September 22: Footings Poured

Forms were built for the foundation's footers, reinforced with rebar and inspected. A huge Sea Island Sand and Gravel pump truck poured concrete, which was laboriously smoothed and prepared to accept the next stage: stem walls.

Plans Approved

On September 17, after consistent followup work with county officials by Erik, and help from Teri Williams at Permit Resources, the plans were approved and our building permit was issued. Plans call for a main level timber frame expanse of living/dining/kitchen areas, a master bedroom/bath in the loft, and a lower level with two more bedrooms, full bath, office and laundry room - all compactly organized within a 24' x 36' footprint. A stair tower on the north side provides access to all floors without compromising the energy efficient structural insulated panels (SIPs).

August 2009: Timbers - Rough Sawn

Our timber frame house, designed by Erik Sircely, will have massive hammer-beam trusses of Douglas fir, all harvested sustainably on Orcas Island. The beautiful rough sawn timbers, which are being stored at Westsound Lumber, will be resawn once more before being delivered to the building site.

August 2009: Animals Come Visiting

Our neighbors across the valley have horses, cows, sheep and llamas. The animals tested the new fence one day and ended up in our field. So wonderful to see horses grazing on our property! Some day...we'll have horses, too.

July 2009: Excavation and Site Prep

Orcas Excavators installed the septic system, dug a spot for the propane tank and excavated for the foundation. A dragonfly stopped by to inspect the work.

June 2009: Tree harvesting and milling

Once building plans were submitted to San Juan County, a few dying trees were harvested from our woods and milled on site. The cedar planks eventually are to be used for decking.