The eagle has landed (and so has Sandy)

Days ‘til Christmas: 56

Fireplace Status: Unit in hand, Halston front on order

I’m starting to dream about hearth materials.  I like this combination of bluestone and marble.  

Bluestone or soapstone all around could also look very nice.  I know, dream on.

I’m still hoping we can use the faux slate from the yard for at least the horizontal surface and find a cheaper substitute for the vertical (the "slabs" are thick and very heavy, probably too heavy to use on the face).  While this isn't an element we can frankly afford to drop much more money on (after the purchase of the unit), it's also something very permanent, so we can't cheap out either.

In mulling this over with Frank, he offered up his sandblaster to resurface polished granite, which sometimes you can find thin slabs of on the cheap. I don’t generally love the look of granite, but here are a few ones that caught my eye while roving the interwebs. If they had that honed granite look, I think they'd work.

As for Sandy, we’re awaiting the eye and will catch you on the flipside!

(Not) Indian Summer Weekend (2 of 2)

Guess I jinxed the weather with last weekend’s blog title.  Oh well, we had a good run there and it made our outside work much more pleasant.

Saturday morning’s visit to Home Depot was longer than usual, thanks to Frankenstorm. Generators, bags of sand and water jugs were flying off the shelves.

As we drove back into Ipswich, we saw a much better confirmation of a storm a-brewing. A mist rather ominously rolled into town off Plum Island Sound and sat over us for a few hours. Kinda creepy.  Frankenstorm indeed.

First up was breaking out our latest power tool toy, a 3-inch planer to shave just a small bit off the top corner of our new door, which had been sticking.  It's not sticking anymore!  After that, Ryan attached our lovely oil-rubbed bronze doorknob.  

While Ryan worked on the door, I sealed some of the horizontal surfaces on our posts with a marine epoxy to protect against rot where water will gather and the end grain of the pine lumber was exposed. We also previously primed the posts with B-I-N, a shellac-based primer that goes on very nicely and dries super quick. B-I-N also provides another barrier layer against moisture. The epoxy needed 24 hours to cure, so once Ryan was done adding the doorknob, I prepped it for paint and primed both sides. Before calling it a day, Ryan also finished shingling in the old mudroom entrance.

Our plan on Sunday had been to paint trim and the door, but a misty rain settled in and we didn’t want to mess up the topcoat.  So instead, I primed the new shingles on the back while Ryan attached our lovely rough-hewn red cedar brackets. There’s been a lot of discussion about best ways to do this, so it’s very nice to see them finally up.

After hearing the latest dire weather predictions, we also battened down the hatches and cleared the yard. 

The rain began to kick up early afternoon, so we called it an early day and watched the Pats game in nearly real time (DVR is a lifesaver for fall renovation-football schedule conflicts). We’re disappointed we didn’t get the topcoat on, but it clearly wasn’t the right conditions to be painting in. 

That all said, check out how the exterior is looking.

Pretty sweet, right?

As for a lawn update, I’d just about lost hope for our grass, but as I was clearing the yard this afternoon, I noticed a small patch sprouting!  What a relief.  We didn't do it wrong! 

We think despite the warm days, the nights have perhaps been too cold to get the seed going this fall.  The seed can stay dormant all winter and still come up in the spring.  And so, we wait.  No doubt we’ll have to spread some additional seed in thin spots come spring.  And in the interim, the salt marsh hay will prevent against a mud pit.

Lots of chatter on the news and web about what to expect as Hurricane Sandy hits New England in the next day or so.  Our dehumidifier and sump pump are ready, just in case.  Flashlights are charged and out, and we have a crock of "Franken Chili" to keep us fed.  Time will tell what this lady's made of.

Frankenstorm?

Last week it was an earthquake (we felt it at the Wee House and were relieved to find out it was a Seismic Event and not a Structural Failure) and last year it was a Halloween snowstorm.   

Good thing we have the mudroom exterior pretty closed up since forecasts are predicting another crazy Halloween storm, and instead of the white stuff, there is talk of a tropical storm, perhaps even a hurricane. 

 

Here’s my prediction: I’ll be painting trim this weekend, but Ryan will be swinging a hammer. And we’ll both be finding homes for all the yard equipment in the barn.  Batten down those hatches!

Fireplace update

Days ‘til Christmas: 60
Status: Order has been placed

Here’s the slender model we went with that will fit nicely in the Wee House front room.  We chose the "halston" doors in a New Bronze finish.

Time to get working on refinishing the mantel!

Indian Summer Weekend (1 of 2)

The weather was very cooperative over the weekend as we inched ever closer to wrapping up the exterior elements of the mudroom and deck addition. 

On Saturday, Ryan closed in the old door and began shingling over the new elevation. I did a final patch-and-sand on the deck posts. We also found the perfect post caps - they are the right size and flat on the top (my stipulation), just right for setting a drink on.

You might notice we have not installed the railings and balusters that we mentioned earlier in the project. We’ve made a change to the plan after noticing how nice it is to hang your legs off the deck. Here’s Frank and Ryan demonstrating this a couple weeks back.

Additionally, since the deck is less than 30-inches off the ground, code does not require that we have railings. We have a new plan that we are very excited about, but you’re just going to have to wait and see what it is.

Our highlight of the afternoon was visiting Sarah and Chris’ new pad.  They are bringing in some hired muscle for necessary upgrades (smart kids), but are taking on much of the second and third floor themselves.  Great house.  Great ceiling height.  Great new neighbors.  (We’re just about as excited for us as we are for them!)  Here’s a shot I robbed from Sarah… almost made me nostalgic for our unfinished first floor.  Almost.

On Sunday, we put the ladder jack staging across the deck so that I could reach the gable’s trim for patching and sanding.  While I worked on that, Ryan finished one last post, attached the post caps and used up the rest of the shingles.  We’ll need to get one more bundle to finish up the remaining exterior walls.

With patching and sanding complete, we spent Sunday afternoon priming trim.  We used an oil-based primer on the posts to protect against water damage and latex on the rest.  Next week, we will put on the top coat and hope to finish up the majority of the remaining trim!  Should be looking pretty close to finished (on the outside) come November 1.

As for the lawn… we are watering, watching and waiting. 

Though we were told germination needs at least four good days, upon further research we’ve learned that depending on the season, it can take anywhere from seven to fourteen days.  I also just read that the salt marsh hay should be thick enough to keep in the moisture and protect against birds, but thin enough that sunlight gets through, so I might thin up our cover slightly. We are watering it with the sprinkler for at least a half-hour each day (except on days that it rains).  Any lawn experts out there?  Are we doing this right?