We arrived early on Monday morning at the site to find a large excavator already at work grading the dirt around the house. There were several goals for the excavator crew this week, among them installing a septic box (and attendant pipes), final grade all of the landscape around the house (and apply topsoil), put 3/4” stone where the porch will go to prep for concrete pouring in a week or so. After they got started, using the rough plan we drew up months ago, we decided we should fine tune it to make sure we planned for things that weren’t readily apparent when we did the original drawings. Back when the original drawings were done, we couldn’t effectively imagine how the house would sit in the space, where the best places for rocks and trees would be or how much ledge (or submerged rock) would be found during the excavation process.

We met with our architect who enlarged the drawings of the topography and we overlaid a sheet to capture our thoughts on where things go, how grading should go and where we add things like drip-edges and extended patios. It also would help the excavator operator determine where soil would be removed and/or moved around.

Inside we had a full house of working individuals. Taping and mudding continues, now with two team members, and it should be done soon. Once that is completed, then it gets sanded and prepped for painting. Along with the tapers, we had a plastering team in to build up the fireplace and mudroom walls with plasterboard. Plastering can’t be started on those walls until the dusty work is completed but we are trying to work around how long the taping process is taking.

Another sub-contractor is on site doing tile work in the bathrooms. She is almost done the upstairs bathroom and should start the first floor bathroom next week.

As the grading wound down, my wife started directing the operator regarding big rock placement. She worked with them all afternoon setting things where we wanted them and ended up with a neat firepit and rock feature on the south lawn. Once the septic box area is graded properly and covered in topsoil, the remaining large rocks will be moved around the front porch area.

The metal cladding is almost complete. On Friday, I counted just five more windows that require metal sills installed. Once completed, the last two corner pieces can be installed and we should be done with all external carpentry on the main house. We got all of the white cedar delivered for the “summer porch”, as we’re now calling it, and that should likely get started (and finished) next week.

As the week drew to a close, it was clear a lot of things moved forward. This is a good thing because we still have a lot to do. We are in a state now were it feels like there is just too much to do with loose ends everywhere. I believe the coming week will also move things forward in large steps. This is the likely set of targets:

• Complete the metal sills on the remaining five windows.
• Complete the final two metal corners.
• Install white cedar for walkway and summer porch
• Complete excavation of the south, east and some of the west landscape. (The rest will have to wait until machinery and material piiles are moved)
• Porch concrete poured on south and west (also north?)
• Complete mudding, tapping and sanding on walls.
• Sand and finish ash hardwood floors on second floor and concrete ground floor (to reduce dust for next steps)
• Prep for painting
• Finish upstairs bathroom tile, start ground floor bathroom tiile
• Fiber internet provisioning and splicing

That should be pretty crazy to watch. I’ll watch from the firepit, I guess.

Or just go for a walk around the block to see views like this: