We begin the tedious process of reconstructing the clerestory headers. The headers were made up of 3 layers of 2X8. We jacked up 1 layer, which held up the roof, while we replaced the two others with 2X10's. Then they held the roof up, while the original wood was replaced with larger beams. Luckily, we had enough height to cut the clerestory window holes 2 inches lower. A setback, but not a show stopper.
We also form and pour a retaining wall on the side of the driveway that washed out. Put new fill in and spread rock over the new dirt.
Barn swallows have found our basement and started a family there. We get to watch baby barn swallows learn to fly. Then we put basement windows in. We don't want any more swallows. They are dirty.

Mid-July
We finally get our siding. We are working with a siding contractor who is willing to sell us siding and loan us a break. He pointed out that it costs more to finish a DIY job than to do it all himself. He thinks we won't finish it. HAH!!
9 weeks later
We finally finish the siding. We were determined to do this thing ourselves, but siding sure cost us a lot of time.
Sept, Oct, Nov
Now that the building is weatherproof, we can begin the electrical and plumbing work in earnest. Since Stan convinced the building officials that he could do those, we will get to DIY it on those projects.
Plumbing is a nuisance. The codes state that plumbing must handle an 8-foot water column or 35(?)psi air pressure. We started with the water test, but we had to haul all the water and put it in upstairs. It was pretty messy when a joint failed, too, so we bought temporary plugs for all the venting and outlets and air pressure tested it. When the inspector checked it out, he was surprised to see that we had followed the UPC as tightly as we had.

In the meantime, we plumbed the gas connection and got the propane tank in and the furnace installed. There was no provision to let a homeowner install HVAC. Too bad, too, because the contractor was a big disappointment. The weather was getting cold and all we lacked for heat in the house was the electricity.
The conduit for the electrical connection was laid in early November in the season's first snowstorm.

What was the nuisance was getting our water line. When the property was platted, the local utility okayed our lines running up the back of the property from a 12-inch main out on the main road. They changed their story in June and tried to make us put in a water main on our side street. We could not imagine how we could pay for a $44,000.00 water line for the neighborhood, even if we could get neighbors mistrustful of each other to cooperate. It was a long and political battle with repeated conferences with neighbors and the utility and exploring every possibility (including drilling a well)we could think of.

December 3
Stan went to the public meeting with BPU and presented our several months of efforts and they approved the arrangement they had originally agreed to. We will lay 1000 feet of water line down to the main road and tap the 12-inch main. WE HAVE WATER!!
We are the rest of the month digging trenches, getting meters and laying pipe. Now what is left is finishing.
End of December, first of January
Lots of friends rallied round to hang drywall. Even so, it took most of the month. Our next disappointment with the contractor who we paid to tape the joints and finish ceilings. He was only giving us scraps of time left over from other projects, and what was quoted to us a two-week job spread out over two months. In the end, Mom and I taped the garage and deducted it from his bill. It was good practice for later. I didn't intend to pay someone else to tape any more walls in our house.
February and March
As the drywall gets finished in rooms, we work on cabinetry so we can install plumbing fixtures. We have already decided to move in as soon as we can get our final inspection passed. It won't be finished, but it will be easier to work when we don't have to do all the driving from our old place. Many lights go in as cheap basic fixtures, just to get something attached to the wires. Upstairs will still be roughed in, no more, but we have two bedrooms and a bath on the main floor. It is enough.
April 8, 1987
The big day -- our final inspection. When the car drives up, I see the inspector who has been roughest on us. He is bringing someone with him. As they come in, He tells the other man "I want you to see this. They did it themselves." Wow. All the way through, he is bragging to his companion. As they finish, he tells me," I see something you need to change, but I will pass you anyway." and then proceeded to tell me how well he thought we had done. We needed to close off a PVC vent pipe that went up through the garage, no big deal. I was ecstatic. All this time I had been so nervous thinking that this guy had something against us.
We laid hardwood floor after that. Couldn't move piano in onto unfinished floor. Carpet could(and did) wait.

June 1987
Our official move-in was mid-month. Pets, plants, junk and furniture. Now we can get to all the oak finish work. No cabinet fronts or window trim yet. Walls are painted, but the ones which will get wallpaper are still waiting. Stan and I are sleeping in the future "library," and David and Anna are in the "guest room." We have a "two-year plan" and a "five-year plan" for when we will add certain features which we designed for but didn't want to spend money on yet. Someday, the library will get built in and someday the house will have proper porches and a sunroom. We will be replacing our hollow-core doors with ones we will build (we hope) and I am going to learn to make stained glass windows, because there are a couple of places which need lovely glass.