The Travis Cabin Journal

I went to the mountian property June 4th to receive the mattress delivery and to see how things were going.  I took some pictures to keep you up to date.  The pictures attempt to capture the recently completed work including pouring the pads in the back, the stairs to the deck, installing the hot water heater, taking the decals off the windows, the cabinet tops on the hall cabinet and the kitchen island, the mirrors in the bathrooms, delivery of the beds, and staining the front door.  Enjoy!

We went to the mountain property on Sunday mainly to decide on a color for the gutters.  Mom and Mr. Ray went with us and we haad a great time.  We ate lunch in the coffe shop in Galax which was fun.  After we got to the property, we were very glad we went because the builders had switched the vanities in the down stairs bathrooms.  It seemed unblievable that they could make that mistake, but they did and it was good that we saw it.  They also overlooked the globes we had left for the lights so they'll have to change them as well.  The project is getting close to be completed on the inside.  Tim is hoping to be done with the inside this week.  There is probably at least another week on the outside.  We're getting anxious and somewhat impatient, but we want it done right so we need to give them the time they need.  It seems like the closer we get the more little issues that come up, but I guess that is to be expected.  Although the issues are stressful, it's been fun and we're enjoying the journey.  Below are pictures.  I hope you enjoy them.

Bev and I went up Tuesday to watch the grading.  There's a lot going on and we had a great time.  Just being around the mountain house gives me a wonderful relaxed feeling.  I am really looking forward to our time in June when we're scheduled to be there for a few days.  The major decision yesterday was to leave the railing off the front porch.  The porch is low and not very deep.  By leaving the rails off, we expect it to be much more usable.  The porch turned out to be just the right height to sit on the edge of the porch and talk while we watch the grand kids play in the yard.  The depth of the porch with the rails, precludes sitting on the edge and makes it difficult to navigate around chairs on the porch.  Although without the rails it may look less finished, eliminating the rails gives it a more casual, country look consistent with what we want.  Other progress is that the septic system was finished and passed inspection yesterday and the bannister on the stairs was finished.  David Carter did the grading around the house.  Bev and I spread some grass seed and put straw over the newly graded area to try and keep any erosion / washing to a minimum.   Below are some of the pictures we took.

We missed the upstairs bath on the last post so here is a picture of the cabinets up there.  We'll have two sinks with a knee hole for Bev in the middle.

Here are shots of the septic system installation and shots of the drain field area from the drive.  There is a large cleared area, but the distance from the house and the buffer of trees keeps it from looking barren.  The placement of the tank changed from up near the house doen by the drain field due to rock just below the surface making it almost impossible to dig near the house.

Here are some shot of grading and the results.

 Here are a few sweat equity pictures for a chuckle.

 Here are pictures of the bannister going up the stairs.  It hasn't been stained yet.  When done, it should match the stairs.

And our bonus picture of the day is of our friends Randy and Sandy Taylor coming to visit.

Beverly and I went to the mountains Tuesday April 27th to take the refrigerator, stove and microwave to be installed with the cabinets.  Lowes also delivered the dishwasher as well as  the washer and dryer. The cabinets were a big addition.  The floors have been sealed and the walls have been clear-coated.  The rock work is done, some door knobs are in. The back door has been painted.  The window trim and base are mostly in.  The stairs are in, but the bannister is still to come.  Below are the pictures we took.  I hope you enjoy them.  It's really getting exciting.  The first pictures are the kitchen cabinets.

Next are the hall cabinets.

Then the downstairs baths.  Somehow we missed taking a picture of the upstairs bath.  We saw the cabinets for the upstairs bath,but they weren't installed when we got there.

Then the laundry room cabinets.

The stairs.

The floors which were pretty dirty.  You can see where Bev wiped for the refrigerator and how different it looks from the areas which are dirty.

Speaking of the refrigerator, I had to take the refrigerator doors off to get it in the house.  How many construction workers does it take to put refrigerator doors back on?

The back basement door, painted with the outside light.

The stone work and fireplace. 

The stone columns under the back deck.

The rock work under the front porch.

The front porch ceiling with lights.  The back porch ceiling and lights look the same, but we didn't get a picture.

The trim around the windows in the great room.

And a sample door knob.

Here are a couple of pictures Tim sent showing the fireplace.  He sent these on April the 15th from his cell phone.  Thanks Tim.

Bev and I went to the mountain house on Friday.  Kristy and Ross, Bev's sister and her husband, came up and met us there to see the progress.  The pictures below highlight the areas where things looked different.  The upstairs shower was in, although not cleaned.  The cabinets for the back of the house were in.  We were really excited about seeing those, but it turned out all but one set were wrong.  The cabinets in the upstairs bath were too short.  The cabinets in the downstairs baths had doors where they should have had drawers and they were reduced depth which was not right.  The pantry shelves in the laundry room were two feet deep when they were supposed to be one foot deep.  This wouldn't work because there the room isn't wide enough.  The only cabinets that were usable were the ones at the end of the hall and they have to be modified to house the return air vent.  That was disappointing, but the cabinet guy said he would make it right, so hopefully it's just a small bump in the road.  The picture of the door trim is intended to show how the clear coat makes the grain stand out.  It only has one coat at this point and a second coat may increase the effect.  We like it.  The pictures of the great room show that they have gotten to the top of the ceiling and that they have started the flooring.  And the last two pictures just show that they have most of the lights up.  At this stage many things are happening.  Most are small in the big picture, but it's exciting to see the details begin to take shape.  We finalized selection of the bathroom vanity tops on the way through Mt. Airy.  We won't fianlize the kitchen, hall and laundry room counter tops until Friday.  We are expecting to see the kitchen cabinets then.  the rock guys are supposed to be back today, Monday.  They will finish outside and then do the fireplace front in the great room.   Hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Enjoy the pictures. 

March 27, 2010 - We went to the mountain and took Mama H., Bev's Mom, with us.  We had a wonderful day.  We went slowly, didn't get rushed, and had a great time.  Randy came over for a short visit.  The siding crew was at the house working and both Tim and Sherman came by to discuss various issues.  The pictures that follow attempt to show the progress being made.

Bev and I went to the mountains yesterday, March 13th.  We ate lunch with Randy and Sandy and then later stopped by to see Jennette and Jerry.  Things have been progressing very slowly over the winter. The weather has been the worst anyone can remember with constant rain and snow.  With the construction traffic the road has disintegrated and made it difficult to get in and out..  We're going to have to do a signifcant amount of work on it.  The road is already over budget, but we have no choice.  We have to fix it.  Another part of the delays resulted from Tim Carico, one of the builders, falling off our roof. We didn't know about it and only found out after he was laid up for around four weeks.  He said he didn't want to worry us.  He's back to work now although not fully healed.   Anyway, the major areas of progress we saw were the back porch roof over the deck, the chimney and the rock on the chimney, the upstairs floor, the tile floors in the laundry room and baths, the primer painting and a finish coat in one room, and about eight feet high pine boards in the great room.  The tile floors haven't been grouted and the stone on the chimney hasn't all been grouted either.  Enjoy the pictures.  The last picture shows the stream flowing more than usual. 

Bev and I  went up on the ninth and took these pictures.  Bev's sister, Kristy, told us about a couple in their small group who while building, had the small group come and write bible verses on the studs and pray for their home.  We thought that was a good idea so we wrote some on our studs as well.  We've been continuously praying over our house and we expect it to be well blessed by the time it's finished.  We would appreciate you adding your prayers that our mountain home will be an inspirational and a spirtitual retreat both for our family and for many visitors in the future. 

Randy sent some pictures from his blackberry on January fourth.  They show the porch, insulation, one of our biblical verses, and the siding.  Things are progressing ever so slowly.