Friday, November 27, 2009 - The Day After

Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday, let that madhouse shopping begin. Leftovers, leftovers, leftovers. The Iron Bowl, Roll Tide Role! Most importantly, Thanksgiving is over. It's not that I don't like Thanksgiving, because it is a great opportunity to sincerely reflect upon all with which we are blessed. No, I'm happy because I don't have to watch that insipid news story any more, the same stupid story we all have to suffer through each year at this time...the official pardon of the White House turkey. I can only picture the second-rate reporters (the ones who have to work weekends and holidays) sitting around the newsroom, any newsroom in America, drawing straws to see who has to cover this annual act of lameness. And could a president have looked more uncomfortable at a press conference than Obama did this year? I think he would have been more comfortable holding a press conference about voter registration fraud while standing behind a podium inside an ACORN office. Why do we have to suffer through this each year? Reporters struggle each year to come up with a new hook and new puns to fill 90 seconds of time on what is one of the slowest news days of the year. Does the president do this each year to simply pander to PETA? And who are we kidding? Do we really think the president pardons the turkey then settles down on Thanksgiving Day to a nice salad or vegetable plate? Don't kid yourself, he is stuffing himself on turkey just like everybody else in America. In fact, he is probably gripping a turkey leg like it's the last foil-covered delight at a Renaissance Fair. All of this begs to question - white meat or dark meat? I'm just asking...

Thursday, November 26, 2009 - Turkey Day

Today I am thankful for a number of things. As much as I have bitched and moaned about the addition over the last two months, I am thankful that we are able to embark on such an endeavor. This is a time when so many are struggling to even stay in their homes, and we are making ours a little bit bigger and better for us...and I am thankful we can do it. We have been through some ups and downs over the years, but it has all led us to where we are today...and I like that place...and I'm thankful for that. I am thankful for a good job and that I am able to work for the best company in Nashville. I am thankful for my dogs, who make me up way too early, even on my days off. Most of all I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for two incredible boys who are healthy, bright, and have made great decisions in their lives. I am thankful for my wife, who is loving, encouraging, keeps us all in line, and, well, orchestrates this whole shebang. I couldn't think of anyone better to mother our children and provide loving support to all of us. She is what keeps this machine chugging right along. Happy Thanksgiving to all...now bring on the bird!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - Miracle

Woo hoo! We have concrete. The cinder block wall is now a core-filled wall of reinforcing steel bar and concrete. The foundation is now a 4-inch thick concrete pad...a real floor. Now I get to scrutinize everything with a level to make sure it's perfectly flat...and it better be perfect after all this wait. But we have concrete. It's a Thanksgiving miracle, Charlie Brown!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - Third Verse...

For more of Tuesday's activities, please see my blog entry for Friday, November 20...or Monday, November 23. Double-Grrrrr.

Monday, November 23, 2009 - Second Verse, Same as the First

For more of Monday's activities, please see my blog entry for Friday, November 20. In other words, GRRRRRR.

Friday, November 21, 2009 - Loss for Words

No concrete. No workers on site. No rain. No news from my contractor who "really likes to stay in contact with the client." No progress. No comment.

Thursday, November 20, 2009 - Nothing in this World is Concrete

I spent most of the month of October writing about the rain. Not quite sure where all of the ideas came from (they just sort of fell from the sky), but it was actually kind of fun. Frustrating, but fun. The second-wettest October in Nashville history left us way behind schedule...a schedule that left us very little room for error or delays. But as wet as October was, November has been conversely dry. So why do I feel like we have made very little progress in the first 20 days of the month? Oh, I remember, there's no concrete. I have spent the entire month writing about how concrete deliveries keep being scheduled, but never happen. Today was at least the fourth day of promised delivery that came and went without the flyash-sand-water combination being poured. Trust me, there is plenty of concrete available; I see it all over town. The new addition on the nondescript building at MetroCenter has a large expanse of new concrete slab flooring. The apartment building next to the school has six new sets of concrete steps leading to the soon-to-be-occupied dwellings. The new car dealership at Cool Springs...no shortage of concrete on that lot. These are things I would have never noticed before this home addition process started. Seems like I may be a bit jealous, but maybe I have a good right to be. Everything was prepped and ready for a concrete pour today. When Cara arrived home she immediately called me and said none had taken place. A call to the contractor explained the convoluted message he left earlier in the week. He says he told me there had to be another inspection of how the addition will tie into the existing house before the concrete pour. I could have sworn he said the inspection would come after the concrete pour. Big difference there. Regardless, it didn't happen today and I am frustrated. Seven weeks since the project start date, and we have little more than a gravel-covered hole in the ground and some pvc pipe...some of it even installed and connected to the sewer pipe. The inspection today caused us to lose our place in line with the concrete pumper-truck. If we can get it Friday we are in business. If not, then we will have to reschedule our place in line at the concrete plant again and hope it coincides with the truck reservation. This town is way too large, right in the midst of a building bust, for our contractor to be having this kind of coordination trouble. I am a big believer that small victories lead to winning the battle. Right now I am in need of any type of victory, and soon, to keep me sane.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - Holding My Breath

It appears we are ready for pouring concrete on Thursday. Apparently workers sporadically appeared throughout the day (and night) Wednesday cleaning out the base of the addition and laying down the plastic moisture barrier. Still not real sure how they are going to get a concrete truck into the back yard, but that's for them to figure out. Glad I won't be around to watch them try. I just want to come home and see smoothed concrete in the backyard. I don't ask for much.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 - Time Management

What I see missing on the job site, outside of undocumented workers, is time management. On the optimistic side, we are four weeks behind schedule. On the pessimistic side, we are six weeks behind schedule. I'm glass-half-full; Cara is glass-half-empty. Either way, it has been frustrating to see so many sunny days wasted while waiting on inspections, waiting for equipment and supplies to be delivered, or waiting for concrete. Sunny days when nothing, absolutely nothing is done on the site. We were supposed to pour concrete two weeks ago and still nothing. It doesn't even seem to be prepped for the pour yet. When I have a project delayed at work, it's not like I don't have something else I can do. It's nice to always have things fall right into place, but life doesn't always allow for things to fall into place quite right - A followed by B followed by C. But the rain has stopped tonight, and the contractor promises the concrete work to be done Thursday. But what do I know about time management? I am writing this on Thursday morning when I should have written it 36 hours ago. Time to practice what I preach. With the smell of turkey in the air, I'm sure everyone will break for the Thanksgiving holidays next week, so Thursday could be the last day of significant work for the month of November. I will try to ignore the line of concrete trucks I see daily at my son's school and the formation of steps and sidewalks for the huge apartment complex that is going up much more quickly than my addition.

Monday, November 16, 2009 - Standing In Line

I do enjoy writing and I can write on nearly any subject in the world. But when I start a blog to primarily write about home construction and I spend more time writing about anything other than hammers, nails, undocumented workers, and how close we are to moving in, I get frustrated. We are at least a month behind schedule and I watch way too many nice days (like today) go by with no work being done. My contractor says we are set to go with concrete being poured Thursday, but I will believe it when I see it. At this point, we are simply waiting in line at the concrete plant and there is nothing to do until we pour. I think we have had about a half-dozen days planned for concrete that have come and gone with no activity. I am tired of rain. I am tired of dirt. I am tired of trash. I am tired of delays. However, I pulled out the plans and took a long look at the blueprints. I looked at pictures as simple as the modern design of our staircase. I saw a commercial on TV tonight showing a front porch very similar to the one we are adding to the front of our house. It's little things like these that keep me from losing my sanity...even though I know it will be after Thanksgiving before we see any framing take place. A real sign of progress.

Friday, November 13, 2009 - Friday the 13th

Hadn't even realized it was Friday the 13th until Cara mentioned it to me on the way home. It was only mentioned because we had been hit with a bit of bad news - my car needs to have its transmission rebuilt. Seems like a bearing in the differential went south and tore things up a bit, sending little shards of metal throughout the entire transmission...among other things. I have been having trouble with my car for about 18 months with a nagging bit of vibration in the front end that has turned into complete annoyance over the last six months. I had wheel bearings replaced, new struts, a new rim, four new tires, balancing and rotating everything, alignment...you name it, it's been looked at. I even had the front axles replaced, found out they weren't the issue, and had the old ones put back on. Finally I was told to take it to Mr. Transmission...which I knew was the kiss of death. They don't really give away transmission service any more like they used to. In fact, they charge quite a bit. And what leg do you have to stand on? They can't figure it out without taking off the transmission and tearing it apart. A transmission has more than 200 parts and it's not like they can piece it back together and send you on your way without fixing it.

As we all know, Americans have a love affair with their cars, and I feel like the relationship with mine is on shaky ground. I do really like my car, a 2003 Honda CRV. Six years old with only about 80,000 miles on it. But Hondas are well known for not having engine and transmission problems, which has caused me to be quite bummed quite about this. People love to get new cars every couple of years if they are able, but I am very happy with my Honda, and clearly expect to have it another three years until Clayton begins to drive. At that point it will be nearly 10 years old with around 120,000 miles on it. Even though this repair would equate to about five or six months worth of new Honda car payments, it's not like we could get anything on trade for a CRV with no transmission...or the bagful of used transmission parts we would lug to the dealer. So, we'll suck it up and hope to get it back Monday, then cross our fingers that this solves the problem once and for all. Then I will wash the car and hope it drives just like new. With any luck the newly cleaned car will get construction dust all over it throughout the rest of the week.

Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Sunny Days Wasted

Nashville has seen one of its most beautiful weeks of the year. Not a drop of rain all week and barely even a cloud in the sky. At least that is what I hear. I was in Baltimore most of the week where it was dreary, cold, and rainy all week. You also wouldn't have guessed it was sunny in Nashville by the amount of work done on the house. Looks like they were able to waterproof the blocks...and from straight appearances that's about it. We have had a string of about 10 workdays with no rain and we are crawling on this project. Apparently we had a plumbing inspection called in for a week, and they finally came out Wednesday. The inspector wanted something tested on the plumbing, and I am guessing no one was around to assist him, so he had to come back Thursday. The testing was a success and we passed the inspection, but lost our place in line at the concrete plant. So that has pushed us back to Tuesday for the pour...when it is supposed to rain. And it is supposed to rain most of the week. I don't want to write any more about the rain...I have enough posts about that (see, well, everything in October). I think our contractor is well aware of the impending rain because the crew was supposed to come prepare everything (clean-up and even-out the gravel where the concrete pad will be poured, lay down plastic sheeting, etc.) on Friday and did not. No need to do this if it is just going to get wet. I feel like we have had a lot of good, sunny days wasted as we slip ever-so-close to being a month behind schedule. Grrrr.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 - I Learned This in Sunday School

Another day, another day of waiting. Hard to tell from Baltimore if any work was done today, like maybe a plumbing inspection, but Cara thinks we may have failed the required check. I haven't heard either way from our contractor, but no concrete has been poured, which is the sign of a successful inspection. We shall see on Thursday. As mentioned, today I am in Baltimore for the mother of all boring training sessions. Nothing like a little compliance training to get the blood flowing. Tonight, all of the excitement was hitting the streets of Baltimore and listing to some good ol' southern rock 'n' roll - all the Allman Brothers, The Band, ZZ Top, and George Thorogood you could stand - in a state north of the Mason-Dixon line. Nearly all night the lead singer would pontificate before every other song, "I learned this in Sunday school," but I'm not even sure what that means. The band, however, was a bit delayed in its start as they awaited the bass player to show. Why is it the bass player who always screws things up? One of my co-workers blurted out, just about 30 seconds after I thought it, (and right as the crowd was dead silent) that the bass player looked just like Andre the Giant, albeit a bit smaller...except the head, which I think was about the same size as the esteemed wrestling great. The bass player's tardiness wasn't helped by the fact that when he walked into start the show, bass thrown over his shoulder, he walked straight into a wall right in fronth of everybody. Didn't seem to bother him much, although he did keep his eyes shut tight the entire night. I think he played based simply on muscle memory. But he did what all good bass players do - he just stood there.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - Zzzzzz

Just waiting on the plumbing inspection. Nothing happens until that is successful, and it didn't happen today.

Monday, November 9, 2009

I really enjoy yard work twice each year - the first mow of the year and the last mow of the year. With the first mow of the year, I spend four or five hours mowing the front and back yards, trimming, edging, clipping the hedges, and then blowing all the leftovers down to the creek. Then it is time to sit back and admire the great job done, knowing that it won't be that perfect again until the following spring. Every other time leading up to the last mow of the year, in the hot, humid summers of Nashville, is really just a pain in the ass. However, I told myself I would never complain about doing yard work again after living in a crappy apartment the year we moved back to Nashville. In reality, it's not the mowing that I mind. I just snap on my iPod and push the Yard Machine around for three hours. I consider it good exercise. I measured it with a pedometer one time and logged in 2.5 miles. It's the weed pulling, flower planting, and gardening that I really can't stand. Don't get me wrong, I certainly like the way it looks when all of it is done, I just dislike doing it. This past Sunday I completed my final mow of the year. I raked and mowed the front and side yards, and completely ignored the back. What's the point? The back yard is simply a mess, and I figure with the next rain, the workers will simply get on their toys to play in the mud and cover up any leaves I would have raked anyway, so I will sit back and enjoy looking at the bright golden leaves on the ground this year and feel no guilt for not raking them up. Metro Water Services will probably look kindly upon me and thank me for not dumping thousands of leaves into their water system, too. The front looks incredible today...and probably today only. My neighbor's tree still has plenty of dead leaves on it that tend to drop slowly over the course of the fall and winter. Most of these fall on his driveway and our side yard, and are usually blown further into our yard by even the slightest of breezes from the south. And, in the not too distant future, the front yard will probably look as bad as the back yard when they rip off the current overhang over the front porch and install a real front porch on the house. But today, on one of the most beautiful fall days of the year, the front yard looks spectacular...and serves as a nice facade to what sits currently behind the house.

Friday, November 6, 2009 - Moving Weekend

Although I didn't hear from my contractor today, he told me earlier in the week that they should tearing into the house during the middle of next week, which means time to pack up everything in our bedroom and prepare for a mess. Even though they are not having to enter our room, they do have to remove the brick off the outside of the house, which really just leaves the framing of the house and a piece of drywall between us and the great outdoors. Notice I didn't mention anyting about insulation. With every other renovation project we embarked upon over the last six years, none of the rooms we have remodeled have had any insulation in the walls. I wouldn't expect any in our bedroom wall either. I already know that there isn't any insulation in the wall of Daniel's bedroom, since a sledgehammer whack into the house by the contractor the first week of the project has proven that. Daniel's wall, however, is completely coming out, but I don't know if they are just removing the bricks from it next week, or if the entire wall is coming down. Cara's not quite ready fo rthem to enter the house yet, but it has to happen at some point. Either way, it's time to pack up books, pictures, clothing, and other knick-knacks as well as moving furniture around because I am sure there is much dust soon to come. These workers haven't been real neat so far outside the house, and I'm not expecting much better of them indoors.

Thursday, November 5, 2009 - Life and How To Live It

For you REM fans out there, you need to check out their recently released live CD. It has a lot of old stuff they haven't played in years and years. The CD was recorded live over five nights of rehearsals in Dublin and contains 39 songs with offerings from nearly all of their albums, including a lot of their old stuff - Chronic Town, Murmur, Reckoning, and Fables. Sure, I think there are some key songs missing from this collection, but I wasn't consulted on the set list so I will have to take what I can get. But the good news is that it doesn't include any of their gay songs, like Stand or Shiny Happy People, so that's a definite plus. Lead singer Michael Stipe must be clean and sober for these performances because you can actually comprehend most of the words. The words are still nonsensical, but understandable nonetheless. Stipe, who is very political and is known to promote causes from his pulpit onstage, this time blasts the Internet, but with his tongue firmly inserted into his cheek. He says the Internet sucks, even though he admits he has used it to research the lyrics to one of his own songs. See, Stipe is well-known for not remembering or simply not knowing the lyrics to his own songs...the very ones he himself penned. It is not an unusual occurrence at any REM concert to see frontman Stipe pull out a music stand at any given point throughout a show and casually flip the song sheets as he moves his way through a tune or two. On this CD, he laughs when he tells the story of searching an online database to find the words to "Driver 8," and the lyrics he finds on one website include a note that reads: "These lyrics are approximations. Stipe himself has no idea what he says."

I realize, of course, this has nothing to do with building a house, but I wanted to keep alive my daily streak of writing about the house. Just not a lot of exciting action in the backyard today, unless you find weatherproofing concrete blocks is exhilarating.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Looks like we are putting the finishing touches on the plumbing this week and other minor items are being wrapped up in preparation for a couple of big days next week. Once the plumbing is complete on Thursday, we are due a second visit from the inspector before the concrete truck moves in. Hopefully one week from today they will start moving in the wood and framing out the addition. As long as it stays rain-free, we will make huge strides over the next 10 days. Also, there is finally a contractor's sign firmly planted in our front yard. Now that the project is about to rise above the top of the fence line where others can begin to see it, I guess he finally thought it was time to attach his name to the project.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 - Flipping Out

One of my favorite television shows on cable right now is a reality series on Bravo called "Flipping Out." The show is centered on real estate investor Jeff Lewis, an obsessive-compulsive house-flipper in California, and his entourage of employees/friends. This season, the declining economy causes him to be unable to find buyers quickly enough to flip houses, so he is forced to switch gears and take on interior design and home renovation projects to meet his payroll and continue his high-flying lifestyle. I get more laughs out of this show than any sitcom currently airing on TV. In one episode this season, Jeff takes on a remodeling job with a big Hollywood client who is probably more anal than he is, which is very hard to believe. The client complains on several occasions about the landscaping laborers leaving trash on the property - outdoor lighting packaging, wiring, wire caps, etc. These items are relatively small and for the most part unseen, but a concern to the client nonetheless. We found this quite amusing until the workers showed up on our property. Holy crap! Do they think our yard is a landfill? Sure there is a big hole in the ground and lots of dirt, but it is not a dump. In fact, there are two trash cans for them to use. Yet they continue to throw fast food cups, water bottles, and ripped clothing and gloves on the ground at the end of each day. Time for them to clean up their act. Minnie would like to teach them a lesson or two.

Monday, November 2, 2009 -

Sunday morning was the first time in quite a while that I have been able to take Minnie for a nice, long walk. Since she has been unable to run in the backyard for several weeks due to it being a mud pit, I packed her into the car and made the short drive to Radnor Lake. The morning air was crisp and she was invigorated by it. Usually we just have deer and other dogs to entertain us on our walks, but Sunday we had turtles, fish, ducks, and geese to go along with the deer. In addition, the trees were beautiful and the leaves were just starting to fall and cover the walking paths. The leaves, soaked by the morning dew, made the walkways slick as ice in some spots and made it tough navigating a 75-pound dog who is interested in, well, everything through the three-mile hike. If we could get the fence erected once again in the backyard, I think she could release all of her energy there. It looks like at least five straight days of sunny weather has the potential of drying things up quite nicely; at least well enough where I simply have to spray the dirt off her instead of scrubbing off the mud. Gravel was used today to cover the base of the excavated area in preparation for pouring concrete on Tuesday. I was beginning to think the only use for the gravel was to provide traction for all the machinary in the back yard. The sewer line was redirected, as well, without a stink. Inspection number two is scheduled for Wednesday as is the delivery of the lumber. The lumber delivery, if it happens, would actually be three days ahead of schedule, which would certainly be a first for this project.

Friday, October 30, 2009 - Put Up the Rain Gear, November is Here (Almost)

Sure it's a muddy mess, but we have the basement now completely blocked...windows and all. Next up next week: weather-proofing, pouring the concrete floor, beginning the plumbing, and the second round of inspections. A week from Monday they will bring in the lumber for framing. Now we are cooking, despite September being the second wettest September in Nashville history and this month being the wettest October in more than 80 years. Only five other times in the past century have there been back-to-back months that contained more precipitation than September and October 2009 combined. On the bright side, last year we had less than two inches of rain in November, which is a month that averages about four inches of rain. With no rain in sight for next week, it looks like November is off to a good start.

Thursday, October 29, 2009 - Surprise, Surprise, Surpirse

I told myself before I met the day this morning that I just wasn't up for any surprises today. Guess what? Today was full of surprises, but not the kind of put-me-in-the-dumps surprises I have had all month long. No, I had surprises like being blocked in by work trucks at 7:00 am. Surprises like the laborers saying the working conditions were not ideal, but they were going to build our cinderblock walls today. I was surprised when I learned the workers were on the job past 4:00 pm, meaning they even worked through the afternoon rain showers. But most of all, I was surprised by the progress they made; the first visible sign of a house addition being built. Granted, they are only about two-thirds of the way through with it, and they haven't yet begun to tie it to the existing house or waterproofing it. This means, however, that we are close to pouring more concrete and then framing out the space...hammers and nails. The yard, driveway, and patio have been declared disaster areas, the year-old fence is missing a twelve-foot span, but the project is coming to life. Let's keep moving, let's keep moving...

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - Mud

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Today was a day of rest; a day to let things dry out. Apparently when moving concrete blocks yesterday the workers had quite a time sliding around the backyard with all that weight on the forklift and a soft, muddy backyard. Minnie stared out the window with more than a hint of jealousy. I was told they almost took out a pine tree, which would have been no skin off my nose. Doesn't seem a whole lot dryer today, and they need to find some way to get the blocks to the back. I see only two options besides waiting until spring for things to dry out - 1. Remove another portion of fence leading to the back patio which would give them a path of aggregate concrete all the way to the excavation site, or 2. Lay down gravel on the muddy path already created. I see dollar signs with both options, and I don't like that at all...especially since if the block would have been ordered on time and delivered on dry Monday, I would be writing about a different subject right now.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - Early Morning Delivery

Despite what I thought yesterday, today was a very busy day. Yes, it rained, of course, another half-inch or so. No work was done, of course, but it turned out to be delivery day instead with the first delivery surprisingly arriving at 6:45 in the morning, right as it started raining. I was startled by a knock on the door and a dump truck in the driveway hauling what the driver said was five tons of sand. I hadn't expected the delivery, but who am I to question things at this point. If somebody is ready to deliver, by God I will take it. Not quite sure it amounted to five tons, but looks can be deceiving. It was, however, enough to make me move my car to ensure it didn’t get blocked in. The driver apologized for showing up so early, but no one had told him it was a residential delivery…which got me to thinking. About three hours earlier. Minnie woke us with some low growls due to some noise outside. There was certainly a large truck outside the house, complete with a rumbling diesel engine and beeping reverse noises. Cara even asked me if I thought it was the delivery of concrete blocks which were scheduled for Monday. Why would anyone deliver that in the middle of the night, I thought. Could have just as easily been an ambulance, or a utility truck, or the street sweeper. But after giving it some thought about 12 hours later when I was a bit more cognizant of the world around me, I certainly feel it was the dump truck driver with the sand wondering if it would be out-of-line to wake the neighborhood with a quick delivery well before sunrise. The concrete blocks did eventually arrive later in the day, and it appears they put them any place they could. Looks like about 240 of them were delivered on pallets and placed into the giant hole in the backyard. I guess the rest of the backyard was too muddy, so they put the other 700 where we normally park our cars in the driveway. Nearly 1,000 blocks seems way too much, but for lining the walls of the excavated area along with building the unplanned retaining wall, maybe it’s right on the mark. We’ll find out whenever they get to the point of putting them in place. Anyway, at some point they removed a very large portion of our fence, including one of the posts, and absolutely destroyed any grass we had left in our yard. So the entire backyard is now one big mud pit. In fact, our driveway was one long stretch of mud as well; a nice calling card they left behind, like 940 concrete blocks wasn’t enough of a clue. So I spent my first hour home from work spraying off the driveway enough to give us room to park our cars and walk into the back of the house without tracking mud all over the place. I am starting to feel a little closed in now that we no longer have most of our yard at our disposal at this point. I can only imagine what will happen over the next several months once they start removing exterior walls and rendering us to two, maybe three fewer rooms in our house for the remainder of the remodel. The true test of patience has begun.

Monday, October 26, 2009 - Hmmmmm

Ever get one of those songs stuck in your head. You know, it’s rarely a good one like a classic Led Zeppelin song or The Sex Pistol’s “Anarchy in the U.K.” No, it’s often one of those stupid songs that regretfully hit the top of the charts in any given year, and then never really goes away. 1997 gave us “MMMBop” by teen-wonders Hanson. We all suffered through numerous Milli Vanilli songs in the 80s. “Achy Breaky Heart” made Billy Ray Cyrus millions of dollars in 1992, gave him millions of fans, and millions more who hate him for impregnating his wife who, in turn, gave birth to pre-teen superstar Miley, who herself continues to spawn insipid hits to keep the family tradition going into the 21st century. However, for one of the worst songs ever we have to jump in the Wayback Machine and travel back in time a bit to witness a song being recorded just before my birth, and released just one month after that glorious day. I left home in 1987 for my freshman year at the University of Alabama with a laundry basket full of clothes on my hip and a half-dozen Beatles albums under my arm. I had never liked the Beatles, but thought college would be the perfect time to learn to like them if for no other reason than they had influenced so many other artists. Among the discs in tow to Tuscaloosa that fall was The White Album. I really didn’t get much further than the fourth song on the first album of the two-disc set before completely giving up on this trial and moving to much more enlightening experimentations. The song causing this outrage was “Ob-La-De, Ob-La-Da.” What the hell does that mean anyway, and how high was Paul McCartney when he wrote it? Apparently, John Lennon hated the song, I mean really detested the song. He hated the song so much he left the studio after two days of trying to record it and returned so stoned that he played the song at a much faster pace than planned and everyone was pleased…everyone but me apparently. But thank God they sped it up and kept the song from being any longer than the three minutes of hell it had already become. After listening to the song that day I shook my head in disgust and removed the album from the turntable (insert the sound of a needle scratching vinyl here) and replaced it with some REM. Sure, you couldn’t understand half of what Michael Stipe was singing, but at least REM’s music wasn’t corny. Well, that is until they released the song "Stand," which is kind of gay and teeters right there with the rest of the songs listed above.So, the bad song stuck in my head today was “Things That Make You Go Hmmm,” by C&C Music Factory. That song popped into my head on what has been perhaps one of the most beautiful days this fall. It was so beautiful that I can only assume the construction workers wanted to spend the day in the park throwing Frisbee or frolicking in the fallen leaves covering the ground somewhere far, far away from our house. Hmmm, indeed. Today was the day the concrete blocks were to be delivered so the foundation wall could be built, so the rest of the concrete could be poured…a major milestone in construction of our addition. No workers, no block delivery, and no contractor equaled no work today. Not a single bit. Zilch. With a 100% chance of rain in the forecast for Tuesday, I doubt very seriously there will be any block stacking and other miscellaneous masonry work taking place for a couple of days. I have sort of lost track, but I think this is the fourth absolutely perfect day since the project started that nary a worker could be found on the worksite. Maybe I should make a correction. The plumber was on site today to lay some pipe. (I won't go there.) I wonder how long he stuck around before realizing no one else was showing up, wondering why he wasn’t invited to join them in a day of jocularity and male bonding far, far away. And despite not being on site, I guess the contractor was busily working on sending out invoices for the additional work they had to do to prepare for the block wall that has yet to be built. Maybe I will wait until the next sunny day to cut the next check. At least that will force someone to show up. Hmmm.

Friday, October 23, 2009 - If Wine is the Answer, What is the Question?

It's pouring down rain at 7:30 am, and since I have taken the day off I decide to climb back in bed and snooze for a little while longer. Why, then, do I hear the buzz of a saw somewhere in the too near distance? Are they actually here working in the rain? It will certainly spoil my very early morning nap, but I would also be very happy to see things in motion in my backyard. Either way I win. I wake again at 9:45 to no noise, only a new wooden-framed sign in the front yard holding the permit folder and promoting the contractor's company. As soon as I get the contractor's invoice regarding the extra work done based on the revised plans, I wil request draw number two from the bank and open the checkbook for our portion of the payment. Easy come, easy go. Wine is the answer. Always has been; always will.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 - Here Comes the Rain Again

Although the worksite has been shut down due to impending storms, we were able to select the brick to be used for the exterior of the addition. Not as easy a task as one might think. Since our house is more than 40 years old, matching new brick samples to the old ones already on the house is tough to do…go figure. Our great idea of asking our contractor to be careful when it comes time to demolish the back of our house in order to save some brick was met with little more than a blank stare. He says it would cost too much to gingerly remove the bricks, remove the mortar attached to each one, clean them, and re-use them. It was the same look he gave us when we suggested going to a construction and demolition yard to search for used bricks from houses built about the same time to find bricks that match. He feels it is easier and quicker to simply take a sledgehammer, knock out the back wall, and start fresh with new bricks, which is probably true, but remember this is a guy who likes to use a sledgehammer. The sample of brick given to us was a very close match, but we do have one type of brick color currently on the house – a sort of dark almost bluish-colored brick that is intermingled sparingly with the rest of the bricks – that is not part of the sample. We have two options to include some of this bluish brick in the mix. The first option would be to special order the brick, and of course there is a minimum amount you have to order (like a tractor-trailer load) which makes this option not real feasible. The second option is to have the demo crew pick through the rubble for the blue bricks, inspect them, knock off the mortar, etc. Again, in the eyes of our contractor, not a real option. So, I’m wrong…those really aren’t two viable options. We apparently have only one option, and that is to go with the brick sample they provided us and be happy with it. And we will be.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - Inspection Day

Today is Inspection Day, the first of many trips the esteemed inspectors from the Metropolitan Nashville Codes Department will take to visit our little piece of paradise to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to the work taking place. It also means everyone sits in our backyard looking for something to do until the inspector arrives. Since the hired help has hit all of the tennis balls into the creek or across the creek into our neighbor’s dog pen, I’m not quite sure what they plan to do for entertainment. The call came about 1:30 that the first inspection of the project was good and we can keep on keeping on with the foundation work. I arrived home to see that the first of two concrete pours had taken place. Unfortunately, the cement truck sat in the driveway for about 45 minutes before the truckload of workers showed up. Then, once poured, the smoothed-over (yet not quite solidified) concrete was found to be about three inches too high. So, it all had to be broken up, scooped out, and smoothed all over again. At 6:45, after all of the outside light had well been exhausted, everyone packed up and went home. Can't wait until morning to see what kind of work they did in the dark. The second pour will take place once the block wall to support the west side of the excavated area is built. The wall will basically reinforce the eight-foot high, three-feet wide wall of dirt that will remain between the existing house and the planned addition. Basically, this three-foot wide swath of dirt that is the only thing supporting the house at this point, and the core-filled wall will simply support and tie everything together. Hopefully work on this will begin tomorrow, but our unseasonable wet October will continue to be unseasonably wet with up to two more inches of rain Thursday afternoon and Friday. Seriously? And, if it’s scheduled to rain Thursday afternoon, you certainly can’t have people hustling and knocking things out early in the day…right? I forsee no more trucks, noise, or concrete until Monday.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - I Like Big Trucks and I Cannot Lie

Trucks, trucks everywhere. Pick-up trucks in the driveway at 7:15 this morning. Trucks with trailers scattered in the yard. Work trucks in front of the house straddling the sidewalk and snarling traffic. Trucks on the side street. Neighbors irate because of a truck in their driveway. Still tough to judge progress by a giant hole in the ground and a tall pile of dirt, but we have trucks and workers and noise...and a backdrop of clear blue skies. That's the way I like it.

Monday, October 19, 2009 - Where is Everybody?

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I awoke this morning to blue, cloudless skies and the hope of progress with the house. I came home in the evening to the excavation equipment returned to the backyard and signs the workers may have been playing with a can of spray paint, but that’s about it. I hate to think they wasted a great day and hope my day off Tuesday is spoiled by the constant sounds of gears grinding and people yelling over the sounds of gears grinding. Now that all the spray paint is gone and all of the tennis balls have been hit over the fence, I think the workers will have nothing to do moving forward but work…which would be nice to actually witness.

Friday, October 16, 2009 - Poor Minnie

It’s early, and today has already been quite a struggle for Minnie. She doesn’t seem to understand why the squirrels can rummage around the backyard and dig in the mud while she is forced to watch behind a sliding screen of glass. I try mightily to explain to her that she can’t go outside because it is just simply too muddy, and I’m too lazy on my day off to bathe the mud off her. She, however, is completely ignoring me and pretending that she doesn’t know English today. I really don’t buy it, though. I tell her she seemed to have no problem understanding me when I asked her this morning if she was hungry. When I said, “Let’s go,” to Clayton, she was ready to be collared and taken with us. She understood when I told her to get her head out of the trash can, so why doesn’t she understand when I try to reason with her about squirrels? Maybe it’s because she is only two…and maybe because she is a dog. But I swear she understands more basic English words and phrases than half the kids I see at Wal-Mart. Well, probably not the best comparison, but I’m sure you catch my drift. I have a couple of days off next week and I hope to continue her mastery of the English language by teaching her to comprehend a couple of new phrases like, “Are you thankful I fed you dinner?” and “Can I please take you outside so I can walk around for 15 minutes and watch you not pee?” Hopefully all the squirrels will be scared away Monday when everyone finally returns to work on the Smith domicile. If that’s the case, then we will be officially eight days behind schedule on a project that was started 10 days ago. But we are looking at three or four days of nothing but sunshine, and our contractor thinks he can finish excavating and framing the hole in time for an inspection and concrete pouring by the end of the week. I tentatively hold my breath.

Thursday, October 15, 2009 - I Love a Good Rain

I love the rain, always have. Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain! I wish I had a tin roof over my head so I could by lulled to sleep at night by the tap, tap, tap of the drops from heaven above. Is there nothing better than a good rain shower on a crisp fall morning? Even a drizzle or a simple mist is enough to get one's heart racing. I love it when the rain falls at that sort of in-between stage. You know, just hard enough so when you are driving you are stuck between using your intermittent wipers and going full-bore with the blades. Oh, and I also like when the ground is saturated just enough from days of continuous rain, and the walls of the house yield just a trickle of a stream through the rear of one's garage wall straight through and snaking out under the cracked weatherstripping of the garage door on the otehr side. If only I could live in a city as alive (dare I say vibrant) and wet as Seattle or Portland. Or maybe S. Florida where it storms, albeit briefly, nearly every afternoon. Rain is the essence of life and should be embraced for its remarkable qualities. Where would we be without rain? What I wouldn't do for several more days of rain in a row...
(Shhh. I firmly believe reverse psychology is the only viable alternative at this point...certainly can't hurt, right?)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - Blame It On the Rain

Now he feels like a farmer who went praying for rain
And got more than he bargained from the clouds.
-Radney Foster

And the rain came down.
It'll wash you away or there ain't never enough.
-Steve Earle

Blame it on the rain that was falling, falling.
-Milli Vanilli

Rain, rain, rain.
-Patty Griffith

As I laid awake in the early morning hours of Wednesday, listening to the raindrops blowing against the windows and trying to think of things to send me back to the land of sleepy-sleep, all I could envision, despite my best efforts, were songs about rain. Even Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35” popped into my head, and it isn’t even a song about rain. Or maybe it is. Who the hell knows what Dylan is signing about half the time. All I know is that it won’t stop raining, and I’m tired of writing about the rain. I want to write about construction, but I can’t…because it’s raining. And we are now six days behind schedule. Ahh, but a couple of hours can bring about great change. We frantically worked with the architect before lunch to rework the staircase leading downstairs and reached a great compromise, thanks mostly to Cara thinking outside of the box and coming up with a solution we could all live with. Still don’t know what it will cost, but who cares. At least it will allow the contractor to start playing in the dirt again once things dry out. And I guess I really do care what it will cost…just anxious to get things moving once again. So stop raining, dammit!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - Have We Made the Right Decision?

October is traditionally Nashville’s driest month of the year. On average the Music City receives about 48 inches of rain annually, with a paltry 2.6 inches of rain falling to the ground during this, the month of October. Through the first 12 days of October, we are already halfway to that average mark, collecting 1.3 inches of rain in the bucket this month. Why is it then that we are expecting three inches of rain, which has already begun,through mid-day Wednesday? It is expected to be one of the top three wettest days of the year to ensure my backyard continues to be a giant half-acre mud pile. On the other hand, it doesn’t really matter all that much since we still don’t have a set of revised plans finalized. With great frustration yesterday, Cara peered into the backyard and stated simply that we should have found and purchased another house. And we had seriously contemplated this last spring when we were weighing all of our options and when the real estate market was ripe for the taking. However, we had several search criteria we had to keep in mind that weren’t too flexible: for magnet school reasons, we had to stay in Davidson County; we love our neighborhood and being within a 10-minute drive to Cool Springs, Green Hills, downtown, the airport, etc., so we wanted to stay in the Crieve Hall/Oak Hill/Forest Hills area; Minnie loves to run, so we needed something more than a postage-stamp-sized lot for her to stretch her legs and chase squirrels. Brand new construction in this area is very limited and, where available, quite pricey. The next newest level of construction is about 8-10 years old and usually crammed into Desperate Housewives-type subdivisions with small lots and costly home owners association fees. This works for some people, but it’s just not quite our style. Plus, these houses are just old enough to be slightly out of date…right at the point where fixtures need to be swapped out and kitchens need to be updated. So that left us looking at older ranch-style houses throughout this area, which is what we already have and is certainly what we like. This area is full of them, several hundred of them, but we kept running into the same problem – if a house had been updated to the point of our liking, it was too expensive; if the house had not been updated, it was right in our price range…but we were not in the mood to move just to remodel a different house. If we wanted to go that route, why wouldn’t we just do it with the one we have and save the burden of moving? Cara’s thought about buying something else is certainly nothing different than what has crossed my mind a hundred times since we decided against that option back in May. But as I stare into the back yard, I have to remind myself often that we made the right decision and the mud pit will someday be a much-needed part of our home.Until then, maybe the next time the Motocross circuit comes through town they can stop by for warm-ups in our backyard and we can charge sneak-peek admissions…

Monday, October 12, 2009 - Why do Construction Workers Honor Federal Holidays? Do They Think They Are Bankers?

Monday, October 12, 2009 Columbus Day and despite the fact that construction workers don’t take off for federal holidays, we have no workers on site today. No work will proceed until we have new plans that take into account the foundation issue. The area in question is where the steps will lead to the new downstairs area. Since they can dig no closer to the house, the staircase will have to be reconfigured and may not be as sleek and simple as we had wanted. It also affects window placement and who knows what else at this point. All we can do now is wait for the architect to re-work the plans and get them to us to approve. Since it only took us about three months to get the plans just right to begin with, I fear we will lose several days of valuable work time going back-and-forth with the architect. We are now four days behind schedule and work has barely begun. Oh, and guess what? A wet-weather front is moving into the area and could stay with us the rest of the week. Cara reminded me often over the weekend that she would have been just as happy with a pool. Would have been cheaper, too…

Friday, October 9, 2009 - Open Your Wallet

Time for our first additional cost overrun on the project. Sigh. Cara stopped by the house around lunchtime and called me saying all of the equipment was gone, which was odd because they certainly were not done excavating yet. It didn’t seem like a real good sign to me. Shortly thereafter I heard back from our contractor who told me no work was being done today since the engineer said a little extra work needs to be done to secure the foundation and the architect was having to adjust the plans. Cha-ching. Apparently the foundation of our existing house is not as deep as the architect thought, so when the contractor started digging, he was smart enough to check once he was within five feet of the house. He brought the project to a grinding halt in order to keep our house from falling into the eight-foot crater we used to call our backyard. One week into the project and already we are three days behind schedule and a yet-to-be-determined amount over-budget. Not a good start.…And it rained.

Thursday, October 8, 2009 - Play Ball!

Maybe a little dirt was moved around, but the workers apparently knocked off early. There is some sort of concern that if they dig within five feet of the house that it could partially collapse into the hole that has been dug. I believe I asked our contractor about this right before we started and he looked at me as if I were smoking crack. So, our architect along with an engineer are planning to visit Friday to determine if it is safe to continue digging, or if an alternative plan needs to be developed. This particular area is where the staircase leading downstairs will go, so the alternative plan, I think, would be pouring a concrete pad, extending the house out about five feet, and beginning the staircase at the point where the excavation began. Can’t wait to get home Friday and see what the decision is, because I hear architects and engineers are more than happy to donate their time to a good cause, and I also heard they are just giving away concrete for free these days. On a lighter note, I think the hired help that showed up to work on Thursday had a pretty good time. The baseball bat and all of the tennis balls we hit to Minnie were scattered all over the yard. And looking at the indentations of the walls of the excavated area, it looks like they used it as a batting cage to hit tennis balls and walnuts. Maybe they played King of the Mountain, too.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - Minnie Becomes Queen of the Hill

What I will now call Day 1 of construction begins with the excavation of quite a bit of dirt from what will be the basement area, which is now piled high in the back yard. Ah, the smell of progress. The dirt will be used as backfill once the foundation is complete, and then anything left over will be used to re-grade the front and back yards. Until then, Minnie (our Rottweiler) enjoys digging in the dirt pile and playing King, er, Queen of the Mountain. Unfortunately, we also came home to a hole in the side of the house about the size of a beachball on the outside and about the size of a grapefruit on the inside. Nothing quite like seeing daylight through a hole in the wall. Apparently the contractor needed to find out where the flooring of the existing structure was to determine how deep to dig. Instead of listening to one of his workers who told him it was at the point where the bricks meet the blocks, or instead of waiting for us to get home so he could go inside and make the determination, or instead of walking six feet to his left and peering through the sliding glass door to see where the floor was, he decided to take a sledgehammer to the house. Doesn't he remember sledgehammers are only to be used to down small trees? He punched through brick, wood, and drywall to find the floor, which was, ironically, right where the bricks meet the blocks. Luckily that wall has to come down anyway, albeit not for another month. So, the hole is patched on both sides in hopes that Friday’s predicted strong storms don’t penetrate the plastic sheeting duct-taped to the side of the house. Other than that, our biggest challenge is to keep Otis, our 15-year-old blind and deaf beagle, away from the giant eight-foot hole right smack dab in the middle of his stomping grounds.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - Prep Day

What should now be Day 1 of construction ends up being a day of prep work for the contractor. He marked off the area to be excavated with string and spraypaint and removed a small tree that is in the way with a sledgehammer. With what I am paying him, he could have afforded to run down the street to The Home Depot and buy a saw.

Monday, October 5, 2009 - And the Rain Came Down

Day 1 of construction is postponed due to rain…even though it didn’t start raining until after noon. So much for me wishing for a dry start to the project.

Friday, October 2, 2009 - Timberrrrrrr

Before construction could start, we unfortunately had to take down a 40-foot tall maple tree that had provided great shade for the back two bedrooms. I would often times cringe (or maybe smirk) when I would hear other people talk about their power bills, because ours were low, much lower comparatively, to others. I give all the credit to the trees shading our house. So, now that all of the shade trees are gone and we are nearly doubling our space, I’m sure we are in for a rude awakening. We will have a new HVAC unit, so hopefully it will operate more efficiently than the 16-year-old unit we have chugging away currently. Something else interesting that we discovered through our renovations over the years is that there has been no insulation in the walls. None. Found a newspaper from the 1960s inside one of the kitchen walls when we removed the oh-so-practical knotty pine paneling, but no insulation. So we have added it as we have gone along, and when 20 feet of uninsulated wall comes tumbling down next month when we connect the new structure to the old, hopefully things will be as tight as a drum and insulated correctly. Oh, yeah, what about the tree? It was standing when I left for work and gone when I came home. Except for the chipped remnants remaining from where they ground the stump, you would have never known the workers had ever been there. They left no evidence behind; no limbs, no leaves, no tire tracks. And, as I discovered two days later, they went ahead on their own initiative and ground a big stump in the front yard, leftover from a storm-damaged tree I struggled mightily to cut down earlier in the year. I'm sorry the tree is gone. It really was beautiful this time of year, but I have cut down the amount of leaves I will have to rake this year by about 40 bags.

October 1, 2009 - The Point of No Return

I originally entitled this blog "How to Ruin a Marriage in 120 Days (or More, If It's Raining), but this blog page would not let me have a title that long, so I have had to condense it. So, why am I writing this blog anyway? I am writing this blog so you, too, can follow along with our home remodeling trials and tribulations as we embark on a two-story addition to our house (main level and basement). I may send out a reminder or two here or there, especially when I write something I find particularly humorous. Doesn’t really matter if anyone else finds it funny. I learned a long time ago that I am my own best audience. So if you want to keep up with this continuing saga, you have to remember where to find it...in the Notes under my Profile tab. I will try to update everyday, so check back often, scroll to the bottom of the page for the latest, and comment every now and then that your kids are keeping us in their bedtime prayers. Or ignore me altogether and call me boring...that will be okay, too.Cara and I are in the process of adding 1,200 square feet of space to our existing residence. After renting the house in 2001-2002, we were able to convince the owners that the house was falling apart and they were either going to have to drop a lot of money into repairs before they could rent it out again, or they could sell it to us and let us bear the burden of that cost. So, after passing a piece of paper with scribbled numbers back and forth a couple of times, they agreed to sell the house to us for next to nothing in July 2002. Since really nothing had been updated since the ‘60s, it has been a work in progress ever since: we have replaced the roof, replaced all windows, remodeled one bathroom, rid the house of all carpet, demolished down to the studs and remodeled the family room and kitchen, painted rooms way too many times to recall, removed about a dozen trees, and installed a fence. Now comes the addition of a master suite and a basement, which we will use as a fourth bedroom, but certainly could have alternative uses as a mother-in-law suite, a home theater, or a man cave. I prefer the latter two options, but don't tell Cara...or her mother. Sure, the whole thing could have been renovated in a more timely manner had we simply relocated for a short period of time, but our love of dust, the thrill of electricity flowing through one's body when uninsulated wire is accidently touched, and wondering if the water will work the next morning is half the fun, right? The process for our most recent project started slowly. We had hoped to begin as soon as school was out in May 2009, but we struggled to get our architectural drawings just right, although the struggle wasn’t really on our end. When you give your architect a budget and he designs something so grand and nice that all of the contractor bids come in as high as twice the budget, then you know it will be many trips back to the drawing board to get things right where you need them to be. In the end, we were pleased with the drawings and put it back out to bid before finally selecting a contractor. During that time, however, all of the big banks to whom we had been speaking about a loan decided that due to the risk involved with construction/renovation loans they were not going to offer a loan consideration any longer. Can I tell you how tempting it is to want to place the whole thing on a 0%-for-six-months credit card, then roll the whole thing into a new 30-year loan once the renovation is completed, just for the ease of it…and to do so without closing costs on the front-end? But, I came to my senses and quickly found a small, local bank to loan us the money at surprisingly favorable terms. The house appraisal went well, closing went without a hitch, and construction to nearly double the size of our house was scheduled to start on October 5, 2009. Although we wanted to start in May, we suffered through a surprisingly wet…very wet…summer and early fall, include record rainfall amounts in September. So hopefully all the rain has gone away and we will have a very dry fall with no delays or setbacks….yeah, right!