Wow, it has been a while since I have posted (other than updating the history pages). It may be because our eldest daughter started looking for a house in May, purchased a house in July and we have been working on it ever since. Or it could be that there has not been much done on the lodge for a bit - not really.
This summer we were able to re-enforce the deck foundation and re-top the deck with TREX. My hope was that Jim would keep going and finally put a roof over the deck so that we could use it all 4 seasons - but no such luck.
Jim also worked on the lodge foundation, re-enforcing it. Though the building still feels like a roller coaster as you walk from the front to the back, it is a strong roller coaster now.
He also started to build the "casita". It is a little building that will house our swedish sauna (is casita the right term - I do not think they speak much spanish in Sweden). At this point the casita is framed, sided, and roofed. It is now waiting to be insulated (that's Jim) floored (that's me), and finally interior sided (back to Jim again). Then we need to add a small deck and stairs and we are ready to go.
I worked on trim for the hallway doors upstairs (got those in just in time for the mini reunion), The trim, believe it or not, is fir from Scandinavia that was used to built crates for springs for Telsa motors. These crates were 12 feet by 3 feet by one foot. Out of each crate I got 7 12 foot 1 by 4s of lovely wood. Of course, I had to plane and sand the stuff - but it was worth it not to buy the warped and junky wood at Home Depot. So - now all the bedroom entries on the main floor have door trim. Soon, I will add floor trim and we will be looking snazzy.
I also painted the side wall of the exterior of the cabin (so the new deck would have a painted backdrop). We are staying with forest service green for now until we reside. Then who knows. We may just stay that color forever.
I also continued in my annual quest to clear the property of debris. I have stacks of branches and weeds just waiting for the first fall rain so that I can start burning. I also weed mowed all 3 1/2 acres (less the forest area which does not require mowing).
Speaking of burning, there is a nasty forest fire ablaze across the Royal Gorge that luckily will not reach Emigrant Gap. It is southeast of Foresthill on Deadwood Ridge. That may not seem too close - but as the crow flies, it is in the vicinity and these fires can quickly just from ridge to ridge. Good news - it is about 60% contained as of today. However, it is giving us a lot of smoke and will not be completely out until September 1. Alas - the drought continues to plague us.
We have not spent every moment at the lodge working though. We found a lovely floating hole (I would not call it a swimming hole as the water is SO COLD). It is on the Yuba River on the way to Rucker Lake and is called Emerald Pool. It has become a favorite tube floating spot this summer.
We also discovered that we have a small wading hole near the bridge at Fulda Creek right down the hill. Quincy loves to go swimming there and it allows us the opportunity to cool off without driving too far. We took the Kayaks out of Lake Valley Reservoir for an afternoon which was nice. Have to say we have the most beautiful lakes in our region.
Mom has made it up to the lodge many times this summer and we have had fun traveling to Reno thrift store shopping and traveling to Grass Valley to the Habitat store.
This summer's mini reunion on the 4th of July was fun. Adam, Leah, Carter and Carol (Jim's sister) came up from the south and we attended the 4th of July parade in Dutch Flat and watched the fireworks from the Summit. What fun that was. We also were joined by Mary and Lynn and with Carol went over to Emerald Pool for a wade. Mary Beth and Katie joined us for part of the weekend. Fun, fun holiday.
We were happy to see Art and Don quite a bit this summer (though not as much now that we have so much smoke in the air) and had them over for dinner a few times. We love their new model train display in their cabin. It is extreme!
We are hoping for a wet fall and snowy winter. This is a Tahoe Christmas year (we need to change that name) so the Jacobs Girls and their progeny will be in the sierra in full force.
We also had a visit from John Miller, the grandson of one of the Allen Hotel daughters (our Emigrant Gap Hotel and now lodge was the Allen Hotel in the early 1900s). And we were so very lucky to have a visit from Eleanor Richardson, daughter of Joe Cortopassi who owned the hotel in from the 1920s to the 1950s.
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of summer. School is starting soon!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
April 2013 Lodge Trips
Odd weather at the lodge this year. The weather for April is more like the weather we see in June. No snow on the ground around the lodge and warmer weather in the daytime (though nights are still cold enough to require a fire in the Lopi).
Since our debris burning opportunity will probably be short this season (with all the warm weather), I have been trying to do at least one pit burn per visit. On the weekend of April 13th, Mary and I built something more like a campfire in the upper stone-edged fire pit while Jim and Lynn framed out the new Swedish Sauna building.
The Sauna is on a raised platform (about four feet off the ground) and is located directly behind the foundation of the old restaurant and bar area (what we call the future garage). It will have about 6 steps to climb to enter it in the non-snow months. During the winter, it may be just about at snow level. The interior dimensions of the building are about 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 feet and will accommodate 3 - 5 people. It will have a single paned french door to enter and though the roof is pitched, it will have a drop ceiling to trap the steam. No windows, of course, but it will have a louvered vent of some sort. Jim has planned an L shaped bench and an upper bench for seating.
The sauna machine is made by sauna-tech and is the kind that you pour water on to get the steam going (very swedish). It was one of my great finds from a thrift store. I had a coupon and it was already very low priced due to the fact that it could not be tested (220 hard wiring). I purchased it and Jim wired it and tested it at home in Orinda - and it worked!
Though the sauna machine was quite a deal, the building is not quite as inexpensive. That is okay though, since it is our first venture at snow building. My hope is that we will learn enough off this experience to allow us to pitch a roof over the deck. That way we will have a 3 season room that can be used in winter to watch the kids sled down the hillside.
Next weekend we will be enclosing the sauna structure. Then cedar paneling to follow. Lots more work planned for that little building and I will be posting pictures as we go.
Since our debris burning opportunity will probably be short this season (with all the warm weather), I have been trying to do at least one pit burn per visit. On the weekend of April 13th, Mary and I built something more like a campfire in the upper stone-edged fire pit while Jim and Lynn framed out the new Swedish Sauna building.
The Sauna is on a raised platform (about four feet off the ground) and is located directly behind the foundation of the old restaurant and bar area (what we call the future garage). It will have about 6 steps to climb to enter it in the non-snow months. During the winter, it may be just about at snow level. The interior dimensions of the building are about 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 feet and will accommodate 3 - 5 people. It will have a single paned french door to enter and though the roof is pitched, it will have a drop ceiling to trap the steam. No windows, of course, but it will have a louvered vent of some sort. Jim has planned an L shaped bench and an upper bench for seating.
The sauna machine is made by sauna-tech and is the kind that you pour water on to get the steam going (very swedish). It was one of my great finds from a thrift store. I had a coupon and it was already very low priced due to the fact that it could not be tested (220 hard wiring). I purchased it and Jim wired it and tested it at home in Orinda - and it worked!
Though the sauna machine was quite a deal, the building is not quite as inexpensive. That is okay though, since it is our first venture at snow building. My hope is that we will learn enough off this experience to allow us to pitch a roof over the deck. That way we will have a 3 season room that can be used in winter to watch the kids sled down the hillside.
Next weekend we will be enclosing the sauna structure. Then cedar paneling to follow. Lots more work planned for that little building and I will be posting pictures as we go.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
March 2013 Weekends at the Lodge
This March we were able to get two weekends in at the lodge. The first included a visit from our cousin, Rita. Jim had planned to work on the foundation that weekend, but I convinced him that we should actually enjoy ourselves and our time with Rita.
Thursday, Rita and I did some light site seeing. We headed up to Hampshire Rocks and Big Bend for some photos. The Yuba River is running - but we will not have a great snowmelt this year due to the lack of a snow pack. We also did the drive from the Summit area to Donner Lake (highway 40) and a drive around Serene Lake for some photos.
Friday, Rita and I took a trip to Truckee to window-shop with an accidental side trip to Reno. Reno came about because we were so busy catching up that I missed the Truckee exit and did not realize it until we were at the border checkpoint.
In Reno, we hit a couple favorite thrift stores, then headed back to Truckee. The Truckee shops were fun to browse and Rita managed to find a heavy doorstop there. We had a nice lunch at Jacks by the Tracks (a Truckee diner), then, after hitting all the stores on Main Street, headed over to our Truckee Ace Hardware (LOVE THAT STORE), then home. For more photos, we walked over to the first little falls on the top of Fulda Creek. Again, water running - but no major blast.
Saturday, Jim, Rita and I headed up the summit again and down 89 to Lake Tahoe. We hiked around Sugar Pine Point. There was still a bit of snow there. From the dock, the water was perfect turquoise from the glacier silt. I believe all the Keep Tahoe Blue bumper stickers are working, because the lake looked perfectly clear and blue.
We hiked over to the old mansion (which was closed for the season) and hiked around the park before heading up to Emerald Bay for more photos. We stopped at the scenic overlook, then headed over to the parking area by the falls. Jim and Rita hiked out to a boulder point to get a better photo there (I opted to hang out at the road since I did not have great shoes). Then off to a nice restaurant across the street from Homewood for lunch. The architecture was nice and the decor very pretty. The restaurant had large picture windows that looked out over the lake.
We hike down Emigrant Gap Road through the snow to look at an old "off the grid" cabin that was recently for sale. Not sure if it sold yet - but there was no for sale sign on it - so assuming it either sold or was pulled off the market. That hike took us through a bit of ice snow and was a challenge to manage.
In all, a very nice weekend. We hope that Rita can make it to the 4th of July with her hubby this summer.
Last weekend, the guys across the street were up. We had a wonderful dinner with them Saturday night. They supplied the chicken enchiladas (yum) and we made the salad and desert.
Also on Saturday, one of Jim's coworkers stopped by with his wife and friends who have a cabin in Blue Canyon. They were up for a ski weekend at Sugar Bowl. We gave them a tour of the lodge, then had lunch and hung out in front of the fireplace chatting. Their kids enjoyed the shuffle board and some of the toys.
Jose was also up, so Jim and he worked on the foundation for the swedish sauna and cleared out some of the construction debris from the basement. On Sunday, I had planned to cut up all the firewood from our downed trees, but the chainsaw would not cooperate. So I gathered and stacked downed branches and did some general property clean up (stacked so of the broken concrete from the swedish sauna area to make a small retaining wall by the creek area and pulled weeds).
Our hope is to get some flowers in this year (shasta daisies?), put in some pine and fir trees that we have rooted and possibly put in a new apple tree. But all of that will have to be on our next visit.
The weather was way too warm for March and we spent most of Sunday working in our shirtsleeves. Quincy had a blast playing in the back with his best buddy, Lucky. our little seasonal creek was running. I spent a lot of time throwing sticks to the dogs to fetch, then picking up the sticks to re-stack on the fire pile.
I am hoping to have the chainsaw operational for our next visit since I have about 4 trees to cut and stack (including a large oak tree that split in half over the winter). I guess we are getting an early start on next seasons firewood with all the downed trees. In the fall, we will take down some of the standing firewood (dead trees) and do the splitting then.
The cedars continue to die off and are being replaced by oak saplings. I am hoping that this change is based on the beetle issue and not global warming. I am also hoping for more rain to avoid a major fire threat this season. We still have to acquire a water tank for the property to allow for firefighting water in the event of an emergency.
Jim and I discussed the new door he is adding to the lower basement area. It will require some steps and possibly a small deck to be accessed. I am hoping he decides to incorporate the decking into the fire escape and give us an option for a deck on the back of the house.
We will keep the other two door entries that are already in place (replacing the actual doors) and we need to add some windows for light. Then, at some point, Jim will add a concrete floor and put his workroom down there. So much to do, so little time.
Anyway, that is it for our March post. Next post - April.
Thursday, Rita and I did some light site seeing. We headed up to Hampshire Rocks and Big Bend for some photos. The Yuba River is running - but we will not have a great snowmelt this year due to the lack of a snow pack. We also did the drive from the Summit area to Donner Lake (highway 40) and a drive around Serene Lake for some photos.
Friday, Rita and I took a trip to Truckee to window-shop with an accidental side trip to Reno. Reno came about because we were so busy catching up that I missed the Truckee exit and did not realize it until we were at the border checkpoint.
In Reno, we hit a couple favorite thrift stores, then headed back to Truckee. The Truckee shops were fun to browse and Rita managed to find a heavy doorstop there. We had a nice lunch at Jacks by the Tracks (a Truckee diner), then, after hitting all the stores on Main Street, headed over to our Truckee Ace Hardware (LOVE THAT STORE), then home. For more photos, we walked over to the first little falls on the top of Fulda Creek. Again, water running - but no major blast.
Saturday, Jim, Rita and I headed up the summit again and down 89 to Lake Tahoe. We hiked around Sugar Pine Point. There was still a bit of snow there. From the dock, the water was perfect turquoise from the glacier silt. I believe all the Keep Tahoe Blue bumper stickers are working, because the lake looked perfectly clear and blue.
We hiked over to the old mansion (which was closed for the season) and hiked around the park before heading up to Emerald Bay for more photos. We stopped at the scenic overlook, then headed over to the parking area by the falls. Jim and Rita hiked out to a boulder point to get a better photo there (I opted to hang out at the road since I did not have great shoes). Then off to a nice restaurant across the street from Homewood for lunch. The architecture was nice and the decor very pretty. The restaurant had large picture windows that looked out over the lake.
We hike down Emigrant Gap Road through the snow to look at an old "off the grid" cabin that was recently for sale. Not sure if it sold yet - but there was no for sale sign on it - so assuming it either sold or was pulled off the market. That hike took us through a bit of ice snow and was a challenge to manage.
In all, a very nice weekend. We hope that Rita can make it to the 4th of July with her hubby this summer.
Last weekend, the guys across the street were up. We had a wonderful dinner with them Saturday night. They supplied the chicken enchiladas (yum) and we made the salad and desert.
Also on Saturday, one of Jim's coworkers stopped by with his wife and friends who have a cabin in Blue Canyon. They were up for a ski weekend at Sugar Bowl. We gave them a tour of the lodge, then had lunch and hung out in front of the fireplace chatting. Their kids enjoyed the shuffle board and some of the toys.
Jose was also up, so Jim and he worked on the foundation for the swedish sauna and cleared out some of the construction debris from the basement. On Sunday, I had planned to cut up all the firewood from our downed trees, but the chainsaw would not cooperate. So I gathered and stacked downed branches and did some general property clean up (stacked so of the broken concrete from the swedish sauna area to make a small retaining wall by the creek area and pulled weeds).
Our hope is to get some flowers in this year (shasta daisies?), put in some pine and fir trees that we have rooted and possibly put in a new apple tree. But all of that will have to be on our next visit.
The weather was way too warm for March and we spent most of Sunday working in our shirtsleeves. Quincy had a blast playing in the back with his best buddy, Lucky. our little seasonal creek was running. I spent a lot of time throwing sticks to the dogs to fetch, then picking up the sticks to re-stack on the fire pile.
I am hoping to have the chainsaw operational for our next visit since I have about 4 trees to cut and stack (including a large oak tree that split in half over the winter). I guess we are getting an early start on next seasons firewood with all the downed trees. In the fall, we will take down some of the standing firewood (dead trees) and do the splitting then.
The cedars continue to die off and are being replaced by oak saplings. I am hoping that this change is based on the beetle issue and not global warming. I am also hoping for more rain to avoid a major fire threat this season. We still have to acquire a water tank for the property to allow for firefighting water in the event of an emergency.
Jim and I discussed the new door he is adding to the lower basement area. It will require some steps and possibly a small deck to be accessed. I am hoping he decides to incorporate the decking into the fire escape and give us an option for a deck on the back of the house.
We will keep the other two door entries that are already in place (replacing the actual doors) and we need to add some windows for light. Then, at some point, Jim will add a concrete floor and put his workroom down there. So much to do, so little time.
Anyway, that is it for our March post. Next post - April.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
January 2013 - Finally skiing at the lodge
Last weekend was finally a true ski weekend for us at the Lodge. Though it has not snowed much since New Year's, there was still about 3 feet at the Lodge and much more up at Sugar Bowl ski area. Saturday was a perfect day for skiing.
I relegated myself to the easier intermediate slopes, while Jim and Katie took some runs on the advanced slopes. In a few years, Jim and I will qualify for senior rates there (not sure if that is good or bad news).
This was my first time downhill skiing in about 4 years. I needed some ankle surgery to enable me to fit back in my boots and even with that, I had to buy larger boots, and subsequently longer skis, to be able to ski this year. Longer equals faster - and hence the intermediate slopes.
We all got comments about our vintage straight skis. I can't see moving to the new fat skis or even parabolics at this point. And our skis are rather retro cool.
Sunday was spent watching the 49ers beat Atlanta and Monday was spent in Reno at the thrift shops - no great finds this time but Katie and I had a lot of fun.
Mary Beth spent most of her weekend working up at Truckee. She loves her job there and loves the extra money she makes for school. She also had a band performance and music coaching at a high school in North Lake Tahoe on Tuesday, so I stayed a bit longer to keep her company (and to clean up after the long weekend).
We saw a few of our Emigrant Gap neighbors this weekend. Art was up working on his cabin and another neighbor snowshoed into one of the summer cabins.
We did have one pipe burst due to the frigid weather we experienced over the last 3 weeks but Jim and Art were able to fix that on Sunday and then Art went off to fix some of his burst pipes as well.
And we had some stranded travelers on Monday. Some guys thought they could take their 4 wheel drive ford truck down Texas Hill road (which is covered with 2 feet of icy snow). They made it about 50 feet before they got stuck. Jim and I tried to pull them out with the Dakota - but it was not strong enough (and we did not have a good come along for the job). So we loaned them some shovels and they were just about done digging out with another neighbor with four wheel came along and gave them a pull out.
These guys only had one home depot cotton rope, no come alongs, no shovels and they were alone. Don't know what they were thinking when they took off down the road! I did ask if they had AAA road service (another candidate for Hell on the Highway TV show).
I relegated myself to the easier intermediate slopes, while Jim and Katie took some runs on the advanced slopes. In a few years, Jim and I will qualify for senior rates there (not sure if that is good or bad news).
This was my first time downhill skiing in about 4 years. I needed some ankle surgery to enable me to fit back in my boots and even with that, I had to buy larger boots, and subsequently longer skis, to be able to ski this year. Longer equals faster - and hence the intermediate slopes.
We all got comments about our vintage straight skis. I can't see moving to the new fat skis or even parabolics at this point. And our skis are rather retro cool.
Sunday was spent watching the 49ers beat Atlanta and Monday was spent in Reno at the thrift shops - no great finds this time but Katie and I had a lot of fun.
Mary Beth spent most of her weekend working up at Truckee. She loves her job there and loves the extra money she makes for school. She also had a band performance and music coaching at a high school in North Lake Tahoe on Tuesday, so I stayed a bit longer to keep her company (and to clean up after the long weekend).
We saw a few of our Emigrant Gap neighbors this weekend. Art was up working on his cabin and another neighbor snowshoed into one of the summer cabins.
We did have one pipe burst due to the frigid weather we experienced over the last 3 weeks but Jim and Art were able to fix that on Sunday and then Art went off to fix some of his burst pipes as well.
And we had some stranded travelers on Monday. Some guys thought they could take their 4 wheel drive ford truck down Texas Hill road (which is covered with 2 feet of icy snow). They made it about 50 feet before they got stuck. Jim and I tried to pull them out with the Dakota - but it was not strong enough (and we did not have a good come along for the job). So we loaned them some shovels and they were just about done digging out with another neighbor with four wheel came along and gave them a pull out.
These guys only had one home depot cotton rope, no come alongs, no shovels and they were alone. Don't know what they were thinking when they took off down the road! I did ask if they had AAA road service (another candidate for Hell on the Highway TV show).
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Christmas 2012
Christmas at the lodge is about to occur. I plan to head up to the old place and get it warmed up for this weekend. We plan for guests to start arriving on Saturday. My sister, Pattie and some of her family plan to be there for New Years and we have family coming in from Southern California post Christmas weekend. We may even be lucky to have some of our friends drop in.
The lodge is magical at Christmas and we are fortunate enough to have snow this year. Can't wait to get out the inner tubes and cross country skis.
Some new exciting news! During my last conversation with Eleanor (Cortopassi family ownership from the early 1930s to the late 1940s), she shared that the next owner of the lodge (Mr Robinson) was a prominent attorney from Auburn. After a lot of research, I located information on the Robinson family and I am hoping I have contacted a descendant. I will let you know if this lead pans out.
I plan to go to the county archives this spring to attempt to fill in some of the current history of the last two owners of the lodge. I have not been able to connect with Mrs Bright's children or with Mrs Jimmerson (though I have made several attempts to reach them). I wish them fond memories of their time at the lodge and hope they stop by sometime in the future.
We have some new furniture to haul up (after the holidays). Our dear neighbors provided us with a great dresser for Katie's room. Can't wait to get it up there. But this trip will be about hauling gifts, decorations and food.
Happy Holidays! 2012
The lodge is magical at Christmas and we are fortunate enough to have snow this year. Can't wait to get out the inner tubes and cross country skis.
Some new exciting news! During my last conversation with Eleanor (Cortopassi family ownership from the early 1930s to the late 1940s), she shared that the next owner of the lodge (Mr Robinson) was a prominent attorney from Auburn. After a lot of research, I located information on the Robinson family and I am hoping I have contacted a descendant. I will let you know if this lead pans out.
I plan to go to the county archives this spring to attempt to fill in some of the current history of the last two owners of the lodge. I have not been able to connect with Mrs Bright's children or with Mrs Jimmerson (though I have made several attempts to reach them). I wish them fond memories of their time at the lodge and hope they stop by sometime in the future.
We have some new furniture to haul up (after the holidays). Our dear neighbors provided us with a great dresser for Katie's room. Can't wait to get it up there. But this trip will be about hauling gifts, decorations and food.
Happy Holidays! 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
October 2012 - New Stove at the lodge
New Stove at the Lodge!
Over the last several months, the old Garland stove at Emigrant Gap Lodge lost one oven thermostat and lost the heat shield, thermal coupler and metal drip pan in the other oven, making it virtually useless for baking. After checking with commercial range repair shops from Sacramento to Reno and trying to order vintage parts, we determined that it would be less expensive to purchase another used commercial stove than to attempt to repair the old one.
First, we looked at a 1950's Wolf stove on the Summit that had already been converted to propane, but once the owner finally hooked it up to propane for us to see it, we decided that it would be too much of a fixer to take on.
Next, we found a newer Southbend in San Francisco. Unfortunately, it was set for natural gas and was in a walk-up victorian. Even with these two obstacles, it looked to be in working condition and the owner advised it would be ready to go when I came to pick it up.
However, when I arrived at the house, it was still connected to gas and had to be moved through the kitchen doorway, through a narrow hallway, onto a small front landing and down a staircase. The owner, a few of his construction guys and I wrangled it into my truck, then Jim and I took it up to the Gap.
With the help of our dear neighbors, their piano mover, our construction guy and Jim, we got it into the lodge. These commercial stoves weigh a ton. From there, I had to order the propane conversion kit. I also had to clean years of cooking grease from the burners and the griddle/ broiler (the ovens were pretty clean).
Finally I was able to schedule a repair visit with our friends at Amerigas. After about 5 hours of work, the repair tech advised that two of the gauges for the griddle/broiler would not fully turn off and needed to be replaced and that one of the ovens needed a new heat controller. We were able to trade the gauges with the garland but I will need to order the controller for the oven this week.
For now, the new stove is working, one oven is working and oven 2 will be working in the near future. The old stove will be donated to Habitat for Humanity in Grass Valley or to the Salvation Army in Reno.
Here are some pictures of the kitchen as it is now. We still have some cabinetry to add above the old reach in ice box and we need to do lots of painting and trim work - but the kitchen is once more fully functional - ready for turkey and pies for Thanksgiving!
Monday, October 8, 2012
September 2012
Some August changes at the Gap. Since the wiring on most of the top floor is very vintage, Jim decided it was time to run new wiring for the 5 upstairs bedrooms.
We had two options for demolition:
Option 1:
Tear down each bedroom ceiling and run the new wiring from the attic. Later we could tear down all the bedroom walls to run the plugs for each room.
OR
Option 2:
Tear down the ceiling and walls in the hallway and run the wiring down the hall. This option would allow us to a.) place hallway fixtures,light switches and plugs, and b.) place one plug in each room prior to running the multitude of room plugs. Option B also allowed us to refinish the hallway walls and floors.
So guess which option we selected?
You got it - option B. We started by clearing all the loose insulation in the attic that was over the construction area. Then we tore the hallway drywall, wainscoting and trim. This was the messy part. We were careful to remove the wainscoting in case we decided later that it should be reinstalled.
Once the demolition was completed, Jim started running all the wire. That took a while to complete. He added 4 ceiling lights (on dual switches), about 4 plugs, and a wall sconce to the main hallway. He added one plug to each bedroom (with the option for running more later as we complete each bedroom remodel). He also added a ceiling light to the snow entry hallway and the option for an outdoor light on the fire escape.
While this was going on, we had some discussion about the main hallway pantry door. we decided that in the future we would use 1/2 of the pantry space for a stairway up the the attic. The original set up of the pantry door, opening into the pantry space and on the main hallway made the stairway option infeasible. So, as part of the internal framing upgrades, we moved the pantry door to the snow entry hallway and set it up to open outward. I know, sacrificing storage space in the pantry is a sad loss - but getting the 12 feet high, about 80 feet long and over 24 feet wide space in the attic made the sacrifice worth it.
Once Jim completed the wiring, it was time to drywall (our least favorite part of the job). It is not that we hate putting the drywall in place, it is the mess it creates and all the work it takes to do the finish job.
Since the hallway light is basically what we get from the open bedroom doors and from the ceiling lights, the task of finishing the drywall was huge.
Carol completed the painting of the hall and refinished the hallway and the kitchen floors just in time for this summer's family reunion. Jim and Carol rebuilt some vintage schoolhouse pendant lights for the hallway ceiling fixtures and we reused one of the original scones at the end of the hall. Jim reinstalled the furnace vent covers (we have vent covers but no furnace). Pictures were put up to make the hallway homey.
We still have to reinstall the wainscoting - which we hope to complete this fall.
One more remodel job near to completion at the lodge.
We had two options for demolition:
Option 1:
Tear down each bedroom ceiling and run the new wiring from the attic. Later we could tear down all the bedroom walls to run the plugs for each room.
OR
Option 2:
Tear down the ceiling and walls in the hallway and run the wiring down the hall. This option would allow us to a.) place hallway fixtures,light switches and plugs, and b.) place one plug in each room prior to running the multitude of room plugs. Option B also allowed us to refinish the hallway walls and floors.
So guess which option we selected?
You got it - option B. We started by clearing all the loose insulation in the attic that was over the construction area. Then we tore the hallway drywall, wainscoting and trim. This was the messy part. We were careful to remove the wainscoting in case we decided later that it should be reinstalled.
Once the demolition was completed, Jim started running all the wire. That took a while to complete. He added 4 ceiling lights (on dual switches), about 4 plugs, and a wall sconce to the main hallway. He added one plug to each bedroom (with the option for running more later as we complete each bedroom remodel). He also added a ceiling light to the snow entry hallway and the option for an outdoor light on the fire escape.
While this was going on, we had some discussion about the main hallway pantry door. we decided that in the future we would use 1/2 of the pantry space for a stairway up the the attic. The original set up of the pantry door, opening into the pantry space and on the main hallway made the stairway option infeasible. So, as part of the internal framing upgrades, we moved the pantry door to the snow entry hallway and set it up to open outward. I know, sacrificing storage space in the pantry is a sad loss - but getting the 12 feet high, about 80 feet long and over 24 feet wide space in the attic made the sacrifice worth it.
Once Jim completed the wiring, it was time to drywall (our least favorite part of the job). It is not that we hate putting the drywall in place, it is the mess it creates and all the work it takes to do the finish job.
Since the hallway light is basically what we get from the open bedroom doors and from the ceiling lights, the task of finishing the drywall was huge.
Carol completed the painting of the hall and refinished the hallway and the kitchen floors just in time for this summer's family reunion. Jim and Carol rebuilt some vintage schoolhouse pendant lights for the hallway ceiling fixtures and we reused one of the original scones at the end of the hall. Jim reinstalled the furnace vent covers (we have vent covers but no furnace). Pictures were put up to make the hallway homey.
We still have to reinstall the wainscoting - which we hope to complete this fall.
One more remodel job near to completion at the lodge.
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