A stop on the tour.

The last two days have been busy ones. The upper dormer window sculpting is now complete and ready for paint. With the weather threatening we are concentrating on painting under the porch roof. The crew is working on the third and final coat of paint on the ceiling. The trees are now ready for glazing and the walls are ready for the second coat of blends. Another few days and this end of the house will be complete.

The house looks better each day. And already it does what it was designed to do. We have a test each project needs to pass. Before we are done people must stop and take pictures of our project. That test has been passed a thousand times over already. Today we upped the ante. Today, as we worked a bus pulled up in front and stopped for the passengers to see. The first tour bus. The crew called to each other and passed the word from one to another. We laughed and joked, happy because the 'plan' was working.

-grampa dan

Scaffold gone at last!

Once the painting was done we got out the cutting tools, crow bars and hammers and started dismantling the scaffold. I worked on cutting the top railings into sections and tossing them to the ground while Peter pried up the planks. Then while I cut the supports from the structure flush with the tree, Peter mixed up a batch of fiberglass reinforced concrete to apply as patches over the holes. This was allowed to set up while we ate lunch. When we got back it was ready for carving to match the surrounding tree. It didn't take long to finish the task. In a few days we'll paint the patches and they will blend perfectly into the tree.

Finally we could see the whole house and how everything related to each of the other pieces. It seems to work pretty good. Now I am anxious to put all the soil back around the tree roots and perhaps start in on some landscaping. That will have to wait a little while yet, until the windows are in and all the painting is done.

Tomorrow, we'll be seeing a whole lot more color as the crew returns for one last week before they head back to university. I'm looking forward to a great wek!

-grampa dan

Last strokes

One of the most exciting things on our projects is when we get to cut down the scaffold. The scaffold, necessary for construction, has blocked clear site lines of our work since the beginning. The steel supports are securely welded into the structure of the tree sculptures and building. We, like everyone who has watched the work unfold, have had to peer through the pipes and planks to get a look at the daily progress. 

Today Bec is carefully brushing the last glazes onto the trim.

When Bec reaches the bottom we'll gather for one last look between the planks and tubing to make sure all is right. Then we'll break out the cutting tools to remove the scaffold from the building - once and for all. 

I can hardly wait! Stay tuned...

-grampa dan