Still Working

I'm really struggling with how long these renovations are taking.

Part of the problem is the fact that I am working close to 80 hours a week at my regular job. Between that and trying to get to the house every day, I'm putting in close to 130 hours a week. I'm averaging 3 hours of sleep a day. I don't really feel tired... just a bit burned out. I found out that the overtime at work will continue probably through February. I don't really have a problem with that since it is helping to pay for all the renovations.

The other problem is that my subcontractors are near the end of the job and some are gearing up for another job and not focusing on mine.

That said... HVAC is done. French drain is done. Roof is done. WIndows are done. Tile is 95%. Drywall is 90%. Painting is 60%. Electrical is 95% Carpet is waiting on painting to be done.

I'm still hopeful that we can move in within a week or so. We'll see.

Still Not Moved In!

Sorry to not update for so long. I've been a bit busy... I'm on my 7th of 10 days in a row.

We're still not moved in to the new house. This past week was my day shift week and I couldn't do anything at the house. Some of the contractors needed to work on other jobs too. This worked out well, sort of. We'd really like to get moved in.

Part of the problem is that I have not been able to complete all the electrical upgrades. I'm hoping to get them all done early this week, though. We still have quite a bit of painting to do as well.

I gave the shed away to one of our workers this weekend. He really needed a bigger place for his tools and stuff so it was a big help to him. We weren't really interested in keeping this shed anyway since it was old and had become a bit moldy. They kind of made a mess of the yard, though. I'll get them to fix it up. I plan to get a new shed next year so the kids have a place to put their bikes other than my garage. :-)

The new drainage system in the basement is complete. I need to add permanent receptacles for the two new sump pumps. They are being fed with extension cords now. Hopefully they won't have to run very much. The contractor has guaranteed a dry basement for the life of the house. Worth every penny if you asked me.

Well, I gotta go take care of one of our clients. They are whining about not having phones or something...

Time Flys! It's been almost two weeks since my last update!

Unfortunately, we are not in the house yet. There is still much to do. I was hoping to be able to put some of the major work off for a year or two, but it has ended up that we needed to get just about everything done this summer before we move in. This has really stretched the budget beyond all reason. To tell you the truth, I can't believe banks would loan me as much money as they have! I'm currently carrying 2 mortgages and 2 equity loans. Also a car loan and we just financed a large sum with the "dry basement" company. Not to mention the credit card...

Oh well. We will be paying close to 60% of it off when we sell the house we are currently living in. That is what I am focusing on to keep me from getting overwhelmed. I've also started the process of finding the next property that we will buy and fix up to sell again. I plan to flip a few homes to generate the cash to totally pay off my remaining mortgage in the next 5 years.

This week and next week, we are:
-putting power to a 2nd attic fan
-finishing quite a bit of drywall work
-painting several more rooms
-tileing the powder room
-installing central HVAC (I've got to run five new circuits for this equipment)
-finishing the soffet and capping on the outside exposed areas
-adding wood siding to the dormers and at the top of the concrete basement wall
-installing a pine tongue and groove ceiling in the kitchen
-installing new lighting fixtures in the kitchen and several other rooms
-laying carpet in 5 rooms
-installing a new section of kitchen counter with cabinets
-cutting the perimeter of the basement to install new french drains


Plus, we really need to get some packing done...

The kids started school this week. They aren't really excited about it, but I think they will warm to the routine once again. Even if they don't believe it, they really do thrive with a more structured day. We have three in Christian school and are homeschooling the rest.

My wife and I took our oldest out to dinner on Saturday for her 21st birthday! We've really come a long way in our relationship with her. Some of you probably remember the difficult times we had with her years ago. I'm so glad that time is behind us and we are able to interact as adults now. I've missed her a lot. Praise the Lord for His healing in this area.

Pray for us, please. We've got a lot going on right now and need to remember to love each other during the process. I know that I have a tendency to get so focused on completing a job or part of a job and can be rude to anyone that interrupts. I really need to relax and allow the kids and my wife to be a part of the process so that they can take ownership of our move too. I want this to be a fun experience that we share as a family. It's definately been interesting and challenging.

I'll try to take some more pictures to show you all the work that is going on.