A Wood Shed

When you heat your house solely with wood, a wood shed project goes rather high on the priority list. We have been covering our wood with tarps since we built our house but have dreamt of the day when a wood shed would make its appearance. Our to-do list is often driven by what can be done seasonally. When it is nice outside in the spring-summer-fall here, we want to be outside! We started talking seriously this spring about the potential for building a wood shed over the summer. Noah did some research and drafted a design to hold 4 cords of wood (2+ seasons worth of wood); we burned less than 2 cords of wood last winter, so we are hopeful with well seasoned wood our usage will be even less. (Remember our ICF R-40 walls? Heating all winter on less than 2 cords of wood is beautiful!). What the photos can't describe is the torture in digging the holes and leveling of each of the 15 concrete pillars. *Sigh* But it is done! Now Mindy and the kids are filling it up with the wood we have split during wood chores this summer (30 minutes each summer morning are devoted to splitting or stacking wood - it is great exercise!).

Fire Pit

We have plenty of wood around for doing bon fires. We have had a fire ring for having a fire and cooking over, but this has left us without a grate for grilling on. We have done the occasional cast iron skillet or dutch oven, but mostly resorted to roasting hot dogs for our cooking out occasions. We dreamt up a stacked stone fire pit and received a gorgeous grate for the holidays this winter. Over Memorial Day weekend, Noah and Mindy dry stacked stones to hold the grate. We were thrilled with the outcome.

A Bathroom Sink

You may think that there is nothing extraordinary about having a bathroom sink. However, to our family, this is a momentous occasion. We have not had a bathroom sink since we built this house nearly a decade ago. When you have an entire house that is still being finished to some degree, there is a priority list that arises.  Needs go rather high on the list, and next is the thing that is currently driving Mindy crazy. The "need" to wash hands after using the toilet has been met by our bathtub or kitchen sink, so installing a sink never made it onto the priority list. However, as our kids have grown, their questions like "are we ever going to get a bathroom sink?!" started factoring into the to-do list. The sink project started last year when Noah milled a maple tree with his chainsaw mill. That wood needed to dry over winter, after which he planed and glued it for a live-edge counter. Mindy sanded and finished the counter with spar varnish; next she installed a stone backsplash. Noah installed a vessel sink and faucet. We all celebrated.

An office for Noah

Well, when we relocated back to our Maine woods in the summer of 2016, Noah needed a space to work remotely for his job in New Jersey. However, the house was not finished, we were in need of fixing our roof which made the upstairs uninhabitable, and we were being creative for bedrooms because of the roof situation. Long story and three years of working in an unfinished library later...we decided to transform the intended basement guest space into an office for Noah. It is quiet, cool in the summer, and it is now his office! I spent a few weeks this spring mudding the drywall, painting, installing a light fixture...and then Noah installed some anti-fatigue rubber flooring. He has been wanting to switch to a standing desk, so until he has more time to build a permanent work station, he made some stilts for his desk. We are still waiting for the doors that we ordered to arrive, and he still needs trim, but that's no biggie, right?!

Kids Bedrooms in progress

The kids have not had use of their bedrooms since we built the house. They have had other rooms in the house (the library, sewing/office room) and most recently they have had their rooms in the basement since we relocated back to Maine two years ago. They are very excited to make the move upstairs and we have been working non-stop to try to make that happen before school starts in two weeks. Here is a snapshot of where we are today. Paneling has been installed; drywall has been mudded, sanded, & painted (kids helped with every step!); windowsills are tiled (again, I taught the kids how to do it!); remaining flooring is installed; built in beds are in progress; closets are in progress; trim work will need to be done when all else is complete. Working with teen & tween age kids is a lot different than toddlers!!

Beaded Plywood Panels

Girls' window tile

Boys' Window Tile

Boys' Colors (Grey & Green)

Girls' Colors (Pink, Blue, & Black)

Built-in beds in progress

Built-in beds in progress

Roof Reno Days 28-29

The contractors wrapped up the roof reno on August 1 (hooray!) minus the chimney penetration. That will be completed at the end of the month by a company that specializes in woodstoves. So, we have been slaving away trying to install bedrooms for the kids. I will post that separate.

I sprayed foam into the corners where the roof meets the house wall using a froth pak. Eventually we will add 6 inches of open cell foam into the rafter bays in order to achieve our desired R-value, but for now we are closing up the kids' rooms with paneling so that we can use the space!

Roof Reno Days 23-27

Well, I took pictures, but have had a busy week and neglected to post any of them. The shingles finished being installed today! Soffits are being installed and then our chimney needs to be reinstalled. This is such an amazing accomplishment. We are so grateful to Coastal Maine General Contracting for fixing our roof and giving us use of our upstairs again! I will post separately about the interior of the upstairs.