2nd (brown) coat of stucco in process

There are three coats of stucco...the first is the scratch coat. Here's a cool picture of the scratch coat.

The second layer is the brown coat. here are a couple of photos of that.

and another pic of them applying the brown coat to the scratch coat.

The inside of the house has been primed. Today's word is that they will finish all painting inside before staining the concrete floor. Target to begin staining is Dec 12.

Other news...we are headed into some chilly night-time temperatures here down in the teens. Therefore, it is time to winterize Stella (the Airstream trailer). This means that we will no longer have running water in the trailer for washing dishes, etc. bummer. But the inconvenience of hauling water will be outweighed by the peace of mind that we won't have broken pipes!

Also, today was Karin Lynn's first day on the job at Los Poblanos (http://www.lospoblanos.com/). Very exciting!

1st coat of stucco to be completed today!

Hi all! Here are some pix that KL took this morning at the house. 2/3s of the house had been stuccoed and they were moving the scaffolding to the front so they could finish today with the first (scratch) coat. Not certain when the next coat goes on but I know this one needs to dry a bit. But it is looking so much more house-like, don't you think?! :)

back of house with first coat of stucco

Casita with first coat of stucco

Stucco scaffolding moved to front of house to finish 1st coat

Other exciting news...priming is underway inside. And next week the concrete floors will be stained. It's all good....:) Happy thanksgiving to one and all!

Stucco has started!

The stucco on the outside of the house started today. Evidently it takes them about one day to put one layer of stucco on a house the size of ours(!). They will need to let it dry some, then put layer 2 on. the final (color coat) layer will go on at the very end of the project. Here is a great picture of the stucco process starting up!

Mudding it up

Mudding and sanding is nearly done which means painting can begin on Monday! Here are some nice pix of the mudding.

Mudding the arch

Main kitchen

Main living room

Other news...the outdoor kitchen has been polished. It's all ready to receive the sink, grill and 2-burner stove. Gorgeous, isn't it? :)

Drywalling near complete

Almost all the sheet rock has been hung, although there is the the mudding and garage to finish. Here are a few photos of how things are looking. Sort of a mess (the nature of the beast) but it is really starting to look like a house inside!

drywall in great room

casita kitchen

stairway transition

Drywalling well underway!

Drywalling started at the end of last week and they are making great progress. We are hopeful that it will be completed by the end of next week. Once the drywall is done, we understand the concrete staining comes next...and then painting...on the inside. Also the stucco and roof move forward on the outside. We are hopeful to see BIG progress in the coming few weeks!

The subs do such very careful work. We are very pleased! Karin is taking them cookies today! :) Keep 'em in carbos!

The grillers out there are gonna love this!

The outdoor kitchen was "unveiled" today. While there is still a bit of finish work to do, you can see by the photos that it really turned out fantastic! Joseph was quite pleased with himself...as he should have been! :) It's a beaut!

Insulation complete; concrete outdoor kitchen poured.

The insulation was completed today. Most of it was cellulose (paper) in the walls. They blow it in wet and then they need to wait for it to dry before they cover it with drywall. We're hoping it will be dry by end of this week so they can start hanging drywall. Here are some photos of the insulation and process:

Here is a cool picture of the icynene (foam insulation) they put in the cooling towers.

Monday was a big day. They poured the concrete for the outdoor kitchen. It was quite the process. they have a big concrete truck, quickly put buckets of concrete in the form, and then vibrated it all to get the air out. They will unveil it on Wednesday or Thursday...and fingers crossed...it will all look beautiful! I'm sure it will though since Joseph Austin (owner of Counter Intelligence) is excellent at his craft! Here are some photos: