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Overall: Weather was friendly to us for the most part this week, allowing us to complete exterior siding on the expansive west wall of the house. We also rented a backhoe to trench and install the sewer line from the house to the septic tank and connect the main water line to the water meter.

Monday: Insulation contractors on site today, applying fire caulking and sealing the window and door frames. Kyle and I worked on house west wall exterior siding installation.

Tuesday: Rented a backhoe for the day. The ground was as dry as I could hope for this time of the year, with rain forecasted on late Wednesday and again late in the week. Spent the day digging a trench from the house to the septic tank and installing the sewer line on the south side of the house. Then moved the backhoe to the north end of the property. Last summer (week 9 to be precise), in concert with all of the drain, waste and vent plumbing installed before pouring the concrete slab; the plumber also buried the main water line from the mechanical room location in the house all the way to the county water meter. We had already installed a hydrant at the water meter to have water on site as needed during construction. The plumber had the water line emerge from the ground very close to the water meter. We carefully dug around the meter base to fully expose and remove the hydrant, then connect the water line to the water meter. Relief to have all utilities connected.

Wednesday: Another day of “warm” weather allowing us to continue siding install on the west wall of the house. HVAC crew arrived to rough-in the line set for the mini-split A/C unit to be installed in Carole’s textile production room in the shop building. Rain overnight with 3/4″ observed in the gauge Thursday morning.

Thursday: Kyle and I completed the west wall of the house today. Afternoon temperature reached 60 degrees with a winter storm predicted overnight. Wait. What ? Oh. yeah… mid-February. I cannot complain – we have been more productive the past few weeks, than I predicted & anticipated when we broke last April.

Friday: 20 degrees when I woke up this morning, and the forecast says the high temp will be in the 20’s. Spent the day visiting several businesses, picking up material and talking to sub-contractors. Scheduled to have the plumber at the site on Tuesday to connect the main water line in the mechanical room, to the various water line branches and the water heater. I was at the job site long enough to pick up the mail, and meet dad, Barbara & Carole for a planned visit/tour.

Saturday: Very cold outside to start the morning. Spent a couple hours at the site in the afternoon, with me pulling speaker wire and Kyle finishing a small area of drywall in the mechanical room. The drywall finishing effort was confined to the corner of the mechanical room where the water heater will be located. Much easier now, than trying to reach around the water heater…

Sunday: Mild temps overnight. Arrived at the site around 9:30. Spent 4 hours installing the shop compressed air manifold. Returned home in time to watch the Daytona 500. Not hosting a party this year, as we have done many times. We are eager to have a Daytona 500 party in 2024. Hoping to see car number 5 – Kyle Larson – in victory lane. .

Overall: A great week with a couple significant tasks completed. Warmer weather motivated me to work on site every day this week. The last 4 windows (ordered in early May) were finally delivered and we got them installed. The mechanical system (boiler, valves, pumps, accumulater, controller and pipe) for the hydronic slab heat was installed this week. I am expecting the insulation contractor to be on site next week to begin his contribution.

Monday: Kyle and I installed siding on the southeast & southwest shop corners. Still need to complete the north and south gables. We also got started on wood stove flue pipe installation for the portion of the flue that will extend outside the shingled roof and just inside the drywalled ceiling in the great room. Lucas (Low Gap HVAC) surprised me with a phone call, to say he had some time before starting his next project. He wanted to begin installing our heating system mechanical installation, and would be on site the next day.

Tuesday: Pella Windows truck delivered the four, fixed pane trapezoidal shaped windows we have been waiting on for months. Continued effort on great room flue pipe installation and started preparing the west wall of the great room to install the outer windows. Lucas and Steve were on site all day, initiating the effort to fabricate and install the mechanical system to heat the house and shop, using hot water flowing through a few thousand feet of PEX tubing embedded in the concrete slabs of both buildings. Check out the post for week 13 to see a picture of the installed PEX tubing before concrete was placed & finished.

Wednesday: Kyle and I installed the outer trapezoidal windows today, and continued the flue pipe installation task. Lucas and Steve were here all day, making great progress on their project. Told me they were further delayed to start the next job, allowing them to complete our project tomorrow.

Thursday: Crazy weather with wind gusts to 60mph and falling temperatures all day. Kyle and I worked other projects, opting to wait until Friday for removing plywood and installing weatherstrip tape to install the inner pair of great room windows. Lucas and Steve completed the mechanical system installation. All we need now is a propane tank placed and a trenched propane line from the tank to the house and we will have heat !

Friday: Kyle and I opened up the great room west wall, removing plywood, and checking roughed-in openings against the actual windows. For whatever reason, the roughed-in openings required additional carpentry to ensure the windows fit properly. Kyle worked that task while I pulled ethernet cable and other electrical system wiring, in anticipation of insulation installers working next week.

Saturday: Kyle and I installed the outer windows with relative ease on Wednesday, but the inner windows are larger, taller and heavier – so I insisted we employ some additional muscle. I coordinated with Joe and Kevin, who were both available Saturday morning. The four of us worked together to make the inner window install a fairly routine task, on a scaffold, up in the air… I spent the afternoon alone at the site installing conduit for audio and ethernet wire. Neighbor and close friend for nearly 50 years, stopped by to see if I needed any help. I’m never going to turn away anyone offering their time. Having extra help, decided to initiate the shop’s compressed air manifold installation. He had so much fun – told me he would return on Sunday.

Sunday: Out to the site mid-morning. Mike and I picked up where we left off on Saturday, working to install the shop compressed air manifold. I elected to try a new product for this task. Semi-flexible 3/4″ and 1/2″ diameter PEX & aluminum tubing. The kit included a number of different style fittings to get everything connected. Really pleased with how easy it was to layout and install.

Overall: not much accomplished with actual construction this week due to cold weather. This project is truly fun every day; until I have to wear lots of layers to stay warm. If this construction project was necessary to pay the bills and feed my family – I would “layer up” and get to work. I’m retired, and this project is how I am beginning this chapter of life, so… not working if it’s extra cold outside. I predicted February would be a slow month for exactly this reason.

Monday: Travel home from the weekend at Daytona, arrived at the Indianapolis airport at 12:30AM. Back home in bed at 1:30AM. Slept in and ran some errands for construction materials. Brief visit to the site to pick up mail, and see that everything was still in place.

Tuesday: Very cold day with a high temp of 20. Worked from home continued effort for kitchen cabinet plan, deck railing sources, and a variety of other tasks.

Wednesday: Terrific… the weather today is colder than Monday or Tuesday. Out to the site to pick up the mail and to measure/check a few things I’ve been working on at home.

Thursday: Groundhog day. A little warmer, allowing me to spend the afternoon at the site, pulling ethernet cable and audio speaker wires.

Friday: A return of bitterly cold weather to end the week. The seven day forecast looks terrific – with unseasonably warm temperatures all next week.

Saturday: The anticipated warm up has yet to manifest locally. Was at the site briefly, then retreated home.

Sunday: Overnight temp was 35 and we got up to 48 degrees ! Kyle and I completed framing the 6 pocket doors in anticipation of calling for drywallers in the near term. Also began work to install the flue pipe for the stand alone wood stove.

Overall: The weather this week was more interesting than progress on the build. I am taking a planned weekend trip to Florida.

Monday: Worked by myself for a few hours, pulling ethernet and speaker wire. Ralph showed up for electrical work, but didn’t bring correct clothing for the cold temperatures, so left shortly thereafter.

Tuesday: The sun came out with temps in the 40’s. Kyle and I got siding on the north wall of the shop. The gable end is around 23 feet at the peak and the vertical siding is 10 feet long, so will need to rent a manlift for the next round of siding. We are promised a significant winter storm overnight, with a caveat from the weatherman, that the predictions are calculated guesses, so actual results will vary.

Wednesday: Woke up to find three inches of heavy wet snow on the ground, with snow continuing all morning. Visited the site to clear the mailbox and the thought of working in the house, but was not feeling inspired. Drove back to town instead to shovel snow from dad’s driveway and walkways.

Thursday: A cold start to the day, so spent the morning making phone calls to contractors and scanning receipts. Afternoon was spent picking away at the pre-insulation punch list.

Friday: Departed Bloomington at 4AM for the drive to the Indianapolis airport. Should be a very fun weekend in Florida. Will be attending the 61st Daytona 24 hour endurance race with Travis & Alex. The three of us have watched this event many times on televsion but none of us have ever witnessed the race.

Saturday: At the track all day. We have a close friend who is the team manager for one of the race entries. Walt is responsible for GTD Mercedes Benz Team Korthoff car number 32. They qualified 28th overall and 3rd in class. Alex and I are also excited to see the new BMW prototype (GTP) entries. This will be the first time since 1999 that BMW has participated in GTP.

Sunday: Attending the Daytona 24 hour endurance race. Scheduled to be back in Indiana very late tonite.

Overall: Siding install is progressing well. I estimate we are 80-85% complete for both buildings combined. Crappy weather hampered us, along with a four (4) day week, because I used Friday to conduct some monkey business…

Monday: A dreary rainy day, so we stayed under roof cover to install the metal trim around the three (3) overhead garage doors on the east wall of the shop.

Tuesday: The sun came out, allowing us to install siding on the west wall of the shop. Completed the west wall by the end of the day.

Wednesday: Happy 67th birthday to me. Returned to the shop east wall to install siding around all the garage doors. Lots of small pieces to trim and fit.

Thursday: Completed the shop east wall and started the shop south wall east and west corners, which are outside of east and west ends of the breezeway. Ralph arrived and put in a couple hours working the pre-insulation electrical punch list.

Friday: Shutdown the construction site so I could conduct a day trip to western Tennessee; inspecting a possible pickup truck purchase. Yes… I am keenly aware that I already have a pair of work trucks – one that needs repair, and the other truck that is being used every day. I have found a reputable mechanic, and will be trailering the broken truck to his shop for repair in the near term. The plan: once we have completed construction and have moved into our project residence, will sell both work trucks which are rusted and beat up (perfect construction vehicles). I know exactly what I want for a long term purchase and have been conducting a slow, methodical internet search. Finding an inexpensive, 25 year old, rust free truck, in good condition – is a tall order which is why I have started searching now. Stay tuned, more to follow…

Saturday: Spent the morning updating various files and a trip to Staples, printing new detailed drawings of the kitchen as we begin the kitchen detailed design process. Kevin produced a scaled drawing on the largest paper (24″ by 36″) Staples has available. The drawing will be used with paper cutouts of the various widths of cabinet offerings. I have also made cardboard templates of actual drawer lengths &, widths as measured in the Menards showroom. The cabinets can be configured with various combinations of 5, 10 or 15″ drawer depths, so I also measured the actual depths of each drawer offering. Carole and I will use the templates to determine what goes in which cabinet and where in the kitchen it will be installed, with specific drawer callouts. We’re old and prefer an analog process, rather than moving virtual cabinets on a computer monitor. This should be tons and tons ‘o fun.

Sunday: Another day spent at home continuing the efforts described yesterday. Ordered a fairly new material for the shop compressed air manifold. Old school material has always been 1/2″ black pipe and is still popular today. The pipe I ordered is semi-flexible and made of aluminum & PEX. Should install much quicker and easier than conventional steel pipe. Lower cost is a plus. The manifold will be installed in the walls similar to electrical and plumbing with pipe termination and air hose quick disconnects located as appropriate around the shop perimeter.

Overall: Continuing effort to install exterior siding. The weather this week was mostly favorable for January. House siding is nearly complete and shop siding is approximately 40% complete.

Monday: Working on the south side of the house today. It was nice to have the sun on our backs.

Tuesday: Completed the south wall today, which means we only need siding for the east gable above the front porch and the narrow spaces between the (eventual) wall of glass on the west side. Began siding installation on the west side of the shop.

Wednesday: Met with a cabinet specialist at Menards to begin the plan for kitchen cabinets. Talked to the Fireplace Center to see what what we should complete for the wood stove flue pipe, up in the roof trusses ahead of drywall installation. Spoke to a drywall contractor, who will visit the site next week and will prepare a quote for us.

Thursday: Drove to Odon Indiana to retrieve custom ordered metal trim for the three (3) garage doors. Took the rest of the day off to rest from the effects of a shingles vaccine I received on Wednesday. It was the strongest reaction ever to a vaccine shot.

Friday: A rainy day (with occasional, sleet & snow), so we worked in the breezeway under cover to complete siding install on the shop side of the breezeway.

Saturday: Spent a cold and dreary winter day at home. Working on a wide variety of activities all dedicated to this construction project.

Sunday: A repeat of Saturday, another full day of things to consider and plan for as we move toward finishing the interior of both buildings. Spoke to Mike, the pro builder I’ve known since high school. He is coming out to the site next week for a walk through. I want an experienced contractor to let me know if I’ve forgotten something, or have done something I will regret. He also referred me to the guy who hangs and finishes drywall on his builds.

Overall: Holidays are behind us, and winter is on full display. The person hired to complete the installation and commission the slab heating system visited this week. Lucas wanted to check a couple things and let me know he has a boiler and other material on order. I finally gave up on the local family owned propane dealer. Their business is 3 miles away, and despite repeated calls, visits and their friendly promises to meet with us at the project site; are telling us – without actually telling us – they are not interested adding us as customers. Over the last 2 weeks, have observed three competing propane tank trucks lumber by our future home and will call each of them early next week. We need to purchase a propane tank and trench a pipe to the house. Exterior house siding began last week with a part time effort, and a similar amount of time this week. I am pleased to say we are nearly done siding the house. I have initiated a very detailed effort to identify specific cabinets for the kitchen & island, laundry room etc.

Monday: Working by myself after seeing Travis and family leave for their trip back to Olathe KS. Mostly housekeeping chores. Inside work on the house. Moved 2 pallet loads of siding from the driveway into the shop. There were 40 cardboard boxes covered with a tarp, but it wasn’t completely shielded from wet weather and if we have excess material, it can be returned for a full credit – but needs to be in a serviceable dry box.

Tuesday: Fully underway with siding installation, working the north wall of the house under the breezeway.

Wednesday: By myself today. Spent the morning inside working various projects to be completed before we can call for insulation. The afternoon was spent installing siding.

Thursday: Kyle was back and both of us worked siding installation. We split responsbilities with Kyle installing and calling out cut numbers, while I cut and trimmed siding pieces for him to install.

Friday: Started the day returning excess material to Menards. We had several extra sheets of pink foam board and a quantity of excess ventilated soffit. Both of those tasks were completed a few weeks ago. Ended the day and the week with the house siding installation nearly completed.

Saturday: Spent all morning at home, updating files, scanning receipts and creating new excel sheets to track where light fixtures are needed – room by room – and whether a light fixture has been selected, ordered or arrived. Drafting a similar spreadsheet for kitchen cabinet planning. Having Kevin provide a drawing with actual wall measurements that we can use to determine specific cabinet size, type & location. A few hours at 6619 in the afternoon, continued effort inside the house.

Sunday: Home all day, doing more of the same at the computer. I am eager to get out there in the morning, to pick up where we left it last Friday.

Overall: Happy New Year ! !

Kyle and I got underway with exterior siding installation. For the second week in a row – I took the weekend off with family visiting.

Monday: Stayed home all day – still very cold from the winterstorm that rocked most of the nation over Christmas.

Tuesday: Got started installing exterior siding. We are going with a vinyl product, made to resemble board & batten. Unlike dutch lap vinyl siding that is installed horizontally, the board and batten product is installed vertically. Lots of time consuming trim must go on the top and botom of the wall and surround each window and door opening, before the first piece of siding can be nailed up.

Wednesday: Working on the northeast wall today since the weather is dry. It’s really muddy from the melted snow, but the temperature is tolerable.

Thursday: Working on the southeast corner of the house today. Similar weather to Wednesday. Weatherman is calling for rain tomorrow, so we have saved the front porch for Friday.

Friday: almost completed the east wall of the house – see this week’s picture. I’m estimating we are 40% completed with house siding. Great progress as both Kyle and I had a learning curve on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Saturday: Travis, Lynn and the boys are visiting Bloomington over the weekend, so I am taking the weekend off.

Sunday: Same as Saturday. Starting Monday; I need to get out of bed earlier so I can get started on the house earlier. The last 4 windows for the west wall of the house are supposed to be delivered in 3 weeks. I have a list of tasks that need to be completed before we have insulation placed in the walls and ceilings. The goal is to have the chore list completed a day (or 2) before the windows arrive, and the insulation crew on site, the day after we install windows.

Overall: We completed the ceiling over the breezeway, which will allow us to initiate exterior siding installation. A massive and fierce winter storm, stopped all work before the holiday weekend. VERY cold temperatures gripping most of the USA. Forecast has more normal temperatures returning for us by Wednesday next week.

Monday: cutting and fitting plywood for the breezeway ceiling. Purchased j-blocks needed as vinyl siding trim pieces to be installed around hose bibs and outside receptacles.

Tuesday: more of the same. we needed 20 sheets of plywood for the 12′ by 32′ breezeway. Then we had to cut and fit battens along each seam of abutting plywood.

Wednesday: Winter Solstice, AKA first day of winter. We installed the final batten late this afternoon. A gigantic winter storm has been causing weather related chaos in the western US and is expected to be here on Thursday afternoon, bringing brutually cold temperatures, snow and strong winds. With the front porch and breezeway ceilings completed, we are ready to begin siding installation. I have a couple appointments tomorrow morning, so have decided to shut down until after Christmas.

Thursday: Appointments kept, then drove out to Howard Ridge. I spent a couple hours at the site by myself, walking around both buildings, thinking and observing. I continue to discover minor enhancements and small things we can incorporate for little cost and are easy to implement while we still have open framing. I quickly document the idea and take a picture if appropriate and add it to an excel file / checklist I maintain. The vicious winter storm arrived on time this evening.

Friday: Minus 8 with a windchill of negative 25 this morning. Negative two degrees for today’s high temperature. The evening weatherman said that (high temp below zero) has only happened 18 times in Indianapolis since 1880. Awesome. Brrrrrrrr… Spent the day inside our cold & drafty rental home. Got caught up scanning receipts, updating various lists, and went shopping online for light fixtures. Found a site with stuff we liked at reasonable prices. Went on a shopping spree, purchasing 21 light fixtures, which seems like a lot (and it is) but we still have a long – long way to go with this important task.

Saturday: Stayed home all morning. More light fixture shopping, and visiting other sites for more ideas to enhance our home and shop. Alex and Lacey arrived from Oklahoma in the afternoon. We drove out the site for their first visit since construction got underway. They both said; pictures don’t provide adequate appreciation for what the project looks and feels like in person.

Sunday: Merry Christmas ! Spent the day relaxing at home, continued online shopping for building materials and producing this week’s post.

Overall: Moving forward, although short days and cold temperatures mean fewer productive hours each day. Exterior siding was delivered, and the front porch ceiling was completed. Completed central vacuum pipes and fittings for both structures. Still pulling wires for shop equipment.

Monday: Pulling wire and installing central vacuum pipe and fittings.

Tuesday: Same as Monday.

Wednesday: Spent time measuring the kitchen, pantry, laundry room and great room north wall to create drawings for the purpose of developing detailed cabinet requirements. After that… back to pulling wire and working on central vacuum plumbing.

Thursday: Got Kyle back today, so worked on front porch ceiling. First exterior finish effort.

Friday: Continued effort on front porch ceiling. Must be completed (same as breezeway ceiling) before we can apply exterior siding.

Saturday: Completed front porch ceiling.

Sunday: Completed central vacuum pipe and fittings.