Today's work was cancelled due to rain. Lots of rain. But hopefully this is a one-day event and the crew will be back on-site Wednesday morning to finish the roof and start knocking brick off the current structure so we can attach the new structure to the old one. All I know is that it might be a very chilly week or so between the time they knock the bricks off the backside of our house, including our current bedroom, and the time they finish attaching the addition, install insulation, and put in the drywall.
Knowing the rain was on the way today, my contractor called me late last week to ask if it was okay for the workers to work last weekend. They had made great progress last Thursday and Friday, so I was excited they were going to keep the momentum going and send work over the weekend. On Saturday, however, that only involved one worker swapping out some incorrectly ordered wood for the correct lumber...and that was it. A couple of guys came over Sunday to lay drainage pipes and backfill with gravel and dirt, which wasn't the toughest of jobs, but needed to happen before it rained again. In the meantime, the backyard became a mudpit once again as the tracks of the front-loader decimated any remaining grass that was still around. After two inches of rain today, it looks even worse.
I dream of green grass again someday. On the bright side, when this project is all said and done, we pretty much get to start with a clean slate in the backyard, so maybe I can actually plant some grass to mow next spring instead of just mowing weeds as I do every other year.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009 - It Was 22 Years Ago Today...
Cara and I met at the Ivory Tusk in Tuscaloosa on December 7, 1987. My friend Jack and I were invited to an informational party at our favorite bar in Tuscaloosa for a new fraternity trying to get organized on campus. It was a Monday night close to the end of the first semester and I had nothing better to do. That may be a lie. It was right before final exams, so if I didn't really have anything to do, I should have had something better to do...like studying. I'm sure about that time I had some thought in my mind like, "Why start studying now?" Neither Jack nor I had any real desire in joining this fraternity, but we were certainly interested in the two-plus hours of free drinks we were offered. I, in turn, found myself quite interested in a little co-ed who just happened to be friends with a couple of the guys forming the fraternity. Needless to say I was gentlemanly enough to let her beat me at pool that night, and it wasn't much later than that before she won me over for good. It's hard to imagine that 22 years later we would embark on an adventure such as putting an addition on our house, and today saw almost the entire roof go up over our master suite. It has been long overdue and well worth the wait, and the wait, and the wait. This blog is jokingly entitled How to Ruin a Marriage in 120 Days, but if it hadn't been wrecked and ruined so far, this won't do it either.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009 – Early Delivery
So, how much more will my neighbors take before they start complaining? We had a 6:00 am sand delivery for concrete mix several weeks ago (after the driver realized that a 2:30 am delivery in a residential neighborhood was not quite kosher). This has been followed by workers showing up (when they decided to show up) at the butt crack of dawn and letting their diesel truck motor rumble on until everyone shows up. This morning’s dawn, however, was broken with another delivery of wood at 6:20 am. Nothing quite like struggling to put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt to direct the deliveries through blurry eyes so early in the day while our contractor is probably still enjoying a warm, comfy bed in his quiet confines.
Within the next 10 days we still have a load of bricks to arrive, roofing materials, drywall, and at least one more delivery of wood. In addition we still have machinery to be delivered that will move gravel and dirt in order to backfill the walls of the basement, grade around the lower-level entrance, and move the remaining dirt to grade the rest of the property. So, I am hoping my neighbors are more patient with these early deliveries than I am.
Maybe I am blowing this all out of proportion The average age of my neighbors is probably 80 years old, so they may be deaf to all of the noise and hubbub going on around them anyway. Maybe I won’t hear a thing from them unless one of the workers plows over a mailbox with their trucks, or takes a leak behind their carport…both not really out of the question at this point. My neighbors are pretty nosy anyway and might even like all the commotion in the neighborhood, so it probably provides good fodder for their occasional conversations.
Within the next 10 days we still have a load of bricks to arrive, roofing materials, drywall, and at least one more delivery of wood. In addition we still have machinery to be delivered that will move gravel and dirt in order to backfill the walls of the basement, grade around the lower-level entrance, and move the remaining dirt to grade the rest of the property. So, I am hoping my neighbors are more patient with these early deliveries than I am.
Maybe I am blowing this all out of proportion The average age of my neighbors is probably 80 years old, so they may be deaf to all of the noise and hubbub going on around them anyway. Maybe I won’t hear a thing from them unless one of the workers plows over a mailbox with their trucks, or takes a leak behind their carport…both not really out of the question at this point. My neighbors are pretty nosy anyway and might even like all the commotion in the neighborhood, so it probably provides good fodder for their occasional conversations.
Thursday, December 3, 2009 – First Steps
I arrived home Thursday from my first trip ever to Orlando that did not include stepping on a Disney-owned property. I was tired from a long dinner the night before, working until 2:00 am, managing on but four hours of sleep, and meeting all day Thursday with a vendor before catching a late flight home. I knew I was coming home to good news. The workers had been there before Cara left that morning, and she had provided me with periodic updates throughout the day. Cara said the workers worked diligently throughout the day dressed like Eskimos against the cold breeze that had moved in overnight. I feel very little sympathy since there were many nicer and much warmer days where very little was accomplished.
I arrived home and headed out back to see the four walls raised on the new addition. I maneuvered across a ladder placed almost parallel to the ground into one of the window holes of the upper level. Over the past month I had certainly scrounged around enough in the basement portion, both when it was just a dirt floor and after they poured concrete last week. But it was a nice sign of progress to see the upper level, our new master suite, coming together. I walked down the short hallway that will lead to the stairwell downstairs as well as to the master suite. I walked through the basic door frame into the bathroom, then into new walk-in closet. From the inside-out, I peered out the small windows that will be above our bed once it is in place, and I looked out the window on the opposite side of the room. I looked out the bathroom window, then drew a breath of fresh winter air and hoped it was big enough for us.
It looked big enough for us on paper, and we even wondered aloud as to whether it was too big or not. I know it will be the perfect size once we add furniture and bathroom fixtures and start to finish it out. I walked around the outside, and it certainly looks big enough from that angle as it juts out into the backyard. Over the past three or four days, I have really looked forward to coming home and seeing the progress, or getting that mid-afternoon call from Cara with construction updates.
Several weeks ago I joked about adding a nanny-cam or webcam to the opposite corner of the house so I could see if there was actually anything going on during the day, because it certainly looked like nothing was moving. Now, I am seriously considering putting a camera up so I can check in throughout the day and see what’s new and what’s been added. It will be hard to sit around the office over the next six weeks resisting the temptation to drive home at lunchtime to see what else has been completed. Beats the hell out of coming home and seeing only dirt and cinder blocks.
I arrived home and headed out back to see the four walls raised on the new addition. I maneuvered across a ladder placed almost parallel to the ground into one of the window holes of the upper level. Over the past month I had certainly scrounged around enough in the basement portion, both when it was just a dirt floor and after they poured concrete last week. But it was a nice sign of progress to see the upper level, our new master suite, coming together. I walked down the short hallway that will lead to the stairwell downstairs as well as to the master suite. I walked through the basic door frame into the bathroom, then into new walk-in closet. From the inside-out, I peered out the small windows that will be above our bed once it is in place, and I looked out the window on the opposite side of the room. I looked out the bathroom window, then drew a breath of fresh winter air and hoped it was big enough for us.
It looked big enough for us on paper, and we even wondered aloud as to whether it was too big or not. I know it will be the perfect size once we add furniture and bathroom fixtures and start to finish it out. I walked around the outside, and it certainly looks big enough from that angle as it juts out into the backyard. Over the past three or four days, I have really looked forward to coming home and seeing the progress, or getting that mid-afternoon call from Cara with construction updates.
Several weeks ago I joked about adding a nanny-cam or webcam to the opposite corner of the house so I could see if there was actually anything going on during the day, because it certainly looked like nothing was moving. Now, I am seriously considering putting a camera up so I can check in throughout the day and see what’s new and what’s been added. It will be hard to sit around the office over the next six weeks resisting the temptation to drive home at lunchtime to see what else has been completed. Beats the hell out of coming home and seeing only dirt and cinder blocks.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - Name Change?
Today was a rain day, but I am hoping for big things on Thursday. Lots of hammering, sawing, and other construction noise is expected. When I spoke to my contractor today, he said that despite everything he thinks that the house will be done in six weeks. We are 60 days into the project and he thinks we will be done in 42 days. If that's the case, I better go back and rename this blog "How to Ruin a Marriage in 102 Days." I had kind of figured we were about six weeks behind due to rain and laziness, so to think we could wrap up in six weeks is mind-numbing. I still think we have 8-10 weeks...and I am leaning to the high side of that figure. That would cause the blog to be renamed "How to Ruin a Marriage in 150 days."
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 - Smells Like Home Depot
After stuffing my face at Las Palmas tonight, we arrived home and as I was unlocking the back door Clayton remarked that it smelled like Home Depot. You know what? He was right...and it was a beautiful smell. The scent was undoubtedly fresh cut 2x4's, 1x6's, and plywood, just to name a few. Yes, Virginia, there is a home being built. With rain on the way, I guess the workers decided to come out of the woodwork, so to speak. It started by being blocked in as I needed to leave for work, which is always a good thing. Then, since I had to drive past the house twice today, as did Cara, we decided to have a contest to see who could spot the most trucks in the driveway. I counted four while Cara counted six. Either way, we both won. With the basement floor in, it was time to put in the main level floor and connect to the house. As long as we are limited to rain just on Wednesday, our contractor hopes to have the walls up this week, along with steps, windows, and maybe even a roof. The biggest disappointment was to see them start on the new front porch, but not be able to finish. In fact, they didn't even come close. They ripped out the off-centered concrete steps and porch and then went looking for the porch posts only to later find out they had been special ordered. That means no movement on the front porch until the posts come in, so watch your step.
Monday, November 30, 2009 - High and Dry
As you have learned from my blog, October 2009 was the second-wettest October on record in Nashville. Conversely, November 2009 was the second-driest November in Nashville history. In fact, it was heading toward being the driest November on record until one-third of an inch of rain fell on November 29. With as much rain as we had in October, we were happy to see so many dry, sunny days in November. But one thing led to another, and although progress was made, it seems as if just as much progress was made during the wet month as their was made in the dry month. The last couple of days of November, however, have been more active than the rest of the month. Concrete has been poured and today saw the delivery of all of the wood to be used for framing. Hopefully the first week of December will bring completion of the drainage work, backfilling the foundation, and the start of framing. With rain on the way for Wednesday (maybe more than an inch) and some freezing temperatures the rest of the week (rain /sleet mix on Thursday morning???), let's hope for a productive Tuesday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
