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1-1-08 This is what the castle looks like at the beginning of 2008. Eventually, I plan to add another floor above the garage. If I get it done, it will probably be used for storage, or perhaps a workshop.

1-1-08 I am almost finished with the Dukes Suite bathroom. I still need the medicine cabinet, towel rack, and a couple other small things. Mr. Dragon was kind enough to offer to hold the toilet paper.

1-6-08 I have started installing the wallboard in the Dukes Suite bedroom. First, I did the ceiling. As soon as I make sure that I have all the electrical wiring in, I will install wallboard on the walls.

2-12-08 The Dukes tower has the window boxes built and installed, the electrical outlets wired, and the insulation in. About all that is left to do is to install the paneling.

2-12-08 I have started laying out two of the closets in the kings chamber.

2-14-08 The studs are now in for the Kings Chamber closets.

2-22-08 With some help from our friend Gene, the Dukes Suite now has finished walls. I still need to paint and install the trim.

2-22-08 The wallboard has been installed in the two closets in the Kings Chamber. I still need to install the floor trim, and of course the doors.

2-22-08 It is about time to get started on the Kings Chamber itself. I need to install the insulation in the ceiling and then I can install the drywall. There will be 12 inches of fiberglass insulation in addition to the 4 inches of poly insulation that is above the plywood. I'm not sure the total "R" factor, but it's probably about R-50. The walls have 6 inches of insulation - about R-19.

2-26-08 I've begun installing drywall in in one corner of the Kings Chamber.

3-2-08 Our friend Bill came all the way from faraway Delawareland to help out for a couple of days. He helped with some flooring tasks and painted the Dukes Suite. He says he may come back again someday, we are looking forward to it.

3-5-2008 Our pal Socks stopped by today for lunch with three of her friends.

3-8-2008 One of the things I need to do in the kings chamber is to finish the fireplace. All that is left to do is to build the raised hearth. I will put two layers of stone to bring it up to even with the bottom of the firebox.

3-14-2008 I now have all the drywall installed on the ceiling except for the closets. I just framed in the closets and will soon install the drywall on their interior. I also have the drywall up on about 1/3 of the rest of the walls in the kings chamber. This is going to take a while, the kings chamber is large, about 800 square feet in total if you count the bathroom and tower room.

3-17-2008 The wallboard has been installed in the two closets. The space between the two closets will have bookshelves and a place for a television. The door between the the right closet and the fireplace is where the heat pump is located.

3-17-2008 Also, a few days ago, I finished the raised hearth for the fireplace. The mortar is still a little dark, it should lighten up more as it cures. I will probably put a fireplace insert in this fireplace soon.

3-26-2008 I just framed in another closet. Almost all of the wallboard has been installed in the kings chamber.

4-12-2008 The wallboard is all up now in the kings chamber. It has been mudded, sanded, and painted with a base coat of paint. This is a photo of one end of the kings chamber.

4-12-2008 This is a photo of the other end of the kings chamber. I still need to hang the doors, install the wood trim, and then we can call the carpet people.

4-17-2008 Ed and Judy drove all the way up from Harrisonburg, VA just to see the castle. They are thinking about building their own castle, I sure hope they do it.

4-22-2008 Our friend Tim stopped up to see the castle. He brought his son Josh with him. Josh is here visiting from San Francisco. Galin liked Josh and wanted to keep him, but Tim wouldn't let him.

4-27-2008 I spotted someone approaching the castle at a high rate of speed. It appeared that he was going as much as 1/4 mile an hour. I feared we were under attack. I loaded up with water balloons, and went out to meet the enemy. After talking to her for a while, she said she was not attacking the castle, she was just out for a jog. We parted friends. This event reminded me of the day a couple of years ago where we were actually put under seige. In case you have not seen it, look here: The Siege of Dupont Castle

4-28-2008 I have been installing doors in the kings chamber. There are 12 doors in this room. I have a few more to do.

5-5-2008 The bluejays had their convention here today.

5-6-2008 This morning about 8AM, we had another bird visitor. This was a yellow winged flyboy. This photo was taken from the roof of the castle.

5-6-2008 I have turned my attention back to the Dukes suite. I have finished installing the doors and the paneling on the walls in the tower.

5-28-2008 Father Mercieca , our parish priest, came to see us. He blessed our little castle. It was a pleasant and memorable visit. He will be leaving this area soon, we wish him all the best.

6-9-2008 I have been busy doing things other than working on the castle, but I did manage to get a hardwood floor installed in the Duke's suite tower. This tower room is almost completely finished. As far as the Duke's suite goes, about all we need to do is paint (or wallpaper) the walls and have the carpet installed.

7-5-2008 Our friends Mark and Barbara came up for the weekend. While they were here, Mark helped me install the fireplace insert in the king's chamber.

7-6-2008 I noticed that one of our deer friends seems to have a new baby. Heck, we didn't even know she was dating.

8-7-2008 I have installed the medicine cabinet and the towel bar in the Duke's suite bathroom. This bathroom is now finished. The rest of the Duke's suite is done except for the carpet.

8-16-2008 We have been having a problem with someone eating cucumbers and tomatoes in our garden. We hired Gregory the Groundhog to keep watch on the garden for us. After he was hired, things only got worse, so we decided to move Gregory to another place. Things in the garden are better now. We hope Gregory has a long and happy life.

8-22-2008 The queen has decided that we need a porch/deck off the kitchen tower where the back door is located. I have begun work on it. The frame is almost done. It will be 10 feet by 8 feet.

8-31-2008 The porch/deck now has the floor installed as well as two of the railings. I still need to build the stairs.

9-28-2008 The inspector came to check out the porch work. She said it looked pretty good.

9-29-2008 This is what the deck looks like now. It is finished except for a couple of trim pieces.

10-1-2008 Our friends Lord Albert and Lady Linda came for a visit. Al is holding our new cat Caspian. He wanted to take him home, but Galin wouldn't let him. Al and Linda were the first -

to spend the night in the newly finished Duke's Suite. (No, the wall is not bent, it's my cheap wide angle lens that makes it look that way)

10-31-08 Wizard the cat watches out the window as Socks the deer and some of her friends stop by for a visit.

Yesterday, we had 11 deer up near the castle. Of all of them, only this one was dressed up for Halloween. He has on his antlers, and he says he just needs to put on a mask, and he's good to go.

11-9-08 I'm about to get started on the king's chamber bathroom, but before I do that,

11-11-08 I decided to build a linen closet on the third floor. This is that closet.

11-15-08 This is going to be the kings chamber bathroom.

11-22-08 I now have the wallboard installed in the kings bath.

12-16-08 The kings bath is now finished except for a few small things like installing the towel rods, etc. We are NOT going to call this the "throne room".

12-29-08 I have not been doing much during the holiday season, but I did manage to finish up the second floor laundry area. We also have another washer and dryer in the basement as a backup.

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
Bill White

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
Bill White

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