Learning a New Trade

The grandkids are loving the building process. They want to come out all the time to help and see how things are done. They spent the night last night and where there when the masons started the final day of rocking our front columns.

 The boys were fascinated with the masonry mixer and wanted to help put sand into it. They watched them chip the rock to fit in the spot and fill the interior with masonry and trash rock.

Mallory got bored with the building process and had to climb the bear. We call him Koi Bear. And yes, there are Koi Bear in Japan he is a Grizzly but we like the unusual.

Trash Truck

Time to start hauling the trash lumber away from the garage. We dug through the trash pile and found all kinds of lumber we can use in the rest of the building. We are willing to search and find the right size and save the cost of cutting up a long board for what we need. Framers don't do that. If they did you would spend a lot more for the job. We are going at this slow so we have all the time in the world.

First truck load. Our house dumpster is overflowing and it will take two of these to haul it all away.

Busy Work

Until the garage roof goes on we are once again at a stand still in the building process. I can  always find something that can be done. With the rain this week we are working on rent houses and when they are finished we can do piddly things around our place. This morning I started painting the doors going into the garage from the West Wing, Residence, and the Work Shop. I never need tape for cutting in when painting. I have a steady hand and a pretty good eye. This past weekend on a rent house I discovered that my hand or eyes are getting older and it was more difficult than usual to make that straight line.

The doors have small panes that need the trim painted.I figured I should probably tape all the glass.

I taped off each of the panes before painting. I don't see how painters do this, I can't get the tape to tear perfectly straight to fit into the corners. Even though I got the tape into the corners as best as I could I will need to use a razor blade to get the paint off the glass. After doing all of this I figured out that if I had used scissors to cut the tape it would have been straight. Next door and the other side of this one will definitely try the scissor trick.

Indoor Swimming Pool

We told the grand kids that we will be putting in a swiiming pool, didn't realize it would be an indoor one.

There hasn't been rain in Oklahoma forever. We now have a garage with walls and no roof and the heavens have opened.

 The garage floor slopes from the West Wing to the Residence. Luckily the Residence is siliconed well so the water does not run into the building. The buildings are not on the same level so the water flows. The garage wall to the south stops the water from escaping the garage also. It runs out the garage door openings beautifully just like it should.

 Hopefully, this weeks rain will not stop the roof from going on next week.

We will have to be sure the lumber is dry before we start sheet rocking our rooms in the garage.

I Agree

Had to have the washer repairman out today. This is another rental repo we have. Our old washer of over 20 years was starting to make some funny noises and our renters left this very nice washer. We have been using it for about 7 years and this weekend it stopped. When the repairman stepped out of his truck he was standing on the driveway just looking around in the drizzle. He said, "I go to a lot of places and this is one of the prettiest views I have seen." Why, yes it is. We totally agree.

Where Will I Find ...

When most people need to find something in their house they go to a cabinet and there it is. Not so in our case. I wanted to make a vegetable tart and needed a pie pan. So, I go to my one baking cabinet and no pie pans.

So it's off to the West Wing to our boxes. When I was packing to move Bill asked why I wasn't writing on the boxes what was in each one. I told him I am marking the room they go to and that's all that's needed. I can tell you by looking at the box almost exactly what is in each one.

Went into this room where I have my kitchen and dining room boxes, moved three boxes that were on top of the one I wanted. There were my pie pans. Then came the decision of which of my eight do I want in the kitchen. There isn't room for all of them.

I use each and every one of these pans; they all have a purpose and mean something to me. We received them either as wedding gifts or from my Grandma or Aunt Edna when they passed away so I will never get rid of any of them, way too precious. 

Chose the one I wanted closed up the box put it back in place, replaced the other three boxes and made my tart; which tasted wonderful.

Progress

The brick columns are slowly being built. It is a one man mason crew putting them up. He is squeezing us in on his way to or from other jobs each day. We had to quickly go out and decide on the type of front column lights we want so we knew where to put the electrical. Our last house the lights we put in where to tall and always look crowded on the porch.

 When we get to the point of him rocking the house he will bring in a crew and we will be his main job and he will fit others in before and after us.

 The front porch box looks more like what I had envisioned now the framers have started putting on the eaves. It is still about 4 feet taller than I think it should be. Once the garage is finished I won't be coming and going from the front of the house so it won't be that big of a deal. And of course, once the siding, rock and stucco go up and it stops looking like a metal building with things stuck on it the look will be totally different.

We have a front wall on the garage now. The framers had to take the window opening out because they didn't realize the garage floor slopes toward the residence. The West Wing is higher than the residence by an inch and a half. Bill, my guy that double checks everyone's work, found that little problem. Would have been horrible if the big window had gone in and it had been crooked to the house. Problem resolved before it became a real problem.