What's Happening Inside?

This has been my plan since the slab was poured.

As you know, if you have read these entries from the beginning, the plan has evolved.  But when the slab was poured, I was committed to the placement and layout of the bathroom, the placement of the work space wall and power in the floor for the table saw.  This is still the general layout.

Every time we make the trip from Virginia to Illinois, we need to bring as much of our stuff as possible. So, even before we had a place to put it, stuff was piling up.  So, I started building the shelves on the West side (top of floor plan).  I soon realized that I needed to build the wall that the shelves abut, first.  I probably could have just built the short section that attached to the shelves, but it seemed more efficient to build the whole room first.  So the stuff got piled a little higher.

We did spend quite a bit of time working there this Fall, but the progress inside was interrupted repeatedly.  The last couple of entries explain a couple of the things that were a higher priority: the outside stuff needed to get done while the weather was nice, and the wood stove needed to be found and installed before the weather turned too cold.  The inside work went slow, but I did get the power breaker box installed, power brought into it, 2 ceiling lights working, the work space/bathroom framed out and the lowest shelf built.  The long list of things to be done next inside the shop includes: finish shelves, wiring, lighting, plumbing, and drywall.

During our most resent trip, Jan spent part of the time getting to know her new twin Granddaughters in Minnesota.

 

When she re-joined me and saw the new walled in space, she said, "We could live in here."  I was more than a little bit shocked.  But the more we talked about it, the more sense it made.  Our very first plan was to build an apartment in the end of the shop to live in for a while.  That plan was much bigger; something we could rent out later.  We abandoned that idea as too much of an expense and we would not want rental property attached to the shop.  We  had settled on buying a camper trailer to live in during the next phase; either building a spec house or our own.  Standing in that space in the shop, we realized that it is basically the same size (maybe bigger) as we were considering for a camper.  

The only major thing we would have to do to make this a livable space versus work space, is to install a septic system.  As a shop, I planned to use the bathroom strictly as a grey water set-up (utility sink, shower), but had roughed in a toilet for possible future up-grade.  I am hoping that a septic system can be installed far enough down the hill to serve our future home as well.  I did consult with our septic guy about a system for our house (not really looking at hooking to the shop at that time).  He said the site was do-able, but, we will need to clear and build the driveway and clear the house site in order to gain access to the place where the septic system would go.

The space that will become our temporary home will easily revert to work space when we move on.  The only permanent thing will be 6 feet of base kitchen cabinets that will serve as our kitchen and later be storage and bench space.  This will also give us a place to keep (and use) much of our furniture, helping with a potential storage problem.  One other good thing about this:  living within the shop, in 300 square feet, with no real kitchen, and a funky bathroom will be MAJOR motivation for building a real home.

Heat for the Shop

I have figured all along that I would heat the shop with wood.  I've done it in the past and it makes lots of sense.  A woodworking shop generates almost enough wood waste to keep it heated.  And I have an unlimited supply of firewood on 20 acres surrounding the shop.  I will have the back end of the building closed off  10 foot deep and the full width for cleaner and conditioned space.  That space will be able to be heated and cooled mechanically, so the heating in the main space is less critical. I had been looking for a stove on eBay and Craig's list and in classified ads for a while.  I finally found a beautiful stove on Craig's list, but it needed a little repair and was an hour and and a half away in Centralia.  I bought it anyway.  It was made by the Curtis Co. in St. Louis. I spent a day or so repairing it and a couple more installing the flue and chimney.  When Jan came back from Minnesota, she built the first fire.  Later, I'll install a ceiling fan up high over the stove to push that hot air back down and help circulate it.  I also plan to close the walls behind it with cement board and (probably) tile.

A walk in the woods.

Here are some photos I took when we went on a walk down into Moss Hollow the Monday after Thanksgiving:

Fall is the Best Time to Plant Trees and Shrubs

Fall is the Best Time to Plant Trees and Shrubs

It"s also the best time to find bargains on plant material.  I had been resisting buying any more plants, since we will be moving all our stuff 800 miles, but just couldn't stop myself.  We had another trip planned to So. IL. the end of October.  With Hurricane Sandy on it's way, we got out of Dodge.  We took both my truck and Jan's car.  A week later, she drove on to spend a couple weeks with her daughters and new twin Grand-babies in Minnesota.

A few days before we left, I saw that the Leesburg Home Depot was closing out all their nursery stock cheap. I couldn't resist.  I bought a bunch of azaleas and rhododendrons.  I also started digging and dividing the perennials that we have collected or moved from our last place in Georgia.  Pots filled the floor of Jan's back seat and the entire back seat and floor of my truck.  We usually leave Mr. Q (my parakeet) with our landlord, Walter, but since we planned to be gone for about a month and were quite sure his power would be off for an indeterminate time (remember Sandy was on her way), he rode with me.  He actually seemed to enjoy the ride.

Jan planted the azaleas and rhododendrons in the "island"  under the big walnut trees between the driveways.
We planted the first load of perennials, day lilies, bee balm, cone flowers, daisies, along the new board fence.  And 5 burning bushes went in the ground by the gate and at the end of the shed.  Earlier, I planted 3 bargain trees from the Carbondale Lowes (pink dogwood, coosa dogwood, redbud) along the inside of the fence. 

Actually, before we planted anything, we built the three board "Virginia" fence and hung the gates.  The space between the gates, at the end of the "island" (right behind Jan in the photo above) will be a horse jump/sign.  I have my eye on a large cedar tree near by for this.  Hopefully next trip.  Next year, with the fence painted black, the jump built, and all the plants growing, it will look amazing.