you're invited!

Praising God for His goodness and mercy,
Thanking Him for His deliverance
from the fire,

you are invited to an open house
Sunday, September 23, 2007,
from 2 to 5 pm.



No gifts please.

we're in!

Well, several things have happened since the last post.

Let me start by commenting on blogging. While blogging is not all that difficult, it is a commitment of sorts. First, you need to find the time to do it, preferably on a regular basis. Second, you need to have something of substance to say. And third, you need to be in a frame of mind where you can attempt to write a cohesive and meaningful post, which is not always easy. So, as with most things in life, items done well, be them blogging or skiing or painting or whatever, are harder than they look. And, as I have demonstrated, even items not done particularly well can also be harder than they look.

But, I digress. We are in the house. We moved what little possessions we'd acquired and bought more. I have discovered stores will actually deliver and set up furniture for you. This is a nice feature, especially when you live one flight of stairs up on top of a hill.

The house is beautiful. I never imagined living in such a fine house. The 100+ year old glass door knobs are spectacular and the vintage school house lights look great. God is good.

Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world, where, even as believers, we are not immune to the traumas of this life, whatever form they may take. But many times there can be silver linings to such events, and this was no exception. One of those silver linings was being given front row seats from which we could watch God's hands at work in caring for his children. I now understand a little more of what Paul was speaking of toward the end of Ephesians 3 where he said "to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine . . ."

We've been given more than we could ask or imagine. We had no bed to call our own, yet always had a place to sleep. We had just a few clothes to call our own, yet always had plenty to wear. We had no food of our own to eat or plates and silverware to eat it with yet were given more food than we could eat. God is good.

I don't recommend house fires. But I feel we've been blessed in more ways from this than we will ever comprehend. I continue to hope and pray much good will come from this, including someone, somewhere, coming to know Christ as a result. A brother in law, a good and godly man, reminded me after the fire that "God doesn't waste our pain". Well said.

While there are still many little tasks that need to be completed on the house, it's time to end this blog. Thank you for your concern, your care, your gifts of love and your prayers. They have all been appreciated, more than you will ever imagine.

very close

We are getting very close.

Much happened this week; the hardwood floors were sanded and stained, carpet installed, light fixtures hung, countertops set, appliances delivered, landscaping started and probably some more I can't remember at the moment. New beds were delivered yesterday and the plumbers come tomorrow for some finish work.

I am very tired.

still working hard

Well, things seem to be happening fast & furious.

We poured the driveway last week. There were a few anxious moments getting the trucks up the hill but in the end they did, thanks, in my mind, only to divine intervention. The air conditioners got started up. Gas service was hooked up. The exterior painters finished. The front porch handrails were finished. (As mentioned previously, the front porch columns will be done after we are in the house; the skinny black steel columns in the picture are only temporary).

The hardwood floor finishing crew starts tomorrow and I'm meeting with the landscaper as well. Carpet is due on Thursday, as are the appliances. Countertops are due on Friday. Hopefully, the electricians will hang the final fixtures and hook up the appliances on Friday as well. And the furniture for the rooms with carpet is expected on Saturday.

Hopefully, a week from tomorrow the plumbers will hook up the kitchen sink and the dishwasher and the floor finishers can put on their final coat of finish. So, stay tuned; we are getting close.

What a week!

Much to report, or so it seems.

The biggest accomplishment was electricity! This was huge, up there with sheetrock in terms of major accomplishments. After nearly three weeks of waiting and a week after the scheduled date, as evidenced by the attached picture we got power.

And the exterior painters started ("warm stone" with "agreeable gray"
trim). And we got shower walls ("biscuit" with "mexican sand" highlights, I think). And we started on the porch handrails (1x2, 1x4 and 1x6 pre primed spruce and some 5/4 southern yellow pine).

The porch and step handrails have been an item of great discussion. I finally built a mock up of a section of railing which helped the trim man see what I was talking about which answered some questions about the handrail sections but not the step columns. Finally he had a dream (I didn't ask him if it was a good dream or a bad dream) about the step columns and came and built and installed them (the picture was taken before the step columns were built). The porch columns are going to take more work (the black steel porch columns will eventually be covered with some bigger wooden ones) but we'll worry about that once we are in the house.

You may notice some plastic covering where the driveway goes in the picture. We've been needing rain in a big way and we got a lot of rain this last week. Actually, we got rain every day, which has turned the red clay into a big gooey mess. The concrete guys came after the picture was taken and removed the plastic and spread the dirt a little in an attempt to get it to dry out. With no rain predicted until Monday night (but rain predicted every day after that for the next week) we are scheduled to pour the driveway Monday at 7:00 AM. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and not only will it not rain until the concrete sets up but also the dirt will be dry enough for the truck to get up the hill.

In addition, to the driveway on Monday, supposedly a gas meter will be set, which should allow us to have hot water and eventually cook once the cooktop arrives. In addition, a HVAC crew is scheduled to come on Monday to start up the units. This is also very significant in that the flooring crew cannot start finishing the hardwood floor until the air has been on for a week. So, a lot is happening.

continued progress, although it appears slight

We were out of town most of the week and progress was limited.

The hardwood floors were installed and will be sanded and finished once the air conditioning has run for a week. The power company, who was to run the new power line from the street on Tuesday, finally showed up on Friday and installed the conduit but not the wire. Hopefully they will return next week to pull the wire and set the meter although no promises were made. More of the kitchen cabinets were installed although we are waiting on additional cabinet parts before the installation can be completed.

The driveway is going to be a challenge. The power company was adamant it would only run power to the new house if they could install in a new conduit for the wire. This would have required removing more trees, which we did not want. However, the old driveway was in sad shape before the fire and even worse shape after the concrete trucks and lumber trucks and sheetrock trucks so we agreed to remove it, let the power company bury their new conduit, and then replace the driveway. With a promised installation date of last Tuesday, we removed the driveway the Thursday and Friday before. Now it has rained and rain is forecast for most of this week which is turning the red clay to gooey mud, which will make it very difficult to get a concrete truck up the hill. So this may be an issue.

Hopefully, this week we can get the power wires run to the house and the power on so the A/C can start running so the floors can be sanded and finished the following week. In addition, the exterior painters expect to start.

Off to a wedding!

There was a time when not only our children lived at home but several of their friends did their best to live there too. This picture was taken in the old kitchen, the one that burned, taking with it the clock on the wall that silently watched our children come home from the hospital and grow up, and the vintage kitchen table and chairs that we ate dinner every night at for years, and the old hoosier cabinet that came from a garage sale and was carefully refinished by my wife and those glasses that we really liked that we can't find anymore of. All those things are gone now, burned up without a trace. Fortunately, the real treasures in the picture all seem to be doing well.

I'm not too sure when it was taken but several in the picture are now out of college and one has been married for a year or so. Another is getting married this weekend in Malibu, California, at a home overlooking the ocean. We've been invited so we are headed that way.

As far as progress on the house is concerned, it hasn't been a real productive week in that July 4^th was right in the middle of it. The hardwood floor guys said they would come on the 4^th, but actually came on the 5^th, at which time the driveway guys told the hardwood floor guys to go home, as their truck would be in the way. (Apparently, driveway guys have absolute authority, not just over what they do but over the entire world as well. I should have asked for world peace). The plumbers did come earlier in the week and set the commodes and sinks but left the water turned off, which begs the question what is the value of sinks and commodes without water? Hopefully, the hardwood floor guys will return tomorrow and not be scared off by the driveway guys, who are removing what is left of the old driveway so the power company can come install their new line on Tuesday.

We'll see what all happened when we return next week.

still pushing!

Wow! What a week!

This was a busy week. In no particular order, the electricians started doing their finish work installing switches, plugs, light fixtures and the like. The interior painters finished up for now; they will return to do a little more closer to the end. The trim man came to build the stairs from the garage to the house, which replaced the 2x4 treads the framers installed. Then he went on to install the wall cabinets in the kitchen. The base cabinets will be installed after the hardwood floors are installed next week. And we started on the driveway outside the garage. And the stone guys finished.

In the end I think we used about 60 tons of stone. The front steps were a challenge but I think they turned out well. Beautiful work by some true craftsman.

The driveway was a real experience. First, understand the order of things. The upper drive, which was removed when the burned house was demolished, needed to be replaced first. Next the lower drive needs to be removed. Then the power company has to run their new line up the hill under the driveway. Then we will replace the lower drive. The wild card in all of this is rain, for rain can wash wet concrete away and, given the hill on the lower drive, can literally wash the hill away.

Given we haven't had any rain in six weeks, I thought we would be okay to start on the upper drive. Once again, my thoughts proved to be dangerous as the rain started an hour or two after the concrete for the upper drive was poured. This made for a very long night as well as the next day but, in the end, we think we were able to save the concrete, although the finish shows it. Hopefully, we can get through the remainder of the driveway project without too much difficulty.

So, hopefully next week; hardwood floors installed, base cabinets installed, exterior paint start and remove the old lower drive to get ready for the power company to run their new line.

Oh, and figure out how to replace those 2x4 front columns with something a little more substantial.

details, details . . .

No major accomplishments for the week but several smaller ones.

The interior paint continued and will hopefully finish this week. The electricians started their finish work with switches and receptacles and the like; they will wait on the actual light fixtures until paint is finished. The tile guys finished all the tile they could; the tile for the half bath is supposedly on a truck somewhere as is one of the bathroom sinks. Most of the new light fixtures are here, except for the two that fell off the truck which are being replaced. All the plumbing fixtures are here except for the kitchen faucet and sink (which we've yet to order) and a lavatory faucet I hope to win on ebay tonight (which is where many pieces of this house have come from).

The stone work has slowed almost to a crawl. Hopefully, they will return and finish what little they lack this week.

I've spent a fair amount of time cleaning up several old ceiling fixtures we found at an antique show last winter. I would call them "school house lights" although I'm not too sure that's the correct name as they were used in many places other than schools. Anyway, the globes all cleaned up nicely and the fixtures themselves have been cleaned and are being refinished. Since we are having to do all of this due to a fire, I thought it appropriate to rewire them as well so I finally found enough new original style light sockets to put them back together.

So, pictures this week include one of a bathroom with tile and the walls and beadboard painted, another of an unrestored school house fixture, and a picture of the great room with a peek at the kitchen colors.

Hopefully, we can have the plumbing fixtures set this week and the interior paint finished and the stone work finished. Then we can move on to the floor as well as a new upper driveway, so we can redo the lower driveway, which has to be done before the power company will run their new lines. And the exterior still needs to be painted. More details to be taken care of, everywhere you look.

still plodding along . . .

Well, when we left things last week I, apparently being the eternal optimist, was hoping for both the stone work and the interior paint work to be finished by this post. Unfortunately, sharp eyed readers may have already observed the picture from this week looks suspiciously like the one from last week.

However, if you look closely, you will see the steps have been started. Recognizing the English language is only a concept (and a very vague one at that) to the stone masons (equalled perhaps, only by my concept of Spanish), our animated and motion filled conversations were finally reduced to crude drawings and pointing to numbers on tape measures. I felt we had reached a breakthrough of some kind since the blocks were starting to look like steps (although not exactly like I'd planned) when the stone masons simply stopped coming to work. After a few days, we noticed we were out of sand, a key ingredient for stone masons. So, more sand has been ordered and hopefully they will return to finish. I'd estimate the stone work to be more than 90 percent complete which is good; what is even better is we have not paid for 90 percent of the work so I am fairly confident they will be back before too long.

The painter is apparently enjoying this job for he is in no hurry for it to end. I told him the electricians were going to start hanging lights this week so hopefully that will speed things along. The tile guy is going to start on Tuesday and install the tile in the bathrooms and laundry room. (California Sand, for those so interested. It was on sale.)

And the kitchen cabinets finally arrived, although the packing list and installation instructions were for another job leaving me to wonder exactly whose cabinets are these? As with most things, time will tell.

So hopefully, by this time next week the interior paint, tile and stone work will all be done and the electrical finish be well underway.

still working!

Things are still moving along.

The stone work continued and is now essentially complete less the front steps and front porch floor. The block arrived yesterday with which to build the front steps and additional stone has been ordered so hopefully by this time next week the stone work will be complete.

I've also attached a photo of the back porch. While the sun washed out much of the picture, the stone was laid on the porch floor the other day and it looks nice. And while every decision has a budget consideration, after much discussion we've decided to replace the existing column on the back porch with a nicer one.

And the interior painters have arrived. Although Monday turned into Tuesday and Tuesday turned into Wednesday and Wednesday turned into Thursday (which happened, although Friday didn't), the painters did work on Saturday and Sunday. So hopefully, by this time next week, the interior paint will either be complete or almost complete. We hope.

The exterior painters will arrive once the stone crew is finished.

stone work begins!

This was an exciting week; the stone work began.

The whole stone contracting process was an experience. In the end we used Joel, who has good English and is known as Ho-el to his people ("j's" are pronounced as "h's" in spanish)). Joel is a brick mason I've known for a year or two who swears he is an excellent stone mason, although he promptly subbed the work to Eno (Enoc?, Enic? Enen? Ennen? - he told me but his English is rather limited and I'm not real sure exactly what he said). Eno/Enoc/whomever sent a crew and they went at it. Eno, who calls me Senor, did find me today to say I needed to order more mortar. Apparently, Joel gets $1 of the $6 per square foot labor rate for "placing" the work with folks like Eno, which explains why Joel has the nice truck and Eno does the heavy lifting.

Actually, while Eno does some heavy lifting he has a crew of guys who do most of the heavy lifting. And these stones are heavy. The pallet of stone in the picture weighs right at 4,000 pounds. I estimate these stones are, on average, about forty pounds each, which the stone guys chip away at with their rock hammers until they fit together nicely. Looks like brutal work to me.

(And truth be told, Joel does play an important role for he is the one who has insurance, good English and the contacts to get the work. I'm sure all of the guys on the stone crew aspire to be like Joel and drive the nice truck one day).

On the inside the trim work is finished for now. The trim man was ready to go fishing in Florida and wanted to trim the stairs when he returned. He worked 10 days straight except for Sunday, including Saturdays and Memorial Day, so I can't fault him for that. He did a beautiful job. Interior paint is scheduled to start on Monday.

We did finally settle on an exterior color the other day (Sherwin Williams "Warm Stone" for those so interested). The exterior painters will go after the stone is finished.

So, progress is being made.

continued progress

Progress continues.

Trim is coming along nicely and should be finished this week.

The garage doors finally made it and although a few adjustments are still needed they are installed.

And finally, the stone has arrived. Each pallet (of which only a few are pictured) weighs about 4,000 pounds. The first load was about 40,000 pounds of wall stone and about 12,000 pounds of porch floor stone. Initial estimates called for about 30 to 35 tons of stone, or 60,000 to 70,000 pounds. This will be interesting to watch!

quick update

Well, a quick (and now that I see it somewhat fuzzy) picture of some of the interior trim. And a picture of the area outside the garage after the rough grading. The trees next to the old driveway that didn't burn up in the fire died as a result of the fire, so we had them removed last week and the low area filled, which leaves a much bigger area to park and turn around.

the trim man cometh!!!

Well, not only did the trim man come and start to work, the loader guy came and finished the rough grading. Unfortunately, while the garage doors alledgedly left Mars and came to Atlanta, the installers were unable to make it to Marietta. Hopefully, they will be able to load up their truck and make the trek up the hill to Marietta (also known as the land of the big chicken as evidenced by the attached).

I don't have any usable pictures of the trim or the grading since I waited until it was too dark to take any so I will try to post some tomorrow.

The trim man is hoping to finish this week which means paint can start the week of Memorial Day. Raul the stone man never did find us; he apparently did not know his right from left in english which made it hard to give directions. So, hopefully we will meet with another stone man this week.

more progress but not much to show

Regular readers may recall the sheetrock was hung week before last. They spent the week finishing the sheetrock and completed it yesterday. So, much accomplished although, from a blog picture perspective, not much to show.

We did visit a stone yard and discovered our first choice is Tennessee Medium Fieldstone. Stone work is both complex and a little primitive, when you really think about it. I was surprised at how little a ton of stone can cover. For our application, a ton of stone is normally used every 40 to 45 square feet. So, before it is all said and done, we could easily end up using 40 to 50 tons of stone. That's a lot of stone.

This week will be a big week. Trim and interior doors are to be delivered tomorrow; the trim man is to start on Tuesday, the loader will return on Tuesday to do some more grading and I am to meet with the mason on Tuesday as well. The garage doors were apparently shipped to Mars and have now been promised to be delivered and installed on Friday. Hopefully by week's end we will be able to lock the house.

The power of sheetrock

There is a book entitled Praying for Sheetrock that recounts the sad but true story of life and politics in a backwoods county in south Georgia in the 1970’s. One of the stories told is how the local sheriff, anytime there was a big truck accident, would oversee the looting and then the distribution of the freight to the poor and oppressed, in an attempt to win their vote in the next election.

The author tells of speaking with an old woman who’d lived a hard and difficult life who added a small room on her house to care for a disabled adult child. She’d run out of money and was “praying for sheetrock, praying hard for sheetrock”, hoping a sheetrock truck would wreck so she could finish the room. Sure enough, a sheetrock truck did wreck and the sheriff made sure she got the sheetrock she needed.

We’re not poor and were not oppressed, for which I am very thankful. And we’re a paying customer, not a truck wreck beneficiary, for which I am also very thankful. But I think I’ve learned just a small bit of how she felt.

There’s power in sheetrock. Sheetrock turns sticks into walls and walls into rooms and rooms into a house. Sheetrock is a tipping point, where you know it’s really going to happen, where you can see what it’s going to look like.

We’ve got sheetrock. And it feels good.

Workers insulated the house early in the week and then the sheetrock came. Actually, it came twice, as the first time the truck was too heavy to make it up the driveway, so it had to go back and be reloaded on two trucks instead of one. Then the sheetrock hangers started. They wasted no time and hung it a day and a half. Then the finishers started. They should finish this week, at which time the trim guy can start. So, much progress. This has been a good week and in more ways than one.

Some may remember after the fire Leo the cat was missing and was one of our prayer concerns. He showed up about a week later, prompting my brother-in-law to refer to him as the “most prayed for cat in the history of mankind”. We brought him to where we are staying but he took off the first chance he got, only to turn up back at the old house five days later. We brought him back again and he seemed to adjust to indoor living a little.

Where we are staying is about a mile or so with four or five major subdivisions and one heavily travel road in between. I figure he is about five percent of my size, so a mile or so to me would be 20 or 40 miles to him.

Leo found an open door week before last and took off again. This time he made it back in three days. A neighbor called to said they had seen him in their backyard.

He’s back with us now, although clearly not his first choice. He’s reminded us that he is not our cat as much as we are his people. He likes the outdoors and living in a one bedroom apartment is just alittle much for him. Hopefully, he can stay put another six or eight weeks until we can move.

And one more point; we obviously live in the age of technology and the power of the internet is upon us. Although I don’t know who all reads this I must admit I was alittle surprised to read comments last week left by Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, Zig Zigular and Hurley, also known as Hugo from the television series Lost, all in the same week. What are the odds?

Not much to report, week 2

I have concluded I should stop talking about sheetrock since we still don't have any. But the framer's trip to China apparently paid off for we passed our framing inspection last week without any problems.

A few folks raised questions about his trip to China. While the details of the trip should probably remain with him, I too found the whole concept alittle unusual.

I've known him for four or five years and have worked with him on several office building projects. I also know he, after a great deal of effort, got unmarried a year or so ago. Earlier this year I was talking with the lumber salesman who asked who I was going to use to frame the house. I mentioned this framer and he looked somewhat surprised and asked, "don't you know he is going to China?"

Actually, I didn't know that. And, when you think about it, scheduling the framer to come frame is an important piece of the house building puzzle. So I immediately sent word we had work and would be needing him to frame.

In the end all worked out well as he had time to frame the house before the plane left.

He apparently met the new Mrs. Framer (and her nine year old son) on the internet. And love came a-calling. I hope the rest of the story, which has yet to occur, will have a "happily ever after" ending. And I hope she learns to speak English without too much trouble.

On an unrelated subject, I think there are times in every ones life where they wonder what it is all about and what exactly is their purpose in life.

I received an email from my sister last week about the blog that may help shed some light on that topic for me. She wrote:

"After reviewing your blog last week, it occurs to me that not only can you do math, you also write. My next thought is why do I recall many home challenges during the third and fourth grade years with you "not working to potential"?"

I will admit there were some challenges in my educational career, which I am not proud of but did occur for many years (more than just the third and fourth grade). These challenges were usually triggered by . . .

- a note home from a teacher
- a phone call from a teacher
- a test or paper that had to be signed by a parent and returned to the teacher
- a parent-teacher conference or
- a report card

Invariable, the phrase "not working to potential" would come up, at which point my parents would implore me to work "up to potential". These sessions were usually traumatic (at least for me) and in the end I would agree to try harder, which unfortunately would only last for a week or two before I was back to watching Hogan's Heros and reading Popular Mechanics (where I could learn cool stuff about the tensile strength of bolts and how to bend wood and stuff like that).

(I should also add that once you saw the teacher do a problem a few times on the board, why did they have to beat it into the ground for the next week? We already saw it! And what's with this trying to find the symbolism in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis? He's writing about a man who turned into a six foot cockroach! I still don't know what to make of that!)

My thoughts on the world of education not withstanding, my sister went on to write:

"You provide hope to those who have children who aren't working to potential!"

So there you have it. My new found purpose in life is to provide hope to parents whose children are not working to potential!

Hopefully, by this time next week I will have something exciting to report.

not much to report

Well, not much visible progress to report from this week.

We failed the framing inspection on Monday. Nothing major, just some minor stuff but the framer had gone to China to get a new wife and was accordingly unavailable. But rumor had it he was to return shortly so we waited and then waited some more.

But return he did and he was in fine spirits. I asked him if he got married and he said he thought he did but had to sign his name so many times on documents (all of which were in Chinese) that he really didn't know what all he did. But regardless of what he signed, he made it back and hopes to be able to bring his new wife here later in the year. (Note to the English majors out there; I know using the word "he" six times in one sentence is a bit much but I had a complex thought to express. Please submit some alternative wordings if you'd like.)

And he fixed the framing issues. Or at least I hope he did; we will find out for sure tomorrow when the inspector comes again.

The "not one word of English" siding guys brought their ladders back and finished up what they lacked too. Looks good.

And the smurf tube is installed, so we can now pipe smurfs throughout the house.

Someone did ask about the kitchen saga. As you may recall, when we left it last we had assembled a "kitchen design team" consisting of a kitchen designer (the one who does all the work), the sales person (the lady with the makeup and jewelry who gets the commission) and the installation coordinator (the guy with the tape measure). After two weeks of scheduling conflicts, we had the big meeting where the guy with the tape measure measured with great precision and deliberation. After 30 minutes of detailed measuring he asked to borrow a pencil which then became the official marking pencil and put marks on the floor, which happened to be on top of the marks I drew a month earlier. So success of sorts; after weeks of preparation it was determined that yes, our kitchen would work better with cabinets and yes, cabinets would fit and yes, they would take our money and order cabinets and request the tree be cut down. Of course we would be advised shortly of when they are to arrive (of which we are still waiting to be told when they might arrive). (Actually I made up the part about requesting the tree be cut down. I'd like to think it has already been cut down).

But this tree nonsense is important for I did not want cabinets that were made out of little more than sawdust and glue. This of course is an extraordinary request, which means you have just catapulted the price range of the cabinets from reasonable past significant to "what did you say?". None the less, hopefully the cabinets will come, made out of real wood that looks like what we saw and will come when we need them.

What we did not order was cabinet hardware. The hardware on the cabinets we saw was, get this, $21 for the handle and $13 for the backplate. For the math majors out there, this comes to $34 per door plus tax plus installation. Just to open the door. Of course the drawer handles were different and were only $16 a piece, once again before tax and installation. While this may come as a surprise to some, I am currently looking for some alternatives. Preferably something on sale. And if they all match that would be good too.

And finally, it was pointed out to me it was actually Bren's birthday last week, so my creative photography was not in waste. Bren, the boy who spent a significant portion of his youth at our house. Bren, the boy who broke out one of our greatroom windows with a rock thrown like a bullet. Bren, the boy who had someone video tape him skateboarding on the edge of the bathtub in the house next door. Bren, who was at the infamous Braves game with his older brother and my son when they were about four or five where his older brother accidentally poured 32 ounces of Coke down the back of the guy who had the misfortune of sitting in front of us. That Bren. How could I forget? So, happy birthday, Mr. Bren, it was good to hear from you. Come by and see the house then next time you are in town.

So, as I have said every week for the last three weeks (or is it four), hopefully by this time next week we should have sheetrock.

more progress! and happy birthday to someone!

Technology can be a powerful tool, as evidenced by this very blog. On the other hand, technology can have its challenges, as evidenced by this weeks photos.

I'm not too sure what I did, but I do know it was cold and windy and I was in a hurry and somehow I've got balloons and a "happy birthday" caption on all the pictures. So, I don't know whose birthday it is, but Happy Birthday nonetheless.

Oh well, progress has been made. On Monday, the siding crew showed up. With many work crews today, English is a second language. With this crew, it wasn't even a second language. What I do know is they showed up for four days, worked very hard, did nice work and then loaded up their ladders and left. The 80 percent that they completed looks good, as evidenced by the photos. What I don't know is when they will come back. But what I do know is they don't get paid until it's done.

(The big sections in the pictures that do not have siding are where the stone will go. They have yet to finish the fireplace end of the house and some porch trim).

On the inside we passed some more crucial inspections and hope to pass one more this week and then insulate and sheetrock.

So, as I have said every week for the last three weeks, hopefully next time this week we will have sheetrock.

progress continues . . .

Progress is continuing, although it may not be real obvious.

From the outside, things look about the same. But the roof was completed this week, and some HVAC changes were made as well. The fireplace is scheduled for this week, which then means the HVAC people can finish installing the gas lines. The siding has been delivered and hopefully they will start this week.

The electricians are close to finishing and hopefully they will finish tomorrow. The "smurf tube" (which is a flexible conduit for phone, tv antenna and computer wires, that, work with me here, is the same color as smurfs) should be installed this week.

And, after much ado, the cabinets were ordered last week and we have decided on what appliances we want.

So, what's next? We need to have the plumbing, electrical and HVAC all inspected, at which time we can call for a framing inspection, at which time we can do the termite spray (boracare, for those of you so interested) at which time we can insulate and then sheetrock. So, can we get all that done in a week? Probably not, but we are going to try.

Still moving along!

Not a whole lot of change on the outside but on the inside we are moving along.

All the windows and doors are now installed and on the inside we've got plumbing and hvac and electrical. We still need gas lines, a fireplace, phone wiring and a bunch of other little stuff. Hopefully by this time next week we will be ready for sheetrock.

The siding crew (which has yet to be hired) will go before the masons, who will stack stone around the foundation. So, the outside may look like this for a week or two.

Continued Progress!

This week several things happened. First, the framers finished. Then, the house got wrapped with a plastic type product called "house wrap". Then, felt (tar paper) got put on the roof. Then, the plumbers came and put the rough plumbing in. And finally, the windows & doors came and most got installed.

Next up; electricians start along with the HVAC duct installers. And the remaining windows and exterior doors get installed. Then, after all the roof penetrations are in place, the roof shingles will go on. (No sense putting on a perfectly good roof only to poke holes in it). And on Tuesday we are to meet with the "kitchen design team" on-site for measurements.

Yes, we have assembled a team to help us decide if we need kitchen cabinets or not. I suspect they will recommend we do.

It's Alive!

It's alive! Actually, there are a few pieces of sheathing missing in this picture but they finished today.

So, a productive week. Next up is felt on the roof, house wrap on the exterior, start on the plumbing and install the windows & doors.

As with the pictures in previous weeks, this is actually from the back. The front is looking pretty huge given the basement as mentioned a few weeks ago.

It's starting to look like a house!

Much progress this week and it's starting to look like a house.

This picture is taken from the woods behind the house and is looking at the back of the house.

Hopefully, by this time next week it will have all of its roof and exterior walls.

We have liftoff!

As mentioned in the earlier post, here is a picture of the framing as of today.

The basement is framed and the floor system in place. Tomorrow the framers will lay out the walls for the main level and start putting them up.

Most know the house is on the side of a hill. The old house had views to the north, east and west, but only limited views south. This house is planned to have views to the south, east and west. While the view to the north is pretty, we've seen it a bunch and it also brings some cold winds.

The second picture is looking south, out the end of the great room. You can see the bump out for the fireplace at the edge of the floor.

More updates to come as events and time allows.

More Concrete! And we go shopping for a kitchen!

Much to say about this week.

Last week this time, we had the rough plumbing set under the slab with some stone spread on top. On Monday, the slab guys came and finished getting ready to pour the concrete. On Tuesday, they poured the slab. It took 44 cubic yards (that is, about four and a half trucks). And on Wednesday, the framers showed up and started at it.

So that is where we are at. It’s starting to look like a house. (Due to some technical issue that will require more explaining than I am able to do, I will post those pictures separately).

We also had the pleasure of visiting a kitchen showroom this week.

This was not a Home Depot or Lowes setup. This was a “to the trade only” sort of place, filled with sample kitchens of all kinds, from basic to quite extravagant. We were there to look at a particular brand of cabinets along with some appliances.

While I don’t think either of us are big shoppers, the few times we have shopped for big items it has always been one of our particular strengths to find something we both like in a matter of mere minutes, only to discover we have picked out the most expensive stuff in the store. (This was most clearly illustrated the time we visited a carpet showroom, only to discover we picked out the most expensive carpet in the entire store in less than two minutes. Two minutes!) This trip was certainly no exception, as we both agreed the quarter sawn white oak cabinets with hand hammered hardware that we saw were rather attractive. But after seeing built-in stainless steel refrigerators larger than closets in our first house and granite counter tops that cost more than the first new car we ever bought it dawned on us we were way out of our league, and knew better than to even ask what those cabinets cost.

Oh well, progress continues. Hopefully, by next week this time, the house will be fully framed and possibly dried in (that is, windows and exterior doors in place and felt on the roof).

More progress! And your input needed!

Well, a couple of things happened this week. First, the waterproofing crew came and waterproofed the outside of the basement walls with some kind of rubbery grey green stuff. Then the plumbers came and set the sewer lines under the slab and tied them into the old sewer line that goes out to the street. And finally, the slab crew came and started getting ready to pour the basement floor. So that is good.

Once the sewer lines get inspected the slab guys can finish forming up the slab and pour the basement floor. And then framing can start. So hopefully, by this time next week we will have some pictures that look a little like a house!

We also met with a good friend from long ago who is a kitchen designer. This led to all kinds of issues, one of which was counter tops. I had suggested earlier we consider going with a laminate counter top with an aluminum edge banding. Obviously, in today's world of granite this and marble that, this is probably somewhat unusual, but I think it would have a lot of character and could work well. The question becomes what color.

I'm leaning toward "Red Hot Allusion" (which you can see here; use your "back" button to get back to this page when done) although the primary user of the kitchen is not there with me just yet. (After all, "Red Hot Allusion" is "a sizzling red with Latin and Cuban influence"; who would not want that?) So, if you have any suggestions, let's hear them before it's too late. (And yes, I have already considered and dismissed "Viva! Allusion" (which is New) so no need suggesting that one).

Basement walls poured!

More progress!

Well, despite cold cold temperatures (where is global warming when you need it?), the basement walls got both formed and poured. And basement walls we got, pretty good size ones at that.

This picture is taken from the end of the old driveway looking toward the mailbox. The big walls off in the distance are for the front porch, which will have a fieldstone & concrete floor, hence the need for concrete walls.

Unfortunately, the porch walls are pretty tall. As most are aware, we are on the side of a hill. I estimate there is a change of elevation of about 40 feet from the front of the lot to the back. Forty feet is a good amount (about four stories), which explains why I have grown to hate the garbage can as much as I do (even though it does have wheels). So, with the top of the back basement wall set to grade, the top of the front basement wall is more than 9 feet in the air. Tricky, but hills can do that. Perhaps the real trick will be to somehow disguise the fact the front porch will be 9 feet in the air.

And believe it or not, we actually lowered the house about five feet from where it was before.

Oh well, all in a week’s work. The forms were stripped off yesterday and the plumber is coming on Monday to put the sewer lines in place so the basement floor can be poured next. And then framing can start.

we've got footers!

This was a productive week. After the grading from last week, a footer crew came and formed up the foundation footers and by weeks' end we had footers! Next up are poured concrete foundation walls; then rough plumbing and the basement floor. (This view is taken from the end of the old driveway looking toward the mailbox at the street.)

Got dirt!

So, we got a permit and had the ashes hauled off and have started grading. (For those in the know, the horizontal line of sand in the bank at the back of the picture is where the courtyard used to be).

but life moves on . . .

State Farm was kind enough to write us a check (word to the wise: up your limits) and we've found some plans for a new house.