Window Treatments

Moldings around the windows of our passive solar home might seem to be low-priority, something we could work on at any time. But the approach of winter has given that project a higher status. We need to get the windows finished while there is still warm weather, and we need to have a way to install curtains to hold in night-time heat. The biggest challenge was the large, south overhead window in the central bay. We ended up making our own scaffolding, then spent two days staining, varnishing and painting. With the curtains installed, one window is finally ready for the cold season.

Evolution of ideas and plans

Here are some examples of the drawings for our house that we made over a two year period. We had a fairly good idea of what we wanted from the beginning, but had to come up with a design that was practical and affordable. Affordable meant that many of the fancy features such as a bump out in the bedroom and a balcony disappeared before the end. Practicality meant that we had to shape dimensions and spaces to meet standard block and timber sizes.
These are for the south elevation:
The first shows some of the very first free-hand sketches I made as Linda and I discussed layouts. Even in these first drawings the south orientation, the kitchen and living areas appear pretty much as they would be in the final.
The next drawing is from the the dream stage when any fantasy could still be indulged in. The bump-out on the right would have allowed us to lie in bed and view the world. The balcony and central window would have been nice. The tall tower would have been neat.
In next drawing, reality and the advice of Aaron have intruded. The fancy parts are gone and the roof line is lower in order to save timber. The tower remains an tower, but also lower.
The last drawing is the as-built. We went back to an eight-foot second floor to simplify the timbering. but kept the total building height the same. As a result, the tower sits lower on the roof.
More drawings of the floor plans later.

Finishing the south deck

On Sunday, June 28th, we finished the south deck—thereby keeping with our plan to have it done before the end of April …
We enclosed the rest of the west side, redid the corner post on the east, installed and sanded the railings. The house proportions look better now. Next will be railings for the east deck. The corn is getting higher.

The South Deck: continued

The deck on the south side of the house continues to "mature" as we get time on weekends to work on it. As you look at these pictures, watch the corn grow from weekend to weekend.
The second weekend in June we had good weather and managed to lay down the deck boards and get the east-side railing in place.
Last weekend, despite miserable, rainy weather, we got in the south and west railings and the last two deck boards. The posts are held with half-inch carriage bolts and everything is screwed together. We made the railing quite high for more security. Another weekend or so, and it may be done. Then we have to work on kitchen counters and the railings for the east-side porch.
Kent Kjellgren, an Energy Star examiner, came by to finish our energy audit, including the blower test. The equipment pulls air into the house under sealed winter conditions, measures the resistance and this, in turn, indicates how much leakage the house has. He had a frustrating time because the house is so tight that he had a hard time getting a reading. We have around 205 CFM, which is almost no leaks at all.

Start of a deck

On May 3oth, we started to build the long-delayed south deck. This is a must-do. We need the deck done before we can add either a hot-water system or photovoltaic panels. Saturday was brute work. We dug four post holes by hand, set in six-six's and concreted them in place. They are solid.
Sunday we bolted on the cross members, then installed joists. As the afternoon sun moved into shadow. we screwed down the first two deck boards. Lots of cutting and shaping are yet to come.

Linda took all these pictures, but she did half the work too.

What do we do for fun at the Lodge?

People sometimes ask, and we know that they think: What can you do in a house with no electricity yet and no entertainment electronics?
Well, our neighbors keep us entertained part of the time. Saturday morning four of them came calling. Although the hen beaked at the door for a long time, when we went to open, she changed her mind. As for her tom? He apparently only cared about the impression he was making on the other turkeys, including the one that looked like him in the glass.
Yes, I was using the 50-year-old 250mm Nikkor.

House construction in March & April 2009

We are making progress on our interior woodwork. The upstairs bathroom finally has a door.
The finished walls set off the posts and beams. When the driver brought in the last kitchen cabinet box, he looked around and said, "I like your wood!" We like it too.
All the baseboards and window trim is finally on in the bedroom. The stairs are finished as well. We are getting there.

Kitchen cabinets

On March 27th, our kitchen cabinets arrived via truck from Ohio. We spent a busy weekend installing all but the sink unit, then finished the adjacent kitchen window as well. The interior is starting to show its possibilities.

Interior trim for the lodge

Bit by bit, we are starting to add trim: baseboards and moldings around the windows. It is slow work and real wood is expensive, so it may be months before all is done.
Images show me nailing on sub-baseboard, then finishing a power receptacle. I paint and stain the grill work for the large bedroom window, then install it. The small windows in the bedroom are done with the white dragon of the Loders watching over all.

Animals at the lodge

Hunting season is over, and our deer are getting bolder again. Sunday afternoon, eight came out of the lower woods and worked on the green weeds growing in the soybean field. This image was taken using a modern digital Nikon combined with a 250mm f4 Nikkor lens that dates back to 1959 and first saw use with a reflex housing and a rangefinder camera. Not bad for a lens that is probably 50 years old. If I'd used a tripod and didn't have a window in the way. the results would be even sharper.

Our Steinbock (Eurasian Ibex) had taken up residence in the passive solar home. He seems quite happy there, although I do not know what he thinks of the circle of light one window gives to the interior in the late afternoon sun.