Clad and Foamed

Finally, another blog post!  My elder sibling, Fr. Brother, says he has been going through "house blog withdrawl" the past few days!

With time out for a wedding in Detroit last weekend, my past week was devoted primarily to year-end tax work.  Marijon, my CPA, wants my tax material in February, but God willing, I'll be moving in February!  Accordingly, I've kept my nose to the computer.  I want to be sure that all this paperwork isn't lost in the shuffle — literally as well as figuratively.

I arrived back at Presque Isle yesterday afternoon to find several happy changes to the house.  For example, as I drove in it was evident that the siding job is finished.  Dave and Kyle brought more material up from Grand Haven last week, and Hap and Doug then installed the last of the cladding.

The front of the house is fully clad.

The front entrance has been "shaked."

A setting sun warms the west elevation.

Inside, the insulators have completed work on the walls.  This is like the goose down in your winter jacket!  Light was rapidly fading as I arrived — after all, these are the shortest days of the year.  I'll take additional interior photos today.  But the shots below will give you a sense of what was accomplished last week.

The stairwell has its winter coat.

Foam fills the exterior wall cavities.

The sloped roof area with the skylight is treated
the same as the walls.

Attic insulation must wait until the ceilings are drywalled next week.  Then the subcontractor can return to fill the attic spaces with dry insulation.  When that has been done, we can begin to heat the house — which is essential for further finish work.

Beyond the trees, a chilly Lake Esau.

During my brief absense Lake Esau chilled out, so to speak.  When I left, the south end was just starting to ice over.  Now, Attila tells me, the ice is 4-6 inches deep and fisherfolk are busy dipping for perch and bass.  When Attila, Sharon, daughter Ally and boyfriend Brett visited the house yesterday, all walked directly across the ice, save for Sharon who prudently (in my view) circled along the shoreline where the water is generally shallow. •••