Saturday, April 14, 2012

Basis for comparison



I took this photo on our last visit to the house. I like looking at it beside the architect's sketch I used for the blog header.

J.

Insulated

We were back in the house last weekend to meet with the appraiser and to check out the progress. The insulation is almost all completed, and the drywall is next. The contractor says the drywall is what makes it start to look like a real house.


This is the lovely landing at the top of the stairs on the third floor. Skylight and huge window = reading area?


This is the open interior window leading from the staircase to the top of the living room. Designed with climbing cats in mind.


The window is finally installed in the basement guest room, making it look much less creepy than when the window area was covered with a big, wet, black tarp.


We now have a back door installed. This is where the dogs will go in and out. And in and out. And in and out.


And this is what the insulation looks like. It is spray-in insulation and it is really hard and plasticy when you touch it. Apparently the best choice for our environmentally friendly home.

J.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Landscaping Plan

Part of the plan when it comes to building the house is to get as much of it done as possible before we move in. That means that when we finally arrive, we're not going to have to do work (or hire other people to do work) on the house, but rather we can just enjoy it. And with a baby on the way, our time and resources will be limited anyway.


One of the things we're glad to be able to take care of is the landscaping. Our landscape designer is Sharanne Paquette and wow, is she ever great. For example, that photo above? She hand drew it. No computers necessary. She also did a great job of balancing my very intense and inexpert desire for a full-on urban farm, with what is actually possible given our climate and our land. There will be vegetables, there will be fruit trees, there will be bee hives. But there will also be some regular old landscaping to make the property look nice.


This is her detail of my second floor balcony, which will be entirely devoted to my vegetable garden and bee hives. It will get the perfect amount of sun, and I'll be able to produce a bunch of food up there each season. Heaven.

The other detail that is worth mentioning is the dog area that she designed in the back. It is a smaller run than they had before, but will still give them plenty of space to putter around. It will have hardy ground cover and be securely fenced AND it will have a tunnel built in for them to explore and crawl through. A tunnel! They're going to love it.

J.