Exterior Almost Finished

After a number of days of incredibly hot weather, we've gotten to the point of having the exterior almost finished.  All the Hardi Plank is installed and some caulked.    This picture shows Julie and I doing some of the HardiPlank installation.  It actually goes very well with the fixture that goes with the planks.  If the bottom and second course are installed very level and properly, you can then use the fixture (as seen in this picture) to install the subsequent courses.  As a result, the planks are installed in a very level fashion and fit beautifully.

We're leaving for a couple of days to visit other family in Minnesota (and hopefully cooler weather).  That will be a welcome break from both the 10 hour days and the 100 degree heat.  Here's the status as of today.

Julie's doing a little clean up along the front of the house.  That area on will be built up with a large planter box - some of which will be done while we're gone to Minnesota.  You can barely see some of the sample stone in the left middle of the picture.  The entire 52' front plus 12' down each of the east and west side will be where the planter goes.  I'm eager to see how much progress they make while we're gone.

We also went and procured all the electrical equipment and lots of wiring (much more expensive these days) to bring power into the Barndominium.  That should also be well underway while we're gone.

We are very grateful to all the family and friends who have helped us get to this point in 9 days on location.  We'll have a week when we get back to get the final caulking done (the color you see is just the primer) and get the final painting done on the house.