Maya participated in her first half-marathon today. Jeanine and I were there to cheer her on at the half-way point. She finished in 1:49:24 with a pace of 8:21/mi. Twenty-five years ago, her mother completed a half-marathon (2:15:00) with Kyle, Nico and me at the finish line to meet her. Kyle will run a half-marathon next week and we plan to watch him as well. Very proud of our little badass.
When we sold our house on Mattison Drive, we also sold most of our furniture realizing it would not be in keeping with the modern design of our new home. As we are approaching a move-in date to the River House, we have turned our attention to furnishings. After much deliberation, we ordered the dining room table above which will match a set of chairs we purchased last year. The living “room” area of the great room presents an interesting design challenge. To the east is the view across the river, to the south is the dramatic long view of the river, and on the west wall, is a large screen TV. How do you orient the furniture to best take advantage of these options? To solve this we will include two swivel chairs that allow the occupant to pivot in any direction. They will be matched with a small couch to deliniate between the dining and living areas.
Since I have begun doing much of the finishing work on the River House, date nights have become few and far between. After 10 hours of hard physical labor, the only date I am interested in is with a long hot shower. This evening, Jeanine and I had dinner and then went furniture shopping. The second of two stores was in a venue with an iMax theater, restaurant, and large indoor pool equipped with dancing fountains and lights. After coming up empty on our shopping list, we sat down and enjoyed the latter over ice cream allowing us to just barely meet the threshold for a date night.
Except for the sink in my shop, all plumbing fixtures at the River House have been installed and are operational. Even though there is still much work needed to complete the project, this feels like a major milestone. At this point, we could start living in the house if we needed to. The glass partitions for the shower areas arrived today and I hope to install them over the weekend. I am afraid that my shop sink is a low priority and will have to wait until I have had a chance to build the cabinet for it. Until then, the laundry room has a utility sink I can use which is a huge improvement over bringing paint brushes back to the Road House to wash out.
Progress on hardscaping for the River House has been slow but we are finally getting a sense of what the final result will look like. Work on the stairs to the front door began today. A trough in the stone dust base was excavated for a concrete foundation on which the first course of bluestone slabs was set. Subsequent steps will stack on this base so getting the elevation and location right was of utmost importance.
At the rear of the house, we have a full set of steps (half visible in the photo below) from the patio down to the walkout basement level and river bank. These steps are an integral part of the retaining wall which includes two massive stone blocks and two 30-inch high Corten steel panels. The panels are welded to angle iron set in concrete footings and also bolted to the stone blocks and welded to each other. The space behind the steel panel on the second tier is to be planted with an herb garden that will be easily tended from the flat platform in front of it (two additional slabs of stones have yet to be set on that surface). In addition to its functional role as a retaining wall, I suspect that children will find this a very fun area to play in and around.
While the list of remaining tasks to complete before we move into the River House is long, the only remaining major construction item is the stairs. Jeanine is seen here preparing the custom laser-cut stringers for painting. First, she sands the steel to remove any surface rust. Next, she cleans the surface with mineral spirits and then applies a coat of metal primer. She completed both sides of twelve stringers with just four more to go before a final coat of paint will be applied. Each stringer weighs 50 pounds so just moving them around is a workout unto itself.
The New England Revolution Amputee Soccer Team are National Champions! They emerged undefeated from the first US Amputee Soccer Cup tournament held in Columbus, Ohio over the weekend. They faced New York in the finals in a tough match. Nico put away a penalty kick to put the team up 1-0 and a late-game own-goal by NY secured the win. Nico earned the MVP award cementing his reputation as the best amputee soccer player in the United States. We are all very proud of what he has accomplished in the sport both on and off the field.
Maya joined Jeanine and me this afternoon to help us complete finishing the stair treads for the River House. Each tread now has one coat of sealer and two coats of finish. Next, we will move on to prepping and painting the steel stringers that will support the treads. Installation of the stairs and railing is the last major construction project required before we can occupy the house. This will require careful coordination with the painters and floor installers as they will need to do some work after the temporary stairs have been removed and before the new ones go up.
The kitchen island has been the focal point and gathering hub for every home we have ever lived in. It is also the operational workhorse for meal preparation and cooking. We put a lot of thought into the design of the one I just completed for the River House. Pictured above is the business end of the island. It features open shelving that will be used for frequently used spices, cooking oils, etc. and a convenience outlet. The goal was easy access and no line of sight from the entertaining areas ( a principle used for the shelving in the pantry as well). Twelve full-extension, deeper-than-normal, push-to-open drawers provide ample storage. The characteristic bamboo wood grain is matched from drawer to drawer creating a continuous pattern and the lack of hardware further contributes to the clean and calm appearance. Pictured below is the view from the great room which was designed to be more elegant. Not shown is the side opposite the induction cooktop which has space for three tucked-in bar stools where seated guests will enjoy views of the river. Hidden behind one of the columns is a second conveniece outlet with two built-in USB-C chargers.
After months of building and finishing all the cabinetry for the house, the island is the first to reach full completion and I could not be happier with the result.
One could not wish for a more glorious fall day. I stopped work early today and relaxed for a few minutes taking in the natural beauty surrounding me. Color is a week past prime but still quite lovely.
Our plumbing subcontractor has returned to install fixtures and get the water up and running. I asked that they prioritize outside spigots first since we need water to mix batches of concrete for the hardscape installation.
Nico shared this photo he took last weekend during our family drawer box finishing day. It was taken while we paused work to enjoy some very delicious cider donuts that he provided. Tomorrow he leaves for Columbus, Ohio where he will compete in the inaugural US Amputee Soccer Cup. The event is sponsored and presented by Major League Soccer (MLS) and is hosted by the American Amputee Soccer Association in cooperation with the Columbus Adaptive Sports Connection. Teams representing New England – Revolution Amputee Soccer, New York – Metro NY Amputee Soccer, Columbus, and Colorado will compete to become national amputee soccer champions.
Pictured to the left of the stair tread in the photo below is a tool I fashioned to facilitate the movement of treads when wet with finish on all sides. I rather like the whole system I developed for finishing the treads of which we need 29 plus a spare. Before starting, I screwed 4 long screws into the bottom of each tread in a location that will be covered by the stair stringers. These act as feet. The tread is placed feet up as the finish is applied to the bottom. It is then flipped over onto the feet and the finish is applied to the top and sides. Now the entire tread is wet with finish and must be moved to a drying area so the next tread can be processed. The “U” shaped jig has four screw points emerging from the bottom leg. It is slid under the tread and lifted by the handle which captures the tread on top of the screw points. It can now be moved to an open area on the floor where it is set down to dry.
Working with Nicolai, we applied a sealer coat to all 30 stair treads over a few hours. We ran out of floor space in the room we were working and the balance had to be set in another area of the basement. Two more top coats of a protective finish will complete the treads. Pictured on the right are the stair stringers I designed and had laser cut from steel. They need to be finished as well, but that is a job for another day.
When we started the River House project, we wisely chose not to demolish the garage/carport when we took down the house. The garage/carport has served as a storage area for tools and building materials as well as a makeshift office and shelter from inclement weather. Today, it was time to say goodbye. The entire demolition operation took just over an hour.
Having graduated from skid steer operation last week, I was invited to operate the excavator and had 9 minutes of demo action after a 1-minute tutorial (see the video below). I took things slow to start. Still, I had a nice rhythm going before I was compelled to surrender the cab.
The only other excavator I have ever operated is the one shown above. I made this as a Christmas present for Kyle when he was just a boy. Even with 25 years of woodworking experience under my belt since then, I would find this a challenging project today. All of the joints articulate and the tank treads are operational.
With significant assistance from Nicolai, we installed all the drawer boxes in their respective cabinets today. I am pleased to report that every single one fits perfectly. All that remains to be done is adding the bamboo drawer fronts to each box. This may not happen right away because of some higher-priority work that must be completed before the baseboard installers arrive next week. I also need to complete three more drawers; two for the trash bins and one below the double oven that I forgot to build.
Work that would have taken me a week to accomplish working alone was completed in roughly 6 hours with the help of family. Jeanine, her sister Susan, Kyle, and Nicolai all helped to apply a hard wax oil finish to the 68 drawer boxes that will go into the kitchen, pantry, bathrooms, laundry, and mudroom of the River House. Maya was in Vermont for the weekend, otherwise, I am sure she would have joined our work party as well.
We established a production line with Kyle delivering dust-free unfinished drawer boxes to the front end and picking them up from the back end. Nicolai and I were principally responsible for applying the finish. Jeanine burnished the finish into the wood with a ScotchBrite pad, and Susan removed all excess finish with shop towels. Things started slow as we explored ways to optimize our production methods but quickly turned into a well-oiled hard wax oiling machine (pun intended). It is hard to express the extent of my appreciation for all this help.
The time-lapse video above shows the completion of a small fraction of the total number of drawer boxes but gives a pretty good sense of the process. It is shown at 100 times normal speed.
The crew working on our water line installation left their Kubota skid steer parked in front of our dumpster which was scheduled for pick up today. Rather than send someone all the way back, they gave me permission to move it for them. After a 1-minute phone tutorial, I was off to the races with an ear-to-ear grin on my face. Jeanine knew this would be a moment to capture and I have her to thank for this video. Not 2-minutes after I repositioned the skid steer, the dumpster pick-up truck arrived. I think I could make quick work of driveway snow clearing if I owned such a machine. Stay tuned.
I took advantage of the perfect fall day to replace the vent cap for the island cooktop vent today. The roofers installed an entirely inappropriate cap for our 2:12 pitch roof. It would have prevented venting with the least bit of heavy snowfall. The version I designed and built (see details here) will work with accumulated snow of up to two feet. It also features an insulated pipe within a pipe to improve the thermal envelope and prevent condensation.
Mystery Photo Revealed: If you guessed that the mystery photo from Monday is of a pair of Merino wool socks with symmetrically worn pairs of holes in the toe area, you would be correct.
Most days, I treat myself to an Arizona brand Arnold Palmer (iced tea & lemonade) to accompany my lunch. I normally buy these at a convenience store near the River House. Today, I was in Billerica where I was scheduled to get a Covid booster and flu shot. Afterward, I treated myself to a roast beef sandwich from Mikey’s Famous Roast Beef (truly the finest you will ever taste). I popped into a nearby Cumberland Farms to grab my favorite beverage only to discover that they charge $1.79 for the exact same can that everyone else charges 99 cents for. Here is a company that has contracted with the Arizona Beverage Company to get a special version of the can with the price removed from the labeling so they can charge an 80% premium. I suspect that Cumberland Farms does this with many other products they sell and will not be receiving any future business from me.
Water is the last utility that must be connected to the River House. The Concord Water Department requires that any renovation or reconstruction project of a house older than 50 years must also include replacing the water main. Given that our house is located some 300 feet from the street, this is a non-trivial and expensive undertaking. Step one: Cut an opening in the roadway. Step Two: Excavate with a backhoe to a depth of 4 feet. Step Three: (the most interesting) Bring in the water department to expose the water main using what amounts to a pressure washer and massive vacuum cleaner truck. The high-pressure water is used to cut into the soil which is then sucked into the truck. This approach is used to prevent mechanical damage to the water main during excavation.
When Conantum (our neighborhood) was first established, the residents established and operated their own water utility including means for fluoridation long before it was available from the town. Eventually, our water district joined the town’s. Unfortunately, record keeping was not great and the exact location of the water main in our street was not well documented. It took several attempts to locate the water main and our take-off but eventually, all was exposed. Step Four: Decommission the old water take-off and add a new one using a saddle valve. The saddle valve makes it possible to tap into the main water line without interrupting service. Step Five: Connect the take-off valve to a new underground water meter pit by the side of the road. Step Six: Excavate a 300-foot long, 5-foot deep trench to the house and place the new water line on a base of sand before backfilling and compacting. Happily, all aspects of the work went according to plan and we are now ready to complete the final bits of plumbing work inside the house.
See if you can guess what this is a picture of. The answer will be revealed on Thursday.
The kids joined us for dinner today to belatedly celebrate my 65th birthday. We gathered at the River House for family photos before heading to the Road House to enjoy a meal of their making. Kyle prepared a smoked pork shoulder, Nico made roasted brussel sprouts, Maya made a chocolate cheesecake with raspberry coulis, and Jeanine whipped up some of her delicious cornbread. We shared the veritable feast with Maya’s boyfriend, Owen, and Nico’s soccer teammate Jovan, who is staying with us for a few nights.
After our family photograph, Maya wanted a photo of herself in the mini-excavator that is onsite for the installation of our retaining walls. Her brothers were quick to join her.
Stair tread construction for the River House is now complete. I will probably finish them with the same product we are using for the floors, Bona Traffic HD Raw. It is a water-based, commercial-grade floor finish that leaves the wood looking completely natural with no sheen whatsoever. Each tread weighs about 25 pounds so I have been getting a pretty good workout just moving these all around the shop.
We are seeing good progress on the outdoor hardscaping as well. We will have a small patio off the great room fashioned from large 2-inch thick stone slabs. These are set on a base of pea gravel and are intentionally placed to have wide gaps. These measures will allow rainwater to be absorbed into the ground rather than running off the top. The large rectangular stone will serve as a bench and we plan to complete the patio with a fire pit.
Nicolai is now working as the Lead Educator for the Bionic Project. The organization brings its message of inclusion and community to schools nationwide through educational programs that combine disability anti-bias classroom teaching with on-field adaptive sports clinics. Since starting he has worked with over 1,000 students in the Boston and San Francisco areas. Click the link to learn more about the Bionic Project.
In a welcomed respite from stair tread and cabinet building for the River House, I spent the day in Somerville doing consulting work for a client. While taking a break for lunch, I encountered an employee who was wearing a sweater that was very similar to the one I had on. A colleague who was watching us compare patterns was quick to grab a photo. The sweaters are both from the Long Wharf Supply Company SeaWell Collection. They are made from a soft blend of recycled oyster shells, recycled water bottles, and natural lambswool. The company reseeds up to 30 oysters with the sale of each sweater providing up to 1,500 gallons of naturally filtered seawater every day.
For the second day in a row, Nicolai has helped me with work at the River House. Today, we started refining the stair treads. I put a rounded profile on the edges with a router and Nico followed up with the sander to produce a very smooth surface. We completed all 29 treads and then began the process of adding end caps. I will be tied up with consulting work tomorrow but hope to have the treads ready for finishing by the end of the week.
For weeks I have been putting off the installation of the third Wi-Fi access point in our new house. This is because it is mounted on a very high ceiling located over the stairwell. I chose the location to maximize signal coverage on the second floor using a computer model and did not pause to think about the challenges of mounting it. I finally came up with a simple if somewhat sketchy-looking solution to gain access to the ceiling. I was also able to install the smoke/carbon monoxide detector using the same setup.
With the flooring completed, it was possible to finish the assembly and installation of the kitchen island and induction cooktop. The left side of the island has a recess for stool seating and a hidden outlet with two USB-C charging ports. The far side endcap has several shelves for commonly used spices and cooking oils and an easy-access outlet. On the cooktop side, there are twelve extra deep drawers. The aisles are wide enough for someone to walk past the open dishwasher or refrigerator or to accommodate multiple cooks in the kitchen.
Tile work throughout the house is largely complete and I have now installed the wall controls for the digital shower mixer valves. The photo above is of the main bathroom and the one below is in the guest shower. We really like the riverstone tile that our interior designer recommended.
Nico was among 13 in his ROMP expedition group of 20 to summit the Cayambe Volcano in Ecuador yesterday. We have yet to hear about the details of the climb but we can expect a full download when Nico returns to the States on Monday. This is his second successful high-altitude summit only a few hundred feet lower than Kilimanjaro which he climbed with me when he was 13. At these elevations, you are literally above the clouds and the views are awe-inspiring. I believe the distant peak in the photo below is of the Antisana Volcano some 35 miles away.
UPDATE: We have now learned that Nico was the first on the team to reach the summit. The guides referred to him as “The Machine.” He waited at the top for the rest of the group for 45 minutes but then became so cold he had to begin his descent. Unfortunately, the professional photographers on the expedition kept pace with the main contingent and this left Nico with only the photographs taken by his guide. While on the summit, he released a small portion of my mother’s cremains. She was born and grew up in Ecuador and would have been so proud to learn of Nico’s exploits in her homeland.
Had it not been for some unexpected distractions, Jeanine and I would have completed the primary assembly step for all the stair treads to be used in the River House. As it stands we glued up 22 of the required 29 treads. They still need to be trimmed to length and to have end caps added.
In the evening, we enjoyed our first dinner at the River House to celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary. Jeanine picked up gourmet takeout from Woods Hill Table and grabbed a couple of camping chairs from the Road House on the way over. It was the perfect way to end a week of working together. In Jeanine’s words, a couple that glues together sticks together. I have now spent half of my life stuck to the best partner I could wish for. My hope is that we can spend another 33 years together in our new home.
Normally, I would spend much time outdoors photographing the fall foliage at this time of year. This year, however, priorities dictate that I continue to focus on completing my construction projects for the River House. Even so, on this perfect fall day, I could not help to pause for a couple of photos. The first was taken from the site of our future patio. The second, with my drone over the inundated banks of the Sudbury River.
