Sunday, April 3, 2011

Bobcat



Tom's friend Mike was finally able to get a start on the grading on the up-hill side of the house -- a measure that we hope will improve the drainage and keep water away from the house. Tom and Mike also used the Bobcat to remove the concrete patio between the garage and the house.


Patio chunks

Rotted sill where concrete patio touched the house

Bobcat tracks (artsy shot)

Friday, April 1, 2011

Finished!

We brought in some extra help this week and got tons of work done on the exterior of the house, the kitchen, and the new bath. We can't wait to move in!






APRIL FOOLS!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

The View from the "Kitchen"

We got a glimpse today of what the view will one day look like from the kitchen.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Marching Onward

It's felt like slow-going this month, probably because so much of what's been done isn't really visible. We've had a few days of warm weather though, and it's been wonderful to just open up the doors and windows and to do some work in the yard.
       A few weeks ago we finished the drainage work around the front part of the house. Dug the ditches, lined them with plastic, then put in drainage pipe wrapped in weed cloth, filled it with gravel, and then topped it off with sand. Easy, right?



Tom's been hard at work fixing the floor joists in the future kitchen, utility room, and bathroom. There was a bunch of rot and termite damage to contend with. The joists are sistered up with new 2x8's and now it's one SOLID floor!




For a few reasons, we're also jacking up all of the walls. The main reason is to slide some thin PVC between the concrete foundation (the blocks are open, not capped) and the sill plate as a termite prevention measure. The sound of the house creaking and groaning is...interesting.


PVC termite shield, with metal at seams

Today we started taking off the vinyl siding in preparation for installing some of the big windows across the back of the house.


We had to wonder, who was Joe?

We got a bonfire going to burn up an ever-growing brush pile and roasted some hot dogs.


And we enjoyed the view of the creek and a red-tailed hawk circling overhead.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Drainage

We got some of the drainage pipes in the ground today.



My boots got a little muddy.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

All Decked Out

Today we removed the wood deck between the garage and the house. It was over a concrete pad that doesn't properly drain water away from the house's foundation.





All done! (I know it looks like Tom was doing all the work, but I was busy carrying the wood around back of the house and stacking it up.) We're saving the treated lumber for future projects. Maybe a chicken coop?



Below are before and after photos of the walk between the house and the garage. Look at all the ice on the deck! Lots of progress has also been made in digging out around the foundation so that drain can be laid down with some gravel.





It was 19 degrees when we finished working today, but prying up and hauling wood keeps you pretty warm!


Next up: removing the concrete patio and sidewalk!