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1-13-07 We were pleased to be visited by Richard Fink who is the owner and builder of "SCHLOSS VON TANNENACER CASTLE" http://www.dupontcastle.com/castles/schloss.htm up in New York state. It was great fun having him here.



1-16-07 We have been having a little trouble with our phone line, so Moatmonster decided to dig us a trench to bury a new line. This is a small part of the trench, it's about 3 feet deep and about 300 feet long.



2-2-07 It started snowing, so I looked out the window to watch. I noticed some of our friends were out in the side yard looking for something to eat. I went up on the roof to take a few photos. Some of them saw me, but stayed around for a while anyway.



2-2-07 Because it was snowing, I decided it was time to try to get a little work done inside. I finished the framing work on the closet in the queens sewing room. Now I need to install the wallboard and some shelves.



2-15-07 I've finished installing the wallboard in the closet, and about half of the sewing room. The doorway above is the same as the open space between the studs in the last photo. The funny part that sticks out above the closet door is there to hide some ductwork.



2-15-07 This is the other half of the sewing room, it still needs wallboard.



2-25-07 We experienced our second snow event of the year. It sure is pretty here.



2-25-07 I did manage to get the rest of the wallboard installed in the Queens sewing room. I still need to do the "mud and tape" part. I may hire a friend to finish it for us.



3-7-07 Now that the second floor is nearing completion, I can start working on the third floor. Right now, it looks like this.



3-24-07 Our friend Mark donated many pieces of granite to our castle project. We used them to make the floor of the wine cellar. We had our friend Chad come up and install them for us. Queen patricia laid them out, if you look closely, you can see a face.



4-19-07 We were visited by Carl and Chris - The Royal Carpeteers. They did a nice job installing the carpet in the queen's sewing room.



4-30-07 It is with heavy heart that I announce the passing of Sir Rocky the Cat. He was 17 years old, and has been a good friend for all of those years. He will be GREATLY missed.



5-2-07 Queen Patricia has finished most of the painting in the Queens Sewing Room. This is one side of the room. This is the same area that is pictured in the photo 2-15-07 above.



5-3-07 This is the other side of the sewing room.



5-8-07 We were honored to be visited by Lord John and Lady Harriett. John is the one who almost single-handidly built Bull Run Castle (http://www.dupontcastle.com/castles/bullrun.htm ). He no longer lives there, perhaps we can get him to come down and help us build ours. We enjoyed our visit with the Lord and Lady.



5-18-07 During the winter, we put corn out for the deer. Now that it is spring, there is enough food for the deer to eat without them having to come up to get our corn. Others, such as Charlie here, are now taking the corn.



6-18-07 Jim Fassio, who I have known for over 30 years came up for a quick visit. It's nice seeing old friends, we hope he comes again soon.



7-3-07 We would like to have a garage with a roof on it before winter comes again. Moatmonster is helping me to build it. We have just gotten started with the footers. These are part of the forms we need to pour the concrete for the footers. The garage will be a two car garage and will be about 36 feet by 28 feet. There will be a tower on one corner.



7-6-07 This time of year, it's pretty hot outside sometimes, so I have also been working on some things inside. This is a closet in the kings chamber. It's not much, but it's the first wallboard work that's been done on the third floor. I can use this to temporarily store some of the many boxes we have on the third floor. That will keep them out of the way while I do some work up here on the days when it's too hot or rainy to work outside.



7-28-07 Our friends Wendy and Wayne came up for a visit. It was Wendys birthday. We were so pleased that they chose our little castle as a place to celebrate it.



8-7-07 The footers for the garage have now been poured. It took 12 1/2 yards of concrete. I have begun laying out a few blocks just to see how they will fit. The rest of the blocks have been ordered and should be here in a couple of days.



8-11-07 In order to make sure the tower is round, I carefully placed a steel pipe in the ground in the center of the tower. I then attach a piece of 2X2 in a way that I can move it around the pipe. On the 2X2, I place a mark at 6 feet from the center of the tower. As I set the blocks in mortar, I just need to make sure the edge of the block is at the mark on the 2X2.



8-12-07 You can see that we are making progress on the garage walls. I hired Chad the mason to do the straight walls for me. I will be doing the tower. You will notice that the straight walls are going faster than the tower. I was wondering why this was, until I took a close look at who my helper is. His name is Tommy -



8-12-07 - Turtle. He works v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.



8-18-07 The straight walls are still at row 7, but the tower is moving along. I have finished installing the 3 concete windows, and more of the blocks.



8-26-07 Chad the mason has been working on the straight walls, and things are coming along nicely. I have finished the walls of the garage tower.



9-5-07 As I am building the stable (garage), I am also building a retaining wall next to the castle.



9-6-07 This is what the stable wall looks like with the lower part parged. I still need to apply the waterproofing material before I can backfill.



9-8-07 This is what it looks like with the waterproofing tar on. I also put in a half inch of insulation. This helps insulate, but the main reason is that in our area, we have lots of rocks in the soil. If I did not install the insulation, we would have the chance that some of the rocks would punch little holes in the waterproofing tar which could cause a leak. You will notice gravel along the bottom of the wall. Under the gravel, there is a perforated pipe to remove any water that might try to build up behind the wall.



9-10-07 The retaining wall is coming along. I decided to make it stronger by adding another row of blocks behind the front row. The outside row of blocks is 12 inches thick, and the inside row is 8 inches thick. This should be strong enough to hold back the soil that will be piled up behind the wall. You will notice gravel at the bottom. This is to catch any water that builds up behind the wall. The water then goes to a pipe which carries it away.



9-12-07 The steel I-Beam was delivered today. It's about 35 feet long, and weighs about 1,000 pounds..



9-12-07 The Moatmonster volunteered to help slide the beam into place. He sure is a big help around here.



9-15-07 The I-Beam is now in place as well as the post that holds up the middle of the beam. The back wall is also finished. I still need to build the front wall where the doors will be located.



9-15-07 This is what the place looks like now.



9-26-07 I have now finished all of the blockwork on the garage. You can see that the front wall is complete.



9-27-07 I have started installing the floor joists. When these are in, I will place 3/4 inch plywood over them. This will be a temporary roof for the winter, and will be the floor for the storage area over the garage someday. This carpentry work should go a lot faster than the masonry work did.



10-5-07 The joists are in on the main part of the floor, and I have begun installing the 3/4 inch plywood.



10-7-07 I still need to install the joists on the tower portion of the stable. This tower may someday be a dungeon.



10-9-07 I have finished the plywood installation on the main part of the floor.



10-9-07 Since I will not have time this year to build the storage area that will be above the garage, I placed EPDM (rubber roofing) over the floor for the winter to keep out the rain and snow.



10-14-07 The walls have been parged, and I have finished putting the black waterproofing sealer on the walls. I am now in the process of placing 1/2 inch Styrofoam on the walls, and backfilling. I toad you so, our friend Terry is back. He is very hip

10-22-07 hopity. He seems to like the garage area, he keeps coming in here. When he is sitting on the dirt, he is almost impossible to see. I had to move him onto the footer so I could take a good photo. I told him to make sure he is not here while we are pouring the cement floor.

10-30-07 As winter approaches, food is less plentiful in the woods, so the deer start coming closer to the castle. This morning, three deer came within about 20 feet of the castle. I took this photo from the roof. I reminded this gal that it's hunting season and that she and her friends should not stand in one place for very long.

11-2-07 The garage floor is ready for the concrete. It will be poured tomorrow.

11-3-07 The concrete is in the process of being installed. The first half is in place.

11-3-07 The concrete is all in now. It still needs a little more finishing, and it will be about a week before we can park on it.

11-16-07 It's getting chilly outside now, so I have started some inside work. I began installing wallboard in the Duke's chamber bathroom. You will notice that some of it is white, and some is green. The white is just normal wallboard. The green is water resistant, I use it around the tub where it will be subject to more moisture.

More pictures to follow.

Click here for Answers to frequently asked questions about Dupont Castle.

Princess Patricia and I would like to say a special THANK YOU to the following people who have volunteered time and energy to help with the work at the castle site.

Bill Postlethwait
Mariann Postlethwait
Mark Eastwood
Barbara Gay
Jim Eaton
Carol Eaton
John Miller
Terry Robinson
Shereen Robinson
Brad Hurliman
Rob Dekarske
Shirley Mandler
T.O. Galloway

I would also like to thank the following people for advice, technical assistance, encouragement, and moral support:

John Miller - Bull Run Castle
Ron Bigbee - Castle Avalon
Sir Randy Michael - Chateau LaRoche
Peter Wing - Wings Castle
Sue Maxwell - Ravenwood Castle
Mike Freeman - Castell Gwynn
Roger Greim - Kataryna Castle
Bruce Busboom - Busboom Castle
Meme Hardin - Hardin Castle
Wyatt C Mortensen - Sleeping Beauty Castle
David O'Connor - Castle Anam Cara

We would like to thank the following people who donated either money furnishings, or building materials to the Dupont Castle building project.

Bill & Mariann Postlethwait
Shirley Zimmerman & Bob Hampl
Mark Eastwood &Barbara Gay
Frank & Beverly Frederick
Bentley & PamWestfield
Al Dumit
Frank Bredimus - Berkeley castle
Mack & Mattie McLaughlin
Terry and Rick Moody - Sky High Castle
John & Pat Beno
Terry and Linda Jemison
Tientje Willis
Carl & Christine Hanfling
Charles Klusarits
Rick & Shirley Rutherford
Brian Hopkins
T.O. Galloway and Shirley Mandler

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