The Brothers DIY

We sure are acquiring some mad skeels through this project! From painting to sanding - gardening to seeding - stair fixin' to gutter fixin', we are trying to do it all.

Brig was out in the sun on Saturday fixing the gaping holes and rotting wood we called the front entrance stairs. Didn't know you could do that? Good to know.

Later (into the evening) N8 and Brig were found on the roof above the front entrance installing a new gutter. Didn't know you could do that either. Good to know.

Yes, this is our first time doing many (most) of these projects but we are trying our darnedest to do it ourselves and do it right (as best we can).

I thought this site was particularly funny when it comes to DIY projects, There I fixed it. Scroll
though, there are some doozies, like this, this, or this.

Floral Arrangements

One thing we all have agreed on is that there MUST be floral arrangements in each room when we have access to flowers. I found these arrangements over on Decor8 to be fantastic and interesting and something I could see working so well in our Inn.

Wandering around Lake Runnemede, we have access to beautiful Queen Anne's Lace, Water Lilies, and of course the Snapdragons we are attempting to nurture in our own gardens. These paired with a vintage vase or something funky picked up at one of the many summer yard sales will be perfect on the bedside table or perched on the exposed brick in Bathroom 3.

Thanks Decor8!

Green Roof Part 2

So we have quotes in from two of the leading providers in the US. The benefits of their systems include pre-grown trays with soil preparations and adjustments already set for your growing zone. Essentially it is like buying "sod" for your roof versus planting from seeds. The cost is the largest hurdle, coming in at over $25 a square foot in most cases. So our little project of 500 square feet was easily coming to over $10,000.

Continued research led us to a very cool company called Geoproducts Corporation. They make an incredible amount of products for construction, irrigation, and general building. Their outdoor section is here. They offer a Geodrein tray that is made from recycled plastic and is ready to install on a properly waterproofed roof. You snap the trays together, add a volcanic or pumice material for drainage, cover that with a geotextile that separates the roots above from the drainage material below, add your soil or growing material, and finally your plugs/plants.

The best news? The trays are $2.08 per square foot plus shipping. We are now looking to price out the other raw materials to see if we can save money with this approach. More to follow.

Wonder Woman

She can paint. She can plant. She can strip floors with hazardous chemicals and proceed to sand them with heavy machinery. What can't our mom do? --Nothing.

News from the Garden

Some new additions to the gardens today. The pic below shows the color and the black and white...we are experimenting with black and white macro shots from the garden to create prints for the rooms. Enjoy.

(Flower is a Osteospermum variety)

How she gets Ready for Home Depot

All the little people in the family must be sick of runs to Home Depot but in her case, its an excuse to gather her finest apparently.

Inspirational Shots of 26 Main

Walking from the pond to the house:
One of the locals at the American Precision Museum thinks the hemlocks that were in these pictures just trimmed bushes where left to grow into trees closer to the house when this whole hedge was removed.

Then

Now

Maxwell Evarts sitting on the back porch.
Notice: lattice under porch structure (what we want to go back to), gutters, the roll up blinds, the fact that the breezeway led down the south side of the house and the stairs entered into the back yard, the long shutters on the back doors, and of course the clothes. ;)

Then

Now

View from top of the hill to south side of house:
-Breezeway porch from front of house to back porch
-White mortar between bricks (we discussed this with the local brick guy for anyone interested)
-Fence along main street (that fence is OLD)
-Masonry stone in same spot--was a fountain then with small child statue on top
-Lack of any plantings along house, but more extensive use of shrubs and trees in lawns
-Gutter from top roof that leads down to the back porch gutters (maybe an idea to revisit there)
-Largest tree next to house is almost exactly where mom (Cheryl) and I discussed planting a new hardwood tree

Then

Now

--Snapdragons

Quest for an Entry Planter

One of the days Joy was in town (only sibling not in Windsor), the gals were given the task and a small sum of money to find sort of planter to decorate the entry path to the front door. We wanted something with some height and presence.

We wandered over to one of our local nurseries, Edgewater Farms, and were immediately overwhelmed by the flower choices and totally underwhelmed by the prices of the planters and ceramic pots/urns. Yes, they were lovely but we needed something a bit cheaper.

We saw many we loved but would be hundreds of dollars over budget for 2 pots and the plants to go inside. We did, however, find these enormous hanging pots of Petunias for only $26 which was brilliant and they were sort of like petunias on steroids. We thought that was the best bang for our buck this summer and next we can carefully craft our own pots.

Thinking caps on, we ventured down the road to The Home Depot (we call it "The Po") where they know us by name and checked out their stock. Still pricey pricey for a good size pot but as we walked around I spotted an interesting concrete pedestal for $14.97 (the right price) and began trying to understand how it worked until we saw the flat bird bath basin that fit on top (also for $14.97). Although it was a toss up between those and the GIANT concrete cowboy boots--so wish we could have bought one just for a joke.

They have the height we wanted and certainly the statement. Also the width of the basin helps spread out the mass of petunias. Now we just need to keep these babies as happy as they were in their Utopian Greenhouses :) But if you are looking for a price effective planter option--think bird bath!

--Chris

Pic of the day

Black Fireplace

Thanks to the painting expertise and perfectionism of Kevin, we now have one wicked hi-gloss black fire place in Room 6. It is one of our smaller rooms and with all the window frames, moldings, and tight corners we have designed a white room with the black fireplace and black wicker headboard. It is going to be BRILLIANT!

Before


After

Little Snapdragons

I have been attempting to organize some of the folders of photos I have on my computer and found these that I love. Our little Snapdragons are generally very patient through all of this and pitching in where there under 7 year old hands can. Asking one of them the other day where their dad was he replied, "Over at the End".

Little E snuggled up to Chelle at one of our cold cold cold
January Meetings in the Inn.

Little S looking super cute during a Saturday work
day in the backyard of the Inn.
Photo by Leilani Bascom

Some cool photos of a black fire place to come--just waiting on getting my camera cord so I can share!

--Chris

Keeping up with the Snapdragons

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Here you can find out the enthralling details of our minute to minute (ok we might not be that twitter saavy) lives getting the Snapdragon up and running. Enthralling stuff delivered right to your mobile or computer or however the heck it works.

Green Roof

Chaz came up with a suggestion to pursue a green roof for our two large porches. One over the entrance and one overlooking the backyard. All together it is about 500 feet of roof space to cover. We hit the Google tubes and began some serious research on current providers, green roof benefits, and the co$t. In our case, the main focus was to establish an enhanced view for guests from the second floor while also reducing rainwater runoff, dampening sound, and increasing the lifespan of each roof.

Pictures like this made it seem like something far too complicated for our small application. But never fear!


Green roofs (depending on application) have a number of benefits as listed on sites researched through the power of the internet. We tried to edit it down to just a few listed below.

Social Benefits
Improved livability.
Improved physical and mental health from exposure to nature.

Aesthetic Benefits
Green roofs are much better looking than asphalt, gravel or tar.
Natural views create more productive, healthy, happy, creative, relaxed people.
Green roofs expand the usefulness of buildings via patios, gardens and vistas.

Environmental Benefits
Urban Heat Island Mitigation--The urban heat island effect is the temperature difference between urban areas and their rural surroundings. The temperature differential causes air currents and dust, and even contributes to violent weather events within urban settings. Green roof vegetation helps by cooling the air, slowing air movement and acting as a substrate for pollution to settle out and detoxify.

Noise Reduction
Plants, soil, and air trapped in the soil are great acoustic insulators. Tests indicate that green roofs can reduce indoor sound by as much as 40 decibels, which is of great benefit to occupants of buildings affected by airports, industry, trains and traffic.

Fire Prevention & Construction Advantages
Succulent green roof plants help reduce the risk of fire.
Green roofs protect exterior roof membranes from ultraviolet radiation, extreme temperature fluctuations, punctures and other physical damage and extend the life of a roof.

Water Conservation/Reduction of Storm Water Runoff
The soil in green roof systems acts like a sponge and absorbs excess rain water. Green roofs reduce the impact of each new building on the municipal storm drainage system and surrounding watershed. They reduce flooding, erosion and artificial heating of water which helps preserve fisheries and other aquatic life.

Green roofs filter water prior to returning it to the aquifer. They buffer acid rain and remove nitrate pollution as water slowly percolates through the soil. What runoff remains will usually occur hours after peak flows, providing additional time for sewer systems to handle the runoff burden from impervious surfaces.

Habitat Recreation
Plants and soil help recreate habitat for butterflies, insects, and songbirds.

So aside from setting a great example, we find some direct benefits for our project as well. Right now we are looking at quotes from the following two providers, plus weighing the costs to create our own system using materials and plants purchased locally. We will blog further as things develop and we narrow down our options to have something in place for opening.



GreenGrid Roofs



LiveRoof

Recent Additions to the Snapdragon Inn Gardens

A few recent additions to the Snapdragon Inn gardens which continue to come along. Nothing like living in a greenhouse (i.e. Vermont).

Recent Garden Shots

Now our own little "Big Dig" is over we are moving quickly to reset the lawns and gardens. Some recent shots.

Identify Me Please

Looking for a little help to positively ID this plant.

Thanks.

Big Red on The Little Dig

The Big Dig is complete (phew) so it is back to landscaping the yard. Now we are needing to move top soil from the back of the lot to the front to fill in some spots. Big Red is on duty today with the mini earth mover in what he likes to call, "Big Red on The Little Dig". He was showing off for the camera as seen below.

The many faces of Big Red

A few Before and Afters

There are so many many many steps that have gone into each bedroom to take it from where they were to where they need to be. Yes, the wall paper in Room 3 was very old and quite cool but we've been cleaning everything up. Stripping (not easy), Plastering, Sanding, Caulking, Puttying, Sanding, Sanding and finally Painting (which includes trim/window painting which is incredibly time consuming but so worth that clean, crisp edge) to take hundred year old walls and make them as smooth as we can manage.

Before

After

Early on in the demo days we discovered a wall in Room 5 that was hiding some beautiful brick that we opted to uncover (so it could breathe). This week we filled the brick and cleaned it up (with the expertise of our local Chimney Charlie) and its looking very cool.

Before

After