Slow Progress

Slow progress but progress none the less.

Bob built a new and improved desk in our dining room.

Progressing on stonework.

Temporary roof (Grace Ice & Water over the entire roof and then a fiber cloth covering to protect that from UV) going on the studio. We’re still hoping to do Tesla Solar Shingles on here but there is exceptionally poor and inaccurate communication from Tesla. We got a call that it would be late summer or early fall and then when I called back someone different told me that there were currently no plans for Minnesota. There seems a very common deal with a lot of people who think highly of Tesla the car company but there’s increasing frustration and distrust with Tesla the solar company. This roof will buy us 6-12 months and if Tesla hasn’t gotten their act together by that point then we’ll likely have to do standard solar panels.

Halfway between the Twin Cities and Duluth is Tobies. There are rumors that it is written in MN law that anyone driving by must stop for something. In our case we go by there frequently on our way to my brother and sister in-laws place in Webb Lake, Wisconsin. It’s mandatory that we stop at least one direction for one of their carmel rolls. We’ll often also get together with another brother and sister in-law and cousins for dinner there on the way back.

Stone on the center chimney.

Aaron cutting a bit of stone for the terrace wall.

Dan commenting.

What’s hidden …

There was a somewhat major goof in the lighting in our kitchen. Between these windows is the one upper cabinet in our kitchen (Aesthetically I’d prefer not to have it by my wife wisely says we desperately need the storage space). It has four doors. Lights were placed over the two outer doors with nothing in the middle so the outside edges would be bright and the middle dark. I made this story stick to know where the cabinet doors are in relation to the trusses to try to figure out a solution that will result in more even pleasing light on the cabinet. We can possibly squeeze two more lights in over each of the other two doors but that would be A LOT of light, even when dimmed. Bob is going to see if one truss can be notched enough to fit a light in the center (marked w/ a C).

The bosses conferring on hardware selections. Marita from Kipling House has a really great eye for design and what will and won’t work well. She’s also being good with helping us from a budget standpoint. We’ve had a number of overages such as the sewer line costing twice what it was supposed to so we’re having to cut costs elsewhere like hardware.

Bob drew this recommendation up for our outdoor kitchen that will be on the north end of our porch. I don’t know how many site supervisors are this talented but we really appreciate having Bob on our project.

The window for the sauna was cut in and the walls waterproofed.

Fun to get an idea what it will look like at night. I was working late running power down to our boat lift to put chargers on the batteries. This was about 10:30p.

An alternative to having a screen door on the north wall is to place it between these two columns facing south. The plan has long steps across here but if we did a screen door we’d need to modify them a bit as Bob painted in red. I’m not too crazy about how the steps would need to be done and prefer the door on the north wall. I seem to be in the minority on this.

With stonework on the chimneys complete the roofers can finish the roof. Once they are done we should finally be ‘dried in’ which will be a very welcome development for me as I get increasingly concerned about the amount of water that comes in with nearly every rain.

First boat ride of the year. This was the latest we’ve ever put our dock and boats in and the first time we’ve ever waited until June. Some years we’ve actually put in early April. It was however 91°f when I took this shot (and the next day the high was 62°f). I do love Minnesota though.

This was a rough dock year. Last year our regular dock guy was swamped and when I couldn’t get a return call from him to insure our dock would be finished by 4 July I called someone else. They finished it last year OK and seemed to do good taking it out last fall. Put in this year didn’t go so well. They didn’t show up the first two days they were supposed to and when I could be around. They assured me that I didn’t need to be there and that they would get it done OK while I was out of town. NOT. It was very frustrating to return to see that the dock was too far from the shore for the steps to reach, boat lifts were in the wrong places, steps and ladders were in the wrong places, panels were in wrong places, post covers were installed incorrectly, the posts weren’t seated properly on the lake bottom so the dock is uneven and some panels are popping up, and other stuff …  Argh!

Even so, it was nice to finally be able to get out on the lake.