Home Stretch

A little more hard-scape for the win. The mud was bound to lose eventually, but putting in a barrier at the front and back makes it easier to drive in, step up, and keeps the house cleaner, too. The drive and sidewalks are some of the last out-door work, along with soil grading, the rain garden, and seeding with grasses.

A little more concrete for the driveway.

The back yard

The south wall

The front steps

Driveway all smoothed

Driveway and sidewalk with relief cuts

The long-awaited stairs to the second floor!  Stairs are IN, and we enjoy the contrast between the black-painted steel frame and the clear-finished maple treads. The steel frame was made locally by a small-shop manufacturer which also made the other beams and posts to hold up the interior framing of the house.

Stairs!

Testing stairs

Reaching the second floor

Going back down, with the 2-story window to the north

Patching and wiring before final painting.

 

Window with color panache

Detail of window’s many layers which keep the temperatures and moisture in our favor.

Kitchen has lights!

 

Signs of spring, as we approach a year anniversary of the construction start.

Crab Apple in bloom

This is where our mountain of soil had been

Lilacs over the dumpster.

Yes, it is that season.

Soon, we’ll have running water, all sorts of lights, and solar panels.