Rocks Break Glass- no kidding!

One detail about living here- just when you think you have figured out the road situation (rocks break glass)- you get hit again. We have had THREE rock chips in three weeks. Every week we start to talk about the likelyhood of getting another chip and then within minutes- we get hit. We have made a vow not to talk about such matters again in hopes we do not get anymore hits. That was the bad news- the good news is that we met a really funny guy who sits by the road fixing window chips all summer for $40.00 cash/chip. When he does not have any business- he contemplates life and stacks rocks. Just thought I would share a few of his creations. No glue, no steel- just pure balance between all forces- wind, gravity and rain.

The House that Casey (& Mike) Built

The smoke has cleared and the weather has cooled off dampening the fire a bit.

Believe or not - Casey has only been here since early Sunday. He got off the plane late Saturday night and went right to work Sunday morning. They laid out the sill plate and then goofed the rest of the day. After all....it was Sunday.

Since then they have been pounding nails (with the nailgun of course) and cutting wood like crazy. Not only do we have the lower level framed in (June 24-Day 1)....it is also sheeted ( June 25-Day 2). The overhead garage beam was set yesterday and now they are getting ready for the middle beams. Once that is complete- the garage doors will go on and the second level flooring put down. It has been busy, busy around here.

Casey walks the 6" outer walls like a monkey and bends over like a limber gymnast. I swear he'll fall off those 9' side walls but when I express my concern- he just grins. It's fun having him around.....he's telling his dad what he needs, what to cut and how do to it. Mike just does what he is told and they get along just fine.

More to come in the days ahead.

Another new "unsettling" experience !!!

The weather around here has been extremely warm with the fire danger is at "very high" on all postings. Unfortunately we have had a lot of thunder, unwanted lightening and no rain. Lightening struck southwest of us about 30 miles and to the northeast about 30 miles so we were sandwiched between two forest fires. The southwest fire has consumed about 6000 acres and the northeast fire is contained. As a result of these fires, the skies have been darker than the Alaskan nighttime sky and the smoke hangs in the air. Air quality is very bad, creating scratchy throats and runny noses. The picture above was taken at noon on what was a sunny day. Today the skies were so dark- the yard light came on. The sky was that funny color- like it will get before a bad tornado but there was no wind and only smoke hanging around. Finally the wind did kick up a bit (bad for the fire but good for us) - the sky cleared up and we had daylight again.

The good news- our lumber showed up on the truck. Luckily I got down to the house before he unloaded it. I couldn't figure out how he was going to unload it but he just lifted the bed and off it slide with a loud bang. That was pretty simple- I think it was good thing we had soft ground to unload it on.

Once it was on the ground- it starting raining (of course) so off we went to get a tarp to protect that $10,000 pile of lumber.

A Finished Foundation and a New Well

Seems like a long time since I logged onto the site. I made a trip to Fairbanks for work and while I was gone- alot happened. Mike watched over the pouring and finishing of the foundation. The center section was poured so all of the tubing is covered with cement. "Cement Dave" brought in a pumper truck to make it easier to get the material to the right spots. Since I was not around- Mike made sure to sign the cement with our names!!! Growing up- I was always gone on cement pouring day at the farm....once again I was gone but he took great care to mark our spot!

The next day Mike took blueboard and attached it to the outside of the foundation. Another step to warm winters. After this was completed, truckloads of gravel were brought in to cover the outside of the foundation and to create a runoff slope for the rain and snow. Terry and Mike worked the gravel so it was just perfect. Terry spruced up the lot with the D3 Cat so now it looks like someone will really live here. The lot is really pretty now that the flowers, ferns and wild roses are coming out.

The well driller showed up last week as well. Mike tried to tell me that the well had to be drilled to 400 ft (in one day- yea right!)...he forgot I did know something about that part of this process. Our well driller took exactly two hours to go 40 feet so it did not cost us $16,000 but rather only $1600. So now we have a new well and a picture perfect corner lot.

Saturday, Mike's son Casey arrives to start framing the house. He has given us six weeks to get it completed. He will also be working on all of the electrical while he is here. Thank goodness for family talents. We could not get this completed without Mike's brother & wife- Terry and Arlene. Now the younger generation will join us for the fun. I hope Casey doesn't run our legs off.

Laying a new Foundation

Laying a new foundation is a bit different here. The footings were built on top of the ground with the 12" stem wall poured on top of the footings. At first looking at the skeleton of footings lumber was very disturbing as we are used to digging the footings into the ground. Here they do things differently but the end result is the same. You are looking at the framework for the 12" stem in the above picture. The below picture shows the footing boards attached. Two cement trucks arrived to pour and the crew was busy. The cement was very thick so it would not push up out of the bottom footings.

The foundation boards were taken off the next day. Now the fun begins- we have to fill the inside with alot of sand and I mean ALOT of sand!!! Terry used the excavator to dump sand into the middle. We then raked and shoveled to where it needed to go. The final step was to screed the sand so it is level. Then it has to be pounded every which way to make sure it is packed down.

The next step was to lay down the blueboard insulation. Since we are installing infloor heating, we must insulate the concrete from the ground. This will make the heating system very efficient as it will only heat the concrete and not the ground beneath it. The blueboard is laid out, taped and fitted to the interior walls. Oh but first the guys had to dig out the footing for an interior support post. Sand in......Sand out.......

The next day the infloor heating was laid out and attached to the blueboard with special (expensive 36 cents each) plastic staples. The entire lower level (30' x 48') was installed in one day. The plumber came up with the line layout. A single line had to be less than 300' long and it had to start and finish at the same location. The garage (yes the garage will be heated!!) has one zone with 5 lines while the office/bathroom area is on a separate zone with an additional 3 lines. This way we can heat each area to a different temperature. A good chalkline, tape measure and plenty of help made the whole process go alot faster than if one person tried to get it done.

The plans show us how to layout the PEX tubing so starts and ends up at the manifold. The tubing comes in 1000' rolls and is made to be installed within the concrete floor.

The staples have a special gun that insures that we do not hit the tubing. One hole and you have to replace the entire 300' length. The staples were simple but expensive- of course they were made just for this tubing. The tubing will have liquid running through it to heat the entire house. We will have the same type of system on the upper level.

The infloor heating has a manifold system where all the lines start and finish. This will be later connected to the boiler. Today we tested the lines for leaks with air pressure- No leaks. Now we are ready for the concrete to be poured on Tuesday.

By the way- it has been dry and 84' this last weekend. Hot Hot Hot!

No Sirens- No Stars

Wow, it has been at least 14 days since I've heard any sirens. It is amazing how the constant noise wears on you. Today the only sound was the wind in the trees....the cat meowing and the dog snoring.


Yesterday was spent on the road to Anchorage- ordered windows and doors. The news of the day- Moose on the road right in front of us!

It is summer time here- no stars in the skies - only the summer light. Fall & Winter will bring those twinkling sights.


Tomorrow the cement for the footings arrives. More progress and pictures to come.

Not much going on....at our house.

Nothing much happened this weekend except for the fact that the right of way is cleared- Thanks to Terry's skills again!!! The electric and phone company should be happy with the clearing. The neighbors showed up this weekend to stay at their cabin. We were able to meet with them to discuss the power situation. Of course this progressed to a new building pad being built on their property as well as a new driveway and their right of way cleared for future power. So much for the boys resting on Sunday....they were too busy running equipment for the neighbors.

The cats and dog are getting along marvelously. They are eating together, napping at the same time and sniffing around outside.

Saturday night we went north to Byers Creek Lodge for hamburgers. Nice place and nice people with lots of stories to share.