<-- Pat, Dee, and Diane
FOR THE WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 3, 2006
What an active week! There was a ton of activity on numerous fronts.
1. The hydraulic lifts are finally gone! The last one rolled out on Tuesday and was worth the picture.
2. The deck construction began. Building the deck will involve reworking the stairs on the back side of the house to clear a window in the kitchen. Additionally, there will be an enclosed hot water heater closet under the stairs. (Not too exciting unless you remember that there are two 50 gallon water heaters in the kitchen right now.) For a time lapsed view of the deck construction, try out this link - http://tobinhillhappenings.blogspot.com
3. Electrical work is involved with the deck. Both the water heater and water softener require electricity. While the electrician is here, he's going through the house to add a few lights and make sure that everything already there is working.
4. The foundation contractor is back doing some additional work. Earlier, I discovered that one of the new beams that they installed was loose. They are back out putting 2 additional piers in and should finish next week.
5. My painting work this week was not OSHA Babe approved. As you can see from the picture, I'm way up there on the scaffold. (Kids, don't try this at home -- or if you do, make sure your Mom is not at home.) I didn't have help this week to move the scaffolding into position to paint the highest point of the gable end. That still looms.
6. The second claw foot bath tub got spruced up with fresh paint inside and out. The guy who did the tub, James, just happens to work for a company that does custom cabinets, Alamo City Renovations. When his associate, Robert, came out to give an estimate, we were impressed by not only the quality of his work but also by his enthusiasm for restoring old houses. We could have kitchen cabinets installed by the end of the year.
What an active week! There was a ton of activity on numerous fronts.
1. The hydraulic lifts are finally gone! The last one rolled out on Tuesday and was worth the picture.
2. The deck construction began. Building the deck will involve reworking the stairs on the back side of the house to clear a window in the kitchen. Additionally, there will be an enclosed hot water heater closet under the stairs. (Not too exciting unless you remember that there are two 50 gallon water heaters in the kitchen right now.) For a time lapsed view of the deck construction, try out this link - http://tobinhillhappenings.blogspot.com
3. Electrical work is involved with the deck. Both the water heater and water softener require electricity. While the electrician is here, he's going through the house to add a few lights and make sure that everything already there is working.
4. The foundation contractor is back doing some additional work. Earlier, I discovered that one of the new beams that they installed was loose. They are back out putting 2 additional piers in and should finish next week.
5. My painting work this week was not OSHA Babe approved. As you can see from the picture, I'm way up there on the scaffold. (Kids, don't try this at home -- or if you do, make sure your Mom is not at home.) I didn't have help this week to move the scaffolding into position to paint the highest point of the gable end. That still looms.
6. The second claw foot bath tub got spruced up with fresh paint inside and out. The guy who did the tub, James, just happens to work for a company that does custom cabinets, Alamo City Renovations. When his associate, Robert, came out to give an estimate, we were impressed by not only the quality of his work but also by his enthusiasm for restoring old houses. We could have kitchen cabinets installed by the end of the year.
7. Did I mention a water line breaking on the side of the house? We had a 30+ degree temperature swing in the early AM hours on Thursday that may have played a role in a compression joint separating and water spewing for about 10 minutes right before I was going to leave for the day. My plumber neighbors, Emilio and Larry, helped shut the water off to the house, gave me "Galvanized Pipe Repair 101", and I remedied that particular problem on Friday. Have you ever considered a water leak at the end of the day while you were still around (vs. occurring while you are gone) to be a blessing?
8. Visitors this week included long time friends Dee Robertson and Diane Simpson. These ladies have their own home decorating business, "My Home At Last" and thought that the house has a lot of potential. When they drove up, I had just crawled out from under the house and was wearing my finest blue collar designer knee pads and elbow pads and carrying my sawzall. (Hopefully, they saw my potential also.) Their comments were yet another encouragement to stay the course on the long road ahead.
Another visitor was Sybil, wife of James the tub man. Her grandparents had a house nearby when she was small. There is still a tender spot in her heart for old houses.
See the latest feature, Visitors' Photo Album, at http://tobinhillvisitorspictures.blogspot.com
8. Visitors this week included long time friends Dee Robertson and Diane Simpson. These ladies have their own home decorating business, "My Home At Last" and thought that the house has a lot of potential. When they drove up, I had just crawled out from under the house and was wearing my finest blue collar designer knee pads and elbow pads and carrying my sawzall. (Hopefully, they saw my potential also.) Their comments were yet another encouragement to stay the course on the long road ahead.
Another visitor was Sybil, wife of James the tub man. Her grandparents had a house nearby when she was small. There is still a tender spot in her heart for old houses.
See the latest feature, Visitors' Photo Album, at http://tobinhillvisitorspictures.blogspot.com
NEXT STEPS
1. Complete deck, electrical checks, and foundation enhancements.
2. Pick up 2nd clawfoot tub.
3. Begin plumbing under the house with the help of my neighbors. Hard water in to water softener with 4 hose bibs and 1 icemaker, blah, blah, blah (for those of you who love this kind of stuff. For those of you who like the cuter things, check out Little Leo's portrait in the tobinhillvisitorspictures - see the link above).
4. As always, 1. scrape, 2. paint, 3. repeat.
5. OSHA Babe continues working on the mantel. She's putting up Christmas lights at the house. Deck the halls.
6. Eat more tangerines. They are ripening quickly.
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