One month and counting

Today I have been living in my house for exactly a month. A lot has happened in that time. After the first couple of warmish nights, it got bitterly cold again. For a while I didn't spend much time in my house except for when I was sleeping. I was warm in my bed, but waking up in sub 20 degree weather was always hard. As the days got warmer, the sun finally melted the snow. My front door is now 30 some inches from the ground because my snow-steps have vanished. As the ground thawed on the south side of the house, the whole thing started to list towards the sun as the wheels sank into the ground.

Setting up the new space!

The positive side of having a tarp for a roof is that I have been lucky enough to hear all of the sounds of spring. Spring snowmelt has created a river somewhere behind my house. I experienced the brightest moon in the past 18 years. There has been a progression of various birds chirping in the morning. Raccoons are chattering. Two nights ago the spring peepers started peeping! This year I am connected to Spring in a way that I have not been before.

On the construction front, not much has changed judging by looks of the house, but I have been working. At the Firehouse things have been moving in a more musical direction. The first floor was no longer a good spot for a woodshop. I would have to put my tools away constantly for shows, and people were getting sick of my mess and the dust. With perfect timing a new opportunity arose though. I am now sharing a 1,600 square foot shop with a group of people. It has heat, great light, a freight train that rattles the windows every hour and more space than I know what to do with! It will be a great place to finish up my house and work on some very exciting projects.

Roof panels ready for sheathing and paneling

A couple of weeks ago  finally buckled down and finished designing my roof. I planned out the remaining materials I would need, the size of the skylights and the layout of the framing and panel system. A trip to Larry for 2x4s, a trip to Howe lumber for shiplap pine, and I have what I need to finish the roof (minus some copper)! With the new shop, I have rediscovered the time of the day between 9pm and 2am, my most productive time. I don't really know what it is about the night that is so conducive to work for me. Maybe it is because I don't feel like I am wasting nice days working inside? It could be that it is easier to loose track of time and get lost in a project without the sun to judge time. Fewer distractions? Lots of coffee and loud music. No, it must just be that the freight train is more frequent. In any case, I spent many nights setting up the new shop and then over a couple of nights I framed up my roof panels. Last night I laid out all of the shiplap pine in preparation for painting. Like the siding, I am going to prime it on all sides before I install it. From the inside, my ceiling will be painted pine boards. I decided to paint it to brighten the interior and provide some contrast to all of the wood.

A day in the office

Now that the ground is thawed, I would like to put in some sort of footings and try to level and lower the house by removing the wheels from the trailer.