Finishing the wood

The exterior ship lap wood has been treated with borate solution. The smooth side has been doused with Chevron Shingle Oil, while the rough side is raw and awaits it's coat of stain.
Our hero of the day, Andy Knott, came out to spray the wood inside and out. Inside we decided to use a clear oil-based exterior deck sealer.
Just a bit of touching up, staining the fascia boards, and we can put this stage behind us.

Protect the tiles

We papered the floors, and touched up the final bits of sanding and bleaching, in preparation for finishing the wood with sealer.
Remy has some ideas for the bathroom. Here is the current favorite, his basket weave using subway tiles.
Since it's Friday, we had a fire and cooked some vittles. Mr Jones came by to make sure we're doing a good job on the house. He is our best concrete man who laid our slab and connected us into all the good subs in our community. Every time he looks around the building site, he says, "This is a strong house! There isn't any other house this strong for miles around. I've been building for 39 years, and this is the nicest house I've ever seen!" Thank you, Mr Jones, for your many blessings.

The mariner's star taking shape

Remy designed the mariner's star for the center of the screen porch to greet people as they enter the house.

He carefully hand-cut letters for north-south-west-east and then fitted the floor tiles around the letters.



We brought out the compass and aligned the star according to magnetic coordinates. Remy says that if he ever visits our house and sees a rug covering the star, he will leave and never return.

Boys' bedroom floor

The floors are almost complete with grouting in process.


The boys' room received special attention.
Here's the plan sketched on a tile. This layout was a first for Remy. He enjoyed the opportunity to try a new design. We will be his guinea pigs anytime!





Here's the result. We're delighted. It's like a big game board.

Exploring

The boys take a break to go exploring.




They return with a stash of bones, found at Badger Field, near Bull's Eye Field.

Still working on siding

The exterior ship lap siding is going up. Here is the south side completed, and the west end half way through. We will soon have the house stained blue-grey to match the cuploa.

Same tile through whole house

We're using the same tiles throughout the whole house. Here are the tiles for the porch, all cut and ready for application.


Remy gives a different look to each room by cutting and shifting the layout. He keeps saying, "Just wait till it's grouted and cleaned up!"



Below is the living area with a signature river-flow pattern where Remy takes one corner off each tile. He came up with this pattern, dreaming one day, "There must be something different that I could do to a tile to make an interesting design. Hey...why not take off just one corner and leave the other three square...what would that do?" Here's your answer: it does something amazing.




A border frames the living area. The threshold between rooms marks the change in pattern from one space to another. Magic!

Tiles in the kitchen

Remy has been hard at work, applying his creative juices to the project. We're having a great time seeing the floors take shape. I bought a few pre-made mosiac borders which Remy dismissed saying, "I like to cut the tiles myself, then we know it is special, just for you. When someone asks you where you can buy this tile, you say, 'No where!'."

Tiling to Latin Rhythms

Cuba's leading artist at work.

Lots of cutting

After weeks of a nail biting search for tilers, we finally made a selection. He starts today!

Our tiler generously offered to create some unique designs for us. His signature layout involves many cuts, but he says it keeps his day interesting, and he likes to see his customers smiling. Plus, he plays soccer with kids. We'll keep him!

Tiling prep

We spent the weekend clearing everything out of the house,
and cleaning up the concrete.









The floor is primed, ready for the underlay which protects the tile from cracking if the slab does.


The tiles are here!

Framing laundry closet in bathroom

We framed out the laundry closet in the bathroom. We'll have a stacking washer and dryer here.

Insulating windows

We filled in around the windows with the pink fiberglass insulation.

Exterior siding begins

We got the first few panels of ship lap on the exterior this weekend. We pre-stained the grooves, but will wait to apply the weathered grey stain once all boards are in place.