Hyrbrid House, Part 4

or “The Miracle Workers from Midland, Michigan have arrived!”

You haven’t heard from me in a while, because I was unable to escape the ills of winter.  I”m still not 100% but I’m so super-dee-duper excited about this group of wonderful folks from up north that I dragged myself out of my sick bed to go out and take some photos of to share with you.  That included climbing a very tall extension ladder, and uh, don’t tell anybody, but I’m afraid of heights!  Well, I’m really more afraid of falling.

Okay, let’s get moving here.  Let me bring you up to date. You’re  wee bit behind.

The metal exterior is complete.  You know what I really like?  The metal porch enclosures.  I think that just looks so spiffy!  And see the ladder?  Well, that’s not the scary part.  The scary part is stepping from the ladder onto a strip of plywood.  It’s like walking a tightrope.  Hopefully, we’ll have a set of steps out back soon.

Here’s what the house looks like from the front door.  I designed the doors and windows for cross currents of air.  The back door and front doors line up like in an old-style shotgun house.

Some of the volunteers from Midland, Michigan are admiring this hybrid architecture for the first time.  They had lots of questions and really were impressed with the whole idea of mixing metal and wood.  I’m glad they like it!

Here is a meeting of the minds between the volunteer carpenters from Midland and my two builders who have done the work so far—they are the two guys in black T-shirts.  This builder is the greatest guy ever.   Not only did he agree to let me have these volunteers step in and do the inside framework, but he offered to be available to answer questions along the way.  I just don’t know if very many builders would be so kind and have so much patience.  Do you?

The tools and materials went up on the Sky Trac.  Yes, you read that right.  My builder is even letting them use the lift. Can you imagine?

And then they got busy as a little hive of bees.

and worked all day long . . . .

Up, up, up . . .

Okay, hold it men, and let’s toe-nail it in place . . .

And up goes the final wall of the day.

Tools were set aside.  Hats, thermoses, and lunch boxes were collected.  And the little house sits and waits snug and tight for the next work day.

So a buncha YAHOOS followed by a ton of YIPPEES for the Lutheran Church Men’s Mission Group from Midland, MI.

And to all of you back home holding down the Midland forts:  Thanks so much for sharing your families with us down here in warm, sunny bayou country!

Here’s to the Miracle Bayou Tree House!!!!

Happy as a crawfish in mud!

BW

PS:  Autonomouspice?  You won the Carnival Cake Coffee.  Send me your address in the contact form, please!

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28 Comments

  1. Looking good! Are you planning on having pull down stairs for attic storage? Nice big spot of space up there to be utilized. I am looking forward to the finish.

    I love the old shotgun houses. Ours is a Cape Cod type and is believed to be a Sears home. All the fixtures, hinges, bathroom stuff is straight from the Sears kit homes catalogs. Or at least all I have been able to find online and at the library. All the rooms also open into two more rooms and it makes a nice breeze to turn on the ac in the north dining room window and open all the doors from room to room. The air circulates nicely.

    1. I love it when the house can circulate the breezes. Up high like we are, I hope to take advantage of the prevailing Southeast winds from the south side of the house.

  2. And not only can these guys swing a hammer, some of them showed off their Cajun dance moves and washboard strumming abilities last night at the Jolly Inn. Today we’re going to see if they can swing a few Christmas trees for erosion control.

  3. Yea!!! That is so great. And talking of a shotgun house, I’m just now realizing that you could stand at the front door of Grandmother’s house and look out the back door.

    1. And Vi’s bedroom was on the front, with a long window facing the porch (same as mine). I swapped out the window from a long one to a short one, though, to match the other one on the porch at kitchen. My closet is right where hers was , and where her bedroom led to Grandmother’s is the master bathroom. Her long house floor plan entered my mind more than once while drawing out the design for this house. The only difference is I won’t have a swing where hers was, I don’t think, because my steps will come up through the porch and there might not be room. When are you coming back? I’m trying to find someone to fix Grandmother Vi’s bedroom suite for me since it has flooded twice now.

  4. Wow! I have been wondering how it was going with your house. Hope you quickly feel better as time goes on. I really am finding it exciting on how your house is taking shape. I can’t wait to see it when I’m back in the spring.

  5. Maybe one day soon, Hubby and I will get a chance to ride down and see the progress first hand. If we can just get everyone healed and/or healthy. Speaking of healthy…I went to Cabela’s today. I even came bearing gifts. Just a LITTLE something for you and 2 young Saints fans.

    1. And you found out that I didn’t stand you up on the coffee, I canceled out totally due to illness! I am sooooo sorry I missed you, Steffi! Man, I hate that. Miah came down sick last night, so it’s a good thing I stayed home. You and hubby are long overdue for a visit. Will see the lake tomorrow and will give a report of water conditions. Not fishing, though.

      1. Long overdue is an understatement! We had to cancel our reservation in NOV! Any reports from the Lake? Are the Trout still in Decade?

        1. I caught the last trout in Decade in late November!!! As soon as you enter lake, hang a left behind rigs, and fish for reds along the bank. That’s all they’ve been catching lately.

  6. Man is that pink stuff flame retardant? Last I saw was a weak sassafras red color. I think I am doing a 900 sq ft in middle of 1600 square deck.

    1. sounds good, Blu. I would do things very differently if I had only myself and my dogs to think of. Alas, such is not the case; with each family style come blessings and drawbacks!

  7. Oh, this is just wonderful! I post on another site that has some folks in Michigan I chit-chat with, and I’m going to put in a link to this so they can see what wonderful things their Midland folks are doing.

    And by the way – Boyd’s seafood down on theTexas City dike says crawfish prices are going to start dropping, soon-soon. We’ll see – but their contention is that with the cold weather keeping them buried they’ll be big and faaaat when they get themselves caught. True?

    1. I think that would be great! I have the privilege of taking these folks out on my boat here in a bit, so I’ve got to get cracking. Thanks for posting the link. And by the way, my mother was from Ludington, MI, quaint resort town on the shores of Lake Michigan. Oh, I’m not sure about the crawfish question! But you know we must have least one expert on here!

      1. No expertise needed on the crawfish…the prices will drop dramatically the day after Easter. Actually there was an article in today’s paper. Pond crawfish production is down because of the cold, but wild caught crawfishermen are looking forward to a very nice crop. (It’s still a bit early for them)

  8. It’s looking good! My Grandparents were part of a Baptist church group that built churches and houses all over (mainly on reservations). It’s a wonderful ministry and I’m so happy they are doing this for you guys. By the way, I happen to love the hot pink lumber!!!

  9. I hope you’re feeling lots better. Having progress on the house has got to help. We are getting anxious to leave the ‘oil patch’ and head your way for a few days.

  10. An attic ladder is a set of folding steps that can be accessed easily, and folded up when not in use. For homes, garages and warehouses, it is preferred to use this ladder rather than a staircase since it frees up ground space when not in use. Attic ladders are used for entering an overhead area of storage, called an attic. To open an attic ladder that is folded up, a pull cord or a ring is provided for pulling it down. Once opened, the ladder should touch the ground at an angle so that it is easy to climb up. It is better if attic ladders are fitted with 3 to 5 inches rungs that should be slip resistant.

  11. When you project is complete, you should have a loft ladder that fits the loft hatch entry point perfectly. Many builders did not consider that people might want to convert their loft into something other than a dusty storage area. Having your loft converted really can add value to your house and give you a practical space to live in.

    1. Monica, thanks for the idea, but the pitch on my roof is not high enough for the attic to be used for anything other than storage. And just last week, we installed the pull-down attic access steps. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. BW