Time to trim.

This weekend it was time to take on a bunch of small laborious tasks ... Including the trim.

All the windows needed caulking, the siding needed caulking, this needed caulking and so did that ... So needless to say we were up to our ears in caulk.

Moving on...

Despite all the work involving caulk, we actually made good progress and we finished all the work trimming out all the windows and doors so we are READY FOR PAINT.

Here is Greg and I taking a break from the action...

Here is Chet acting crazy ... He heard something about 'caulk' and came to see what all the hub-bub was about.

Here we just got the front trim on:

The rarely seen west-facing façade :

A finished view at sunset:

The siding.

The following studio shed is about to get some siding:

We've chosen James Hardie board as our siding for the studio as it matches the same siding as our house.  The siding on the house is actually wood but the Hardie board has the same exterior 'pattern' as our house: vertical boards.

Here we go:

Hardie board was actually pretty hard to work with:  difficult to cut, to fasten, very heavy, etc.  hopefully the quality is worth it in the end and it lasts forever!

Installing siding sucks.  We should have rented a nailer but opted to do it all by hand.  Let the injuries begin:

But we got through it and progress was made:

At the end of the day it looks pretty good.  Next up will be to caulk all the seams and windows - then add the final trim and PAINT!  

The MidCentury Modern Transom Window

Now that the main windows are in, we are on to the transom windows.

The transom windows present a particular challenge: we could not find any reclaimed windows online in all ofour  early searches that we could for into our design. Purchasing custom made windows that would meet our MidCentury design specs was way too cost prohibitive.  So, we designed windows that we would construct ourselves.  

Starting with creating a rough opening:

Here is the final product:  first of the completed windows:

And the rest:

And here are some additiona shots of the  prep work for the custom windows:

The glass we ordered custom from a small window manufacturer.

Each transom window involved creting an interior frame, then caulking well, inserting the glass, then creating the exterior frame.

Installing the windows.

Ok so I've got to catch us up a bit here ... We've shingled the roof after finishing all the plywood.  

Next up, we tackled windows and doors:

We wrapped the entire unit in 30lb felt, and went about sealing all the window joints with window tape.

In the following shot you can see the windows for the studio - they are all reclaimed, and came from the same house. The three vertical windows shown are a single unit, but we deconstructed them for use in three different areas of the studio.   One of them will be on the left side of the studio and joined with the big bay window shown here, to the left of the three windows:

We used one of them and attached it to the big picture window to create a double window- this matches the construction of the windows in the kitchen of our house!  Here's a pic:

Here is how it looks in the studio now:

Is your construction site gay? The 2013 gay pride post.

We may be the only construction crew in the twin cities working to the likes of Daft Punk, Bon Iver, Madonna, Kanye West, Tiesto, Sigur Ros and Robyn on a hello kitty boom box.

Is that really gay?

How about Chet's Nasty Pig socks? Which he frequently wears to deliver us refreshments.

Gay?

Greg ... Doing this ...

Gay?

Chet helping with the roof ... In his neon green gardening gloves.

Gay?

A standard poodle named Mary Tyler Moore is your constant companion on the construction site. 

Gay?

During construction you constantly think you see rainbows all around you...

Gay?

You show up every day on the worksite wearing Abercrombie and Fitch.

Gay?

Every day on the construction site is another opportunity to accessorize.

Gay?

Yep, just another sign that you're working on the gayest construction site in ... Well, maybe the whole country.

Happy Gay Pride everyone!

Roofing and walls.

Next part of the project:  laying the plywood for the roof.

Next up:  the walls!

Out takes.