Nuts and Bolts (and Therms and Kilowatts)

We have had some big days here at Houthpith--days with workers swarming everywhere jabberjawing at one another; days with gigantic, noisy machines doing huge things; days where the progress on the house is readily observable, and days where something cool was installed.

And I must confess here and now that, while I have been involved in the house design, Charlie and Ann have done the heavy lifting.

And I also must confess that the nuts and bolts of the place are what intrigue me most, even if I don't understand it all (see any entry on the heating system). And it's nice to plan to implement something in theory that will work. I say 'in theory' here because while others may have experience in these matters, I don't.

So this is a long way of saying that one of those theories, namely heat retention, has produced objective results.

The bill for gas and electric has arrived for the dates from November 17 to December 17. Last year we spent approximately $525 on propane and $212 for electric for a total of $737, for the same time period.

This year we had some windows partially open, some doors that blew open overnight, compressors, and saws, and things operating--not to mention the heating of the chicken coop with heat lamps and space heaters.

And while the solar panels are installed, they are not yet connected.

And the monthly bill for both gas and electric came to--get this--$171.

To quote Meriwether Lewis (or was it Clark?)--"O the Joy!"

Bathroom Floor Down . . .

. . . and lots of staining and varnishing got done.

A Traditional Christmas

As you are no doubt aware, we are staunch conservatives around here and traditionalists as well.

And we spent Christmas in the traditional way--by staining and varnishing.

What did you say? Not traditional! We differ.

It turns out that recent research has ever so slightly altered the story of the birth of Jesus. Yes, Mary and Joseph spent the night in a stable, but not because there was no room left in the inn.

It was because inside the inn, they were staining and varnishing, and Mary, being large with child, could not stand the fumes.

When we discovered that our favorite past time was part of the birth of Jesus, we just had to go over and celebrate. And celebrate we did, recognizing the important event over and over and over for almost 5 straight hours.

We are exhausted now and looking for a stable ourselves.

The 100th Post!

It's hard to believe that we have posted 100 of these rambling benedictions. It can only mean one of two things, or probably both.

One, we are getting close to completion (relatively speaking), and/or two, you, faithful reader have been bestowed with inordinate patience.

To give credence to the 'getting close' part, the entryway tile has been laid and extends into the hall closet and the guest bath.

To give credence to the 'inordinate patience', here's Bob, who has a black belt in inordinate patience, precariously perched on a plank perchance to put up window framing.

On, Over, In and Out

Ah, another beautiful day (25 degrees (Fahrenheit) in the Northwoods allowed Marc and his solar crew up on the roof to insulate pipes and install the DC motor drive. This will derive energy from the sun to pump the liquid through the pipes in the panel downstairs to the heat storage device.

Inside, where it's toasty warm the varnishing crew is hard at work. (NOTE: Fingernails intact and remain unharmed.)
And just where's Emma? Waiting, waiting waiting. Oh, by the way, the garage door is up.

Interior-A-Go-Go

These are a portion of the bath tiles.
This is the tile for the front entry (I think).
Perry, the tile guy, is getting the DuRock in and lining up the plan for the glass block.
With the tile and all the associated equipment, plus the soundproofing going in downstairs, plus the finish carpentry, plus the staining and varnishing, the upshot is that we are all sort of running into and over one another around here . . .
. . . and it's going to take a little sorting out.

Frank Lloyd Wright Would be Proud (or Horrified)

An explanation for the paucity of posts of late is in order.

The short story is, it's our fault.

The longer version is that we bit off much, much more than we could chew with this staining and varnishing.

We have hit the varnishing wall so many times that our foreheads are bruised. So the guys started another job while waiting for us to finish.

We have decided to plug along as best we can while looking for a professional stainer/varnisher type to complete the work.

I didn't think pictures of us banging our heads against the wall would be particularly interesting, nor would actual pictures of us varnishing.

But today some additional action occurred!

Meet Matt.

Matt is putting in the base cedar tree trunk and the platforms to hold the . . .

. . . OK, I don't know what to call it. I've been calling it the 'Twig Thing'. But as Brian reminds others, that only shows that I don't know what it is.

Matt called it a 'Thicket', which I sort of like too.

The idea is that a placement of tree limbs in various layouts will grace the top of the ground floor wall, providing guests with some privacy while also allowing for a connection to the outdoors.

Frank Lloyd Wright, the originator or 'Organic Architecture' in the early 20th Century, created a belief that attempted to bring the outdoors into his buildings. He was so fanatical about it that when a client complained of a leaky roof, he convinced them that that was a necessary by-product of his architectural style.

I think I draw the line at leaky roofs and openings to the outside, but can deal with a 'Twig Thing.'


Oh, my gosh! Everywhere we look there are boards to varnish.

Accident Reconstruction

It'a difficult to understand all the hoohah over Tiger Woods, when my dear wife was caught in a life struggle at our (temporary) finger chewing garage door.

Heroically cradling four eggs in her left hand, her right hand became caught in the maw of this beast.

Note the claw marks on the steel framed door. Her valiant attempt to free herself while preserving the four brown eggs rivals Tiger Woods' wife's heroic attempt to free him from his disabled vehicle.

Ann's superpowers allow her fingers to do some damage to the garage door, cratering the panels above and below her hand.

But the eggs; oh, the eggs survived giving testimony to her bravery and determination.

S and V

So what have we been doing since, oh, I don't know, since we graduated from college almost 40 years ago? Staining. Staining. And even more staining. Oh, and varnishing. Varnishing. Varnishing. And even more varnishing.

And we're not even done staining or varnishing.



Ann has even varnished after she should have filed a Worker's Comp Claim. Last night after getting home after dark from, you guessed it, varnishing, she parked the Gator in the garage. She collected four eggs on the way back and was gingerly cradling them in her left hand. In her right she closed the garage door.

Since the garage door, like everything else around here, doesn't work as it has no handle, she grabbed the opening between two upper panels and proceeded to pull the door closed.

Unfortunately, she forgot to remove her hand before the opening between the panels became non-existant leaving her fingers squished.

If it hadn't been so painful, it might have been funny.

12 hours in a cold pack helped with the pain. The picture remains.

(Editor's Note: She tells me this evening that she looked at the door and swore she could see where her fingers indented the panels.) Photos tomorrow.

Luci, You Got Some Staining to Do

Yes, we have lollygagged, footdragged and whined enough.

We have some staining to do--a whole lotta staining to do. We were even going to stain on Thanksgiving morning, but our lollygagging overtook us then as well. But yesterday and today we have been machines.

Ann varnishes (two coats with a light sanding in between) upstairs in the bedroom previously stained boards (pictures tomorrow). Pith Boy works on fresh boards downstairs.

The stain, as reported earlier, is sweet citrussy smelling. Well, that's outdoors. Indoors it's like getting squirted in the eye with a combination of lemon juice and battery acid. Plus it makes my nose run. This is in keeping with our organic approach to house building but does not reflect well upon the outcome, at least as far as the boards are concerned.

We will be running at the nose for the forseeable future.

In other news we made a major shift in who's going to do the tile. At this moment we have no one, but hope to have an installer by early next week.

In the meantime we'll be astaining.

Happy Thanksgiving to You, Dear Reader

One of the (many) challenges of building a tight, environmentally conservative house is what to do with air circulation. The solution is Fantech, a heat and energy recovery ventilator. This unit will provide fresh air year 'round without the concommitant loss of heat.

The beige unit is against the wall and the tube above it is connected to the bathroom, I believe, where the stinkiest air resides. Vegetation will be a challenge to grow near the exhaust.


The system is filtered and will require a little maintenance so I will be returning for college credits to be able to live in this house.

Last week I was doing some staining in the basement when a dust pan tipped over on the floor above me. The explosive sound seemed as though a duck hunter shot its prey in the living room.

So we asked Charlie to explore soundproofing the basement. The guys are prepared to do this themselves instead of calling back the insulation team.

Exterior near completion

The exterior of the house is quickly coming to completion. And just in time too. The last three days up here have been dreary and drizzly.

It is November after all, late November at that. And I guess we have to face the music eventually. But it's still depressing to see cars with their headlights on at 1 pm.

Jay and Dennis finished the stone work yesterday.

And today they're working on the front deck . . .
. . . while I sit inside all cozy and warm.

When They Leave the Theater, They Won't Be Humming the Lighting

Meet Brian.

Brian owns Neblock Electric in a town we call (up in these parts at least) Lando, short for Land O' Lakes.

Brian is the unsung hero of this operation as he has received very little (if any) mention on this site. But his contribution is substantial. He's installing the nerve center of the place from electric to audio to cable to satellite to phone. We should be ready for just about anything, including wireless.

We're very glad Brian's contributing to the house project.

Brian's real love is music, well, after his wife of course. He plays lead guitar in the JoJo Marsh
Band. Check out their website by clicking here. And see them in action here.

Cutting and Laying Stone

As with all major projects, there are fits and starts and this one is no exception. The stone for the exterior was ordered correctly, but somewhere along the way the corner pieces got mixed with the straight across pieces. So when it came time to do the corners, not enough corner pieces were available.

So that all got rectified over the weekend and Jay set to work on the two exterior corners on the water side of the house.

With winter predicted to finally arrive on Wednesday, the guys hustled to get the stone up before then.

Jay has had experience in this kind of work, but not this specific product. He says it's easy to work with.

But the work is quite detailed.

Sol is Our New Special Friend

From across the way.


All the solar panels are up!

They're not only looking good, but the guys said that they could feel the panels warm up in the sun. Kindly note that even on a late November day, the shadows from the trees still don't touch the panels.

And what's going to provide the electricity to run the pumps to heat the water which heats the house? If you guessed another solar panel, you guessed correctly. Here, Marc holds a 40w panel that will be installed on the far left of the array to do just that.

No Sun Today; Solar Panels Go Up

What does Emma do while construction goes on (look closely)?

She waits. Oh, she also greets and sleeps, occasionally she digs and sleeps. But mostly she waits. What a sweet dog.

What is she waiting for?

Today she was waiting for me to get done taking pics of the solar panel guys.

Weather wise it was London today. Dreary and cold, not exactly an ideal time for solar panels to go up (one would think). But the key criteria, as Marc pointed out, was that the winds were calm.

Four up today; four tomorrow.

The Heat is On (Sung to the tune of The Heat is On)

As Emma and I were rounding out of the final turn this morning, we noticed a light colored smoke coming from the back of the house. At first I thought Jay was cutting stone, but as we drew closer it was clear that something else was afoot.

Could it be? Exhaust heat? Yup the boiler is boiling and radiant floors are radiatin'. And even better the boiler is virtually noiseless.

I decided to stay all day and stain. (Is this what they mean by suSTAINability?)

And not only the floors proved wonderful, but Bob is busy installing the kitchen cabs, so that the cabinets are . . . uhhh cabbing?

In and Out; Up and Down

As you may be able to tell from the following images, we are in the midst of yet another stretch of spectacular weather. The thermometer dives into the 20's overnight, but comes back to 50 plus during the day.

Pictured below, Marc from SDK Solar readies the roof for the panels.

In the front of the house the deck railings are being prepared. Jay looks askance at the photographer to ensure that he follows his 'no butt crack' policy--that is, when it comes to photos. When it comes to evenings around the house, all bets are off.

The dappled sunlight plays upon the building's exterior.


And inside the cabinets are being installed. Here is the guest kitchen. To the right will go a small refrigerator for guests. When my brothers visit they may need something with a little more substance.

Comin' Together

The inclusion of the stone on the bumpout not only completes its exterior look, it seems to pull all the colors together.

And the porch corner column gives it some height.

Inside the kitchen cabinets have been delivered and the walls have received their initial covering.

The Beauty Part

The long awaited treatment for the walls begins this week. Here's Tim from T2Technologies applying something to kill bugs I think. Or maybe trying to grow plants. I interrupted his assault with about 26 questions about those stilts.

For those of similar spirit, . . .

. . .Yes, they're easy to learn.

. . .Walking on stilts is like riding a bike.

. . .No, he hasn't fallen to the ground, but has knocked up against a wall. (NOTE: Two seconds after answering that question, he stumbled but didn't fall.)

. . .No, he doesn't moonlight in parades.


And the early glimpses of his work whet our appetites for more.


Outside the weather has been nothing short of spectacular as you can see by the sky in this shot. Jay and Dennis finish up the stucco outside and soon will begin the last external siding application, stone.

Stain Alive

Over the weekend the Tom Sawyeresque staining crew was hard at work diligently applying the stain everywhere they could (and some places they weren't supposed to!).

Oh Pith has mentioned the name of this stain before, but feels as though it is worth another mention because it is so easy to work with and oh, by the way, sweet smelling.

It's Timber Ox Green and here's their website. For you Illinoisans, they have a store in Libertyville.

Below one of their proponents applies stain on the ground floor windows.