GLACIAL PROGRESS

Looking over the images from my last post, It's hard for me to believe that it's been over two months.  I wish I could point to something that justifies such a huge lapse of time, but it's just been slow.  We're sanding, painting, patching drywall, cleaning...  I do have a few additions to show for my time:

Front entry, once again.  Maybe it doesn't look like much has happened.  Maybe it hasn't.  I can't tell anymore.

Now this is certainly new.  This is my son's bathroom, way cooler than the master bath.  This is all traditional, hard-coat plaster, on metal lathe.  Most of what you can see has received the second coat (the brown coat), over the first coat (the scratch coat).  The exception is the tub basin, which has only the scratch coat, and the low wall in the foreground, where you can still see the lathe.

This is how the sink ties in.  The idea is that the three fixtures would flow together, from the sink to the tub to the shower.  Not that we'll literally fill the tub from the sink and drain them all in the shower, it's a visual thing.  Eventually, this will all be finished with a top coat of pool plaster (I think).

Ooooh, and the masonry heater is finished!  This has been a real ordeal.  Our original specialty mason, brought in from the Asheville area, turned out to just not be a very good mason.  His work was all over the place, out of plumb (vertical), out of square, off layout and uneven.  So we just let him complete the firebrick core, which is the heater itself, and then had our 100% reliable local mason assemble the veneer in black brick.  We had to take down quite a bit  of the original mason's work, but the difference was night and day.  This might partially explain the time lag.  Tom, the heater guy, would turn up for a few days, then disappear for a week or three (seriously) without word.

Here's the other side.  The principle is that the fire burns in the main firebox, the exhaust gases rise into a secondary combustion chamber above, then fall on either side to beneath the firebox, travel horizontally through the heated bench and finally exit up the chimney.  Sounds complicated, but it works.  Well, at least it drafts properly.  Above the masonry section of chimney will be a metal chimney pipe out through the roof.  I've been somewhat reticent to cut a hole in my brand new roof, so that work is not yet complete, but it will happen soon.  The concrete block work below the heater will become a bench, and the stair to the main level will be in the background.  This, and the brick floor in the lower level, is all that remains for the mason.  

This is the brick wall that will surround our stove.  We bought an old Vulcan restaurant stove and I've been refurbishing it as I find time, but it's way more work than I expected.  I've got it broken down into a couple hundred pieces in the basement, cleaned and waiting to be reassembled.

Here it is again, with some doors in the foreground.  We'll cover the opening with a hood that we'll build one of these days...

This is a dark view of my custom light fixtures.  They're pretty simple, really, just folded out of sheet copper.

Same light, further back.  I've made about 7 of these lights, and now my wife wants 5 more.  I'll take it as a compliment.

Balcony decking is down!  I rushed the guys to do one balcony before a party a couple weeks ago, but it will have to come back up to be stained.

And the balcony from below.  It's cedar decking, so it smells great.  I wanted to use locust, but couldn't find a good source.  Cedar is beautiful, just a bit soft.

This is the lower terrace, with an outdoor fireplace and our other new dog, Louise.

A better view of the outdoor fireplace.  More great masonry by our local genius, Jerry.

And my wild-eyed dog.  She's a daddy's girl and I love it.