Siding done; electrical full steam



The photos are of the finished siding, and the gable vents are now installed. With the exception of one broken window in a dormer, we are finally completely "dried in."

AJ reminded me that the last thing I said about an electrician was that Ron and I and his crew were going to do it, but the number 1 electrician that we wanted has decided not to take the job in Atlanta, so he has been on the job for three days and the electrical work is progressing well.

The Brazilian crew from Atlanta finished the Hardie plank siding this weekend. They are very good at what they do. I have not been able to find a single example of work that I needed them to redo. They are very efficient and work like a machine (five of them). We are getting three painting estimates Monday and Tuesday --for exterior. Also, we are working on sheetrock estimates.

Electrical work

Electrical work is going full swing, but it is hard to get photos that indicate the progress. Here's a couple: one is the electrical panels in the west mechanical room. The other is in the east side of the "jack-and-jill" baths.
Siding work was halted for today because the workers did not have the gable vents. They were delivered later today.
We are getting estimates on exterior painting, insulation and installing interior water lines.

Siding

We contracted with our building supplies company to do the siding, and they have 5 Hispanic guys working like a machine. In two days they have completed 75% of the siding-- and it is a big job with the height of the house. They are doing very good work and should be completed with the job by Friday -- provided the gable vents arrive on time.



House report

The roof is complete and with the exception of the gable vents, the house is dry.

Electrical work was scheduled to start on Wednesday, but the electrician has landed a longer term job, so he will not work on our house. We then went to electrician number 2 who is semi-retired, and he said the job was too big for him. So, Ron and I started the electrical work on Saturday and we have decided to do it ourselves. Ron will also be the HVAC sub-contractor and he will supervise some part-time helpers.

A work crew will begin the Hardie board siding on Monday.

What's an 80 year old doing moving railroad ties?

I took the day off on Friday to spend some time with Pop. We went and bought some corral panels for getting the cows up to load on a trailer. The farm supply had some cross ties, and we are going to need a lot of them for landscaping, so we bought a bundle of them (16). We were moving the ties from the trailer two at a time on the front end loader of the tractor. Working on the last two ties, I threw the last one on top of the other one just as we had been doing, but this time Pop didn't get his thumb out of the way in time and his thumb was crushed. It was a gruesome looking injury.
The urgent care center could not help us and sent us to the emergency room. The ER doctor said that Pop would have to have a hand surgeon work on him. That surgeon wound up being my hand surgeon -- one that did two hand surgeries on me this summer. The surgeon removed the remainder of the nail in the ER, but Pop had to be prepped for surgery to put that thumb back together.
Pop was quite a hit in the ER and operating suite -- everyone wanted to talk with the 80 year old who was injured moving railroad ties! I heard one of the nurses tell another coming on duty, "He is such a sweetie!"

Roof finally finished; Mimi and Pop

Finally, the roof is finished. It has been tough for the roofers with some brisk winds and 24 feet pieces of tin on the steep roof. The electrician will begin tomorrow. The Hardie board siding will begin on Monday.

Mimi and Pop arrived this afternoon for a short visit -- that is the only kind they make! They will stay until Sunday. We took them out to see the house and feed the cows. I think Mimi was more impressed with the cows than the house...


Randy and Linda visit

Cheryl's brother, Randy, drew the plans for our house, and he has been very anxious to come inspect our house. He and Linda drove from Memphis on Friday and returned today. Quick visit, but that was all the time they could get away. Randy was very pleased with the construction the progress of the work.

I have added some other photos of Collin, Jordan and Caleb, Allison on the tractor and others taken today. We grilled out at the barn and had a picnic on the porch of the house.





More roofing on Friday

Despite a very strong wind, the roofers made good progress as you will see in the first photo. A 12/12 pitch is steep, but the 16/12 pitch on the north/south roof is VERY steep. The second photo shows the remaining roof to be done --except for a small section on the screened porch. The chimney has been painted, but it is a little difficult to see the color. I told Cheryl that I would like to have our house painted the color of dirt so it would blend in with the environment. We searched for the right color and finally bought a gallon and I smeared a little on a scrap piece of tin and brought it home to show Cheryl. As I walked in the house, Jordan asked me: "Why is that dirt on there, Papa?" Success!


Roof work continues


Work has been slow on the roof. The sub-contractor's crew did not work on Wednesday. They can't work if they don't have a crew of five. Today a 10 minute shower in the early afternoon sent them home early, but they did manage to get the two dormers done and one of the valleys on the view side (sorry the photo of the view side did not turn out). No other crews are working until the roof is finished. It is too dangerous to have other workers around while the roofers are working with the sheets of metal.

Collin's baseball game














After work Cheryl and I went to the house site -- she cleaned up wood and nails and trash and I hauled dirt with the tractor to backfill around the poured walls. I am getting the dirt from excavating the silt pond (small one below the house). We left early this evening to go to Collin's baseball game -- first one this season. Collin played the "pitcher's mound" position and had several HOT grounders--one of them gave him a zinger on the arm.












Doors and Windows!


The framers did not work yesterday, but they were back today as the doors and windows were delivered (at least MOST of them were-- we still need three windows and one set of doors). The first photo is from inside the dining room looking through the window. The second photo is the same window from the outside. Notice scaffolding in upper left built today to install the big glass windows in the vaulted area.
Cheryl is in the great room inspecting the view side doors.
This is on the deck looking at the view doors and windows in the great room.
This is the entry side door -- only entrance from the drive way and garage except for the steps to the screened porch (not yet constructed).

Cheryl's Posting

I'm giving Larry a little break today and entering my first post! Even though the framers didn't work yesterday, Ron and his crew got a lot done. As you can see, they built the frame for the jacuzzi in the master bathroom, and started work on the fireplace. (Don't know why this is underlined and I can't get it off, so just ignore it!)


Allison went with us yesterday to check progress and to work on clean-up, and the three of us enjoyed a picnic supper on what will be our screened porch. In this picture, she and I are admiring the view from the deck. Notice that we're not very close to the edge! I'll be glad when they get the real railing up!







Interior work last week

The first photo is taken from the loft and shows the two trapezoidal windows on either side of the middle window.
The second photo shows work in the loft. The triple window shown is over the front porch -- actually the entry porch which is on the back of the house. Remember, the road snakes around the house to the front door.

The third photo is taken from the kitchen looking into the great room.

Back in town

We have been in Jacksonville for a missions conference for NAME. It rained on Friday for only the second time since we started construction--1 1/2 inches. We are 26 inches short this year over last year, so we really needed the rain. But our house got wet--not too much since the roof is blacked in. While we were away the screened porch has been framed out, the chimney has been added, and the view side has been completely framed.

The framers should finish their work this week. Plumbing is almost complete and electrical and HVAC will begin soon. The roofers will get started on the metal roof this week and it should be completed in less than two weeks. The roof will be a dark brown color.



A truck with the windows and exterior doors came to the work site on Friday, but with the rain the hill was so muddy it could not get up to the house, so it will come back on Monday.