This week I realized that the weekends have become less jubilant than they once were. Not because I’m no longer working and every day is the same but because I know that there is not going to be any measurable progress on the house for a number of days as we slip further and further into the Fall season. This weekend is especially “bad” because the four day weekend means things will remain as they are for over half of a week.

The build saw some progress this week but mostly smaller changes that weren’t that noticeable unless you were watching it day-to-day.

All of the barn doors were installed and the majority of the doors are hung. None of the pocket doors are installed yet.

We have an issue with the doors that we’re trying to solve. They arrived back in the winter fully assembled and mounted on their door jambs. They were a perfect fit. Because we hadn’t even done drywall at that point, the door jambs were installed and the doors were removed, labeled and stored with padding in the garage to prevent nicks and scuffs. Fast forward to late summer after a very wet and humid spring and summer and the doors have swelled in some areas and they no longer swing easily in their jambs. Rather than start the process of thinning them down and re-morticing everything, which could take days, they are running several dehumidifiers in the house as well as commissioning the Zehnder this weekend. The thinking is that the house will never be as humid as it is now because once we are living in the house full time, the climate conditioning done by the Zehnder will keep the house at a good atmosphere and return the doors to their original shape, over time they will continue to shrink (slightly). So far at least one of the doors is swinging freely again. With the house sealed and drying this weekend, we hope the rest will be ok by Monday.

For those who don’t know, the Zehnder is an ERV which commonly stands for “Energy Recovery Ventilator”. It brings in outdoor air and exchanges it with fresh air as well as exchanges heating or cooling with the interior air. This means that the system retains more heat or cooling and saves energy. There is some debate online as to whether or not it is a valid source of humidity control but I don’t think it will make the situation worse.

The office desk was built this week. There are a few details left to do relating to finish but my wife was able to use it for meetings yesterday and the test went well. It is great having a huge workspace and we have big plans for it.

On Tuesday, when work resumes the solar install will begin. It will take two to three days. We are also on the schedule to have the second round of landscaping completed, hopefully next week as well. They will apply several loads of topsoil to the west side of the land and up to the south porch. They are going to install drip edges along the north and south sides of the house, necessary in houses with no gutters to prevent erosion. They are also going to prep a spot for the remaining north-side patio slab. Landscapers are also going to shape and finish the driveway but that can’t happen until the end of the process because of the number of trucks, trailers and vehicles on site.

The appliances are delivered on September 12 and the delivery team will hook up our washer/drier system and leave the rest for the builders to install in the kitchen.

We have a firm date of September 23 for the countertops and granite bench. That will kick off a flurry of activity with plumbers installing fixtures in the bathrooms and kitchen and the tilers installing backsplashes and finish their work in the kitchen and bathrooms.

The glass doors for the bathrooms aren’t due to be installed until October 8th so, despite the fact that we are planning on moving in on October 1st, there will still be things to do for the month of October to “finish”. They include final coats of paint, glass shower doors, clean up on the exterior, electrical work, electric heaters, HVAC commissioning and water softener install. The end is in sight but there is still so much to do.

I think its going to be a stressful two months coming up so I’ll end with a picture from the Stowe Pinnacle which is just down the road from our house.