Look At What We Came Home To

We are doing a major renovation at one of our rent houses this week. New floors, new paint, updated fixtures (via spray Paint), adding a closet to a bonus room. We are leaving early in the morning and coming back later afternoon. Today, when we came home it was very exciting; the masons had been here!

A few more levels up around the Garage window. They have wrapped the corner coming towards the front door but that won't be finished for awhile. We need to get the interior framed and windows put in and then close up the big roll up doors before they can put up the wainscoting across the front.

 This is very exciting! The start of the columns at the West Wing Entry. When they are done the ugly 2x4 support posts come out. Major stuff happened today and we did our happy dance when we got home and saw all of it.

Retail Pricing

A-a-a-rgh we have to pay retail pricing for a product the rock yard used to carry! Most of our building suppliers are giving us builders pricing because of our past association in the Homebuilders Association. Not the really good super pricing they give the big guys but the pricing they give small builders. Needed watertable sills for the rock work. Had to pay retail for it. It wasn't big enough of an order for us to go direct to the supplier to order. Oh well.

 If you can carry it in the back of your car, you don't get a discount.

One of the pieces was broken. The sticks are 30 inches long and go under the windows like this. The color goes with the stone very well. They look as if they are the same

Thanks Daddy

Once again Daddy's tools are being pulled out to build our house. Bill and Darrick went to the metal scrap yard and bought the angle iron we need to hold the rock up on top of the window. You don't just glue the iron to the house, you  need to permanently adhere it. Out comes Daddy's drill press and Bill cut holes in the iron to screw it the the house framing.

 Daddy put almost all of his tools on rolling cabinets. It makes so much sense to do this. The guys were able to roll it outside so the sparks were not flying around the workshop.

Disappearing Act

There is no rain in the near forecast but we don't want to take a chance of precipitation getting behind the rock walls. Once the water table sills are put in they will be finished but that is the last thing the masons will do. So we put the gutters back up and temporarily put the down spouts on.

 The downspouts and gutters are close enough to the color of the siding you don't notice them.We are deciding if we will lop the down spouts off at rock height with an elbow spout and a water collection device at ground level or not. Haven't figured out if we want the rock covered or not. Right now we are so excited about the rock we can't make a rational decision.

No Excuse

Our renter no longer can give us the excuse that we weren't home so they couldn't leave their rent money . It is amazing how many do not have checking accounts and if they do they do not have checks. People who do not also do not like to spend the money on money orders so they want to use cash. So today we installed a collection box for outside the West Wing entry door.

This is the box we chose. Should blend in with the siding it shouldn't jump out at our non business visitors.
















Bill put the siding up to where the box will go.

 Now is the time for me to say I don't want it there or live with it and be quiet.

 Drilling pilot holes for the jigsaw to start and turn the corners. This is how you get nice tight openings.

Bill's measurements were pretty good. The box will rest right up against a 2x4.

Time to connect the dots.


We have sunlight and a hole in the wall.

Finished job. It looks pretty good.

This will be what we see on the inside. Fairly unobtrusive.

We have some complaints about the product so I wrote a review and only gave it 3 stars. No installation instructions, no weatherstripping and the outside screws do not match the color of the box. But, the box is what we needed,

Exitement On the Homefront

We went to the lake for two days this week. We left the rock masons working and they continued working while we were gone.

They finished under the South Beach Hallway window. Finished with what they are doing right now. After they have all the West Wing and Garage walls done they will be adding the window ledges and water table sills. This will finish off under the windows and the top of the rock wall.

 Continued toward the Garage.

 Started the big Garage wall.

This is advancement we can see every day.

Gotta Work When Its Warm

Masons started this week and it turned bitter cold with high winds from the north. They have to start late in the morning and can only work til early afternoon. This means the work isn't going very quick but you can't work with frozen mortar or mortar that is going to freeze once its up. It can also cause the mortar to turn white once it warms up.

This picture is three days of work. It's warming up the rest of the week so they will really knock it out.

 Here one of the masons is pointing the mortar. After it has partially cured you go back with a tool and clean the grout lines. That is what makes it look pretty.

 One pallet of rock is gone.

 Next section of rock is started. It goes all the way across the South Beach Hallway wall and the garage wall. This is the wall that goes two stories high. Lots of rock will be used here.

Once t his is finished the West Wing and Garage will look like a real house. The Residence won't be done for a while. Lots to do before it can be started.

Attic Ventilation

We need to put a ventilation vent in the top of the garage exterior wall. On a lot of houses they are non working, just pretties. We want a workable vent to pull condensation out of the garage. So we took this backing off and will be adding a screen to keep the bugs out.

 I love my little painting triangles. They easily hold paint jobs and even furniture up. Nice wide base and little points against any fresh paint.

 After priming the whole thing front and back. I used a spray primer in brown to get in all the little crevices and nooks. I don't want any white or missed wood to show once it goes up on the wall.

 Love fresh paint jobs! Bill will install it when the rock mason has his scaffolding up and at the height this needs to go.

Landscape Work

Driveway extension has been leveled out and we have had a good rain. Time to bring the in the sod. If this were summertime we would seed but we want roots down before the spring rains. Bermuda goes dormant in the winter but its roots will still take hold.

Wyatt was in the back of the pick up moving the rolls to the tailgate.

Bill and Darrick would take them out and lay them.

And he wonders why his back hurts? Bill needs to remember we aren't spring chickens anymore. I don't care how dry those rolls are they are still very heavy. One at a time is just fine, I know you are my big strong guy.















Laying the sod up to the end of the new culvert.

 It looks so pretty. We will drive on the driveway extension for a bit to get it packed won really well and then bring in asphalt millings.


We  need to water daily for 20 days. After that the sod people said if we push it with our foot and it doesn't move we are good.

 And of course, each guy had to have their own mode of transportation at the work site.

Little Projects Big Impact

Now the office is finished Bill is catching up with a whole bunch of little projects. We have had the pendant light for the West Wing entry for over a year. We bought it when we bought the front entry column lights in case they went out of stock or somehting. We wanted them to match.

Before  he could put the light up the soffit had to go up. Before the soffit went up we had to decide what we were doing on the outside and get to a point with weather and time to get stuff done. We don't have all the trim pieces on yet but we now have a light.















It will be relly pretty in a few weeks and all the rock is gone from in front of it. We don't have the siding up around the door yet because we are trying to find a drop box to put here. It will need to be installed in the wall. This will be for when renters bring their rent checks out and we aren't available. We are continually amamzed at how many people do not have checks. They do everything by debit card, if they have a bank account or cash.

 Here it is without a flash. Things are really happening around here right now.

Another Big Step

Can't believe we are finally to a point where the rock mason can get started. He will only be able to do part of the work because the Residence exterior wall will not be ready for him for quite some time. But the vast majority will be done when he finishes.

 Bill, the mason, had asked two of his helpers to work today hoping that at least one would show up. Nope, he is working by himself. Has to wait for it to be warm enough in the morning for the mortar. Got this far and now it is lunch time.

 If you look at the pictures of the fallen brick and rock work that have been posted due to earthquakes in Edmond. You will  notice that none of the walls have these little pieces of metal. They are brick ties. You attach them to your wall and then put them between your bricks or rock and the mortar holds them in place. They tie your two walls together. Your pretty stuff is no longer a free standing wall. We saw a lot of houses going up without these little guys when we would make rock deliveries out to job sites.

Simple, inexpensive, and a necessity.

Digging a Hole Filling a Hole

Mason is getting started so we needed to add concrete under where the West Wing entry columns will be going.

 Bill rented a concrete saw and cut the holes and then had to dig the dirt out down 18 inches. Our mason doesn't want any chance of those columns moving. He is beefing everything up that he does due to  our influx of earthquakes.

Two columns, two holes.

 And of course another autograph party. This time the girls got in on the action.

 Mallory writes very well in concrete. Brynnlee has lots of squiggly lines.

Priorities

The office is slowly taking shape. I have priorities that I want to do.

First Priority is organization:
The closet is usable and organized.

 Next priority is beautification:

I love to make our space beautiful. Lots of artwork, lots of color and textures.

Does this not look like a place you would want to come and work everyday? Our desks are still piled high with stuff but in the next day or two it will all be gorgeous.

Small Arms

Everything is getting moved into the office. All the cable are hooked up except the phones. I hadn't bought the phone for the office yet.

 Ran to town and bought the phones. The guys are outside working on the driveway and I can't move the desk myself. So I need to figure out what to do.

Benefit of being a small person. I was able to lay on the floor and reach under the back of the desk that comes down to within six inches of the floor and snake my arm up to the outlet and now we have phones.

Driveway Extension

When we added the extra length to the driveway culvert we planned to extend the driveway. It was narrow and we couldn't pull off the street to get the mail.  This was the real reason to borrow Jonathan's tractor moving the boulders was just an extra.

First thing to do is to get rid of the mailbox. It is a plain post with a box on top of it. Not quite the look we want. With all this street frontage and rolling meadow we think we need something a little more substantial. The mailbox will be moved off the street so the mailman and us can use the mailbox and not be in the way of traffic. The way we look at it Douglas is just going to keep getting busier as time passes.

The railroad spike was the tool to use to break out the concrete and get the post loose. The Previous Owner certainly made sure that post wasn't going anywhere. There was a huge amount of concrete  underground.

 Wyatt would pull the dirt out when Bill and Darrick would get it loose.

 

 Lots of leverage was needed.

Laid out the edge of the extension so Darrick would know where to go.

We are fortunate Darrick has the ability to borrow a tractor for us and that he has the skills to work a box blade.