Busy as a beehive

Monday and Tuesday of this week were rather slow, and only our friend Allan Hardigree was working, installing TV cable and security wires. But when I arrived at the house yesterday (Wednesday) morning, it was like a beehive and busier than we had seen it since we had 11 framers scrambling all over the Phoenix, as it rose up from the ashes. In addition to Allan, several carpenters were trying to finish up the carpentry, install the remaining windows, and put the finishing touches on the roof. We also had a visit from a trio of sheetrock installers, who are due to start next week. And our contractor was there, talking with the sheetrockers, the carpentry foreman, to Allan, and to me - when he wasn't on the phone talking to someone else. It was, indeed, a real beehive. And by this afternoon, all of these items were complete.

We're going to take a quick outside tour clockwise around the house, starting on the north side, that is, the front of the house. From the left you can see the garage, then the kitchen with a breakfast nook to the left of the kitchen door and window. Next is the shed dormer and loft over the dining room and its bay window. Then comes the front door and finally the front bedroom. If you look carefully at the front of the porch and its east end in the picture below, you will see a gentle arch between posts. This is a motif that Roger Collins, the builder of our old house, adopted from the Kenney Ridge Farm House (now Karen Frank's house).

The view from the northeast shows that above the lowest window bottoms on the kitchen and other front rooms beyond, we have board-and-batten Hardie Board. Below that and around the double garage window on the left will be field stone. The glass in that window is made in a pattern called "Rain" (often seen in shower doors), which is designed to let light in the garage but keep wandering eyes out. The soffits and fascia boards are also made of Hardie Board, as is the siding on the shed dormer. You'll see more of the board-and-batten style on the southside of the house.

The east end of the house (below) shows the opening for the garage door, as well as one of the 21"X52" steel panels of the Decra, stone-coated roofing material. The wall covering for this side will be brick.

The view of the southern side of the house shows the board-and-batten pattern on the "chimney" and around the two bay windows of the living room and master bedroom. The large room on the right (actually only 10X10) is the new master bathroom, which replaces an unheated sunroom in the previous house. The old bathroom will now become a walk-in closet. To the right of that is the back of the garage and its two storerooms. The far room to the left on the upper level is a bedroom, and below it is an office. The tripple window is the end of the den; then comes the workshop.

 The west end of the house is the tallest face, being about three stories high. The main level above has two bedrooms with high tripple windows and a guest bath in the middle. On the basement level is the office on the right corner, a workroom on the left, and a third bath, again in the middle. The power and telephone will come underground to the front corner on the left. Our small DISH antenna will be mounted near the back of the shed dormer and the faux chimney, which covers the flues for our two woodstoves. This west wall, like the east and south walls, will be brick. Apparently, having at least three walls of brick makes a difference in the insurance. Our planned security system and fire monitoring are also supposed to lower insurance rates. Its main purpose, however, will be to prevent another disastrous fire like last January's, as well as to forestall any unwanted entry by people who do not have our best interests in mind. And that's about all we can fit into a "quick" tour of the Phoenix rising Up from the Ashes" where our former residence stood.

Tomorrow they are to install the foam insulation, which is supposed to be enough better than other choices to save a half ton on air conditioning. Next week it will be sheetrock inside, and stone and bricks can't be far behind. Stay tuned!  --oc