Our New Cottage - Progress Report #4


Hi Cottage Friends.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program -- Living Large In Small Spaces -- to bring you this special update on our new cottage build. 

What with packing, the move from our apartment into a temporary motel room where we're waiting until our suite with the kitchen is ready (hopefully, this weekend), and keeping up with the construction, my interaction with blogging buddies has suffered.  I hope you'll forgive me for not staying in touch. I told Dennis the other day that it seems like all we do is drive around and eat. Not having a kitchen and thus eating out every meal quickly loses its appeal.


Our temporary-temporary home.


But enough of all that. Here's what's happened at the job site since my last report:

March 23 - 24, 2015

The studio foundation is poured.





March 25, 2015

The T1-11 Grooved 8 in. On-Center OSB vertical siding is going up.



This is an interesting process to watch.

Scott measures.




Will cuts the panel.



Places the panel in place.




And Charlie nails it to the wall.




The siding comes primed and ready for paint. We have two red paint samples to test, but that's a topic for another post.


March 26, 2015


Looking good, my friends.








The exterior doors have been delivered.





March 27, 2015

Dennis and I spend the day moving out of our apartment and book a nearby motel room for one night.

Here's a photo of the motel's cool original bathroom tile, which has nothing to do with our new home construction, but everything to do with the vintage age of the motel.























March 28, 2015

Dennis and I head out of town for a few days of R&R and shopping for exterior and studio lighting.  On the way out we stop by the project.

We see the exterior trim has been delivered.




March 30, 2015

We hear news that the roof trusses for the studio and porch have been delivered to the site. We'll be back in town tomorrow to see the progress.

March 31, 2015

Something is happening on the east side.




The studio has been framed and sheathing is up.





Construction moves quickly today. The engineered roof trusses speed up the process.




April 1, 2015


Quentin backfills the studio's exterior foundation wall.





April 2, 2015

The roof is being built over the side porch and studio.




Here's a peek at the studio interior.






Oh, look, I can see Dennis' studio from the kitchen window. I'll be keeping my eye on him.




Of course, he can keep his eye on me, too.



Maybe we'll meet on the porch for lunch.



What?  You don't see a porch there?


April 3, 2015

How about now? Do you see a porch now?




At least you see the floor joists, right? 




April 6, 2015

Getting ready for the roof shingles and the studio siding.




April 7, 2015

Is that siding I see on the studio?



Why, yes, I believe it is.






The back side looks nice, too.






There's my favorite window looking pretty with her own siding.


Just wait until you see her all dolled up with trim and those sassy vintage brackets.

Will's busy working on the roof shingles. I wonder if he ever gets tired of having his picture taken by the crazy lady.




Redwood for the porch floor is onsite.





April 8, 2015

The roof looks great.




The guys did a superb job of joining the porch roof to the cottage.



Suddenly the house looks deceptively large. 


April 9, 2015

The crew is working on the exterior trim. 





April 10, 2015

Dennis and I show up on the site at 7:30 AM to mark areas in the cottage where we want extra blocking. Here we've noted where bathroom wall cabinets and accessories will be installed.



After breakfast we meet with Ron, Ryan and Todd of Joseph Electric to walk the project and confirm where lighting fixtures, outlets and switches will be located.

Ron retires to the crawl space to begin his portion of the work. 


Our really nice crawl space.



Later he tells us that we have a really nice crawl space. I must confess it made me feel proud. Crawl spaces can be nasty places.



Before I can say "power distribution", Ron has the circuit breaker panel in place (there will be a door covering the panel, of course).



We chose to have the panel installed behind the door in my studio. Most of the time that door will be open, making it the least conspicuous place for the panel.

We had a pow-wow about an electrical outlet on/in/near the mantel, finally deciding to put a floor type outlet in the mantel itself, where it won't be visible. If I want to plug in a lamp or Christmas lights, it will be useful.  


Checking the plans and measuring to confirm the top of the mantel.

Ryan and Todd get to work placing the electrical boxes.





Dennis and Ron discuss the electrical work for the workshop.




Meanwhile, Scott, Will and Charlie lose no time in getting the trim up.










We're having fun and couldn't be happier with the way the project is proceeding.

Living Large In Small Spaces will return next Saturday with another great cottage.  See you there!


If you missed previous progress reports, you can find them here:

Progress Report #1
Progress Report #2
Progress Report #3


You can find our awesome builder at their website:
BLH Construction.

38 comments

  1. Wow, wow and wow! It looks so wonderful, the guys are doing such a great job and you must be so proud!

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  2. I am really loving the studio addition to your house, it looks marvelous! So wonderful that you both will have your own creative spaces, and still live large in a small space! Can't wait to see what color of red you choose to paint, know that will be momentous decision! Your builders are so amazing in getting things done so quickly, that is just awesome! Thank you for taking the time for the updates, I can't tell you how much I am enjoying watching this cottage be built from the ground up! Hope your temporary housing situation works out for you! Take care Nancy :)

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  3. Omigosh I'm so excited for you!! It's looking fabulous!

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  4. It's coming along so nicely!! i want to come and plant flowers, lol...

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  5. Everything looks wonderful! I love the porch between your cottage and the studio.

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  6. Nancy, I am getting so excited for you . . . so much has taken place in the last two weeks. You must be so ecstatic! I love how you are connecting the two buildings with a porch. That will be appreciated all four seasons, even if in winter it is just a way of not walking through snow to get to the studio:) Your temporary living does look very cozy and cute. I like the cabin feel of the decor:)
    Have a wonderful weekend!
    Connie :)

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  7. Nancy everything looks so great. It is all coming together so nicely. It is looking more like a home. Love the porch between the cottage and art studio. That will be a nice meeting place for lunch!
    Soooooo excited for you.
    Kris

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  8. Nancy,
    I am really excited for you and Dennis. I am amazed how quickly it's being built! Cool motel floor photo. Hey I completely understand about eating out. I still can only use my micro wave and my oven with the kitchen update, which has grown to include much more. I can not wait to make a home cooked meal as I know you can relate to. Eating scrambled eggs made in the micro wave has grown old! But I can roast chicken or fish with grilled veggies.
    Nancy I am looking forward to progress report 5. Enjoy the hunt for treasures to go inside. John located antique barn beams in Ohio for our kitchen. Excitement grows.
    Be well my friend,
    xoxo,
    Vera

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  9. Nancy your sweet cottage is really looking great. I'll bet that you are so ready to move in. I get about eating out all the time it gets old really fast. Hang in there my sweets you'll be in before you know it. Hugs, Jo

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  10. It's super cute! I really like how he set back the studio, because it looks like light will still come in from the side, and I love the landing in between.

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  11. what a treat to follow the building process.
    thanks so much for sharing this treasured part of your life!

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  12. Everything's AFCI now - panels are so BIG now!

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  13. Your place is coming along so nicely! I love the little attached studio. Is it to be connected via a breezeway? Eagerly anticipating all the finishing work, no doubt you two will put the artists' touch to that as well. Joyful indeed!

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  14. I LOVE what's happening at your new home. The studio looks incredible attached to the cottage. I was thinking of you yesterday as my sweetheart and I drove through some out-of-the-way small places near our part of the state. Thoughts about your cottage and the progress made led me to believe we might see a report soon! You are such an inspiration to me! How my heart longs for a small cottage and then I realize that my home already IS a small cottage home. Not small enough most days, but home - for now!
    ~Adrienne~

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  15. Hi dear Nancy !! Cuanto avancé lleva esa construcción !! Que tengas un buen domingo
    Cariños

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  16. NANCY . . . I love your new home . . . So charming. Amazing how the roof lline, studio, porch addition make it seem so much larger . . . united too! It is just perfect . . . I am so happy and excited for you! I totally enjoy your update posts!

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  17. Oh, I AM SO EXCITED for you both!!!! Things are coming along so nicely! What a lovely home it will be :)

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  18. Wow, it's really coming along and I love the fact that you have a covered walkway to Dennis' studio, it makes the house even more individual and special.

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  19. It's looking good! It must be so exciting, things are really moving. I love the look of the siding already before any paint goes on. How nice to have a porch, it will be a lovely space. Hope you get your room with a kitchen soon!

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  20. I am so jealous and so happy for you. It is so so cute and makes perfect sense to me.

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  21. It looks just wonderful :)
    I am so excited for you!
    Carla

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  22. NANCY! I AM THRILLED TO SEE YOU! Such progress has been made and this is getting so exciting for us, I can imagine for you, it is like being a kid again. I bet you can't wait to get in and start fluffing up your new nest. And I the connected studio and patio? CLEVER! Such a clever and lovely way to connect the two structures with a sweet little patio.

    I wish you and Dennis the greatest happiness sweet Nancy. I've missed you! Anita

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  23. Wow! Suddenly it is a home! So exciting! Love the porch between the cottage and studio!

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  24. What an exciting project. You sure seem to work in tandem with Dennis, which is definitely a major plus to any home project. We would need a referee, I'm sorry to say. We both like being having the executive power of veto, lol.

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    1. LOL. Rita, I'm very blessed. As an architect Dennis is all about giving people what they want, and as a husband Dennis pretty much lets me have my way with the cottage, as long as he can have his say with his own space. Fortunately, we also have very similar taste. :)

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  25. Wow, so much going on and you are getting closer and closer to the BIG MOVE-IN. So exciting.

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  26. Oh Nancy, how very exciting for you. Sounds like your project is moving along smoothly and quickly. You'll have your sweet little cottage done in no time. Can't wait to see it all done. Thank you for coming over for a visit and the sweet email. Wishing you a wonderful Sunday.

    Hugs,
    ❤️Ana

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  27. How fun to see the progress, Nancy! I hope you will be in there soon...I know that eating out gets tiring pretty quickly, and staying in a hotel is only fun when it's attached to a vacation, haha.

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  28. Wow things are moving long right along. Have you started decorating in your mind yet? LOL You will be sleeping and cooking in your own home before long. Thanks for sharing the progress.
    Debbie

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  29. With all of this going on it is amazing to me that you get ANY blogging done. But how exciting!
    Amalia
    xo

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  30. Thanks, Teri. I'm looking forward to all that fluffin' and featherin'.)

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  31. It's going fast! I really like the addition of the studio. I can't wait to see it in red!

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  32. Wow! I can't believe how quickly it's going. I think I've said that before LOL

    It looks fantastic, Nancy :)

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  33. How exciting to see it all come together! I'm really looking forwards to seeing which "red" you chose. It's very nice to read your reports.

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  34. This is just fabulous!!! It is the kind of thing I am so longing to do. We desperately need to downsize. This is so appealing!

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  35. Oh, Nancy! This is looking wonderful! How every exciting! Thanks for keeping us posted on the progress! Soon you'll be able to settle in and get comfortable. Looks like it will be just perfect and so cozy for the two of you!

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  36. It looks amazing!!! Can't wait to see the finished result :D

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