Birthday Present Update

On June 26th, the old car & the neighbor's boat named
"The Redneck Yacht Klub" were towed away!!!! YEAH!!!

They were totally moved out by the 15th of July
& Tom closed on the property July 28th.

So this is what we have now......
You can see the wheels turning in Tom's head.......
The possibilities are endless,but as he ponders & comes up with ideas,
I'm just happy to have the dog gone

& the cat no longer using our shade garden as his litter box!
Our plans are to have the house down before the snow flies
& just live with the vacant lot for awhile (hopefully a long while!).
We'll see what happens.....

The Den (AKA "The Martha Room")

Yes it was worth the wait!!!

After we moved the furniture out & into the family room , Mandy repaired all the nail pops & touched up the paint. Then it was all mine...I cleaned it & didn't waste anytime moving the new furniture in, along with the bookcases & the stereo!

The Family Room is Done!!!!!

Looks like Tom will finally be shopping for
his big screen TV, the old one just doesn't cut it !!!

TIME TO START DECORATING!!!!!

New Picture for The OZ Bath

Moving Forward

It's been 3 weeks since the siding repairs & I keep hoping for a hard driving rain to make sure the leaks are eliminated.....but No...we get nice straight down rain, a lovely garden soaker, all the areas around us get the driving rain!
So we discuss it, assume (you know the old saying...assume makes an ass out of u & me....let's hope this doesn't apply here) that the leaks are no more & go ahead with the drywall repairs in the family room.

Drywall repairs & a fresh coat of paint

Long as she's up there, might as well fix those nail pops...
a sponge taped to a long pole does the trick....

Might at well clean those ceiling fan blades too.......

(L click on any pic to enlarge)
Might we just impose one more time to clean the globe now????
Mandy couldn't reach the globe to unfasten the screw holding it on,
so Tom hooked the end of the hose to the air compressor
& attached it to the long pole
and just blew the heck out of the dust & dead bugs inside there!
Sure hope the paint was dry-that stuff really went flying!

Time to start the trim.......we're really getting close.

Window Warranty

I wasn't going to be home when the rep from Paradigm, the window company came. I had gone over the whole list (Yes it actually was a written list with details of each window issue & it's location) with Tom of the window issues before I left & we discussed questions that I needed answered. I admit I was actually considering canceling my appointment to be there, But Hey-it was a hair appointment!!!
Their customer service was excellent as we can attest to from Sept of 2006 when we had all the issues with the peak window.
Tom started going over the list with the rep & he just took it from him, told him they have had some issues with the film but not to this extent...No questions, they're replacing all 28 windows.
They're even replacing the one that "spontaneously cracked all by itself" when the house sitter was here! We were going to have them replace it anyway but now it's "No charge".
Tom didn't get all my questions answered but I'll take care of that when they replace the windows the end of August. Great customer service!

So Much for the Light at the End of the Tunnel...

So we think we have all the leaks fixed & I'm just lovin life.....we've got Tom's family coming in for the weekend & I'm gonna get my hands on our great niece Samantha who just turned 1 in May. Just look at that smile!

Samantha & her mom arrive (amazing how parents take a back seat after the kids are born) along with a torrential rain storm.
Guess what....Now we're putting buckets under the leaks in the family room!
There goes the light at the end of my tunnel.
The guys actually checked back after the rain storm to see if all was well & they found out I wasn't a happy camper. On Monday they went back up & found (surprise, surprise) the window molding between the upper triangular window & the lower square window had apparently never been caulked. Don't you wonder how they could have been up there specifically looking for issues relating to leaks & they never checked that??? Well it's all caulked now....once again let's hope this does it.

Ooohh Am I Mad!!! Water Leaks, Ice Damning...

You know that whole sitting down & crying thing??? We're not done....We can't repair the family room drywall until we actually determine where the leak is & eliminate it. In order to do that we need to remove the siding from the upper half of the house on the back side of the family room.

L click to enlarge photos

What we found were areas of plywood that weren't covered with Tyvek, areas of Tyvek that did not go under the window flashing, ripples in the Tyvek where it should have been smooth which literally created "funnels" to channel the water underneath it. Black water stains very evident on the plywood.... The whole area has been recovered with water & ice barrier & re-sided, lets hope that does it!

So the issues we found lit up a mental idea light bulb..."Hey, if that's the problem in the family room, could it also be the problem in the front of the house?" Tom had the guys pull the siding off the upper half of the house in the front. Sure enough, same issues & more...there were definitely sections where the plywood was water stained black. They found a hole under the soffit, which is one of the areas the ice damning was the worst....so was the heat from the house just funneling out of there & up under the soffit??? Makes sense to me, but then what do I know????
I just can't believe this mess....:(

L click to enlarge photos

And again..."Hey, if that's the problem in the family room, could it also be the problem in the dining room?" Tom had the guys pull the siding of the upper half of the house over the dining room. This is starting to sound like a bad re-run...there were sections where the plywood didn't even meet, missing Tyvek, like the top L & R pics-that bottom section of Tyvek was actually never there! The bottom L pic (over Al's head) you can see where there was a hole in the plywood & they filled it with expanding foam insulation!!!! The bottom R pic, the plywood is still wet from the last rain!!! No wonder the damn dining room won't dry so we could put the floor in!

L click to enlarge photos

Might as well tackle the last known area of leaks, which was in the attic. Remember the night we finally moved into the Master bedroom & woke up with cold wet feet??? No? I sure as heck do! ( Blog 3-13-07 Cold Feet) The leak hadn't reoccurred there but did in the attic. Guess what they found after pulling the siding??? Missing Tyvek, check out the upper R pic. This section of the house actually had the roof flashing over the Tyvek instead of under it...where do you think the water was diverted to ???

Well it's all fixed and there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel!!!
We'll be able to finish the family room & actually put the floor in the dining room!!!!

The Diva of Destruction

Time to repair the water damage in the family room, Mandy's chipping away at the bubbled paint, making even a bigger mess and I just don't think she needs to be smiling like this!

Long story short (is there such a thing?) she pulled off the drywall corner along the beam and the drywall underneath was moldy-gonna be a little more extensive than we thought, obviously this leak has been there since the beginning.
I think this is the point where I sat down on the floor & cried.

Window Washing 101

Well really it's only 74, but that does include doors & transoms too...then again it's inside & out so is it double that??? Or when one refers to window washing is it assumed that both sides will be washed? A question to ponder.....
In June of last year I told you we had a problem with the film that was installed between the window panes, it is supposed to keep the house cool in the summer, warm in the winter & help reduce fading from the sun's rays, but it was breaking down in places. Well we never ended up getting a hold of the company, (Procrastination is our middle name) thank goodness it's a lifetime warranty. So if you really want the whole story again see "Window Washing" 6-4-08, I had to do the same damn thing all over again. Except there are more windows now....well not more in the house, Tom didn't add another addition since the last up date, there are more windows with the film breaking down. So far 28 have film issues & 10 have scratches in the glass!!! How the heck can you have that many windows get scratched and some inside & some out??

Yes that actually is me in the picture, Mandy took a turn behind the camera.
So Tom called Paradigm, the window company, between our schedule & theirs, we'll see them the end of July. They travel from Maine & are in our area on certain days...so we'll see....I'll let you know the results.

They're In !!!

So it took from May 20th to June 8th ( not exactly the quick time frame Mandy originally thought) but they're re-stained, they're sealed & they are in!!!! We have a little tweaking to do yet, but it looks like this might actually be it!

Window Seats & Hearth Take 3

Back in May when the concrete seats & hearth (that didn't quite turn out right) were moved outside, I foolishly was under the impression that's where they'd stay until they were done. Tom & Mandy stripped off the sealer & stain, then took a wire brush to them, brought them back to the grey concrete state out on the deck.
Mandy liked the looks of them...."aged concrete" she called it.

Not quite the effect I had in mind (what little mind I have left, although I can tell you I'm feeling quite "aged" about now)....

Now the slabs need to be re-grouted & re-stained....YIKES.....in our Dining Room!!!!
They can't leave them outside in case it rains...so we move half the stuff out of the dining room, shove the rest into a corner and cover it with plastic......this just keeps getting worse! What about those beautiful walls??? Are they gonna get that stain on the walls?? Oh listen to me whine.....At least we don't have to worry about the floor, it's still concrete (haven't found that leak yet).
Mandy did say they'd do it as quick as they can....Somehow I'm thinking we don't quite have the same time frame.

Again the ugly color stain....

Again the repeat of the process... let it dry, then clean it, then clean it again, then shop vac it off, then let it dry again.

We put them in place and the right side window seat is darker than the left, quite obvious in the lighting in the family room vs. the dining room. So......off they come again to be re-stained......these are not light weight either...we're talking solid slabs of concrete, takes 2 people to lift the window seats & 3 to lift the hearth. Each time we lift & move them we run the risk of breaking them (not to mention I'm supposed to make decisions & decorate,not lift weights!). The thought of breaking one and then having to completely do them over does not make anyone happy...keep your fingers crossed this one is it!

Last Tile!!!!

Tom & Mandy with the last cut on the last tile for the whole house....
(which, of course, according to Murphy's law took 3 tiles to get there)
The tiling is done!

And they did a gorgeous job.......
here's a view from the loft

(You definitely want to L click on these pics,
Tom's tile dusted face is nothing I want to see again any time soon, but the floor is awesome!)

Martha's Early Birthday Present

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS????

(L Click for a clue)

I got a really great present! It has this really spiffy green tarp on the top of it & a well worn dog run in the back (that was used by the dog that bit Tom)!
Thank goodness Tom forgot to get me what I asked for last year....which was for Mandy to paint a mural on the big brown ugly wall next door, which is the view from our bedroom, 'cause I would have hated to tear down the mural .

Now the whole damn thing can come down!!!! YEAH!! This is sooooo much better than last year's present from Tom....which was a grill....although he does cook great food on it. Funny we were talking last night about maybe a fire pit there now.....I guess that would be just another type of grill wouldn't it?

Hmmmm...do I sense a theme here???? Ha Ha!
Long story short, apparently the property was foreclosed on in Oct '08 & the person who bought it let Bob & Brenda stay on a month to month basis until spring. He sent a letter to the neighbors on the other side asking them if they were interested in buying....
Steve, ( the other neighbor who just put a great addition on his house) brought the letter over to Tom, saying it wasn't anything he could do right now....was Tom interested? Tom told me & was I bummed....figured there was no way we could afford it now, Steve & Tom were hoping to share the cost. Well, Tom called the guy while I wasn't home & bought the place, and the rest is history!

Starting the 2nd half.....

Moving along........YEAH!!!

Well....Now What????

They sealed the stained concrete & it created it a milky white film all over.
Needless to say it looks like hell & Martha's not happy :(.
You can see the difference with the one in the back that didn't get sealed.
So we talked to the tile & paint people @ the big box stores for ideas on how to remove the sealer. That's a whole other project now.....
Tom's going to move them outside for that phase, so at least we can get moving on finishing the floor.

The Window to Where???

So there's this cut out in the wall of the family room that needed to be trimmed out to tie in with the oak railings. It opens into the "I don't know" room, so called because we have no idea what we're going to do with it. Our niece Elise calls it "The last minute" room. "Don't worry Aunt Martha" she says, "at the last minute you'll figure it out".
In the meantime, Tom & Mandy have obviously decided it's a good place to hang out........I guess now we know why it's taking so long to finish the house!

2nd Window Seat & Hearth

Tom & Mandy working on the second window seat & the hearth.
We came up with a color decision & we're going for it!
It won't dry this color, it'll be much lighter (I hope).

(L click on the collage-you'll get a good idea of the mess)

Family Room Floor Is Going In!!!!

I have to admit, there were times when I wondered if this day would ever come.

Sample window seat is in

Well it's not exactly what I had envisioned, I guess I was thinking more of a polished effect with more color shading....this is a little more rustic.......

But it looks great with the fireplace & I'd say they got the color just right.