Tom's garage

Well here's a pic of how far Tom's gotten on his garage .......not very. I have very graciously assisted him twice in the last couple of weeks, but without a push we're not getting far. So he went to work today & I hit the garage w/o him! It's so much easier if I just take over! He'll find everything eventually right?
So I did some serious moving & after about 4 hours was feeling pretty darn good about how much I had accomplished. Guess who came home to help for the last hour? So I gave him a box marked "top of brown dresser" which was full of misc items from his garage at the old house that still hadn't been sorted. I heard "I looked all over for that" or "I knew I had this somewhere" at least 3 times. My favorite though, was when he pulled out this canvas bag with a rubber connector on the end, looked at me, smiled & said "guess what this is?" At my blank look he said "this is the sawdust collection bag for the miter saw!" A handy little gadget that connects to the saw & collects all the sawdust created by industrious people. This little gadget,which would have effectively cut down on my clean-up over the last two years by at least 50%, has been sitting in a box in his garage all this time! Now that the house is close to being done (I am an optimist by nature) he finds it!

It may not look like much just yet, but we did get a lot accomplished.
As you can see though, there is a little bit to do-still can't get my car in just yet.....

Christmas cookies

There is just nothing better than the smell of gingerbread baking!

Elise, Griffin & Grama for our annual Christmas cookie baking.

Hot Tub's fixed

OK-it's the 5th of Dec, the part finally came in for the hot tub & it's fixed! We're back in business finally! I'd say Tom earned this!

"Thatsa" damn beautiful arch!!!!!

The stones on the outer arch are going in......here's the first stone.....

(is that a Kodak picture shot or what???)

here's the last stone......

just a whack or two from the mallet,get right up there on your tip-toes Mandy....

we want that last stone to fit!

"Thatsa" damn beautiful arch!!!!!

We're Stoning!!!!

The scaffolding is set up, Mandy has her stone selections laid out on the work table, they're mixing up that mortar, getting ready to go......and the first stone is in!
Great team work-the inside of the arch is done-this is going to look awesome!

Stone arch

I think it's about time we got some actual work out of these two, now that the decision is made for the mantle (well part of it anyway-next is the color of the stain or natural-but that's another day) and the forms made for the concrete samples (oh-another color decision there). You'd think the two of them were back in school, between the field trip, building boxes & mixing their mud samples......

The frame for the arch has been designed & built. It fit perfect, so they took it down, covered it with tar paper & metal lathe-just like the front of the house-so the mortar would have something to adhere to. The next step was to paint the wall & the frame with contact cement (and man did it stink!) then stick it up there. It probably wasn't going to go anywhere but they nailed it to the wall just to be sure!

Field Trip!

Next comes "The Mantle" .....First we needed to decided what we wanted the mantle made out of, wood, concrete, tile, stone, etc., etc.. after much discussion, we decided on wood. Now we had to decide what kind, since every wood has a distinctive grain structure: barn board, rough sawn, hand hewn, thick, thin, smooth,etc.,etc.. One more question & I'll scream!
Black Walnut and that's my final answer!
Tom found a man who was retired, worked out of his home selling planed boards and had black walnut of varying lengths, but he was an hour away.
Looks like Tom & Mandy are taking a field trip!
The guy was retired from Stickley, had a nice little setup in his workshop. After they chose the board-12ft length- it needed to go thru the planner quite a few times, you can see in the pic in the top R there's still a few passes to be made before the wood grain comes thru, by the bottom L-what a difference.

Then they ripped one side along a straight edge, that edge then goes thru a jointer planer which produces a flat surface along the boards edge length, flip the board over & repeat the process. Just look at the things I'm learning!
Mandy was nice enough to take pics of the process with her cell phone so we didn't miss a thing!

They brought home 7'6' ft length board of the original board & cut it down to 7' to fit the fireplace

That's going to be one beautiful mantle,
I guess all those decisions were worth it!

Concrete samples

Tom & Mandy are making their own forms to pour concrete into. These small samples will provide them the opportunity to experiment with colors, textures & to test release agents to figure out how to get the concrete form out of the mold without it affecting the color staining. All that is fine & dandy-but don't let them fool you, the real reason is so I have something tangible to look at before they make the decision to build the mold for the concrete hearth! It's going to be a really big chunk of concrete in the family room! Once it's there, it's permanent! We really want Martha to be happy with it!

Fireplace framing

Tom & Mandy started framing in the fireplace, notice the hearth will mimic the arch in the stone work and there will be 2 seats, one on either side under the windows. The pic in the bottom R corner is a shot from the loft.

L click to enlarge the collage

Looks like we started something.......

Our neighbors, Steve & Tina, two doors down started a large addition to their home this spring. In the upper L pic, you can see the roof coming off, upper R you can see the large addition that's already started. In the lower 2 you can see the 2nd story going up. If you notice the dates, that roof & 2nd story was done in 2 days! Where were these guys when we were building our house???? So I asked Steve at that time to do me a really big favor.......... "Please don't finish your house before us!"

Here's a view from across the river...............the beforer & after. Looks like Tina might be having a few windows to wash, I guess we're sharing the "window washing secret" with another neighbor!

Then Callie & Derek, 3 houses up river from us, bought the property next door to them & tore the house down this spring. They're living in their small house while the "big house" is being built. I had to take this shot from across the river so I could get the whole house in the picture!
The small brown structure to the left is their current house. It's supposed to be completely framed in by Thanksgiving, but since there's a second story, I'm thinking that's not going to happen. I bet his framer knows our framer.....

Then there's Sue & Emilio, they're down the river a bit, apparently the only smart ones.... they had their house brought in by crane, set down on the foundation, the crane will bring in the second story & voila! Instant House! (these shots are also from across the river to get the best shot)

But just so you don't forget who this story is really all about.....a shot from across the river of our house.

Eva's 3!

Hard to believe she's three years old, the house is still not done & I'm still babysitting!
We weren't home for her actual birthday, so Eva & I made brownies at her request for her cake and of course we both had to lick the spoons (yes, that's chocolate on my face too!).

Then Uncle Tom & Mandy quit working long enough
for us to sing Happy Birthday, have brownies & open presents.
Then it was back to work for them!

Nov. 2006.............. Nov. 2007................. Nov. 2008

Beginning the Fireplace

Tom & Mandy began the lay out for the fireplace by drawing a big yellow chalk line on the wall. They had no actual plans other than the sketch Mandy did. So they were starting from scratch.If you look closely at the bottom L corner you can see the sketch taped to the fireplace.

So what she drew on the wall was not a big yellow sun because it's Dec & we don't see much of one.....but the arch for the stone work.

Then Mandy drew on the floor with her yellow chalk....good thing Eva's napping, otherwise she might think she can draw on my floors too! They then started selecting stones to lay out on the mock "arch" for fit & placement.

We're off to a good start!

Another project "almost" done!

It may be November, but we're finally getting the remainder of the front yard done. The last pile of landscape gravel & topsoil has been removed (along with a healthy crop of weeds), then ground was leveled off. We'll be ready to plant grass in the spring & then finish the landscape lighting. Yippee!!! Another project "almost" done! We're getting there.......

Family Room Disaster area

You'll notice a lack of posts from the month of October-we were in Florida, now that we're back it's time to start tackling the family room. This is a pic of the area that is supposed to be the family room some day, looking down from the loft. That view thru the window is actually the deck, not blinds. But....in order to start on the family room, the garage has to be finished so we can move most of this junk out and make room for the scaffolding.
So, if this needs to go into the garage (along with everything else that's still out there), kinda makes you wonder if there isn't a plan for the garage this winter that does not include me parking my car in it.........

The drywall slasher strikes again!

Well it's time to continue working on the laundry room, the upper cabinets went in two months ago (to the date!). We're putting in the sink base cabinet & another small cabinet (leftovers from the pantry auction cabinets), nice light maple, looks beautiful with the morning sun!
But wait!!!! DejaVu!!!
We're missing the drain pipe for the slop sink! Hmmm-we know it was there...
Where or where can it be???
Perhaps hidden behind the drywall.....
just like the light fixture in the 1/2 bath....
or maybe like the water hook-up for the dishwasher......
or maybe the duct work for the A/C in the ceiling in the kitchen or the thermostat wire in the laundry room that was missing.....
Unfortunately, unlike the kitchen, I have no photos of that section of the laundry room before the drywall went up.
Well Tom & Mandy narrow it down, we know it's here...the question is...which side of the stud...Mandy thinks left, Tom thinks right...let the drywall slashing begin!
Mandy is the Winner-luckily we went with her choice first!
By the way-this just in-just in case your interested we're still missing a thermostat wire for the foyer. We have at this time, 3 differing opinions on where it could be. Hopefully I'll find a picture for that too.
So the cabinets go in, counter top goes on & slop sink was installed today. Yippee!!!
We're getting there...
Just a quick note for those of you building next year-(since you obviously haven't read a thing I've written in the last year or think "It can't possibly happen to me..")TerryLynn & Mike, Mandy & Brian, Jill & Jeremy-
Take photos of wiring & plumbing before you drywall!

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Not a good angle on Mandy.....But isn't she a good worker......I never would have had that vision in my head when she was little....I loved ALL the updates thanks a bunch...Now I can't wait to see the Manor again..BY the way you are heading this way in a couple weeks. We need to make a date !!!

5:46 AM

Stucco-3rd and Final Coat !

Just look at that smile! The third coat of stucco is finished (and on Tom's birthday)! The blue tape & plastic are coming down, this is done until spring when we decide how we want to finish it with color shading. Kinda like a cement faux finish which will incorporate the colors of the stone & siding.

The Monkey

The last two winters, we had a lot of ice build up on the roof. During Tom's ongoing quest to determine why it was so bad, he came up with some solutions....one being the possibility that the furnace vent pipe vents hot air under the soffit, cools, creates condensate & freezes, makes sense right? So in order to eliminate the problem they'll need to move the vent to the roof.

In this pic you can see the vent (that small white dot)
just to the left of the windows behind the icicles.

This is a pic of the ice & the placement of the vent-
you can actually see the steam coming out of the vent in this pic.

In this one you get a real good idea of how thick the ice was.

So, who do you think got the job of going up on the roof to reposition the vent???? Yep-you guessed it-Mandy and just to top it off, there was a constant drizzle all day! She scrambled up & down that roof & that ladder like she was born doing it!

Hope this does the trick! We'll keep you posted............

Just another beautiful sunset.........

Stucco-2nd coat

They burned out the motor on the first cement mixer (they are working hard!)-now we have this bright yellow one! It's a dusty, dirty job & they need to get just the right mixture.....or it won't adhere to the first coat (as they found out once already).

You can see the grooved lines from the first application.
The wet cement has something to "grab" hold of.

The cement needs to be misted a few times for the first 24 hrs.

Amazing how different the color is already as it's starting to dry.

Wind storm

On the 15th of Sept we had a major windstorm which caused a "brown-out" that lasted about 12 hours, then we completely lost power for another 12. At first we thought it was great to just have partial power, unbeknownst to us, this actually did more damage than good. When the power eventually came back on, a least 9 circuit breakers were tripped, the surge protectors on the microwave, dishwasher & stove were all fried. They did what they were supposed to, protected the appliances-especially since the new appliances now all have electronic control panels-basically "the brains" of the appliances. The Hot Tub however was not so lucky... Tom & Mandy took apart the hot tub to see if they could replace the blown fuse. The circuit panel had 4 removable fuses which were easy to replace, but of course, (you knew this was coming) they were all fine, the blown fuse was the one that was hardwired in. We're going to have to take the circuit board out & have it repaired.

And you wonder why it takes so long to finish this house????
It might have something to do with someone who keeps changing her priorities, but really, I need our hot tub!

The Attic

The attic seems to be almost as out of control as Tom's garage. That may have something to do with the fact that Tom is now storing stuff in the attic 'cause he knows he won't find it in his garage.....

Since he started revamping his garage (which is still just in beginning stages) he has started to take over some of the shelves in the attic. I just don't think I can deal with another area that becomes storage for misc. tools that he cannot find when he needs them (because he can't remember what he put where)! He & Mandy already spend an inordinate amount of time looking for things they either "just saw a minute ago" or "just had a minute ago"! At that point then they will start asking me where the things are....like I use the things?!? So in my ongoing endeavor to continue to keep a tight reign on the chaos that could all too easily ensue, I have requested a storage closet to be constructed in the attic, then I can organize & keep an area for him until the garage is done.
So he & Mandy started framing in for the storage area. Now we just need it done before I have to start hauling all the Christmas stuff out........

Can't you just hear Eva giggling??? Like Auntie Martha is really going to fit all that into her new play closet....

Zane & Mirabelle

Welcome to our newest great niece Mirabelle! That is one proud big brother sitting there waiting to see his new sister with his big balloon bouquet! The fascination while Zane (who's 31/2 already!) watches her-just priceless. Good thing we're building a big house, the family keeps growing!

left click on the pic to enlarge

Let the Stucco Begin!

The pressure was on....a finish texture choice needed to be made along with a color choice decision. Tom already had an idea in his head of what he wanted it to look like-just getting my vision & his on the same page was the only hold-up. I'm a very visual person, I need to see it. On more than one occasion when we thought we were in sync, we found out-much to our frustration-we were not, when I said "but I thought it would look like.......". You get the idea, this is a big project & the front of our home-we need to be on the same page with this one! So I get visuals, we choose a color which Mandy & Tom promise me will dry lighter than what I see & will have beautiful shade variations. OK-let's do it. The front of the house is covered in plastic & taped off where we don't want the colored concrete to land. The first application is spread over the lathe with a trowel & smoothed as it's put on. Then the surface is scraped with Tom's makeshift scraping tool, which creates a rough base as it dries for the 2nd coat to adhere to.

Pie Bakers

Eva is such a big helper making Uncle Tom a peach pie.......everything is "my do it, my do it!" We sure are glad Tom put in such a big island for us to work at 'cause Eva sure needs a lot of working room!