Preparing for snow
And here's Mikey, working from a secured ladder, getting the last window snugged in
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Stacking siding in the Great Room
There are predictions of snow at 4,000 feet, but Summit Meadows (3,500 feet) seems to be a magnent for snow. About noon the crew started thinking SNOW, hauling the remaining siding inside, picking up and packing out tools, doing the garbage drill and the like.
If the snow holds off, all the on-site milled lumber will be moved inside to cure over the winter. If it snows an avalanche the lumber is covered with a tarp outside.
A major score of the day was the fitting and placement of the last window at the top of the stairs. It was very tricky because to fit the window from the outside the fitter had to traverse metal roof (= very slippery). Our clever crew managed to anchor a ladder on the roof and use that for footing. Yay Mikey
Meanwhile James was mudding and taping the garage. Earlier in the week Dan and Mikey had moved as much of the contents of the storage locker as they could onto the mezzanine. (pop corn served on request) which allows for much better movement in the garage. If time allows, a second mezzanine will be built on the other side of the garage and more things will be moved off the floor. Some day maybe even a vehicle might get inside. But James did yeoman service mudding and taping around the couches, artwork and tools, covering things as he went to avoid drippage. Yay James…well, goodness: yay whole crew.
Thursday the pump people had been back and now the water storage tank is in the garage, with all its gauges. The pump people wanted to turn the system on, but Dan assured them that would only fill up the crawl space which has had a mondo fan blowiing it out 24/7 for weeks, to avoid mushrooms and mold. I certainly hope there are no hibernating bears down there. Sleep in peace if that is the case.
More of the exterior got papered and my bedroom front wall got sided. Looks great.
It was cold all day, but Dan has a freebie wood stove hooked up in the garage and the place was a sauna. James was more than warm up top of his ladder. Jeremy tweeked out his back moving a framing platform earlier in the week and was longing for a hot tub with a view of the ocean and Vicadin. He will doubtless be right as rain come Monday…if we can still get in.
This was the insurance week. Since SJM Construction can end their work at any point, Stewart’s insurance will stop upon their departure. Truth be told, Stewart insurance was just for his building materials and would have done sweet nothing if some noodle-head had decided to light a bonfire in the Great Room — just for jollies. I’d been scrambling for a couple of weeks knowing this was coming, but my old insurance agent just wasn’t producing, saying the Ranch was un-insurable. Friend at the Clackmas County Bank found a local Farmer’s agent for me who was used to working with gated communities (Forest Service locks the Still Creek Road when the snows come). For $57.40 per month Hank’s Ranch is insured…..keeping the money on the mountain. I’m very relieved.
As I was leaving, I had to backup the Highlander about a block (I’m louzy at going backward…like a shark: must swim forward) because Wendy, a local, was coming in and I asked her if the local Hoodland Volunteer Fire Department had a key to the gate. She said “no”, but if they ever had to get in during the winter and they could get in (not too much snow), bolt cutters would trump a key any day of the week. Firemen like bolt cutters.
We are going to put a real door on my bedroom so we can stand a chance of entering the place in the winter with a key. It is ramped for me. All the other openings will get boarded up. If there is a possibility of continuing to work, if the place is snugged up, space heaters could make the inside temperatures bearable…..today there was ice on the floor.