Moving right along.

Why yes, that is in fact siding on our house.

The siding, insulation and dry wall subs were all at the house this week either finishing, in the case of the insulators or beginning the siding and sheetrock.

I was surprised how long it took to insulate.  These guys have been on site for nearly two weeks, working Saturdays and Sundays to get all the walls, ceilings and attic all nice and cozy.

They began by stretching a fiberglass net across all of the exterior walls on the inside.  Next, cellulose insulation is pumped in and rolled out until it is very densely packed inside the wall.  Hence the name, "dense pack cellulose".  When you press on the netting, it's like pressing on a mattress.

Next they pumped this into the attic and all the walls that were covered with sheathing above the garage.  We decided this would be a good time to insulate the walls of the garage, as this was not part of the original plan.  When I visited today, fiberglass insulation was installed on all the garage walls along with a plastic vapor barrier.  Fourteen inches of this was also installed in the ceiling of the garage, which will keep the floor of the guest bedroom nice and warm.

When I left the job site today, the same fiberglass netting was being installed in the basement walls and this too will be packed with cellulose.  That should be the grand finale for the insulation sub.

Last week, a big stack of vinyl siding appeared in the driveway and this week the siding contractors began their work.  Here is a shot of the nearly completed north side of the garage.  Only the facia along the roof needs to be installed.

We originally chose a yellow siding with white trim.  Then we spent the late part of the summer and early fall watching the progress and decided this property is too sunny for siding that bright.  We instead chose Thistle, which is sort of grey/green, depending on the light.  The corner boards are the same color and as you can see the trim will be white.  The gable on the south side as well as the smaller gables on the front will have vinyl "shakes" installed.  The color will be the same as the siding, but the change of texture should give it a neat look.

Lastly, the dry wall arrived this week and the installers have been on site for two days.  Finally we get an idea what the space will feel like when it's done.  Here's a shot looking down the second floor hall towards the south.

They should finish hanging the sheetrock early next week and then a different crew will arrive to tape it.  These are the real artists of the drywall world.  I've done my fair share of sheet rocking in my day and I learned very early on that the taping and finishing is the most important step.  I always hire it out, mostly because my wife makes me!!

Here's a shot of the master bedroom from the bathroom door, again looking south.  These guys are fast but messy.  The entire second floor looks like an explosion at a drywall  factory.

So with the Christmas holiday behind us, we can return to perseverating about the progress on the house again.

Happy New Year all!!