Enjoying a Senior Moment!

That's what we call Joel's dad, Senior.  Joel is often referred to as A2.  Anyway, last weekend was devoted to moving more chips and dirt from Senior's property out in Blossvale to the side yard at the house.  I rode shotgun for the first load and then left Joel and my father-in-law to continue playing with the Kubota, Ford F150, and the borrowed dumping trailer.  I think they did 6 or 7 trips total...in the rain.  Still more to do.  But check out the progress so far.

The framing in the forefront of the above picture is the beginning of Joel's mock-up for the side patio and walk way.  Below is another view of the frame.

Spike finished the back steps, and they are gorgeous!!  He has now moved over to the outdoor fireplace and is shoring that up for our summertime use.

Steve and Larry got the pex into the Rustic Room floor and used up all the sheets of insulation that got delivered to the house ages ago.  They were always in the way and being moved from room to room.  Finally, a home!  Plus, they will give an extra layer of protection against the cold coming up from the ground.  Shay ran the wires for the cooling in that room as well as the room above.  These 2 back rooms are not going to have vented AC but rather stand-alone wall units.

Roommate Reunion

On Saturday we were treated to a visit from Joel's college roommate, Dan, and his son Ben.  They came up from Connecticut to check out Colgate and Hamilton and swung into Rome to see us as well.  Although we had limited time, we were able to catch up AND give them a tour of the house.  If Ben chooses either school his family will always have a place to stay!

I am so happy that the weather has been conducive to outdoor work these past few weeks because Joel and I have gotten quite a bit done.  While he continued to spread the topsoil on the east side of the house, I raked the entire back lawn and disposed of the leaves and twigs over the berm on the west side...30 or so full wheelbarrows...I have the callouses to prove it!  Then Joel disassembled the lakeside stone wall of the garden and rebuilt the upper wall with those stones and others that he moved from all parts of the property.  My job over the weekend was to tamp down the little balls of dirt in the newly spread topsoil to prepare it for seeding.  I started with a 10 pound tamper, but quickly realized that it was too heavy and cumbersome.  I switched to a garden rake, then a pointed shovel.  All too awkward.  Finally, the answer came to me and I began to shuffle over the dirt, totally ruining my sneakers but definitely getting the job done.  If anyone was watching they would have seen me do Michael Jackson's moonwalk, the Texas 2 step and my personal favorite, Riverdance!  On Sunday the dogs came to help, and ended up getting right in the middle of my performance stage.  We finished the area last night by spreading the grass seed and tossing on some straw just before the big rainstorm hit.  Perfect timing.

Steve and Larry continue to make progress with the in-floor radiant heating system.  Check out the Command Center Steve has built in our basement to manage the different zones.

Meanwhile, Spike is almost done with the back stoop, and Shay is still busy installing the vents for the AC.  I took a peek in the attic yesterday and saw the huge handler with the double drip pan to prevent overflows from condensation.  That happened in our other home forcing us to replace the soggy ceiling twice.  Never again...fingers crossed!

And now for the Cooldown

The amount of activity and progress at the house over the last week is mind boggling!  I was out of town for a few days and came back to find that Steve and his crew have continued to diligently install the in-floor radiant pex system all throughout the front rooms.  At the same time, another crew is working on the upstairs air conditioning ducts and vents (my high priority request!).  Spike has finished the front stoop and is half way done with the back steps.  Raulli's came and hung the beautiful shiny black brackets which will soon support the upstairs deck, and Joel, with the help of his father and his Kubota, has dumped 7 loads of fill over the green brush area on the west side of the house.  The pile of clean dirt that he has been spreading on the east lawn is almost gone.  Joel claims that all this shoveling and hauling beats going to the gym!

Turning Up the Heat

Steve and company have dived right into their in-floor radiant heating project up at the house.  Most of the materials are there, ready to be installed, but more boxes of manifolds and Pex tubing were just delivered today by FedEx.  Do I sound like I know what I am talking about?  Hardly!  But I try to learn something new every day:)  Here's the weekly rundown...Steve has got Larry back helping him out.  They are boring holes in the floor joists of both levels so that they can run the Pex tubing which will eventually carry warm water all throughout the house to keep us toasty in the winter.  There are a couple of spots that are going to be hard to get to because there is no basement underneath; just a crawlspace.  Steve will figure it out I am sure! 

Meanwhile, Spike has returned from Florida and is recreating both our front and back stoops in his masterful, mason way.  Once he is done outside he plans to freshen up the den fireplace brickwork and the hearth as well.  Lenny still needs to finish the dining room fireplace and hearth.  I understand that should happen next week!

Finally, Raulli's Ironworks came up with the bolts that they plan to install on the lakeside wall to support the upper deck.  Steve bored the holes in the two large vertical beams and began to trim around the area so that the bracket can be put up next week.

Springtime means Party Time!!

We have been wanting to gather this group together for awhile and show them the renovation progress.  Sunday was such a pretty, perfect day.  Just the right conditions for wine and snacks lakeside, followed by a tour of the house.  So fun to have folks interested in our future home!

Lots of exciting things happened late last week.  Steve was able to get the rest of our bedroom and master bathroom windows in, Lenny snuck in on Saturday morning and did some more brickwork on the dining room chimney, and Joel worked hard all day on Sunday building a retaining wall on the west side of the house.  We are throwing all sorts of green waste as well as old bricks and stones behind the wall.  Soon Joel will have several loads of fill dumped over the trash pile, then eventually he will have some nice topsoil dumped on top of that.  We will plant grass and wildflowers and make this side yard very pretty.

Could it be a Sign??

Well it most certainly is...the one that I painted last summer and placed down at our beach.  All ruined now due to very high waters.  Our friend Ron visited us and the house on Sunday and after a tour of the renovation progress, we all took a walk down to the lake.  We were very surprised to find the water level had risen almost all the way up to the steps of our deck.  Currently we have no beach.  Let's look at this as a positive sign though; plentiful water is a good thing!

It feels like we are moving at warp speed on the house lately.  Mark continued placing  electrical outlets and switches over the weekend to stay caught up with Steve who is a whirling dervish.  The framing around the dining room fireplace is now complete.  The 7 windows in the peak of the master bedroom went in today, and plans to install the in-floor radiant heat are almost complete.  The plumbers will be doing their thing soon, and Raulli's Iron Works is constructing our upper deck.  Can't wait to see what next week brings!

Upstairs, Downstairs....

Every time I stopped in at the house this week I had a hard time finding Steve!  He was up.  He was down.  Once he was even in the attic!  So many different loose ends came together, and several odd jobs got finished.  Enjoy as I take you through the progress...

drop down attic stairs installed in front bedroom closet

3 risers now in place between master bedroom and yoga/closet room

half wall going up in master bedroom

framing for window in the peak of the master bedroom ceiling

pantry floor in place