and joins when I do the mudding.

I then started panelling the rest of the bathroom walls ..…

….. which again went pretty smoothly.

Then, I came to install the bath only to find that the faucets I bought didn't come with all the valves and piping that I need to connect them up underneath the mounting. Needless to say, I was irritated that the sales person in Home Depot hadn't informed me that I needed to buy this additional stuff when I ordered the faucets two months ago. So now there will be a delay while for the rest of the assembly comes on special order. However, this shouldn't stop me  finishing the panelling next week and then building the vanity unit for the sink.

In the meantime, life goes on as usual. Snow blankets the ground, hushing the winter landscape with a cosy silence. There is wood to bring in from the wood pile that is slowly but surely shrinking as the winter passes. An ear is forever out for woodpeckers and an eye for cougars and wolves. Deer are common visitors scraping at the snow in the search for something half decent to eat. Weasels in white ermine coats visit at night and leave their tracks in the snow on the deck. Mozart and Beethoven serenade the untouched wilderness with the occasional accompaniment from a wolf or coyote. Weekend evenings bring friends, wine and food, the best that time and fate of all their vintage pressed that in the early hours give way to the long winter nights that bring dreams of those once loved. Oh happy days.

Ready for my first guest

It's Sunday afternoon, the sun is shining, the mountains are covered with snow, there is plenty of wood brought in ready to burn, the fire is blazing away, I have a cold drink beside me at my desk. What more could a man want. Ok, Kristin Scott Thomas or Julia Roberts or …… the list could go on for quite a while couldn't it. But, back to reality and I have to count my blessings and it has been a good fortnight since my last posting.  At least the first part of the fantasy is true and if I am honest it is even better than that sounds. Eagles are in the air, there's a cougar on the prowl and despite all the snow, the temperature outside is very comfortable.

As I intimated at the end of my last posting there was quite a lot of finishing work to do before the second bedroom and corridor down to the North Wing can really be said to be 'done'. The New Year celebrations didn't really slow things up but, even when working indoors during the winter things take longer and there are more interruptions as I have to spend more time on administering myself with such things as keeping the fire going, clearing snow off the decks and steps, making sure the car is properly prepared before using it and even just getting dressed and undressed for going outside.

Despite all this I am pleased to inform you that the second bedroom is now ready for my first guest. Who will it be?

It still lacks a few refinements - curtains, rugs, pictures, light fittings etc but, all the basic essentials are there.

I'm not sure that the baseboard heaters (little white boxes on the walls close to the floor) will ever be used because the heat coming up from the wood burning stove in the Great Room is more than sufficient to keep the place warm. Actually, if you're not careful it can be too hot and I frequently have to keep the internal window and door to my bedroom closed to keep the heat out.

Comme ca.

You will have noticed that, despite saying in my last post that I was going to wait until I could gather some round wood posts and spindles in the Spring to make a bed, I decided to make one anyway. In the end I used fir timbers left over from the beam work for posts and some of the wall panels and shelf wood for the runners and slats. I was pleased with the result.

The bed is very solid, heavy, bold and fits well in the room. I have yet to decide how to finish it. Wax or stain and if so what colour? As I have so much of the beetle kill wood on the walls I don't think it would be too much of a shame to put a dark stain on the bed. It may bring a little more contrast and colour to the room, which would be a good thing - I think. I have my special advisors on the problem.

You will have noticed that I haven't made the bed yet either but, that hasn't stopped me trying it out. This is the view down the bed and …..

…. if you don't like that, there is always the window looking out, or, …..

…. looking into the Great Room, if you would prefer that. But, you have to get out of bed for this one ….

Notice that most of the wood that was sitting in the study/dining area has now been used - more on that later.

Coming out of the bedroom and on your right is the corridor down to the North Wing, which I have also now finished.

All the doors and shelves etc for the closets were time consuming to do but, it is better to get them done properly as I go along rather than plan to come back and finish them later. That way some things never get done.

I was very pleased with the way the flooring went down in this section of the house, which is continuous through the bedroom, corridor and closets.

This one will be a linen cupboard and .… 

…. when all the bathroom stuff is out of this one it will be spare hanging space and shelves for whoever.

As I was getting all this done I turned my thoughts towards the next task, which was going to be the main bathroom. However, I have decided instead to finish all the panelling throughout the cabin and made a start with this wall in the North Wing and .… 

…. the island in the kitchen, which is the last panelling to do on the main floor.

The main reason for getting the panelling done is to free up space both downstairs and in the North Wing, where all the panelling and shelving is presently sitting. I want to do this so I can make a start on the floor in the Great Room. Getting this done will make a huge difference to my quality of life. I can then put some furniture in the great room, get some shelving done in the study which will then allow me to set up my 'home office' and also get the kitchen in. The actual panelling normally goes up quite quickly, it's all the staining, trim and other finishing that is time consuming. Getting the flooring laid in the great room will also free up a lot of space in the garage, which at the moment is half full with all the floor boards.

I think I can finish the panelling in about a fortnight, which will set me up nicely for getting the floor laid in the Great Room. In February there is going to be a break in the work as I have to go back to the UK for family reasons. However, I should manage to post a couple of times before then and I will be away for only 10 days. So, until my next post …..