Doors in January

Interior doors, including pocket doors.
Mahogany doors.

In this photo you can see the bathroom door leading to the kitchen/dining space, and the Forbo Marmoleum "Asian Tiger" insert in the "Sunny Day" flooring.

This is the half bath round flooring insert. Both sides of the half bath have pocket doors, one leading to the hall right off the caregiver room, for anyone staying in that room to use. The other side is into the jewelry studio, very convenient for dad to get to while working in the studio.














Mahogany doors. Right now the doors are solid, but we may cut windows at the top of them to let light in. Hollow core doors do not have many window options, so to customize the windows we will do this work later. The emphasis is to get dad in as soon as we can.
The front exterior door will be different and is coming from Washington state.

A Bright Promising New Year 2012! Paint, Flooring and Carpeting

We rented this 'conex" to store the NY household items after they were moved north to the site.
Forbo Marmoleum "Sunny Day" kitchen/dining room transitions to dark grey carpet in the living room space.

First floor entryway. From left: First floor studio, tokonoma, half bath, guest room and stairs

From left: fully ADA handicapped bath, bedroom, and living room space.The entire first floor has no thresholds and is completely barrier free.The recess to the left is for the refrigerator. There will be cabinets to the right of the refrigerator and on the opposite wall that is not in this photo.

It's January and the space is coming alive. the flooring is done, including carpet and Forbo Marmoleum. We chose "Sunny Day" as the Marmoleum color with two inserts of slightly darker "Asian Tiger" for a rectangular insert in the main bathroom, and a circle of "Asian Tiger" surrounded by a terra cotta colored border in the half bath. The circle is centered between the two sliding doors that open to the studio and the entryway. We couldn't help but place some furniture in the living space to enjoy the view. Some of the lighting is finished as you can see here in the living room. Dad loves it and has visited several times to check our progress. Still to do:connect water, drainage, install fixtures/toilets and sinks, appliances, and bathroom and kitchen cabinets. We are looking at bamboo cabinets and like the toughness and stability of the material and have a friend who will be making them. We tried to incorporate IKEA cabinets into the kitchen but it is very hard to configure such limited sizes into a space that is more than one wall that is closed on both sides. One glance at the catalog, or visit to the IKEA store in NY confirms that design problem.
We closed on the house in NY just after the new year and hope the new owners enjoy it as much as my family did. Fifty four years and it now has it's third owner. We are looking forward to the progress that concludes with dad moving in and beginning to work again. Our New Year 2012 begins with high hopes and best wishes.

Almost ready for paint and color!

Bucky from Dunham Brothers Paint, Marshfield, VT works on finishing taping and "mudding" dad's living room and space.

Dad's living space is now ready for paint and color, and then flooring. paint is such a lovely thing- making everything have an air of some color, but it is so difficult to choose through thousands of colors and color schemes. My parents traditionally had little color in the house, mom claimed it was the best way to exhibit all the art on the walls. Over the years I have come to believe that wonderful colors on the walls can actually enhance the display of art and compliment it in a way that white just cannot do. My good friend Nina has a wonderful sense of color in her home and the space breathes a calm refreshing space, so I have borrowed this pale green "air" palette to enhance dad's living space with a warm pale green, as I will most likely use upstairs in my studio space. for now, we test with a few quarts and see what inspires or moves us! My studio will begin drywall installation on Monday. It is great to see things moving along in a positive direction.
Mudding and taping continuing. We are excited to see the changes in the quality of light in the rooms, and the reflected light off the walls. This living space is 14 x 28 feet from right to left with 9 foot ceilings. It looks much narrower here.
The columns at the end of the living room have been built out, and from this view (above) you cannot really tell how much deep the window sills are.

Storage and Moving ON!

40' storage container being delivered in front of the new building.

Change of plans this month of July 2011. We realize we need to empty my childhood home and place it on the real estate market before winter hits, that being at least by August. So, priorities change and suddenly we realize we will need a quick storage solution if we are going to empty the house in NY and we are not finished enough to move into the new space. This storage container seemed like a monthly rental storage fix - close enough to the building to facilitate moving when it becomes possible, and large enough to hold two studio's worth of materials, art and household items.
After spending about two - three weeks in NY cleaning, sorting and staging packing for a larger truck move we are nearly ready. Childhood memories stirred by objects, fabric and the stuff of a life lived with creative parents has been a wonderful experience.
Finding my mom's art portfolio's from Chicago Art Institute was a wonderful experience, cut short by time constraints to explore further at a later date. The house was full of wonderful memories, some long lost in my childhood minds eye and re-discovered. How wonderful!

Reflected light

This is a photo that Doug shot the other day, in dad's studio around sunset. The reflections through the window onto the studio wall are amazing - a boat like, or vessel shape containing a darker shadow shape. I like to think of it having some sort of positive energy, as solar energy is mostly a most positive force of life.

Father's Day and we are at the sheetrock wallboard stage

Dad out for dinner, Father's Day 2011 at the Bee's Knee's, Morrisville, VT

Fleta oversees everything and everyone on the job, assistant to the general contractor.

The space above the stairs to the second floor will be for art materials.

Looking from dad's studio through the half bath - into the entryway, stairs and caregiver/guest room on left.

Summer has arrived and we are feeling the pinch, trying to work as fast as possible without making mistakes. The building took about 4 weeks to insulate using cellulose, blown in. Doug did most of the work himself, a one man job. it was done in three stages- loose fill, then dense pack, then wet pack for sound deadening, in places where sound transference would make a difference.
The handicap shower was fitted for valves and hardware,and sheet-rock wallboard has been hung on the first floor. Insulation will be packed behind the valve in the wall cavity. Taping and joint compound will start this next week. It is always interesting to see the seasons change. The building remains wonderfully cool, despite the heat outdoors and fluctuates only 10 degrees or so. Still, the building needs doors to replace the temporary ones, and flooring, carpeting and paint next.

Looking for a creative boost? 9 unusual ways to become more creative

Looking for a creative boost? 9 unusual ways to become more creative

More photo's of second floor studio flooring

Met with Andrew Meyer today, owner of Vermont Natural Coatings, in Hardwick, VT to discuss my studio flooring color. I am looking to add color and protection to the new spruce flooring for my studio and I would love to have the floor be a spring green color, like new grass- refreshing and light. Initially I researched staining the floor but there is not a company that makes a translucent stain in a light lime like green color in a water soluable base. I looked into earth pigment powders that are mineral based- and thought about staining the floor myself, then coating it with some sort of sealer.
Vermont Natural Coatings is a new start up company, a spin off from Vermont Soy based here in Hardwick, and they are making floor and furniture finishes that are water soluable and no VOC from cast off whey product from Cabot Creamery. They are just beginning to offer a line of tinted Poly-Soy finishes. Andrew was very knowledgeable about how finishes work on wood, penetrations of material and how they wear. I brought a small sample of watercolor colored spruce and we looked at a Pantone colors on the computer. I will research what color comes closest to what I want to achieve and get back to them. I am happy and honored that such a company is so near to us, and am excited to be working with them for this venue.

Upstairs Studio Flooring and January Update.

As slow as it seems, there are tiny important incremental changes going on in the building. The central vacuum is in as well as the emergency pull station connections, and a sprinkler system.
On the second floor studio, the flooring is going down- Siberian Spruce, rough cut, like a barn floor. I still have to experiment with semi transparent stains- as I would like the floor to have some color, most likely a soft light green tint. The floor will get a little sanding, as it is so rough it would hold all the sawdust, plaster dust etc. 60-80 grit should do it.
We had approximately nine visitors from Yestermorrow Design Build School, in Warren, VT visit last week, with a thermal imaging camera and lots of questions. It was fun to show off our energy efficient building choices and they seemed very impressed! http://www.yestermorrow.org/

Next up will be finishing loose ends so we can insulate the entire building; i.e pressure testing the upstairs floor radiant and getting some heat upstairs into the tubing, a thousand loose ends. All this must be done before the insulation is pumped in, since the ceiling and walls will not be accessible after that. We are not happy with the pace, but the holidays came into play, a trip to NY to clear snow and check on the house, and Doug has been working other jobs. It is what it is. Rushing any faster would inevitably cause some mistakes to be made.

December 14, 2010
Winter has arrived in Walden and work continues on the building, despite delays. The tubing, back ordered and late, finally arrived! Weather was one delay factor and the freight company made two attempts to deliver to the Bayley-Hazen Road in Hardwick and in East Hardwick, and despite being told that our postal address is not our actual address.

Finally! The truck unloaded at the bottom of our driveway. Tractor trailers cannot make the hairpin turn or get around the sharp middle curve of our driveway. So, we busted open the pallets and loaded our Subaru cars for the trip up to the building.
The tubing has been delayed for more than four weeks and we are quickly putting it down upstairs. Next comes the wood flooring in my studio. The sprinkler system and a few central vacuum lines are being finished in the ceiling and once the flooring has been laid we can move into the insulation phase and progress will be seen again. The insulation will be in between the floors and around the trusses, so everything that is in the ceilings must be done before any insulation can take place.The interior entrance"tokonoma" is framed and the walls are now plywood ready awaiting drywall. The Garn wood boiler, attached to our home in it's own building, provides plenty of heat for the building despite the near zero temperatures, plywood doors and lack of insulation! It is cozy and warm and comfortable.

We have missed the Fall and Christmas deadlines for getting Peter into his space despite our best efforts to keep delays from happening, what happens, happens. The light shifts, reflecting off the snow and the building's atmosphere changes along with color and quality of the light inside the building. We pause to reflect the changes that both we, and nature imposes on this new structure and space. A work in progress.
Viewing linoleum flooring samples in the fading light of the afternoon, we realize that we have just passed the one year anniversary of this building construction.
It is amazing how far we have come, but how far we have yet to go.

Update October 2010

October 2010 - that is NOT snow on the roof behind him!

The view from Dad's current home in Vermont.

The crisp fall air is driving us to try our best to quickly finish up dad's first floor space as fast as we can and get him moved in. We have seen a few snow flurries, and are thankful for even the short remaining warmer days.
The heat in on the the building's first floor, and insulating and flooring systems are to be finished SOON. At the moment I am considering Marmoleum, or real linoleum flooring for the kitchen, dining room, front entry way and two bathrooms - one is the half bath between the studio and the caregiver/guest room, the other for dad's fully handicapped bath. Marmoleum has fabulous color and is easy to clean, and hold up to wear and tear. However color schemes and choices seem harder than I thought it would be! Paint color, flooring choices and colors, cabinetry, lighting - so many decisions! We seem to be researching and looking for distributors and information for hours each day. Dad seems to enjoy visiting, although we have spent more time out and enjoying drives with us enjoying the foliage colors and local fare dinners now and then. I love going for walks with him, encouraging him to get out and exercise by walking outdoors.

The Garn wood boiler's first lighting and fire. The boiler will heat both the 3200 sf studio/living space for dad, and eventually, our home. We love that it has low smoke and particulate emissions and that it does not smolder. It burns clean and even and lives in it's own little building. We still have to insulate up around the Garn boiler itself, which will happen when the insulators are here.
To find out more about this amazing energy efficient boiler see this link on GARN:
http://www.garn.com/index.wml

Work continues on the studio/living space for dad this Fall. Trying to get all the mechanical systems into the ceilings: (electrical, communication/life safety and building security lines, plumbing, ac lines and drains, heat recovery ventilator, floor radiant tuning, central vac) all must be put in before insulating is a major undertaking. Access to the mechanical in the ceilings is non-existant once the insulation has been installed between floors and into the second floor ceiling/roof.

Doug using expandable foam around the windows to sealing any air penetration gaps before the cellulose insulation starts. We are quite happy with our Serious Glass windows and are amazed every day with how they are performing. I have stood on the floor with bare feet, with one foot in the sun, and one foot in the shade and have not felt any noticeable temperature difference. We are getting R-11 in our fixed windows, with 99.5% UV protection. We really love the windows!

To find out more about our energy efficient windows and Serious Glass and Serious Materials click on this link:
http://www.seriouswindows.com/
and/or
http://www.seriouswindows.com/html/technology.html

update July 2010

Sugar on Snow, an annual Vermont tradition.

April 10, 2010. Dad and Doug at Craftsbury Community Care Center at the annual Sugar on Snow Day. Pouring warm maple sugar on snow, and eating pickles to fend of the sweetness is a tradition in Vermont that goes back years! Everyone had a good time. Dad is doing very well.


Dad visiting the building's progress. We are sitting in the door opening to the second floor studio where I can work and still be nearby for my father's needs. My old studio across the road is simply too far away, and has no water or septic, so I only work in that space when the weather is warmer. With the second floor as my studio space, I can be working just upstairs. Dad plans on teaching jewelry classes and is looking forward to working again. I plan on teaching from my space as well.

We used this ex-telephone truck to do a lot of the work on the building, and have been fortunate to have it be on site indefinitely while we work, on loan from a friend. I wanted to see how far up the bucket could go so I asked Doug one day, and then as soon as I saw how far up it went, got nervous and regretted my request! I am sure the view from up there is quite good, I think that Doug took some photo's!

Roof overhangs and closing it all in.

This view shows the west and south walls. The square windows below are in my father's studio, the second floor is all sculpture, glass, printmaking and mixed media studio for me. Instead of designing the second floor with a conventional pitched roof, we decided to set the roof as a shed design, creating a much larger feeling space with larger windows to bring in as much light as possible. There is a two story porch designed for the south wall between the windows, with screen porches. The long run of a wall in the interior second story is so that I can work very large if needed - this wall is 15 feet long and 17 feet high.

The roof overhangs the walls by four feet, and this west wall is the predominant direction of most of our weather. This double door will have hanging outer barn like storm sliding doors so that the inner doors will be protected in inclement weather from blowing snow or driving rain. The long horizontal window on the second floor in the center of the north wall is at the top of the stairs and is a fixed pane window, as are most.








This is the view of the front south facing living room windows in my father's living space. Standing at these windows is like being outdoors, with the exception of being very warm in winter! The walls are to be insulated with 13 inches of insulation. There is a shelf designed to run under these windows for display. My parents collected many beautiful handmade objects from their travels and from art and craft friends. Underneath the shelf is room for books, near the floor.

Roofing trusses and walls

View of the north wall and roofing trusses.

The west facing wall with Chuck's ex-telephone truck parked. The TSS solar storage tank is underneath this high drive to the left of the second floor wide doors.

First floor looking drom the south entrance towards the north and east - the left window is in the caregiver/guest room, then the wide bathroom window, designed to take in the tall red pine with privacy and this design also echoes my parents second floor space in New York, designed by my mom so that one could see the trees but not any of the houses below. This design allows the windows to be unobstructed by blinds, the wall below to be functional, and the light maximized. The windows on the right are in my father's bedroom designed to be on either side of the bed.

The roof overhangs are 4 feet, so that any water and/or snow on the north side would be carried away from the building siding.

The view coming up our driveway into the dooryard. The lower lawn is to the right and the brook about 50 feet below. The site formally was a tall wall of red planted pine, overdue for harvesting by some 25 years. It was like living next to a tall building and blocked all the eastern morning and mid day light.

Framing dad's studio

A windy and snowy day

We used Chuck's ex-telephone truck to lift the trusses.

Lots of snow accumulated inside the first floor space. My father's big living room windows at the back, they will let in lots of light. They are about 18 inches off the floor, which was hard to see with all the snow in the building. In the end, we fired up the wood boiler so that we could turn on the floor radiant for snow melt!
Lifting the second floor walls with wall jacks. This wall is 16.5 feet tall, a big job for wall jacks!
This is the first floor space, looking from the living room space across the building to my dad's studio windows, that face west, a sunset view. At the back right of the space, along the cement foundation will be a mechanical room for the electrical sub panel, air handlers and heat recovery ventilators, which handle the air to air, some heat and future AC if needed. Also in this room is the floor radiant heat manifolds and solar collection, storage and distribution piping, well tank and domestic hot water preheat and or back up.

Framing the second floor

Framing most days was no problem weather wise - we had a mild winter which was just perfect.
Roof trusses stacked in front of the building, on the porch slab. The floor and roof trusses came from California because of their unique design, a combination of steel and wood.

Nothing like framing the sky for a view!

South facing wall, the brook is below running almost parallel to the front face of the building.

East wall on the second floor. You can see the stair opening in the center.