THE EXTERIOR

The concrete walkway and driveway apron have been poured; there is still some painting to do on the exterior logs and facia boards; the roof is on; the gutters are almost done; the stonework is finished except for some minor touchups that had to wait for other things to be done first; the screen porch is in process of being enclosed now that its tile floor is down; the Vermont Stove on the screen porch is installed and fully functional; telephone lines are installed; the water line from the well to the house is in place and we are wating for the plumber to connect us up.

Shortly the company that installed the garage doors will be back to inspect and ensure finished functionality. And all the interior and exterior door locks will be installed.

The property cleanup has also started and soon the final layer of gravel will be put down on the circular driveway. Even our mailbox is up and we are now receiving mail at this address!

The interior work is also advancing on schedule. This week we will see the kitchen cabinetry fully installed; all the appliances put in place and connected; all the tile work completed except possibly in the kitchen where Dr. Ellen's custom tiles will take a bit more time; all the bathroom fixtures and vanities will be finished complete with their quartz countertops; the kitchen's quartz countertops will be installed; the plumber will install the hot water system and activate all the final connections throughout the house; the electrician will install all lighting fixtures and fans and do some last minute add-ons including the preparatory wiring for the whole-house generator; the furnace already is functional; and the finishing carpentry will be winding down except for the installation of the oak stair treads (which is a several day process and one of the very last).

Some coats of polyurathane are also still being applied in the wake of all the last minute finishing work.

Soon the elevator will be inspected and transferred over to us operationally, and also the interior log railings around the stairs and loft will be put in place.

And finally – a professional cleaning crew will be brought in as the pièce de résistance.

IN RETROSPECT

Today it is hard to believe that on May 1st, 2007 nothing but a hardwood forest stood before us as we envisioned our future log home on this gorgeous mountaintop!

This has been an extraordinary adventure to say the least! Would we do it over it again?

Maybe, maybe not...dunno...possibly...oh, dang it, probably!..but certainly we would do some things differently next time. Actually, we don't want to do anything like this soon so don't start ringing us up just yet...!

Our parting words on this blog will include a WHAT WE LEARNED list. It is not to be missed!

We do hope that our experiences have been of some assistance to others who are about to embark upon a similar process.

But I digress. Things are not over yet! We will show you all of the remaining finishing stages, not to worry. And Dr. Ellen plans to photograph the entire structure inside and out with a Nikon 12-24mm wide angle lens, which will give you the clearest picture yet of this modified (and enlarged) Ellijay from Barna Log Homes.