Wednesday, April 29, 2009

like eating off the barn floor


Literally. The table and bench are finished and in place under the stairs. When I have enough guests I can roll it out and fit 10 or twelve, but most of the time will use the 5 or so feet that sticks out beyond the staircase.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

the catwalk floor



The elevated bridge to the raised porch is closer to done. I finally gave the floor boards another coat of tung oil and fastened them down with stainless screws and washers. The boards are left over rough cut that I used to side the house, sanded and oiled and tacked down with 4 screws each. It squeaks a little but that's part of the thrill... it's 16 feet in the air. The boards can eventually be reused for another project. All the foot traffic will patina them quickly.

Friday, April 24, 2009

farm table



More of the old barn floor planks, this time repurposed for dining. The square iron bases are finds from the farm's old metal dump. I think they are salvaged from a silo. I've been staring at them for 9 years trying to figure out a use for them. I hope this works.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

chain link railings



Al dropped off some chainlink fencing, and with the help of my new bolt cutters and a few hours I cut it down to size, bent the sharp edges over ("finished" the cut edge) and installed it on the fence post railings that I had previously put up. It's a much less scary walk to the front porch now. I also installed my 50's galaxy light fixture to the bottom of the catwalk. I want to get the "star" lightbulbs that are original to the lamp and put it on a dimmer. A little bit of an electrical indulgence but it lights up both floors when in use. The bulbs are a bit pricey but should last longer if dimmed. LED chandelier bulbs don't seem to be an option yet, they're way too expensive, and I haven't seen any interesting designs... and the color of the light is still a little strange.

Friday, April 3, 2009

vernal equinox



The first day of spring (as well as fall) brings the sunset light all the way down the corridor to the shower at the end. It's kinda like my own personal Stonehenge, and I'll admit that it's not totally by accident. This is the last section of the house left to be completed. I'm posting this to try and motivate myself to finish up. The future shower at the end of this hall is going to be a bit tricky. There is a drain in the floor and my plan is to grind down the concrete just enough to pitch the water into the drain, seal the edges where the walls meet the floor and forgo having a lip at the front edge. For the shower walls, I'm going to cover 2 with galvanized roof panels and the third wall will be stuccoed to match the concrete floor. I don't know if it will work but I am going to give it a shot. The whole ceiling above the shower is a 4ft. x 4ft. skylight. The idea here is to make it seem like an outdoor shower.