1995 - 1997: Interior framing, Windows, Plumbing and Electrical, Sheet Rock and Flooring.

During the winter of 94/95 I worked on finishing the interior framing, partitions etc.  That and I shoveled the snow out that blew in because the soffits were wide open. The snow drifts inside the second floor would get several feet deep. I cut the plywood for one window on the east side and would shovel it out the window.  The wind on the lake blows from the north in the winter, I also struggled to keep the house wrap on the house, I put it back on several times. 

Windows: I decided to go with Anderson brand windows, they seemed to be of good quality, and brother Tom used them in his house, he is a carpenter. 

My window list

I priced windows from multiple suppliers and ended up just buying them as I needed them, mostly from Vergennes Building Supply. 

Fall 1995

By the end of the summer of 1995, I had all the windows installed.  I also framed the small porch on the lake side that summer. 

Bay Window out of Steve Tomashot's house.

I installed a bay window on the east side that came from Steve Tomashot's house, he removed it to put a sliding glass door in its place. I helped with that project and got the window.  

During the summer of 1995 we lived at the lake (in the basement). This allowed me to work on the plumbing and electrical almost every evening after work. I worked when I had spare time, and by mid 1997 I was ready to start putting up wall board and ceilings. 

This is Northern Builders doing the siding in July of 1996.

While I worked on the inside of the house, I contracted the outside siding.  I went with a high grade vinyl siding and soffits with aluminum facia/trip wrap. My intention was to minimize the amount of maintenance, like painting. 

Kitchen East Wall

By the end of the summer of 1997 I had hung all the sheet rock and was ready for tape and flush. This is an art, so I hired Jerry Gumlaw. What Jerry did in about two weekends would have taken me months, I was very pleased with his work.  

After the sheet rock was done, we moved onto flooring and trim. I purchased all my wood finish material from a broker, Eric Ashley. I would place my order and he would go to Canada and source it.  He was great to work with and got me nothing but top quality material. 

June inspecting the family room.

I put birch floors in all the down stairs and the foyer upstairs. 

Living Room Floor

I hired the finish and poly of it but was so disappointed in the job and sanded it all off and redid it myself. In the end, it was very nice. 

We finished most of the floors, sans the bedrooms, by the end of 1997.  Next was the doors, stairs and trim.