October 01, 2008 Progress Report
At October’s end, we’re nearly finished with our cedar shakes, and the first impression is just getting better and better.
This is a ‘progress report’, right? Sure, we call it an ‘Update’, but in reality, what you’re reading is a report on our progress. So what kind of progress can we report? Check it out here.
Someone in the news (or perhaps a commercial) mentioned the other day that, with all the overwhelming coverage of the presidential election (thank goodness it’s over), and with everything that’s going on with our economy and financial systems, it feels pretty good to ignore it for a few moments and reminisce.
So, this ‘progress report’ is an opportunity to reminisce about where we were one year ago. The above link is our website (shame on each of you if you haven’t been there before), and the photos depict where we were one year ago. Yes, we’re aware of just having used this same gimmick in recent months, but we feel it’s worth repeating. Besides, if the national media can bombard us with the same thing over and over and over and over and over… you get the idea… then we feel like we can do the same.
Not that we haven’t gotten a lot done in the thirty-one days of October! If you recall our overall gameplan since the end of summer – to accomplish as much exterior work as possible while the weather allows, then move indoors during the winter months – we were able to continue with that approach, and the exterior cosmetics took another huge stride forward. Roofing, masonry, siding, ArcusStone, and steelwork were all contributors to our exterior look. At the same time, we began our transition to interior work, with the intent on hitting the Boulder and Yellowstone interiors at full speed as through the winter months. Now, if you’ve been following along in these monthly updates, you already know about our thatched-roof-style cedar shakes on the five-plex – dubbed by some as the ‘Cotswold Cottage’ look. This roofing has certainly gotten the most publicity here at Bear Dance (and in the local community, too). The crew from Rainmaster has made huge strides in the past month, in spite of having to deal with a heavy layer of frost on the roof each of the last ten days of the month. They’ve gotten a good system going, with a good-sized crew, and at month’s end, this mammoth-sized roof (over 200 square, or for those of you unfamiliar with the terminology, more than 20,000 square feet) was roughly 80% complete. For a roofing application as complicated and time-consuming as this one, that’s truly an amazing feat.
This new stone application technique – seen
here on Missouri’s east wall and upper garage–
is the perfect complement to The Gallatin’s clean,
refined masonry
If it weren’t for this roofing being such a one-of-a-kind look and product, the crew from Flathead Masonry and Tile would have won the monthly character-building contest in a runaway race. These guys have been everywhere, and their stellar performance is not just limited to the masonry itself. The pride of working on this project has led to improvements in their professionalism and appearance as well. Their jobsite organization, overall attitude, punctuality… even self-scheduled crew meetings!… We told them if they weren’t careful, they would soon be mistaken for a professional organization!
But back to their masonry work – The Swan exterior stone is now completely finished, including a pond and the stone on the curved stairwell wall, and as we suspected last month, there is now a new winner in the character and interest department – not that it will necessarily stay that way! – but for now, The Swan is the most breathtaking spot in Bear Dance. There is still the towering Ruby stairwell wall (just underway), and we continue to refine and revise our techniques for masonry work. Moving around to the south façade of the five-plex, the massive stone elevator tower of The Gallatin now has a perfect complement: the upper garages of Missouri and Ruby. We’ve implemented some of our new techniques on those outer walls, using more variation in stone types, rougher mortar joints, and a look that is more ‘rubbly’ – appropriate for its proximity to the foundation and basement walls. With the refined and clean lines of the elevator tower, flanked on the east and west sides by these ancient-looking stone walls, everything is pulled together quite nicely. They’ve also been busy on the north end of the five-plex: the massive column leading up through Big Horn’s porch fireplace and chimney is nearly complete (the porch area masonry looks fantastic!), and they’re getting ready to begin work on the opposite column, on Madison’s northwest corner.
Remembering that their name is Flathead Masonry and Tile, there has also been a ton of action from that half of the company this month. Boulder’s master bathroom and upper guest bath have gotten their shower tile and flooring, and in Yellowstone’s master bathroom, the snail-shaped shower is now underway (wow, just wait till you see a finished product there!). A good portion of the prep work is finished in The Swan, and they’ve also gone through each shower and bathroom in the five-plex to look for potential problem-areas or questions – things that are much easier and cheaper to address at this stage (without insulation or sheetrock in place) than later on.
The stone on The Swan’s east wall, curving around the
stair tower, mixed with the blockier stone around the
windows, and the nearly completed pond below
(partially shown, getting its sealant) have taken this
residence to the top of the “WOW” department.
Also making huge strides in the “Wow, that looks so cool!” department, Fontecilla Custom Interiors has shifted their focus from exclusively exterior ArcusStone, and they’ve finished a good portion of the plaster inside The Boulder. The finished product is absolutely fantastic, and we’re now giddy at the thought of moving forward with more finished products – flooring, doors and trim. The color and texture next to our reclaimed beams in the entry hallway and in the great room are the perfect match, and the vaulted entry and stairwell are just… wow.
Just like the last few months, we’ve been holding steady at roughly 45-50 workers each day, and whereas that makes for a hectic jobsite, the system is working perfectly. Carpenters from GT Builders continue to provide small design details and support to other subcontractors, as well as finally installing all our exterior window trim and batten strips we’ve been talking about. The Touris Plumbing crew has been working to get all our radiant tubing installed on the main floors so we can pour gyp-crete before the daily temperatures get too cold. Arctic Heat continues to rough-in the air-conditioners, heat recovery ventilators, air-to-air heat exchangers and air treatment systems. Gran Central Vac keeps up with everyone else on their rough installations; CM Quality Insulation has been on site providing urethane foam insulation; Montana Garage Door is building the doors for Boulder, Yellowstone and The Swan. Let’s see… who else? High Ridge Steel has installed a portion of the wrought iron railing and posts as a safety rail around the upper driveways, in addition to reinforcing the north balcony outside The Gallatin great room; JK Electric took care of all our remaining exterior needs – fixtures, outlets, heat tape for the rooftops – so the other subcontractors could continue with their work.
That’s not a comprehensive list of everyone who’s been at Bear Dance this month, but you get the idea. We have absolutely been flying. The Camel Committee of Ron, Carol, Keith and John Mark has been meeting three times a week to stay ahead of our decision-making needs, and as fast as we can make them, the subcontractors run with them. It’s probably safe to say that winter is officially here, and our plan for getting the majority of our exterior work completed seems to have set us up perfectly for staying busy and efficient inside in the coming months. As usual, the pictures don’t do it justice, so if the opportunity arises to come see us in person, we’re pretty easy to find!
We couldn’t resist showing off the thatched-style cedar shakes just one more time! Shown here above The Madison entry.