Stone work nearly complete

The final stonework was underway today. The only downside of this look is that the building code requires the metal brackets supporting the cedar posts remain exposed. You can just see them in this shot, or better if you click on the pic to enlarge it. Not as happy about that than if the posts were to disappear within the stone column, but you can't fight this city hall. We learned that when we wanted to use a ship's ladder to the loft instead of having to build out a full staircase. It also took our energy auditor's paid opinion to relieve us from having to buy 10" panels for the roof, instead of the 8" panels we had planned. The county relented on that one, but without Gary's representation, our roof would have been much more costly. Everything trickles down on a project like this, so 10" roof panels would have meant things like no nook in the fireplace, likely a composite deck instead of Ipe, a stick built shower enclosure instead of glass block and so on. We did our best to exercise good judgment and eliminate many details that might have been remarkably beautiful, but didn't satisfy the criteria for investment that we agreed upon when we started this project. Namely, would an overrun affect the living experience, structural integrity, maintenance or ongoing cost to operate? We've cut and dropped so many things large and small that could not be justified when looking at them through that lens, like a sunroom, outdoor fireplace on the deck, spiral staircase to make the loft a public one, the original closet systems we had envisioned, and on and on. I think if we compiled a list of all the things we considered, but rejected, it would surprise even us.