Dogtrot at Hightop

[Redoverfarm]

Thanks Dog & Scott.  I didn't get as much accomplished as I had wanted to today.  I had to quit early and go run a couple cows that had gotten out.  Oh Well tomarrow is another day.

[MountainDon]

Looking very nice indeed, John.   

[Redoverfarm]

After the last few days the kitchen is almost completely finished.  Still have to set the sink , overhead lights and a few switch plates.  I made the band trim for the countertops out of the same white oak I made the transitions from.  With the two layers of 3/4" ply , thinset, Ditra and the 1/2 tile it came to just under 2-1/2" thick. Here is a few pics of the finished product.

Island Front and Rear.





Complete Set





Stand Alone base that will seperate the gas range from the refrigerator



I had something strange happen today with one of the prefinished pieces of trim.  When I unloaded it I left it on the edge of the deck.  The sun shined most of the day and when I looked at the piece it had blisters in the part that was exposed to the sun.  The remaining was shielded by the porch roof and alright.  The only thing I can think is that it had not cured long enough.

I guess tomarrow I will work on getting the sink installed.  I had already dry fitted so it's just assembly then to the basement to finish it up.  

[ScottA]

Looks awsome John. 

[MountainDon]

... blisters in the part that was exposed to the sun.  The remaining was shielded by the porch roof and alright.  The only thing I can think is that it had not cured long enough.

Moisture in the wood coming out with the heat from the sun?

[Redoverfarm]

I would say that you are probably correct with the moisture. Maybe not neccessarily in the wood but the stain and poly.  I sort of rushed the finishing process and probably the steps didn't have ample time to cure out.  It was dry to the touch but maybe hadn't cured under the skin.  Luckily I had a litle extra and just cut around that piece. The temps at night have been fairly low which might account for it now fully drying.  Normally the garage is warm at night but not last night.  If you notice the majority of the blisters seem to originate in the grain which would be the heaviest concentration of stain.    Oh Well that's "water under the bridge" now.   

[Bishopknight]

Looks great John, love the stain color, very pro job 

[Dandlite]

you do some nice stuff...
there Red...it all just kinda flows together...ya got good vision...!
kinda like an artist can look at a blank paper...see something that's not there but then paint it...
it's a gift...! Dan...

P.S. i'm gonna do this dog trot stuff...kinda...maybe 3-14 x 24's...i figure if i build them all down hill a bit i can kinda roll
from one to the next...not having to trot...the master BR would be the last...so..the only problem i'm having is how to get back
to the top of the hill in the morning for coffee...i'm thinkin' maybe a little solar-battery cart...red convert. would do it...

P.S.-2 the other prob. is a staircase in a small building to get to a loft...i'm trying to figure out a kinda dumb-waitor kinda thing...
something you can lower and raise str8 up but yet raise it during the day to keep it off the bottom floor...
you're into dungeons and chains and metal and stuff...give me some out of the box ideas...! 

[upa]

looks great

[Sassy]

Yes, it really looks gorgeous!  Always look forward to your updates & pics  

When you 1st put the marble floor in I kinda wondered if it would go with the whole look but it really is nice!

[PEG688]

Do you guys do "hider's" back there? They are becoming popular out here, a metal shroud that covers the chimney top and hides the flues?

  Nice work all around. I seem to miss this thread some how, good work! 

[Redoverfarm]

That's a new one on me.  I guess you are referring to a shroud that covers the clay liner.

I don't even have a cap for mine at the house.  Did once and I got drip which ran down the cap and onto the stone so I removed it. 

[PEG688]

  I have three that just got delivered last week . They have to go to the powder coater this week , I'll post them on the Bigger windows thread when they get final installed.

   

[Redoverfarm]

Most of the day was spent on "odds & ends".  I finished plumbing the sink and installing the faucet. Mounted a few gas heaters.  I still haven't found a diamond hole saw and still haven't found anyone to run the rigid pipe from the supply.   Then moved onto the kitchen ceiling lights.  There will be two 24" flourescent banks (3-T8 bulbs in each) on either side of the middle ceiling beam.  They are wired with 3-way switches.  Wiring takes on a new meaning when you do not have any light/junction boxes to wire the lights to.  Early on I routed out the ceiling beam(before loft floor) and ran the wires terminating them in the middle of the room.  You might have seen the bunny ears in a early post.  So today I figured out which wires were which and hooked them up to the lights.  Since I have two lights which will work in union I needed to breach through the ceiling joist to connect one to the other as well as wire them in a 3 way configuration.  That is where the looped bunny ears came into the picture.  By splitting them I had an extra 14/3 to jump from one side to the other. Thank goodness for diagrams.

Kitchen Sink COMPLETED



Spaghetti Anyone



Finished Product



I will still need to route out a trim to cover the small (3-4")section of wiring between the beam and the light fixture but that can wait until another day.

[ScottA]

John did you make the glass front cabnet doors? If so how? I might want to do something like that. Sink looks nice. Looks like you guys could do christmas in the new cabin maybe.

[jdhen]

John- routing out the beam seems like a great idea.  What size bit did you use?  I was thinking of using some sort of metal housing for the wiring but that is a much better solution.

[Redoverfarm]

ScottA actually I didn't my friend made them when he made the cabinets.  But he made them for raised panel (force of habit I guess) and I had to go back and route the back portion (1/4" X 1/8") of the doors frame out so that the glass could be placed in after the frame was glued up.  Then I used clear silicone to adhered the glass to the wood frame on the back side of the doors in that sort of rabbited out area.  As far as making them just use a raised panel bit.

It would just be wishful thinking to say it will be ready by X-mas.  I still have a lot of time consuming task to do.  One of the biggest will be the log stairs which I am waiting for the moisture to drop in the log stringers now.  Well, septic, power to work out yet.

The sink is actually "Bisque" and matches the tile better than what appears in the photo. It looks white in the picture.  

jdhen I say route out the beam. Actually I started doing that but was afraid that the router would go haywire and off to the edge and possibly ruin the beam face.  I ended up just using a chaulk box and laid out a 3/4" wide area mid center the beam and used my circular saw at a 3/4" depth.  About 3-4 passes and the only thing left was several small splines which I broke out then used a 3/4" chisel and cleaned it out. When I got to the point that the lights would be I turned and sawed the same width through the face from the opposing trough to run my wires out to the light.  My ceiling heigth was only 7' 7-1/2"and the beams are 7-1/2" so I couldn't mount the box at the bottom of the beams.  I guess I could have mounted the box on the ceiling but them I would have had to trim it to hide it and with a flush mount light it just worked better for this application. Just be cautious when you nail/screw your flooring that you only nail or screw on either side of the trough.  Your flooring will go perpendicular to the beams so you should be able to tell when installing the flooring/ceiling.

I would say that you could route it out with a regular straight bit 3/8" dia in two passes if you have a router guide to keep it from wondering.

[Redoverfarm]

I finshed the light today with the exception of the trim covers for the wiring.  I wanted to test it out but I didn't have the T8 bulbs. Oh Well.  I also mounted the individual room propane wall heaters and drilled the floor for the supply line on the ones I could which were in a hardwood floor room. The others in the tile rooms will have to wait.  I got a count on the recepticles, switches and plates need to complete the wiring.  The grey & brown colored ones are difficult to find here.

I got a call from a guy some 100 miles away that I was talking to about water storage tanks.  He said he expects a shipment this afternoon and will call me tonight.  They are 250 gal, poly tanks with a steel cage and valved.  They had only been used once for food grade Soy Lechtin so they should be good for temporary water storage.  I know that new they sell for about $1 a gallon so $75 each doesn't sound that bad.   Mark another up to Craigslist.  Anyway there is a Home Depot & Lowes in that area and I may be able to find the switchs and recepticles.

Here is a picture of the double ceiling light in the kitchen



The bathroom sink and toilet. Just temporarily set for plumbing alignment.



The wall heaters in their various rooms.

[Redoverfarm]

This week has been pretty laid back.  I picked up the water tanks that I mentioned in an earlier post as well as the recepticles, switches and plates.  I have the complete main floor and loft areas wired up with the exception of the ceiling fan in the livingroom. I also finished wiring the panel box which was just mostly dead end wires hanging on the wall.    I also broke down and drilled the marble floor for the gas supply lines.  Never did find a diamond hole saw so I drilled them as I did underneath the island. Actually they turned out pretty good but to make things nice and neat I picked up some estucheons to go around the gas line and water lines in the bathrooms. I also installed the entry door to the basement stairway.  Just a lot of odds & ends putting off the big ticket items $$$ for later. 

The winter is coming fast.  Ask me how I can tell.  I have trapped 4 mice in the crawlspace.  One a night.  I found out they are really carnivorous in nature.  The one that I trapped last night was half deviored this morning with the guest still feasting when I checked it.  Baited it up again and we'll see what happens. I had found an older nest in the corner between the joist and the sill plate which was probably what was used to bear the young.  So hopefully I can catch the whole family within a short period of time before thay can reproduce again.  As I said before concerning mice and building "build it and they will come"

[Redoverfarm]

Well it's been a couple weeks since I have posted an update.  I drywalled the storage room under the stairway to the basement.  It's not real pretty considering that I had used up my scraps. Some are 1/2 and others are 5/8".  They are mainly green board.  But it will be a storage area and it will be out of site.  

I picked up a new addition to the cabin this weekend.  My mother had this one in the garage. She is using another one in her house now.  It is not in mint condition but with a little TLC I think I can make it shine again for the most part.  My intentions were to have the chrome portions redone.  But I will use it this winter "As is" and maybe when summer comes I can disassemble it and have the chrome done.  Still haven't found a location to get this done yet but I have a couple leads. The stove is complete with a water jacket but I doubt that it will ever or rarely get used in that capacity.  I went ahead and installed it on the right side just to cover the non-enameled area if it was removed. The stove has the markings of Maleable Stove Manufacturing of South Bend.  The model I guess from a plate mounted on the side was  # 2182

I often wonder when I run across older products just how it was used, how many meals were prepared on it.  It has 6 burner eyes and I could imagine at one time in a large family they were pretty well all used at one time not to mention Biscuits and bread in the oven.  





I installed the basement stairs door.  Still have the trim to install.



I am not real sure whether I had mentioned my well pump situation or not.  I am looking at a Grundfos pump which only draws 9 amps (no start-up surge) which should work well with the battery system.  Only problem it will pump 10GPM at 200 ft but to a non-pressurized system.  By running it directly to the pressure tank it drops to .5 GPM.  So I will pump it into a storage tank (250 gal) and then use a RV or 12 volt pump into the pressure tank of the cabin.  I still haven't worked out all the details yet but when push comes to shove it should work.  Here is the storage tank that I picked up off of Craigslist a couple weeks ago.  It was food grade storage tank which originally held Soy Lechtin.



I will pick up the necessary stove pipe tomarrow to get the stove up and running.  I am sure that it will be needed before you know it for heat. I was sort of hoping to have the gas lines ran for the propane heater but like every other contractor the guy that started hasn't showed up for the last week or so.  He will eventiually show up as I have his tools locked in the basement.  

[ScottA]

I love that stove. Looking good John. 

[Jens]

I think you put the basement door too close to the stairs, it won't open like that 

[MountainDon]

The door appears to swing out; no hinges visible on the inside.


Cool old stove.

[Redoverfarm]

Jens that was on purpose.  It is an exterior door which is normally suppose to swing in.   Buy reversing it's orientation it will now swing out away from the steps and against the wall.  I couldn't extend the landing to allow for this because of the end wall of the house.  I think I have about 6" remaining now with the door wide open.  I could have built the wall to extend to that end wall and placed the door in the wall at 90 deg from it's current position( to the left) but that would have created a "dogleg" trying to carry things up the steps.

Oh BTW the stove works great. Hot lunch today.  Left over hamburger in tin foil for about 5 minutes. Try some soup tomarrow.  Need to round up some good cast iron cookware.

[glenn kangiser]

Boy, John,  that's all looking great.  The stove is a beauty.

For the pump - have you checked out the Grundfos SQ Flex.  It is specifically for solar-will run direct off the panels or other ways,  and also has a controller for solar/generator, but will run on any power with the proper control box.  2 to 3 gallon per minute and other models also - low water cutout etc.  It covers everything.