Fixing to Blog Blues

As a coda to yesterday's post, here's the possible view from the bedroom window if we mirror the current house plan, from the bathroom if we don't:

Nice?

Today the phone man and the Septic Inspector came around, the visits overlapping but distinct.

The phone wire coming out of the ground by the shed is dead. Phone man came with a metal dector, and we were able to find a live phone wire nearby. He brought underground phone cable to the house, but can't hook up until we have the ground cable that comes with the electric line. No. 6 cable from ground to phone box (northeast corner on the east side).

Phone line trench - I guess the phone box will go on this wall... kind of visible...

The leach field for the septic system needs to be huge for even a single bedroom cottage - for a two-bedroom, some trees will have to go, for a three bdrm, it'd be too far uphill...

yellow line is leach field - good for one bdrm, tight for two bdrms...
green line is 25' from arroyo.

Fine with me if the improvements on this property are small but well-made, though. Today I decided we could perhaps do a trench around the patio for water and electric, threading through the trees, to the far northeast corner of the addition - with a ditch witch, if Edwin has access to a smaller trenching device.

It'd save some beautiful flagstone work... So much digging soon, soon...

Holmes Sweet Holmes

Saw the comet last night.

I haven't tested, but as of right now, I think the phone is on ( just on a wire coming out of the ground) and the electric is on (but only to the meter box. 200' from the house).


Mark suggested trying a mirror-floorplan instead of our former. Compare these floorplans (Up is SOUTH on both. The original structure is the green rectangle at the top, including the porch):

before flipping:

mirrored - not everything is flipped, though...
Muddy feet carrying groceries into the kitchen,
THEN taking off boots and entering house, livingroom, bedroom, etc...

Anyway, this was just a thought of Mark's, worth considering. Looks good to me.

My bro Herb and wife Janice may be here for Thanksgiving. Moon is waxing. The big move happens right at solstice, the light slowly returning even as the days get colder. The days have been short but warm and bright, dry dry dry.

Getting Ready for the Big Stuff

I spent yesterday afternoon cutting back the piñon trees that reach into the building area. Most or all may have to come out, to accommodate the concrete pad and septic system, but at least now I can see what's going on. The trees, at their trunks, are fairly far from the foundation, but I'll leave their fate to the experts.

View of the north side.
The addition will come off this wall, with the roof line of the new part coming between the two rows of windows. The trees obscuring the house will be severely trimmed or removed - sorry, guys. The area of ground seen here will be part of the septic system.

I began moving rocks from the building area as well, beautiful rocks - some solid granite, some porous lava rocks. Today I'll return to start dismantling the low wall of thick light-colored flagstone along the north side of the existing structure, along with thin slabs of red flagstone, gravel and other decorative stones. All the rockwork around the studio is very well done (by a nice guy from Crestone CO named Steve) and a shame to take up, but this is where I'm building, and everything will find a new home in the future.

This is also the beginning of the hard labor I'll need to get used to. Part of my arrangement with John, my financier in this project, is that I myself will do every step I can, or can be trained to do. Not just a boon, but an education.

As the days get shorter, the nights colder, and the chance of big snow greater, the project will become more challenging.