It has been a long time since I discussed progress towards the completion of our log home. Indeed, there have been formidable setbacks, and we are not out of the woods yet. I will not go into the details right now, but let it suffice to say I could and may someday write a book about the perils and pitfalls of custom log home construction. Not an insignificant factor in the delays we have experienced has been the steep downturn in the economy. While many across North America are facing foreclosure, we are in the final stages of completing a new home project which has taken us from a period of relative prosperity into a period of economic peril. Seventeen months into the project, over-budget and much-delayed, we are optimistic that we won’t need to wait much longer. As Winter fast approaches, Shauna and I have high hopes that the house will be habitable by December (2008).
Floors have been laid and stained in all but the main living room, where the stone mason is several weeks away from completing his stone work on the fireplace. When that fireplace is done, it will be a unique design; one which the stone mason tells us incorporates several ground-breaking techniques. The abstract mountain design above the glass mantel, done in a deceptively random dry pack of granite and quartz, promises to be a one-of-a-kind work of art. Lights are on, electrical outlets are live, all interior walls are up and stained, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry should be installed soon, all plumbing is in place and ready to be hooked up to plumbing fixtures, which are all on site. HVAC is in and ready to be fired up. A week ago last Friday, Shauna and I watched in fascination as the excavation and installation of the septic system took place. Once the septic system is inspected and approved, toilets and sinks can be installed and made operational. If you go to our photo website (click on the JasperBarkLodge link) you can see the wood stove vanity we designed, recently placed in the powder room. At present, door hardware is being installed and doors are being hung. As each fit and finish detail is completed, Shauna and I are gradually becoming re-assured that our decisions were, for the most part, correct for what we’d hoped to accomplish. With no previous experience at this sort of thing, we had no idea whether our vision on paper would properly translate well in 3-D.
Throughout the process there have been many complications, necessitating last minute decisions/compromises which were required when we were least equipped to make them. I could not possibly explain to you how challenging this build has been. Both of us are physically and mentally exhausted by the process. As I have said over and over in past reports, custom log home construction poses its own unique set of challenges, and no matter how well engineered the house may be, there is always something, some glitch, no one anticipated.
While “Joe the plumber” gets his fifteen minutes of fame (notoriety?) playing the man in the street, as Barack Obama surges ahead in the polls simply by laying low and letting the Republicans gnaw each other to political death, as the economic ball bounces around near the quicksand bottom of the stock market, and as so many around the world are wondering how bad the next twelve to twenty-four months will really be, I look forward to reclaiming my twisted sense of humor and stepping away from our myopic focus on this building project. Between politics and this house, I may have driven away even my last twelve loyal readers … I promise, I’ll be back, some day!
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2008 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Floors have been laid and stained in all but the main living room, where the stone mason is several weeks away from completing his stone work on the fireplace. When that fireplace is done, it will be a unique design; one which the stone mason tells us incorporates several ground-breaking techniques. The abstract mountain design above the glass mantel, done in a deceptively random dry pack of granite and quartz, promises to be a one-of-a-kind work of art. Lights are on, electrical outlets are live, all interior walls are up and stained, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry should be installed soon, all plumbing is in place and ready to be hooked up to plumbing fixtures, which are all on site. HVAC is in and ready to be fired up. A week ago last Friday, Shauna and I watched in fascination as the excavation and installation of the septic system took place. Once the septic system is inspected and approved, toilets and sinks can be installed and made operational. If you go to our photo website (click on the JasperBarkLodge link) you can see the wood stove vanity we designed, recently placed in the powder room. At present, door hardware is being installed and doors are being hung. As each fit and finish detail is completed, Shauna and I are gradually becoming re-assured that our decisions were, for the most part, correct for what we’d hoped to accomplish. With no previous experience at this sort of thing, we had no idea whether our vision on paper would properly translate well in 3-D.
Throughout the process there have been many complications, necessitating last minute decisions/compromises which were required when we were least equipped to make them. I could not possibly explain to you how challenging this build has been. Both of us are physically and mentally exhausted by the process. As I have said over and over in past reports, custom log home construction poses its own unique set of challenges, and no matter how well engineered the house may be, there is always something, some glitch, no one anticipated.
While “Joe the plumber” gets his fifteen minutes of fame (notoriety?) playing the man in the street, as Barack Obama surges ahead in the polls simply by laying low and letting the Republicans gnaw each other to political death, as the economic ball bounces around near the quicksand bottom of the stock market, and as so many around the world are wondering how bad the next twelve to twenty-four months will really be, I look forward to reclaiming my twisted sense of humor and stepping away from our myopic focus on this building project. Between politics and this house, I may have driven away even my last twelve loyal readers … I promise, I’ll be back, some day!
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2008 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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