Big Wind in Montana

Friday night we had a wind event in Red Lodge.  Winds gusted over 70 miles an hour and there was damage all over town, and a little up at the new house.  I don't think many people got much sleep on Friday night, because of the howling and rattling.  There were whitecaps in the commode from the downdraft on the plumbing vents.  The other remarkable weather news is that the temperatures have been in the 50's, which is unheard of in February in Montana.

A tree came down on this house which is just a block and a half away from our rental on Broadway.  John, our contractor, had a big glass window at his house in Tipi Village get blown out.  Fortunately it sucked the window out of the house and broke on the deck, rather than inside the house.

The headgate at Happy Valley, a mile up the West Fork Canyon from the house, blew down.  Our contractor has been renovating this log cabin for a family from Texas and we toured it a couple of weeks ago to look at the wood and tile floors.

                                                                     





We lost some of the soffit under the roof and shingles in several places were flapping in the wind.  We will have to check for cracks in those shingles, once the crew comes back next week.  We imagined lots of damage and were very lucky it was not worse.

Sheep Shearing Sheetrock Finishers

Say that three times fast, sheep shearing sheetrock finishers.  George and his crew at Trailhead Interiors also shear sheep for ranchers in the area.  That work begins in mid February, so they have to be done with our job by then.  They started work last week and even worked on Super Bowl Sunday.  Not only do they shear sheep, but Cody, also works in the Bakken and commutes back to Red Lodge after his 2 week shifts are done.  Lots of folks in Red Lodge have 2 or 3 jobs, since many jobs are seasonal and don't provide a paycheck year round.

Temperatures in town got down to -1 this weekend, after they had put down the first coat of mud.  Gary went up to the house this weekend and re-insulated the door openings, to keep the cold out and hopefully stop the mud from freezing.

We found their finishing towels hanging on the scaffolding like laundry drying on the line.

Gary has been John's right hand man while the rest of the carpentry crew is away.  They completed the front porch roof, which is tongue and groove aspen.  The wood has a beautiful color and all of the knots and streaks give it a wonderful character.  They also continued on the siding, including putting up the gable end on the garage.  The gables will be a reddish color of the same Douglas Fir, used on the lower sections of the siding.

The Week in Review

JURY RIGGED CARDBOARD CHANDELIER

This week Shark and his painting crew sanded and sealed the Big Bertha Beams.  This brought out the color of the fir and it should deepen over time.

After the sheet rock is finished, the wood for the ceilings will be nailed to the rafters and then we can hang the light fixtures and ceiling fans.  We want to do it right after the ceiling goes up, because we will need to use the scaffolding before it is taken down.  The peak of the ceiling is 24 feet from the floor, too tall to use a ladder to hang the fixtures.

But we have not ordered the light fixtures yet.  Because this is such a tall space, we know we need a big chandelier, but not sure how big it should be.  So we made a cardboard template to see how it would look and feel in the room.  Gary was going to hang it off the scaffolding, but that didn't work.  So we jury rigged a pipe between the loft and the scaffolding with rope to raise and lower it to find the right height.

Mud season with the snow melting around the wood.

Progress from the Roof to the Basement

Progress has been sporadic since the holidays but construction is back in full swing, with work underway from the roof to the basement.





While Hans is in Vietnam, Trapp has started on the metal roofing over the porches and the dining room.  The metal roofing allows for a lower pitch on the roof and give us a farm house feel, or at least we hope it does.

John has been working on putting up the siding and moving toward the front of the house.  With temperatures in the 40's, it's pretty good weather for getting this done.  However, the snow all around the house is melting and mud season has begun.

The fireplace and flue were installed last week and a test fire was laid.  In one of our first houses, the stone mason said the chimney would "draw so good, it'll suck your cat up and out of the house."  We are hoping this one draws good too, even though we don't have a cat.  The mason is scheduled to come this week to discuss the stone for the fireplace and the hearth.

Gary has continued to work in the basement pullin' wire.  Looks like spaghetti down there.  His work has been difficult because the insulation contractor put up insulation before they should have.  All of that has to come out to complete the HVAC and electrical installation.  So there are insulation mountains in parts of the basement.

More Choices

Bathroom Tile

Wood Floor, Carpet and Trim Color

Bathroom Tile ?

Another Possible Bathroom Tile Combo

Sheetrock

John P. and his crew hung the sheet rock last week and did the entire house in two days.  What a job, Gary and I hung the sheet rock in our first house and learned quickly that we were not very good at it and it isn't a fun job.  The first 12 foot piece we tried to hang on the cathedral ceiling broke in half, 6 feet sections on either side of Gary.  They were hanging pieces 18 feet up in this house, which was another reason to hire pros.  Fortunately the scaffolding has stayed in the living room to help with access to the high walls in the living room.  The only thing left to hang is the garage and hopefully we will have warm weather next week and they will be able to complete the work.

While We Were Gone

We have been in NC for the holidays and got back to Red Lodge on Friday.  We have been gone for a couple of weeks, visiting friends and family and getting warm.  While we were away, Hans and Trapp worked on the siding.  They started on the garage, to get a feel for how it goes up and how the boards fit together.  The wood is Douglas Fir and is already stained and rough sawn, for a rustic farmhouse look.  The company, Montana Timber Products, is based in Missoula.  They will place corner trim after putting up both sides.

 

 While we were gone, we got a couple of feet of new snow and it has been snowing every day since we got back.  This may make it more difficult for the delivery of sheetrock this week. Temperatures are not supposed to be above 35 next week and not much work can occur in that kind of cold.