I have been waiting for this day for years it seems. The chimney has finally been laid so we are a wood stove away from Florida in the winter time. I am going to absolutely heat the wife out of here this winter for putting up with the arctic for the last two years. This old house is starting to take a little shape...finally.
I only have to be left alone for a short time and destruction is guaranteed to happen. I really tried this time to cut the front porch roof loose only to slip the new plywood behind it but after a sudden 6 inch drop it was time to call in the machinery. I hopped on the John Deere and went ahead and pushed it over...oh well. Now the house has quite the exposed feel. Amy and Maranda worked on the latest batch of apple butter and Mom, Dad, Wade and I did some demo, put on the new sheathing, and loaded the trailer for a trip to the dump. Kailyn and Brianna played in the dirt. One thing you must remember in a project like this..it is always important to pause for a little air guitar (see if you can spot it)
Finally got all the ducks in order to get the underground power installed. I dug 4 ft down and the dirt was like dust...like dust until I cut through the water line for Clayton's house. Nothing a trip to David Millers couldn't fix. I had to trench 150 feet from the main power pole to the house lucky for me the John Deere was available otherwise I would average about 3 feet per day due to all the rocks. Blue Ridge brought the power line the next day so I should be able to cover it up tomorrow and get the ball rolling to get the lines moved off the house. I couldn't update this blog without a tribute photo of the best dogs in the world hanging out while dad is working.
The weather finally cooperated with us on our major task of roofing. It was almost to nice. Lots of sunshine and later in the days lots of heat. We have a nice new roof and some sunburn to show for the effort. Mike came and helped on Friday and Saturday as well as Mom and Wade for a couple of hours on Saturday. We could not have finished it without the help of everybody. Hopefully we are going to lay the chimney this week so the roof can be patched in around it and totally finished.
I was facing the wonderful task of sweeping out the old shop at work this morning so I decided my day would be better spent on my own tasks. It took me awhile to track down some more Zip system plywood that I have been using but as soon as that was squared away I went to ripping. I had to cut out some studs from the top plate so I could line up the bottom of the house with the new top. The new part is square and the old is not so it is creating some issues with vertical planes lining up. I will have to do some shimming to get the siding to look good but a small detail considering how far we have come. I only have to sheet two more walls and the main house will be ready for siding.
I have to play catch up because it has been awhile since my last post. I have been filling time working through small projects trying to prepare for the rush of August and September. I got the chimney tore out of the back room and the new footer poured. The mason is coming next week to price the new one so we can have some heat. It seems like no matter how far down the line we go, there is always something left to be demolished. I got the old chestnut beam I saved from our old shed installed as the support for the floor around the stair case. I love to recycle and especially when it is some old rare wood. I have been able to notice the days getting shorter so the panic is about to set in.
