| It is easier to shovel dirt into the footer than to shovel it out. (excavator, in response to being a bit lower than grade.) |
| I haven't shoveled this much dirt since I was a landscaper. (Don, in response to the footers being a bit below grade) |
| We were just one day too late. (Don reacting to nothing happening for two days because of bad weather. Since the weather appears fine to him he thinks the sub is on another job, you know what I say about subs, eh Ruth!) |
| Come on... melt! |
| Concrete truck comes tomorrow at 10:00 am. ( John Gagnon, in response to my question about the schedule) |
| I will be really glad to get into the house. I am not going to be one of those that says we won't need all of that room, why are we building such a big house. (Gretchen, in response to asking me to move for the 10th time today, so she could get around me in the cabin) |
| I can't wait to get out of the dirt and get to some wood. (Don for the hundreth time) |
| That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. ( Don and Gretchen after another long day) Left up for a second day.....it is appropriate. |
| Wow what a place! (the concrete truck driver upon arrival at the jobsite) |
| I have to laugh! Manimal.... I oughta do that for a couple of weeks...might live longer! (Jack Lamb in response to the picture of Don cutting rebar.) |
| No rain....no rain (Don in response to the weather forecast) |
| This is not Ma and Pa Kettle build a house... (Part of the conversation Don had with a salesman) |
| We are 9 days behind schedule. So you have a little schedule for this house? No, we have a serious schedule. (Part of a conversation Don) |
| There's a lot of dirt out there. (Gretchen reacting to how much dirt we have moved) |
| That is one flat floor. (Gretchen glad we are finally done with hand-grading for blueboard) |
| It's like living on top of a giant electric burner. (Cicely remarking on the similarity of the infloor heat tubing to an electric range) |
| We worked our asses off to get here ( Don telling anyone about the slab) |
| Your lumber is here already? (Concrete guy suprised that we are on it) Things move a little slower than I do up here. |
| Is that a wall?...That's not a wall...at least not in my book...course in the "Big Book of Building" (You know, that one YOU haven't written yet)...that would be termed a "a little bitty thing"....not a wall...that ain't a wall.... (Mike Pearce commenting on the first wall) |
| This floor has more humps than a camel. (Don about the slab) Later fixed with tile and mortar |
| All I want is a flat floor...is that too much to ask. (Don after realizing that the joist hangers on the beam create a small hump in the new plywood floor) Later realized it was trivial becuase of the gypcrete |
| This looks really good, you weren't just dreaming. (Gretchen's brother Greg upon arriving at the site) |
| Trusses are being built June 4th. (Kurt the truss guy) |
| If this weather holds for just a couple more weeks! (Don hoping to get the roof on) |
| One two three...lift (The wall standing standard) |
| Can you say faster (Don as usual) |
| Hi, this is your favorite pain-in-the-ass customer. (Don on the phone to Kurt the truss guy) |
| When I am complaining about how sore I am, remind me how much wood we moved this morning. (Don moaning and groaning) |
| Well, the boom truck (to lift the trusses onto the roof) has been broken down for two weeks I think its fixed now, some people have been pretty upset. (a reply from a driver) |
| This certainly is frustrating (Don in response to more rain and no trusses) |
| Take the weekend off????!! Hrrumph! There are still things to do around here, we still have interior basement walls to build. We still have...... (Don in response to Gretchen and Cicely) |
| Hitting it with your purse takes on a whole new meaning (Don in response to Cicely beating on a board with 'Percy' the sledgehammer) |
| Whew I'm glad that's over let's have a beer. (Gretchen suggesting, this tells you what kind of day it was, then having a beer) |
| You must not feed the mosquitos very well, Don replies they are not so bad over by the house, yeah because they are well fed over there. (A bit of a discussion with the truss guys) |
| The next house will have a 4/12 pitch (Don after starting the plywood sheeting) |
| Did I say 4/12 pitch, I meant to say 1/4 12 pitch with parapet walls... (Don as usual) |
| We're getting there. (All of us) |
| Here we go, another dinner with plastic forks (Gretchen, she can't wait to get into the 'big' house) |
| Sure glad that plywood is done. |
| Cicely: Whoa was that an earthquake, Don: Yeah did you feel the counter moving, Gretchen: aw that was nothing. Turned out to be a ricter 4.5 (Gretchen went through the Great Alaska Quake) |
| You can go without food for a while, you can go without water, but if you break down and you don't have your Cutters you're in trouble. (Greig the heating guy talking about the mosquitos) There are a alot of them in these parts. |
| So I got that going for me...which is nice. (Don as usual) Refering to two weeks on the roof part of the project. |
| Rain rain go away come again some other day..... |
| I have never sweat this much (Gretchen working in the hot sun and high humidity) |
| Sure will be glad when this roof is done! |
| Yet another milestone! The roof. |
| I hate blocking (Don whilst talking to himself) |
| Why did we build such a big house.......... |
| This house is mute testimony to perseverance (Don whilst contemplating the bigger picture) |
| It will all be worth it when its over. |
| OK Donster! Enough fun and games on the Icefield...back to work! Craaack! Back to work you slave boy you! Craaaaack ....(the sound of the whip cracking over your decidedly lame butt). Remember....snows coming soon....Faster...Faster Don......Was that a snowflake I just saw? Nah! (Jack Lamb offering encouraging words and phrases) |
| Looks like one of the two of you will have to go back to school to get an
engineering degree to run and/or "repair" the house-luckily UA Fairbanks is
nearby. (Lock Miller offering some sage advice) |
| Your puttin' wood trim 'round those windows like them big fancy houses. (Sheetrocker). One more, This actually is a nice house. (Sheetrockers wife) |
| The water tastes a bit metallic. (Don tasting the water for the first time, it has been in the casing for ten months)
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| I can't believe I'm leaving this place. (Gretchen has been here almost continuously since the middle of April, and she is so task oriented that for her to leave in the middle of a project is almost unbelieveable.) |
| If all of those shots hit a duck there wouldn't be any ducks left. (Don listening to the nearly continuous shooting on the opening day of duck season) |
| This is the longest two weeks I have ever experienced (Don as usual, refering to the two weeks the ecavator said it would take to get the septic system in..that was April now it is September, it is still not in) |
| The expression 'live and learn' is okay, but do we have to learn every day. (Don and Gretchen realizing yet again, a better way to do something, after the something is already done, of course) |
| I thought we had our sh-- together on this one, hmmm guess not, well on the next one maybe. (Don realizes yet again that he did not factor something in) |
| Good thing I'm not afraid of heights (Gretchen on a ladder, on a scaffold) |
| If we had bid this shingle application job we would have lost our butts. (Don and Gretchen underestimating how long it would take to shingle the two gable ends) |
| If the rain will hold off a few more days. (Don and Gretchen wishing) |
| Indoor Plumbing |
| You guys gonna hang the sheetrock yourself?! Yeah. Thats a lot of sheetrock. Yeah (Part of a conversation with a passerby) |
| Sometimes there is just not enough time in a day to get everything done. |
| I'm going to take a shower in our new house (we have a temporary shower!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) |
| A carpenter does his very best...Big Stretch caulk does the rest, or, we ain't buildin' a stinkin' piano (Don as usual) |
| When you build an 'artsy-fartsy' house you have to expect all of these little details (Scott's response to Don moaning and groaning about filling in the 45 degree corners) |
| Is this the first house you have built for yourself? (Don, yes and it's the last) |
| My time is too valuable to hang sheetrock (Chris thinking he is hot) |
| It is getting a bit frosty in the mornings in the cabin these days. |
| Do you have a blender? No. Well I am into fruit smoothies in the morning. Do you have an espresso machine? No, we don't even drink coffee. Do you have a tv and vcr? No. Do I really have to sleep in a tent? Yes. (Bill the sheetrock taper just now beginning to realize what he is in for, he has no idea. This was a phone call, he arrives this Monday, October 8th.) This does not imply that Bill is a whiner, he is just unsure of what to expect. |
| I sure am glad to be finished with the sheetrock and starting the finishing. (Don and Gretchen in unison). |
| I looked suitably impressed while I thought about what a dumbs--t he was. (Gretchen listening to a guy at the lumberyard talk about his unsafe snowmobile driving. |
| You know it is cold in the cabin we are living in, when it is warmer in the refrigerator than in the cabin. |
| I used to be a hot finish-carpenter.....(Don wondering where it went) |
| You will probably get many comments on the photo of the patio off your pool room. So I will not comment. I did wonder how you moved all that sand and water into the back yard so quickly, but then, I would put nothing past you two. (Don's sister, with some humor) |
| There is a lot of painting (Gretchen looking forward to a lot more hours of brushwork....looking forward to???!! Not really. Even the 'Iron Butterfly' has her limits) |
| It is amazing how it all comes back to you, after you suffer for a while. (Don....) |
| It was a chinook. |
| Hang tough my friend your almost there.....it's just over that rise....the sun is coming out....aren't those clouds getting a little brighter? (Jack offering more words of encouragement!) |
| It's starting to look like one of those houses you see in magazines. (Don and Gretchen starting to see the light) |
| Your house is cozy even with nothing in it. (Kk and Aaron upon arriving) |
| My knees are just too boney for this. (Don moaning and groaning about tiling the floor) |
| I have to catch up on those tabs. (Is this a quote or is it becoming a mantra?) |
| Sorry about that. (The cabinet delivery guy in response to Gretchen showing him several damaged kitchen parts, this equals another delay) |
| We are getting close now. |
| Please no more delays. (We do not have much patience left) |
| It's not straight. (The guy from the carpet place comfirming that the installer screwed up the installation, and now the carpet has to be replaced) |
| We will endeavor to persevere |
| It is the journey not the destination, we will not compromise our vision for the sake of completing this house sooner. We stand firm on our commitment to quality. |
| Let the lighting drive the room ( Don spouting off) |
| A masterpiece of a house (Jerry Wolf the owner af Wolf Appliances) |
| Don says: Look at all of these extra screws... Gretchen says: what do you think, they just throw extra screws in the box....where are those instructions? Don: I don't know. Gretchen: What's that you're sitting on? Don: Oh ya, here they are. Gretchen: Did you put screws in here and here? Don: No. Gretchen: How bout in there? Don: No. Let me see those instructions......... |
| What happens when he screws up the carpet again....? (This troubles me) |
| Beer cools off really fast when it is 23 degrees below zero (Don usually keeps his beer outside the back door) |
| What's the temperature? Oh 23.4 (It has been below zero for so long we don't add the 'below zero' part -30.8 is the lowest so far, November.) |
| The house is really starting to come together. (Gretchen) |
| This house is kicking the crap out of us. (Don and Gretchen standing in front of a mirror together for the first time in several months noticing how haggard we look) |
| Now is the tough part, this part of the project takes sheer determination and an impeccable will (it is so easy to put things off for another day.) |
| I can't believe it is 40 degrees F in January (strange weather) |
| Every inch is a mile (one of Don's favorite sayings at this point in a project) |
| I just can't get too excited, i'll just wait until I am ready to get in (Gretchen trying to stay calm about her pool) |
| Well we made it. |
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