Stairtower Progress

As of Sunday, August 31st, we officially connected "Upstairs/Downstairs"! I had predicted that we would be less likely to use the Pub until that connection was made despite Eric's predictions that the short trip around the building would be no big deal. Christmas vacation of last year when the Pub had only been recently completed proved my suspicions as we had lots of snow and ice by that time and meals transported by tray to the Pub were often times quite cooled down and peppered with snow flakes by the time we went to eat them. Not to mention the risk of carrying a tray full of food and drink across icy driveways was not ideal. Even when spring came there were the spring rains, and mud season to contend with. The other and perhaps the biggest problem is that we never stop working on whatever the project may be until dark which in summer means nine or later and by the time we get showered, make dinner and get ready to settle in and watch a bit of TV, the upstairs area seems more inviting as the bedroom is only feet away and we are feeling pretty tired by that point.  There was also the problem of water coming in under the door in the winter and onto the Pub floor. Even so there is a drain, it was not a good situation to have it come in whenever there was a big snow followed by a drastic thaw. The ground was so frozen there was no where for the water to go but into the Pub as the land sloped in that direction from both sides to allow for the daylight basement.
So, Eric insisted that I make the "maiden voyage" as I had done so on the stairs to the loft. Oh, what a feeling! It is AWESOME! Makes life so simple to be able to run upstairs for forgotten items. I just LOVE it!
This weekend Eric worked on closing in and venting the eaves while I built out the window jams to allow for the addition of 2" or polyiso on the outside along with the strapping and finally the board and batten siding. We will also insulate the inside walls with 6 inches of fiberglass insulation and run some polyiso on the ceiling after the vents and bats are in place. The Lodge is so well insulated we do not want to allow any heat loss from this new addition. Ultimately, it should actually help as it will become the new entryway so that the blast of cold does not come directly into the main room of the Lodge.