http://www.vtecobuilder.com Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:00:03 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Made a small cherry and ecoresin door for the office that will allow us to wrangle the dog when we're away from the house. http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/10/20/office-dog-door/ The deck design will be based on a house + deck that Dad built in the very early 80's in California. The house itself was constructed on a single concrete pedestal, as was the deck, and though the original structure was wood, it was replaced with metal a decade ago. ... http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/10/13/deck-beginnings/ Finished grade with retaining walls Due to the huge amount of rainfall we experienced this spring and summer, a large section of the land at the front of the house eroded away, leaving only canyons for us to look at. Water pouring down the nearby mountain, across neighboring land, would run ... http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/10/06/parking-area/ [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Master Bedroom Finished Soffit"][/caption] While I've been tackling the landscaping (slow-going on account of all the rain, plus an unfortunate stormwater runoff problem we need to manage), my husband and father-in-law have been working on the built-in lighting soffits for the entryway and both bedrooms. Inspired by ... http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/08/02/lighting-soffits/ With the cabinet making/desk surfacing now complete, it's time to install. Old desk out, new desk in. Center support in place. Side supports Wire hide and foot kick Surface in place Built-in cabinet placement Rewiring of network jacks and electrical sockets Working cubby and drawers Installed top surface Everything back to normal   http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/07/11/office-desk-built-in-part-2/ Green building blog Jetson Green featured our house on the front page today! Check out the whole story here:  "Vermont Green Home Features Contemporary Style" Thanks for the love, guys! It's always good to get the word out that affordable, sustainable and stylish green building CAN be done.   Our house's previous web cameos: Apartment Therapy ... http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/07/10/the-internet-loves-vt-eco-builder/ Even though Rae and I both work from home, the office area was one of the least finished parts of the house, with a temporary Ikea-based desk (an adjustable leg system + MDF top) and coffee table as countertop stand-in. Yuk! That MDF needs some sanding. So, after 6+ months of working ... http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/07/01/office-desk-built-in-part-1/ With some nice weather this weekend, it was a good time to put in those peonies promised in the previous post! We purchased 3 varieties: 'Nippon Beauty,' 'Doreen' and 'Peter Brand' -  two dark pink, and one light. Our head gardener also brought over some of her own hardy geraniums ... http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/06/15/gardening-peony-bed/ Before we built our house, our dog Archie slept in our room in his plastic travel crate - not the classiest feature for a modern home! We wanted a place for him to sleep that would be comfortable and out of the way, and also blend in with the decor. Our ... http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/06/08/dog-cubby/ It was a bit of a rainy weekend, so there wasn't too much major gardening going on. Albo installed a new hose reel in the back (got to keep that hose clutter under control), and his mum brought a gift of two tomato plants (Sungold and Pruden's Purple) and gigantic ... http://www.vtecobuilder.com/2008/06/03/garden-update-soil-prep/