I certainly enjoy your site and it's been a help to us. Build has been going great. Lovin' every minute of it. Jason S., Wheaton, IL

Terry's Forum Posts: 1
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Construction Update 6/3/08

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 6/3/2008 1:21:25 PM

Well, our weeks "vacation" was all work this time, but we knew that before we even left our home in Santa Rosa.  The weather was pretty bad up there and it rained just about every day, except for Friday and Sunday (end of the week).  The worst part was I had to do all my cutting up on the deck, under cover, which got saw dust everywhere!  Well, at least I was dry.  The only good thing about the rain was that I didn't feel like I was missing being inside laying the flooring all day, every day.

We started off by first painting the last of the upper window casings, then Lori had to clean the windows.  Doesn't she look thrilled to be up there ? :-)
After that I wiped down all the Glue-Lam beams because they still had little bits of insulation hair stuck to them from when the ceiling was insulated.
Once that was finished I had to vacuum the fan blades.... not an easy task since they are hanging at 11 feet above the floor.  Good thing I have a 12 foot ladder!  OSHA would love that photo. :-)
Then it was time to scrape the floor of any lumps of sheetrock mud, glue and whatever was sticking up.  All the nail heads had to be checked in the plywood subfloor to be sure they were completely flat, which they weren't so I had to hammer a ton of those down.  You find them while scraping - what a pain that was!
After that was to install the moisture barrier.
Then I added furring strips along the wall to keep the wood flooring away for expansion and contraction.
Finally it was time to lay the flooring.  The first two rows took forever since it had to be perfect for the rest of the room was going to be set from these two rows, one of which went back into the Stairs, Wet Bar and Entertainment Center recessed areas.
Once I reached the wood stove hearths I had to sand the face of the slate to get the mortar off so it wouldn't show when the wood butted up against it.  What a dusty mess that was!
We were constantly vacuuming to get any debris off the floor before the new flooring went down.
Once the floor was finished ( I still have the area in front of the entry closet to do and the closet itself) I started on the steps.  Those took longer than I expected, but then again everything does!
Once the wood was installed on the steps it was on to cutting slate for the stair risers (thanks to Ray for that idea!).
Still have two more stairs to add slate to, then they all have to be grouted.  After that the baseboards can be painted and installed.  Oh, the fun never ends!

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Douglas's Forum Posts: 19 Journal Entries: 7 Interview Answers: 69 Average Forum Rating: 3.60 Send Private Message Image from Douglas's blog 6/4/2008

Wow, your great room is gorgeous.

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Construction Update 4/9/08

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 4/9/2008 2:23:32 PM

Wow, it's been busy, busy, busy.  We had our final inspection the last week of Feb. and we got everything signed off without having to do anything more or change anything.  That was great news!  We now have our occupancy permit and can finally breath a little.  Its just nice knowing that you don't have a deadline to meet for the next inspection.  Now our big push is to get the hardwood floors installed before we have our annual Camp-N-Q Weekend!

We had a lot of snow this past winter and this time it stayed around for two months!  We weren't used to that, but since we were working mostly inside it didn't bother us and was nice to look at.  I must say thought that having to take off your shoes every time you come inside the house did get a little old.  Guess I'd just better get used to it.

My big project for getting our permit signed off was to build the railing for the porch.  Like the decking, I used mahogany (Red Balau) for the supports and top rail (Cambera).  The pipe railing was made by taking 3/4" EMT (electrical conduit) and cutting it to length. Then I took it to be powder coated in black satin for a very durable finish.  Powder coating is a baked-on finish which is very hard when it dries.  The copper post caps really finish it off.

We worked on the railing until 10:30 pm one night, and with snow still on the ground it was only 35 degrees outside.  I ended up getting over confident and was rushing when drilling the holes for the railing on my drill press, the big forstener bit caught my glove and pulled my hand into the bit.  I had to grab the drill chuck to stop it from going all the way through my hand, but the motor was still running and the belt was just slipping.  Luckily, Lori was right next to me but she didn't know where the shut off switch was.  My left hand was stuck in the drill press and my right had was holding the chuck - the shut off is on the left side of the press. So, if I was to let go with my right hand to turn it off, the large bit would have gone completely through my hand, so I couldn't turn it off myself.  Lori looked around for the plug but there were four different extension cords running around -- she found the right one and unplugged it.  We unscrewed the drill from my hand and decided to call it a night.  I needed stitches but wasn't going to drive the hour and 15 minutes to get to the hospital at that time of night, so we just cleaned it up and used Super Glue to close the wounds.  It stings like crazy, but does the trick.  We got up at 5:30 am the next day to finish the railing before the inspection that was scheduled for that same day.  The inspector loved it!

After that, we installed hardwood flooring in the bedroom.  Its a hand scraped Santos Mahogany in 5" width and random lengths.  This is an engineered product, and although I don't really like those, this had a pretty thick wear layer: a fat 1/8", which is pretty good when talking about engineered flooring.  Once its nailed down you don't know how thick it really is anyway, it just matters when you need to sand it down and refinish it years from now.

After that project, I did the slate behind the wet bar.  I cut my leftover tiles from the fireplace hearths into five different sizes and designed a random pattern on my computer.  It came out pretty much exactly as planned.

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Guy's Forum Posts: 63 Interview Answers: 1 Average Forum Rating: 3.70 Send Private Message Randomly Selected Image 4/14/2008

Superglue!!!???  There's a product placement possibility there somewhere...  Fantastic house, great workmanship.  Really enjoying the vicarious build on your project.  Cheers, Guy.

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Construction Update 11/21/07

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 11/21/2007 5:56:21 PM

During this weekend warrior work period, we took an extra day off for our son Vince to visit and help with the construction of two fireplace hearths (but he didn't know he'd be working... ha ha).  We got both of them completed but it was a long last day.  Vince learned a lot but knows he doesn't like laying tile.  Can't say I blame him as its pretty hard on the knees and really dries out your hands, but I on the other hand enjoy it.  While waiting for Vince to arrive, I worked on a couple other projects like installing a puck light under the shelf at the computer/phone center, and I also installed the glass in the kitchen cabinet doors that I butchered up from their original design.  They originally had clear glass with wood mullions in the middle vertically and across the top and bottom of the glass.  I removed the glass, cut off the mullions, sanded and filled any holes and scrapes, added wood tape (real wood veneer) around the inside of the cabinet where I cut off the mullions, sanded again, stained and sealed to match the Cherry finish and then installed Vertical Reed Glass.  Now the cabinet doors match the cabinet doors in the vanity I built for the bathroom and also the bathroom window... it's all starting to make sense now.

Lori painted a couple interior doors and I painted a couple of window casings.  The slate tile was really easy to cut but sure is messy.  We choose West Country Slate from Africa and its really dark -- a lot like graphite, and when you cut it the water and fine grindings are almost black.  The whole thing came out great I think, and Lori came up with another idea: to use the leftover slate on the wall behind the wet bar. So, I'll need to order a few more pieces and once again do yet another tile job.  I think this will be the last one though.  :-)

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Terry's Forum Posts: 1 Journal Entries: 9 Interview Answers: 167 Average Forum Rating: 4.00 Send Private Message Image from Terry's blog 12/17/2007	FYI, the hardwoods I'm using come from Atessco Fine Wood Specialties (www.atessco.com), here in Santa Rosa.  One nice thing about their products is that  they are all basically knot free and straight as an arrow.  The wood can be a little difficult to work with, but I don't mind.  Yes, its heavy, but like furniture, the heavier the more durable.  Its tough as nails so it will stand up to lots of use. --Terry
Guy's Forum Posts: 63 Interview Answers: 1 Average Forum Rating: 3.70 Send Private Message Randomly Selected Image 12/17/2007	Thanks for the info.  That's great you are able to build for $100/s.f. in California.  Your finishes are terrific.  I understand that ipe is a bear to work with though and weighs a ton.  Looking forward to more photos as you finish up.  If you plan on building some more for spec, you should contact the guys at cosmicinventory.com.  They show how to import direct from China and do fantastic work themselves.  Cheers, Guy.
Guy's Forum Posts: 63 Interview Answers: 1 Average Forum Rating: 3.70 Send Private Message Randomly Selected Image 12/16/2007	Hi Terry, what an awesome project you have.  Do you have any costs/sf you could share?  It looks like you built your own casework, how much do you think you saved doing that?  Do you have any tips regarding buying the hardwood from Indonesia?  Thanks and Happy Holidays.
Terry's Forum Posts: 1 Journal Entries: 9 Interview Answers: 167 Average Forum Rating: 4.00 Send Private Message Image from Terry's blog 12/17/2007	As far as cost per s.f., we should come in around $100 s.f. when its all done.  We do as much as we can ourselves.  I didn't build all the casework myself, only the vanity in the bathroom.  However, I will be building the Entertainment Center myself.  Just finished building the countertop for my Wet Bar - I used Ipe' (iron wood from Indonesia) and put a dark stain on just for a few minutes before wiping off..... it looks awesome!  I had a bid for building (3) cabinets for the Entertainment Center, just birch boxes with Cherry face frame, they would be basically large drawers.  The price to build and install, but not to stain or finish was $1200 - $1500.  I know that in the end it would be $1500 if not more, so I decided to buy a nice cabinet saw ($1150 on sale) and build them myself.  After buying the saw, paying delivery, a few blades and a mobile base it was about $1600, then I will buy the material for the cabinets (about $300 or so) and when its all done I"ll have about $2000 into it, but I"ll also have a really nice saw I get to keep and use for future projects, or I could sell it for $1000 and still come out $500 ahead. Other costs are as follows: Travertine floor and wall: $6.49 s.f. Porceline Tile in Kitchen, Laundry & Pantry:  $1.99 s.f. Slate Tile: $6.29 s.f. Santos Mahogany Handscraped Flooring (engineered):  $6.49 s.f. Red Balau Decking: $1.99 l.f. We did the most of the plumbing ourselves and a lot of the electrical too.  You can't even buy the insulation as cheap as they can buy & install it so that was a no brainer.  We did all the painting, both interior and exterior.  I still need to install the hardwood flooring and build the railings for the deck and then that will about finish it up. Hope some of that helps! --Terry

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Construction Update Oct. 30, 2007

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 10/30/2007 1:34:20 PM

Wow, what a busy 2 1/2 months!  We got a lot accomplished and there's been a lot of late nights working.  I owe my wife a lot of credit, as she's quite the trooper, working right there beside me on just about everything I do, not to mention all the things she does on her own.  I couldn't do it without her.

The tile floors have been finished. The granite countertops have been installed; the pendant light fixtures in the kitchen have been installed. A little more painting has been done, more trim work finished, new doors and a partial wall at the water heater closet, water softener system installed, dishwasher drawer installed, some custom cabinetry done, and the decks have been cleaned and sealed. The hardwood flooring has been decided on, purchased and brought up and stacked inside to acclimate before installation and the thermostat for the propane fake log stove has been installed.  A lot of the trim for the doors and windows have had the nail holes filled, sanded, caulked, and are ready for painting.  The range hood venting has been completed and the entertainment center has been designed.  All the plumbing fixtures are functional and what a nice thing that is!  Lots of clean-up has happened along the way too.

We're getting really close to our final, but there's still lots to do.  Like they say, the last 10% takes 90% of the time!

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Lisa's Forum Posts: 124 Journal Entries: 100 Interview Answers: 92 Average Forum Rating: 3.94 Send Private Message Lisa's Selected Image 10/30/2007	WOW Gorgeous! All your choices are pretty much what we would have done or our 2nd choices.  Do you mind me asking what sort of tiling you used for the floor and walls?  You have used exactly the same idea as we are going too of using the same tile throughout.  We just love the effect. Many congratulations. Lisa.
S.A.'s Forum Posts: 2 Interview Answers: 1 Send Private Message Randomly Selected Image 10/30/2007	The tile in the bathroom on the floor and walls is a Travertine Marble, 16" sq. X 3/8" approx.  I used a 1/16" grout joint, to keep it as tight as possible.

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Aug. 07

Posted to Beaver-Creek-Ranch by Terry in Santa Rosa, CA on 8/30/2007 10:10:17 AM

Our week long vacation was anything but that, but we got a lot of work done!  We planned to tile the laundry room, kitchen, and pantry and to install the steel supports in the plywood for the granite where we have overhangs, which didn't seem like too much work for one week.  We arrived late Thursday night (11:30pm) so that we'd be ready for the granite guys to come out Friday morning to create the templates for the countertops.  I was up early to start work on installing the steel supports.  I had to use a router to cut a trough in the plywood so the steel would sit flat and flush with the top of the plywood, but not show through on the underside.  What a messy job -- I had plywood shavings everywhere in the kitchen, so another round of cleaning was next on my list before the granite guys showed up.

Its pretty interesting and very simplistic how they make the templates.  They use 3" wide strips of Melamine that are cut to length and stapled to the plywood tops. They overlap the strips at the corners and use an acrylic glue to tie them together.  The acrylic glue dries in just seconds, then they pull the staples and roll up the template.  In the older days they used to use door skins for making the templates but when transporting them long distances and in hot weather the skins would warp and they had a tough time flattening them out perfectly.  The Melamine is unaffected by the heat, and much easier to work with. We followed them back to their shop in Redding so we could lay out the templates on the slabs and get the nice area of granite just where we wanted it.

The next day we started on the floors.  First, we had to remove everything out of the rooms, which included the refrigerator, range, wat