Category Archives: Construction

Plumbing: supply side

We’re done with the supply-side plumbing in the cottage, por fin. It actually didn’t take that long (unlike most everything else on this house) and I got to use some rusty skills that I paid dearly for in grad school. … Continue reading

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Sun dome!

Today I installed a Velux sun tunnel in the roof of the cottage. It was Emily’s idea… our house has PLENTY of natural light, but none in the pantry. Now it does, without having a window! Instead, the sunlight travels … Continue reading

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Looking around!

I took a 360° picture of the inside of the cottage today, for those of you who want to better see how things have progressed. Click here to go to the interactive image (it’s fun!)

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Who knew our house has Jeffries tubes?

I just got home from a 10-hour plumbing extravaganza. I spent most of the time on my back in the crawlspace beneath the house, cutting  and glueing together sanitary plumbing. I felt like I was in the Jeffries tubes on … Continue reading

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Solar power is ONLINE

The checks have been made, the switches have been thrown, and WE HAVE ELECTRICITY AT THE COTTAGE!!! This is very exciting- in less than a year from the date of purchasing the property, we’ve got provisional power. Jeff showed up … Continue reading

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A busy worksite

This weekend we had a larger, more diverse gathering of workers than ever before. I went out early to get set up and organized before Jeff came back to help wire the solar panels, and I arrived to find that … Continue reading

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Of photovoltaics, inverters, and batteries

Back when we bought the property, one of the problems we were made aware of was that there was no electricity to the house. The previous owner had used it as a vacation cabin, and never put it in. The … Continue reading

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Cedar siding

We’re now working to get the siding on the cottage before the winter rains set in. When deciding what to clad this thing with, we were originally looking at fiber cement siding (Hardieplank). I specify it a lot on commercial … Continue reading

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Mudroom

…is not a place to store mud. When we first bought the cottage in December, Emily was all about the idea of having a mudroom. “If we’re going to be farming, we’re going to need a place to take off … Continue reading

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And she’s climbing the stairway…

We reached a milestone this weekend: we have stairs to the bedroom! This has been a long time coming, and there is (of course) a story. I have regular interactions with building officials in my job as an architect, and … Continue reading

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