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.

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.

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.

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.

the outhouse

The loft bathroom is finished except for some door trim. The toilet paper holder is an old animal research cage where it looks like the rat busted out thru the metal mesh door. The tub was stored in the old barn and I put it up on some timbers, as it had no legs. It's dated 1936 on the bottom and in excellent shape. I salvaged the sink from an old neighbors house which my parents bought and tore down. I had always coveted it growing up and stored it for years waiting for the right spot to use it. The toilet is the cheapest one I could find at Home Depot (about 50 or 60 bucks). It also happened to be my favorite. I didn't want an elongated bowl due to the small size of the bathroom, and I am not a fan of the newer "comfort height" higher ones. This one went the best with the other fixtures, is a low volume flush and works great. However, it could use a better looking flush lever, I've been hunting one down. With the tub and sink faucets and fittings, the whole bathroom cost under $200.00.

winter position

In the winter months, I slide the bed up next to the back of the masonry heater which pops through the wall into my bedroom. It's my dutch wife. It's a bit minimalist, but the monochromatic color scheme and lack of window treatments forces the view to be the main (and only) focus. And at night, there is not even that distraction from falling fast asleep. For those who don't get up with the sun, I may one day put up those deep green pull down school blinds. I'm just not quite ready to add that splash of color yet.

backtrack

I've been at a standstill in construction this last month so I thought I'd post some previous shots of progress from this summer. The exterior is done and the kitchen and living space are just about there. I've left the house a few times this winter for 2 to 3 days at a time. With no wood fires and no other source of heat, the house has maintained a temperature of 55 degrees minimum. Even with the outdoor temps dipping into the single digits! One fire brings it back into the 60s when I return. It's a small miracle. OK, I'm almost done touting the virtues of the masonry heater...almost.