Sheetrocking Continues

Still a bit behind... about 3 weeks ago we went up and continued with the sheetrocking. Ben's family came for the weekend as well, which was lovely since we don't get to see them so much anymore. They were a big help.

Rich and Ben got a ton of the sheetrocking done.

Binda and Margaret helped me plant some trees and set up the outdoor campsite.

The tulips, daffodils, and dandelions were blooming.

And to top the weekend off, there was a party nearby, friends of Binda and Richard's, who also happen to be friends with Ben and Binda's cousin Oliver. Oliver and his girlfriend Leann showed up and were surprised by our arrival, not having known we would be there. There was a reggae band from Brooklyn there and we all danced and had a good time.

Planting

Sorry I've been negligent- this post is more than a month behind now, as is obvious for the lack of green you see in these pictures. Around mid-April we did a full planting weekend-No house work whatsoever. We ordered a bunch of shrubs from Cornell Cooperative Extension, which has a subsidised program once a year where you can order shrubs and trees CHEAP. The shrubs turned out to be sticks with a couple dangly roots hanging off them, but whatever. We bought about 60 of them. My dad (expert gardener) came up to help plant. It was lovely and warm, the first really warm weekend of the season. Observe:


Below Ben rakes out the backyard, which is full of rocks and was all lumpy (like all the land that was upset in excavating and septic system construction).

Dad, planting Dogwood sticks.

My cowboy honey, relaxing with Cooper, Dad's dog.

Coffee break by the pond.

The 3 of us, at the end of the day.

I was skeptical of these planted sticks making it (there were some, the willows, which didn't even have roots. My dad just poked them in the ground)... Especially since we aren't there to continually water them while they're getting established. But here we are, a month and a half later, and the majority actually have little leaves sprouting off them! We are praying for midweek rain throughout the summer, to help these little guys establish themselves.

Sheetrocking Begins

We were worried about sheetrocking the ceiling, trying to figure out who we could cajole into coming and helping us do such an unpleasant job, which we figured would involve doing alot of lifting over our heads and trying to keep these large heavy sheets of sheetrock up on the ceiling as we screwed them in. How would we even get them off the delivery truck?, we wondered... WELL, Ben discovered the tools of the trade and you wouldn't believe how easy it could be (relatively speaking). First of all, Ben asked the Rowley's guys (our supplier) if the delivery man could help him get the stuff in the house. They did better, they simply brought along their crane.

Tubs of joint compound are lifted over the shed and to the front door:


The Sheetrock follows.


Here's the good part: Ben discovers the sheetrock lift, which, while he had already heard of it, hadn't really known it's full value. You can rent it for $30/day at Home Depot, and it's well worth it. It disassembles and fits right in the trunk. Ben sheetrocked the entire ceiling in one weekend, ALL BY HIMSELF, I wasn't even up that weekend to hand him his screw gun. He's now calling this device his new girlfriend. I'm not jealous at all.

You place the sheetrock on the hooks...

Spin it, and crank it to lift. It lodges in place and you screw.

Here's the first 2 strips done.

And the whole ceiling.

And part of the wall.

He's my hero (well he already was, now just more so).

Vapor Barrier

After the insulation comes the vapor barrier, which is basically a huge sheet of plastic stapled to the entire insulated inside surface that borders the outside. It is there so that the difference in temperature between the inside and the outside, which can cause condensation, doesn't make the insulation damp. Ben did research on the internet and found conflicting views as to whether this is necessary or not, and decided it was worth it. We basically made a big bubble around the interior of the house, effectively sealing us in, along with the warmth. Here Ben stands on the very useful scaffold lent to us by Art (thanks Art!) with his staple gun in hand, ready to shoot.



Here's Megan, looking like an extreme dork, in the paper suit made to shield us from the insulation fibers still lingering from last weekend.

Taking a lunch break (canned soup, as usual, and some bread and cheese).

Our cozy abode. Vapor barrier shown on the left wall. We simply covered over everything and then cut out the windows, doors, and light sockets.

As you can see I'm late with this post, as there is still snow on the ground in this picture. I liked this one because it looks like an album cover.

The following weekend the building inspector came to check the work and gave Ben a hard time because he said he didn't think you were supposed to put a vapor barrier over insulation that has a so-called built-in vapor barrier. He said he'd ok it if we got a letter from an architect or engineer. We called Victor, who did the drawings for the house, who called the engineer, who promptly wrote a letter saying that this is a standard and even preferable procedure to use. We were quite relieved and felt vindicated. The engineer was nice enough not to charge us for the letter, as it was unusual to take issue with such a thing. Phew, the thought of taking down all that work was disheartening!

Sheetrock next!