The House that Jack Built
Posted on September 19, 2013 by
This has been a productive week starting with last weekend. We had 12 friends and family assisting on the three decks and front porch flooring. Thanks to Jim & Sandy, Skip, Bill & Carolyn, Debbie, Mike and Lisa, David and Kathleen, Lynn and Eric we were able to get everything 80% completed. We had a great time working together (and playing together) as we went! Thanks to you all !
The photos show the porches and decks. We have selected honorary names for them (See captions).
The bridge deck bridges the private master deck with the main public deck. We didn’t work on it at all.
The Family and Friends Front Porch was mainly constructed by just that-family members and their friends!
This Master BR, private deck we are calling the Koontz deck. Watching our good friends (plus Debbie!) who are both engineers disagree about dimensions was sorta fun! Sorta.
Now this is the Skipper deck. The largest of all, Skip designed it as he went! The part nearest the house will become the screened porch.
The front deck connected to the Skipper Deck. This faces the road.
By Monday, however, Jack was whipped and took it slower, but still did more wiring. On Wednesday, Southside Electric came and connected the POWER! We now have power to the main house but the connections are still being made.
Southside Electric at work.
Jack is more than half way through with wiring. And I must say, the electrician is a much happier camper than the plumber was!
Pro-Siding loves my selection of siding colors and I do too! I wanted to add color contrast to the Navajo Beige Hardie plank. Around the fixed windows, I selected a maple color Hardie plank. Charlie from ProSiding says he has never seen another house done I this way and that’s a good thing!
Maple siding accenting the stacked stone chimney.
I have drafted a final schedule of everything that needs to be completed before we can move in. Check it out! Note how many items have Jack’s name next to it.
If you are around and want to come over to have fun at Bedford Landings, let us know if any of these tasks fits your skill set! We always will feed ya lunch! It’s a tight timeframe but I am hopeful that Jack and the contractors will all miraculously be able to meet the deadlines and by turkey day, we can set the table indoors!
When I first met Jack nearly 10 years ago, he told how he built his own home. It reminded me of the nursery rhyme, “The House that Jack Built.” I am again reminded or how many of these verses are coming true with our new home. Let me illustrate with the last verse of the rhyme.
This is the farmer sowing his corn,
That kept the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn (I don’t get that verse),
That kissed the maiden all forlorn (that would be me!),
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog (poor Kramer!),
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat (well we haven’t actually trapped it yet!),
That ate the malt (we drink ours!)
That lay in the house that Jack built.
And if we can keep it lively, fun, and productive, we will indeed make it! Thanks to all the wonderful deckers!
What great fun to have all of your friendly helpers there to pitch in. Time for me to drop by ... jack
My skill sets include drinking beer and supervising. Let me know if you need that sort of help... ;-D
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tattered and torn (I don’t get that verse), That kissed the maiden all forlorn (that would be me!) If you read these three verses together, you will get...he woke up the priest to get him married to the maiden who he kissed (after getting married! - no kissing before marriage allowed!) I agree with Jack...the house that Jack & Karen built....surely someone can write a poem on that? :)
WOW,WOW,WOW!! (and there were some who thought it couldn't be done) It all looks fabulous! Makes our renovations of past year seem a piece of cake. With Wayne's new knee (2 months ago) he wouldn't be much help. He could organize the heck out of everything .... ;) Remember, Karen? I, however, can sling a mean paint brush when the time comes. Be strong, the end is near!
"That married the man all tattered and torn" -- I think he is tattered and torn from building the house. Your Jack is not tattered and torn because he has had your help!
Well, I'd call it the house that Karen and Jack built. While I have been busy framing, plumbing and wiring, Karen has been doing virtually all the procurement of lighting and plumbing fixtures, ALL the decorating planning, a lot of help on the construction, and keeping the workplace clean and safe. She also organized the "decking party" as well as keeping track of scheduling all the subcontractors. I really LOVE having such a competent wife.