Above — the boneyard in the driveway continues to grow. It’s astounding how much old wood has been carved out Emerald Hill’s skeleton — undersized, termite weakened, insufficient for the house that Emerald Hill is becoming.

• Potential garage addition. Ron and Steve met with architect Brett Grinkmeyer to begin planning a potential third garage bay; Jadin will be driving soon and Steven’s tablesaw needs a home.
• Stairway. Ron and Brett continued separately to review design plans for the stairway. Ron plans to demo the existing stairs next week, building new to code.
• Structured wiring. Steven met with a candidate to install structured wiring — phone, network, AV, alarm, etc.
• Save the oak floors? Ron and Steven met with a flooring expert. We might not be able to save and refinish the existing oak floors. More info to come.
• HVAC. Kyle from Elite Heating & Air Conditioning inspected the install to date by his team. Steven took the opportunity to ask about adding a third duct into the Great Room — the combination of the family room and kitchen. Kyle advises against — it will compromise airflow elsewhere in the house, and the additional airflow will not be needed. Steven opts to have Ron expand the vertical chase in the laundry room on the second floor, to make it easier to install this potential duct run more easily, if we discover it is needed while we live in the house.
• Foam insulation. Mark Rehberg and Ron Dahlke from Ranserve advise Steven it will cost $400 additional to insulate the entire exterior envelope of the house with expanding foam, instead of blown in, not just the attic. Steven knows from insulating Sea Eagle View with foam 11 years ago that this is the smarter route. Steven approves the additional cost. Ranserve will deliver change order.
• The range hood. Jacquela and Steven choose the final appliance, a Zephyr Brisas range hood. Kristin at Harway updates the paperwork. Jacquela and Steven to review. Steven sends specs to Ron for HVAC team to frame in ducting at kitchen wall.