Tuesday, April 26, 2005
More and more I'm leaning toward selling Galusha when it's finished. It's not just because the prospective buyer disappeared as quick as she surfaced once she learned my terms. It's because if I sell now, I end up working for that person. I'm already working for one man more than I want to. Besides, all the work I do on Galusha makes Mabel that much easier.
The final forms came off Mabel, and her Great Wall is impressive. The concrete guy made a point about it being 26 feet and _one_ inch -- not a centimeter more! Right now, the place looks surreal. You can stand inside the "house," sure, but there's all these shards of wall sticking up; it feels a bit like Stonehenge.
I'm getting so used to noise and pace of construction that I don't stir anymore when the trucks rumble by the dining room window at 7 a.m. Or when the crew fills its coffeemaker from the outside water spigot. I guess they're getting used to life in Beaumont, too.
I'm getting closer to picking the landscape architect. The front-runner has an impressive portfolio, covering most the bases, from modern lines to native plants. In my talks with landscape people, I've come to realize the driveway, its material and shape, is the most significant element. In sheer square footage, it's the biggest thing out there, and it has the potential to set the tone for the whole scene.
The final forms came off Mabel, and her Great Wall is impressive. The concrete guy made a point about it being 26 feet and _one_ inch -- not a centimeter more! Right now, the place looks surreal. You can stand inside the "house," sure, but there's all these shards of wall sticking up; it feels a bit like Stonehenge.
I'm getting so used to noise and pace of construction that I don't stir anymore when the trucks rumble by the dining room window at 7 a.m. Or when the crew fills its coffeemaker from the outside water spigot. I guess they're getting used to life in Beaumont, too.
I'm getting closer to picking the landscape architect. The front-runner has an impressive portfolio, covering most the bases, from modern lines to native plants. In my talks with landscape people, I've come to realize the driveway, its material and shape, is the most significant element. In sheer square footage, it's the biggest thing out there, and it has the potential to set the tone for the whole scene.
Monday, April 18, 2005
My head's still swimming from all the appliance shopping I had to do this weekend. You should see the *ka-ching* in the salesmen's eyes when I say I'm there to pick 2 ventilation hoods, 2 gas ranges, 2 dishwashers, 1 laundry machine, 1 minifridge, 2 regular fridges ...
And this was after the plumbing schedule almost did me in, for which I picked 9 sinks, shower doors in every configuration (it seemed), and so on.
I have no idea how I'm going to handle the lighting.
Still, the buildings bloom. Mabel had her last huge wall poured on Friday, and Galusha framing keeps the hammers humming. There's a whole roof on Galusha now, made watertight with a lovely blue tarp, and you can walk from room to room. We did that with the door guy Friday, making all the hard decisions on size, jamb, style.
The state sent me a bunch of info on Building Out Radon and I gave it to the builder. After communing with it over the weekend, he's decided to give it a go -- the passive method anyway -- and I'm all happy. Alameda Ridge has the highest radon count of any place in Portland and maybe the state, courtesy of the Great Missoula Flood about 15,000 years ago. If only it had delivered the rich vein of yogo sapphires.
And this was after the plumbing schedule almost did me in, for which I picked 9 sinks, shower doors in every configuration (it seemed), and so on.
I have no idea how I'm going to handle the lighting.
Still, the buildings bloom. Mabel had her last huge wall poured on Friday, and Galusha framing keeps the hammers humming. There's a whole roof on Galusha now, made watertight with a lovely blue tarp, and you can walk from room to room. We did that with the door guy Friday, making all the hard decisions on size, jamb, style.
The state sent me a bunch of info on Building Out Radon and I gave it to the builder. After communing with it over the weekend, he's decided to give it a go -- the passive method anyway -- and I'm all happy. Alameda Ridge has the highest radon count of any place in Portland and maybe the state, courtesy of the Great Missoula Flood about 15,000 years ago. If only it had delivered the rich vein of yogo sapphires.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
The construction goes so fast that my camera and my shutter finger can barely keep up. Today I just wanted to stick around in the back yard and watch walls go up instead of coming to work, which after all helps subsidize all the fun.
I spent this morning ogling bamboo flooring and laminates at Contract Furnishings Mart, a place where I'll probably become a regular.
The builder and I went up to the second floor of Galusha this weekend -- my first time. There's still no staircase to it, but with wits and ladders it's possible to get up to that patch of air that could never have been visited before without the aid of a cherry picker. It's beautiful. The view from every window and balcony beats all my expectations. I knew we were on particularly high knob of Alameda Ridge, but I didn't know we'd be able to see clear across the river to Portland's west side. Yes!
The only thing tempering the elation is the mind-numbing work I have to do on the schedules. I spent a few hours making headway on the plumbing one last night, but I'm still stalled on shower surrounds. For something so ubiquitous, it seems odd there's so few choices. Any blog readers out there got an idea for something affordable that's not tile? If so, e-mail me!
I spent this morning ogling bamboo flooring and laminates at Contract Furnishings Mart, a place where I'll probably become a regular.
The builder and I went up to the second floor of Galusha this weekend -- my first time. There's still no staircase to it, but with wits and ladders it's possible to get up to that patch of air that could never have been visited before without the aid of a cherry picker. It's beautiful. The view from every window and balcony beats all my expectations. I knew we were on particularly high knob of Alameda Ridge, but I didn't know we'd be able to see clear across the river to Portland's west side. Yes!
The only thing tempering the elation is the mind-numbing work I have to do on the schedules. I spent a few hours making headway on the plumbing one last night, but I'm still stalled on shower surrounds. For something so ubiquitous, it seems odd there's so few choices. Any blog readers out there got an idea for something affordable that's not tile? If so, e-mail me!
