October, 2000

Things are starting to pick up. The two major areas being focused on this month are stucco (on the outside) and trim work (on the inside).

The first stucco coat (the "scratch coat") went on with nearly perfect weather conditions. It was neither too hot nor too cold. The scratch coat set up really well and things went smoothly with the second coat (the "brown coat"). I'm not sure when the last coat (the "color coat") goes on but the builder says that the exterior walls need to be finished before the roof can be completed; specifically where the clerestory walls meet the lower story roof.

The trim work on the inside of the house has been going well even though one of the two people who was supposed to be on the job, Kevin, has been unavailable because of foot surgery. Randy, our builder was supposed to help take up some of the slack in the field but that has been difficult for him because of his other jobs. Kevin is handling some of Randy's office work & phone calls but that only goes so far. The bulk of the finish work has fallen to Randy's master carpenter, John Bynes.

John has been doing a fabulous job; someone that really cares about the quality of his work.  And there's been a lot to do (cabinets, crown molding, door & window casing, closets, base molding, columns and exposed beams).  He set up this shot to see who could guess what's wrong with this picture.

Here's a picture of Janet lounging on the kitchen island.  The island will contain a gas cook top (just behind her feet) and a prep sink (directly behind her) as well as a breakfast bar on the left edge.  The large opening on the right-hand wall is for the refrigerator and the tall cabinet on the left is the appliance garage (where blenders, food processors, etc. are stored and used).  The hallway directly behind Janet leads to the garage.

This next picture is Mark's office showing the built in desk, file drawers and cabinets.  Also seen is the box-beam ceiling.  This is one of the builder's trademarks.  He likes to do a box-beam ceiling in each one of his homes.  Here's ours.

The masons also got the glass block installed so the house can now be sealed up. We're trying to get the gas connected so we can fire up the furnaces and start conditioning the interior space before painting begins. We want all that trim work and cabinetry stable before painting.