Bits and Pieces

The morning air is chilly reading 37°F, and we are  buttoning up all the small stuff on the outside. Nothing like Winter hanging over you to get out there and motivated!
We put on the ProPanel on the roofs this week. I was harnessed in and screwing off a million screws on the steep pitch roof.
The roof is deep blue, which should look pretty great with the (not yet) rusted Corten metal we have as the siding. Interspersed with the metal are a few areas of rough sawn wood, done board and batten style. The top half of the house is done with corrugated Galvalum, to contrast the soon to be red Corten.

Many months ago I took the local waste permit exam, and I put in our septic system on my own. I borrowed a skid steer and backfilled the leech field with gravel. Not a big deal, and $aving some money by going DIY. With some advice and help from my plumbing friend, we passed the inspection.

Again we had some friends rally to help with the roof, and siding, as well as our friend Rick who is building us an amazing looking wood deck on the South and East side.
One day we will lounge on lawn chairs and drink cocktails during sunset while Kodiak plays with his toy race cars ...  I digress

The skilled Professionals...

This is a shout out to the people who actually do this for a living... and without whose help we would not be able to make this casa happen. I have lived here for a while now (I think it's close to 17 years), and many of the professionals who have helped us now, have helped with other house projects as well. As it is in small communities, we become pals. It is thanks to these relationships one can make it this far even... Kenny Drake, the best backhoe operator I know, next in line would be his son Matt.
The Del Margo's- the family team of awesome electricians. Danny Gonzales, whose family has helped me with projects in the past as well- and for being so darn encouraging!
And the mugs~

Windows!

And then there were windows! We are officially enclosed. PHEW. The wind is now outside only, and it makes a difference. We could call it Wind NO. 
Kodiak witnessed this exciting moment as well, learning inside vs. outside.
In the evening, we put some work lights in the house and saw it for the first time at night with light only coming from the windows- it looks awesome and we are all very proud. We had to pile into my truck and drive around the area to see it from the road as well. Here are some pictures to remember this moment by. 

Kodiak waving from inside- our view of the Lobster and Taos Mountain.

Mini Addition detour..

pantry |ˈpantrē|

noun ( pl. pantries )

a small room or closet in which food, dishes, and utensils are kept.

ORIGIN Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French panterie, from paneter ‘baker,’ based on late Latin panarius ‘bread seller,’ from Latin panis ‘bread.’

Gotta have one- especially because food storage is part of the cheaper living plan. It has been a pretty unsustainable habit to drive 15 miles one way to get food every few days. Once the Brewery opened, that small 8 minute drive has been quite the luxury, and if only beer really was worth a half sandwich...

So, in short, I poured a slab (by hand), which, for the record was worse than I remembered~ figured 9 full wheelbarrow loads, over 300 shovels of either cement, sand or gravel...just harder than I seem to recall in the 90's(wink)

And today I boxed up the small addition on the West side of the house- the Pantry. tada.

Harlan came out for a day and helped with the loft- T&G and a meticulous measuring mind and the loft looks great. Thanks!

Bringing in the Music.

We have had awesome musicians as extra special house guests... and we did put them to work, helping with the house. They set up and played in the skeleton of the new house, bringing in the music to our new home.  It has been a sweet time- thank you Brent and Grey!
On a more technical note we have managed to cover the house with tar paper (thank you to Mister Johnny C. and his buddy, and Oswald) as well as a few sheet of the white foam, R10 for the outside of the house. We are about to order all the metal for the roof and walls, which will be the last step, other than window install, to really get closed in!
We have had our electricians help us out and the wiring is almost done as well.
Kodiak had his 3rd birthday and promised to put in some more time building as well.
It's moving along, albeit slowly~ as the tarantulas are out now, which is the first sign of FALL out here on the mesa.

Thank you to Tomiko Jones for the beautiful pictures below as well!

Getting Sealed Up...

We are almost "in" as they say in the construction world- which means that we have walls and a roof. That really means about 1/3 (at best) of the way to a finished home.
As I have been taking on some of the framing, elbows allowing( pneumatic nail guns are brutal to the body) we are getting all of the walls in place as well as out ROOF! We used a new type of roof underlayment- it's plastic like rather than tar paper- holds up better. Just in time, as the weather is showing us a preview of what is to come- rain, some colder days and the beginning of Fall.
If our bodies hold up a few more months we will be well on our way into a new home. Good thing for that hot tub..

Pics of the "new house" as we don't have a good name for it yet.

Facing East

From the Road

Kodiak's room

Calle Serena View w. Lobster

Looking out to the Sangres

Bedroom and part of the mud room(right)

Looking into the living room from the bath.

Looks like a house now..

We had some awesome help from Sasha and Cedar~ Thanks guys, the sheathing looks great!
So it's August (!) and we are s l o w l y moving along.. we finished putting up the TJI's on one side of the roof today, in the wind(of course).
And onwards- hopefully we will have a covered roof by the end of this week!
Here's a link to a panoramic view- you can click and drag the mouse to see all around- it's pretty cool. 
http://360.io/vs7wXp

and to pictures...