Author Topic: Victoria's Cottage - Western Montana (Read 21663 times)

Pat · « **Reply #25 on:** October 21, 2010, 11:24:20 AM »

Damn I lose more stuff.

try again. third time is a charm

Framed and ready for the roof

Roof is on and stone work has begun. Late October 2009

I am quitting while I'm ahead

Pat · « **Reply #26 on:** October 21, 2010, 11:43:04 AM »

Okay I am on roll. It only took me two times to do the last one. Shooting for perfection on this load

Inside photos

Master Bedroom and Loft

Future kitchen and eating nook

Lots of wood

Living Room from kitchen area

Fast work to hall to Master bedroom

nathan.principe · « **Reply #27 on:** October 21, 2010, 11:46:19 AM »

I am very envious! thats a nice place you got there

I must say I have never seen I Joists used for rafters, we dont worry about snow loads in my neck of the woods. Keep up the good work!

altaoaks · « **Reply #28 on:** October 21, 2010, 06:19:50 PM »

the more i see of this VC project the more i like the VC. i am second guessing my thoughts about using the universal 2 story in favor of the VC. i have one (well, probably lots) of questions, but would you mind breaking down the cost of using your lego building bolcks, that is really impressive. i think that having the victoria cottage plan in mind with your breakdown would be very enlightening, for me at least! thanks abba

cabinfever · « **Reply #29 on:** October 22, 2010, 04:24:24 AM »

Looking real good, abbea!

John Raabe · « **Reply #30 on:** October 22, 2010, 06:29:55 AM »

Very nice project Abbea!

You have made some nice choices.

The Victoria plan is by its exposed beam nature a more complex structure than the 2 story Universal plan. Abbea has done some customizations and adapted the plans to his sloping site.

Good work and thanks for sharing your project with us.

John

Pat · « **Reply #31 on:** October 22, 2010, 12:48:23 PM »

Okay moving along with the exterior. The walls are all insulated with cellulose with a 2" rigid covering and then cement siding. Originally I wanted clapboards and then shingles in the gables, but I also wanted to use Nichiha siding. so I compromised and went with the shake look completely. I am really happy that I did.

Some more photos with it mostly sided and winter coming

Pat · « **Reply #32 on:** January 24, 2011, 12:14:47 PM »

It's been awhile since I have last updated. Thanks for everyone and your questions that I received . I hope I have helped in any way.
Some more photos. Of course I have forgotten everything I learned on how ti post photos so we shall see

Try Try again $:-\$

John Raabe · « **Reply #33 on:** January 24, 2011, 12:30:40 PM »

Such a lovely place...

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_MbyKDuRk3kQ/TJo_L8AeFAI/AAAAAAAAAHo/I8UHL6T7u-Y/s640/18-November%202009.jpg

The above URL is the file location of one of the photos which you pasted between the two IMG tags (produced by the little picture frame icon in the edit toolbar.

You can do the same thing by copying and pasting the web location of any new images you want to post. HINT: click the modify button on any of your earlier photo posts to see what the code looks like.

Bishopknight · « **Reply #34 on:** January 25, 2011, 06:32:55 AM »

Beautiful home, thanks for all the pictures and your story!

Sassy · « **Reply #35 on:** January 25, 2011, 08:19:02 AM »

You've done a gorgeous job on the Victoria's Cabin - I love it! Looking forward to more pictures! Hopefully you've figured it out or send it to John or Glenn or Don & they can post the pics. I'd like to see the inside - you know we all like pictures!

Pat · « **Reply #36 on:** January 25, 2011, 01:03:31 PM »

A couple of test posts again and then i will bring you all up to 2011
Inside photos of some of the steps along the way.
The good news is the house is finished (mostly) and everything we tried to do has worked. Dec temps averaged 19ºF and we used only 1200 KWH for all the electricity- heat, lights, refrig, and air exchanger (at .5.4 cents a KWH is good Thank you CoOp)

During the summer we would leave the windows open at night and closed during the day and the temp never got above 78 even when it was 95º outside.
In the early fall when the temperature ran between 32º and 55º for 2 days we reversed the window thing and the temp never dropped below 72º. We never turned on the heat.
Because of the air exchanger we always have fresh air so it does not get stuffy. So far so good . Okay I am getting ahead a little bit so here are some more photos

Living Room Ceiling - the ceiling is rough sawn fir which is nailed to the sheathing. the sheathing was painted black so when the planks shrunk you get an nice uneven effect. Wait to see latter photos.

Master bedroom loft

I am going to post this and then continue

Pat · « **Reply #37 on:** January 25, 2011, 01:26:54 PM »

Okay this is working but I need to get them smaller

Lights in the kitchen.

Beginnings of the kitchen from the stairs

Living Room

Master Bedroom looking back towards Living Room

Pat · « **Reply #38 on:** January 25, 2011, 01:32:03 PM »

Rock and Roll

Kitchen soon to be sink area looking east

the beginnings of the stairs

the mud room

John Raabe · « **Reply #39 on:** January 25, 2011, 01:54:59 PM »

Fine work and handsome detailing. Going to be a great house.

altaoaks · « **Reply #40 on:** January 26, 2011, 05:01:18 PM »

abbea, its just beautiful, what a fine home you have built! i love the photos, and i would still love to see your floor plan! but you must be so very proud of the way your victorias cottage has blossomed.

RIjake · « **Reply #41 on:** January 26, 2011, 05:51:04 PM »

I've gotta agree with everyone.....that's a sweet place!

Do you have a rough estimate of your costs to date?

Sassy · « **Reply #42 on:** January 26, 2011, 06:46:20 PM »

Very very nice! Thanks for posting the inside - keep bringing on the pics as you progress!

Hydroman · « **Reply #43 on:** January 26, 2011, 09:48:21 PM »

Real craftsmanship. Shows you do not have to build big to have a beautiful house. Also shows small does not necessarily mean cheap. Looks like you have sunk some serious bucks into this project. Congratulations.

Pat · « **Reply #44 on:** January 28, 2011, 11:20:09 AM »

Nice story about 5 old friends, 8 days, minimal hygiene, one dream kitchen, and a whole lot of cigarettes, beer, and laughter. Wrote this last year. Photos on next post
and I got it figured out on the sizing. Thanks for the comments. I will try to get the floor plan up I know some of you I have sent it to but I will see about doing a PDF file. Yes I believe that the McMansion era is past. At least I am hoping so and you can have small and nice. And yes it is a bit more costly then what I would have done 30 years ago. I got lucky So here is the story about a kitchen. And since I have been a cabinetmaker the past 30 years this one is state of the art with only one of teh ovens a little too low (but it was a conscious decision as was the lack of wall cabinets

Well we finally did it.

Leif and Frey and Mark and Tab and me aka “Wild Hogs 2010”, arrived in Montana safe and sound, albeit with one missed flight and one extra day in Bozeman because of 100 mph winds. The furniture packed in Florida combined with the kitchen packed in Pennsylvania also made it to Victor and up the mountain in one piece. Kudos to all who packed and repacked those 11’ Wilsonart Solid Surface tops.

With the Penske truck unloaded and cabinets and boxes strewn around the house we began. The schedule for the next 7 days was now set. Each day “The Hogs” would arise at 6:00am kick start their bodies with cigarettes and coffee until 7:00 and then start working without any food and only more cigarettes until 6:30 pm with the sound of the pop guush of the first of many beers and drinks began. When questioned about lack of food the answer was always. “Don’t want to lose focus.” Each night we would have a massive feed followed by more drinks until one by one we would crawl off to sleep only to get up the next morning and repeat. I did notice that some of the children got hungry during the night and a dozen eggs or a package of hotdogs would be missing in the morning.

The Hogs split up with brothers working with brothers,( Mark and Tab and Frey and Leif) while I offered assistance and answered questions and ran errands and cooked each night. We became a well oiled machine by the end of our visit to Kelly Ridge in Victor. During the 7 days I witnessed some seemingly impossible field fabrications with rudimentary tools accompanied with some really memorable encounters, none of which included predatory animals. I certainly have never assembled nor been in the company with a more talented group of craftsmen and artisans in all my 30 years of building and cabinetmaking.

So to the kitchen which is the final chapter to all the kitchens I have made and/or helped design and could be a show piece for the industry and hardware, cabinetry, and accessories included in it

One of the most memorable field change was with the 11’ (read 132”) by 42” peninsula top. The top, made with Wilsonart Solid Surface and is Greenguard certified, was 1-1/2” short. Tab Black spun his magic and with limited tools and assortment of handmade clamps he fastened 15 pieces to the end of the top. After 5 hours of clamping, routing and sanding (4000 grit) I challenge anyone to see the seams. It was truly unbelievable. If Wilsonart was to give an award for fabrication hands down it should go to Tab.

Other than the usual tight fits scribes the rest of the installation went flawless except for a slight miscalculation for a pipe in the waste cabinet. This is the one cabinet that included the Blum Servo-drive opening feature. We have re-designed it and I will install it in June.

The kitchen called for no wall cabinets and only drawers in the base cabinets. All the drawers are the latest Blum version of the TANDEMBOX Intivo with several drawers, especially the Space Corners, using the Design Element and others using the Boxcap. I chose the black systems with frosted glass to keep with the industrial look of the kitchen and house. All will be fitted with Blum’s ORGA-LINE utensil, plate holders and food storage. Next month.

As mentioned there are no wall cabinets only fixed shelving with accent lighting. All the shelves have the latest state of the art Hera LED dimmable lights and are connected to a transformer and a remote control. 17 in all. The handles and knobs are wrought iron from the Berenson Rhapsody series and the one small 8” tall pantry next to the refrigerator is the Scalea series by Fulterer. Not surprisingly the pantry got the most compliments form the Hogs because of its ease of use, quality of materials and soft close.

The kitchen, although not quite finished, is everything I thought it would be. I cannot say anything more except thanks to all, Mark and brother Tab, and of course to the companies mentioned above who listened and worked with me with some modifications and who manufacture some of the finest quality products I have ever seen. Enough said as now it is time to enjoy it.

All the while the brothers Aarnio, Leif and Frey (the boys from Finland) were busy working on closets and loft railings and trying to fix some things that were unfixable. Finally they moved on to installing the outside deck. If you call installing Ipe wood planks decking.

Let me be the first to say publicly that it is a dangerous combination when you mix a master stair fabricator and a nuclear engineer to work together. Often we would look outside to see Frey using his slide rule (I swear we saw it ) to figure out how to nail the deck or watch Leif and him pointing and planning and talking about how to get a 30’ run square to within a 1/16”. Of course there was always a cigarette included with the discussions. At one point Mark walked outside and commented. ”This isn’t nuclear science, we are only building a deck, you know what I mean?” This of course fell on deaf ears. We all had a good laugh as Mark has been saying this for as long as I have known him. But with a little last minute help the deck was finished by 7:00 pm the night before we left to go home.

There were many events that took place other than the slow disintegration of all things manners and civil by 5 men alone in the wilderness for 7 days, but a couple stand out. One morning my neighbor Bec George who walks her dog Otis each morning around 6:30 came over to say hey to the boys and she had a 357 magnum strapped to her hip (compliments from a previous cougar meeting one morning last fall ). Well the Hogs thought that was just about as good as it gets and comments where “I can just see my wife walking the dog in Ft Lauderdale packing a 357”. Another memorable event was

On Sunday, Mothers Day, we took a ride down through the Bitterroot and over to the Big Hole Crossing Restaurant in Wisdom MT for dinner. Awesome food. One of the items on the menu was Rocky Mountain Oysters (Domestic Bull testicles, cut thin, lightly breaded and fried….served with cocktail sauce. Lots of laughter but no-one was brave enough to order them.

And in the Credit Due department:

The Hogs have collectively about 180 years of experience in home construction and cabinet design and fabrication, mostly in New England and Pennsylvania. I have had businesses with two of these guys and have seen the work from the other two. In my experience this team was as good as it gets. That being said the most commented and overall consensus was the best work in the house was by far the finish carpentry. Everyday someone would comment about the doors being dead-on or about particular difficult joint. But the one that stands out the most was when each and every one of the Hogs realized that the house is not a true post and beam and the rafters are all carefully scribed in. This realization took anywhere up to 3 days and offered up conversation for the entire trip. So a big kudos and thanks goes to Damian Mast and his team from St Ignatius. We were honored to be able to follow true craftsmanship.

All in all it was a grand time.

We finally parted company and headed out to different parts of the country, but with some serious memories. So here are some photos of the happenings and those involved.

Pat · « **Reply #45 on:** January 28, 2011, 11:26:06 AM »

Photos of work in progress

The Boys

MountainDon · « **Reply #46 on:** January 28, 2011, 11:28:37 AM »

Wow! Very nice!!

Pat · « **Reply #47 on:** January 28, 2011, 11:29:21 AM »

Hot dam

All the photos are the same size except one

Next is the kitchen all finished. Maybe tomorrow. Don't want to push my luck

Pat

John Raabe · « **Reply #48 on:** January 28, 2011, 12:33:08 PM »

Great story!

Great kitchen!

and a great group of support pals. Kudos!

Pat · « **Reply #49 on:** February 02, 2011, 09:06:53 AM »

The stairs now I can post side by side photos.
I am getting the hang of this

Loft Railings