Dismanteling

The garage roof is quasi finished so it is time to start taking apart the Residence interior walls. These first walls coming down will be used on the garage exterior walls where the big doors go.

 This is the outside of the circular wall of the existing family room.

This arc will be kept and the wall will be rocked. The stairs going to the second level go against this wall. The previous owner didn't want the sheet rock to come away from this circle so each panel has screws going down it every two inches. Could be overkill or he knew what he was doing on this particular part of the building process. We have strapped my clothes rods to the wall now so the earthquakes won't keep throwing everything around.

We will need to continue the wall up to the ceiling for the final elevation of the new family room. The left side will be taken straight across and a small closet will be built at the stair landing. We need to decide if that will be the audio/video closet or a place for extra throw blankets and fireplace stuff.. We are not wireless with our television at the moment but we probably will be in the near future. Will need to get a guy out to do that for us since we are Baby Boomers and not Gen Xers.

No More Cold Nights

Twice this winter we ran out of propane. We are on a monthly service but our tank was only 250 gallons which when it is super cold doesn't go very far. We grill at least 4 times a week even in the winter and we are hardlined to the propane tank for grilling plus the furnace. The wall between the apartment and the residence is not insulated so we are not energy efficient  at the moment. Plus we still keep finding little holes going into the attic where we lose heat. We haven't filled our tank; waiting for it to get completely empty this summer hoping that would happen when it's hot ant propane is cheap. Last week halfway through grilling chicken we ran out of fuel. Now what to do with the old little tank? Good old Craigslist to the rescue. One day of posting and it is sold. 

 

Bill and Sutton used the delivery forklift to take the tank over to the new owners trailer for them to take it away. Love to see that 7 year old driving equipment. This makes special times between Grandpa and Grandson.

 Oops, the chains are too close the back of the forks. Need to move them forward.

Bill said it was great having a guy that knew his chains there to help him position everything for loading. Does that mean he thinks I don't know chains? I thought it was great that I didn't have to think like a guy to hook up the chains. So we were both happy.

 

 

Love it that a young couple with their first house will be using our propane tank for heat now.

A-a-a-a-a-ah (screaming voice)

Not too excited with the latest addition to our zoo.

Yes, that is a Water Moccasin. We are putting a pool up for the summer so there is new water. Bill was walking out to the pool and I was following him. Suddenly, he screams, jumps 3 feet in the air all the while back pedaling as fast as he can. When he landed I said, "that had to be a snake scream." He said, "yeah, and it is a big one."

We followed it and tried to kill it but it was too fast. We are getting a snake pistol with big rat pellets to take care of this problem. This guy won't be back he was way too scared and slithered away very very fast. He had just smelled the fresh water and came to investigate. Hopefully, he is sending out the snake smoke signals and letting his friends know they are not welcome.

Slow and Steady

Well, slow and not too steady. We were told the garage roof would take 2-3 days. We are now going on a week and a half and it still isn't finished. Our last house we built the entire thing in less than ten months. I am beginning to think this garage may take ten months.

 One roof metal is done!!! The entry tower copper is on and is gorgeous. So excited about it. After the roofers leave we will put the soffit on and we will have one project completed. The only building project completed, but it is a start.

The garage may not be finished but we are already using it. Much easier to get the lawn mower, go-kart and golf Kart out of this space rather than the Residence.

It's Bigger

Most of the garage roof is now on. The space looks and feels much bigger with the roof on. It should feel smaller since you no longer see all the way to the blue sky. It must have something to do with the white ceiling. The lines of sunshine you see will be covered with the ridge caps.

    

See, it looks huge and cavernous!

Looks like it could be a cathedral.

 Here they are putting the snow and ice shield on the entry tower. I can't wait to see the copper go on here.

The House That Smithbuilt - Part 2: Expectation vs Reality

The House That Smithbuilt - Part 2: Expectation vs Reality: Before the 4th of July weekend we actually had some of the roof material delivered. We were told that when we got back from our 4 day weeken...

Not Waterproof

Roof won't be finished today the heavens opened last night and this morning,

 The rain is pouring in at some spots because the water has been redirected from it's original pattern.

 No valleys mean no stopping the rain from coming in from between the two roofs.

We do have some dry areas.