A big hole.
Note the ladders. I think the one in the front is a 6 or 8 footer.
Lots of dirt.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday
Holes in the garage! They need to cut holes in the floor to put in the caissons to support the garage.
A big hole.
Note the ladders. I think the one in the front is a 6 or 8 footer.
Lots of dirt.
A big hole.
Note the ladders. I think the one in the front is a 6 or 8 footer.
Lots of dirt.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday
This was a crazy day -- 8am started with 8 men moving the hot tub, I had to clear out the basement closet for the HVAC guys, a doctor's appointment, carpool, and a baseball game. I had to choose a good attitude.
Men. Moving hot tub.
A view from the road.
Men. Moving hot tub.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Would you look at that! It's May
We were going to break ground today, but we needed an appraisal to lock in the HELOC. And it's raining lakes all over the property, so it'll be Monday.
No, seriously! Monday!
No, seriously! Monday!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Ups and Downs of Bidding
Last week, we received our first bid back from one of the contractors we are thinking of hiring for our project.
His bid came back DOUBLE our budget. Double.
We had a sweet heart to heart with Kathy and a remarkable time of reworking the project, just the three of us. We've scaled down the project to accommodate our budget (wasn't that what we tried to do in the first place?) and we're all still satisfied with what we came up with.
The roof line is different, we won't deconstruct the garage, we took off the proposed (gorgeous) covered porch and we simplified Kathy's space.
I'll post pictures of the proposed plan when I delete photos from my web albums (using all my available space!). There's always something to do.
::sigh::
His bid came back DOUBLE our budget. Double.
We had a sweet heart to heart with Kathy and a remarkable time of reworking the project, just the three of us. We've scaled down the project to accommodate our budget (wasn't that what we tried to do in the first place?) and we're all still satisfied with what we came up with.
The roof line is different, we won't deconstruct the garage, we took off the proposed (gorgeous) covered porch and we simplified Kathy's space.
I'll post pictures of the proposed plan when I delete photos from my web albums (using all my available space!). There's always something to do.
::sigh::
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The Saga of our House
I thought at one point, that I would document our Remodel progress. I guess I thought I'd start when the builders started actually doing something. What I realized, is that "something" is actually happening, it's just slooooww.
Here's what's happening as of right now.
We have a plan.
Our architect has drawn up a beautiful plan for our house. We will be building an addition for Kathy (Brian's mom) to live in, create a new front to the house -- which eliminates the solar room -- and bring natural light into the kitchen. We'll be sacrificing part of the garage, but we haven't been able to park in there up to this point, so actually being able to use it at all is a step in the right direction.
The Furnace
We were living without a furnace for half our house since we moved in last May. This wasn't that big of a deal until it got cold. Really cold. Below zero cold. We had 4 space heaters running all at the same time and it really wasn't all that bad, but we took a hit with the electric company. Ouch.
Two days after the cold snap, we got our new furnace installed. It's glorious! It's nice not having to avoid power cables on the floor or to have the extra white noise from the fans. The HVAC guys have been here all week installing duct work.
And guess what else they found?
There's been a small gas leak under the house. I guess it's been there for years. Fantastic.
That expedites the second stage of the HVAC project. We have installed one furnace to service three very different areas of our house: the front of the house, where the bedrooms are; the back of the house, a bi-level living space; and Kathy's space. All of these areas are independently controlled, but let me tell you, that's a lot of ducting!! So now we have a call into the Concrete Cutters to cut through part of the foundation to run the ducting to the back of the house so that we can get rid of our 25 year old furnace that is oversized, not ducted correctly and short-cycling. At least the heat exchanger isn't cracked, like the one we that was in the front of the house.
The Problem with Trees
Isaac took a bath the other day and when we drained the tub, the kitchen sink went "gurgle, blub, blub." That's when we learned that we had a block in the line. Brian removed the toilet (that wasn't properly set in the first place) and tried to snake out the clog, to no avail. We called a plumber and he came over at 10:30 at night and told us that we have tree roots in our septic line.
Excellent.
Yesterday, we removed one of the juniper bushes that was planted on top of where the septic line runs from the house to the septic tank. And this morning, when Brian was in the shower, he heard "gurgle, blub, blub" coming from the bathroom sink. Again, we are without flushing power.
At least when the plumber comes today, it's not at 10:30 at night.
And that's the latest.
Here's what's happening as of right now.
We have a plan.
Our architect has drawn up a beautiful plan for our house. We will be building an addition for Kathy (Brian's mom) to live in, create a new front to the house -- which eliminates the solar room -- and bring natural light into the kitchen. We'll be sacrificing part of the garage, but we haven't been able to park in there up to this point, so actually being able to use it at all is a step in the right direction.
The Furnace
We were living without a furnace for half our house since we moved in last May. This wasn't that big of a deal until it got cold. Really cold. Below zero cold. We had 4 space heaters running all at the same time and it really wasn't all that bad, but we took a hit with the electric company. Ouch.
Two days after the cold snap, we got our new furnace installed. It's glorious! It's nice not having to avoid power cables on the floor or to have the extra white noise from the fans. The HVAC guys have been here all week installing duct work.
And guess what else they found?
There's been a small gas leak under the house. I guess it's been there for years. Fantastic.
That expedites the second stage of the HVAC project. We have installed one furnace to service three very different areas of our house: the front of the house, where the bedrooms are; the back of the house, a bi-level living space; and Kathy's space. All of these areas are independently controlled, but let me tell you, that's a lot of ducting!! So now we have a call into the Concrete Cutters to cut through part of the foundation to run the ducting to the back of the house so that we can get rid of our 25 year old furnace that is oversized, not ducted correctly and short-cycling. At least the heat exchanger isn't cracked, like the one we that was in the front of the house.
The Problem with Trees
Isaac took a bath the other day and when we drained the tub, the kitchen sink went "gurgle, blub, blub." That's when we learned that we had a block in the line. Brian removed the toilet (that wasn't properly set in the first place) and tried to snake out the clog, to no avail. We called a plumber and he came over at 10:30 at night and told us that we have tree roots in our septic line.
Excellent.
Yesterday, we removed one of the juniper bushes that was planted on top of where the septic line runs from the house to the septic tank. And this morning, when Brian was in the shower, he heard "gurgle, blub, blub" coming from the bathroom sink. Again, we are without flushing power.
At least when the plumber comes today, it's not at 10:30 at night.
And that's the latest.
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