Hull House Project Update: slow going progress

Pre floors and lighting

Floors almost finished!  Lighting in.
The floors with the afternoon sun really
changed the feel of the house.

There have been a few unforeseen things that have come up in this house project - as always in construction things come up that you didn't expect.  This project is no exception.  Back in June I thought I would be moving in this week, instead of moving I will be bike racing this weekend.  Which is not a bad alternative.

A few things that came up that were unexpected; 

stop #2 on I-84 for load
adjustments

• Working with Pacific Power to get power to the house from the pole that is located on the west side of the lot.  Pacific Power is on their own schedule, as far as I can tell they don't really care about being fast.  Most of the house was built with power from an extension cord from my existing house.  Not really a big deal, but it did slow down the electrician on final installation of lights, outlets and fans.
• The floors - this was a saga that just got worse with every decision that I made.  It started with not being able to find something I wanted and having limited time to spend on this decision.  In hind sight I ended up making the wrong choice.  After getting frustrated with the local store choices and service, I ended up working with a company in Portland, but they were really from Atlanta with a warehouse in Oakland CA.  On a quick visit on a work break to the warehouse I selected a light color laminate floor and not the one that I liked better because of price.  Over the weekend I changed my mind and then things rapidly fell apart; restocking fees, delayed shipment........ Finally the floors arrived and I arranged for a truck and trailer to pick them up in Portland.  While unloading the floors in Hood River we discovered that they were the wrong floors - so it was back to Portland with friends visiting from CA.  Picked up the right floors - warehouse employees didn't even apologize or take ownership over their mistake.  After all that I am not that keen on the floors, but I will live with it.  What I should have done was just continued to work with the local vendors even when they can be difficult to give them your business.
• Bathroom tile - apparently there are lots of people putting tile in their houses this August in Hood River.  It is hard to find someone to do a really basic tile job.

The move in to the house will be postponed a few weeks - not a big deal.  The floors are being installed today, the lights are in, cabinets installed, counter tops laid, the ladder to the loft is being built, appliances ordered, sidewalk and driveway should be poured next week.  After the floors are installed the trim work can be finished, doors installed.  The only delay now is the tile work in the bathroom.

Hull House Project Update; simple is not easy!

Progress on the Hull house is being made really fast!  Everyday when I get home from work I do a walk through to see what has been completed.  Everyday the results are dramatic; siding on, roofing material up, electrical done, insulation in, drywall up, painting done.  There are lots of decisions still to be made; lighting fixtures, flooring material, counter tops.  


My mantra or guiding principal for decision making in this project is to keep it simple, nothing fancy or overly decorative, to try and make decisions that will not be trendy and dated in a few years.  That is easy to say and not so easy to actually do. Simple is not easy!  


House colors - I went with Benjamin Moore Gargoyle for the exterior and winds breath for the trim.  This decision came after looking at many different houses in Portland, Hood River and Seattle.  I was actually looking for a warm brown, but that is a hard color to find and match.  When it came down to the wire and I had to have the decision made so the paint could be mixed, I took a sample paint book that the paint store loaned me to a house in Hood River and matching the color (I was hoping they would be home and I could just ask them, but no).  The interior paint choice was easy, I had already decided on white.  I know, I know, that is boring I even went with decorator's white even more boring than bright white or white dove which is the most popular white color.  The interior is small and I thought the white would make it bright in the winter and also make it feel more spacious.  Apparently the painters thought it was a pretty boring job, but easy.  The finished result achieved the goal, the space feels lofty, bright and open.  Once the flooring, kitchen and lights are in the house will not feel so spartan.

exterior siding and roofing material on

paint color samples - I used the bottom color

finished result for exterior color

interior framing almost done

electrical done, insulation in

drywall done - starting to get a
sense of the feel of the finished space.

interior paint finished - decorator's white
feels light and expansive!

Hull House Project: Phase 2 foundation and framing

The final plat has been signed, the building permit issued and progress is being made quickly.  


There are still lots of decisions that need to be made, but they are fun the think about:  exterior paint color, flooring, kitchen layout.


Next week the roof goes up, the windows have been ordered.  It will be a simple small house.

Hull House Project: phase 1

June 14 2012 - that is the day my land use permit expires to divide my property.  Six years ago I divided my property into 4 lots, I completed phase one and then the economy fell apart.  In uncertain times it seems like a good idea to sit tight.  This year as June approached I had to decide if I wanted to finish the project.  Weighing the options was complicated; interest rates are low, housing prices are still low, building costs are down.... it is a risk.  I wasn't sure I wanted to invite that risk and stress into my life.  Completing the project involved tearing down a 1904 house that straddled the proposed property line - not trivial.  The beginning of April I decided to go ahead with the project - what's a little extra stress for a defined amount of time!  


Once the ball got rolling it all went pretty fast and relatively smoothly, at least from the outside perspective and thanks to supportive friends.  The house had to come down for the City to sign off on the partition.  A week before my deadline the house came down, the surveyor finished the final plat, after some back and forth with the County Surveyor he signed the final plat, the city signed the plat and today (11 June 2012) the plat was recorded with the county.  Another lot added to the tax rolls for Hood River all within the deadline - whew!  Next week the foundation goes in.......

Salvage windows - unfortunately there wasn't much else to salvage

Fire Department training night - they were excited to have a house to tear up with chain saws.

First thing Monday morning the equipment showed up and the excavators went to work - lucky for me it was a rainy day to keep the dust down.

Day 1: house down and getting hauled away to be burned and to the landfill.

Day 2: house hauled away and the prep for the foundation done.

the haute route - ski traverse from Chamonix to Zermatt or Arolla in my case

Packing:

Even though my pack was pretty light there were a lot of little details to take care of and one big one: my boots.  On a previous 4 day back country trip my ski boots had given me bad blisters.  I did exactly what everyone tells you not to do - I bought new boots and didn't really have time to truly test them out before the trip, but I was lucky it turned out to be fine.

I brought all the the regular stuff on the check list provided by the guides - what I wish I had was my own crocs for the huts, a magazine and not the book I brought and more energy bars.  I had brought 1 per day + fruit leather, next time I will bring 2 per day.

Day 1:  ski the Mer de Glace

Beautiful sunny day, this was a day for the guides to see our skiing abilities and for the group to ski together.

Day 2: begin the traverse - night in the Trient Hut

This was the longest day and a day that we used all our equipment; skins, boot crampons, ski crampons, ice axe, and harness for descending 220 feet.  The weather was all over the place; cloudy, sunny then cloudy again.




Hut etiquette: 

• leave your skis outside or in the ski room if there is one
• leave all your sharp objects in a basket in the entry, usually with your ski boots; crampons, ice axe, probe and shovel
• grab a pair of hut slippers; usually crocs
• backpacks in your room or hall, not in the main dining area
• the groups have assigned tables for eating and are served at the table
• the dorm rooms varied from your own bunks to a platform of beds; the pillow and comforter were provided



Trient hut

 Day 3: ski from Trient Hut to Champex - bus, train, multiple trams and skied to Mont Fort hut


Woke to mixed weather conditions; whiteout, clearing.  This was a mixed transportation day; ski, climb, then ski into a resort, catch a bus, catch a train, than tram it up and ski down to the Mont Fort hut which is actually in the Verbier ski resort.




Day 4: ski from Mont Fort hut to Prafleuri hut - summit Rosa Blanche


Mont Fort hut

 

 Skinned out of the resort in overcast weather, over the col out of the ski report.  The sun broke through for great summit views on Rosa Blanche.  Skied down to the hut for the night.

Day 5: ski from Prafleuri hut to Dix hut - afternoon tour



Prafleuri hut



Cold and clear for our early start to the Dix hut, a very long traverse along Dix lake.  Afternoon touring around the Dix hut in the sun.



Day 6: ski from Dix hut to Vignettes hut

Again mixed weather day; whiteouts and clearing. Lots of climbing and then ski down to the spectacularly located Vignettes hut, perched on a rock face.



Dix Hut



Day 7: ski from Vignettes hut to Zermatt or Arolla in my case



This was going to be one of our longest days - "A full map day" as the guides referred to it.  But we woke to complete white out, howling winds and falling snow.  All the groups in the hut waited as long as we could for the weather to clear and in defeat we slowly snowplowed our way down the mountain into the town of Arolla, where we caught a taxi with another America group for Zermatt.



Vignettes hut







Guide:

NW Mountain School

Post trip beer in Zermatt

Books:

The Haute Route Chamonix - Zermatt: A guide for skiers and mountain walkers by Peter Cliff

Chamonix to Zermatt:  the classic Walker's Haute Route By Kev Reynolds



 More photos of the trip: