Power!

The power company received faint praise for their reliability in my last post, but I gladly eat my words.  The Consumers Power crew showed up in four trucks early on Monday morning to install our permanent power, and by the end of the day we had an operating electrical service.  

We had requested the electric service to our home be installed underground.  There is a cost premium for this service, but we were strongly motivated by the aesthetics for the long term.  A secondary power line crosses a section of the property that serves a good share of the township.  The pole supporting the secondary line that would serve as the source of our electric service was determined to be too old to mount the transformer.  Part of the job was to replace that pole with one that would be up to the task.

After purchasing the land a little over a year ago, we were somewhat stunned to have the power company come through last spring and mow down the vegetation below the power lines to clear the right of way.  The scalping was quite a shock as the vegetation buffer we had enjoyed from the road was significantly diminished.

We have come to terms with the change in landscape, choosing to assist in the maintenance of that easement for the future in a prairie ecosystem with some fruit bearing trees along the margin that will not encroach on the power lines.  We have come to enjoy this feature and look forward to further developing the site.  We have other areas we can infill to provide screening, but will have to wait a few years for it to mature.

 

This pole also serves our neighbor across the street.  Since we want to be part of the solution in maintaining the easement, we opted to move the driveway underneath the power lines that serve our neighbors, thus avoiding the need to maintain the severe maintenance program, and allowing us to infill the old access road with vegetation to provide screening. 

The carpenters finished framing the interior and the plumber is almost done with the rough in plumbing, save the installation of the tub and shower units which are due in next week.  The ductwork for the fresh air and exhaust system is complete, and the piping for the heat pump should be done by the end of the day tomorrow.  We are expecting the hot water heater to arrive next week which is also attached to the heat pump.  If all goes well, we should be able to get some of the final inspections completed by the end of next week in preparation for the insulation.    

The exterior trim arrived today, so we can begin installing the soffit and fascia.  Completing this will allow the roofer to start on Monday. 

 

Our daughter Rachael with a background in both Interior Design and Graphic Design was in town to help us pick out colors.  Though we had discussed general themes, we had a great sunny day to contrast the floor and cabinet colors with the paint selections.  We are very pleased with the selections and the process, and feel that for the first time we will have a unified expression of color in our home. 

It has been raining steadily for several days now, so I have not been getting good photos.  I will post more progress pictures this weekend.