Gotta Blog!
Posted on October 28, 2013 by
I just had to blog! There was so much activity today, it just warmed my heart! And I just had to share!
The drywall crew is nearing completion and will be done by Wednesday. They had to get the stained glass window installed so they could complete that wall. Here is what it looks like installed. They wall drywall around the bracing. I made this when we were still in NC. For those who live here, you know that shape is Smith Mountain!
Jack has been water proofing the star gazing deck so that it doesn’t drip on people who may be on the screened porch below. A slow and tedious (but very necessary) process!
The pavers called last night and wanted to come prep the driveway today. I was delighted with this news. These photos shoe looking toward the runway and looking toward the road from the front porch.
The HVAC guys (Cundiff Heating and Air) were installing the big units under the front porch.
Wednesday will be a big day!
This is so exciting! Well, not the hip part! But not using crutches will be exciting!
Thanks to Tom who stopped by to hunt this week, got cold, and decided to warm up by helping Jack put up the joists for the star gazing deck! He traded his weapon for the preferred tool for this job – a pneumatic palm nailer. Thanks Lisa for that invaluable tool you gave us!
This week on the menu, we have drywall, drywall dust, and drywall paste. Working around the drywall crew of six, is a two-man tile installation crew. They have laid the tile in each bathroom and are covering it so as not to get drywall goo in it!
Jeff is doing a great job with the tile! This is the Flying Room bathroom floor under construction.
Working around the tile guys and the drywall crew are two homeowners. Jack has completed the floors on all of the decks. That’s a good thing so I don’t fall through again. He is starting to build the upper (star gazing) deck.
I have been hobbling around still doing some exterior painting, admiring the stonework that was installed next to the driveway, and scheduling our final contractors for paint, trimwork, flooring, and kitchen. My sweet sister has been here this week contributing time to helping stain window trim and stain concrete. Since stone is too expensive to do all around the base of the house, I have had to investigate alternatives for covering up the drab gray concrete. I have been told that staining (instead of painting) will allow us to still adhere stone if we decide (or win the lottery!) to add stone later. Some areas are getting a creative flair. For example, this is where the guest hot tub will go but instead of full stone, it will receive an Italian piazza treatment, once complete.
Prepping for my creative flair!
Hobbling now for over 4 weeks, I did go have an MRI yesterday afternoon and after a quick glance, the on-call doctor immediately called. Apparently I have a hip fracture and I should be on crutches or using a cane. But as (those faithful follower) readers know, I have been pulling wire, climbing ladders, and not really stopping for the past 4 weeks. I can’t really imagine how a cane might help now. Nonetheless, I found a walking stick at the thrift store. Tomorrow is the Orthopedic appointment for the more inclusive reading.
So…for today’s blogging pleasure, we have a little fun photo identification activity (sorry, I am a teacher!). I am going to post photos of tools that have specific jobs. You try to decide what they are and then I will tell you what they are. Fun, right?!
Name these items!
If you said wet saw, scratch cutter, mixer, stand-up automatic screwdriver, square, ½ drill and pump-jack stilts you would be correct! Here are some of these tools in action.
Wet saw: Used to cut tile to size.
Stand up screwdriver: Saves your back somewhat on deck work, right, Dave?
The drywall crew looks like robo cops! Pumps them up about 4 feet.
Just like a cake mixer, I have seen several crews us this mud or concrete mixer.
But this is my favorite one. I often catch Jack looking like this. Name that tool, Jack!
“I know I have seen this somewhere before.”
Why isn’t it called a triangle? That’s what I want to know!
I can see light at the end of the tunnel. The final steps are all coming together SO FAR! But before I share what has happened this week, I wanted to share a mini-documentary of those friends I have captured hanging around with us as “trailer trash!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhOmVR33FTs (Drat! No audio. use your imagination)
Indeed the drywall process is a mess but I am staying out of the house as much as possible. This week, the house was drywalled and is nearly complete with the wall board. Next week starts the “mudding” process and I guess “I ain’t seen nothin yet!”
Here are a few shots of that I took of progress inside.
Jack’s college roomie from Knoxville, TN helped finish the Koontz Deck and the Friends and Family Front porch in addition to some interior framing. Thanks Kenny!
I love the rock covering the concrete foundation along the driveway! Thanks to my sister for giving us the numbers for our birthdays in March!
From upstairs looking into the great room toward the master bedroom.
The entry hallway. Note the Time Capsule by the door. Twice the dry wallers have moved it thinking it didn’t belong there. I have discussed it now with them!
Here is the link to the blog about the Time Capsule.
The tile guy tiled around the gas fireplace. The mantle is yet to be mounted but check out the closet full of drywall!
On a side note, I did go to the orthopedist today and got a shot of cortisone. It hasn’t helped much. I have an MRI scheduled for next week to see if this injury from falling through the porch joists is a cartilage tear. Not sure what next steps are.
In the meantime, the light at the end of the tunnel is keeping us both going!
OK, so I am a little compulsive about keeping our construction site neat and clean. We have all kinds of curious people dropping by and I feel it not only makes a good impression for the B & B, but it is safer for those who are walking around looking up at the timbers! Through the process, I have been told that the drywall stage is the messiest of all. Well, lo and behold, we are to that stage! I am so proud we have come this far but if their truck is any indication of what they house will look like over the next 2 weeks, then ICK!
A glance into the drywall worker’s truck.
I see online many strategies for cutting down on dust and mess. Hopefully David Fitzgerald and crew have seen these sites too! They have been diligently working today, cutting off pieces, tracking in mud, leaving pieces and parts, tools and saws scattered about, but it is getting done. They started on the top floor and have affixed the wall board to the walls of the flying room and fourth room. They are working on the Fishing room and probably will complete the Forest room by the end of today. Here is a shot of Jack flooring the loft in the Flying room last week compared to today’s drywall up from the same angle.
Jack in the loft of the Flying Room. Bathroom below loft.
Drywall up in the flying room.
Jeff, the tile guy has also been hard at work laying dura rock in preparation for the tile. I can’t wait to see this bit of an artistic touch added to the house!
Jeff is repairing drain in master shower that the plumber put in a bit crooked. Oops. I mean preparing master shower for tile!
Last week, I selected the granite for the kitchen and Master bathroom. I will expound more on that next time when I have a photo. I am still limping so I am limiting my trips to the house and I left the sample there. I do have an orthopedic appointment for Thursday.
Kudos this week to our friend Tom Brown who gave us a hand with various tasks in preparation for the drywall debacle!
I was out of town last week for 4 days. Hopefully I will get back on schedule this week, blogging on Thursdays. If you want to get email notifications, just click FOLLOW and you will get a notification of the next blog. And if you have a chance, LIKE US on Facebook!
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