Pictures (finally!) as promised

New Mailbox


Moving Stone (too thick in some areas of the 1/2 mile long driveway!) I had 100 ton of stone delivered.


Spreading Stone


Office in Garage


Bathroom in Garage


Bathroom Fan

More Pictures!

Here's a couple of pictures of the Jeep!





Work on the Log Home:

Chimney Inspection


Pressure Washing


Cleaned


Acid and Pressure Washing

Slow Progress

Work will begin soon on the major items for the house. We've had to wade through all the estimates and find the right materials to do the job in such a way as to maintain the same style of log home. It's amazing how many different types and cuts of log are out there! This work should start in a couple of weeks.

We're going to have to settle for asphalt shingles on the roof. :( Metal and cedar shake are just way too expensive right now. I'll get the roofer started in a few days.

The windows are ordered and should arrive in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, construction of my office in the garage is progressing. I've got to pick up a tub and medicine chest this morning and take all the other stuff down there today. I'm rough wiring the office, storage room and bath this week. I can't believe how much the cost of romex (copper wire for homes) has increased since I last purchased it. It cost me $91 for just one 250' roll of 12-2!! I need two rolls of 12-2 and a roll of 14-2, plus some CAT 5 wire for data and phone. That's nearly $400 just for an office and bath! I'm sure glad I don't have to wire an entire house!

I'll try to update a little more regularly and post some pictures. I know y'all are dying for a view or two. ;-P

Pictures... not!

I just noticed that I promised Jeep pictures back in my last post. Sorry, but I just haven't had time.

I'll try to get some taken soon.

Lots to do...

Well, we're plodding along trying to gain momentum in the renovations of the new house. There's not a lot we can do until the major jobs get going. Only problem is we haven't decided who's doing what.

The roof will have to be done this year. Probably before we move in. This is because the folks who built the house 17 years ago put the cedar shakes directly on plywood. For those who don't know, cedar shakes need to breathe! Needless to say, they are no good for waterproofing the house anymore. We plan to put asphalt shingles on the roof now that look like cedar shakes. We just couldn't afford the real thing at this time (almost $26,000), nor can we afford the metal roof that we originally wanted ($35,000). We have pretty much decided on one contractor, but are waiting for a final price.

Next is windows. We definately need to replace all the existing windows. There are 44! We've got a contractor that will do it for a very good price. The initial quote was pretty high, but we reminded him that he just did the ones in our current home and got a couple of referrals from that, so he worked a better price for us (knocked $3000 off).

Finally, there is the log work. We need to replace about 260 linear feet. In addition to that, we need to pressure wash the entire home and reseal it all. We've got a couple of prices for this and will be going to check out some of the contractors work to be sure which one we will use.

All of this work needs to be lined up as soon as possible. We know the windows are 4 weeks out and the logs are 2 weeks out. So that will put us late into August for the outside to be complete.

So, we are moving on to the interior demo. I'm seriously thinking of moving around the two upstairs full bathrooms. I'd planned on replacing all the fixtures anyway and was also thinking seriously of replacing the copper pipe with CPVC. I'll check with my builder friend about how much trouble all this will be. I'm just not happy with the exposed plumbing that can be seen from the first floor. I want to find a better way to hide it so that the ceiling looks nicer.

We will be tearing out all the carpet and linoleum (sp?) flooring. Then painting ceilings and walls. Once the painting and windows are done, we will put new carpet down.

I contracted to have 40 tons of #57 stone spread on my driveway on Monday. I'll be putting another 40 tons out on Friday. That driveway is really long and has needed substantial repair for some time now. The guy I share road access with is helping by using his front end loader to spread the stone. He's glad to finally have someone to pay to put the stone in. I'm glad to have someone with equipment to spread it. Works out for us both.

We also cut back a hedgerow and some trees this week. I got out the chainsaw and had a good time! Got the boys out with the new lawn mowers (push mowers with front drive). They got the grass cut in under 2 hours. Those are good little mowers. I don't think I'll need a ride on mower for a while now that I have these mowers and willing workers. Saved me a couple thousand dollars for now.

We got all the frogs and the snake out of the basement. My wife used the wetvac to get the accumulated rain water up. I got the sump pump put in and hooked up the dehumidifier. We should have a dry basement soon. I need to get the Bilko doors ordered and installed to help with that.

All in all, it's been a productive week so far. Lots to do in the next couple of days. Hope I can schedule all the major work real soon. Friday, I'll meet with the several contractors to firm up contracts (HVAC, windows, roof, and logs). Also moving some of my oldest daughters stored furniture to it's new storage location in my huge garage. Hopefully, she will soon have her own place and will get it out of my new garage...

So there's the update. I'll try to post some pictures soon and be more faithful in posting updates. Our home internet service has been spotty lately (lovely Comcast). Once we move we will be without internet since Comcast doesn't yet exist where we've moved. We won't even be able to have DSL there yet. I refuse to go back to dialup. Maybe I'll get satellite internet (still investigating that). Until that decision is made, I will do most of my online activities from work (as I am able). I'll let you know what email to contact me by as soon as I decide which I want to use. I'll have my current one (Comcast) for at least the next two months.

2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

I bought the Jeep, by the way.
I'll take some pictures in the next couple of days and post them.

Settlement and playoff games

We settled on the new house on Thursday! WOW! I've never been in more debt in my life! Hopefully and prayerfully, that won't last long. Once renovations are complete to the new house, we will move in. Then we can finish renovating the old house and sell it. Funny how we've lived in this house for 8 years and still didn't get to all the projects. It really is tough to paint with all those kids running around. ;-) The market is still very strong in our area, so I'm not too concerned about selling our current home. The one across the street sold in about 3 weeks for full asking price (I think).

When it's all said and done, I'll still owe more than twice what I've ever owed, but the value of property owned will have also more than doubled. Next step is to find the next property in need of TLC and renovate it for quick resale. I'll do this for the next few years to pay off my mortgage and then build retirement. Stay tuned!


Now baseball...
We are (finally) getting to the last games. The heavy rains this week really did a number on the fields, so we've been postponed 3 or 4 days. It's been good for the kids to get physically healed, though.

My third sons team (AAA ball) has really held on through these playoff games. They didn't have the best of season records, but have played hard when it counts. Two nights ago, they had to play a double header to make up for rainouts. They lost the first game and were up by 6 in the second when the game was postponed due to lightning in the area. It was decided that they would finish the last inning the next night (last night). It's really hard to go between fields to catch the action. Unfortunately, I've missed some of the good stuff from this team. They finished the last inning quickly without giving up any runs and were able to move on to the championship game (against the team that they lost to the prior night). This was a hard fought game by two very good teams. Our guys were just out hit, though and they lost by 4. I'm so proud of my son for his consistent performance throughout the season and all the way to the end. He has played just about every inning of every game this year. His stats aren't that impressive, but he was patient at the plate and did all he could to help his team finish second in the playoffs.

It really is tough to win from the loser's bracket. My oldest sons team (Senior division) won the regular season (with a 3 or 4 game margin). Then they came out in the playoffs and lost the first game! First seed against 8th. Talk about counting chickens... Actually, I think it was the wake up call they needed. They've played like they're on a mission since then. Last nights game was a tough one. They played winner from the top bracket. This team was unbeaten in the playoffs and had not had a game in over a week. They were ready to play! The game was close for a few innings. Then in the 6th, we had to put a relief pitcher in due to soreness in the starting pictures arm. This poor guy really struggled and the other team took advantage: closing the gap from 10 - 3 to 10 - 8. Made us nervous for a while there. Our team really had to come out in the bottom of the 6th to add some insurance runs. And they did! 7 more! Gave up one run in the top of the 7th and held on to win 17-9!
I was real pleased with the way the game was played (by both teams). My son played 5 innings and had 1 walk and 1 single. He was left on base once and scored the other time. 3 stolen bases as well. Not bad for a 13 year old 4'-9" player on a team with mostly 15 and 16 year olds that are 5'-10" to 6'-2". His performance in the outfield was good as well. Made a couple of catches and used his speed to get to several other balls quickly, preventing extra bases.
Now they have to play this team one more time (Wednesday night) for the championship. That will be our last game of the season. I'm going in late to work. I won't miss this one!