Who Knows What Week it Is?

Sorry we have been so long in updating our blog regarding our progress. As is usually the case, when things get really juicy, it’s when one is super busy. And such was the case with us. (We move in on Thursday!) We have been lucky to have friends come help, and the local sandwich shop guy asks every day at lunch how progress goes (he loves Lloyd Kahn, too!) And yes, we will be camping out. We have electricity*, a roof overhead, and a place to sleep, but that is where it ends, for now. But it can’t be that bad, as we are choosing to move in instead of paying for another two weeks of our current rent, which is an option. Or we’re pleasantly nuts, which is also possible. This is the theory some of our family has taken up.

 

The progress is as follows:

Reflectix installed between the rafters. That stuff is amazing. We ordered it figuring it would be a good idea given our current roofing is black underlayment, soon to be followed by aluminum sheeting, neither of which is known for good thermal cooling properties. Now we wish we had used it for the entire envelope prior to sheep’s wool insulation. Reflectix is similar to what lines your lunch bag – it has excellent radiant heat/cold insulation properties, advertised as 97% efficient. We can tell you, just by stapling that stuff up, without even the insulation to go over it yet, the indoor temperature was close to 10 degrees (F) cooler at lunchtime compared to our confused/sweaty/grumpy prior afternoons.

Reflectix insulation in roof, with crooked, cheap, Ikea light hack. Another story…

Next improvement was more paneling, and the installation of the shelf for the fridge and start of the closet underneath.

Fridge shelf and closet underneath, in progress

And more paneling in the loft area so we have a place to put our clothes and bed in a few days.

Also, electricity works in all circuits*. As mentioned previously, we have 4 circuits, (2) 15 amp and (2) 20 amp circuits. One of the 15 amp circuits, much to our chagrin, kept tripping the breaker when we fired ‘er up. Turned out to be a cable clamp that had been over-tightened, short-circuiting the wire. Also had a faulty GFCI circuit, new from the Big Box Store. As we closed up tonight, we realized that the kitchen circuit did not shut off when the breaker was switched, which was not cool. *We have since found that the breaker was fine; mislabeling and tired brains were at fault.The gas lines, similarly, have been a bit of a pain, which, when time allows, we will provide our reflections on.

Last but not least, the beautiful Dutch door is nearly installed. We love the rounded top, to match our rounded roof. And the hardware is all ready to go, same for the French doors.

Dutch door viewed from the stair landing

And although the bathroom is not usable yet (take that back – the bucket has been, ahem, christened), we did put up a little curtain for privacy from the street while still having a little air flow while working. It stood as a foretaste of what our little house will be, so very soon. It will be a future full of house plants. It’s a cheery, domestic view.

Bathroom window curtain

Next time we post, we’ll be living & camping in our beautiful house! What better way to learn what you really need in life?