Winter Tradition...

On Tuesday night we had our traditional Christmas dinner night and for the second year in a row we had it at the Black Cypress in Pullman. It was good to see everyone together wearing something other than work clothes enjoying non-work conversations over an wonderful meal. There's something about breaking bread together that contributes to the familial quality of Carlton Builders and this experience was no less warm and gratifying than meals past. We hope everyone had a good time...we certainly did.

Paver Patio...

On Tuesday we began installing a paver patio in Pullman. There was considerable preparation that needed to be done to the site before the actual pavers could be laid, nearly 10 cubic yards of soil needed to be removed to give the area the appropriate level and slope, but we did install a small retaining wall that will function as the lip to a flower bed running along the portion of the house that abuts the patio. The retaining wall will be built out of Mutual Materials StakStone while the pavers themselves will be a herringbone pattern of Mutual Materials Roman Holland  concrete pavers.

The slideshow at left shows the process from what was there to begin with, to concept, to the actual process of the installation. I'll add more pictures as the project progresses.

Biagi Window Wrap...

Wednesday Nick finished up wrapping the window trim on two large windows with 28 gauge aluminum metal. The process can make weathered, discolored, and sometimes rotting wood window trim look clean and fresh by adding metal trim, custom manufactured on-site to accommodate various factors, over the top of the older trim.

One thing this process does that some might find less than perfect is that it can eliminate the visual interest of shapely wood trims. The process begins by building a new "foundation" around the window to have something the new metal trim will be attached to.

The new trim should be applied in an appropriate order so that the successive layers properly "flash" the window.








In this instance, the sill needs to be wrapped first, then the vertical portions of the window, followed by wrapping the head casing that runs horizontally across the top of the window.

The end result is a clean, white window trim that should protect the window, not discolor, and require minimum maintenance at less cost than replacing it with wood trim.

Finishing Touches...

This morning we set up to do the final exterior paint coat of Kevin Fritch's workshop. Henry and Matt Halverson did the actual painting and I installed a landing next to the double door closet where they plan to store yard implements. The landing will allow them to easily stow their lawnmower inside the closet. It was a simple landing built out of treated 2x8 lumber and "Barnwood Gray" Rhino Deck decking. The ramp allows for an easy approach to the doors.

Here's Henry and Matt doing the finishing touches to the fascia from ladders. Matt's cleaning the windows and window frames while Henry perfects his brush stroke.

On Thursday we plan to pour a portion of the sidewalk that was damaged when heavy machinery rolled into the yard and broke the sidewalk slab at the start of the project.

Getting Back...

The last few weeks have been very taxing, and I've neglected to post anything for a while, so for any readers who have come looking for updates, I'm sorry for the lack of information...but...we're back!

Today I (Nick), am tasked with wrapping two banks of three window sets in white metal. I'll use a metal break and cover all the exterior trim with 28 gauge aluminum Rollex brand metal. I'll post a slide show of the process at the end of the day.

Virtually Evergything...

Last night I stayed up late night doing a mock-up of the addition on Robinson Park road so that owners could get an idea of some siding options. Here's an example of what I came up with...A couple things to notice: There's a 10" water table band above grade, then Nichiha shingle panels wrap the first floor, a second 10" band we call the "belly band", above which is board and baton siding, and lastly a gable band separates out the small reveal lap siding that you might find on many older homes in the area. On a side note...I'm happy with how the rock wall that retains dirt from around the back side of the house turned out in the drawing; that's hard to get right.

Tile, Tile, and More Tile...

On Friday we finished the very nice tile shower at the George residence in Moscow and today Henry got to work on three more bathrooms in Pullman. The Keogh family gave us the opportunity to tile the floors of their bathrooms so we used the Schluter Ditra underlayment we used at the George residence and quickly got to laying their large 16" x 16" Italian tiles in place. We plan to grout later this week with Almond colored Laticrete Spectralock epoxy grout.

Going back to the George project...take a look at the photos within this post; there are a couple things that are different in this project from most and I want to point them out. First, notice the lack of a curb at the shower entrance; the homeowner wanted to be able to live comfortably in their home into the later stages of life so we came up with this solution and added grab-bars for additional assistance. Also, notice the glass blocks at the top of the wall separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom; since there isn't a window in the shower the homeowner wanted to bring in as much natural light as possible.

Tim and Gabe Telling have been framing, and managing water infiltration from the heavy rains we've been getting over the past week, so that they might be able to get trusses delivered next week. Also, here are a couple pictures of the Carlton Electric crew working on the new eye clinic in Pullman going in next to Dissmore's IGA; Jared Dunn and Louie Fountain seem to be enjoying their work.