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| Robert inspecting the property on his first visit since late February |
There has never been a direct hit by a hurricane on the Big Island in recorded history...until August 7. Iselle blew through with a vengeance, laying waste to neighborhoods to the North and West of where I am renting, and where our house is under construction. Our contractor Bob Kirk had his crew spend a few days prepping the site for the winds and rain, and it paid off. No damage occurred at the house. A large yellow bamboo was blown over, and quite a few ancient Ohi'a trees were toppled. It took me a week of hard work to pick up all the other debris from the driveway, Vireya trail, and other areas of the property with a showering of limbs, leaves, and plants taken down by the winds.
The worst of it was the power at my rental house went out August 7 at 4 PM. It didn't return until August 16th at 3 PM. Since the water is powered by electric pumps, we had no water, power, wifi for 9 days! The good news is that our house under construction is all solar, off the grid, even with a propane generator for emergency backup. I won't have to deal with HI Electric Company ever, which is a good thing!
After Iselle, construction resumed. The metal roofs of both structures are now complete. Bob Kirk, our contractor, finished staining the concrete floors and deck of the main house. With that done, he invited in the plumber who did the pipes on both the main house and the master suite this week. Next week, the electrician and solar electric guys come do their wiring and installations.
The best news for me personally was the arrival of my husband Robert Welsch for his first visit since late February. He added new eyes and energy to the housebuilding project, and applied his unique talents to making the garden look amazing! Welcome Robert!
Earlier this week Robert, Bob Kirk, Eric (one of Bob's carpenters) and I laid out the ornamental wood with capiz shell doors that will be the sliding door coverage for the master and the main house. Bob Kirk's crew will build them into sliding panels with screens on top. We will add other Balinese touches like this throughout both structures. As a matter of fact, my husband Robert Welsch and I went shopping in Kona this weekend to see what else we can add to help with accents on the house.
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| Guest bedroom 2 shower pan with the wet concrete. |
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| Robert thinking.... |
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| The plumber in the foreground working on the kitchen pipes, and Dave working in the background on the kitchen window. |
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| Plumber may be expelled from the union, no plumbers crack showing! |
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| Plumbing in the master bathroom...inside. |
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| Bob and Robert discuss exterior lighting while standing in front of the outdoor shower. |
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| Good shot of the newly stained concrete deck that Bob Kirk artfully completed. |
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| We had a crew of five helping in the garden on Wednesday. Here Chris the sawyer and bucket machine driver spreads soil over some bare spots on the lawn. |
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| Cory takes care of the garden twice a week. Here she's removing the cages around the citrus grove since we are putting in a pig fence and have no more need for cages. |
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| Chris and Cory discuss next steps in their day of making the lawn and garden shine! |
Opening up the capiz shell door frame crates.
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| Laying out the capiz shell frames to decide which ones go where. They are destined for the two large openings, one in the ocean view side of the main house, and the other in the large door opening in the master bedroom. |
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| Bob and Eric measure the frame for size. |
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| Close up of the carving on the panel. |
Close up of the capiz shells.
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| This is the morning of the hurricane. Talk about a nice portent! |
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| Chris working on digging a deeper hole for the 30 foot yellow bamboo that was toppled by Iselle. |
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| View of the completed roof on the master BR from the main house |
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| Robert and Bob Kirk, the contractor, catching up after Robert's being away for 6 months |
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| The happy new homeowner seeing all the progress |
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| Although this looks like an art project, it's a new shoot of a palm tree. |
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| One of the many unknown orchids that bloom and wink at us from the jungle. |
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| Robert checking out a couple of downed Ohi'a trees post-Iselle. |
