The Log House Project

[PrairieSpyder]

Thanks for the update! The house is looking beautiful!!

[bruiser]

That is looking good. Sure do miss Scotty on here.

[GloryRyders]

Lookin' better all the time..............when's the "house warming" party

[MarkLawson]

From an email received from Scotty on 5/30:

Hi all,

Sorry for yet another blanket email. No time for the personal touch.

We got our final inspections this week. The electrical had some deficiencies to correct, but we got a green sticker. The plumbing and mechanical were OK. The building inspector noted some finishing touches to be done and asked some questions about the temporary railings, but approved it verbally. No certificate of occupancy, however, due to lack of a letter saying the water was tested and OK, and for lack of a required energy code sticker. My builder picked up a sample bottle and took it in to be tested today, and dropped off a blank sticker. I need to have the insulation and mechanical contractors verify the information and sign it so I can stick it on the electric box. Hopefully we will have a COO next week, but I heard the water lab is backed up.

We are far from done, however. The carpenters pulled out before finishing, I have some tasks to finish myself due to losing our framing carpenter, kicking the deck/roof contractor off the job, and the tasks I took on to save some money. We also have lots of landscaping to do. My son has been helping with that. We got the final grading completed last week and got a the driveway "paved" this week. The driveway is asphalt millings...recycled crushed asphalt road surface, that has been removed due to repaving elsewhere. It packs firmly and is almost like pavement...but better in some ways because it is porous and self-patching. I put in the stove (tight squeeze) but could not fully convert to propane fuel because the kit was incomplete. New kit on the way. The fireplace is in service, but a blower was broken so the blowers and light won't work until the replacement is installed. I think if we get the OK on the water and I get the shower caulked and the accessories installed (or the other shower tiled), we may move a bed there to save a few trips back and forth. I need to get a bike over there, too, and an extra helmet, etc. The BMW or Nancy's Spyder are good choices, although the Beemer needs an ABS pump. No problem, though, the brakes are not integrated so it is just like most of the rest of my fleet now.

Today I installed door locks all day, plus helped Shannon patch a drainage line that the bulldozer crushed. We figured to get it while we had a dry spell. The locks were a pain...the doors all had to be mortised, since the mortises they had did not fit standard deadbolts. I refused to do a carpentry walkthrough this week, partly because they left so much undone and had so many other problem areas, and partly because my builder seemed to want to make me the bad guy. I hate walkthoughs anyway, preferring to do my own and make a punchlist, first, then walk through with the contractor(s) if necessary. We have a four page list of work to be completed, not counting the landscaping, cleanup, or building the barn. Some of that should be on the punchlist, but not all potential punchlist items are listed. We have extended the construction loan, but like the trim carpenters our builder seems to have lost interest. I expect we will take whatever money he returns to us and finish things ourselves. No progress on the cable TV/Internet/phone service as yet. They are making me very angry. Every week they say "We have to do another site assessment," schedule one, then don't show. It is getting ridiculous! They did one in the Fall, we ran a conduit as they requested, and then they did nothing. When you call you get some yoyo in Pakistan, so it becomes pretty exasperating. The local folks aren't much better, they are only allowed to communicate with Mama by email...no phone numbers for anyone of authority. What a way to run a railroad!

Here's the latest slide show. Little time for photography or email these days.



Scotty

[Bob Denman]

Perhaps the Housewarming Party can be added to the Independence Day Weekend celebrations!

But hopefully ; it's more like Father's Day...

Mark,
Please give them our best, and let Scotty know that his expert touch in here, has been sorely missed!

[GloryRyders]

Mark,
Please give them our best, and let Scotty know that his epxer touch in here, has been sorely missed!

[Cavman]

It's looking great Scotty! Like the idea of the recycled asphalt. It's nice to see natural colors instead of the white stuff everywhere. Thanks for sharing!

[MarkLawson]

Received this email from Scotty last night (some editing to remove non-log house content):
Hi Mark,

Nice to hear from you. All is well here, except for being so busy we make bees look lazy.

I haven't even had much time to take any pictures or videos, although little of what we are doing now is photogenic. We have passed our inspections
and had the final appraisal (sort of). We have approval of the water test and a certificate of occupancy, although I haven't actually seen them. My builder
took off on vacation again. We have moved some stuff into the house, including some new furniture. After I complained to the Michigan Public Service
Commission we finally got cable this week, more than a year after requesting it and after six weeks of daily calls to the company. I expect we will move in, at
least alternating between houses, in another week or two. I still have some things to accomplish first. I have to finish installing the water softener, and
I have to varnish the closet shelves. I also have to tile the main bath shower, install the permanent stairway railing & newel post, and frame & screen
the back porch, but that's for the bank and is easier after we land there. They need it completed and another appraisal inspection before they can issue a
mortgage.

I don't mind your passing on the links about the house. Trickie Dick has done the same. I apologize for not sending a blanket email with the latest
progress report. . No time for even that these days Since then we have moved furniture, cleaned some more,
done some earth and rock moving, and planted some plants and a garden of sorts. I am still installing electronics, and trying to sort out the new TV and the new
cable/phone/internet. Today we picked up the stairway railing I ordered, worked on the garden before the storms came, then went to Holland to buy some rugs.
None of this translates to photos well as yet. I will do a walk-around video again soon...preferably after I finish those key tasks. The landscaping may
hold us up. We have to get it done to finish out our soil erosion permit, and we have to do it as the weather and soil conditions permit.

I wish we were about to depart for Durango, but the house has stolen all our money and taken over our lives. Maybe next year will be back to normal.

Take care my friend,

Scotty

[ARtraveler]

Thank you for posting the update Mark.

The house is coming along beautiful.

We do miss Scotty.

[Bob Denman]

Thanks a million for the report...
Please tell Scotty that he's been missed even more than he could imagine...
(Tell him that I've actually been forced to answer technical questions! )

[cuznjohn]

absolutely beautiful

[Jim&Teresa]

Wow, lots of hard worked went into it! It shows - great job! Thanks for the update!!

[bruiser]

Please tell Scotty that he's been missed even more than he could imagine...

Agreed.

[Trickie Dick]

I went by to see Scotty and Nancy weekend before last. I got the cook's tour. It is really nice. They have put in a lot of personal hard work and it's extremely well done. I don't think any of us are surprised about that. I think they are targeting the 4th of July for a move in date. I passed along that his friends on SL are missing him.
I'm not sure if I'm to mention this but they are thinking seriously about Spyderquest. Hopefully things will work out for that.

[Bob Denman]

Thanks to BOTH of you guys for keeping the lines of communication open...

[MarkLawson]

Got a note from Scotty over the weekend saying they have moved into the new house:

'We have moved into our new house...at least for the majority of nights. We may still alternate between the houses for a while.'

[Bob Denman]

It's good to hear that they may be seeing, "A light at the end of the tunnel" finally!
Thanks for letting us know...

[MarkLawson]

Got another note from Scotty the other day and thought I'd share it here:

Hi Mark,


Nice to hear from you. I wish I had kept in touch better, but I have been super busy. The title company closed out the construction loan, but the bank won't do the same and issue a mortgage until I tidy up some "deficiencies" noted on the last inspection report. I am supposed to close out the erosion permit, install a permanent railing for the stairway, frame and screen the porch, and tile the guest shower. I have made progress, but working alone it is slow, and my time is technically up. They bank is giving me some slack, but I may need to extend the construction loan again. Bah, humbug!

To close out the erosion I need to get some grass growing. I am pleased to report that it has sprouted, and we have taken down the erosion fence, but I have to water about 25,000 sq. ft. twice a day lately, and that takes time without a sprinkling system. The stairway newel post made from a small walnut tree felled during the construction is in place, and the steel railing attached. The carpenters shied away from that one, so it fell on me.

The porch is framed and the screen stops installed, but I prefer not to install the screens just yet. I need to have the PT lumber dry before it is stained, and I need to install a ceiling before I screen the gables. I never intended to screen this year, just frame it, but that's not the way the inspector wrote it on his report. They want screens. I think I will install the bottoms to make my railings legal, fabricate the rest, and store them. If the appraiser asks, I can show him. After all, they are seasonal and meant to be removed. I hope it flies. They need to do a new appraisal anyway, so his report should be able to pass Freddie Mac.

I am working on the tile. It is slow going, as I can only do a section at a time. Today I finished the back wall, but I still have to do the back wall niche, each end, and the grout. I figure at least five more sessions...more if I have to build supports.

Not sure where I left off on the progress reports, but the ceiling fans are installed, the standby generator started up (and auxiliary heating coil locked out), and the bathroom mirror installed. Still lots left to do, including a barn, but I can't build a barn until after I get the mortgage. Here is the video of a walk-through I took before that stuff happened. pardon the mess...this is a construction zone, and we are still moving things in.



Here is the porch.


Here is Nancy with the grandson, watching our mama turkey and her four chicks from the deck.


Too bad about Maggie Valley if that is the case. I liked it there and it wasn't leagues away. Traveling cross-country for a 2-day meet is tough to ask. Of course I am surprised that BRP still puts on the owners' event at all. We have been too busy and too broke to ride much. I have only put about 1,000 miles on my RT this year, and none at all on the BMW or vintage bikes. I feel so ashamed! ;-)

2014-07-27_12-18-40_951.jpg2014-07-27_12-19-00_823.jpg2014-07-28_12-11-36_799.jpg



Take care, my friend.

Scotty

[MarkLawson]

I received the following email from Scotty, complete with three pictures of the log house, but I am having trouble posting the pics. They turn into pages and pages of code, so I will post only the text of his email. (The house is looking great!)

Hi Mark,

I hope all is well with you. We are doing fine, other than colds that our grandson transferred from his mom. One of the lesser joys of grandparenting.

I finished staining the house last week Wednesday. Twelve days of staining spread out over several weeks, due to weather. That followed weeks of caulking (over a mile of log joints) and a couple weeks of pressure washing. In all I have about 40 long days of work involved. Since other than the washing it could not be done unless there was a dry day both before and after, and it was above freezing with no frost when I started, it really dragged out. The house looks good though. More importantly, it is weatherproof now. Having the bare wood exposed for a year worried me.

(pic) (pic) (pic)

The day I finished was the last decent day we are likely to see for a while. The price we pay for this temperate summer climate, and our delightful proximity to Lake Michigan, is four months of mean winter misery each year. I have shifted to indoor projects. The house is complete to most people, but I know there is lots to do. I have to plan and build a pole barn, build partition walls in the basement, build a basement bathroom, take care of remaining punch list items, build a lot of shelves, and so on. We also have a lot of stuff left to move from the old house, and that needs to be cleaned and fixed up for sale. Then there are the hobbies, like all the bikes and the model railroad. I will still be busy ten years after they bury me.

I winterized the Spyders and the lone vintage bike I have here, after I finished staining last week. It was nice to take a short ride on each. I may get in some more riding on my RT, but the weather report looks pretty grim. I have only put about 1,000 miles on the old girl this year, I'm ashamed to say. I am worried about the fate of the Spyders as a result of the current NHTSA investigation. It is wider and deeper than their investigations usually are. They have numerous concerns, instead of being focused on just one problem. They are even digging into the EPA end of things. I have not kept a close watch, but from what I have seen it could mean trouble...either for the Spyder or for the financial viability of the company. I hope I worry for nothing.

Take care my friend, and have a great Thanksgiving if I don't talk to you again before then.

Scotty

[PrairieSpyder]

Thanks for the update. I'm really happy for Scotty about the new house. I hope he knows that many await his updates and are eager to hear from him directly when he's ready to come back.

[Bob Denman]

Thanks for keeping us to date on all of this!
Question: Which "lone vintage bike", did he bring to the new place?

[cptjam]

I bet it is his R model BMW. Scotty, all the best. Thanks for posting.

[Bob Denman]

That's a safe bet; but he has so many possibilities...

[cuznjohn]

i love his house, wish he posts a video of it soon