The weather has finally straightened out enough for the synthetic finish to be applied to the Passive house we have been working on. This thin synthetic finish is applied over 8″ of foam that has been added to the exterior walls. The owner worked hard to get the tracks in place on the sides and heads of the windows for the roll-up shutters. That is quite a detail and I’m anxious to see how the shutters work.
The owner has been working on many parts of the interior. They have installed the in-floor heating piping on all levels of the house.
Some areas will receive hardwood flooring so they installed nailer strips and poured lightweight concrete in those areas.
Our work continues at the Kenyon Sunset Home remodelilng project. We have been phasing the work with barrier walls so that the
home can continue to operate during the project. One of the fun things to see is the art work on the temporary walls. Residents, family members and friends have been using markers to draw pictures or leave messages. Today I found a very nice thought on the wall that reads “Always remember the power of a simple smile, a helping hand, a listening ear and a kind word.”
Another set of rooms is being completed in this phase. The ceilings were repaired after the asbestos was removed and look great. Patching and fresh paint on the walls, along with new windows make the resident rooms very bright and cheerful. The staff and residents have been very patient as we move from phase to phase on this project.
On Monday the new owner took possession of the Crossing condominium that we finished for her. She made some very nice choices
for the interior finishes. All the cabinets, doors and trims are maple with a light stain applied. The kitchen cabinets have glass in the upper doors and the cabinets extend to the ceiling. There is excellent lighting in the kitchen with new bright under counter lights as well as the overhead and exhaust hood lighting. In this unit we installed shallow shelves above the kitchen sink which makes good use of that space.
As part of our work we removed the existing acrylic shower unit in the main bathroom and installed a full ceramic tile shower. It is
quite a bit of work making the waterproof pan in the shower, but the end result looks great. This unit did not have any carpet flooring—everything is either tile or wood. The wood flooring extending all the way from the kitchen to the east windows overlooking the Cannon River has a very nice appearance. We intalled French light pocket doors into the den which saves space with door swings.
Last week was a real wipe out for our rural remodeling project. Between the snow and power outages we didn’t get a lot done. But
this week is starting off to a great beginning. The workers have re-framed all the openings on the dining room in preparation for new windows. We are installing Andersen window units on this home. Most of the dining room openings have been changed to accommodate larger windows that will look over the lovely landscape. We found some areas of deterioration on the home, but the carpenters are making the necessary repairs. Part of the work involves building new parapet walls around the dining room as the owners will use the flat roof on the dining room as an outdoor deck area.
This 1970′s house is what I consider ‘modern cubism’. It has flat roofs at multiple levels. We will be replacing all the roofing materials, adding significant amounts of roof insualtion, and rebuilding all the parapets. Some windows and siding are being replaced as well.
We are finishing up our interior work at another Crossing condominium unit. This unit is finished using maple doors and trims. I really like the lighter finish on the wood. The kitchen cabinets extend to the ceiling and incorporate some glass doors. As with other units this one has a deep pantry to the right of the refrigerator. The stainless steel hood provides excellent light over the stove.
In the private bathroom we removed the existing soaking tub and replaced it with a closet. The closet has double doors on it to
provide good access. This change works out well as many people are concerned about storage when moving into condominiums like this.
We will soon finish the flooring and countertops and have the unit complete for the new owner.
April 30, 2013 – 12:55 pm
The weather forecasters have been talking today about possible snowfall—-amounts that might need to be shoveled. With our warm weather last weekend this is not good news. Everyone here has been feeling much better with these recent warm days. Our work sites have been drying up nicely. A bunch more snow will not be welcome anywhere! Last weekend Ellen and I were at our lake cottage. I snapped a photo of snow almost as tall as me. Our lake was totally frozen over as well. Time for nice weather!
We’ve finished up our work for the retail downtown Northfield store that we’ve been working on. The new access ramp works very
well and provides a nice area to display goods. We included a new stairway that leads right into the store, rather than the stairway to the side that was perviously used. A new bathroom has been installed as well. A little painting, some grab bars and this area will be ready to use.
We managed to do the work necessary to install the foundation footings for the new home we are constructing on the East side of 
Northfield. Yesterday was a good day to set forms and we managed to place all the concrete by 3:00PM—-just in time to cover it and let the snow settle. I snapped a photo of my yard this morning. It is a really pretty snow, but all of us are getting tired of it!
On Saturday the Northfield Hospital held an open house at the Emergency Medical Services facility on Riverview Lane. It is right
next to our shop/office so I walked over to visit with the folks. The first thing that captured my eye was the helicopter that landed in the street. EMS helicopters never look very large to me and by walking up close to it I confirmed that they are not large! I always wondered how a prone patient fit into the helicopter and now I know. There is a gurney that pivots into the cab so that one end of it is where the co-pilot would normally sit, and the other end of the gurney sticks back into the cab. It is a tight fit for the pilot, patient and medical staff but it seems to work well when urgent transport is required.
There were some demonstrations inside the EMS facility and people were able to look around and see how things work at the EMS.
They have been in this new facility for about 9 months. It is a huge improvement over the old facility on Second Street in Northfield. Here there is adequate room for the ambulances, supplies, offices, staff rooms, etc. They can wash and maintain the ambulances in the garage. There is a large meeting room where training meetings take place. On this day they set up tables and one could buy a hot dog lunch. It is nice to see the EMS settled into their new quarters.
