Heartwood Builders starts the interior work today.  This year's contract calls for refurbishment of the front 1/3 of the building.  The original stairway will be demolished, and a new U-shaped stairway built around a shaft suitable for later installation of the handicap lift.

Also, walls will be built, forming the entry hall, handicap lift shaft, kitchen, bath, firewall between the entry and museum, and two large closets (one on each floor.)  Insulation and electrical wiring will be installed in the walls before they are covered with sheetrock.

Progress continues on Cranberry House, as today Gary Gould finishes drilling the water well (see photos below.)  It is 340 feet deep and delivers 8 gallons per minute of "good" water -- according to Gary, who sipped a sample from his shovel.  Funds collected last year pay for the well, but we will put off installing the pump, storage tank, and trench (for underground power wire and feed pipe) until further funds are available.

Spring is here, and the sound of pounding hammers fills the air.  It seems that carpenters are working everywhere on the island.  At Cranberry House the builders have just begun work again on the exterior deck and porch, started late last Fall (see photos, below.)

Cranberry House will soon take on its final look!  The exterior is already extensively refurbished, with new cedar shake siding, new windows and exterior doors, and new cranberry-colored trim.  The large front and center legacy window is fully restored.  When the deck and porch are added, the building will be transformed from a plain "shoebox" to a more homey and inviting structure.

This season we plan to drill the well, and, funds permitting, we'll start refurbishing the interior.