Today is October 27 and we’re holding our breath that we’ll still be able to get our gas line. Right now, everything is out of our control (with the exception of paying the darn bill, which we will do the moment we get it). Kelsey has worked every angle possible and I’m pretty sure he has lost some hair during this process. At this point, if we can get a one or two week extension from the county (and get a bit lucky with the weather), it will happen. So many what-ifs. But, you can count on us to do our part and send our friends at Xcel our money. Ugh.

As you may remember, if we don’t get the gas line this month, we’ll most likely not be able to get our certificate of occupancy until May or June. If we do, we think we can finish up in February or March. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

But, leave it up to my handsome hubby to remain positive during all of this. After lots of stewing and worrying, we know we’ve done all we can. If we don’t get the gas line in 2019, our plan will be to keep plugging along on what we can inside, which is still a lot! Kelsey will also get a part-time job to help with funding our little endeavor.

We got an invoice from our excavator for our sewer installation and it was about $10k more than we had expected. The additional trucking costs, all of the hand digging around the utilities, and the full crew to get it all done in three days (which they had hoped would be one or two) really added up. We’ve poured over that invoice and it’s 100% accurate and fair.

That’s the bummer stuff.

We asked some of our followers on Instagram and Facebook what the say to themselves when they are facing a struggle and feeling discouraged. We clearly have some awesome people in our lives and their confidence in us really did help us pick up our spirits.

Here’s a few things folks said:

“This too shall pass.”
“Faith over fear”
“One step at a time”
“Think about how far you’ve come!”
“The journey is the reward”
“Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible. You can do it.”
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

We needed all of these wise words, especially that last one! Wow! Sometimes a little pep talk from people who you admire and respect can go a long way.

Now, onto more fun things! Framing our window wall!

The southern facing wall in our home is one of the biggest architectural features we have, so we’ve taken quite a bit of time to ensure we get it right. There is a new neighborhood in our area that has a lot of mountain modern homes, so we looked there for inspiration, the new Christy Sports in Dillon has a cool window wall that we like. We learned about the Golden Ratio of design. Then, after researching, drawing, and noodling, we decided the best thing to do was to just start building, see how it looked and adjust as needed.

We knew that we wanted awning windows at the bottom and top of the wall to allow for adequate airflow. We have some nice windows around our entryway, so we’ll have a great cross breeze. And, having the really high awning windows will allow us to let some fresh air in on warm winter days without having the cool breeze be right on our feet.

Window wall framing in progress! We pretty much stuck with this, but the middle section (where the ladder is) will have three awning windows at the top to match the one to the right. The big opening will be for our Panoramic Door.

My Dad and Kelsey worked for hours and hours up on the scaffolding and ladders to get it all framed out. We’re so happy with how it looks! Our awesome window guy, James Duran, was here this weekend to help us measure all of the windows to get them ordered. Depending on how the gas line works out, we may even make some of our own picture windows! According to lots of trusted sources, we hear that “you can totally build the picture windows yourself” So, we’ll see what the window quote reveals and if we think we can do it cheaper, we’ll give it a whirl!

My Dad working on one of the window headers on a beautiful fall day!

In addition to all of the window framing, the boys also worked on getting the fascia board installed so we’d be ready to install our metal roof. The fascia boards cover the SIP let-ins on the exposed edges of the perimeter of the roof. We opted to use the same grey paint to keep it very clean and match the siding. As with the window framing, this involved lots of time on the ladders as well as my Dad and Kelsey being tethered in while leaning over the front side of the roof!

Fascia board installed along the north side of the house.

Our front door finally arrived from Lowe’s - more than a month late! Dang it. Lowe’s! Why is your customer service so terrible sometimes?! But, it’s here and installed. We’re happy with the way it looks, but will most likely save our pennies for our dream door down the road. There is a company in Colorado called Pivot Doors that I am so enamored with. Anyone have connections there? Hey Pivot! I’ll write a story about you. Want to do a collaboration with us, Pivot?! Say, yes! Kelsey also talked about using a SIP to build our own pivot door. Fun ideas that we’ll need to pursue down the road.

Our newly installed front door. The exterior will be painted to match our mudroom door. The paint color is call Pacific Pleasure and is a bold blue/teal color. We felt like we needed a little pop among all the gray.

Speaking of companies with way better service than Lowe’s (how’s that for a segue?!) our Panoramic Door that will go in our dining room out to our deck will arrive in a couple of weeks! They’ve been so helpful and so far everything is set to arrive on schedule! Which if it shows up on time will be the only thing that’s been ordered and showed up when we thought it would. We’ll let you know when it arrives and how the install goes! If you’re looking for a super rad patio door, hit up our girl Laura at Panoramic Doors. She’ll take good care of you like she has for us!

What’s coming up next?

Anxiously await word from Xcel and the County about installing the gas line
Finish installing the metal roof. We got a great start this weekend (more on that in the next post), and have the last bit of the main room and the loft to finish up. It’s looking great so far!
Start sealing our cedar. We selected our sealer with great help from Summit Paint and Stain - so knowledgeable there! But, it’s been too darn cold to start staining (and I’ve had a couple work trips that got in the way). The temps are supposed to warm up again over the coming days.
Keep installing windows. We have 13 windows on hand and had some helpers over the weekend to get them started. Each window will help us feel cozier inside. I mean our tarps and makeshift window covers are great, but our Andersen Series 100 windows will be much better.

October 20, 2019. That big blue tarp is saving our bacon, again! This is the same tarp that covered the sheathing last winter. Money well spent on that huge guy!

We feel you rooting for us. Thank you for all the support.

Cheers,

Cory