As with any home, there's always a list of projects. Whether they are small little tweaks or somewhat significant projects. We are always dreaming and wishing. One thing I had put on the list was an outside area to do yoga. Dreams of peaceful warrior amongst the swaying oak and pine trees was what I envisioned. We decided on a platform that could also serve a dual purpose as not only a place to do yoga but as a tent base (extra bedroom when the guest list exceeds the available space.) We decided on a 10x10 wooden platform that would overlook the Jefferson National Forest which is immediately out our back yard. The materials were delivered by the local building supply store during the week and we had decided to devote the entire weekend to completing this project. With a bit of slow start on Saturday, we were able to get it framed out by end of day and put the finishing touches on it Sunday morning. I love it when a project goes according to plan. Its been a great place for morning yoga and we were able to spend a couple of rainy July nights in our new tent on it when we had friends up for the Independence Day weekend. 

    Over breakfast this morning, I realized its been two years this month since we moved into Steel Nest. (And, almost two years since I updated this blog!) Here and now, I'm making a commitment to update this blog at least once a month in the coming years.

    Our small cabin, perched upon what we call a mountain top, has become our home away from home. I almost feel like we should call it home as we have been spending almost every weekend here since it was completed. Spending the week in the city working, only gives you a few hours each day to spend at home (other than sleeping.) When you sprint to the mountains after work on Friday and have the entire weekend here, it really does become the place where you spend your leisure hours, go on adventures, and spend the most quality time with each other. It has really become more like home and I find when we skip a weekend or two, I really do start to miss it.

    We've also been able to lure many friends to make the two hour trek to enjoy some time in the mountains as well. Whether its kayaking down the New River, winding around the Blue Ridge Pkwy to visit wineries, or attending our favorite musical festival - FloydFest, we have truly had some great experiences over the last 24 months. Today, its cold and blustery outside and I am able to enjoy reading a book by the fire and watching it snow outside. Truly, exactly what I had imagined for a mountain retreat. Stay tuned and I will give you some updates on happenings at Steel Nest and hopefully a few updates on what has transpired over the past 2 years as we have lived and learned from our time here.

Settling In

I realize its been quite a while since my last post, but that doesn't mean that there's not been things going on. Over the past several weeks we have been visiting almost every weekend and working on projects inside the house. Its really been too cold to do much outside and when you think its going to be a warm, sunny day, the clouds roll in and it rains, snows, or just gets too cold to be outside. The interior decorating of the house is taking shape and we are quite pleased with its progress. Every week we add something new. One wall I've been planning for over a year now and that was finally put into place, is the collection of antique augers that I've been accumulating while shopping for the house. I started with about five that I found at a small antique store on the way to the house, and since then the collection has grown to fourteen thanks to not only my shopping but some that were given to me by special friends and family. The collection was carefully hung on the stairwell so that it can be viewed from the second floor balcony.

Snowfall

By the time the long New Year's weekend was over, the temperature had dropped to 25 degrees and it had started to snow. We left the house(and the roads) covered in a beautiful snowfall.

Welcome to Steel Nest!

Every weekend getaway has to have a name. Ours is inspired by the location of the house and the metal siding that clads half of the outside. The name became apparent when we lucked upon this painting by Mitchell Lonas at the Blue Spiral Gallery in Asheville, NC in December of 2010. It now hangs just inside the main entry to the house. Mitchell Lonas' nest series of paintings can also be seen in the Twilight movie series (Breaking Dawn) inside the Cullen house. mitchelllonas.com

Additional Photos

New Year - New House!

It was a long New Year's weekend and we were finally able to settle into the house. We arrived on Thursday night with a small truckload of additional furniture and household items and immediately got to work. The first order of business was hooking the range up. It came without an electric plug and that was first on the list as we had planned to cook dinner that first night. Two hours later and we were happily enjoying a pizza and salad in our new retreat. Over the course of the next few days, we were able to unpack everything, organize the kitchen, hang artwork, arrange furniture, and clean up the yard. We were even able to have friends over on Saturday morning for a welcoming champagne toast to the new place. There are still things to bring up and a short list of items to acquire, but as with any house, it will always be a work in progress.

Merry Christmas!

Friday was moving day. We rented a U-Haul on Thursday afternoon, picked up two mattresses, two sofas, and loaded all the accumulated household goods and furniture that had been stored for the past year and dropped it off at the house. When we arrived, we were surprised to find a Christmas wreath adorned with red bow on the outdoor fireplace. Friends passing by on their way to relatives for Christmas had dropped it off along with a great housewarming gift. It was nice to have a touch of the season added to the newly finished house. We had just enough time to unload the truck and finish sealing the stone floors before heading back to Charlotte to celebrate the season with family and friends.

New Table

Now that the house is complete, its time to start bringing in the furniture that we've been collecting. In mid-November, we worked with a furniture maker in Todd, NC to make our own dining room table. We had contracted with Tom Sternal to construct one of our bathroom sinks and countertop and when we picked it up he invited us back to work in his shop and build our own table after admiring his many furniture "works of art". We took a long weekend and in a little more than a day drove off with an incredible poplar slab trestle table. We've been finishing it for the past few weeks during the warmer days and now its complete and ready to go.

Sealing Stone Floors

The stone floors on the main floor are Pennsylvania blue stone. To give them a more rich finish, we started applying a sealer to the floors by Aquamix called Enrich and Seal. It not only gives them a darker finish but brings out the rich variegated browns, blues, and charcoal grays. Its a wipe on, wipe off process. You pour the liquid on fairly thick and after five minutes you wipe off the liquid that has not been absorbed into the stone. Check out the huge difference it makes.

Final Inspection

Its been two months since I reported that we let our builder go and that we embarked on completing the house ourselves. Over that period of time, we have hired and met many interesting contractors, shopped online for unusual building materials, and learned how to do many new things(many of which have been blogged about already). In has all finally come together and I am extremely happy to report that on Friday, December 16, the inspector came and signed off on the final inspection of the house issuing a CO(certificate of occupancy). On Saturday, we fired up the hot water and radiant floor heat, as well as the water to the house, for the first time. We were a little unsure how long it would take the house to heat up with the radiant floor heat, but by Sunday morning, the house was very comfortable and the stone floors on the main level were quite toasty. Camping has never been so good!

This Week

This week was our annual Christmas tree farm trip and we had several friends up to check out the house. While showing them around, I forgot to take pics of this week's progress. There were quite a few things finished and/or started this week. The electrician was on site and finished up the lighting on the outside of the house, the screen porch panels were put into place all except a few that were awaiting trim to be painted, and the painter started staining and painting all the woodwork in the house. G&B Energy showed up to run the gas lines and bury the gas tank, but they left without completing it after hitting rock while digging the lines. They are due back this week with more powerful equipment to complete the job.

Hand Rail Installation

After collecting parts for about 4 weeks, we were able to install the hand rail this past weekend. It started out as a 20ft long 1 1/4" galvanized pipe. It was cut down to 14 ft for travel at the hardware store and the ends were painfully trimmed with a pipe cutter to the correct size of just under 13 feet. With the addition of returns and supports researched and bought online from Kee Klamp, it was a fairly easy installation. I would highly recommend the addition of an impact driver to your arsenal of power tools. Its an electric screw driver that is almost turbo charged and applies pressure at the same time it is driving the screw in. It was invaluable for driving screws into pipe for this project.

Gas Tank On The Way

This week the gas tank is to be delivered and buried. Prior to that happening, a 6x12 ft hole 5ft deep had to be dug in the ground. That creates a lot of excess dirt. That dirt is being used to fill in around the retaining wall and level out the area in front of the outdoor fireplace and is manually being moved with a wheel barrow. We moved about 40% of it this weekend and once the tank is delivered the rest will need to be moved as well.

Nearing Completion

This week the pergola and the stainless steel chimneys were finally added to the front of the house. With the newly completed retaining wall, these features together make for a great outdoor room which will hopefully be put to good use entertaining in the near future. We couldn't wait. The moment those chimneys were up, we had to test out the fireplace. It was a nice breather from the landscaping we had been doing all afternoon and a great end to a beautiful Saturday afternoon (after Thanksgiving) in which we were lucky enough to have 60 plus degree weather. The pergola will be stained to match the rest of the house, with any luck, within the week as the new builder is wrapping up the balance of work and turning the house over to the painter this week.

Radiant Floor Heat - What????

Finding someone who knows anything about installing radiant floor heating systems has proven very difficult. We finally found a plumber that lives in the neighborhood who was willing to give some advice on the system but wasn't really interested in installing it. So, we (and by we I mean the more tech savvy one of us) have decided to install it with the help of the many resources available on the web. The system is based on heated hot water running through pipes in the floor - on the first floor that is a concrete slab covered with stone and on the second floor that is underneath the reclaimed wood floors. So far the system has been mounted on the wall and dry fittings are in place. Looks like a professional job, right?

Progress

Over the past 5 weeks there have been many projects started and many completed. The pump was dropped in the well and the pressure tank installed so that the workers could have access to water. Why the previous builder did not have this done a long time ago I have no idea. He was actually hauling water in for his projects when there was a well already in place for over 6 months with no pump. We also had all the stonework completed inside and out, a retaining wall built around the pergola area in the front of the house, final electrical started with a new electrician, a 12x5 ft hole dug for the soon to be delivered gas tank, and the stainless steel chimneys started.

New Contractor

Hired! We have a new contractor that is working with us to get the house complete. He sent two of his crew over this weekend to finish up the trim inside the house, install door locks, and clean up some of the randomness left from the other builder. The pic above shows the completion of the master bath vanity soon to be filled with white fluffy towels.

Cabinets Installed

One of the first things on the list to complete once the builder was let go, was the kitchen cabinets. We had passed Horton Cabinets in Sparta on our way to the cabin every weekend, and they were the first ones I called to see if they were interested in completing the job. The owner showed up the day after I called him, took measurements, and completed the job the next week renewing my faith that there were actually people who could get things done in a timely manner. The kitchen mostly consists of lower cabinets which are made of the same wood that are on the walls so that they blend in and don't really stand out. For the upper cabinets we went with open shelves. Glad to have this checked off the list.

Ending Relationships

This weekend we went to visit the house site with very low expectations. The builder had not been returning phone calls and had refused to provide an update on progress all week. It was not until Friday night after many requests did a minor update via email come through with a request for money. The builder said he had been working on electrical and plumbing during the week. Electrical and plumbing had indeed been started, a door hung, and about 100 sq ft of tile had been laid. The cabinets weren't complete, the dryer vent wasn't in, the bathroom was not trimmed out - all the things the builder kept talking about doing still weren't done. We knew going into the weekend, we were probably going to have to terminate the contract with the builder if we were ever going to get the house finished. After much deliberation, we came back Sunday and sent the builder a termination letter. We feel much better about the project knowing we can hire people who want to do the work and will complete the job and get paid. We gave the builder 17 months and 2 weeks to complete what started out on the contract as a 6 month job. We hope to finish the balance of the work in 4 weeks and be in by Thanksgiving.