Picking Up Again... Home Stretch

So here's where we left off, with the three new houses, plus the original pilot house (incomplete, as it was a conceptual sketch only) packed for travel. They traveled quite safely, nestled in their compartments, with a snugly-fitting lid and just a little packing to keep them from sloshing about side to side. No damage at all in the travel, though I carried the box rather than trusting it to the luggage. Good thing I did, since the luggage didn't show up for three days and I would have been a nervous wreck. The one piece that didn't get here on time is the one in which I would have packed the box of houses, so for once, Murphy and his vexing law were defeated. 

Carrying the box in a handled bag wasn't a problem at all--it was light and not at all unwieldy. There was no problem with it getting bashed around in overhead bins, so that all worked out nicely.

When I picked up again, the first thing was setting up a workspace, which should have been an easier thing to do since we have so much more space here, but somehow was much harder to figure out. Here's my new rolling workspace so I can follow the light and be around other people in a sociable way without being completely underfoot. I'm really happy with it and how it's working out. And organizing it was most satisfying.

Assessments in process. Checklists being developed.

The next step was assessing what's left to be done other than the landscaping, which is the major task not even started yet. Sadly, the assessment revealed a number of little things in uneven states of completion: the small gable had railings on one and not other the other two houses, and some of the interior walls that weren't glued in yet went walkabout on the journey. They haven't reappeared yet, though I expect that will happen soon, since I measured, cut and painted replacements yesterday for installation today. 

Railings completed on small gables.
Trash cans (in foreground) under construction.

Some of that was easily fixed; the small gable dressing has been completed, a few pieces that were complete but not installed taken care of, etc. 

For example, all the rocking chairs were placed on the front porches, as it seemed wise to get this done before they got damaged, as they're quite fragile.  They were home before us, awaiting our arrival.  

Sadly, the assessment revealed that there's a construction/design flaw in the roof/back of house that will need to be addressed, as in the process of assessing the roofs, it became clear that my plan for attaching the back of the houses isn't going to work now that the sunrooms are all constructed and attached: the sunrooms are close enough to the edge of the wall that the back wall will not slide through the notches provided. (Pictures tomorrow.) It's looking like the wonderful notches that seemed like such a clever solution will have to be retrofitted, probably with a knife and then glue to reattach after the back of the house is on. Since there's been some talk of not gluing on the roof plane, but using some other way to attach it, given the mushroom factor that caused the second floor to end up so much more furnished than originally expected, this may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Still, in the moment, what it most felt like was a total failure of anticipation and planning. Sigh. 

The progress of the back porches, though, has been totally satisfying, with plants, trash cans, etc. The conceptual plan is complete and tested out on House 1. There's one small fit problem with how the back porch connects to the sunroom to be puzzled out for two of the houses, but not the other. Not sure why that would be, so must measure and mull a bit more on that one. Still, there's visible progress and the back porches for the other houses can be dressed next,. 

There are still sidewalks and  fencing to design and the landscaping to be placed, once the houses are secured, the lighting attached and the final plan formulated and executed. for how the roof and back of the house will be attached. 

And thus endeth the first weekend at home.