Now That’s a Weekend.

Sure enough, things are getting busy. Wednesday PM I got a message- the drywallers would be ready to go Thursday morning. Perfect, I thought. Since the HVAC guys would be showing up that morning as well. Which means I wouldn’t have to burn more time outside of work. As I was talking to Cara about this, a call came in on the other line and a voicemail was left. The HVAC crew wouldn’t be able to make it until Friday. Oh well. Hemmed and hawed but ultimately, that worked better than Monday or Saturday.

So, with pending drywallers, I got busy Wednesday night making sure everything was ready. Cara helped pick up tools and pile up scraps while I measured, cut and installed the last few wall panels and got things into shape upstairs.

Thursday morning- Rushed to work, took care of what I could, then back to the Lodge to meet the drywallers. Managed to move most of the tools and supplies downstairs before they arrived. In only a few hours they managed to hang the entire ceiling with 5/8” sheetrock. Meanwhile, I was able to knock out some of those smaller tasks that don’t seem to make it on the radar anymore. Installed the doors on the downstairs cabinets. Unsheathed and stripped all the wiring along the south downstairs wall. Put in the outlets on the west wall. Ran romex and put in a j-box for some of the upstairs wiring, and so forth. After the crew had finished. I surveyed the upstairs and realized I could actually get the front NE corner finished before the mud and tape crew were to arrive. I also realized the drywall crew had put up sheetrock right over a couple of angled bays that completely lacked any sort of insulation.

So, I rectified that situation, and proceeded to sheetrock around the 14’ tall windows. This was a real chore being there’s no easy way to get to that corner without the extension ladder, and if the ladder is against the wall, how can you put up the sheetrock? Being so cold and rainy outside (and windy!) it was a good day to finish up the interior. All that really remained then, was to hoist up the giant 54” wide sheet of drywall over the front door (I put in a call to see if Cara and the parents would be available that night). Since this wasn’t planned to be done for a few months, there was still insulation and wiring to do in that wall, but I knocked it out in short order. Around 7PM everyone showed up and we got that panel up, with enough screws to hold it. We bid farewell to the parents, and I started moving tools and materials that would either interfere with the HVAC crew, or might be a temptation for sticky fingers. Dark, cold, and rainy, I closed up shop for the night.

Friday, back to work earlier than usual to get in a few hours, I knew it would be a long day. Left work to meet the HVAC crew. What a ragtag lot. The entire day was spent on pins and needles keeping an eye on the progress and crossing my fingers that something wouldn’t get destroyed. I ended up working on rear soffits and checking in occasionally to monitor progress. The job itself could have been tackled in a day, but based on general speed and difficulty of what was left, it appears the sandbagging started shortly after lunch. The crew left at 4 and I returned to work, with my nerves shot.

I met up with Ben, mutual friends Sandy and Mark, and Cara joined us as well at the PL for drinks. The place was doing good business  but the popcorn and feet-pizza weren’t enough to satisfy. After awhile we headed downtown for dinner at Toad’s. By 9:30 Ben was ready to call it a night so we reluctantly packed it up.

Saturday morning, up and on the road by 7 for an auction in Cresco.  The original intent was to try to bag an ’88 Eighty-Eight. Unfortunately, the bidders came out of the woodwork and the car went for almost twice what I expected. The upshot was that we came home with a lot of smaller items for dirt cheap. A GE iron for a buck. A Sunbeam electric skillet with instruction manual for a buck. Cara nabbed a quilt. We scored a very nice cedar chest. A good quality wall mount steel cabinet (50’s kitchen cab) for a buck. A 60’s Styrofoam ice chest with aluminum handle, etc. etc. Then more good scores on the way home at Trinkets and Togs. But even though it was 2PM when we got home, our day was just beginning.

We unloaded the car, and headed for Menards. After a brief stop at the parents we were on our way. Not only did we have a list of items to pick up during the 11% off sale, but we also picked out the upstairs carpet. This was no small task. Cara and I went through everything and came up empty handed. However, if you’re looking for just the right shade of beige, they had it in spades! I had considered the red/blk carpet currently in the living room of the Lodge. It’s long-wearing, about the right thickness, good price and it’s not beige. Menards actually carried it a few months ago (along with Home Depot). HD discontinued it (they actually kept it in stock at that time!) and apparently even though it’s branded differently, we could no longer find it in Menards’ version, either. Must be the same mill. The punk working the carpet dept was no help. Eventually we picked a shade of charcoal that wasn’t offensive and got it ordered. We also bought 200’ of service entrance cable for a princely sum and, working together, got the dang roll into the Blazer. From there, a quick stop at Fareway and we were home around 8:30 or so. Exhausted.

Sunday. Tried to sleep in. Sort of worked. Ended up firing up the new Presto skillet and making a big batch of French toast and bacon. Then out into the wind to work on building exterior stairs for CS3. Started in the early PM and got the stringers made up. Then took the angles and measurements to the computer and figured out my treads. Despite running out of deck screws and my skilsaw giving up the ghost, I had all the hard work done by 6 and moved on to cutting up insulation bats and putting them in behind the ductwork before the HVAC guys resumed work Monday morning. After the vents are in it’ll be awfully hard to insulate the rear bays.

Inside by 7, showered-up and ready for Columbo. Made up a big batch of chocolate chip cookies and collapsed for the night. And now another week of tradesman, materials, construction, and the 9 to 5. Gotta get the LP set up out there now too. Each thing hinges on something else. Miss a detail and you're screwed!

Here Comes the Blur!

Nov 15^th, 2010 is marked as the “official groundbreaking” of CS3. That’s when the trenching began and the footings and walls were lined up for the pour. The groundwork was laid for start of construction as soon as the snow melted and the ground thawed. And believe me, we started off with a bang that spring! By fall, all the walls were up and sheathed, the steel beams and LVLs were in. The concrete floor was poured and the roof was on. Windows and doors were in and I was parking cars inside for the Winter. My job also got very busy with a lot of long hours and lost weekends, but spare time was spent tackling drywall downstairs, putting in floor to ceiling glass upstairs to keep the weather out and running romex. All told, A LOT of progress was made in  less than 12 months. With a mild winter I was able to push on, and in Mar/Apr of 2012, the commercial glass went in, the spiral stairs were ordered, the upstairs floors were sanded, and I moved on to soffit work to keep the birds out and allow drywall to progress. And so, in just the last 6 months, the upstairs walls were insulated, romex and boxes installed, the perimeter drywalled, and the ceiling fully twined and insulated, too. Siding work started, the soffits have progressed on to the rear, trim and seals went up around the garage doors and all the lower fascia boards are installed on the roof perimeter, with flashing on east, west and rear. And so, here we are, Oct 18^th. Essentially a month shy of 24 months if you want to compare it to the official date. (I always feel that’s a cheat because nothing ever gets done the first winter…it’s just a foundation and frozen ground).

But if you do consider that date…then we are actually in a remarkable spot. In one month’s time, all the drywall upstairs should be finished, textured and painted. The carpet will be going in about that time. The furnace will be installed and the propane up and running, and the outside stairs will be finished. It looks as though we will actually start “the move” around 1 December. In fact, that’s the target date.

Now..meanwhile, besides trying to play beat the clock with the pending snow and freezing weather, and trying to get estimates and schedules for the HVAC guy, the LP service, the carpet installer and the drywall crew, I’m also going to be out of town on business a good majority of November. And I still have soffits to put up, wires to connect, and as much siding to put up as I can before things turn unreasonable. Oh yeah, and ‘the move’.

Pretty sure it’ll be January before I catch my breath!

May 2011

Apr 2012

Sonic Time

Sonic Report 2012 I have never purchased a new car. It’s not that I’m necessarily against it, it’s just that there are very few new cars I could stand to drive day-in and day-out, and the ones that I could stomach are easily priced out of my means. In fact, there are also very few new cars that are really bargains. Except the Sonic. We’ve got thousands of miles racked up on the odo now and I’m fairly impressed. The build quality is quite good, the audio and displays are excellent. The engine is responsive and the manual trans has a good feel to it. None of the Japanese ergo oddities. None of the inconsistent font sizes and styles. No ‘lawn mower’ mimicry under the hood. The only issue we’ve had to date is a broken shifter cable, which was handled quickly and professionally. The mileage is almost unheard of which causes a new set of problems. Because of where we live, a trip “across town” can easily rack up 20 miles one way. The most recent mileage report on the Blazer was 11.5 MPG. Ouch. Needless to say, the Blazer doesn’t see a lot in the way of running errands these days. At a third of the cost of fuel, the Sonic has been filling in admirably. The problem? I always end up the passenger!

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2012-chevrolet-sonic-new-cars