Major Milestone

A milestone of sorts was reached yesterday when the very last board was installed on the deck railing. There is a total of 170 l.f. of railing, and it has been a massive job, occupying my time for several weeks. It is also one of the defining features of the house, and is a perfect blend of rustic and refined that pulls the whole exterior look together. Thanks go out to my carpenter Scott Jones, who gave me a tip way back last summer when I started on the rail that made the whole thing both better looking and better built.  The whole exterior is quickly being completed, so much so that finding items to do outside is getting harder. My next exterior project is to complete the french drain, which should'nt take more than a half day, but it was too wet yesterday becouse of the storm that blew through on tuesday night. Wow, this storm was lightning fast and was come and gone in less than 45 minutes. But man what an intense storm, packed with hail, very high winds, and torrential rainfall. The damage to our road was like it had rained for days, mostly becouse Mr. Warren had graded the road just prior to the storm. You know, I just don't get grading gravel roads too much, it just displaces all of the packed gravel and shoves it to the side making big piles that screw up your ditches. I'm sure it's neccesary on long gravel roads, but all it does is destroy our good road. I have tried to tell him to just leave well enough alone and only grade once a year, but he has a grader and he's 84 years old,  so what you gonna do? The fast moving cloudburst also raised the level of the creek several inches, ensuring us of many more weeks of the soothing sound of the creek running. The amount of water that stays in the creek up here always amazes people, and I know how lucky we are to have this special spot. Well it's time to make something happen today, so I'm out the door. I hope all enjoy this great weather. Later, the Hollohead

Last of the Cedar Posts Installed

Big job is now complete, completes the look don't you think. I can clean up the deck now and only the rockwork is left. Railing is within a few details of being done, and it's time to move on to the front entry posts and porch.  Guttering, front entry, and rockwork is pretty much all thats left outside. It was just a beautiful day today on one side of the house, and a little chilly on the shaded side of the house.  Just walk the 50' to the other side of the deck, and the weather changes. Sounds crazy does'nt it, but it's the way it is. It's time to get going on the inside of the house, which is too bad considering the way the weather has been. But it also means I'm getting close to the end. THE END IS NEAR!!!!!!

Successful Week of Work

The outside is getting so close to being complete, I can smell victory. A Rock Mason came out today to check out the job, and he really loved our place. Don't know if he can do the job, but he woiuld be a good one who comes highly recommended. I think I can complete the last railing sections within a few hours, and finish the awesome deck cedar posts within the weekend, so that is my goal. I am starting to get excited about finishing up the exterior of the house,  this means I can concentrate on the interior, and that means were getting close to done. We are really agonizing over the final decisions on wall colors, but I need them so I can paint the mudroom and Matt's bathroom, and then install the cabinets and flooring. These will be the first completed rooms and that will be fun. The bank inspector came out today and we visited for awhile. Also this was Scott and Mikes last day with me for awhile, they are moving over to bro Scott's cabin to install the wood flooring. I'll probably have them back to help with the hardwood flooring myself, but pretty much all the remaining woodwork is up to me. But the big picture is starting to come into focus, so I'll keep taking pictures. Later, RJ

Schedule Coming Together

I spent alot of time in the dentist chair today, and good thing my dentist is Josh Keener becouse it was quite a job. I'm getting a bridge put in and it kinda slowed me down for today. Hopefully I will be good to go in the morning becouse I need to accomplish something every day and mark another item off the list. Kinda like 'My Name is Earl', just not nearly as funny. It was a beautiful day in the Ozarks, and it's too bad I missed it, but in the future this will be a day to play hookie. Scott and Mike worked at beefing up the massive deck frame though, so things still got done. I decided to add some extra support to all of the beams of the deck becouse I want to be able to entertain alot of folks and not be concerned about any collapse issues, and it really has stiffened an already stout deck. There are 3 major exterior projects left, 1)Rockwork- probably subbed out install. 2)Septic system- Joe Perme subcontracted. 3)Front porch and cedar posts-a Roger production. There is also a couple of days of punch list items, and I always forget guttering. The interior schedule is 1)complete all clear sealing of the ceiling. 2) complete all priming and painting of drywall ceilings and walls. 3)Install showers. 4) Install hardwood floors and seal. 5)Install cabinets and finish plumbing fixtures. 6) complete all woodwork(doors, frames, window trims, base and ceiling mouldings, wood walls)7) Everything I have left out.  3 months should just about get it, depending on about a million small things or several big things. Who knows?, maybe, depends, maybe not but perhaps, you just never know. I WILL BE DONE BEFORE THE SUMMER.  Mark it down. My next gig at the Low Gap Cafe is on sat. March 3rd, come on out and join us. Hope everyone enjoys this great weather and maybe we will SYOTRS. Peace out, The Hollohead

Day of Power Washing

I rented a 3500 PSI power washer today and cleaned the cedar logs, it worked pretty good and they look great. I still have alot of work to do sanding down the knots on them, but a beltsander will make quick work of that. Scott and Mike built the arches for the rock columns today, and it really adds alot to the curb appeal. Working on the punch list for the exterior right now, so the next 10 days are important to finishing that to get ready for the rockwork. We have really been lucky with the weather this winter, the past 2 had been so hard that we were due a mild one. This has certainly helped to not have many weather delays, so I have tried to take advantage of it. This week I plan on getting all the exterior posts installed, and all the interior ceiling clear sealed. Scott and Mike should finish the siding on the crawlspace and the exterior trim, along with some punch list items. Hopefully `we can get more of the sheetrock primed and ready for paint also. Just keep swimming, the current is getting stronger. Wonder what I'm thinking of?

Another Awesome Sunday for Hiking

Went hiking in Smith Creek Natural Area with bro Scott and Jim and thier boys. Matt and Robyn were gone to Little Rock and I missed having them along, but I will definately bring them back another time. Awesome day for hiking or anything else, gonna be a great week to get some work done, so lets get after it. The weekend for camping on the river is coming soon, and I can't wait.