Looking at the Interior -- The Living Room Module

Here are some more images of the interior that include more shots of dining room table that we designed and that Smith and Vallee crafted from the fir tree from our lot. It was initiated this week when my family visited from Wisconsin. We were able to comfortably sit eight people at the table -- as designed. Again we're very happy with it.

Looking at the Interior -- The Spline

In this picture of the upper "spline", Marta Kitty is at her favorite post. We really like how the windows turned out here. We also like the flow of the two levels and staircase. It turned out to be a really nice space.

Looking at the Interior -- Master Bedroom

Patrick designed the Master Bed and Closet. Then Smith and Vallee crafted the designs out of the fir tree from out lot. We are very happy with both pieces.

You can start to get a feel for the interesting light patterns of the inside space.

The furniture has arrived

Well, the arrival is a story in and of itself. I rented a u-haul truck from Eastsound at 1pm on Thursday and drove directly to the ferry landing to catch the 2:20pm. The ferry arrived in Anacortes at 3:18. So, I made it to Edison by 4:00. Smith and Vallee was putting the finishing touches on the furniture. They loaded it for me and explained the nuances of the pieces. Smith and Vallee did a wonderful job of collaborating on and implementing the design. They are truly pieces of art. At 5:00, I was back on the road and I made it to the ferry landing in Anacortes at 5:40 for the 7:20 ferry. I was a little worried about the July 4 week-end, but I made it OK. On Friday, we hired some muscle (four high-school football players in need of a work-out) to move the furniture into the house - all without incident. ... The truck was returned before noon on Friday.

Some of you may remember that we cut down a giant fir due to it's location and the fact that it leaned toward the house site. I helped an on island sawyer (Kai) cut four logs into slabs. Those slabs were kiln dried in Edison courtesy of Smith and Vallee. They did the cabinetry in the house and made the bar top from the fallen fir.

Anne and I also designed a dining table (the mediocre picture in this post - I'll post better pictures soon), a master bed frame, and a master closet kit. Smith and Vallee fashioned them out of that same fallen fir. We haven't named the table yet, but it will be something like "ice on fallen fir". ... Note the glue-laminated legs which bring in an element from the outside -- glue-lam beams. ... Smith and Vallee liked the table enough to display it in their art gallery for a few days. ...

Now we'll actually have some place to sit and eat when my family visits later this month.

The Paint is Complete

It's been awhile since I've posted.

Well, it's July on Orcas. That means our 2 weeks of summer are almost here. ... Only half kidding.

It was warm enough for the outside paint to stick over night. So Javan painted the house and covered up the one mistake we made for material choice on the inside. It's all beautifully done.

We're left with the typical punch-list for the builder at this point. We'll work our way through that. ...

And we have final occupancy

On 16-Mar-2011, we received certification for final occupancy. The main issue related to the grab rail has been solved. As you can see the permanent posts have also been installed and the temporary posts will be removed shortly. ...

Also, Kevin from Orcas Electric worked to resolve some electrical concerns.

Once the i's are dotted, the t's are crossed, and the forms are signed, final occupancy will be official.

By Popular Demand ...

... here are some pictures of the house with railings.

We still don't have final occupancy, because the railings on the stairs don't meet the IRC-2006 standard. Arghh. I won't go into detail or provide any conjecture as to why, but the drawings we received did indeed have the wrong height. Unfortunately, at that time I hadn't yet memorized the IRC-2006 spec which states that railings must be between 34 and 38 inches tall as measured from the front of the step and that the grab rail must not exceed 6 1/4" in circumference.

Sigh. I do like the look and feel of the railings though. The basic design ideals we provided were executed well.

So, we still don't have final occupancy. My prediction is sometime next week for final. We arranged for Kevin from Orcas Electrician to tidy up some items and the grab rail will need to be installed. The other items are trivial. I've asked Method to come back just once more to button it up.

Sigh.

After the weather turns in our favor, Method will come back to paint the outside of the house and stain the main doors. We also have a door that we haven't acquired yet that will need to be hung.

After that, Method will come back after a year and fix any cracks and items that need attending.

Almost there.