The Castine is home

Today was installation day. I would have loved to do this myself, but had to be content with doing the prep work and occasional assistance. Someone has to be working to pay for this stove. The crew (Mike and Chas) from Aqua Rec were competent and concientious. Here are the pics for the day. I'll post some finals when the floor is done.
-- Well, no matter what I do the images seem to want to assume their own sequence on the site. Sorry about that. --

Last shot is the site for the stove in preparation. (Note that we are under construction still until mid-Oct. when the new flooring gets installed.) Next shot is preparation for the stack. It will be DuraVent DVL on the first floor and DuraVent class A from the ceiling up through the closet and out to the roof. First shot is the 2nd fl closet that the class A chimney pass through. Then there's a shot of Chas on the roof finishing up the exterior fitting.

Here is a picture of the closet installation., finished roof install and the Jotul F400 in its new home. My wife and I love the look and can't wait until the walls get repainted and the floor is done so that we can enjoy the new stove.I'll post some beauty shots once the new floors are installed and we have a nice fire going.

Thanks all. I'm on the third breakin burn this morning. Eager to get it seasoned in and ready to roar. That's correct Roo, no floor joists to move. I took my time and with the help and advice of the board was able to plan ahead pretty well. A couple days before the installers came I opened up the closet floor to expose the joists and 1st fl ceiling sheetrock. I would have liked to do it all myself, but someone has to be working to pay the bills.

Yes, the view from the roof is awesome, it's not too shabby from the 1st floor either. It got a little better with the house almost 3 feet higher.

The job took about 6 hrs. start to finish yesterday. Add an hour for my prior demo work. I still need to trim out the closet, but we're functional. This is a diagram of my initial layout. The final hearth is 54" on a side. It's a Yoder Hearth Classic. Maybe in a year or two, once I've recovered from all the remodeling, I'll tackle a nice hearth and back wall, but for now I have way too much on my plate. Actually, it looks pretty good. The hearth is sitting on the sub-floor so that the new floor can be built right up to it. That way, when I do get around to finally tiling it, the floor will be ready to go and the final hearth will have a tight, built-in look.

I do like the view too. We see west to the Olympics and east to the Cascades. But the real view is to the north. It has some tall firs in it, but we look past Seattle, then Mt. Baker and all the way to Canada. I love sitting on the porch soaking it all in. That's why were investing in this property. It's a lovely spot if you have time to relax and enjoy it - ah well, next summer.

So do I! Too warm today, but it's supposed to cool down soon. I'll set up the tripod for the next night burn.

Gotta admit that I have spent a few months going "What the hell are they doing putting so much into that place? They picked the house up for $%# sake."

That last picture said it all.

Cooling down tonight, I couldn't wait. Here ya go Corie.

10/1/06 - added one more pic

Don't think I haven't asked the same question myself BB. If it were up to me I'd have built new, but my wife likes old. And we'd be hard pressed to find such a nice piece of property anywhere else. If we did, I'm sure we couldn't afford it. The first of this year I decided, if we're going to do it, let's do it right.

Yes, we've warmed up again too. They say it will be sunny and in the low 70's all week. Oh well, I have plenty to do in the meantime and will enjoy the solar warmth as well.

We love the look of the stove too. I'll post one final beauty pic once we have the new floors in and trimmed out. By then we should be into daily nighttime burns.

Great idea Elk. That would be a helpful Wiki.

> "Tell you other better half its ok to enjor a few minutes relaxing in front of the fire One does not have to work 24/7"

We both need a rest. She's been packing everything up for the floor replacement in between canning sessions. The crops aren't waiting for us, so for the next two weeks it'll be pretty intense. My push right now is to be sure we are completely ready and weather tight for winter. Making good progress. Come October, we'll kick back and savor the fruits of our labor I hope.

Sometimes I crawl out of the skylite just to sit up on the roof. You're right, a widows walk would be a really nice addition. Taking donations here.....