Siding, Sliding

This is a fun part!  They've started on the siding.  Most of our house will be covered in lap siding.  We really wanted a wider plank than was usually produced by all the fiber-cement companies, about 8 inches high, less when nailed.  So we went with a somewhat newer product called SmartSide, that is actually wood-based.  It has become more and more popular lately, is easier to work with than fiber-cement, has tested well under severe weather, and comes in longer and wider widths.  So we have 12 inch tall boards, which I like much better.

We had a little bit of a communication mix-up with the trim - but now we think we're all clear and they'll be adding a bit of pencil trim on to the windows they had already done.

   

 With the warm days we've been having, a lot of water went down our vents (white thing behind Mike's head) in our cold storage room - and froze.  This shouldn't be a recurring problem once our final grading is done, gutters are put into place, and maybe some wells put around the vents.  Mike worked really hard though digging around them and putting in a sawed-in-half bucket to block further water from running in.

And here's Mike again.  Sitting on our stairs in our future front room/foyer area.