I got started fabricating the handrails we will use for the stairs at the River House. I am using the same bamboo that I used for the stair treads for a perfect match. This requires that I laminate pieces together to get the desired size rail. Pictured above is a 12-foot rail made of 6 staggered and overlapped 4-foot sections.
To obtain fire department approval for our backup batteries we were required to add a pair of safety bollards to protect them from potential mechanical damage (presumably from a wayward car). The project required less than 30 minutes to complete but only after an entire morning of clearing out that side of the garage. Next, we need to move the breaker box shown above the batteries about 5 feet to the right to meet the electrical code. I will spare you a tirade on why this makes no sense but if I have learned one thing while building this house it is that building codes trump common sense every time.
For the second weekend in a row, Maya stopped by to repair her tiny house which sustained major damage when a large tree limb fell on it. By the end of the day, she had addressed all of the structural damage. To further strengthen the structure, she added two columns to the previously cantilevered porch loft. Maya joined us for dinner and then baked cookies with Jeanine. I was not allowed to sample any of them.
I have been so busy building cabinets and stairs for the River House that my shop has gotten quite cluttered with off-cut bamboo plywood. At nearly $10/sqft. I am reluctant to throw away even the smallest piece. Truth be told, I would not throw it out even if it were free. I just can’t bear throwing away anything that has intrinsic value. Thus far these off-cuts have been randomly stacked against my shop wall making it very time-consuming to find a particular scrap of the right size and grain orientation. Today, I did a bit of shop organization while our painters put the finishing touches on our stairwell, the one area they were unable to complete until the new stairs were installed.
Visitors entering the River House often comment that they feel like they have just stepped onto a boat. The first-floor elevation provides a perspective that makes you feel like you are on the water. By contrast, the view from the basement provides an eye-level view of the river. A recent guest commented that this was the first picture window he had seen that truly looked like a picture.
The River House contains a small area we have been calling the media enclave. It is essentially a two-person home theater with a large-screen TV and recliner seating. Today, I rented a U-Haul trailer and moved the new recliners over from the Road House where they have been sitting boxed up for several months since we purchased them. After setting them in place and connecting power, I tested the reclining function only to discover that both would get stuck about halfway through their range of motion. When I flipped them over to investigate, I discovered a mechanical interference (the black linkage colliding with the silver part shown in the photo above). I was perplexed trying to figure out why the mechanism had no clearance looking for signs of a bent frame or linkages. Eventually, I concluded that the frames were assembled incorrectly at the factory. These recliners are part of a sectional system and various seating configurations can be achieved by placing the frame components in different preset locations. Whoever assembled these units picked the wrong locations. Once I figured out the issue, it did not take long to move the interfering components and correct the problem. Despite the obvious lack of quality control, the recliners are really comfortable and I may have taken a nap in one to reward myself for fixing the problem.
With all but the stair railing and closet built-ins to complete, my attention today was on furniture. I rebuilt portions of and refinished the Scandinavian-design teak bed frame I have owned since I was in graduate school. It is now set up in the main bedroom and fitted with a new mattress. I got a good workout single-handedly moving a very heavy dining room table from the garage into the great room where I assembled it upside down and flipped it over into position. Much easier was the task of moving in a pair of swivel chairs that will be joined by a small couch to form a “living room” area.
18 months ago, I wisely chose to invest in a proper pair of work boots. They have served me well and lasted just long enough to protect my feet through the construction of the River House. Now that the focus has shifted to furnishing and decorating, I think it may be time to retire these trusted companions.
Over the years, Jeanine and I have come to prefer hanging bath towels on hooks rather than over bars. It takes less work and they dry just as well. My work at the house today largely involved finishing details. I installed door stops where needed to protect walls, covered all remaining HVAC ducts with vent covers, and installed the hooks shown above. The guest and half bath may get towel bars for a more formal appearance. Now that the last coat of floor finish is done we are also beginning to move furniture over from the Road House.
Jeanine and I enjoyed a lovely dinner with new friends. Their dog thought he should be allowed to share some of the cheese appetizer plate and eventually, his persistent focus earned him the treat he was hoping for. I apologize for the poor-quality photo but it was impossible to quell my laughter and hold still as I watched the showdown.
Jeanine and I made a major dent in clearing the garage of construction materials and for the first time, I was able to park my car inside AND charge it. The landscape crew has been here all week and finished up with their work for the season. Topsoil placement and plantings will have to wait for the spring but the basic contours on the site have been established and should provide good stormwater drainage. Most importantly, we now have a functional if not attractive walkway to the front door. Also completed today was the final coat of floor finishing which means that we can start moving in furniture early next week.
Among other tasks I worked on today at the River House was the LAN (Local Area Network). Pictured in the middle is the Wi-Fi router. To its right is a 5 port POE (Power Over Ethernet) switch that connects to three Wi-Fi access points located to provide signal coverage for the entire house and garage. On the left is a regular 5-port switch providing hard-wired connectivity to various devices in the house. On the top is a patch panel to facilitate labeling and interconnection. Not shown are the cables that connect six surveillance cameras to an NVR (Network Video Recorder). Once all the equipment was configured, I decided to test the battery backup system to see if the network equipment would stay connected during the transition from grid power to battery power. Our last house had a natural gas powered generator that took about 20 seconds to come on line during which time the router and switches would reset. I was very happy to see that the switchover happened so fast that all the devices remained online. If not for the message sent to my phone, I would not have known there was a power loss.
Earlier this week I posted photos of the new staircase and today, Nico shared some video he shot during the installation process.
Work on the River House walkway commenced today. The rather long path will include a stone slab bridge over a dry stream that will carry water away from the house when it is raining. A large angled boulder top located in the corner where water falls from the roof will direct water away from the siding and into the stream bed. Unfortunately, plantings in this area of the yard will have to wait until the spring.
It has taken more than 9 months to get our battery backup system commissioned. Today, the wait ended. Because the River House is an all-electric home, I thought it was fairly important to have a robust backup capability. Not sure I would make the same decision again based on all the permitting and installation challenges we have faced.
We enjoyed our first fire of the season this afternoon. With plenty of wood pallets for fuel, there was no need to skimp. The 24″ diameter copper cauldron we have used for a makeshift fire pit will soon be replaced with a proper one made of weathering steel and 50% larger. The size is more appropriate to the scale of the patio and the steel will match that used in the adjacent retaining wall. As the sun set we settled into camp chairs and enjoyed the warmth of the fire against the cold November air. A visiting neighbor expressed her surprise to find me relaxing rather than working on the house. Indeed, this may be the first time in two years that I have taken more than a lunch break while at the house.
With the considerable help of Jeanine and Nicolai, we completed the installation of the stairs at the River House today. Once the top and bottom cleats (see photo below for an example of each) were secured to the landings, it took only a matter of minutes to set the stringers and attach the treads. The top cleats are secured with four 1/2″ x 5-/1/2″ lag screws and the bottom cleats with three. What I could not know when designing these stairs was how stiff they would feel once erected. Happily, I can report that they are extremely stable, stiffer than the stairs in any home we have ever lived in. Additionally, the design tolerates movement of the house framing with changes in humidity or aging. In total, I would estimate that it took 80 person-hours of labor and $7,500 in materials for this project. Not bad compared to the quote of roughly $40,000 we initially received (and that did not include installation labor or the 20% markup charged by our builder).
After many days of preparation, it was time to install the first set of stringers and stair treads. Everything fit together perfectly and it took less than fifteen minutes to assemble all the pieces. Even with no fasteners installed yet, the stairs are fully functional with no perceptible flex or bounce. Kyle helped out for the second day in a row making the work go much faster. We completed prep work for the next three flights which I hope to install tomorrow.
The River House project is nearing completion. The last major component of work is to replace the temporary staircases with the final design including the handrails. Today, I began that work in earnest with Kyle assisting me all day. We started by removing the first two flights of the temp stairs which did not take that long but required great care to avoid nicking the newly painted walls. The remainder of the day was spent doing many small but time-consuming tasks; installing the nosing to complete the flooring on the landing, completing the wall below the landing, caulking and spackling the edges and screw holes, painting it to match the walls, locating and installing the stair cleat on the side of the platform, and securing the lower cleat to the basement floor with concrete screws. Tomorrow, we will install the stringers and stair treads and hopefully move on to the stairs from the first to the second floor.
Our Thanksgiving holiday included two gatherings. The first was for brunch after the kids, their friends, and Jeanine completed the Concord 5K Turkey Trot. I skipped the event this year to work on the River House but joined the post-race celebration.
Joining us this year for Thanksgiving dinner were my sister Alissa, Heloisa (Kyle’s friend), Owen (Maya’s friend), and Jeanine’s friend Barbara and her mother Cathy.
The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. New homes built in Massachusetts must meet several criteria for energy conservation that are part of the index. The extent to which conditioned air leaks from a home is measured in Air Changes per Hour (ACH) when the pressure differential between the inside and outside of the house is 50 Pascals. The building code requires 3 ACH(50) or less. To meet the Passive House standard it must be less than 0.60. Today, the River House was tested by a certified rater using a blower door test. Our result was 0.36 ACH(50) which is the best score our tester has ever recorded. This means that we have a very air-tight home and since air leakage is the largest contributor to energy loss this will translate to significant energy saving over time.
Nico is very good at many things. That list does not include letting his parents know when he is featured in a video interview. Today he directed Jeanine to the video above. It only took him 3 years to mention it. I am always amazed by how inspirational he can be.
I decided to see what other videos might be out there that we have not yet seen. Didn’t take long to find the one below from a year ago.
Reminder to self: Box Nico about the head until he agrees to make his parents aware of such videos.
On the home building front, we passed our final electrical and fire department inspections today. These do not cover our battery backup system which has to be done on a separate permit and looks to be the long pole in the tent.
Each year, Verrill Farm offers fresh, natural turkeys from family-owned, Stonewood Farm in Vermont. These birds are raised and processed on-site in open-sided barns free of antibiotics, hormones, and animal by-products. Demand is so high that traffic logistics are required to facilitate distribution. Click on the photo to see the full extent of the car queue. According to Jeanine, the line moved quickly and it only took her ten minutes to secure our turkey.
Today, I decided to do a Google search on myself. The last time I did this was about a year ago, my LinkedIn profile was the first result. This time, I was pleased to see that this blog was at the head of the list even though that has never been a goal.
While searching for the name Calabria, I also happened upon this video, the first minute of which paints a different picture of the one I imagined for this part of Italy. Despite having visited the country three times, I have never traveled to the region that bears my name, a situation that must be rectified when I am finished with the River House project.
I recently discovered an error in my design for the River House stairs. The lag screws anchoring the cleats that will support the upper section of each flight are too close to the edge of the framing members that they are secured to. Even though they would most likely hold as located, I would prefer to have a massive safety margin for something this important. As such, I redesigned the cleats to use a much higher anchor point and added some alignment features while I was at it. While at Formlabs this week for my consulting work, I had lunch with Maya. When I explained the delay this would introduce to the project she offered to help me fabricate them on the company’s waterjet (a machine that cuts sheet metal using a thin stream of high pressure water infused with abrasive particles). Luckily, I had the perfect size sheet of leftover steel from the retaining wall so did not even have to purchase new material. Maya and Owen took my new design file and setup the machine to cut 9 identical pieces and I babysat the operation for the 2.5 hours it took to complete. I have now added a waterjet to my list of machines I would love to own. It is so amazing to go from a CAD file to finished parts in a couple of hours. The stair construction is now back on schedule.
I took advantage of another temperate day to do some landscaping work. We have incorporated an elevated herb garden bed as part of our retaining wall. Two sides are fabricated from weathering steel and will eventually have a rust patina. I moved excess clay from the upper section into the bed, lined it with filter fabric, added crushed stone to the sides, and filled it partially with topsoil leaving room for compost to complete the bed. The garden will be about 12 feet by 4 feet in size with a massive flat stone serving as a platform from which to tend it.
Last year at this time, I was working with a half dozen clients in my consulting practice. Ever since I started working on the River House full-time, I have dropped all but Formlabs where I have a one-day-per-month commitment. In some ways, that day feels like a vacation even though it is a very exhausting 10-hour day with the commute. That said, I enjoy the work a great deal because I get to use a part of my brain that does not get much of a workout in the shop. Today, one of the people I met with asked if I had any parts to print. He wanted to show off the new product he and his team have been working on. As it happens, I had a part designed for use as a building code-required safety device for one of the windows on the second floor of our new house. I am not at liberty to disclose any attributes of the new product but I can tell you it includes some very exciting capabilities.
A Window Opening Control Device (WOCD) is required on any operable window with a sill lower than 24″ from the floor and an outside drop greater than 72″. We have one such window and the limiter must prevent it from opening more than 4″ unless a 2-stage release is activated to allow for egress in the event of fire.
I had planned to add the house numbers to our garage as the final project before moving into the River House. Although that day is rapidly approaching, I decided to take advantage of the warm weather to complete this task before winter weather arrives. The numbers are made from aluminum and are 12 inches tall. It was Jeanine’s idea to add this design flourish to the house and I really like the way it turned out. Originally, we had planned to backlight the numbers but then realized that anyone visiting us at night would have to pick the right driveway based on the address on our mailbox before getting close enough to see the house numbers. We have also been very thoughtful about minimizing outside lighting to help preserve dark skies in our area.
How do you drill 4 holes in precisely the same location on each of 29 stair treads? You build a jig. Pictured below is a close-up of the jig I fashioned to aid in this task. The stainless steel sleeves act as guides for the 1/2″ drill bit ensuring that the hole is perpendicular to the face of the stair tread and located in exactly the right position. Not shown is the other end of the jig which has two additional guides and a lip to register the entire assembly to the stair tread. Clamps secure the jig to the workpiece during drilling. Fabricating the jig took longer than drilling all 116 holes but it was meant to ensure precision rather than to optimize speed.
We are thrilled to have a paved driveway again. Installation of the binder coat took less than 2 hours. The eight-person crew worked in total synchrony with hot asphalt arriving by the truckload just in time. We will have a top coat added in about a year once the base coat has settled. Even half done, it is a very welcome improvement to our site. The small turnout serves double duty as a guest parking space and turnaround for cars backing out of either garage bay. Also considered in the driveway/landscape design are two snow push zones to facilitate clearing of the driveway with a snowplow.
For the second Sunday in a row, Jeanine and I traveled into Boston to watch one of our offspring compete in their first half marathon. Today’s event was sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association with proceeds donated to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Kyle dressed wisely for the very frigid weather but I have to question the wisdom of carrying his cell phone in hand for 13 miles. He finished in 1:52:44 and when last we heard from him was on his way out to celebrate with other members of his running club.
To date, I have produced nothing but wood chips in my shop. Massive amounts in fact. Today, for a change of pace, I made a nice little pile of steel shavings. I had to drill three 1/2″ holes in each of seven 3/4″ thick steel cleats that will support the staircase stringers. At some point in the future, I think I will fashion a small metal shop in the mechanical room. Mixing woodworking and metalworking in the same space is never a really good idea.