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...

Minor Remodel...Demo Day 1

As you remember, this is what our entrance way looked like when we bought the house. The tiles were removed by the previous owner due to too many people slipping on the slick surface.



 

 

Here is one of the main reasons we needed to repair/replace this entry. Beneath the front door, behind that little black metal door, we were able to see that the top level cement landing was broken.

 

                          

 

 

It wasn't until we demo'd the landing that we found the reason why. The person who constructed the stair and landing system didn't attach the rebar to the house. They also didn't wire the rebar together where they intersected each other. After decades of weather, the structure was finally getting to the point where it needed to be fixed before a cave in hurt somebody.

 

Let the demo begin...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is done...Tuesday the mason guy will come over to see exactly what he needs to repair before we fill, form and pour. He has a really busy schedule so hopefully he can get this part of the work done quickly. Nothing else can be done until then. We will keep you posted along the way.

 

WATCH THAT FIRST STEP...it's a doozie!

 

Here is what it sounded like...for the neighbors;

 

                                   

Minor Remodel ...

This is our house, as it stands today...

We first submitted for our building permit back in August. Once the permit was officially issued we thought things would finally start rolling along, at a reasonable pace...WRONG

Our little project is broken down into multiple stages; Legal (permits), Demo (the fun part), Repairs (fixin' stuff that needs fixin'), Construction (almost as much fun as demo), Finishing Touches  (blah), and finally Cleanup (double Blah).

Each of these stages require different trades (a cement guy to do the demo of our front steps and two landings, a mason guy to repair the damaged cinder block, the cement guy again to form and pour the new landings and steps (stamped to match the driveway) and to pour our new front deck, the mason guy again to lay the rock on the new columns and chimney, a stucco guy to apply a finish on the block wall and finally everyone to clean up after themselves.

In a perfect world that is how it is supposed to go. Our cement guy didn't want to start ripping out our front steps until the permit was issued, even though the demo did not require a permit. We were (are) willing to enter and leave the house by the garage if needed. I contacted our cement guy two weeks ago telling him that the permit was a go and he booked us in for the following Monday. That day came but he didn't. He was stuck on another job and needed to postpone our little remodel. Okay, no worries. He rebooked us for the following Tuesday (yesterday).

His friend, the mason, was running late so Tuesday became a thing of the past with no demo. We are now rebooked for 8am next Monday morning. I'll let you know how that goes.

Just in case you are wondering...this is what we plan on doing:

Questions?

Christmas in Alabama...day 9, the Journey Home

I would like to start my final posting by wishing all of you a Happy New Year...

Saturday December 28  

Getting up at 6:00am was almost like getting back into our normal routine. But today, I didn't spring out of bed, like I normally do. Instead I crawled out of bed, feeling tired; congested, coughing. A few days ago Kristin was feeling a cold come on. Her throat hurt and she was coughing a lot and was generally feeling crummy. A day later she was feeling much better, but Kerry was now experiencing the same symptoms that Kristin had the day before. I tried to keep my distance, but since Kerry is what completes me, avoiding her was impossible. So I wasn't surprised when, the following day, I started feeling as Kerry and Kristin did. What is it with me and vacations? I seem to always catch a cold (or whatever is going around) when travelling. As we left for the airport, it seems like  Nick and the boys were spared. Karis had a runny nose.

 

Once we reached the Birmingham airport, a 90 minute drive from NIck's house, we breezed through security...actually Kerry breezed through. Somehow she got a TSA Security priority rating and didn't have to show her small 3oz fluid containers in a baggy. Nor did she have to remove her shoes. Instead they just walked her through the X-ray and that was it. By time I got through security I saw her waiting for me on the other side. "Hang on," I pleaded while putting myself back together.

 

Our Dallas flight was bumpy for the first half. Then the pilot found some quiet air and it was smooth flying during the rest of the way in. It was a tiny plane with one seat on one side and two on the other. We slept most of the way. Dallas to Phoenix was on one of those 737's with video. We watched Despicable Me 2. Funny!

 

Our vacation (Christmas in Alabama) ended with a nice drive to Tucson from Phoenix. Other than having the entire east bound highway 10 closed, and being forced to detour over 30 miles through a reservation up by Casa Grande, the trip was uneventful. There must have been a wicked car accident...we never did get to see what happened. Once we finally arrived back in Tucson we made a quick stop for groceries before picking up Rosie We have some good friends who doggy-sit when we travel and when they are travelling we do the same for their dog Pepper. It is good to be back at home.

It is amazing to me that one moment we are sitting in our child's home, on the other side of the country and in a blink of an eye, we are back home, in our bed, under our roof, reflecting on the dream that was our vacation, our Christmas in Alabama. What a small, small world.

Kerry and I closed the year reflecting on where we are, where we've been and where we are going in the future. This year was an amazing journey that took us across Northern Italy, visiting San Diego to bury Kerry's mom and dad, wandering the Pacific Northwest and now, Christmas in Alabama. Kerry even did a couple of solo trips, one to Alabama and another to visit her sister in Central Mexico. We watched our church grow and we got to be a part of that. What a blessing. We even bought a home in a small town called Jacksonville, Oregon (population 2800 / now 2802).  Finally we placed our Tucson house on the market. God will sell it, in His time. We are starting the New Year with an adventure, one that we never saw coming, our relocation to a place where there are actual 4 seasons, where gardens can grow, and water is plentiful.

                                                    Arizona traded in for Oregon

Of course, there will be challenges along the way, obstacles that will dot our path, but we have a resolve to continue on, and that is just what we will do.

May your 2014 be as exciting and adventurous as ours and may each step along your path be Spiritually Blessed. May your health be solid and your wisdom deep and most of all, may your family complete you as ours does for Kerry and me.

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.

RICHARD BACH, Illusions

Christmas in Alabama...day 8

 

Friday December 27 

Well today was one busy day, in a lazy sort of way.  Nick had to work today, so we didn't get to see him until supper time. Kerry and I actually slept in until 8am, hours after our usual wake up time of 5:30am. Slumbering was good ... Real good!

Once we made it down stairs, we enjoyed an easy breakfast (cereal with banana) followed by the first cup of Java for the day. After cleaning up our breakfast dishes Kerry and I headed outside to tackle that shed one last time. Our goal...finish the job!  It was a little tricky getting the last few dozen screw holes to line up, but with a little patience and a lot of prayer, the last screw and bolt were in place. The shed was almost done. All we needed to do now was lay out the floor sub support and cut the plywood flooring. I noticed my nose was a little runny while working and hopefully it was due to the cold weather and not a cold bug.

By 1pm we cut the last piece of flooring and fit it into place. "It Was Finished, Done, Complete, Finito."

As we sat down to a supper of spaghetti with zucchini I couldn't help reflect on the fact that this was the "Last Supper" for us in Alabama. Tomorrow morning Kerry and I leave the Deep South (Nick, Kristin, Jared, Landon and Kari's) and head back to the Ole Pueblo.

This was truly a Christmas to remember, one for the books, a gift to us from God and we are so pleased that we get to share it with you. We hope your Christmas was as merry as ours and may the New Year bring all of your dreams into reality.

 

The family is both the fundamental unit of society as well as the root of culture. It is a perpetual source of encouragement, advocacy, assurance, and emotional refueling that empowers a child to venture with confidence into the greater world and to become all that he (or she) can be.

MARIANNE E. NEIFERT, Dr. Mom's Parenting Guide