Studio Progress Report
Finally, it seems time to give a progress report on the studio. Silly me, I thought we'd be able to start using it in mid-September. Ha! It took longer than that to find a contractor! and of course we had to wait our turn. Then once the contractors started, things took time. I think I watched too many home improvement shows where the project was done in 30 minutes!
First, the exterior - all the windows are in! The last one (the very top one) arrived Monday after Thanksgiving, and the guys put it in right away. Along the long wall, you can see the vent for our corn stove. And there's halogen lighting over the door.
Next, the "heart" of the place - the cornstove. It's been burning very well, keeping the whole place warm on very low settings. I love being able to see the flames - almost like a fireplace, but with a window on it. I'm getting used to the noise of the auger (feeds the corn into the burning area) and the tumbler (moves the new corn into the flames). It's still much quieter than the forced air furnace in the modular. Behind the cornstove, you can see the panelling - we are using luan plywood because we like the natural wood grain. The luan hasn't been sealed in this picture. Under the cornstove, you can see our hearth stones. We are waiting to get the rest of the floor in before we seal and grout the hearth.
Above the stove is our fan. The blades haven't been attached in this picuture, though they are now. You can see how they made a little box to mount it on, and most of the luan in this photo is sealed. There's just a pale edge (upper right of photo) that is waiting for finish.
Lastly, here's a shot of Dick under the loft. We love the loft! The railing is redwood, just like on a deck. There's a liftout gate for the opening - we wanted a way to bring heavy items in and out of the loft. You can also see the roof beams. The area under the loft is still waiting for the panelling to be applied. There's vapor barrier (plastic sheeting) between the insullation and the panels (it's like this throughout the place). Still waiting to be installed is the circular staircase and its guardrail.
Tomorrow the guys have off (it's Sunday after all) and we will be putting sealer on the panelling in the loft as well as the railing.
