Outside Green

Chano and his crew returned today to put two coats of Cushing Green on the siding. At last, a uniform color for the whole house. We chose this green for many reasons. We've been collecting photos of houses with comparable color schemes. It's a fairly popular tone in Portland - sage or mossy green. We didn't want anything resembling the interior greens of our house pre-remodel (for a reminder, click here.) It's a medium-toned color, neither too dark nor too light. We've read that light colors age quickly due to dirt and stains, and that dark colors age due to fading. Our Powell Paint friends employ a great "color consultant" who helped us to narrow our scope.

Tomorrow they'll return to finish with the trim colors which include marble white, a creamier version of the original, and a brown that resembles the ipe for an accent color. They'll also stain the soffit a similar brown.

Primer 2

Here's a backyard view of the primed house.

Primer 1

On Saturday Chano's crew taped off all non-siding parts of the house, including windows, doors, some roof sections, and decking. They even put plastic over our car and truck to protect them from overspray. The taping took hours. The spray application of primer took a fraction of that.

Stair Nose

Don came by last Tuesday and Wednesday and helped with bamboo stair treads and some finer finish work like these stair nose cuts. Don's been working in floor finishings for years and his skills produced some professional results. Thanks Don!

Backyard Conditioning

Rachael and Hannah have spent a lot of time working on the back yard, getting it ready for planting next year. All this corrugated cardboard is from the numerous materials and appliances we've been bringing to the house. Instead of recycling it, we're using it kill the grass, after which it will naturally compost into the yard. We spread straw (not hay, which has seeds) around on the bare earth areas to reduce mud and sawdust migration into the house. In late June we were still having periodic rain and it was making a real mess of the place. The straw works out great: it's soft to walk on, keeps the mud down, provides cavities into which the sawdust to can fall (below shoe-sole level), and gives an overall cleaner look to yard.

This coming Tuesday, Rachael will oversee the dispersion of 15 cubic yards of new soil. The soil, which is a mix of organic mulch, sandy loam (a medium-smallish sediment), topsoil and manure, will be blown in by Grimm's Fuel. 15 cubic yards is a LOT of soil - 15 truckloads (in Rach's little Nissan) worth. Having it blown in will save Rachael a few days worth of backbreaking hauling.

Front Stairs

The upper set of front porch stairs are almost done. The lower set of stairs, which will be out of the photo to the left, will be rock construction. More on that later this week after the stone is delivered.

Bamboo Treads

The interior stairwell to the second floor is pushing forward. After this shot was taken, Jason installed trim around the landing baseboard. We still need to finish a few lower steps (down and to the left in this photo) and the basement stairs still need risers and treads. Next week we'll hopefully have the railing and bannister posts in.

Island Layout

Rude came by yesterday and today to lay out the pattern for the island. We played around with a couple of designs and we've come up with what is turning out to be one heck of a master- slash center-piece in the kitchen. We won't see the results for a few weeks since it takes that long for the concrete to set and cure, but the final product is going to be anything but a drab counter top and we're twitching with excitement about it.

High Spout

Of the many appliances and fixtures, The sink/faucet/garbage disposal is perhaps Rachael's favorite trio! (It may be that she really disliked washing dishes in the bathtub or utility sink...)

This sink is large enough to hold a cookie sheet laying flat, it's chip and scratch proof and is actually really light despite the size (this helped with installation.) We have a mini-Tupperware container that stays in the sink for the occasions when a large sink full of hot soapy water is overkill. (Dad.) The sink will be under mounted beneath the concrete countertops.

The garbage disposal (an "InSinkerator") is a food-waste pulverizing monster, yet completely silent. Well, not COMPLETELY silent. We wanted an appliance that did its job (grind up non-compostable food matter) quietly while still rumbling loudly enough to dissuade adventurous 3 year olds, from trying to save the castoffs of their purple cauliflower.

The amazing faucet sits in such a way that it demands attention. We wanted a tall, largely arched faucet to better enable us to fill pots and pans with water, or to rinse them clean. The water power coming from the faucet is amazing, and a set of buttons lets you alternate between a spray version and the more typical single stream. The head of the faucet pulls down out of the neck on a hidden hose and extends a few feet, allowing for easier access to the distant corners of this seriously gargantuan sink. We chose the faucet not only for the phenomenal function, but for the form as well. It seems to mimic the shape of the necks of the Canadian geese that live across the street in Crystal Springs.

Xenon

These under-cabinet light fixtures have Xenon bulbs, which are both relatively low energy and cast a warmer glow than other low-energy bulbs (such as fluorescent). The bulbs run at line voltage (110v), which means we can put them on dimmers. The conduit connecting the lights is required since exposed romex in a living space is against code, but we'll be able to hide some of it with backsplash and paint. This is a low-angle shot you normally wouldn't have if standing in the kitchen, and you really need to stoop down to to see the fixtures.

Urban Flamingo

This lovely Great Blue Heron perches just outside our bedroom window, about 50 feet up this conifer. Yesterday he stayed well into the day, perhaps content with the knowledge that he was
a. beautiful (the humans at our residence want nothing more than to gawk) and
b. freaking huge! His wingspan must be at least six feet long. This guy could take the raccoon (living in the next tree over, as verified in previous posts) head on. We hope that he doesn't, but instead continues to make his home in direct view of ours.

Herringbone

The main decking, stair treads and riser boards are finally in, and the deck looks gorgeous. Instead of 45-degree miter joints, which we've largely tried to avoid in this entire project since we harbor a semi-extreme dislike of them, we're using a herringbone pattern at all of the deck corners. This has been some tedious work for Green Hammer, not only because it's finish work but because the Ipe ironwood is pretty difficult to work with. We posted about the excellently tough construction properties of Ipe in an earlier post.

Light Commercial

We're using Schlage's S-Series line of light commercial UL-Listed security hardware for all interior doors. The commercial grade stuff isn't any more expensive than the residential door hardware (and less expensive in some cases), and it's going to last much, much longer. We used medium duty commercial grade Trans-Atlantic levers and Schlage deadbolts with reinforced latches and locks on the exterior doors. The lever action on the commercial gear is oh so smooth.

Foot Model Global Winner!

Here Karen is seen striking a pose on our new FLOR. FLOR is basically 20" x 20" segments of carpet that are sold in a variety of textures and colors. They are made of recycled materials and are very durable. You can attach the squares in any formation you'd like, and switch them up as frequently as you please. If one square (our many squares have been stickied together to form a larger carpet) gets dingy, you simply replace it with another. The old one is recycled and the cycle continues. Note to friends: Please aim for the gray square when spilling red wine (cola, prune juice, coffee, whatever...) I fear for the longevity of the lone orange square.

Justin liked my pattern. Very binary, I think he said.

Door Trim

Jason has been visiting us on evenings and weekends, installing cabinets and trim. This past weekend he got through most of the first floor and put trim around most of the door frames. We're going with a pseudo post and lintel style trim cut, which is easier to cut and has a classier look (IOHOs). We finished the trim boards with Benite wood conditioner and then a light stain. The result is a perfect match to the bamboo floors.

This photo is of the first floor bathroom door. The door isn't finished yet since we haven't decided what to do with it, but the bathroom needs privacy. We'll take the door down and refinish it later.