3.31.09

It has been quite the ordeal fighting the rain...the inspectors...the rocks, but we are finally out of the ground. I ended up calling in the concrete truck for the footing pour because something about 70 bags of quickcrete did not sound to appealing. We got a sunny day on Monday and were able to pour. He had extra on the truck so I was able to fill the holes really high so no need to lay block to get out of the ground. All that's left are some "groovy" tire tracks through the yard. It only took about an hour...what a country. I started the framing on the deck Tuesday morning and Wade showed up after lunch to help me out. We got more of it done than expected. We had to haul away the dirt piles down to the Zionville golf green so that it would not fall in the holes while we are working around them. We were able to work the old stairs into the mix and they are going to turn out almost perfect as far a height goes. The old deck had a 3 inch fall to it so there was an awkward first step. All in all a good day.

A little Much

Had to hire out a few strapping young men to help me finish the deck footers yesterday. The 12 holes had to be 2x2x2 which may not seem like much but I'm pretty sure they mine solid rock faster. Zach and Wade hung in their though and we finished up by 6 or so. I find it quite obnoxious for an 8 foot wide deck that is three feet off the ground to have footings so large but that is the code. I have an inspection this morning and it is raining pretty good. We made a last minute run to Lowe's last night to cover it all with plastic.

3.23.09

I got the tractor out yesterday and figured it would be a good time to start the deck. I had to start by knocking down the old block porch and hauling them up to road to a neighbors house who wanted them dumped down his bank. I don't know why he did but I was not going to ask questions as long as I was getting rid of trash. I cleaned up about 7 bucket loads including some of the rubble from where I broke up part of the spring house. Clayton wanted my old oil tank because there was still a few gallons left in it and the old man can't seem to stop accumulating things. Once again I was not going to question, I was just thankful that someone else wanted my junk. I dug 7 of 12 footer holes for the deck and by 5:30 I could not hold tools anymore. If any of you are short on rock please come by. It was a great day to work and we had quite a few paragliders come by the house which made the dogs go nuts when they got close. Charley would bark like crazy and Chewy would pace the yard as they flew by.

3.20.09

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I spent the day today putting the finishing touches on the vanity upstairs. The face frame was easy because it is only pocket screwed together. It did not take to long to figure out how things worked. I built the drawers out of whatever I could find including some 1x12 pine and left over plywood for the bottom of 3 drawers. I used left over chalkboard for the bottom of my drawers. It has been so long since I had any I did not want anyone to get confused on whose were whose...I made sure Maranda got her own color too. I used to rest of the raised panels for the chestnut door used on the side to make the drawer fronts. They turned out pretty sharp and I love using up all this old material. I finished the caulking around the shower trim and base so the bathroom is ready for a light and a plumber to hook it all up.

Easy As 1...2...3

I got some good news back from the IRS so I decided to tear out the last exterior wall...I was feeling froggy. The sun was out and I found a door I liked so away I went. It took me a little bit to move the wiring out of the wall without damaging it. Our fridge and lights are still hooked into the old circuits. The demo was easy because there was not much left. I had to shim up the plywood on top of the footer that was poured when the kitchen floor was torn out. I could not get to it at the time because the wall was in the way. I framed the wall with 2x6 studs for a little better R-value. We got a pretty swanky door with the blinds built into the window panel so at least I don't have to worry about tearing that up. I tried to save as much of the spring box as possible so we can use it as a planter on the back porch someday. We finally have all the air leaks stopped....for some reason I did not fix the wall before winter.

3.07.09

Finally got the rest of the trim varnished and nailed upstairs. I lack a little by the closets and built in dressers but other than that the trim work is done. I had to drop a couple of pictures of Maranda mopping for the first time in the house and also of my roofing crew in Campbellsville, KY. I left on the 8th for a week to help out with the college class from church. The chestnut accents really make things pop upstairs.

Punch Out

Still just working on the page long punch list for finishing the upstairs. Our bedroom will be a wrap tomorrow barring the dressers and such to be built in later. I finished the paneling in the bathroom and began work on our vanity. I have never built a cabinet before so it was a challenge getting started. I was able to use the top of one of the old chestnut doors from the house as an accent on the side facing our bedroom. I lack some base and door trim for the office and other bedroom and then I will be down to some odds and ends. The cable company came yesterday and hooked up the underground line I buried in August. We should be moved in up there by the end of the month at the latest.