Rancho Deluxe

Greener

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Tue, 17 May 2011 04:56:00 +0000

With apologies to Mr. Wyeth

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:46:00 +0000

Renzo the puppy is enjoying a day trip to the Hermitage, especially after meeting his new favorite toy, a frozen chipmunk.

Legal

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:28:00 +0000

With this attractive handrail, we're now up to code on the stairway to the loft, thanks to another fine fabrication job from Davis Welding.

Another finish detail

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:51:00 +0000

No, it's not a great photo -- you, uh, had to be there, but it's gratifying to finally see the outside step-ramp lights working and the beautiful interior staircase all lit up, just like Ted the Architect drew it up so long ago.

Exxxxxxxxxxcellent!

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:33:00 +0000

The translucent panel is now lit — beautifully. Very, very, very nice.

Stairway of Coolness

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 03:21:00 +0000

JR and Chris installed the stairway treads, which look terrific. Another near-final piece of the puzzle.

Just Like Downtown

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 01:55:00 +0000

It's not quite finished, but it sure looks purty — JR and Chris just put up the stair wall (Chris's ass included for scale), it looks as good as it did in Ted the Architect's head when he designed it. One more partial panel will go up on the left, but it's clear this idea is going to pan out. I guess I'll pay the bill.

A lot of toil and trouble went into this critical puzzle piece, and I'd like to thank Jerry from Davis Welding for sticking with the program.

Just like downtown.

The Tree, the Snow and the Prairie

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 05:21:00 +0000

Finishing Touches, Part Deux

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 04:43:00 +0000

Kelvin and Pete have installed most of the cabinets and started on the appliances, so we're finally starting to see what the kitchen and bathrooms will look like.

Pretty sweet, eh?

Floored

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:09:00 +0000

The new builder, JR, has been spending time fixing leaks, code problems and other disappointments left by the previous builder (thanks Barry!), and has started installing the maple floor.

That's not JR, it's his business partner, Chris.

This is a huge — if much delayed — milestone, and cause for much rejoicing. As soon as the polyurethane cures, the cabinets and stair wall can be installed, and most of the finished plumbing and electrical can go in.

Ted the Architect has come up with an innovative shower wall treatment that I'm pretty confident you've never seen, but that Richard Serra will love. Stay tuned.

Thanks guys!

Ducted

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:20:00 +0000

The all-important duct for the air conditioning in the main living area was finally installed. It looks very industrial, which I like.

Now that the ductwork is in, the painter can put the finishing touches on the joists, and then the floor can be installed, then the kitchen cabinets, closets, finished plumbing, finished electrical, etc. can come in.

Colorful

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:26:00 +0000

"Buggs" (because he's got really long bug's legs, I'm told) applying the American Clay plaster finish to a wall in — I think — my bedroom.

The advantages of this product are several:

Aesthetic -- it gives the walls more depth and earthiness than paint would
Environmental -- natural, no VOCs
Comfort -- soaks up humidity (it doesn't "set) and releases it over time.

Permanent Stairway to Work

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:15:00 +0000

The temporary staircase to the loft/office is now gone (there's a story there you'll have to ask me about), replaced by the permanent and very cool steel staircase fabricated by the fine local Monroe, WI craftsmen at — er, I forget. I'm sure someone will remind me.

The treads are made from leftover ceiling joist remnants. Like everything else in the house, it's "stout."

"The Meter Must Be Broken"

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:16:00 +0000

That's what the meter reader said, when he saw a negative 800 or so kilowatts for this month's consumption, and the panels pumping out 700 watts on a cloudy day. He wants to replace the meter.

Knock yourself out, buddy, it's not going to help. We're coming into peak solar production season, and since the house is still under construction, the electrical load is minimal — a table saw here and there, a compressor once in a while.

Bit by Bit

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:27:00 +0000

Barry the Builder has now trimmed out the loft area and the office very nicely, with maple.

Finishing Touches, Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sun, 17 May 2009 00:10:00 +0000

Barry the Builder has been in fine woodworking mode, fabricating the wood trim that make the transition from wall to ceiling, in this case, in the office/loft.

As Ted the Architect said, "this thing is built like a watch."

Floor on the Ceiling

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:15:00 +0000

First look at the maple ceiling for the section under the loft, looking from the South toward the North closet (straight ahead), stairway up to the office and guest wing terrace, and the kitchen.

Sweetness!

Expensive House on the Prairie

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:49:00 +0000

The grass is growing nicely, and it won't be long before it's knee high. The exterior is almost complete, and once we get the very cool steel/wood staircase installed, we'll be able to do a little landscaping outside the curtain wall.

New View

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:45:00 +0000

View from the Southeast — I'm still in love with the combination of the galvalume roof, cedar siding, black steel and the concrete.

You can tell that there was a bit of camera shake between the three shots needed to bracket the exposure -- the resulting image is a little fuzzy. Something to work on.

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Saturday was the first sunny day in what seems like weeks, so a good time to visit and shoot some fotos. This is the view from the deck above the guest wing. I went for a more naturalistic, and possibly over-exposed, look this time.

Aluminum, Concrete and Cedar

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:59:00 +0000

View from the terrace on top of the guest wing.

In the left foreground is the master bedroom and in the middle, the living/dining room. Note that the MBR is separated from the LR/DR to let me me shut it off from the rest of the house and allow friends to have the run of the place without finding my "etchings." ["joke only", as they say in the Philippines].

I'm diggin' this High Dynamic Range photography stuff...

Guest Wing

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:37:00 +0000

The guest wing, newly drywalled and taped, but not yet plastered. Those guys work fast.

This drywall variety is called "blue board", but even in real life it's gray. I kindof like the color, and it might contrast nicely with the floor, but I suspect we'll do something that's not quite so monochromatic.

Current thinking is to coat this in pigmented natural plaster, possibly from American Clay or its ilk. I'm thinking this will give the wall surfaces some depth and subtle variation.

Drywalled

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:01:00 +0000

Barry and Ted discussing yet another detail that has to be just right.

In modern architecture, typically more of the structure is exposed and the transitions between surfaces and materials are visible. You don't just tack on some molding to hide the joints.

Hence, the ongoing conversation. Some of this is also due to our philosophy of "lets decide when we have to". It's impossible for any of us — architect, builder and especially the client — to perfectly visualize the end product in advance.

(By the way, what's glaringly wrong with this picture, and why did it happen? For some subtle hints, see the High Dynamic Range post. It's not the Photomatix watermark).

The (High Dynamic) Range

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:39:00 +0000

The view from the West deck. We made sure the Burr Oak was saved during construction -- the other trees that had to be removed were salvaged for flooring.

I wish I could say all that beautiful land was mine, but I'm a working stiff (again, starting Monday), and I'd need to blow out my commission for a few decades in a row before being able to afford it. But for now, I can play "pretend Land Baron" and hope that it doesn't get developed in my lifetime.

Note: This photo is my first attempt at High Dynamic Range Photography, which attempts to compensate for narrow range of film and digital camera sensors compared to the human eye/brain. This inability to capture all the colors and intensities of light is a big reason why you're almost always disappointed by your photographs ("gee, I remember the sky being blue, not white, when I took that picture.")

To get a picture that looks more like what your eye saw, you need to "bracket" your photos by deliberately under- and over-exposing the image, then merge the properly exposed parts of each image into one composite, realistic photo. This process, made easy by digital photography, would require all kinds of "dodging" and "burning in" with film photography.

I discovered a terrific book, Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Digital Photography, by McCollough. The author turned me on to an application called Photomatix, which is easy to use and seems to provide for good results. It also makes it pretty easy to make fairly unrealistic images (I jacked up the saturation on this picture), but I will endeavor to use my new powers for good, not evil.

Photons, Part Deux

noreply@blogger.com (Don Chartier) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:13:00 +0000

The solar panels have been working since Tuesday, and today I got to see the meter wheel spinning backwards, the sign that power is flowing back into the grid rather than from it. It's all about the Benjamins...

Output this afternoon was about 2,600 watts, less than the 3,100 rated watts, but we'll work on that.

The inverter display has a unique rap-with-your-knuckle interface that discourages (ouch!) obsessive checking, but otherwise provides useful information.