Whoopee Another Hole In a Wall

A big part of this construction is destruction. We have to tear out before we can put in. At some point we will just be building but even then there will be times of demolition. Nothing is more satisfying than to knock a wall down. Or in our case cutting down walls.

Bill cut the doorway from the garage into the Workroom.

There will be double doors going into the Workroom. We don't want to have any problems taking things in and out of this space, In the top picture you can see the doors ready to be installed. I have them primed and painted they just need a door jamb to go into.

 Now we can close off the wall between the Workroom and the Trophy room. We had to leave a spot open to be able to get into the room with all the tools.

Protection Needed

Sometimes you just can't wait to do a project to get all the safety protection on. Also when you start things and your wife isn't around to make gentle suggestions you are macho and don't think aabout these things..

Hence, Bill's legs and arms look like this after using the grinder on the metal to open the hallway.

 His lawn chaps would have saved his legs and long sleeves would have saved his arms. Those aren't gashes that is the blood mixing with his sweat and running down his limbs. The grinder threw all kinds of hot metal shards everywhere.

 He did use eye protection and ear protection. Even with his ear muffs  his ears were ringing two hours later. I just needed eye protection, was able to hide behind the metal I was pulling out of the way to avoid being impaled with itty bitty pieces of metal.

After he showered I went in and washed all the metal down the drain. I didn't want to pick up all those pieces and get stuck with them. There were hundreds of pieces in the shower floor.

The Wait Is Over

We have been waiting and waiting and waiting and now the wait is over. We have a walkway from the Residence to the garage and the West Wing.

This is one of the "Have to wait for the garage to be finished" projects. No more walking outside all the way around the buildings  to go from one to the other. No more dashing from one to the other in the rain, wind or snow. We are going to be so spoiled. I shouldn't complain but when you have to go out the front of the Residence, walk around the West Wing, down the drive to the dumpster with trash in your hands; it is a pain. Or out the back door through the wet grass down the drive to the dumpster. Now we just go through the Residence, the garage, the drive and we are there. No matter what; taking the trash out is still a hike but much better now.

 The metal skin is down and the measurements are started.

 Cutting into the insulation.

 Measure twice cut once.

 This is the power coming into the Residence. This box determined where the doors and wall had to go. We would have preferred everything down 18 inches but we didn't want to move the electrical service.

 Insulation down and the grinder starts its work. Now I will move that insulation into the garage walls.

 Lots of sparks. Good thing metal and insulation burn at high temperatures.

A partial opening and the excitement is building!

The hallway is open!!!!!

  Bill is standing in the kitchen and I am in the hall leading out to the garage. This short hall has our coat closet and the doors into the cleaning closet and the pantry.

Here it is from the kitchen looking into the hallway. 

Rain is in the forecast starting tomorrow for a couple of days and if the garage roof doesn't leak we can start sheet rocking the hall and the rooms off of it.After the Labor Day weekend t hough, we are going to the lake and veg out for three days.

Once we have sheet rocked and painted and put up shelving and flooring one more project will be finished. At that point I can get more boxes unpacked and my stuff will be where I can get to it. All my not used everyday kitchen and dining paraphernalia will go into the pantry for now.

No Creepy Crawlies Allowed

Bugs, wasps, snakes, nothing like that is allowed in my house. They give me the creeps. So my  mission is to be sure that this house has no space large enough for anything to find its way in.

 There are air holes between the walls and the roof in the garage. Out comes my handy dandy can of Expando Foam. This is my kind of super hero. It takes on all challengers and overcomes all obstacles.

After sealing all the air holes; out comes the insulation to make the garage nice and cozy. Love being able to get things done with visible results. So much of building goes on behind the scenes. No sense of accomplishment or being able to show off your hard work.

Painting Time

Garage doors are i;n it's time to paint the trim. This may be the only part of our house that we will have maintenance on. So when our friends are lamenting the fact that they need to paint again we can say "Oh, guess I will go look at our garage door trim."

 First piece of business is to fill in all the nail holes with silicone. I filled them in and then used a bathroom cleaning brush to keep the rough cedar look in the silicone. Who cares if it gets ruined it was a rental repo so I would be willing to toss it if needed.

 I never tape when I paint; but Bill wanted the paint jabbed in behind the trim so I figured I had better tape the walls off. Also with rough cedar it is difficult to get a clean line. And I knew I would be finishing this in the August Oklahoma Heat so my hand might not be as steady as usual.

 We wanted a deep rich color. I chose Western Boot and it is one of the colors from our Latte Swirl exterior stone.

 When I put these clothes on you know it is a serious paint job. I don't carry around a rag I use my fingers and my shirt to clean up bobbles. I have been using this particular outfit since 2006.

The garage looks so pretty with its paint and lights.

Fall Rains Are A'Comin

We have had a lot of summer rain which means we may not have our usual fall rains. But, with the State Fair coming up and we always have several days of hard rains we know we need to be prepared.

So any space on the buildings exposed to the elements need to be taped. So up Bill goes on the very tall roof.

So glad he is willing to go up high in the scorching heat. That metal roof is hot, hot, hot.

Shock and Horror

Being the earth lovers that we are, imagine our gut clenching horror when we saw this. The roofers  had taken the insulation they had put under the roof cap and simply threw it away. They took this down and put the correct ice and water shield up and then tossed all this good stuff.

 Can't stand the thought of this going into a landfill. Not exposed to light it will take generations for it to break down. Not only that but amount of money that is being thrown away is appalling.

So I went dumpster diving and salvaged all that I could. Anything over 8 inches long will be stored until we find a use for it. We have a lot of rent houses with crawl spaces which means exposed pipes. Maybe our saving ways is why we need such a large area to store our rent house stuff.

Never Thought We Would See This Day

The roof may not be finished, the insulation may not be in; but by golly we get to use our garage now.

We fit!!!!! Lots of room all around us so when we are older we won't need to worry about pulling into a tight garage. I am going to need to practice pulling in and out because my car goes in at an angle. Bill's truck pulls straight in. There is no bump to drive over to know when my back tires come into the garage so I may put a trash can or something in front of my space until I get a feel for where to stop. There is now way right now of hanging anything to park to, like a tennis ball hanging from the ceiling, so I'll just need to figure it out. As you can see there is no end to my parking space, it just keeps going and going.

Door closed and door opened. Maybe today the garage door opener will be put in. Depends on deliveries at the yard if Bill can come home or not. We need to get as many deliveries done as possible this week because next week I am on Jury Duty and because of that we can't schedule deliveries.












The door is a little difficult for me to get up and down. This is a twenty foot door so it is very heavy. My arms are stretched to their fullest length to reach the rope to pull and down.

Don't Mess With the Parts

Power is run, garage door has been moved to the garage out of the Residence and ready for the next step.

These are all the little parts that go into putting the door together. We have never built a garage door from scratch. Lots of parts; big and little.

Notice the red headed screws. These are the DANGER DANGER, think before your remove, screws. Sometimes we think manufacturers go overboard with their warnings, but this is one that can save limbs, eyes, and possibly lives. Years from now those screws will still be screaming danger do not unscrew me to people.

First of four panels is in!

Then magic happened while I was at work. Look what I came home to. So very exciting, I did one of my "I'm so happy" dances.

Power

Befor we can put the garagae door in we have to run all kinds of electrical line. We need power for the outside lights, plugs, motion sensor, and anything else we can think of before we close the walls off.

 Lots of wires with Bill's personalized color coding system running through the walls now. This is a big step.

Winter Is Coming

The north wall of the garage is very large which means it can be energy efficient or a drain on our electricity budget. If your garage is not insulated it can drain your conditioned air away from your house each and every time the door is opened and closed. Plus the shared walls can exchange hot and cold air.

I got the bottom half of the wall insulated.All the little crevices around the top of the window had to be insulated also. Insulation is cheap and it saves you so much on utility bills. We also always insulate between floors and rooms for sound control. I need the big extension ladder to go up and insulate the really tall part.. I don't do heights well; so Bill may have to do these. Unless I can get the scissor lift in and then I will do it. Each of the top insulation batts will need to be stapled to stay in place. Which means being wobbly on the ladder. I used three different types of insulation. Insulation does not go bad, it will be a lower R rating if it gets compressed but everything I found was still good. Insulation has to be fluffy to do its job well. The insulation from the existing walls we are taking down is being reused. The backing has to be thrown away because it won't stick to the batting anymore so it has to be used where there will be sheetrock holding it in place.

Clean Freak

I wouldn't call me a clan freak but I probably keep my house cleaner than most people. Maybe not cleaner but definitely neater. You leave a glass on the table for more than an hour and it is put away, close the drawers when you are finished, put your socks in the hamper. Not as bad as my daughter who will leave a television show because she thinks a box in the attic would be better in a different spot. But, I can get on people's (Bill's) nerves sometimes with not being willing for something to be left out. It doesn't take that much energy to put things away.

The garage floor has really been bothering me. All the dust and mess from the garage not having a roof is out of control. The dust and rain would blow in and the additional mess of getting the roof on. It has just been a disaster. So I attacked it with a broom and pan. I didn't get the shop vac or mop out like I would have liked because until the building in the garage is done it is a wasted effort.

This sawdust would get wet and mushy every time it rained because of the roof leaks. I had to use the head of a  nail to get the stuff away from the wall. Wet, dry, wet, dry it had become like concrete.

It looks so pretty now. I think it will be easier to see the roof leaks with a clean floor. I know I will feel better every time I come into the garage now. Can't wait to start getting sheet rock up on these walls. This will be the pantry, coat closet and cleaning supply closet. All within easy access of both the kitchen and the garage.

No It Isn't Finished

Roofers said the garage roof is finished and they want the last of their money. No way, huh uh, don't even ask, have you looked at our roof? Summertime in Oklahoma usually means hot temperatures and no rain. This year we have had fairly cool temps and lots of rain. Because of the rain we know the roof leaks. Because of the sun we know there are gaps and holes in the roof.

We have been complaining and complaining and they have been saying it is fine. You want your money; you make me, the customer, happy. The owner of the roofing company has been out several times and always agrees with us and yes it will be fixed; then either he is lying to us or his employees are not listening to him.

Under the ridge caps there should be an ice and water shield. This is a membrane that stops moisture from seeping or in our case blowing in under the cap. Their solution was to push pipe insulation under the metal. Okay, that insulation is not UV rated, will not last the life of the roof, and I don't know if it will get a complete seal to keep bugs out.

Yesterday, they came out and after standing around for two hours waiting for supplies they took the ridge caps off and put down the ice and water shield. You can see the black membrane between the roof and the joists. That's what it should have looked like from the very beginning.

But there are still holes in the roof where they missed the wood and then backed the screw out. Hello, the holes need to be filled. I don't want moisture or creepy crawlies coming in through there. Just put a screw through the hole and the problem is solved. The screws have rubber washers on them so they are air tight. Nothing will leak through. The roofers are meeting us this afternoon and we are showing them all the holes. Oh, and on the east side of the roof there is sunlight coming through about a 3 inch gap that wasn't there yesterday.

Even if they get it all fixed there will be no more money until we have had a hard rain with wind to be sure they got everything water tight. I hate being this way, they need their money to pay their guys but I need a good roof. Oh, one guy said they only bid a class 2 roof and we were expecting a class 1 roof. I don't even know what that means and who would put a class 2 roof on their house?

Work Table

Our last house we built a work table the size of our kitchen island to hold everything during the building process. I would have the crock pot cooking dinner, we would lay out what the next project would be on it, our subs loved having a place to leave notes back and forth. Then when the house was finished we took that table upstairs to my attic and used it up there for the next 20 years,

At the moment we are using the top of the storm shelter for our garage projects. Everything is put here, nothing should be on the floor. No tripping accidents.

 Yes, you see an air conditioning window unit sitting there. Why be hot, these are one of the reasons we needed storage room, we have these so if a rent house loses a/c during the summer we can put one of these in until we can get the air conditioning up and running.With the garage enclosed there is no air movement and the fans just weren't cutting it. We are working on getting the big garage door in so the opening is closed off.

Let It Rain Let It Rain Let it Rain

Garage may not be finished but it is to the point we can get the guttering up . Usually, not having gutters up during the summer in Oklahoma is not a big deal. This year we have had lots and lots of rain. So lots and lots of rain not going where it should be going. We just shovel the dirt back in place and wait for the next rain.

 Doesn't that look nice with the finishing touches going on? Lots of downspouts in the back carrying the water over to our drainage area,and then the water goes to the pond that doesn't work yet.

On the north side of the Residence it is a different story. The gutter guys only put one down spout for the entire north side of the building. They say it won't be an issue, that they put in 6 inch commercial guttering. Fine, but it all comes out one spot. How are we suppose to control all that water? The place the downspout comes down is right where our patio will end up being. That we can take care of later by putting in an underground pipe and dropping it in to the pond.  The problem is what to do with all that water now. I put sloped flagstone under the downspout to spread the water out as much as possible.

What happens if the gutter ever gets clogged? I can just see a mess happening. They said they will come out after our next big rain and make sure it is going to do its job. We'll see. We are frustrated because the projects we have to rely on other people for just don't seem to be getting done like we want them done. But it's better than us having to do them.

Love Surprises

Last weekend Bill said he didn't want to put the big garage window in until he had finished working in the garage to keep the breeze going through. Yesterday, he said he needed Steven, our yard hand's help for a little bit. We were slow enough I said okay. I got home and the reason he needed Steven was to lift the window into place. I could move the window but not help lift it into place.

 This is very exciting. Now that I see it installed we may need to add an accent window at the top peak.Or maybe just a round vent. Won't mention that until we are ready to rock the wall and then make a decision. It just looks low on the outside wall.

On the inside wall it is not too low which is why we put it where it is. In a couple of months I will trim the Rose of Sharon in front of the window down to a two foot height and this window will open up  onto our gorgeous view. This may also make the window look the right height on the outside. These bushes were beautiful before the garage but now they are too big. The white fence you see through the window will be moved to the west edge of the window and this bed will have lots of small flowering shrubs. I just ordered some from the Arbor Day Organization with s donation to them and some plants for me. That's a win win situation.

This is what we will walk by every day going from the Residence to the West Wing when our offices move out to the property. What a beautiful

Change of Plans

We didn't get the big garage  window in this weekend we decided that we enjoy the breeze too much when working in the garage. So we will put the garage door in first and then finish the window.

 Here is one third of the window done. This is when we realized how much of a breeze this opening lets in. We still need to add the beam for the garage door opener to hang on, run the electrical for the opener, hang the sheet rock for the rails to go on,then put up the door rails, put in the sections of the door and tie it all in together, run the electrical and hang the outside lights before the sheetrock goes in. We'll keep the breeze for just a bit more.

So onto another project. This is the area that gets all of the rainfall off the roofs.  I finished leveling out the dirt and giving it the right slope so the water will flow away from the buildings. Had to be careful because there were two spots where the lawn was higher than this area; so had to work around this and make it work.

 Next comes the lawn edging. This will help keep the rocks from flowing out with the water run off But it has to let the water leave this area also so it had to be lower than you would normally put it. I started digging my trench and had to stop. I could tell I was going crooked; so out came the string and level. If you are going to do something, do it right, don't skip steps just because you are in a hurry to get it done before the August heat starts up in the day.

 We sell this edging at the Rock Yard and it is good stuff. It is vinyl and the color goes all the way through. It is so tough it took a saw to cut it not a utility knife.

 Then stake it into place. These stakes do not go straight down into the ground they go in at an angle;  you are tying into the surrounding dirt. Makes for a more stable project.

 The water hydrant hadn't been set in concrete so it would wibble wobble every time you moved the handle. Before we started this project we poured a concrete base for it. I don't feel nervous about the grandkids turning the water on and off now. Before I was concerned with the boys snapping the pipe. I have very strong grandchildren.

 After leveling and sloping it was time for landscape fabric. Just this makes it look nicer. Here you can tell how much we raised the outside air conditioner. Had to be sure the water could flow under it and not get full of gunk.

It's the second week of August and I need to move all that rock before the heat index gets too high.

The air conditioner condensation pipe runs down the side of the building and drips into this area. It  makes for a soggy mess. If you look at the third from the top picture you can see that I was using a piece of guttering and some siding corners to take the water away. Bill came to my rescue and ran official PVC piping so the water runs out to the yard now. This all flows into our drainage river that flows into the pond.





Doesn't this look great. There is still rock to be moved but by golly it's waiting for some cool fall temps. I took care of a problem; so finishing it can wait.

This is a 1 1/2 inch crushed granite with a man made sand added to it. They can use this as a base for asphalt. In cooler temperatures we will go in, wet the rock, tamp it so it sets up good and solid and then add the final inch of rock to the area. Once the grass grows back up to the red rock this utility area will be really pretty.