Malinka Montreux - Our Retreat on the Lake

Tip - which way for ceiling fans?

2010-04-04T13:06:00.002-04:00

Thought I'd post image I found on Amazon.com - I always struggled finding good data as to which to have ceiling fans turning in winter or summer. Most sites tell you to do it by 'feel' - but i never felt that was quite definitive enough. So this image lays out which way the blades turn (i.e. sides pointing up or down depending on the season).

Opening a wildlife sanctuary

2009-05-10T21:18:00.003-04:00

So we like the wildlife that is getting attracted to our house... we feed the ducks several times per day...

But now Sara "Ozzy" BirdWhisperer is getting her hands full...
As we have had 4 bluebirds take a dirt bath in our wood stove. Needless to say we're calling the chimney people tomorrow to get a screen over the chimney...
Sara, Bobik, and Rommel trying to figure out how to scoop the birds out...
If you look closely, you can see them inside the firebox... not sure why - all of sudden the bluebirds just started coming down the chimney. All seem healthy - Sara reached in and gently grabbed them, gave the pat on the head, and sent them outside and they flew away.
And we have lots of bats (we attract those to keep the bug population down)... but this little guy decided to take a nap just outside one of the doors.

Gym

2009-02-07T22:33:00.000-05:00

Mechanicals and garage

2009-02-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

Theater

2009-02-03T22:29:00.001-05:00

OK - so it's not yet complete... but you get the idea... need to rearrange a bit, hang the screen and projector, and hook up the A/V equipment...

Winter at lake

2009-02-03T21:42:00.000-05:00

Winter has arrived - we have some mid-size critters - not sure what they are yet though...

the roadside entry at night
Looking out over the now frozen lake

the road and hill by the house
looking out from the lake side deck

A few more from the interior

2009-02-03T21:37:00.000-05:00

Looking down stairway...

Hallway to the master suite...
master bedroom

Interior images

2009-01-27T12:09:00.003-05:00

view looking up the stairs
Master Bath
lighting and HVAC
master bath
Bobik found a favorite place to sleep in the office
Office
lower hallway
Media room
Media room
Stairway
kitchen island

kitchen
great room
great room
office
kitchen
kitchen
powder room

Exterior view

2009-01-27T12:04:00.001-05:00

Front entrance... view from Main Road.

A view from above

2009-01-24T12:01:00.001-05:00

Thought this was a different view of oru home... from on top of the pantry... looking out over the main line for the HVAC...

Note the Penn State dining table :-)
The great room...

Getting ready for christmas

2008-12-16T11:55:00.000-05:00

Celebrating christmas in our new home....

Moving in day

2008-11-04T11:51:00.000-05:00

So after unexplained construction delays, we were finally able to have the house far enough along to get our things delivered and unpacked. Thankfully only a couple things were damaged, and the moving crew was great!

Kitchen & Bath

2008-10-31T18:39:00.002-04:00

Countertops are in... kitchen coming on line...

Walk in cooler is installed (not functioning yet... needed a few more parts...)
Master bath getting close...

Trim and counters

2008-10-27T19:54:00.002-04:00

Getting close on the lower level... more interior doors hung and more trim done...

this is the closet in Michael's office...
The door leading out from the office...
The spare room / guest bedroom
The steel wrap on the exterior is completed...
And the quartz was finished today... these are the sills in the master shower...
the wet bar in the media room...
the master bath vanity...
kitchen counters...

Paint!

2008-10-23T22:09:00.001-04:00

The lower level painting for the living spaces is about done... this is Michael's office...

And another of Michael's office...
And another of Michael's office... lots of bright, intense, inspiring colors... blue, yellow, orange, pink, black, and purple - wow!

A look at the purple floor....
And a peek at the intersection of the media room, hallway, and floor...
It's looking a bit crazy.... but it's the look we were going after...

Stainless steel, paint, tile

2008-10-21T21:35:00.003-04:00

Now things are really coming together... we have the exterior stairwell wrapped in stainless steel (lower part is done... upper part about 1/3 done... should be finished wednesday).

This is the lower level entry... our doors arrived from Colorado and are now installed...
And the interior paint colors are coming together... needless to say... lots of people are doubting the color choices... but we like how it is coming out... this picture is the media room.
This one is the only 'sane' room in the house (other than the garage) so it will be a guest bedroom.
A view of the interior stairwell... now basically finished...
And the tile for the entry is nearing completion as well.

Almost like home

2008-10-17T21:59:00.000-04:00

The Lester crew was nice enough to hang a couple pictures for us today while the scaffolding was still up in the stairwell... so with some of our artwork up... it's now feeling a bit like home.

More work on finishing the trim work... this of the lower end of the stairwell...
And a look at the lower entry door.

Uh oh... this isn't what we asked for...

2008-10-16T22:10:00.000-04:00

So the more adventurous paint colors are coming in now... we selected a nice red for many walls... and there is actually one wall in the office which will be pink... but I walked downstairs to see what the painters were up to... and this is what I saw...

And this is the entrance to Victoria's Secret... I mean our media room...
Then we learned that the pink is just a primer coat for the red. Thankfully. Shows what we know about paint.

Lots of milestones

2008-10-14T22:52:00.000-04:00

Walkway to the dock is in place...

Driveway and roadside walkway in place...
Updated view of the roadside entry...
Main entry door is in place...
Television wall waiting for a television :-)
Big milestone - a running toilet!
Another big milestone - getting the car into the garage (even if there are no garage doors yet)...

HVAC finished in Michael's office.
A look at the kitchen and great room... the lighting is done.
Another on the roadside entry.

Lights, septic, more trim....

2008-10-09T22:38:00.002-04:00

more lights over the stairwell...

An updated view of the lakeside...
Final grading in place for the roadside...
Fall has arrived... so pumpkins starting to decorate the dock...
Septic system in place...
Lighting in the great room going in... HVAC almost done...
Sample of the lighting over the island...
additional pine trim around the doors....

Bathroom, cabinets, lights

2008-10-08T22:25:00.001-04:00

The master bath is coming together... here you see the double walk-in shower (half-tiled) and hot towel bar...

The guys from Valley Cabinet came back today to deliver the bathroom vanity, the dining table base, and Michael's work surfaces.
This will be Michael's desk... need a glass top for it... but the overall box is tall enough so Michael can return to working while standing up...
Kitchen island in place... you can start to see what this will look like with the steel baskets.
You can see a bit more of the stairwell coming together... starting to get the low voltage lights in.
This is the master closet.

Nice fall day...

2008-10-07T20:37:00.002-04:00

So Fall is starting to come to the lake... I bet the trees and the view will look even better in the coming weeks... This is the view from our lakeside deck...

Some progress in the media room... the framing around the media rack is complete (and a couple additional decorative built in shelves now included as well)
Some of the interior doors are in...
And the flooring in the great room is about done...
And the 1000 gallon propane tank is buried.

A quiet Saturday... another Penn State win...

2008-10-04T21:41:00.000-04:00

We spent Saturday at the house watching Penn State beat Purdue... we do not have the satellite connected yet... but as we have the internet connection in + a SlingBox - we watched the game... did the traditional grub - wings, taquitoes, fried mozzarella, beer, chips & dip... before the game we took more pictures.

This is the great room... fireplace in... painting about done here... just need to have the television wall finished (trimming the lower part) and getting the flooring down...

Kitchen island... we are using these stainless steel baskets instead of drawers / doors...
A look at the master shower... painting on the ceiling is done... lighting is in... tile already done on the floor... so just need tile on the walls...
A look at the house from the norteast corner....
And Sara wondering "How much longer???"

Paint, flooring, cabinets, septic, and fireplaces!

2008-10-02T20:33:00.001-04:00

Wow - lots of updates... more painting complete. This is a view of the master bedroom (the silver part of the built-in headboard on our bed... and you can see the black wall of the master closet behind that)...

More of the interior pine flooring is down...
And a look at the kitchen...
More progress on installing the cabinets...
The septic install is well underway...
And the fireplaces are getting installed... this is the wood stove in the great room (which is large enough to heat the whole house apparently)...
And a more modern gas fireplace in the master bedroom which looks nice but provides no real heat whatsover :-)

Painting, more on the kitchen island, heavy equipment

2008-09-26T20:29:00.000-04:00

The painting is well under way... it's predominantly a mix of black and silver on the upper level (and we heard a lot of "we've never done a house like this" from the painter and the GC :-) )... the colors are looking very very nice though...

The cabinets are partially set in place (although they had to be shifted a bit to accomidate the large dining table which is coming later)...
And the excavating / septic / backfill work has resumed...

Roof and kitchen island

2008-09-23T20:26:00.000-04:00

Roof is almost done... it's a gray color (looks even better in person!)

More roof...
Cabinets were delivered today from Valley Cabinet...
And here's part of the finished product (before being installed)..

Doors & Tile & Floor

2008-09-19T20:22:00.000-04:00

Shower floor for the master bath is in...

Tile in place so that the wood stove in the great room can be set....
Some flooring down (a small amount to enable the install of the fireplace in the master bedroom)... and that fridge is just temporary for now...
And the interior doors arrived on site...

HVAC, data network

2008-09-16T22:57:00.003-04:00

Sara and Michael took the day off today to spend the entire day at the property doing some catch up things. Much of the work was getting the cabling for the data network punched down and cleaned up.

Meanwhile, Rommel is very excited to see the new 7.1 decoder for the media room... she's enoying it now in the hotel room as she heard these things run very warm and this is like a built-in warm cat bed.

Also good news is Frontier Communications finally got on site to put the DSL and voice lines in. The tech from Frontier was quite impressed (or maybe it was stunned) at the size of the data network for the house. He told he's not even seen a business infrastructure room wired so cleanly and thoroughly... I guess Michael's years of managing infrastructure in all those field sales office is paying off :-)

Also very exciting for the day was seeing the HVAC ducts get installed. To build the industrial / loft theme in the house, we are going with full exposed stainless steel duct work through most of the house.

Hoping to see the drywall folks back on site on Wednesday to get that finished... and ideally seeing roof and septic in place end of this week / early next week.

Tape, mud, and Saturday breakfast

2008-09-13T21:17:00.002-04:00

We spent a late Saturday morning / afternoon having breakfast... pancakes, sausage, homefries, juice, coffee... our first semi-formal breakfast in our new home... we were surprised to find this yellow truck in our driveway (and all our things missing from the garage). We then found out that there was a guy there to do taping and mudding on the drywall. And the stuff from the garage was moved into Michael's office as the drywall in the garage is getting finished.

The second Rinnai hot water heater is in place (one was not going to produce enough hot water).
And evidence of the taping and mudding getting finished. This is part of the master bedroom.
Sara pondering how much longer...
The elevated platform in the media room is in place. There will lights facing out from the steps on both sides.
Sara inspecting the operations of the cat litter box access panel. Now we need to figure out how to get Rommel to use it.
Also have an extra beam in place in the gym to hang the heavy bag from.

Getting closer on the showers

2008-09-09T22:31:00.001-04:00

So the concrete is finished in the shower floor...

And one of the shower panels has made it upstairs to the master bath... so hoping to see it hanging on a wall sometime soon...
More work completed in the kitchen... this area is where the double wall over will go + built in shelves for the cookbooks, microwave, etc...
Closets are getting drywalled as well...
And, on a sad note... the first damage during construction... if you look closely they even left a nice little note that a new window was already ordered :-)

Progress on kitchen cabinets

2008-09-08T21:19:00.000-04:00

Kitchen cabinets are coming together very nicely... see below for the pictures of the work in progress... this one is more or less the entire island - this is the view you'd see coming into the kitchen area.

This is where the dishwasher and main sink will be...
This is where the cooktop and vegetable sink will be. Note the lower height for those who are vertically challenged.
This is one of the sides... we will be using stainless steel baskets in all the openings that you see...
And another set of cubbies for more storage baskets.
We saw these in person as well and they look great! Though the question had come up of "will these fit through the door of the house"??? it will :-)

More drywall

2008-09-07T22:43:00.000-04:00

We spent Sunday afternoon at Malinka Montreux (after watching a pathetic effort from both Cincinnati and Baltimore in their NFL opener)... thankfully Penn State looks very good so far this year. Anyways... more drywall work done... below you can see our master bedroom and the built-in headboard.

Most of the concrete base for the master shower is in...
And you can see more of the kitchen taking shape (the spot with all the openings will be for the double over, and other built-in shelves).
And the media room is finally looking like something... the screen goes in the middle where the wall is recessed.
And the culinary artist is hard at work again... we actually eat at the site ~2 or 3 nights a week...

Water Well, Drywall, and feeding the ducks by hand

2008-09-04T21:12:00.002-04:00

So more good progress... Sara was enjoying a little late afternoon fishing today...

And also feeding the ducks by hand...
The water well is done (380' deep)...
Getting ready to mount the AC compressors on the outside of the house...
Drywall getting hung inside...
The great room entertainment wall is coming into shape now...
A view of the stairwell...
Looking into the master bathroom (hot water towel bar is hung... shower floor is started...
Master bedroom built-in headboard taking shape...

Steps are in, cables pulled, and even some drywall started

2008-08-31T23:12:00.006-04:00

Sara and Michael spent Sunday afternoon / evening at the site to celebrate labor... we actually did some work (moving firewood piles) while there... but had two very nice cookouts, some time out on the boat, and even a brief moment of fishing.

You can see the stairs are in place... these are looking very cool. Painted black steel stringers, thick, wide treads. They will stay open on the riser and there will be a wall facing outward with lighting to light up under the stairs.
All the cable pulled for the data / video network...
An updated view on the lakeside... entire railing is done... waiting on the stainless steel wrapping for the exterior of the center stairwell.
We laughed that when you look from this angle, it seems like we are already settled and moved in...
And the ducks continue to be very friendly... I guess you can make friends with bread crumbs...
A look under the stairs...

Lighting on the lakeside is almost complete...
Another look at the entire lakeside deck...
Some drywall work started... this are is the backboard for our bed (notice the built-in bookcases)
And the master closet is pretty much drywalled.

Railings, lights, and starting fireplaces

2008-08-28T23:05:00.005-04:00

Sara made it to the site while Michael was away this week... railings are in on the lake side deck (those spindles are rebar and look very cool).
The stringers for the stairs have arrived... black painted steel, apparently 400 lbs each.

The chimneys for the fireplaces are in... fireplaces should arrive in ~2 weeks.
Lighting under the lake side deck is in (we are doing similar lights inside as well to match our industrial look).
A shot of the future screened in porch... And a view of the corner of the bedroom where the chimney comes through.

Interior ceiling and more

2008-08-22T22:31:00.002-04:00

Michael was away this week in Cincinnati... but Sara got to the site to see how things are going... looks like the interior ceiling is coming along nicely (almost done... just waiting on the spots where the fireplaces will go).... And you can see the mounts for the various pendant lights (and the spotlights) in place...
And the trim around the trapezoidal windows is done...
And another small but significant milestone... the address is on the house :-)

First big family event

2008-08-17T00:54:00.004-04:00

So we hosted our first big family even on Saturday... a Grier family reunion... the weather was great, although Kevin set up some tents just in case...
The kids enjoyed the water and the boat (lots of tubing today)...
And Kevin / Gwen / Aaron / Justin / Sara / Michael capped the evening off with a small fire in the now finished fire pit...

Insulation and more wiring, railings

2008-08-15T22:59:00.000-04:00

So almost all the insulation is in place for the main level...
The data / video network conduit is coming into place...
But we had to go to a second electrial panel...
We had our first keg on Friday evening ...
Railings are on the deck...

Cabinet progress

2008-08-14T21:49:00.002-04:00

We received some images of mock-ups of the legs for the kitchen island...

We are using stainless steel bins instead of drawers in most of the island... so this gives an idea of how things will look...

Insulation, hot water, railings, cutting the grass...

2008-08-14T19:06:00.002-04:00

Sara made it to the site today and more progress made... starting to prep for ceiling insulation...
And the hot-water heater (a Rinnai unit)... you can even see 1 token sheet of drywall installed.
Railings are on the lakeside deck... rebar will be used for the spindles...
And we had the grass cut as we prepare for the family reunion we are hosting at the site on Saturday... here's hoping for good weather :-)

Built ins and more utilities

2008-08-11T23:50:00.003-04:00

More progress today... the built in wall which serves as the backboard and shelves / night tables for our bedroom...We also have firmed / finalized our tile / cabinet / countertop colors (see the actual samples below)...
Sara is trying to determine which side of the bed she will be sleeping on...
And lots of workers on site today...
More of the utilities are coming in now... below is the tankless hot water heater...
and the bench inside the gym is getting framed...
And some of the well is getting installed... just need to see that big hole getting dug outside...
You can also see the built-in TV wall taking shape...

More electrical work

2008-08-11T00:07:00.002-04:00

Looks like Friday was mostly an electrical day... Sara and I visited the site on Sunday to drop off the remaining lighting (we spent Saturday shopping at IKEA in Philadelphia for lights and steel baskets for our kitchen (that's what goes on the open shelves instead of drawers). Progress was slow on Friday... mostly electrical and some plumbing were done. You can see below that some of the extensive conduits are starting to make their way to the data closet.
And the wiring is finding it's way to the electrical panel (in fact, someone left a light on over the weekend!).
What you see below is very cool... it is the start of a built in A/V unit... the flat panel goes on the top and the equipment goes on the bottom... and the audio connections from the deck speakers and secondary speakers in the great room all feed through here...
Plumbing for the wet bar in the media room is getting roughed in...
When we were at the site today... it was pouring rain so we did not get out on the water... but we did catch up a couple points on things that are missing, so it was a productive day none the less... on Monday we start the first meeting with the security people and making preparations for the Grier family reunion (which we are hosting on Saturday, Aug 16)...

Kitchen Cabinets (final renderings)

2008-08-10T12:51:00.003-04:00

We are doing something a bit unusual in our kitchen (no surprise there I am sure)... we have decided to go with Valley Cabinet (worked with Paul - they have been incredible - fast turnaround on the design and estimate). Pictures of the final design are below. The countertop is actually a very bright green (called Apple Martini) from CaeserStone (the lighting in the rendering does not quite show this) and the toekicks are stainless steel. We are doing a similar piece in the master bath for the vanity and for a base for our dining room table (which is glass 4' x 8' and 3/4" with an etching of the Penn State Nittany Lion in the middle :-) )

Online Shopping for building materials

2008-08-08T09:28:00.003-04:00

Just a tip and endorsement to pass along for procuring some of your personally selected building supplies... we wanted and tried to support local / regional business while building our house... but these places just make it almost impossible to do so... for example...

We are putting lots of lighting in the house... > 100 3" recessed lights along... went to Friedman Electric and talked them about what we are doing... they came back with a price of $154 per each recessed light. Went to Lowe's... spoke to the lighting department manager... ended up with exactly the lights we want (3" recessed stainless steel trim) which were $11.98 shelf price... volume discount to $10 each. Total savings is > $14,000. I am not making this up. We also spoke to Friedman about doing LED rope lighting... needed about 75'. Their quote was $1375. Search around... you will find this for less than $150. Other lights we are doing from IKEA... lots of low voltage stuff, and a fraction of the cost of the local stores. Well worth the drive to IKEA...

Another example... we went to Eastern Penn Supply Company for plumbing fixtures. Their prices are easily 25% or more versus what you can find online and have it shipped to you... toilets that EPSCO was quoting $600+ for... we picked up online for $380. And this was after we had agreed with the salesman that we would email our list of requirement.... which we did... but he "never got a chance to respond to"... very, very disappointing.

So doesn't it cost a fortune to ship a toilet across the country? Surprisingly... no... as long as you are not shipping things via 1-day or 2-day shipping. In fact, the places that we are using ship most of their orders for no charge (i.e. free shipping for orders over $99 or $199 etc.). Our experience has been great so far... we've received two sinks, a two piece toilet, toilet bowl, 2 microwaves... all items ordered on Tuesday or Wednesday... and received Thursday or Friday. Great customer service (i.e. lots of emails, fast updates)... the only disappointment has been that in some cases (like Homeclick.com) their real-time inventory tracking does not seem 100% accurate (so an item shows as in-stock in their catalog... but then shows a delay once the item is in your cart). This has only happened once, but it is a watchout. I had another case at needplumbingsupplies.com where the toilet we ordered was supposedly instock... so I ordered it... but then got an email the next day that there was going to be a 5-day delay. I cancelled the order - no questions asked.

The prices fluctuate pretty quickly... i ordered 2 toilet seats at ~$50 a piece... then noticed the next day the price had dropped to $37 each.

The other downside is that these shipment do generate a lot of trash... big shipping boxes stuffed with foam... and some items would be expensive to return (so you need to make sure you know exactly what you want).

Places we are using:
http://www.amazon.com - they have a good selection... I am already an amazon.com Prime member (unlimited 2-day shipping for $79 per year... and we order a lot from amazon so it is worth it)... their prices are not always the lowest... but very good customer service, and again, they carry a nice assortment.

http://vidavici.com - good selection... prices are a mixed bag (some average... some very low)... free shipping on orders over $50

http://www.needplumbingsupplies.com - most items have free shipping... carries lots of great brands... but I have not seen how to check status of my orders directly on their site (i.e. their back office stuff is not well put together). But has good customer service w/ live / online chat... and fast email responses.

http://homeclick.com - this one comes up in a lot of search results... seems to be a pretty good selection... and the site operates well...this is one where I would have expected lowest prices across the board... but instead they seem to have a spread of prices.

Overall - if you know what you want... I strongly recommend using sites like this for the cost savings they offer... at least until the local providers start getting their pricing and service in order. Of course, if you are developing multiple properties, you obviously get more pull with the local guys... but if you are building a single home... the sites I listed above are the place to go...

Kitchen Island ideas

2008-08-07T22:48:00.001-04:00

We are finalizing the kitchen island design... we are playing with the idea of only doing islands (since we will have a lot of pantry space)... this give you an idea of what that would look like...

The is the view of the opposite side (this is what you would see walking into the great room) with bar stools for extra seating). This is another idea, but with more doors on it.

Rough plumbing, start of HVAC industrial tubes, pantry framing

2008-08-07T22:37:00.002-04:00

Starting to see things coming together with the rough side of the mechanicals and plumbing taking shape. We are a bit disappointed with the amount of infrastructure that is not run though channels, but everything cannot be perfect (next time, if we do this again... when doing a custom job, HVAC and plumbers need to look at the plan and get there needs factored in as well... because we did not do this, we lose a bit of the space on the lower level to conceal things like the drainage pipe below).
Here you can see we have some of the HVAC in for the upper level (I think this is supposed to get started again on Friday, August 8). Note that we will be using all exposed industrial ductwork across the beams and down into the rooms, so it will get a bit of a loft feel.
And the pantry is getting framed out.... the powder room is on the right, a small pantry in the middle, then the next space will be for the freezer and more pantry space.

Pitter patter of little feet... plus HVAC, and conduit as far as I can see...

2008-08-05T21:53:00.005-04:00

Made it to the lake this evening... and we definitely hear the pitter patter of little feet... ok - so they are duck feet... all over the deck. Sara thinks she will be hand-feeding them soon, much like a Penn State squirrel.
All the windows in on the road side.. we are waiting until the end of the project to put the front door in...
A view of the road side... the A/C compressors will go on the side of the house (near the electric pole).
Furnaces are set (2-zones) and a sample of the venting in the lower level (the steel tube in the back). On the main level we will have all industrial looking tube / trim for the HVAC.

The stairwell looking out over the stairs... the windows open at the top, but will require a 24' ladder to reach them :-)
Michael's office... lots of electric getting pulled in...
And I think the guys will be happy never to see conduit like this again (we will end up with ~48 data connections + coaxial to many locations, so the conduit runs to every room... giving us the ability to easily upgrade in the future. Even the speaker wire in the media room goes through conduit.

A view of the roadside porch. The 12" columns look awesome... lights are going are in the roof as well.
View of what the lighting will look like on the lakeside deck...
View from the shoreline...
And an updated view from the water...

More visitors...

2008-07-29T23:37:00.000-04:00

While Michael was away in Cincinnati... Sara hosted a few guests at the lake... sounds like it was a nice evening of snacks, chatting, and even meeting another neighbor. The boat was still floating and it got another run on the water...

Log & Timber Homes Network

2008-07-29T13:32:00.004-04:00

Our house plan is this week's "Sponsored Plan of the Week"... click here for the pictures and plans (basically the same material from http://malinkamontreux.blogspot.com/). The write-up is below :-)

The Grier from Estemerwalt Log Homes is a custom home that has many unique features that may be worth repeating in your home plans.

The raised ranch style allows for casual living on the lower level with the main body of the home on the second floor, perfect for a hillside property.

The first floor has a spacious two-car garage and space for a gym or hobby room. Three bedrooms with a shared bathroom rounds out the rest of the floor.

The second floor, or main level, has a fully equipped kitchen with space for a walk-in cooler, over-sized pantry and expansive serving island. The living room/dining room can be arranged to taste, but for this family, the pool table was integrated into the space for its entertainment value. The master suite is a dream come true with a built-in wood stove for cool evenings, plus a walk in closet that adjoins the laundry room.

But the cherry on top is the master bath with its walk-in shower, Finnish sauna and hot tub that accesses the deck. Perfect for the ski slopes!

Big day today - lots of milestones....

2008-07-28T23:51:00.003-04:00

Quite an exciting day in the Malinka Montreux journey... we stopped in to select our sauna and spa... and then headed off to the lake. We have settled on lights for the deck and we are giving them a test run... and the big news is many of the doors and windows are installed!
These are the doors / windows from the bedroom to the deck...
And our first shot of the house taken by us from the water...

The lake side shot that has become standard (notice the trapezoid windows on the left)...
... and the Nittany Lion has arrived on site to watch progress (this will not be his final resting place but rather was just a convenient place to leave a large block of concrete)...
and Kevin's boat has arrived on site as well (Sara and I received our driving lessons tonight)...
... and last but not least... important to Michael at least... the rack for the data network and audio equipment is securely bolted in place...
Needless to say - this was a huge day... we are getting lots of shipments every day at the hotel now as we have lights and other accessories coming in...

A busy day for us and the start of the electrical and data data network

2008-07-27T13:47:00.005-04:00

Electrical box is in... Windows are almost all framed out (windows are supposed to be delivered Monday July 28... that will really feel like a big step forward)...
The conduits (the grey tube running down the of stud) for the all important technology cabling is getting installed... CAT6 and Coax to everyroom (multiples in some cases) and with the conduit, ease of future upgrades...
And we dropped off the CPI rack and shelves which will make up the network rack plus the stand for the AV equipment in the media room.
And Sara and I spent our entire Saturday with a cargo van from Enterprise running around picking up things and moving them from one place to another. To help move things along, we selected and transported the equipment for the 2nd full bath... and also got the ceiling fans, and some of the recessed lighting for the house. Picked up a very nice (and large) gas grill, and some tools that we needed... so we packed the van and unloaded everything at the site.
Needless to say, since neither of us has done true physical work in several years... we woke up quite tired and sore on Sunday.

The garage floor (and the front porch) were both poured as well.

We are really, really excited... while there is still lots of work to do... things are moving along quite nicely.

Bumpers & Studs

2008-07-25T20:31:00.000-04:00

As the title says... bumpers and studs... just putting on the safety bumpers and hopefully we will start getting the water craft on site...
You can see the rest of the stairwell being framed out. This part will be covered in stainless steel and I think will be one of the key places where we mix traditional log w/ modern industrial.
The whole stairwell, strangely enough, will be one of the most impressive features of the house... this is what the view will be like from the stairs looking out over the lake...
The corner of the bedroom....
And the interior framing is moving along very quickly... hard to tell from the picture, but this is the entry closet on the left, then the walkway to the master suite in the middle. The master bath starts on the right... the laundry area is on the left and the master closet straight ahead (w/ the window).

Concrete in lower level, interior framing, 1st dinner guests

2008-07-23T01:53:00.002-04:00

Another visit, and more progress... concrete poured for the living area of the lower level (garage and gym still need to be finished)...
The interior walls on the upper level are getting framed (this will be the master bedroom, master bath, closet, laundry area).
An updated view of the southern side of the house...
And an updated view of the lakeside
And we even had dinner guests... from left to right - Justin, Sara, Gwen, Kevin, Aaron

Tar Paper, Interior Temp Supports removed

2008-07-20T23:27:00.005-04:00

After a weekend in State College, we stopped by Malinka Montreux for a quick check in (and Sara took an impromptu dip in the lake since it was so hot today). See below for some updates...

Tar paper on the roof... hoping to see the roof finished next week...
View of the lakeside deck.... the screened in porch is way at the back of the picture... in the middle - this area will be filled in with part of the stairwell (and the exterior will be wrapped in stainless steel - which we think will look pretty cool)...
On the inside of the main level (the temporary support beams are gone... so you can see how open we are keeping the floorplan).
Another shot of the support system...
Looking toward the main entry door...

Roof, beams, and 1st picnic

2008-07-16T21:48:00.002-04:00

So you can see the plywood for the roof is almost done... and you can see the start of the main entry porch as well...
Roadside view, but the other side... you can also see the framing for the mandatory trapezoidal windows on the side
This is the lake side... you can see the shed roof which will be over the screened in porch...
A peek inside the house... the beams are in and you can see where the temp support is being removed...
A full view from the lake side...
And we also took advantage of the nice weather and Sara prepared a great picnic (which was our 1st full meal together at Malinka Montreux :-)

Rafters, beams, and new outdoor furniture

2008-07-14T00:04:00.005-04:00

We took an impromptu trip to Lancaster over the weekend to get some furniture for our decks... we picked up two folding adirondak chairs with footstools, a cafe table, and two cafe stools while we were there... we looked around the city and then decided on furniture at Peaceful Valley Amish Furniture. We are pleased, although it took some creativity to get everything in the truck :-).

View from the lake... you can see things really taking shape now...
View from the roadside... you can see the dormer coming in over the front door...
Sara inspecting the interior... she's standing in the area which will be the laundry room and closet for the master suite. You can see the rafters and beams coming in as well.
A view of the north side of the house. The window in the concrete is where the storage room (aka bedroom 3) will be... And a view of the south side of the house... there will be trapezoidal windows on this side (in the opening)...

More progress... beams are being set...

2008-07-09T16:27:00.008-04:00

The interior beams are being set...
A view of the master bedroom (from right to left - tall window, then a double door to the bedroom, and finally a double door to the hot tub & master bath). On the lower level is my home office (or the Shickshinny GO for our P&G friends :-) )

A view of the interior beams... and my favorite feature - the very large main entry door that Sara is standing in (one of the things I loved about houses in Russia was gigantic entry doors).

A look from the lake...

... and from the street....

More logs... beginnings of a radiant floor...

2008-07-07T19:18:00.003-04:00

Stopped by the property this evening... here's a few updates... more log courses in place...
The view from the lake is slowly taking shape...
The basis for the radiant floor on the lower lever is in place...
A view of our bedroom (the opening on the front leads to the deck facing the lake)...
And more of the deck... the opening on the right is from the bedroom to the deck, and the next opening is from the hot tub / bathroom to the deck...

The deck is in... the dock is in... the ducks are hanging out...

2008-06-27T21:24:00.002-04:00

We were very pleasantly surprised when we got to the lake tonight to find that the lakeside deck and dock are in... There is still a railing to go on the deck.... and stone in the middle of the deck which is where the firepit will go... And Sara, of course, now talks to the ducks as well... the ducks wanted SunChips... but we only had Tostitos... but we did learn the ducks know the sound of a snack food bag opening...

Logs are getting stacked

2008-06-27T21:06:00.004-04:00

More good progress... you can see the logs getting stacked...
This is the view through the soon-to-be kitchen doors...
Looking from the roadside entry straight through to the lake side view...
View of the house from Main Road... The windows that you see on the right will be the dining room and billiards room.
Lake side view, but from across the lake.

Floor joists are in, plywood for upper floor is down, backfilling started

2008-06-24T16:55:00.000-04:00

The floor joists are in, the plywood on the upper floor is laid... and backfilling started.

Floor drain pipes are in (Sara is standing in the garage pointing towards the media room...

View from near the road...

A picture of the progress from across the lake...
And we are anxious to get moved in... so we put in some chairs and a fire pit near the shore :-)

Why we chose this property...

2008-06-23T17:04:00.001-04:00

Hopefully these pictures will give you some insight into why we are building in Shickshinny... Sara got into the water today (the water was quite warm) although the lake bottom is rocky and hard to walk on... so looks like we will need some water socks :-)
There's always wildlife around... these ducks have been there every day for the past couple days... we are expecting to attract many more animals once we actually move in...
The geese are nice - thankfully they are staying off our property though!

More progress - floor joists are almost done....

2008-06-23T16:59:00.001-04:00

You can see things starting to take shape now... the garage doors are shown here... and the floor joists are being put in.
When we were at the site... looked like they were about 75% complete w/ the joists... you can see the windows and door for Michael's office in this picture.
Sara with the happy look... and you can now start to see Michael's view from his home office.

We have a mailbox!

2008-06-23T16:51:00.000-04:00

OK - so a small milestone - but Sara and I put in the mailbox today... we have "test letters" on their way to determine if the service is working properly before we start processing all those fun change-of-address forms for our mail.

More progress - foundation is poured

2008-06-19T22:22:00.000-04:00

We stopped by the lake tonight... more good progress. Foundation is poured. I guess the forms will come down on Friday or Monday.

And it is looking like a real job site now - heavy equipment and a Job Johnny.

And the water is plenty warm...

Info on the town of Shickshinny

2008-06-18T18:06:00.001-04:00

In case you'd like to learn a little more on the demographics of Shickshinny, PA.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Shickshinny-Pennsylvania.html

Footers are in

2008-06-15T22:28:00.001-04:00

Sara and I stopped by the lake tonight... more good progress. Footers are completely in... gravel fill is in. Now they go to lower level concrete walls.

Also getting an idea of what the view from my home office will be :-) minus the drainage pipe of course...

Ground has been broken

2008-06-07T16:33:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let folks know that ground has been broken for our new home on Lake Shickshinny. Sara and I stopped by the site on Friday, June 6 and were pleasantly surprised to see that a hole was in the ground and the masonry contractor was ready to start pouring footers on Monday, June 9.

So what's in a name?

2008-05-02T19:23:00.000-04:00

So in case you were wondering... we are calling our new home Malinka Montreux... it combines a couple elements from our last 4 years into something semi meaningful... and since we consider this our retirement home (of course we will move again, but we have no plans of selling this property).

Malinka = Russian for "small" or "little" (Малинка)
Montreux = small town in Switzerland on the shore of Lake Geneva

Malinka represents our time of living and working in Russia, which is where the idea for this property came from... where we spent lots of time going through ideas and from where we traveled quite a bit to learn some of the things / styles we like.

Montreux represents memories of a wonderful music / jazz festival held every summer in Montreux Switzerland. For us... Montreux is more about water, relaxation, sun, beautiful scenary, good food and drink, and an eclectic and very diverse crowd.

Floor plans, elevations

2008-04-16T19:00:00.000-04:00

Floor plans and elevations are below... these are pretty close to final... only made a couple changes from these (roadside main entry door will be taller (10' tall x 3.5' wide) and the stairwell on the roadside will come straight down (instead of the L-shaped that you see). Click on each image to see a bigger one...