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Today’s report from Maisto Mountain is especially exciting: Our drywall is hung! The house is really beginning to look like a home now. The drywall “mudding” will begin next week, and we have an appointment with a Porter Paint painting consultant to begin choosing the colors for our home next Friday, Feb. 5. This process is definitely getting exciting now!
In other news, Brad and Sarah’s brother, Eric, spent this Saturday working on the home’s zoning for the heating and air conditioning unit. The furnace unit has not arrived at the home yet, but we will all be excited to see the geo-thermal unit fire up eventually.
Brad also has been working on several “pet projects.” After months of working with the Department of Natural Resources, Brad received our official “Classified Forest and Wildlife” signs for part of the property. What this really means for us is that starting in the year 2017, 55 acres of our property will be taxed at only $1 per acre. We will be cooperating with the DNR to maintain the forestry standards and to eventually reforest some of the acreage. It’s a great deal, and yes, we both lean to be a bit of naturalists/tree huggers. However, you can’t live on 70 acres without enjoying the nature around you. We also received the nature report from our DNR forest camera. In 30 days, the camera took the following pictures: three squirrel pictures, six raccoon pictures, 45 turkey pictures, and 59 deer pictures. (These are not necessarily unique animals.) I am not getting my hopes up for a garden! Or, we may consider planting a huge one and sharing. Brad already has some pumpkins started to see if they will work for next autumn. He also has spotted some huge woodpecker holes in a dying sassafras tree near the pond dam. We’re going to be keeping our eyes peeled for Woody Woodpecker and other great bird sightings!
In other projects, Brad placed a paper bag full of newspaper under the wooden deck recently. We learned that this can serve as a deterrent for wood-boring bees because they think it’s a hornet’s nest. So it’s a bit of a psyche-out, if you will. He also crafted our mailbox numbers out of old license plates, of which we both like the uniqueness and country charm. He has been busy managing the day-to-day questions and issues that arise with our contractors, too. He’s been working on a couple of window issues, and he had to hammer up extra wood in some places (where Brad did the framing downstairs) so the drywall would go up properly in the basement. He’s also been picking up supplies for our contractors and making sure the jobs go as we have envisioned. My husband is doing a great job of general contracting, and I’m proud of him and the way this house is shaping up. He may be retired, but he’s picked up quite a few hours working for us.
We will have more to report after the paint starts going up, with master painter Brad Maisto doing his work. We are looking forward to seeing the details beginning to go into the home. If home building is a marathon, I feel as though we cannot actually see finish line yet, but we know now that we’re actually going to finish the race.
Until next time …
p.s. – If you want to see almost-daily posts from Maisto Mountain, follow Brad on Twitter @BradMaisto
In other news, Brad and Sarah’s brother, Eric, spent this Saturday working on the home’s zoning for the heating and air conditioning unit. The furnace unit has not arrived at the home yet, but we will all be excited to see the geo-thermal unit fire up eventually.
Brad also has been working on several “pet projects.” After months of working with the Department of Natural Resources, Brad received our official “Classified Forest and Wildlife” signs for part of the property. What this really means for us is that starting in the year 2017, 55 acres of our property will be taxed at only $1 per acre. We will be cooperating with the DNR to maintain the forestry standards and to eventually reforest some of the acreage. It’s a great deal, and yes, we both lean to be a bit of naturalists/tree huggers. However, you can’t live on 70 acres without enjoying the nature around you. We also received the nature report from our DNR forest camera. In 30 days, the camera took the following pictures: three squirrel pictures, six raccoon pictures, 45 turkey pictures, and 59 deer pictures. (These are not necessarily unique animals.) I am not getting my hopes up for a garden! Or, we may consider planting a huge one and sharing. Brad already has some pumpkins started to see if they will work for next autumn. He also has spotted some huge woodpecker holes in a dying sassafras tree near the pond dam. We’re going to be keeping our eyes peeled for Woody Woodpecker and other great bird sightings!
In other projects, Brad placed a paper bag full of newspaper under the wooden deck recently. We learned that this can serve as a deterrent for wood-boring bees because they think it’s a hornet’s nest. So it’s a bit of a psyche-out, if you will. He also crafted our mailbox numbers out of old license plates, of which we both like the uniqueness and country charm. He has been busy managing the day-to-day questions and issues that arise with our contractors, too. He’s been working on a couple of window issues, and he had to hammer up extra wood in some places (where Brad did the framing downstairs) so the drywall would go up properly in the basement. He’s also been picking up supplies for our contractors and making sure the jobs go as we have envisioned. My husband is doing a great job of general contracting, and I’m proud of him and the way this house is shaping up. He may be retired, but he’s picked up quite a few hours working for us.
We will have more to report after the paint starts going up, with master painter Brad Maisto doing his work. We are looking forward to seeing the details beginning to go into the home. If home building is a marathon, I feel as though we cannot actually see finish line yet, but we know now that we’re actually going to finish the race.
Until next time …
p.s. – If you want to see almost-daily posts from Maisto Mountain, follow Brad on Twitter @BradMaisto