I love when a project gets to the framing, and then when it gets to the finish work. Sheetrock is my second least favorite part of a construction job, and this project has none! Finish work happens on the inside and outside, and we are working on both depending on the weather.

This July has set a record as the wettest July in history, already. We have had so much rain. We had our wheel barrow sitting out in front of the deck. It was empty just 10 days ago. This water is just from the rain. We’ve had over 4 inches of rain so far, and tonight we’re scheduled for an additional inch along with 1/10 of an inch tomorrow. After that we should get some sunnier weather I hope!

At any rate, it’s nice to have projects going on both inside and outside. When it stops raining for a good stretch we jump outside and work on the deck. When it starts raining again, we work inside on the tongue and groove (T&G).

The deck is a large deck as they will have seating outside for eating as well as for a portion of their tours. They also cook hamburgers and hot dogs for some of their tours, which will happen on the side deck when the weather is nice out. We have the largest portion finished finally which spans the whole front with an additional 12 feet wrapping around to the side deck. We have the side deck left but are just waiting for a couple more not rainy days to finish it up.

Inside, while it’s raining, we have been working on the T&G. There will be no sheetrock as I mentioned. The whole inside except the floor will be pine T&G. We have the ceiling finished in the main room, and are starting on the walls. I enjoy working with the T&G as it smells so good not only when I cut it, but also whenever we walk in from outside. I also just think it’s beautiful.

The main room will be the fastest even though it’s the largest, as we can use the longest pieces of wood. The other smaller rooms will have more cutting. The big windows in the front and back provide ample light in the main room in the summer, but there were 20 light fixture boxes to cut around in the ceiling. Winters are dark so there’s lots of lights to brighten the space during that time of year.

The rivers are currently quite high due to the large amount of rainfall. Fishing is bad because the rivers are so muddy and the current is too swift. There is a flood watch in our area for local streams and rivers, and some have already started to flood. The area where our job is located, along with our house location are all high ground so we are staying dry. But I think everyone will be ready for the sunshine headed our way on Friday and we all hope to dry out a bit before it starts raining again!

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