Construction Blogging: My Chimney is SMOKIN'!

You may have seen my Facebook post on Sunday about the trouble we had over the weekend.  Apparently some smart-ass teenage boys thought it would be a good idea to walk through our house and then CLIMB ON THE ROOF using the stone masons' scaffolding in the back yard.  One of our neighbors called to alert us to the idiots' presence, but unfortunately we were in JeffCo and couldn't go dispatch them with extreme prejudice.  Of course, they were all gone by the time the police got here, and even by the time our wonderful neighbor Michael (whom I called while we were on the way home because I wanted to CATCH THESE GUYS) drove the half mile between his house and ours.  So my focus so far this week has been to invest in (and/or create, as seen below) a bunch of "No Trespassing" signs and some security cameras.  I cannot tolerate people thinking it's okay to come on my property just because the house is under construction, and I definitely can't tolerate people climbing on my damn roof.  Those boys had better pray they have more sense than to come back here.  Anyway, moving along...

 

Progress on the house is back to normal this week.  Yesterday, Phillip's guys got the steel pan laid so that they can pour the concrete for our front porch.

 

They also got all of the upstairs windows in (except for the custom windows in the vault over the living room - those will come much later) and a couple of the front windows on the main level.

We have a room full of windows left.  I can't even get a picture of all of them.  This is why the window budget was outrageous.  But it's a lake house; what are you going to do?

It's kind of cool to actually look out a window instead of just a window hole.  This is the window in the upstairs landing above the foyer.

Today - TODAY - the stone masons came back with the piece de resistance.  They said it took them a half day to get that big stone up the scaffolding and on top of the chimney.  I do not doubt it.  But they are so proud of themselves, and they should be.  This is the most beautiful chimney I have ever seen.  

 

I think the plan for tomorrow is to pour the front porch and also to get the framers back working on the roof for the deck so we can finally get some shingles on and get this bad boy in the dry (and lock it up so stupid kids don't come inside).

 

Come at me, bro.