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Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 4/13/2018

Finally after the third blower arrived, and it was tested before shipment, and it didn’t work, I delved deeper into the entire unit.  While I had power going the the motor, it still wasn’t coming on.  Dug around the wiring schematic and then looked inside, which wasn’t easy as things were hidden pretty well.  But finally [!] I saw that the neutral wire was not connected to the receptacle for the motor wire.  After several minutes of squirming one hand and arm, then the other trying hard not to slice either on the sharp edges, I was finally able to connect it to the receptacle and voila! It works!  So much consternation for a simple issue.  Ok so no the front sections of the hood cabinet are on and we are waiting for cabinet lighting to arrive so I can install it and set the crown moulding.

Photos

Kitchen hood finally near completion save for crown moulding on the top of it and surrounding cabinets. The crown will reach the ceiling and cover the vent pipe.

Another truck load of live edge wood. We traveled to Nashville to pick up what we purchased last Thanksgiving and bought another truckload as well.what shows on top here is a 2” thick slab of Cherry about 8’ long. It was an huge sum of - - $95 ;-)

Posted by Amanda in Mesa, AZ on 4/16/2018 Amanda's Forum Posts: 0 Journal Entries: 34 Interview Answers: 1 Private Message Image from Amanda's blog 4/16/2018	The cabinets look great! Seems like you are getting so close!
Posted by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 4/16/2018 Larry's Forum Posts: 1 Journal Entries: 271 Interview Answers: 67 Private Message Larry's Selected Image 4/16/2018	Thanks much Amanda! Some days it seems like we’re close and others - seems like a lot more to do.  The light at the end of the tunnel now is the end, not a train though :-)

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Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 3/31/2018 11:34:29 AM

So the vent hood company has sent out two motors.  Not easy holding the heavy thing above your head getting it in place and getting screws started.  Neither of them worked.  They sent out another one yesterday, supposedly tested it first, but that was supposed to happen on the second one and didn't.  Should arrive by Tuesday and we'll try again.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 3/24/2018

So the water damage ended up being pretty well contained with only a few more planks to have to be removed.  We’ll save that for the future as that level will be finished after we move in under a CO.

Photos

The stove last December when it was sitting on the homemade dolly. It is sitting about almost a foot off of the floor.

Stove off the dolly and onto the floor!

Posted by Amanda in Mesa, AZ on 3/28/2018 Amanda's Forum Posts: 0 Journal Entries: 34 Interview Answers: 1 Private Message Image from Amanda's blog 3/28/2018

Our plumber is a friend and he kept bugging me about what our appliances would be.... and I kept thinking why do I need to think about this now, my house is just sticks! Well, we picked them and he marked out the gas line. Hopefully it is in the right spot!

Posted by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 3/28/2018 Larry's Forum Posts: 1 Journal Entries: 271 Interview Answers: 67 Private Message Larry's Selected Image 3/28/2018

I wish I had been that smart!  That what happens when you don’t do something for a living. Another thought as I have just finished cutting out Sheetrock from around a can light, check all of those before you run the Sheetrock. I had a neutral wire in the chain that didn’t seat into the wire connector. it resulted in lights down-chain not operating. Would have been better to find out early to correct. Now a patch and paint job. :-(

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Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 3/21/2018

Last Wednesday, just before we left town for a few days of R&R, I was working on finishing getting the remaining vanities connected, both water and drains. I was moving along nicely.  The faucets I was using allowed the use of a 3/8” copper line with a rubber gommet to seal it to the faucet.  This allowed for a clean installation. So I’m down to the last vanity, and I walk over to where I had been cutting PVC for the drains, and the floor is FLOODED!!  I cut the main supply as quickly as possible.  Turned out that one of the connections on the 3/8” copper had given way and slipped out.  What to do?!  Water throughout one bedroom, which did not yet have hardwood, but went across the hall to the main area and another bunk where both had hardwood.  Began vaccuming it up and took about 30 gallons out.  The vanity where the failure occurred was full of water.  Pulled drawers and set them outside to dry.  Then pulled up some of the hardwood to survey the extent.  Fortunately, in the greatroom, the water stopped within the first board or two and exited through a seam in hte subfloor.  In the bunkroom we’re not sure how far it got but suspect something similar but are waiting to see how the wood responds before tearing everything up.  As of our return yesterday, it actually looked pretty good.  Very little cupping, and having had a flooded floor once before, they can settle down significantly as they dry.  The whole thing was unbelievable.  But I try to be a “glass half full” type of person and realize that if the issue had happened while we were gone for five days, the second level of the house and the garage ceiling would have been total losses. 

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 3/10/2018

The great thing about ready to assemble cabinets, is you save about 40% over the cost of ready built semi custom cabinets.  And much more if you install them yourself. The downside is the time to fully assemble them.  While I spoke of having to asemble the boxes a few weeks back, drawers, drawer fronts and doors all need to be installed as well. And this takes time.  But in the course of a few weeks, everything will have been assembled and installed and we will have saved an unbelievable amount of money over either buying from HD and installing ourselves or subbing out the entire job. 

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 3/6/2018 9:01:41 AM

Sunday, I set the upper cabinets. Included was a large cabinet for the range hoodwhich Ray helped me lift into place.  Question came up as to what hieght to set that at.  We went and set it even with the top of the others.  Well yesterday I went and installed the 70 lb hood inside, took away the scaffolding and ...... realized it was too tall. I would have have to nearly stand on tip toes to reach over the stove and get to the controls.  So back goes the scaffolding, out comes the hood, I drop the hood cabinet down 6 inches, reinstall the hood, and we are good to go, finally.  Waiting on a backordered blower for it which should be here in a couple weeks.  I’ll run the base cabinets along this wall today. I have a couple pantries to build but we’re nearly done setting the cabinets. Feels really good.  Still have drawer faces etc, but just to have it all set in place will be great!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 3/4/2018

With the flooring done, work has shifted to setting and final assembly of cabinets.  That has moved along pretty well with only a couple of hiccups.  The cabinets that make up the china hutch around a large window are up, and while they need moulding at the top and glass in the doors, are set in place.  The island took over a day to set, primarily because the floor isn’t level underneath it.  That has had me scratching my head as to why - probably because of the swelling of the subfloor that took place.  Everything needs to be perfectly level, perfectly square.  As one set one side and work around, constant checks with a long straight edge are required in order to keeep everything in alignment.  It just takes far  more time than one can imagine.  But all turned out great in the end.  I may attempt to put up a couple of wall cabinets today. Woild be nice to get some of those off the floor.  Sandra has been doing a fantastic job of installing the drawer glides.  Very tedious work and involves locating and screwing the glides to the back of the cabinet and to the face frame.  It is something that I have traditionally done, but she took it on and that has made this move forward a whole lot faster.

Photos

China hutch assembly. Put together from individual cabinet pieces.	Island cabinets. Sink is set in place, dishwasher set in place. Drawer fronts need to be put on, once Sandra figures which fronts go where. Not as simple as it sounds.	Backside of island. Doors and false panels are on.
Drawer fronts, doors and false panels laid out in the great room as Sandra tries to figure what goes where.	Main living area with the floor finished. Nice to be soooooo clean!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 2/28/2018 9:33:11 AM

Ray and I spent the last two days putting in the flooring on the main living area.  And it’s done.  Actually begins to finish off the look of the place!  Sandra and I started the china hutch cabinetry that fits along the north wall.  We need to look for the rest of the pieces today and try to finish that off.  Will also begin putting together the replacement wall cabinets so we can begin to set those.  Sinks and dishwashers arrived yesterday. 

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 2/25/2018 2:16:47 PM

I got a call from our landlord yesterday morning.  He is looking to sell the house we are renting and wanted to run the prospective buyers through this weekend. Wow! That was a bolt out of the blue! He did confirm however that our lease is through June and he will hold to that. So - that makes us double down on getting an occupancy permit a nd move in by that time.  Now technically, all you need for the permit is to have a working kitchen, a bathroom, railings on the stairs, walls covered, and electrical and plumbing completed.  Final finishes, including flooring, tile, painting etc are not necessary.  But we don’t want to be traipsing over a living area to get to finish areas above.  So our original plans remain intact - finish the house from level 4 and work out way down.  Our  main level for Sandra and I is Level 3, which would mean only two levels would get us moved in & out of construction zone. However, all the way to level 2 still needs to have the plumbing and electrical completed for finals on those necessary for the occupancy permit. That means all the vanities needs to be hooked up, the kitchen sink on that level needs to be hooked up etc. So, a fair amount of work needs to be finished in addition.

Photos

Third floor living area ready to get hardwood.

Fireplace with the additional gingerbread added on the top.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 2/20/2018

Tubs and associated plumbing for the fourth floor all came in water tight. Got the two vanities on the same floor installed, with final hookups yet to do.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 2/18/2018 2:07:14 PM

That’s what I needed yesterday to assemble the faucet set into the tub of one of the 4th floor bathrooms.  Unlike all the others where the faucet is exterior, this one sets into the top rear face of the tub.  It’s a deep tub and trying to reach from the bottom and the topside at the same time needed someone with very long arms, or two people and Sandra had left for the day when I attempted it. After a couple long hours and many choice words shouted to no one, I finally got it all assembled nad proceeded to hook up the water lines, and drain.  I’ll get the drain on the other 4th floor tub done today and test both units for leaks.  If all goes well, we can start finishing the kitchen ceiling, which, Sandra reminded my A,D,D self, needs to be finished before the floor goes down.

Photos

Fireplace nearly finished. We are looking for something to sit on the top to finish it off, and there will be a very bright, colorful painting that hangs on the front. Granite guys need to template the hearth.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 2/13/2018

The master areas have had the wood floors installed and the second floor has two bedrooms and half the great room done as well.  We’ve installed all the shower fixtures and are slowly working on three of the four bathtubs.  The granite folks were supposed to put in the shower niche bottoms, set all of the shower curbs and the four vanity tops on the second floor.  Turned out to be a total mess yesterday when they showed up 4 hours late with less than half of the material.  Total disconnect within their organization.  Sandra called this morning and read them the riot act.  The owner was totally unaware of what had happened, but promised to review with his crews and correct.

Photos

Fireplace with more stone on, and hollow log set.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 2/8/2018 2:07:19 PM

The fireplace is starting to emerge as a finished item after we got an inspection on Tuesday and Ray was able to begin wrapping the framing with lath. Stone was started yesterday and should take several days since the curved sides take time.  Ray also needs to get brackets made and set for the new hollow log that is going to be placed across the front, but the initial results of the stone look good.

Photos

Ray, the artist who is building the fireplace on the main level.	Horizontally placed hollow log that Ray found in the woods. Final location will be about a foot higher than it is shown here.	Stone started. The face above the fireplace will be straight, while the sides will be curved as shown here
Flooring in the second level laid upside down to acclimate for a few days before putting down. We’ve seen just a hair change is moisture level in the already very low numbers.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 2/4/2018 9:08:20 AM

By the end of the day yesterday, we finished laying the fourth floor.  A total of less than four full days to lay 1100 sq.ft.  Or about 20% of the total flooring.  And that was including the ever time consuming hundreds of trips up and down the stairs to get the flooring up to that level.  We’re talking 3500 lbs of flooring hauled up those steps a few boards at a time. Sandra is out of commission while her remaining real knee recoversfrom that workout.  The other two floors should still be work, but there is no changing levels once the flooring is lifted up to those levels with the Skytrak.  I’m going to lay the high density sound material in the master bedroom, bath and closet today and bring up flooring to acclimate.  Would really like to get the floor in before the granite guys come back with the shower curbs as the face sits on top of the floor.

Photos

Floorings pics from the top of the stairs

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 2/1/2018 9:19:55 AM

And flooring started!  All the accent walls we had planned, are up with the exception of trim.  Based on the first bedroom, and the reaction of the trim as it dries, and the fact that wood floor needs to be installed  before final length can be determined, we’ll wait until the floors are in.

Photos

Upstairs, we’re using 6,7 & 8” wide planks, one would think wide planks would speed things along, but the long lengths(up to 12’) and width, actually makes it more difficult to get tongues and grooves to match up. The green material is a high density foam product that is supposed to dampen noise to below

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/24/2018

So after Sandra has gotten much of the rough cut sanded and treated, and the tile guy finished the showers on the fourth floor, we went and put up the accent walls in two bedrooms up there.  Went pretty quickly, a few hours each.  I started putting down a sound absorbing underlayment for the hardwood floor in preparation for getting some up there to acclimate and lay in a couple weeks.  But was taken off that task by the arrival of the flexible vent for the main fireplace.  Need to get that in so Ray could continue on his work.  When we poured the concret back in mid 2016 I had placed a piece of 8”duct in the forms as the opening for the vent as that diameter was supposed to be 7”.  But wouldn’t you know, the flex that I decided to use is 8” as well.  So out came the hammer drill to ream out the hole and we finally got the vent pipe through.  All the best laid plans....

Photos

Accent wall being installed

Finished wall

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/20/2018 1:43:01 PM

The work on the main fireplace has slowed down.  I ordered the vent kit, which should be here Monday, and I have to run electrical to both the unit and to any places we want lighting.  And then both of those have to be inspected.  So Ray can work on the tree trunks and get them fully cleaned and finished and can finish building the hearth while the other stuff happens.  I’m framing out the lower fireplace and running the gas to it.  

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/18/2018 12:27:18 AM

So the main fireplace os starting to take shape - a shape that seems evolve each day.  The latest evolution is to take the normally sharp edges and round them significantly to soften the look and tie in with tne curved roof.  It’s different, but I think it’ll be something that will work and certainly create some buzz.

Photos

Early look at the fireplace. Shot is at night with the new ceiling lights installed. I had concerns that I might need more light when Imwas installing, but turns out that it is sufficient	Framing going up.	Framing finished

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/15/2018 1:12:43 PM

Pretty productive weekend.  Sandra got the main level ski room floor grouted, stone/tile guys started a shower on the fourth floor and it is looking nice.  I installed seven ceiling fans, and Ray cleaned up the second trunk to be used on the fireplace.  We’ll lift that up to the main level with the Skytrak this morning and stand it up with help from the tile guys as it’s a really heavy piece.  Need to go to the welder to get a steel plate that we can use to fasten it to the floor and spread the weight out as well.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/12/2018 4:32:10 AM

We’ve hired the artistic fellow (Ray) who helped with the corrugated ceiling to do the fireplace.  We’ve seen some of the work he has done on a couple others and think his work will come out as something special.  Sandra had the idea of using a couple of tree trunks to support the mantel, but Ray took it a step further to find hundred year old lightning-struck pitch wood trunks out in the forest.  He’ll start construction on it tomorrow.

Photos

Membrane down in the ski room	Tile started. Will finish tomorrow so the saw can be free for the stone guy to tile.	Lights up on the corrugated ceiling

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/10/2018 3:44:44 AM

After making a few calls to the freight terminal in Albuquerque Sunday and to the local cartage company yesterday and this morning, they all helped out and got the 19,000 lbs of flooring up to the house today, before snow comes tomorrow.  What a relief!  Took two trucks to get all six 12’ pallets up and some maneuvering to get them off, but they are now safe inside the garage and we can start thinking about starting to bring some up into the living spaces to acclimate.  With some preliminary moisture measurements I made today, though, it might not take long.  They are pretty low already.  Now that the wood is here, it can snow all it wants! Yea!

Photos

Six massive pallets of flooring finally at home!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/9/2018 2:38:24 AM

So we went down to HD in Santa Fe and picked up a floor sander on Saturday late afternoon.  As we started to sand the OSB seams to remove the swollen material from having gotten rained on for months before the house was dried in, the clean look of fresh material looked so good that we decided to lightly sand the entire floors.  They were so stained from dirt, paint, stain, sheetrock.  While we didn’t bring them back to their full glory, they look a whole lot better and seem to brighten everything up. Sunday and this morning we got it all finished and ran back to SF to return the sander.  It’s tough when the nearest HD is two hours away, and it’s the nearest rental place that had a sander!

Photos

Sanded the seams first	How filthy the floor was! And the big difference after it’s sanded.	At least we have great views and no traffic on our two hour ride!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/7/2018 2:36:00 PM

Or maybe not as we are expecting snow on Wednesday.  It’s sitting in Albuquerque at a freight terminal waiting for transfer to a local line to bring it up here. I’m going to try to see if we can get it moved up in the schedule to Tuesday.  If not, it might be best to wait until the following Tuesday as the weather is predicted to be warm after the Wednesday snow and it may have melted.

Photos

Two bundles of stickered rough sawn boards. Also notice the Jeep with the plow attached. It hasn’t seen use all winter!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/4/2018

Tuesday we heard back from the cabinet company.  They will remake the face frames and I will remove the old ones from the cabinet box and replace with the new ones.  From our testing of frame removal, it should work out ok.  A smart smack with a hammer and a block of wood, loosens the frame and then I’ll run a sander over the edge of the plywood box to remove the glue.  The new frame will be glued to the box as originally done.  They had us overnight a drawer to them so they could get a proper color match.  They had already started work Tuesday so shouldn’t be long in getting them.  That’s good news!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 1/1/2018 3:49:03 PM

We finished the living room ceiling this week, which is a load off our chores.  And it frees up the space so I can get the floor sander this week and sand the seams in the subfloor that had swollen from rain before we got the house dried in. I’ve got lights ordered from Amazon for the ceiling.  Sandra will treat the frames like she did the corrugated metal to create a rusted effect and they’ll blend in nicely.

Photos

The living room ceiling is finished. Need to install lights and a celing fan, and we can then take down the scaffolding! Yea!	Wainscot begun in the ski room	The color issue on the cabinets. Bummer.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 12/22/2017 2:59:10 PM

We started the curved ceiling yesterday with the help of the local artist/builder whose work with rusted-looking steel inspired us.  It took four of us to put the material - 42” x 106” heavy-gauge steel, up onto the ceiling.  Sandra and his daughter would prep and hand it to us 12’ up on the scaffold.  We would take it from there and attach it to the furring I installed a couple weeks ago.  In about three hours, we had gotten one of the three sections finished before we ran out of prepared steel.  Sandra will go ahead and paint/rust the other 18 sheets over the weekend so they will be ready to install next Tuesday, after Christmas.

Photos

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 12/20/2017 10:09:53 AM

Cabinets shipped last Friday, and are to arrive this Friday, butwe have snow moving in Thursday.the predicted amounts vary from little accumulation to 4”.  We are hoping that it is the former so the semi can make it up the mountain, and I can get the Skytrack up the drive.  It will be an interesting snow watch.

Photos

Installing the tile in the showers by the new method of leaving large gaps between the mats and filling in with loose stone.	Further along on the infill	The stove sitting on the original pallet.
The original pallet after the sove was removed. You can see the mess I had to contend with in getting it transferred over	Bringing it in on the Skytrack. That machine is worth its weight!	And a tight fit in through the door.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 12/11/2017

Sandra followed up again on the fooring today.  Was supposed to be here several weeks ago.  Had been told there was a glitch earlier, but this was getting way behind.  Not to go into details, but the mill canceled the order as it was too big (huh?!) and the supplier had to find another. Weird.  So now it won’t ship until after Christmas. A serious issue.  The supplier is trying to contact local cartage so that it may have a chance to get up the mountain once snow finally hits.

Posted by Kelsey Jo on 12/13/2017 Kelsey Jo's Forum Posts: 0 Private Message Randomly Selected Image 12/13/2017

Dad - Cabinets are not a month behind.  We were quote 3 weeks and ordered Nov 11th or so.  So at most, the leadtime was off by 2 weeks - which is because of Thanksgiving holiday.

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Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 12/7/2017 9:25:16 AM

Long-range forecast shows to be good in terms of precipitation.  Crossing our fingers that it holds until big items arrive.  Until then, we have plenty to do with all of the showers, the ceiling in the curved roof, which has now been furred and ready for metal, get a toilet set and begin a wood accent wall once it ages to the proper patina. 

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 11/30/2017 11:21:43 PM

While we were in Nashville for Thanksgiving, at the Mutton Bustin house, we paid a visit to a fellow in Sprinfield who has a large bandsaw and cuts live-edge slabs and sells them raw for a really good price.  We bought a half truckload of them!  Problem is, we had flown, so - looks like a road trip will be in order in the future.  The slabs will be used for kitchen shelving and top rails for sections of the railings where we are looking enough space for setting down drinks and small plates.

Photos

Sandra on the scaffold staing the beams. You’d never believe she had a knee replacement less than 4 months ago and climbs the scaffold.

Floor membrane on a shower. Same material is used on the walls.

Posted by Amanda in Mesa, AZ on 12/6/2017 Amanda's Forum Posts: 0 Journal Entries: 34 Interview Answers: 1 Private Message Image from Amanda's blog 12/6/2017

Does your wife get nervous about being up so high? We bought scaffolding, and someone has to paint the eaves/fascia in the next few weeks. I was getting nervous that it would be me!!!!

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Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 11/18/2017

The past week has been spent with Sandra powerwashing the stone and decks the former having gotten seriously dirty from dirt splashing before the landscape was done and the latter from foot traffic bringing in not only dirt, but sheetrock and thinset dust, neither of which we can completely get rid of inside the house after repeated vacuumings.  But scrubbing with detergent and powerwashing has gotten the decks respectfully clean.  The manufacturer suggests we use a vinegar rinse as well to help dissolve any calcium film left.  That’ll be done next Spring.  Right now they look pretty darn good.

Photos

Final pic of the front with the railings installed.	Terracing of the backside	Steps heading up the terraced section to the patio. The blank wall of the end of the house will change as we add an outdoor fireplace next year
The back patio	Steps heading down, what used to be the access drive to the back, down the the front of the house	Setting a foam shower base. They are already pre-sloped, lightweight and are trimmed to size during the installation.
The decoupling membrane for a tile floor. Takes the place of Hardi backer, but better protection against movement in the supporting structure, such as pier and beam systems, or especially on direct contact with a concrete floor. Any crack that develops in concrete will directly translate into the tile above. This material prevents that. This is a flexible membrane that is attached with thinset to the subfloor. Tile is set directly on top in standard fashion with thinset.

Posted by Amanda in Mesa, AZ on 11/20/2017 Amanda's Forum Posts: 0 Journal Entries: 34 Interview Answers: 1 Private Message Image from Amanda's blog 11/20/2017	Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for sharing your journey! Your home is looking gorgeous.
Posted by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 11/21/2017 Larry's Forum Posts: 1 Journal Entries: 271 Interview Answers: 67 Private Message Larry's Selected Image 11/21/2017	Amanda, Thank you for the compliment.  It's been a long journey, even after we broke ground.  I've been a bit jealous, reading your blog and seeing how fast you are proceeding!  You'll be finished long before us, I think! :-). You have a great house started and I can't wait to see it unfold.

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Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 11/9/2017

The lanscaping is finally done, his equipment gone, and in its place stone patios, steps and terraces.  Some of it will take until the spring when the grass sprouts, but all of the bare dirt, bare slopes have been transformed and house looks like it has naturally grown from its surroundings. Kinda cool!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 10/31/2017 10:08:04 AM

Yeah, I know I said earlier that I was going to get the furnaces up and running, but the bad weather that was supposed to keep me indoors, never showed up and we continued to get things done outside.  But yesterday, with a front moving in I sat down, and did the final electrical connections, hooked in the thermostat wire and turned them by manually making a “heat on” connection on the Tstat wire [we just now ordered thermostats].  Everything fired up fine and we’ll get the Tstats connected when they arrive.

Photos

Good thing Sandra’s not afraid of heights or the windows would never get clean!	Stopped by the river[Rio Grande] on the way back from Lowe’s to let the dog run. Beautiful fall day!	Landscaping now coming around the side of the house to the front

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 10/26/2017 9:47:48 PM

After a week in Texas, helping my brother in law start a house, help with a little maintenance on the “Barrel Race”house, and - oh yeah the wedding - we’re back in Angel Fire and back at work.  It was a great sight to see the landscaping coming further along with the patio reconstructed (there was an issue with proper drainage the first go-around).  The patio should be finished in another day, maybe two, but it’s just the finishing touches left on it.  Our horse statues (remember the name of the house, and blog IS the Last Rodeo) arrived while we were gone and are waiting to be set.  Herman the landscaper took it upon himself to have a hitchin’ rack made for them.  Really a cool gesture on his part.  Will be greatly appreciated. All will be set in the next couple days.

Photos

A shot of part of the third floor railing	Sandra steps ot up to clean the windows	The patio is finally getting close
And the horses waiting to be set

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 10/15/2017 11:51:49 PM

Another wedding to go to, this time in Texas. Will spend a few days helping my brother in law start building a small rental house outside of Austin. Spent the day setting the piers and tomorrow will begin the floor framing. 

Photos

Piers for the rental house. Used the existing slab from the house that was there before. Drilled holes for rebar, set block and filled with hand mixed cement. How did I ever think before that I had mixed my last bag

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 10/10/2017 9:59:42 AM

in the form of a snowstorm that gave us 5” and 8F temps this morning. Brrrr!  Still no heat in the house, but it should have survived will find out when I get up there.  I’ve not been anxious to get out there this morning, but will don the Carharrts and brave it shortly.  Insulation guys messed up the install date and will now be here Friday.

Photos

First couple sections of railing

A few hours after the railing shot as the storm was beginning

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 10/7/2017

The stone guy, who also does tile, staining, painting, carpentry etc etc, put in as much of the kitchen ceiling (t&g Aspen) as he can for the moment.  We have to set the bath tubs before he can do anymore because we need access below the tubs to connect the drains.  Tubs can’t get set until the wood floors go in underneath them.  That will be a while as we are just getting ready to order the flooring, all 6000 ft of it.  Trying to get the cabinets ordered as well to get them delivered before the snow gets so bad we can’t get them up the drive.  We are running against the clock now.

Photos

T&G aspen in the kitch ceiling	First section of deck railing. Needs to be stained, but ready to install afterwards.	With this, the first floor is finished lol!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 9/27/2017

The exterior stone was finally finished this week, with all of the little nooks that were missing before, and most importantly, all the window sills finished and caulked.  Just in time as the weather is changing by the day.  The mountains got snow last weekend and we had a very hard freeze a couple nights ago.  I've contracted the stone guy to do the T&G on the porch as well as what can be run in the kitchen.  He's already finished the porch in a day and started on rhe kitchen area.  Nice to see things move along quickly!

Photos

Fresh air unit combining a fan with a heat exchanger	Window sills done	Sandra doing her painting. Almost done with 300 gallons!
Front stairwell windows full trimmed	Porch ceiling finished in T&G	Kitchen T&G started
A well-deserved mini vacation starting!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 9/21/2017 8:46:47 AM

So the landscaper hadn't shown up for a few days.  Got in contact with him and it turns out he had emergency surgery.  Will be out of commission for 6 weeks.  Nothing on this build has gone smoothly.  Obviously, the fellow couldn't help this, but it shows just how quickly things can turn.  I'm going to have to hire someone else to clear the area for the propane tank and dig the hole for the hot tub.  I'll give the excavator a call this morning.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 9/15/2017 9:13:53 AM

Finished running the decking but need to set the last couple of railing posts that sit against the house.  Should have that all done today.  If Sandra can climb onto the Skytrak this weekend, she can lift me in the basket and we can run the fascia, which came in this week.  

Photos

The patio is slowly progressing. The rocks are massive!

I love the door step!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 9/10/2017 3:35:35 AM

The roofer finally finished everything this Friday.  The rest of the soffits, fascia and gutters.  So good to see it all done, no wood showing, all covered in bronze-colored steel to match the roof.  A totally finished, maintenance-free system.  One less subcontractor on the project.  There is only the landscaper, who has just started his work, and the stone guys finishing the work they started long ago.  Haven't heard from them for weeks, and haven't bothered calling them. 

Photos

Look closely and hou can see the new fascia on the roof. Totally blends with the roof and beams	Terraced hill and steps on the back side of the house leading up to the thord floor level	The entire back, located at the third level, will be a patio made of these massive flat stones

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 8/25/2017 11:49:03 AM

Leach lines were put in this week, and the area backfilled.  The only thing left is to set the pump and alarm.  Those will be done today. Finally!  We upped the size of the system by 30% to help ensure we have sufficient capacity during rental season.  Better to err on the side of caution.  Meanwhile, I've run some decking, but have spent the past couple days epoxying the garage floor.  Having to do it in sections, two coats needed so it'll take a week total.  But it is coming out nicely, with the exception of dirty dog tracks on one area.  Paint and cement - dogs seem to love both! 

Photos

All the equipment the septic installer has up there for the job. It includes a hammer as they ran into rock at one end	Leach field going in. There are five 60' lines	Garage floor getting epoxied. It'll be so much easier to clean than cement, and impervious to oils and chemicals
Aside from the single dog print, the others are bear. These was in the leach field area at the back of the house

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 8/19/2017 12:23:45 PM

Although we had a great week of weather, the septic is not finished. I admit that digging oit and redoing the pump tank was not easy, but it still seems like everything is in slow motion.  The septic tank is set, the pump tank has sewer line run into it again and it has been backfilled and compacted. The leach lines need to be dug and installed, and the forecast for next week is rain.  We'll see what happens.

Photos

Poly septic tsnk.	Tank set waiting for pea gravel and backfill	Area above the pump tank, graded and compacted
Equipment brought up for the job. Quite a load!

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 8/14/2017 9:56:48 AM

A change in the weather is beginning to occur here. While many places in the country are still sweltering fall is beginning to creep in.  While we didn't see it, friends said there was snow Friday in the higher elevations.  The sun takes longer to show up and evening comes earlier.  

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 8/7/2017 12:34:00 PM

Sandra and I worked on attaching the aspen around the underside on the curved roof, perimeter only at this point.  The Skytrak forklift has been a godsend on this entire project for nearly everything and everyone, us, the framer, the roofer, the stucco guys.  With its 54' reach, and ability to tilt, it has been able to get into a lot of places I wouldn't have thought it could.  Saturday, Sandra operated while I was in the basket 40' up, nailing T&G to the underside.  A bit scary, especially as we had to tilt it somewhat as we extended further out.  Not particularly a good thing to do, but all went well and it's ready for the roofer to finish his job - whenever he comes back, which may now be a couple of weeks.

Photos

Where no man has gone before - well not quite. But the outside edge is what we needed the skytrack to be able to work on attaching the soffit.

View from 40'. The left side of the soffit will get covered with the fascia the will wrap around.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 8/5/2017 2:46:33 AM

The hangers have finished the living spaces and moved into the garage today.  They will finish that in another day and a half.  Tapers ran the third floor today, finished some mud and sanding on the second floor. I assume they'll start the garage after the weekend.  So by the end of next week, they should be finished!  When that's done, I've got to think about painting the garage floor and storeroom.  It may seem simply ridiculous, but it's not that long a job, and it has to be done in warm weather.  We're starting to park cars in there, a couple of which drip a bit of oil.  Would rather protect the floor now, than wait until next year.

Photos

Great room finally with drywall and tape	Second floor kitchen and great room	Main kitchen which os on the third floor. The ceiling here will be T&G aspen. Hasn't been taped yet in this photo

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 8/2/2017 8:02:03 AM

Been a bit since my last post as friends came to visit and we've taken time out with them.  But things have been moving along.  The hangers finally made it up and have done the 2nd and 4th floors and should finish the third floor today or tomorrow.  Tapers have been doing their thing as well.  Depending on whether they work the weekend, the drywall on all four floors should be finished by the end of next week.  That would be fantastic! The house looks totally different as the drywall goes in.  Unlike the Mutton Busting project in Nashville though, it doesn't seem as earthshaking.  Perhaps because of the size, and that thay take a couple of days for each area, the change is a bit more gradual. Obviously it is a huge change, though and it is wonderful to see the spaces better defined.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 7/22/2017

The hangers were supposed to start on Tuesday, but the owner stopped by and said they had just started another job and it would be three days out.  Yesterday I called and he said they would be here on Monday, a week late from what we had originally agreed upon.  I'd normally be pretty upset, but actually it gave us some breathing room to finish taking care of items that needed o be done.  It looked like we were going to be just one step ahead of the hangers, but this delay allowed us to finish (and find more things to finish) in a more relaxed manner.

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 7/18/2017 12:17:39 PM

Yesterday morning the sheetrock arrived on a bobtail and trailer, with five guys to unload it.  One operated the crane, while the others pulled it off onto a cart and placed it against walls in the house.  The hangers started another house and will be delayed until Thursday, but that's ok, we've got plenty to do in preparation with adding the rock wool in the ceiling for soundproofing and fiberglass in the walls for sound dampening.

Photos

Soundproofing the second floor ceiling	Sound damping the walls between bedrooms and common areas as well as bathrooms and common areas using fiberglass insulation	Sheetrock unloading with crane

Posted to The-Last-Rodeo by Larry in Angel Fire, NM on 7/15/2017 12:48:06 PM

Got the final two inspections that were necessary before the drywall goes in - framing and mechanical.  Drywall comes Monday and they need to haul 64 sheets from the third to the fourth floor before they begin.  Meanwhile, the mechanical guys need to finish cutting in a return air grill the goes through a wall on the fourth floor.  So we'll play a little dance between them and the drywall crew.