Yours truly slogging through the mud. You can see a little mix of the old and new here. On the left is the old kitchen window waiting its fate, while the new one sits proudly in place providing more light on the sunnyside of the house.

With some of the wiring installed I've been able to start insulating in preparation for the drywall.

Here I've foamed the cracks where the outside walls meet the sills. Even with all of this foaming and the foam-tech application in the cellar, I can still detect small amounts of air infiltration. I plan to put a bead of caulk or foam along the base of the drywall as a final measure. Whatever it takes to cut down on the drafts.

The pink stuff comes next.

I got accustomed to seeing the walls in their gutted state. It's strangely sad to see the old wood getting covered back up. The boards that make up the sheathing on the house (see above) are an inch thick, rough sawn. Some of them are as much as 18" wide. That's old wood, hand-lumbered, hand-milled, and nailed into place with long flat nails over 150 years ago. It's been nice to give it the light of day if only for a short time.

Over the pink stuff goes 1/2" thermax, or in this case "Enerfoil," foil-faced rigid foam board.

This picture shows the new south facing kitchen window. See the November 30th entry for a good "before picture" of this wall. There was a chimney somewhere there before, and some plan for a woodstove. No regrets there. The space is much more open without them.

A visit from the new neighbors Ida and Nicola. The warmth and friendliness of the folks here has been awesome.

As the move-in date approaches, and the funds dwindle, it's easy to get stressed out and discouraged. My experience with the project so far, though, is that things come together as they need to. I'm hoping that holds true in the final days of what's probably best considered the first phase of this project.

I sometimes get to mourning those other endeavors --esp. art and music-- that have taken a back seat during this work. I rarely allow myself the time to sit and play music or draw knowing there's always something that needs doing with the house. But too much of one thing is life out of balance even if that thing is thought of as progress. The path I'm seeking is somewhere between the grasshopper and the ant.

Stay tuned.

© 2006 James Graham

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