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.