Month: February 2015
Cleaning, Putting Up Blinds, and Waiting on the Plumber
Happy President’s Day,
This was a long weekend for me as I took Friday off to get the house inspected and we are good to go when the electrical inspector blesses the house, we can move in.
There are still things that need to be done as not all of the plumbing is finished and hooked up. We had some issues with a stopped up sewer line. From my understanding it was a plugged line that could be attributed to how our original line was hooked into the main sewer line 20 years ago when we had the line installed. We live on 7 acres but it is in the City and has City utilities. That was just another thing that I can blame on breaking that mirror. Ugh. Fixed now though, I hope (the sewer block). As for the mirror, I bought a new one, that should count for something. I can’t afford 7 years. Fixing it should account for 6 years and 11 months, so I am good 🙂 Gotta think positive.
We have to get the water heater strapped down with a drain pan under it and a pressure valve plumbed to the outside. One more toilet installed. Two claw-foot tubs installed; the hydro tub with heater installed; two of the vanities to finish and the shower heads installed. Pretty soon.
Another hurdle is, the cable company says they have to trench in a line to the house. I guess what we buried is not big enough. Ka-ching, and that is going to cost us $580!! As much as Lynn wants to move he won’t move without TV and Internet. That won’t get put in until March 6th, unless they have an opening before that.
I worked on the house for 3 days, and just took a little break to head to Famous Dave’s for BBQ on Valentines Day. Ate way too much, but it was delish.
Now for some photos:
This has been a 20 year journey, but it is almost done. The work around here will be on-going as there is always room for improvement, at least now I will be able to take my time and enjoy the process. Lynn will finally be able to relax and enjoy the new old house. It is a culmination of a lot of hard work from both of us though-out the years.
Dreams are possible, you just have to be willing to work hard and keep the vision of what you want to accomplish. You make your own dreams come true.
I am not done yet, now I have all the undone things that will probably take me another year or two to accomplish. In between all that, I am looking at seed catalogs, planning a garden and maybe get a chicken or two.
Stay tuned, as I am hoping to turn this blog into a book. I’ll let you know how that process goes. I also have a couple of other books in the works. Gotta keep busy.
Annie, the little busy bee
Post Holes, Stairways and Bathtubs
This is how I spent my weekend, and what is happening in my little world.
Spent the last couple of hours finishing the staining of the stairs for now. I will keep the brush handy for the remainder of the stairs when they are installed.
Along with a couple of contractors coming tomorrow, Steven will finish digging post holes and get ready to move the railroad ties. Lynn will tally up how many 2x6x16 boards we will need, along with what will be needed for the gate. That will fence off the back yard to keep our little Kinzie safe. I think she will miss her yard buddies Romeo and Scarlet, but they are just next door if she wants to have a play date.
Took some pictures of the claw-foot tub faucets. Just love them. I know they aren’t really from the time period, but I couldn’t pass up the little phone showers. I looked into the showers that were full showers that could go with them, but I really didn’t like the style. They appeared too flimsy. Won’t know how these work as I am still waiting for the water hook-up and drains. But maybe by the end of tomorrow I will be able to let you know.
Also, I took a picture of the dining room light which I just couldn’t part with so we had the electrician take it out of our dining room in the house we live in now and move it to the new house. I haven’t been able to find another I like more than this one.
So another weekend passed and we are a little closer to being finished. Hopefully, we will be in the house by the end of February.
Annie, with fingers and toes crossed that we will finish this week.
I so want to be done with this almost 20 year project. Ugh!!
I haven’t posted in about 3 weeks as I have been having very little movement on the part of the contractors. This project, for them, is winding down and they have moved on with other projects. As much as I try to focus on the positive and I love my contractors, I am beginning to get a little anxious. So in some of this post you will sense my frustration with the process and how long it is taking. But there are still things that have to be done before the final inspection.
The plumbers have got to hook up all the vanities, tubs, drains, kitchen sink, dishwasher and shower. We ran into a snag when the tub was unpacked, it had a crack so it went back and we are waiting for its replacement which I hope will be in this week. They worked last Saturday, but I had purchased 3 wrong faucets and had to return them and get new ones which I did immediately. Tho they were able to get some of the other faucets and the water heater installed, they still need to finish. Now I have the new faucets and am chomping at the bit to get done already. They are supposed to be here on Monday.
Also the floor contractor has almost finished putting in all the carpet except the living room. He has to also finish grouting the shower. He will be here on Monday, also, and will be focusing on the living room carpet which is a floral design which will make matching seams a challenge.
Shower almost finished
S & K Mountain Construction and Hays Electric have been wonderful, but some of the subcontractors are being a little challenging. There was obviously some miscommunication with reference to the stair parts that were supplied. The staircase is very complicated and now a question with reference to whether the full stair will be supplied or whether there will be carpet put there instead. I thought when you purchased stairs, that meant the complete riser and bull-nose step. They are telling me that they understood that I was going to put a runner down the steps and only furnished the end caps and that the rest would be carpeted. This is where the misunderstanding needs to be ironed out. But first we have to have a meeting to go over this, and the supplier cancelled (or was a no-show) to the meeting that was scheduled last Wednesday.
The key being the runner. The runner I had in mind was bound along the sides and went over the steps leaving about 6″ on each side exposed. But nothing can be decided until we meet so that is going to be my focus beginning Monday. I will let you know how it turns out. Here is where we stand now.
In the mean time, I worked for about 3 hours today staining the railings that I didn’t get to before it was assembled. That takes more prep work than I like, but it has to be done, so there you go! Tomorrow I hope to finish at least that project.
Other things that are going on is building a fence for the back yard so Kenzie can be secured safely. That requires post holes being dug. Lucky me I have a well-able-bodied-post-hole-digger, Steven. It brings back memories of when he was a teen, and the never-ending post holes that he had to dig. He almost has it down to an art form. We are talking big post holes for railroad ties. I believe he has 3 or 4 left to dig, then muscling the posts into the holes. I think that will be a two person project. Then the 4 rails to match the front pasture.
I will post more pictures of the claw-foot tub faucets and the post holes and fence as it progresses.
That all for now.
Annie, the project sub-manager & stair-fighter.
15yearsandcountingdream 