By Nick Wilder
There are two absolute rules about building a new house; it will cost more and take longer than you originally planned. Our house in Door County was no exception to those rules. We solved the problems of a small screen porch, a crowded entry and insufficient space in the main bedroom by making the house larger. The price of raw materials went up and Canadian truck drivers stopped delivering lumber for a month in protest against their government’s Covid restrictions. In spite of it all we completed the house in 10 months and are delighted with the results. An unusual feature of the house is the rusting corten steel cladding which covers two thirds of the exterior. The rusting process has begun and we expect to have a uniformly rusted look by next spring. Part 1 of my photo essay covered the construction process through the end of 2021. The photos below pick up the construction after the house was framed but not enclosed.
Bracing bedroom walls against winter wind |
Keven in what will be the kitchen/living room |
Installing the roof on top of the glue lam beams.
The roofing installers |
Raising the waterproof membrane to the roof |
Piping for in floor radiant heating
Keven pictures the hole for the septic tank created with dynamite blasts.
The above ground swim spa installers
Installing the concrete garage apron
Installing the steel cladding |
The only female worker on the job |
Cutting corten steel for the house cladding |
Bending the steel plates |
The corten steel starts to rust |
The house viewed from our meadow |
Back porch overlooking meadow
Keven ready for art buyers in her studio/gallery
Sunset viewed from our screen porch |
 The living/dining room |
Back of house viewed from driveway (landscaping will wait until spring) |
House in the meadow |
