Siding is done except for the front.  We're waiting for the custom made 42in wide mahogony front door. Hopefully in by the end of this week, then the siding can be finished.   

The cupola is board and batten siding.

The cedar siding on the original house and the board and batten on the addition will be painted when and if the weather permits.  Not sure we'll see that happen til spring.  Maybe a week of 50 plus weather days in December will occur it can be done sooner.

The sheet rockers are using a propane heater to keep the house warm enough to finish the taping but the painter wants heat in the house as does the flooring contractor.  I tried to see if I could expedite the process of getting heat and found there are many issues that were hanging us up. The electric needs to get turned on and that can't happen until the house electric line is run out to the service pole.  We want underground service so we need to get the excavator to get back and dig a trench to the pole. Oh yeah, it has to go under our neighbors driveway which we have to destroy and repair. Then we get a final electric inspection and apply for power to be turned on.  I'm told that's a 7-10 day process.  But we need a boiler installed before we get heat. Oh and the water has to be turned on and our water meter was stolen during the demolition phase of the original house. Promises of the boiler to be installed this week and the gas lines secured so we can apply for gas service.  Not going to hold my breath for all this to happen in the next 2 weeks.  

So while the house is ready for painting and floors and tile and finishing, everything is on hold for the heat.

Post Sandy

Stockton Lake Drive at 930am on Oct 29.
  Not a good sign

With some forcasters warning about Hurricane Sandy as early as November 23, we put a halt on the construction project. The house was wrapped in 30# felt paper and insulation was scheduled to start on the 25th.  We decided to wait until the passing of the storm before starting insulation. These first 3 pictures were taken on my last trip to check on the house before, the morning of the 29th of Nov.  The morning high tide had just peaked and I thought it would give me an idea of what to expect.   In the picture with the stop sign the water had only reached the beginning of Fletcher Av.  My expectations that the evening high tide would be no worse was completely wrong.

Fletcher at the corner of Potter.  The next high tide
would bring the water up to the middle of the windows



The National Guard is already busy
and we have about 10 hours to the next high tide.



As you can see in the following picture, the water from the evening high tide came up to just under 30 inches. Note the water line on the garage door.

Garage door shows water level to be just under 30 inches

The garage was filled with our appliances and some furniture we were storing for the move in.  Everything in the garage had to be discarded, 

Winds were about 90 MPH and the felt paper took a beating.

We lost some of the house wrap and most of the wrap on the garage, all the appliances and any of the furniture which was veneered.  But fortunately we had filled in the basement and the water level at the house did not reach the floors 

At the house the water level didn't
get to the height of the door opening.

Insulation placed in the house for disribution to the rooms

About 50% of Manasquan was under water and without power for almost 3 weeks.  We got contactors back on the job with generators 2 weeks after the storm and in the past 2 weeks we have the siding almost completed,  The insulation is completed, and the sheetrock up and ready for taping.



front 2nd floor bedroom well insulated.



Our sheet rockers like all of the people on the job
 are super workers and very good at what they do,

Even the wlls between rooms were insulated.
There's an eerie quiet in the house.

Ready for sheetrock

Insulted with R-30 in the walls of the great room.

House is recovered and ready for siding

Our siding guys

The original house is cedar clapboard.
It's primed a gray but it will be stained a tan color.

The new portion of the house is cedar
 board and batten. here it is seen without the battens.

Great room sheet rocked

Our builder Tom Bateman watching the action.

I guess you have to expect some of this.
The coax cable for the computer which was left hanging on a wall stud
 got sheetrocked into the bedroom closet instead of the next room over, the office.

Ronnie checking out the sheetrocked kitchen.

West side of the house showing the contrasting sidings.

Detail of the finished look of the board and batten siding.