Minor Remodel...On the Rocks

Early this morning...and I mean early...we heard the rumble of a heavy truck making its way up our street. Yupp, it was a delivery for us; enough rock to complete the entire project, and some.

Watching the operator control the boom was interesting. My only concern was if any of our neighbors had to leave for work. This rig blocked the entire street and those up the road from us were stranded until the entire load was placed on our driveway.

Stones, cement and grout made up pallets and boxes neatly placed out of the way, but still easy to get at.

Let the games begin...

First, the wood had to be covered with cement board. Then the slow process of going through the rock and selecting the perfect piece, over and over and over again. This job will take a long time to finish.

 Slowly but surely, piece by piece, the left side column starts to take shape.

Brian, our stone mason is an artist and his work is his art,

Finally, we get a small sample of what the finished product will look like. We Like!

Instead of posting each and every day, I am going to simply post less often, with before and after shots of each portion of the job as they are completed. Until then, you will just have to use your imagination...

Minor Remodel...Call Me Sparky

The question is, "How much does it costs to get a top notch electrician to come to your home, on a moments notice?"

The answer is...

John came over today to help relocate the outer-most lights that would have other wise been hidden within the two new side columns. I got to be his helper. You can call me Sparky.

The old fixture looked something like this. When the cement board, electrical boxes and rock is installed we will be ready to add the new light fixtures (haven't picked them out yet).

Good work John...and THANKS

And now we pause for a short commercial break...

The last thing we did today was to relocate that hose bib. You nay remember from previous pictures, this hose bib was located right in the middle cavity of the right side column. Below you can see it covered with a insulating cover.

Now, it is relocated so that it comes out on the side of the column (out of view). The copper pipe is covered with one of those insulated foam sleeves then wrapped with an insulation tape. There will be no freezing of pipes inside of this column. Once the column is closed up, covered with cement board and then rocked, repairing a leaky or burst pipe inside will be complicated (and expensive).

We made sure to leave enough room for the cement board and rock. I have never heard of an Anti Freeze hose bib before. Well, in case you haven't either, this is what they look like.

More to come...tomorrow...weather permitting!

Minor Remodel...I've Been Framed...

Today was a busy one. First thing this morning Victor (our carpenter) and his son showed up with tape measure and ladders in hand. They were going to take a series of measurements before going on a supply run,...just to make sure nothing was forgotten.

It wasn't too long before they were back, setting up shop. Initially there was some question as to where exactly the new rock, once installed, would end. Will the outer edge of the rock cover the end of the building? Will it be flush or should we pull it back a little, for good measure? We pondered, and studied what we had to work with, did a little math and came up with a final positioning of the framing for the two side columns.

Measure twice...cut once. I was glad to see Victor ans son practicing that logic. Every cut was spot on.

Once the left side was complete, I couldn't believe how massive these columns actually were. Very impressive. I was the typical home owner, running around snapping photos. Hey, I want to keep a record...These guys were too busy to notice.

A portion of the lower right column was left open due to a hose bib within the cavity of the structure. We have a plumber coming tomorrow morning to relocate it. Yea, I know...why pay a plumber to do an easy honey-do like unscrew a hose bib, attach a 90 deg. elbow and nipple extending it out the side wall of the new column? Here is my reasoning...I don't want to unscrew it and have it break inside the wall. I'll leave that potential complication to the professionals.

My brother-in-law (John) will also come by tomorrow (or maybe the day after) to relocate two light fixtures that are being covered up by the new structure.

We will update these postings as we move along.

Minor Remodel...Concrete Pump or Carry

As you know, from my previous postings, our cement guy decided he didn't have time to finish our minor remodel project. This, of course, was after he demo'd our front stairs, leaving us a five foot first step. Nice professionalism...NOT!

Well, we found a new cement guy who was willing to step in and get the project going again. Our goal was to have the initial footing for the column on the right side of the house done ASAP. This way the carpenter can come in and start framing the column, followed by the stone mason, plumber, electrician, etc. 

Two days ago I started digging down far enough to expose and reroute the irrigation supply lines away from the new footing. Once I finished my part of the job I called our new cement guy and gave him the green light. This morning he showed up by 10:00 am and finished digging the hole, placed the forms and drilled holes into the house foundation for the rebar.

Because of the location of the footing, there was no other way to get the concrete up there other than pumping. This was preferred over the other option...mixing the 20+ bags of cement in a wheel barrel, by hand. Pumping was the way to go. Now if only we could get a piggy back order of cement added on to an order already being delivered to the area, we would be in business. If it didn't happen today I was assured it would happen tomorrow. The cement guy left and I was happy about the work accomplished today.

As I went out to get the mail, I noticed my cement guy sitting in his truck. He was smiling as he opened his window and yelled out to me, "The cement is on its way." That was good news. The pump guy was also on his way. It was all coming together.

When the cement pump guy showed up and looked at the size of the job, he laughed as he asked me if I had a wheel barrel. I told him I did, but it had a flat. I also mentioned that I have a compressor and together we pumped up the flat tire until it was firm enough to handle full loads of concrete. He didn't want to spend the time setting up and cleaning up his pumper for such a small job.

Together, my cement guy and the pump guy filled the wheel barrel, carried it up to the level where the footing was being built and slowly filled in the hole. They did this over and over until the footing was just right...8 wheel barrel loads total.

 After the last load was in place, the finish work was completed in just a few minutes.

It was done...and it was good.

Now we can at least get some of the carpentry done while waiting for the cement guy to come back and finish the entrance steps and landing. We will keep you posted as we move along with our minor remodel.

Minor Remodel...M.I.A.

As mentioned during my last Blog entry, all we needed to do was have the cement guy finish his two days worth of work before we bring in the other contractors (trades) to do their thing. Standing in the wings, waiting for the green light was the Carpenter, the Stone Mason,  a Steel Worker, and us, the home owners. None of us can do anything until the cement is poured and cured.

On Oct 10th we received and accepted the bid for the cement work, changing the bid into a contract. On Oct 13th, the demo work was completed. For over a week I tried to get a hold of him, with no success. Then he finally showed up to deliver the one load of fill. As he left he said he would be back the next day to finish the fill, build the forms, lay the rebar and call for the first inspection? Only then would it be pouring time.

After waiting over a week, with no answers to my calls or e-mails, we got a message from him saying that he can't work for us anymore...he was too busy with other jobs... and that our deposit was being returned.

Hold on, wait a minute....we have NO stairs. This guy has gone M.I.A.

Now, we are interviewing other cement guys to finish the work so the other contractors waiting in the wings can get to work. 

                                       

 

Isn't remodeling fun?

Minor Remodel...He can really shovel it...

Hurray, the cement guy showed up. 

After days of delays (even though some of those days wasted were beautiful, warm sunny days), our guy called us last night and confirmed that he would be here by 10:30am'ish today.

By 1:30pm Kerry and I decided to take a nap. Why not? There was no work being done because there were no workers...No Cement Guy!

Just as I was nodding off I heard Kerry shout, "Hurray, the cement guy is here!" I jumped up and looked out the window.

Sadly, all of his workers had called in sick today. It was a rainy day so I could see why someone would rather stay home curled up in front of the TV (or PC or iPad) instead of working in the rain. Our guy didn't have that luxury...the job needed to be done.

Shovel after shovel was strategically placed. Every shovel full, laden with the extra weight of the rain. After 20 or 30 shovel fulls he would take a quick break, sweat running off of his brow.

The old cement landing and broken building block was slowly being buried, one shovel full at a time. Eventually, after just over an hour of Hard Labor, the entire 4 yards was placed where it needed to be. Tomorrow he will return, with another 3 or 4 yards and the materials needed to build all of the forms...and maybe with a worker or two for good measure.

4 yards is a lot of gravel....

The last phase of this portion of the job will be compacting all of that gravel, A heavy compactor (jumper) will be used first, followed by a vibration compactor to reduce any stresses on the walls.

Once the forms are in place it will be a matter of waiting for the perfect day to have the cement delivered, poured and stamped. At that point the job gets handed over to the next contractor in line.

More pics to follow, as they happen...

Minor Remodel...he built a wall, and it was good

Today the mason guy (Brian) came by to repair the block wall  and stair landing support, after the jack hammer finished its demo last Monday.  Within 4 or 5 hours Brian and his son Nathan were doing a final work sight clean up before calling it a day.

Now, it goes back to the cement guy (Tom), to come back once the cement dries, fill in the space where the space use to be beneath the old stairs, and build the forms needed for the remaining cement  work. What remaining cement work?  Once the stair structure void is filled with aggregate and compacted, and the front lawn area is formed and covered with aggregate. We will have cement delivered, in 2 pours. We are also going to make a small footing or foundation (2' x 3') to support the new stone column we are building on the right side of the house. The left side already has the driveway to use as a foundation.

We are going to stamp the new stairs and landings, along with the new patio, to match the stamped concrete on the driveway. Once this is done, and the new concrete is cured (slowly), the cement guy will finish his portion of this job by acid washing the driveway before sealing ALL of the cement (old and new).

Funny story...Brian and Nathan, our mason guy and his son, were finishing up after a long days work on a customers fireplace. They were going to return the next day and finish the job by installing rock over the base they created. As they were cleaning up, the son took a trowel and made a cross in the wet cement. When they returned the next day, the home owner was really upset that a religious symbol was made in his fireplace, even though it was going to be covered up with rock. The customer said that Brian needed to be more careful because he could make it really difficult for Brian to get work in the area. Brian wasn't upset with his son...instead, he was extremely proud. Once I heard this, I asked him if I could borrow his trowel. He said sure and handed it over to me. I walked over to the wall he just repaired and with two swipes, a cross was created. I was proud of his son too. I smiled while handing the trowel back to Brian. I enjoyed telling him it was his Christianity that helped me decide to hire him instead of others.

Once the cement guy finishes his pour and sealing, the job will be handed over to the carpenter to do his magic. We have the steel guy working behind the scenes now creating the beams and fasteners. Then Brian comes back to add the finishing touches...installing stone.

I love it when a job comes together...