house in the pocono mountains

[pocono_couple]

Once again, it appears as though we have not been paying attention to this page.. but that is just because we have been working so much!  Despite the heat that we are experiencing(along with everyone else in the country),  we have been pretty productive, and, as is typical for my lifestyle in general,  I have a number of projects going on at the house at the same time..  like last summer, we have put some energy into the gardens, creating some new ones and testing out different plants to see what will work in the long term..  the bunnies are loving it!!

that small plot surrounded by rocks which looks empty had some nice sunflowers in it up until a week and a half ago.. then, all of a sudden, they were gone!

the bunnies can't reach the flower boxes on the shed, however, and they can't climb up on the deck..  so my wife has been successful in those areas


we are using bead board for the ceiling on the fist floor..  we got started with that yesterday and this is what it looks like so far.

about 300 square feet more to go..

this is our bedroom..  i laid ash flooring in the bedroom, hallway and bathroom last week.   the rest of the house will have to wait till next year, so we can save up to buy more ash!  sometime in the next week or two, i will rent a floor sander and then apply a finish to the floor - hoping for more moderate temperatures for that process..



we decided to use a clear finish on our trim.. this is what our windows look like..  we will do the same with the bead board on the first floor.


lots of different hues in the ash flooring.. 


we are purchasing the flooring and the ceiling boards at a small local mill..  so far the quality has been very good.

we also started the plumbing..   i have one line which is bypassing the filter and manabloc distribution  - it is going to the exterior hose bib.. i figured that there was no need to run the water that we are using on the garden through the filter..


the tub is in place, and i put the first coat of joint compound on the bathroom today.. 


and then there is the back bedroom..  this one will just have to wait till we get the rest of the house finished, so that we can move all of this stuff out!   


we are loving the long days - in fact, we find that the daylight is lasting longer than our aging bodies, but we are getting a lot done, and we are getting close to the point where we can really begin to see what things are going to look like... and that is very exciting!   

With heat and soon to be finished plumbing, the reality of using the house throughout the winter is a wonderful thing..  we will be able to complete a lot of jobs during the school year from this point on, getting us a step closer to finishing the project!

[pocono_couple]

well, it has been quite a while since I last posted to this site..  this is not due to inactivity on the building front, although I did spend some prime construction time sailing in New Jersey this summer!   But, once again the beginning of school in September did bring about a grinding halt of the sounds of  building in the woods...  Until last week, that is.. final exam period, followed by a week of Thanksgiving vacation freed up a considerable amount of energy and initiative,  and we happened to be blessed with abnormally warm weather for the season, so I made the best of it, spending 10 and 12 hour days at the house.. trying to make it more livable each day. 

here are a few pics from late summer, when the garden was looking very nice!




so, these are for the flower lovers..  we found that we really do not have enough light ( too many trees on our neighbors property) to really have good success with vegetables,  but we did find some nice woodland wild flower mixes that worked out pretty well.

[pocono_couple]

and now for some interior pics..  i have one from this angle, taken a year or so ago.. things are looking much better!  we have the newly upholstered chairs covered - still sanding in other areas of the house..   and yes, i did read that we were not supposed to move in until all was complete, but we had no where to put this stuff!   and, if asked,  I would say.. absolutely do not move in until you are finished..  it is really challenging to work around stuff when you are trying to get jobs done..


  i really love the stove..  so far, it is keeping the whole house warm  ( 40,000 btu's) but it has a nasty habit of banging when it comes on and then again when it goes off - it uses lp gas and runs on a microstat thermostat..   i have talked with the place where we  bought it, and they are assuring me that it can be fixed...

[pocono_couple]

the kitchen..  you will note that we still need to install some trim around the ceiling..  but things are looking kind of cozy!

[pocono_couple]

the bathroom..   what  a treat to have indoor plumbing!    we put the porta potti in the basement..  not sure when we will need to use that again!      a friend from work helped out with the plumbing - it is 98% complete.. time to get the inspector back..

[pocono_couple]

our bedroom..   95% complete.. still need to trim out some of the closets and put down baseboard..  but it is very comfortable!

[pocono_couple]

and finally, the biggest project of the recent week was the roof over the front porch..  but i did not have a whole lot of daylight to shoot this one

i will have to try again some time soon.
so, what i learned about hip roofs is that i have a whole lot to learn!  I think that i have the basics figured out by now, but that is only going to help me on the next one..  this one.. well, most of the mistakes will not be obvious to the casual observer, but a keen eye will pick out a number issues that might warrant conversation   maybe it is good that the pic is dark .. actually,   due to the pitch of the roof,  you have to be standing pretty far away to see the roof, and that helps..   i also noted that you can't see much from the little balcony porch either.. so, it might be 30 years from now when the roofing guys get up there and say..  "who in the world put this roof on?"  of course, they may choose to use much more colorful language      

part of the problem is that the rood was not as square as i would have liked..   i pulled out the come along and set it up across the long diagonal.. and pulled it towards being more square.  but i had to settle.     the other part of the problem was that it was the first time that i attempted a hip roof..  and I think that i have been avoiding that for quite a while..    but, someday, i hope to build John's "builder cottage"  and now i am all set for the little hip roofed porch on the front!
   i hope that you enjoy!    jt

[pocono_couple]

oops.. some plumbing pics as well..     here is the distribution center for our water..   i was skeptical about using pex, but it certainly turned out to be easy to work with.. 

[pocono_couple]

last one for this session..   


if the weather holds..  i will go out to do some more work after school tomorrow..  if  i have enough energy , that is!   one of the pressing jobs at this point is to cut drains in the floor of that second floor balcony..   i put plywood down which i coated with epoxy - eventually, i will cover the whole thing with fiberglass, but that won't happen till spring..   

[archimedes]

Your place is coming along nice.  I've enjoyed following your build.

You're in the Pocono's,  how do you keep the deer from devouring your plants? 

[pocono_couple]

thanks archimedes..  good point!  we do have a deer problem.. in fact.. they love checking out our compost bin... especially when we get rid of over ripe apples!    they seem to let the wild flowers alone, but they certainly enjoyed the few vegetables which persisted despite the limited light that the garden gets..   they also like the lilac bushes that i put in a couple of years ago.   

sounds like you are familiar with the poconos.. where are you located?   jt

[pocono_couple]

for the first time, we really got to enjoy the house as a family these past two weeks.   the second bedroom is not taped yet, but my step-daughters were content with the mattresses that we bought, and my wife made the room as comfy as possible.  although it did not happen till the day after christmas,  the best gift that my youngest step-daughter got was a door on the bathroom!  ( actually, i guess that was second best - she was very excited to find a drum set in the basement - the place that was supposed to be my shop!     )

this wall by the steps was going to be drywall, but we made a last minute change, and as soon as i finished putting up the pine, my wife slapped a wreath on it!


we are finally getting doors hung ..  this large closet is in the kitchen and  it houses  a stacked washer and dryer as well as  pantry items.


i got some new shelves built for the kitchen - just need to add the face frames and doors at some point.   and, this was just in time for us to move in for the christmas holiday


i got the wall built around the balcony -  i was planning on a height of 42 inches, but the inspector visited early in the vacation to look at the plumbing ( which passed, by the way - also just in time for us to enjoy the holiday)  , and, as we were talking, he told me that residential construction required just a 36 inch height for railings around decks and such..   that is great, and i guess that i should have known it from the beginning - but it means that we can easily sit on the balcony and look over the railing - as long as my wife does not load it up with flower boxes!   


small house - small christmas tree    actually, it was a bit taller, but we had some real challenges getting it to work in our tree stand..  after cutting the trunk twice and still having issues, we got another stand ..   the tree worked out just fine.. 

we were somewhat disappointed that we have yet to get any appreciable snowfall, but it did make working around the house rather enjoyable - especially those few days when the temps were in the 50's!    this can't last, and neither does christmas break - back to classes tomorrow  

I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday, and best wishes for a safe and enjoyable new year from us in the poconos!

[pocono_couple]

oops - forgot the tree!   

[waterbug]

Your place is really coming along and looks like it was a nice family retreat for Christmas.

[pocono_couple]

thanks waterbug..   i  was not so sure that my step-daughters would appreciate spending much time at the house - it is out in the woods and rather quiet and no internet connection!   but we did get into town from time to time,  and they did not mind getting out on some hikes in the unusually warm weather - my wife and i found that to be encouraging.

unlike Thanksgiving, when i spent 10 or 12 hours a day working on the house while we were there,   i spent more time actually enjoying the quiet and relaxing and reading..   although we did get some projects done as well.    and, we entertained some friends who have been hearing about this project for 3 years, but just saw it for the first time - and that was fun as well. 

we are now in a position to get out there one night during the work week - that will be something special to look forward to each week!

[Sassy]

It's looking really nice!  Great you all had a wonderful Christmas there 

[metolent]

That window and door trim looks awesome!  I also really like the pine "accent" wall.  It all looks great!   

[pocono_couple]

thanks guys..   i can't take credit for the trim design - copied something that i saw in NH years ago.    the top piece is 5/4 with a small radius all around and the sill is also 5/4.  the side pieces  and apron are both 3/4 pine with a full radius on both sides.    we put one coat of clear minwax stain on followed by 4 coats of varnish..    i hope that it does not get too dark over the years, but that does tend to happen with pine.     I just made a project for my wife for Christmas out of pine and used the same water based material that i used on the floors, and i love the outcome..  hardly any darkening at all and just a quick rub with a sanding block between the 3rd and 4th coats..   it was a lot easier than the varnish, but i am kind of stuck with the varnish system for the trim at this point..   i love the look of wood!   

[pocono_couple]

well,   a little over a year later!    this quote from last Christmas a year ago tells the story!

".....unlike Thanksgiving, when i spent 10 or 12 hours a day working on the house while we were there,   i spent more time actually enjoying the quiet and relaxing and reading..   although we did get some projects done as well.    and, we entertained some friends who have been hearing about this project for 3 years, but just saw it for the first time - and that was fun as well.  "

we have been enjoying the house a whole lot,  and that has translated into not getting quite as much work done as I would have liked    We spent the entire summer there, and did a lot of work outside.. making new gardens with all of the rocks that were put to the side during the excavation.   I also dug lots and lots of rocks out of our driveway, filled the holes with gravel and then had a big load of stone delivered.   The neighbor who does the plowing in the winter really appreciated that effort! 

I also made it a point to clean up around the outside of the house.. clearing all of the construction debris..  making it look a little more appealing for both the neighbors and for us. 

and I have been slowly tackling jobs on the interior...  90% done in the girl's room..  a few touch ups in the bathroom, and a little drywall touch up in the stairwell.     

but,  we certainly enjoyed living out there this past summer, and  we spent thanksgiving and christmas there as well.   And now we try to get out as many weekends as possible.   This summer, we will be moving to the house on a permanent basis.   I am really ready for the move.   I have lived in a dorm on a high school campus for the past 13 years.  Of course, this is what has made this project possible, but it is time!   

I seem to be having some difficulty with  my camera,  so i will try to  get that resolved so that i can add some updated pics.  I know how much i enjoy the pics on everyone's  threads

[pocono_couple]

Well, it has been forever again!   Finally got the front of the house finished ( well. maybe - I do want to face the posts with pine and add a few more gingerbread details, but that may not happen till next summer)    Yesterday we had beautiful weather, just the kind that makes shingling fun work.  So, now all I need is some bleaching oil to get the new shingles to look like the old ones.   It is on order at my local Lowe's.   It was not easy to track bleaching oil down in northeast PA.  I meant to get some when I was in New England earlier in the summer, but the opportunity did not present itself.   So I called a local paint store to see if they could order it.  $52 per gallon was the answer.   I thought that was a bit steep so I checked with Lowe's.  The fellow behind the counter in the paint dept had never heard of it, but he said he would look it up. The next day he called to say that he was waiting for an answer from the local Cabot representative.    A little later I got a call from the representative himself, asking me  what the intended use was.   I explained that I would be using it on cedar shingles.   He agreed that this was the appropriate application.   He was concerned that I was uninformed and that I would be unhappy with the product..  there just are not too many  houses in northeast PA sided with cedar... not too many with real clapboards either..  lots of plastic 

Hopefully, the oil will be in this week, and we will get it applied.   The left side of the house is nearly finished, and some of the shingles on the back are already in place.  If the weather holds, I just might finish up the exterior around thanksgiving..

so what have i been doing with my time?   Interior work has been a priority, along with camping and sailing and baking bread and peach shortcake..  whoever cautioned against moving into a house before it was done certainly knew what he was talking about, but we are loving it just the same.. 

here is a link to my blog -   http://lifeat6mph.wordpress.com/
lots of random thoughts, but  there is a section of 5 entries starting on July 15th ( a view of Tom's river in the evening)  that describes one particular adventure that I had on the boat this summer..    always interested in feedback if you happen to be inclined to do some reading..     jt

[pocono_couple]

oops.. sorry about that.. on photobucket it looked like I had fixed the rotation!

[archimedes]

The house is looking good.   

I enjoyed reading your sailing blog re sailing ICW.  Reminds me of my days sailing in the often shallow Great South Bay of Long Island.

If you ever get a chance to experience sailing the San Juan Islands of the Pacific NW I highly recommend it.  Great wind,  beautiful scenery,  and most importantly deep water   

[pocono_couple]

thanks archimedes... we are loving being in the house.. so nice to be in the country after 13 years  in  a  dorm  in town! 

thanks for taking time to check out my blog..  i certainly hope to visit the pacific northwest - preferably right about this time so that we can spend time at the wooden boat festival in port townsend!    in fact, i just told my wife yesterday that we need to wait to take a cross country trip till we retire so that we can do it in the fall..  ( i might have failed to mention the timing of the boat show     ) 

the plan at the time being is to try to head to Maine again next year..   i am looking forward to  cruising up there.. and, we just bought a piece of property up there, so as soon as I finish this house, I will be able to start another project up there    

[archimedes]

I'll be looking forward to that build thread 

What part of Maine?

[pocono_couple]

phippsburg, just south of Bath on the Kennebec,  although we are not on the water..   lots of great recreational opportunities in the area..   most of our friends are envisioning retirement in Florida.   We can't imagine that!