Lath Outside, Stuffing Inside

We've seen quite a bit of rain these past couple of weeks, which has really slowed down progress, particularly on the "house wrap" and stucco. They are finishing up the stucco paper and metal lath (looks like chicken wire, but it isn't really).



Most of the outside has been papered & lath'd, so hopefully we'll see the first stucco "scratch coat" go up late this week, or early next.

We also made a last-minute design change - instead of stucco at the side door we decided to continue the Cedar on the main wall and ceiling. It looks really great, so we are happy with that. I also added back our little "milk box" from the original 1939-era house.



We'd been wanting to put it back in, but the demolition guys beat the ever-livin-%$&# out of it. I managed to salvage the most important part - the "selector door" - and installed it under the corner kitchen window right at the side entrance. This little door has special significance for Cathy and I since it was the final thing that sold us on this house back when we bought it in 1995. We both thought it pegged the "charming meter", so we felt it deserved a special place in the new house.

We've seen one or two little "milk cubbies" in some other houses in the area, but nothing like this vintage piece, so it's pretty special.



Milk, butter, eggs...place your order:



The Cedar is also pretty close to done - a few "tie in" pieces here and there, but the big parts are finished and it looks great. We are already getting tons of compliments on it from everyone who sees it. Here's the front door and massive overhang:



There are couple of really cool angles, and we are still finding others:



Here's the South side, basically along the side fence so it's a bit hard to see from the ground. The black "elephant trunks" are temporary drain pipes to try to keep the water off the Cedar.



They also trimmed out the main "cantilevered" window in the living room with Cedar. Both Cathy and I had somehow forgotten that we were doing that. Looks good!



The other big news is that the insulation was knocked out in about 3 days. They finished it off this afternoon, including the inspection. We are using some really nice insulation - "Coccoon" which is blown into the ceilings and "blue jean trimmings" in all the walls. The blue jeans are a pleasure to work around compared to the old school fiberglass crud.



You can see the "fiber" screen (sort of like Tyvek Fed-X envelopes, only with an open mesh that allows it to breathe) on the ceilings. That keeps the blown-in Cocoon stuff from falling out until the sheetrock goes on.



The workers cut holes in the fabric and blow the cellulose into the rafter and joist bays overhead - dusty, dusty work:



Did I mention that it was dusty? I'm not sure which end of the hose is worse...





This is starting to feel like a lifetime ago:



The sheetrock was loaded-in this afternoon; they start tomorrow. Fred tells us that they are going to be double-teaming the hanging. I think that he said that they have the sheetrock nailing inspection scheduled for next Monday or Tuesday, so they will be flying.

After that, the tape/mud/sand process is going to take 3-weeks or so - apparently the "Level 5" finish we are going for will require them to go over the same surfaces 6 times - I think there are going to be 3 layers of mud, with sanding between each. I'm glad I'm not doing that part.

We've been signed off for inspections of rough plumbing, electrical, framing, insulation, so it is time to close up the walls. I sure hope I have all my phone/network/audio stuff in the right places...