The Building of Blackthorn Ridge

Last Post - Pictures

2011-03-08T13:04:00.000-05:00

Week 23, Day 163 - We closed!

2010-03-23T09:49:00.009-04:00

We finally closed on the house! All monies due to everyone have been paid (with the exception of the bank holding our mortgage of course) as of this morning!!

What a wonderful feeling. The house finally feels like ours. Breathe in, breathe out.

There is still work that needs to be done that is part of our contract that we are all aware of. Winter is a tough time to do outside work! The front porch needs to be painted as does the gable over the porch. The yard is one big mud pit right now. Ron will come in once everything dries out and smooth everything out and apply the topsoil so we can seed/sod.

We're still unpacking. We keep saying we need to take pictures for the blog, and we will. Soon. :-)

Week 18, Day 126 - WE MOVED!!!!

2010-02-17T09:10:00.005-05:00

The PODS are completely empty, and all the essentials are in our new house! Now comes the monotony of unpacking and putting away. There are soooooo many boxes in my house! And while I did a great job of color coding all the boxes so the movers would know exactly where to take stuff, some of my finer notes left a lot to be desired. One of the kitchen boxes had written on it, "silverware, glasses, serving spoons." Ok, great! Yay Jen! At first it made me laugh. Now it just frustrates me.

Monday was one tough day physically. Holy molies!! We only had about 6 hours to do everything as Beck, Mario and the boys were flying in around dinner time. Mom watched my two kiddos in the morning, but as we moved stuff out, someone had to follow behind and clean and remake all the rooms for Beck's crew which meant she too was pulling double duty. We all rocked all day without a break. Even after dinner half the crew stayed at Mom and Dad's to set up the crib and bed for Beck's boys, and the other half of the crew came over to our house to set up Gigi's bed and Gav's crib. Bedtime was a little late last night for our two munchkins!

It was our first night in our house though!!!!!

Ok, and I have to back up. The minute I walked in my door Monday morning, I shouted into the house (which was full of people), "HAPPY MOVING DAY!!!" The house just felt like MINE. Mine, all mine. I put Mike and Melody, the inspectors, and the movers in a good mood because I was literally dancing around with a big grin on my face singing, "I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in loooooooove!" How can someone NOT crack a smile when faced with such a silly sight? :-) Then I became exhausted. Whew!! Still just as happy, but not quit so expressive about it.

I did laundry in my new-fangled front loader doo-hickey machines for the first time yesterday! That was nifty.

Oh yeah, and GET THIS!!!!! Ok, so the first part is that from the day we said good-bye to the PODs (August 18) to the day we opened them up was almost EXACTLY 18 months. But the best part everything was FINE!!! The movers a year and a half ago were really awesome. Absolutely nothing broke, no damage, no nothing! The leather chairs and sofa are perfect. Our gorgeous wood wine armoire with glass and marble on the inside is completely unscathed. Our mattress is not droopy at all. Even my beautiful Italian fruit bowl is in perfect condition. EVERYTHING is perfect and unharmed!!! Can you believe it?!? I'm still not done being amazed.

The kids found the toys that we boxed up, and it was like Christmas all over for both of them. I think Gigi remembers some of it, but not all. After all, she was about 18 months when we started packing things up. That's hard for me to believe!

Wallman Homes totally rocks. We walked in on Monday to find our house decorated with essentials in every room- dish soap by the kitchen sink, a laundry basket full of food goodies, trash bags already in the trash cans, tissues and hand soap in every bathroom, a doll for Gigi, a teddy bear for Gav, towels and wash clothes in both full bathrooms, and roses and chocolates for us in our bedroom. A total surprise that left me sappy and teary-eyed!

I went back to work on Tuesday and plan on taking off Friday, so the place is still a mess and will be that way for awhile. Sorry to say it never occurred to either of us to pull out the camera on Monday. No pics. But we will definitely take some pictures soon as we start clearing out the rooms.

Bottom line, all is well here. We're in our house. I love it! And it's a mess. That about sums it up right there. In. Love. Mess. :-)

Week 18, Day 124

2010-02-12T22:00:00.006-05:00

A quick post with a few more pics from the progress today... We move in on Monday, and the excitement breeds lots of exclamation points today! :-) There is still lots of painting to be done though. Anywhere a white wall is seen, that means it hasn't been painted yet! No white in this house except the trim and stair risers!

Powder room almost complete!

Shelves in the nice large coat closet!

The chandelier makes an appearance!

The stairs, almost complete!

Two of the three PODs, ready to be unloaded!
(the third POD was delivered after I took this pic)

The living room...taking shape!

The PODs, nice and close!

Week 18, Day 123

2010-02-11T22:30:00.004-05:00

Some new pics of the progress -
Carpet: in.
Bathroom Fixtures: in.
Upstairs Painting: Complete.
Electrical Outlets and Lights: half done.
Appliances: in.
Main Level Painting: half done.
Stairs: 3/4 done.
Shelving: 3/4 done.

So as you can see, it's coming along. As Jennifer said, new move in date is Monday... Onto the pics!

Kitchen is almost complete (prepped for final painting)

Looking from the dining room into the living room

New washer and dryer!

Refrigerator

My office!

My office, as seen from the closet

Putting the chandelier up in the entry way.

Jens future office

Hallway

Gigi and Gav's room

Family Bath

Master Bedroom

Master Closet

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Putting the lights on out front

A closer look at the exterior lights

New Move In Date

2010-02-10T16:22:00.000-05:00

Appliances arrived today. Carpet was installed. Light fixtures and electrical outlets continue to be insalled. Paint continues to be applied.

Our move in date has moved from Saturday to Monday. We'll be able to start moving some things in this weekend, but our official "first sleep over" is now expected to be Monday.

Week 17, Day 116 - Flooring, Painting, Railing

2010-02-04T21:52:00.002-05:00

This past week has been a whirlwind - the trimmers/painters are humming away on the interior, while Tim and I (mostly Tim) work on getting the flooring down in the main areas of the main level. All rooms have been primed, and many rooms upstairs have been given the final coat. The Dishwasher's been installed too. Onto the pics!

The flooring - mostly installed

Dishwasher! - all appliances are stainless steel even though it looks white in this picture

Lots of equipment scattered about still!

The basement - all cleaned up!

Gigi came down here and said, "I want to bring my bike (read: trike) down here and ride around!"

Scott works on the stairs, while Tim works on the floor

Ryan painting the doors

We learned an important lesson when it comes to windows, doors, trim and paint. That lesson is: There is no such thing as "WHITE". Every company has their own definition, and while some appear to be white-white, they aren't when you set them next to another "white" item. This matters with our house only in that the "White" anderson windows are slightly grey when compared to the "white" trim. Both are considered white, but they both are different. I bring this up now only because the painters, taking that into account, matched their 'white' paint *to the windows* so that everything is the same white. It's that attention to detail that continually impresses my about the crew Mike and Melody have put together to build their houses.

The stairs

Scott putting the top railing on the stairs

We are getting color! (Jen's office or the-room-formerly-known-as-Gav's-room)

Jen's office, looking the other way

Gigi and Gav's room

Gigi and Gav's room, looking the other way

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom - the other way

Master Bath (this is still the primer coat)

Master Bath, the other way (this is still the primer coat)

Down the stairwell

Family Bath, looking towards the stairs

Helpless

2010-01-31T07:33:00.000-05:00

Jen here again. When we remodeled our old house, I participated in just about every way. Sure, Jim still did much of the work simply because he has physical strength, but I still carried tile, hauled in hardwood flooring planks, etc. Jim would mix the thinset and put the hardibacker down, but then I'd follow right behind screwing a million screws into each sheet. When he grouted, I would sponge right after. I was out there helping wash buckets, get equipment, prep, clean up. I was THERE. I helped. That house was a mix of both of our blood, sweat, and tears- literally all three. We didn't have children at that point.

With this house, I'm stuck at home with the kids. I adore my children, but it's a very frustrating and a completely helpless feeling. I'm used to being a helpmate. Jim and I, we're a team. We do things together. The projects we work on are a combination of the two of us. My heart is poured into these projects, and through some mishap, I generally leave a piece of me in each project. (smile)

I just feel so disconnected. Jim calls several times a day to consult with me, so I am definitely connected in that way, and we make decisions together, but I feel disconnected from the soul of this project. I have suggested more than once that I throw Gav on my back in the Ergo, and bring over the portable DVD player for Gigi so that I can help, but that's just not practical. By the time we load up the truck, unload it, deal with whiny kids who really don't want to be stuck on my back or in front of a TV, me and my kiddos generate a lot of lost time and lost effort. So here I sit. In a playroom surrounded by toys, waiting for the phone to ring, hoping it's Jim so that I can momentarily feel a part of the process, even if I can't be there and be a helpmate.

Week 16, Day 109 - Tile and Stairs!

2010-01-28T23:11:00.003-05:00

So this week has been all about tile floors, wood floors, trim, and painting. The cabinet folks have the countertop on the way, Larry the carpet guy was out to measure and the carpet is ordered, Ryan the painter is working on the painting, and Scott the painter/trimmer did the upstairs trim and is now laboring away on the stairs. I just marvel at the work that Wallman Homes' Contractors do! They are all such nice people and so helpful and do such great work!

Tim and I have been working on the tile floors, for which Tim gets most of the credit as he works much faster than I do. I ended up cutting most of the tile to fit, while Tim was putting it all down.

Also, it's worth noting at this point in the process that we are still on schedule for a move in date of 2/13 - that's 125 days after the bulldozer first started on the driveway! Who gets a house done in 4 months?!? Wallman Homes, that's who! And the quality of work has just been amazing.

Getting the sawhorses set up in the living room to cut plywood

Tile in the mud room ready to grout tomorrow!

Tile in the family bath - finished!

Tile in the master bath ready to grout tomorrow!

Master bedroom trim

The stairway...coming together!

All the pieces and parts that make up the stairwell.
Scott is doing a masterful job!

Scott hard at work on a post

Week 15, Day 103 - Gutters

2010-01-22T22:37:00.002-05:00

Today work continued on the trim, painting, and cabinetry, while outside the house seamless gutters were installed!

Cabinetry installed!

He rolled the seamless gutters right off a roll of steel in the back of the truck!

Loving the doors!

More Trim...

Week 15, Day 102 - Doors! Tile! and Cabinetry! Oh My!

2010-01-21T23:25:00.001-05:00

Today was a big day at the house! Tim laid down some of the tile in the family bath, the painters/trimmers installed a couple doors and trimmed out Gigi's room, I laid out the tile in the master bath, and the cabinets were delivered and the installers got a good start on getting them all installed! Whew! Lots going on, so let's get to the pics!

Unpacking the cabinets

The plywood for the floor

Passing the doors up to the upper floor

Getting the first cabinets ready

Bathroom Vanities

Doors ready to be installed...

Hanging the first cabinet!

Progress!

I *love* the contrast of the straight lines of the cabinets and the round arches...

Trim!

Installing the trim on the windows

Painting!

Family Bathroom tile...

Looking more like a kitchen!

We have an island!

Week 15, Day 100 - Color!

2010-01-19T21:43:00.005-05:00

So today we started to see some color appear in the upstairs rooms. Tim did most of the work on getting the cement board down, and I helped when I could between runs to the store for coffee and supplies. The tile is all moved into the house, and Tim got a start on the plywood.

Keith (framer) showed up today to do a bit of tweaking on the stair framing, and one of the electricians stopped by to just check how everything is going. Mike did a little re-working on the stairs to free up a bit more space for ductwork in the basement. Here's a few pics of the current state of the house:

Having it painted makes it look soo much more like something we can move into! :-)

Primer, tinted to match the final paint color. Nice!

One of the painters, working his magic...

Tim putting down plywood...

The cement board in the mud room

Since it's Day 100, I thought I'd step back in time a bit to show how fast things have progressed and what a great job Wallman Homes has done for us!

10 Days ago, the drywallers were putting the mud on the drywall seams...

20 Days ago, the drywallers were finished installing the drywall upstairs and were just starting on the downstairs.

30 Days ago, the house had just become fully enclosed, and the electricians were pulling their wires...

40 Days ago, Keith and his crew were just putting the entryway on the house...

50 Days ago, Keith and his crew were just starting on the second floor sheathing, having just completed setting all of the joists...

60 Days ago, Keith and the crew were getting the walls of the main level of the house up.

70 Days ago, the main beams in the basement were being set in place...

80 Days ago, the footers had just been poured...

90 Days ago, the driveway was getting is covering of gravel...
(remember we had a number of days of delay due to road resurfacing out front)

100 Days ago, the driveway was just getting started...

Happy Day 100!

Week 15, Day 99 - Paint and Cement Board

2010-01-18T20:24:00.002-05:00

The drywall guys are basically done, and the painters/trim people were here today. They primed most of the upstairs, some of the main level, and put in the first flight of steps going to the basement.

Tim and I worked on the tile for the bathrooms and the mud room. Actually, not the tile yet, but just getting the cement board tinsetted down. I've actually beenworking on it for two days, but real progress wasn't made til Tim arrived to help today. :-). We now have the cement board put down in the master bath, part of the family bath, and all of the cement board has been cut and put in place in the mud room. This was thanks to Mike and Tim both working on the mud room.

While all of this was going on, Mike's tile guys put the tile surround on our tub. It is looking fabulous!

With the prime in the walls, it's just that much closer to being done!

Onto the pics!

Window Treatments

2010-01-17T13:29:00.002-05:00

Hey, it's Jen. I figured I would take a few minutes and answer a few of the more female oriented questions.

First and foremost: curtains! Only in the bedrooms! I've never been a fan of window coverings, not even when I lived on a standard city/suburbia lot with houses so close I could touch them with a broom out my own window. None of the windows except the bedroom ones will have any coverings at all.

Paint colors: I'm sure Jim will be taking pictures of those soon enough, but they are all warm, earthy, fall colors. Caramels and wheat, ginger spice, dried moss, etc. We didn't go with dark colors as our house is actually fairly small and cozy, but we definitely went deeper than antique white and cool pastels. Nice thing about paint is if we don't like it, it's easy to change!

Landscaping: Jim's pictures are making it glaringly obvious that the outside is so bare!! I joked to someone that the design of the front our house looks like the opposite of a toddler decorating a Christmas tree- all the windows are on the top 2/3rds of the house. IMHO, we are desperately needing some bushes, shrubs, and maybe even a lovely Japanese Maple to dress up the lower 1/3rd of the house. This will be my next "big project." I absolutely adore landscaping, gardening, and planning so there is no way I'll be hiring this project out! I can't wait to do it myself which means I need to start pulling out the catalogs and making sketches. Fun!!

Week 14, Day 97 - Sanding

2010-01-16T06:24:00.003-05:00

The last few days the changes have been so subtle that they don't show up in pictures. So no pics today. See the previous post for the pics. :-) Basically the drywallers finished putting up the drywall mud, and the sander has been going around sanding all of the drywall. A long, dusty process! But it's looking great up close! The painters come next week, and I will be putting down tile in the mud room and bathroom, so more pics should show up over the next few days...

UPDATE: OK, I lied, I do have a couple pics, because, #1, I can't resist posting a pic of the arches, and #2, Gigi came with me one day to "help" when I worked on the floor. We set up her easel and her video player, and she spent the afternoon "working" as I was working... :-)

Week 14, Day 94 - Siding, Check!

2010-01-13T21:58:00.004-05:00

So they finished the siding today, and it looks awesome! The drywallers are all done hanging the drywall, and the maestro is currently applying the spackle (or mud or whatever you call it) to the drywall to make everything even. I did that myself on our renovation on our last house, and doing it with the quality that this gentleman is doing is nothing short of magic. The arches look awesome, and it's all just soo exciting!

Other things happening/happened: All appliances purchased, the cabinetry is in and waiting for the right time to be delivered, the painters come this week to start their work, and I start laying tile this weekend (hopefully). Lots going on!

Veeery nice, I think.

The red is just so sharp!

Note the insulation attached to the concrete walls. Love it!

My spaghetti of network and home-audio wiring.

Love the water distribution!

Ah, the arches. Looking great!

Week 13, Day 89 - Mudding the Drywall

2010-01-08T12:08:00.000-05:00

You are seeing lots of shots of the arches 'cause I love the way they are turning out. The drywall folks are taping and mudding the main level drywall, while the HVAC folks are finishing putting in the pipes connecting the vents to the furnace, and the siding people keep pluggin' away on the outside...

In the kitchen, looking down the hallway

In the kitchen, looking towards the living room

In the kitchen, looking towards the dining room

In the dining room, looking towards the living room/entry

In the mud room/laundry, looking towards the dining room

In my office, looking towards the kitchen

Week 13, Day 86 - Drywall

2010-01-05T22:12:00.000-05:00

More work on the drywall - the main level is getting the drywall hung, and the upstairs is getting the mud. I do not envy the people doing the drywall. I *hated* doing the drywall work on our last house! The photos tell the story, so here ya are!

Week 12, Day 82 - Back!

2010-01-01T17:10:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm back, and healing up (story here), and was able to get over to the house and take some pics of the tons of progress since I left on the trip.

The plumbing is in, the major ductwork is in, the low-voltage lighting is in, the vents are in, the electrical is in, and the drywall has started being put in. They are also putting the siding on! On to the pics!

Entryway, looking into great room

Hallway and stairwell

Arches!

Great room looking towards entryway

Great room looking towards kitchen

Love the Arches!!!

Kitchen looking towards great room

Mud room, looking through kitchen to dining room

Dining room looking towards kitchen

Top of stairs looking towards entry

Hallway into Master Bedroom

Master BR back towards hallway

Master Bath

Family Bath

Gigi & Gav's room

Wiring Closet

Entry looking up the stairs

Basement with the furnace and water heater in

Love the light coming in downstairs!

Mike's donation - it was a bit chilly to use the one outside.. :-)

The water distribution center

And outside, check out the siding!

Week 10, Day 67 - That's Electric!

2009-12-17T18:44:00.000-05:00

Today is the last post on this blog for a little while, as I am off, solo, to pick up our boy Gavriel that we are adopting from Ethiopia. Those of you that are curious about that story, can read about it on our other blog.

For the rest of you, here's where things are at right now. Jen's father Tim and I have spent the last couple days pulling a few thousand feet of low voltage wire through the house - this will make up my eventual whole-house-audio system. OK, Tim did most of the pulling. I helped when I could, and when I wasn't packing for the trip and answering the millions of questions that the various contractors had for me.

The framers are almost done. The windows and doors are all in, and they are framing up the arches over the doorways right now. I love the arches. They add curves to all of the straight lines of the building, and really add that bit o' somethin' that I really dig.

While that was going on, the Electricians where there, pulling their wires, and the HVAC people were there running their ductwork. Mike was doing the plumbing too. Lots going on!

Mike and the Electrician talk about the wiring

The framers work on the wide arches in the entry to the great room

Love those arches!

The house is fully enclosed!

Week 10, Day 65 - More Window Work

2009-12-15T16:29:00.002-05:00

Today they continued work on the windows. The roofers did their deeds in one day, so now the house will at least shed the precipitation, instead of it raining down inside! So now the framers are concentrating on getting all of the windows put in place.

Week 10, Day 64 - Roof!

2009-12-14T22:07:00.001-05:00

Today they continued on getting the windows installed, and since there was a lull in the weather the roofers arrived to get the roof nailed on. I definitely didn't envy them - putting the roof on in the cold! But they didn't seem to mind...

Week 9, Day 61 - Snow Day!

2009-12-11T23:27:00.001-05:00

Well, ok...my girl came home from school due to the preponderance of lake-effect snow. So it was a snow day for her. But the framers kept right on workin! And the windows arrived! Apparently the window/door truck *barely* made it up the driveway! WooHoo for steep driveways in the winter! :-P

Notice the window guy practicing the "duck and cover" there in the doorway? well...

The guy on the roof was raking all the snow down on top his head! It was pretty funny!

Our new front door!

That is a long stinkin' way up there!

We have stairs!

First view out our new windows!

And on the main level too!

Week 9, Day 60 - Entryway!

2009-12-10T21:06:00.000-05:00

Today Keith and the guys put the entry on the house. I have to say that it is great to have such knowledgeable people doing our house. Keith and I talked at length about the pros and cons of putting the entryway at this height or that height and what it would mean for the window above and the door below. And it ended up in the exact right place! (which, incidentally, matched the plan - kudos to Mike/Melody! :-)

Meanwhile, the stairwell shaped up a bit too!

Week 9, Day 59 - Framers move inside

2009-12-09T21:00:00.001-05:00

As you can see, the framers finished the work on the roof, and moved inside. They framed out the stairwell, and got a start on the stairs between the floors...

Week 9, Day 58 - Getting the framing covered

2009-12-08T20:50:00.002-05:00

Today they rocked more on the framing of the roof, and getting the panels laid down. The hope is to get it to the point that the roofers can get the shingles on on Friday!

Week 9, Day 57 - Our first tenant!

2009-12-07T23:28:00.002-05:00

We had our first tenant today! Mike called me up late morning and told me to come over pronto and bring the camera. So off I went and here's what I found hangin' out in the dining room:

Anyway, the house got it's roof framing mostly finished today!

Apparently the building convention around here is to do just 12" overhangs for the roof. I'm glad we opted to make those 24" overhangs. I think it looks just about right.

Week 8, Day 54 - Upstairs

2009-12-04T21:55:00.001-05:00

So today I managed to scramble upstairs and get some first shots of the room. All I can say is, when do I move in? :-)

A shot from in the Master Bedroom, looking down the long axis of the house.

In the Master Bedroom, looking towards the front of the house.

The Master Bedroom Closet.

The Master Bedroom itself.

Gigi's bedroom

Jen's Office... I thought it was funny that the tub/shower thingy was still in the bedroom when the framers were done with the wall. I mentioned it to the Kieth (head framer) and he said they just worked to hard and fast and got the walls up before he remembered to move it! And it is a great team he has working on the framing. They are all friendly and helpful when I have questions... I try not to be too much of a nuisance. :-)

Hallway

Master Bath

Front Entry

Sunset out the Master Bedroom windows

This doorway will eventually lead out onto a little deck off the Master Bedroom. What a view!

And it's a stinkin' long way down...

The house looks so much more complete now. Before, it didn't look very big, but now that the roof is going on, wow!

Week 8, Day 53 - Roof!

2009-12-03T21:35:00.000-05:00

Today the framers started the roof, while Mike and co. worked on pulling the forms out along the wall in the basement...

Week 8, Day 52 - Basement Floor

2009-12-02T20:16:00.001-05:00

We have a basement floor! They pulled the cement truck right up to the house (it really sunk into the mud!), cut a hole in the wall, and poured the cement right down the stairwell. Here's a whole pile of pics showing the process...

Because the framers framed up the floors so precisely, the concrete workers were able to just use a 2X4 cut to the proper length to set the "height" of the floor. If the board cuts a trough, the floor needs to be smoothed down. if it doesn't make a mark at all, the floor needs to be built up. Pretty cool!

Week 8, Day 51 - Upper Walls!

2009-12-01T23:04:00.001-05:00

LOTS of progress today! Holy rafters, batman! :-) Many of the walls for the upstairs are now in place! The main level is opening up now that they have removed the braces crisscrossing the area. It's looking like a house!

It looks *very* tall from this angle!

First view from the living room to the dining room without all of the supports in the way!

Kitchen's view of the dining room

Dining Room's view of the kitchen

My office

From my office towards the kitchen...

The laundry room

Gigi's room!

Master Bedroom

I know it's normal, but it's still funny to see a tub/shower unit sitting in a half-finished house!

And finally, they started framing up the entryway!

Week 8, Day 50 - Second Floor!

2009-11-30T22:19:00.000-05:00

So I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We sure did! A great trip to New Jersey to visit relatives! The framers came back from the Turkey Day break with a vengeance, getting the joists finished on the second story, and adding the plywood over top!

View from the front entry way!

Entrance to the Living Room, looking towards the dining room...

In my office, looking towards the kitchen

In the dining room, looking towards the kitchen... It's a testament to how well they sealed the cracks between the floor panels that there was a lot of standing water on the floor on the days it rained! Just drips here and there downstairs...

In the dining room, looking towards the living room

In the laundry, looking towards the rest of the house

The kitchen's view of the dining room

The basement, ready for the concrete floor...

Being the anal retentive type person I am, I laid out a measuring tape over all of the in-floor heating pipes and photographed them, so I know precisely where they all are...

Week 7, Day 44 - From One to Many

2009-11-24T20:08:00.001-05:00

The house went from one big framed-up room to many little rooms, as the framers did their work on the main floor. I still have no idea how they stood up that tall front wall... But it's nice to start to get a feel for sightlines from room to room, as well as see how accurate my original 3D renderings were (or not!)

The front wall is up!

We get an idea how tall the house will be now!

Sightlines through the house

The rooms inside are getting more defined!

A forest of lines

Week7, Day 43 - Taking Shape

2009-11-23T20:28:00.000-05:00

Today was continuing the framing and closing off the outer wall. They didn't quite get the front, main entry up because it's 2 stories tall. I honestly have no idea how they'll stand it up. Not a clue!

The house on it's hill

It's taking shape!

The sliding-glass door into my office

The kitchen wall is in place

Framing up the front wall - 2 stories tall!

My office and a couple closets

Talking about the project

Week 6, Day 41 - Dining Room

2009-11-21T19:13:00.001-05:00

The walls are taking shape! It's awesome to see the rooms take on definition!

The Dining Room starts to look like a room!

The Laundry/Mud Room gets it's nice large window!

Just cool to see it take shape!

Week 6, Day 40 - Defining Spaces

2009-11-20T19:28:00.001-05:00

Today it felt like the spaces became more defined. Basically the back wall of the house was put up, but the change seemed even more dramatic to me standing there...

When I pulled around to the driveway, I found I could not get up because the gas company was hooking up the gas. Naturally, that meant digging up the driveway. :-) I mentioned to one of the workers that at least they didn't have to dig up the nice pretty new road. He shook his head and said "Definitely not! We heard about that one from all sides! No digging up the road!" :-P I am glad that they found a way to hook up the gas without mucking up the road. You just *know* that this road will not get re-done for another 20 years or so, so it's best to not start out with a big patch!

The house is starting to take shape!

View from the front door...

Lots of windows!

Week 6, Day 39 - Rain Delay

2009-11-19T16:20:00.000-05:00

Well, we were rained out early afternoon, but before the big drops started to fall, they made some progress...They framed up the back wall of the house, and the electrician got a start to wiring up the power to the house. He didn't connect it back into the transformer that is partway down the side of the driveway. Apparently it had something to do with rainstorms and electricity. Chicken. :-)

Oh yeah, and if you look closely around the electrical boxes, you get a peek at the color of the house...

Week 6, Day 38 - We Have Walls!

2009-11-18T11:56:00.000-05:00

Well, ok. Only two little ones. But today they stood them up and bolted them in place! These were done primarily so that the electricity could be run in through the wall and hooked up. They also framed the back wall today. So exciting!

Talking with the framers

The in-floor heating in the basement

Punching the water under the road

Gigi walking the 'balance beam'

Gigi taking Grammy on a tour of the house.
Gigi thought jumping down from the house was very fun and wanted to do it many times!

The sunset was so beautiful down the valley that I had to post some pics of it!

A quiet jobsite.

Our very first sunset out our very first mainfloor window!

Week 6, Day 37 - Main Floor

2009-11-17T18:05:00.004-05:00

The main floor has been completely sheathed. It's probably standard practice, but they put down the floor and then caulked the seams between the panels. I know our last house didn't have that, and I thought it was quite cool. Some of the pics were taken around noon, and the rest came around sunset.

Caulking between the panels

Mike and his son attach the tubing to the wire mesh downstairs, while the framers work upstairs...

Attaching the tubing...

I *love* the view!

Framing up the first two walls!

Week 6, Day 36 - Currently Liking the Joists

2009-11-16T23:17:00.005-05:00

Ok. Another bad joke. I'll stop. Maybe. :-) Maybe not. But what won't stop is the house building.

I mentioned to Jennifer today that Mike and Melody must be amazing builders, because when I tell anyone else about when we started building, and when we are supposed to move in, the first thing they say is: "You have to be kidding me!" and the second thing they say is: "Better push that back by a couple months."

But what amazes me is (and I think I mentioned this before) that even though the start of the house was delayed 2 weeks because of road work, our move-in date has slid up from mid February to the end of January! Crazy. But to see the crews working, and how stuff arrives when it's supposed to and things are getting done when they should, speaks very well of Mike and Melody's talents at keeping the project on track.

Anyways. Today, Today, Today! Today they put all of the floor joists in place, and the Electric company hooked the electricity up as far as the transformer.

Turning the power back on out at the street.

Turning the power on at our new pole!

I do find it kinda' hilarious that the *brand new* pole is set up crooked! :-)

That wire definitely looks thick enough to carry enough current to cook lil' ol' me quite thoroughly. I'll stay right here, thank-you-very-much!

And the walls take shape!

In the basement, you can see the start of the insulation that will go under the in-floor heating tubes.

Week 5, Day 34 - That's Joist Wonderful!

2009-11-14T23:15:00.000-05:00

OK. Bad joke, but it's way past my bedtime, so bear with me. :-)

The basement walls are up, the beams are in, they are getting the floor set for the heating tubes, and some joists have made an appearance! Enjoy!

I *love* the view down the valley!

Not strictly a construction photo, but much too cute to pass up!

Sewer

Water line

Week 5, Day 32 - Framing!

2009-11-12T22:36:00.000-05:00

They finished the utilities and framed the basement! After all that planning and wait it seems like it's finally going together! Woo-Hoo! On to the pics!

Week 5, Day 31 - Beams!

2009-11-11T21:44:00.004-05:00

OK, so while we are in Minneapolis, Tim and Joyce have been keeping up with the goings-on up on the ridge. Here's the lowdown from them:

The weather has been and continues to be fabulous... Today they got the electric wiring in except for the transformer. The water and sewer lines have been back-filled. The carpenters started today and as you can see, the sill plates and the steel I-beams have been set. Ken started the ditching along the driveway.

Onto the pics!

Week 5, Day 30 - Utilities

2009-11-10T21:41:00.000-05:00

So today the utilities were run from the house down to the road. Sounds like a small job, till you remember how far it is. By comparison, the driveway is 650ft long. :-) Long way! Just a couple picks today, but still very exciting!

Week 5, Day 29 - Backfilling and Trenching!

2009-11-09T21:33:00.000-05:00

While our family is on vacation in Minnesota this week, Tim, Joyce, Mike and Melody are taking pictures of the progress so we can keep both ourselves and you up-to-date on the progress.

Today was backfilling around the house, and trenching the utilities up and down the hill.

Digging the "swayle" to
catch hill runoff and channel it around the house...

Landscape fabric on top of gravel/rocks next to the drainage pipe to increase drainage...nothing left to chance! Love it!

Getting the sewer line all hooked up.

Digging the trenches through the woods...

Pieces and parts for the various utilities to be installed...

The backfilled basement walls, waiting for framing... :-)

Slope of the hill at the walkout level...

Slope out front of the house, next to the entry...

More gravel was delivered for the driveway...

And our guest photographers, (L-R) Joyce, Melody, Mike and Tim (taking the picture). Thanks guys!

Week 4, Day 26 - They Bubble-Wrapped my Basement!

2009-11-06T23:45:00.002-05:00

OK, so it wasn't really Bubble-Wrap, but it sure looked like it when they were doing it! But before we get to that, I have some pics of the basement with the final load of stone slung around.

The basement.

The corner of Gigi's room, looking south.

In Gigi's room, looking towards the storage room.

In the storage room, looking towards the family room.

Bottom of the stairs, looking towards Gigi's room.

In the family room, looking towards the stairs.

While I was taking the above pics, the people were getting set up to "waterproof" the basement walls...

Spraying on what looks like a cross between oil and rubber or something...

Jen thought these rolls looked like bubble wrap.
Once she said it, I couldn't get that thought out of my head. :-)

We came back later in the day, after they were finished for a look at the finished product.

The "bubble-wrap" functions as a sort of drainage-channel for water that gets behind the membrane. The membrane has an almost cloth-like substance on the outside, probably to protect the rubber/plastic. Anything that gets behind the membrane naturally drains down to the footers, where the channel gives it an easy out to drain to daylight. Nice!

Week 4, Day 25 - Forms Off!

2009-11-05T23:30:00.002-05:00

OK, so yesterday the basement walls were poured. Today already, Mike had them pulling the forms off! I'm amazed at how quickly this process moves! And how well the teams all work together. Lots of jokes, funnin' around, and joviality while they cranked away getting their job done. Very cool.

Onto the pics.

Pulling off the forms...

The tabs you see sticking out of the wall will
simply be broken off after all of the panels are off.

Removing the panels and
getting them back on their racks.

Drainage pipes. Taking no chances, Mike has drainage pipes running from the plastic forms down to "daylight" at the low corner of the house.

The back wall of Gigi's future bedroom.

Mike sharing a jovial moment with the workers...

Loading it all back on the trucks...

Week 4, Day 24 - Foundation Walls!

2009-11-04T18:52:00.001-05:00

Today was the pouring of the basement walls! {cue happy dance}

Let's get right to the pics!

The pumper truck arrives and starts setting up...

Mike talks over some last minute details with the concrete people...

The pumper truck (my term)

Pour the concrete here. :-)

Some interesting lines, to me at least...

The first cement truck arrives.

The second cement truck arrives.
Looks like they are gonna double-team the pumper truck!

Double-checking the measurements and making sure it's all square.

They made everyone wait while they double-checked all the measurements. I thought that was awesome, and spoke well of them.

And finally, the pumping begins!

What a cool setup! The guy running the pumper truck used these belt-on controls to move the arms of the truck. He could walk right around with the guy guiding the tube and put it exactly where it needed to be. Very cool!

Dumping the cement (concrete? What's the right term?) into the hopper.

An alternate view of the work.

We now have walls! Tomorrow the forms come off!

Week 4, Day 23 - Things Are Forming Up Nicely

2009-11-03T20:01:00.004-05:00

So I went up to the ridge today to take a few pics of the footers, just to have them. Since the basement walls are 9' tall, and the company that is putting the forms up was using them on another job, I was expecting to take a few "unique" shots and be on my way.

So I shoot a few shots...

And I hear a truck come rumbling up the driveway!

Once the truck is turned around and in position, the driver uses the cool crane on it to move the 'packages' of concrete forms down into the basement.

Soon the form containers are all down in the basement...

...and the gentlemen begin setting them into position.

The pattern on this stack struck me as interesting...

Lots of forms!

Locking the spacers in place.

I can almost imagine the walls...

I stopped back up a little later in the day, and the forms were almost completely done!

Another angle on the completed forms...

It's looking like we will be pouring the foundation walls tomorrow!

Week 3, Day 20 - The Footers Rest

2009-10-31T16:45:00.002-04:00

They laid all the footers yesterday, and today was the first chance we had to dodge raindrops and go see what it looks like now. It's lookin' like a house!

And here's the basement layout superimposed... :-)

Week 3, Day 19 - Footings are Poured!

2009-10-30T15:29:00.006-04:00

So today it all "felt official" The workers laid the foundation to the house! {cue crowd roaring}

Lots of pics, so I'll get on with it.

Still a pretty wet jobsite, but that wasn't stopping anyone!

Laying out the forms for the concrete footings...

The first truckload of stone for under the basement floor...

The jobsite - 10/30/2009

The further he backed up, the more he sank!

The forms, aligned precisely.

The drain

Lines and forms...

Putting together the forms for the
change in height from basement wall to walkout.

Aligning the form

Our front stoop! :-)

Doublechecking the measurements

Slinging stone... (Jen: I want one of these for Christmas! I am drooling at the thought of all the things I can "sling!" Compost, mulch, hay, leaves, recalcitrant seed- oh yeah!)

This truly was a very cool sight to see. One of my favorites so far. (Jen)

Making sure the stone is where it needs to be

First cement truck needed a hand with the hill- a bulldozer tow!

Making sure the forms are secure...

I am amazed at the reach of the cement truck!

The vertical forms get poured first,
so they can set up a bit before the rest is poured.

The reach of the conveyor on the cement truck fascinated me. It's looking like a real house, too!

Pouring the pads that the posts will rest on.

Shoveling and leveling

The footers being poured...

Look how far the cement truck sank into the wet ground!

We were pretty sure the cement truck was going to slide right into the basement. Probably wouldn't have been the first time a cement truck fell in the basement... :-)

It was quite a busy road frontage!

The final cement truck climbs toward the jobsite...

Week 3, Day 18 - Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Snow...

2009-10-29T16:29:00.008-04:00

Well, ok. Not snow. Yet. It's in the forecast for next week though. Anyway, Mike and Ron dodged rain clouds and laid out the basement.

Jen, ever so patiently waiting for yours truly to finish taking photos... :-)

Still a wet day, but Mike and Ron were not to be deterred!

I wager they were thinkin' about hip waders... :-)

Checkin' the measurements...

It really says something about Mike and the folks he works with that they all feel free to express their opinions and argue their point, if need be. I LOVE the fact that they discussed at length the measurements and layout to make sure all was exactly right.

And when questions arose Mike had no problem calling Barry back out
to double-check that all was where it should be.

It's so readily apparent when they interact that all of the people Mike chooses to work with are professionals and respect each other's expertise.

More slogging through the mud to
get it all set up for digging the lower section of the foundation...

One last check and then the lines all get laid out.

The Floor Plan

2009-10-29T15:01:00.004-04:00

We designed our house ourselves, completely from scratch. We started by cutting out simple rectangles and squares for the rooms. Then we drew a big box and placed the shapes to best fit within the "big box." We pushed out walls here, brought them in there, and reshaped everything until we had it just so.

We sifted through thousands of plans online first, but none fit our family. We wanted the living, dining, and kitchen to be open. We also wanted the office to be open to the Living room and kitchen, but with the ability to close it off when guests are over. (Jim in the office, Jen in the kitchen, and the kids in the middle, all able to see and interact with one another.)

We also wanted a mudroom/pantry off the kitchen, and a tall and somewhat dramatic entry way without losing too much space to "open air."

Ideally we wanted the master suite to be on the main level, but it was much more economical if all three levels were the same shape, so up it went.

One of the kids bedrooms is larger than the other, and that was done so that eventually the girls (second girl still TBD) can bunk together.

I (Jen) am not a fan of the television in the living room. Consequently our living room is more cozy and will have a fireplace as its focal point. The television will go downstairs (far from the bedrooms) in the entertainment room. The lower level will be heated by a radiant floor heating system so no need to worry about chilly toes.

I'm sure there will be things we've missed and wished we had thought about, but this layout took us almost 4 months to design, and given our experience to date, it's just about perfect for us!

Main Level

Second Story

Garden Level

Week 3, Day 17 - Rain Check

2009-10-28T19:56:00.000-04:00

Well, Mother Nature had a thing or two to say about whether they were gonna work today. Pretty much needed a boat to navigate the hole, so they called it off. Tomorrow's another day!

Here's another shot of our new trail up to the gravel pit.

And an idea of just how wet it was today...

Week 3 - Day 16 - Thars a Hole in My Hillside, Dear Liza

2009-10-27T22:02:00.002-04:00

:-) Title was stuck in my head from Gigi's songs...

They dug the hole for the foundation today!

Digging out the first corner- or as Gigi says, "This is Gavriel's room."

My trees, my trees, they cut down all my trees! (This is Jen)

Far, right corner is Gigi's bedroom. Not really. Most of the BR's are on the second story, but Gigi's room IS in that corner- just 2 floors up as she likes to tell us.

Scoping out the hole.

Shovel for comparison.

Sticks, sticks everywhere! Good thing they understand what they all mean!

A pasted panorama of the whole hole. (Click on the picture to see the picture better.)

Another panorama of the top of the driveway where the circle will be.

Week 3 - Day 15: The Driveway!

2009-10-26T20:32:00.003-04:00

Why do people call the place you park the Driveway, and the place you drive a Parkway? No idea, but our Driveway was rolled in today! {cue the Happy Dance}

Lots of pictures today, so let's get to it!

A fun shot of, as Gigi told me in no uncertain terms this morning,
the excabator. She even sounded it out looking at me very seriously.
"The EX-KAH-BAY-TOR!" :-)

Rolling the lower driveway...

Arranging the gravel in the middle of the driveway...

Zuber Construction does great driveway work! :-)

Mike and Barry (the surveyor) talk about the house location...

Mike talks with us about the house location...last chance to change it!

Barry marks it down. The house is set!

Meanwhile, down the driveway - more gravel deliveries!

Arranging the gravel for the top of the driveway...

Our front door!

Moving dirt to make my driveway circle up top.

As they were working on the driveway, they
still had to dodge the work vehicles finishing up the road...

Just for comparison, here is a "Before" Shot of the driveway.

And the "After." We absolutely love the slightly meandering driveway!

A couple more trees had to go to make room for the circle...

And move some more dirt...

At this point, they are about 8-10 feet into the hillside, and for every foot further they go in, there is a LOT of dirt to put somewhere else! As Ron said, "It's hard to bury dirt!" But it's looking great, and we are so excited to see how much it changes every day!

*Jen's note: I've been writing the family blog for almost 3 years now, and I have to say it is very hard for me to "let go, and let Jim." :-) Two posts in a row now! My finger tips are itching. He does a great job though, and takes awesome pics.

Week 2 - Day 12: Rain, Rain Go Away!

2009-10-23T14:54:00.004-04:00

The driveway work resumed on the Ridge today, and almost immediately stopped because of rain. A little was accomplished though. Monday through Wednesday of next week promise good weather, so I would bet that Mike will be workin' the trucks hard! :-)

Week 2 - Day 11: Construction Loan Close

2009-10-22T18:35:00.003-04:00

We closed on our construction loan today. It's really and truly official.

Unfortunately the county has been paving the road all week long which means absolutely nothing has been happening on the Ridge. Zero. They are supposed to be finished today which means Mike will have the gravel trucks there first thing tomorrow. Unless of course it rains.

I didn't realize that praying for the stars to align would be part of the building process, but whatever it takes! We're getting so excited. A baby boy and a new house all in the same time frame. Life is good!

No more movement this week

2009-10-15T09:49:00.004-04:00

The county repaving schedule has messed with our schedule, and there will be no more work done on the ridge this week. The road is being paved with stimulus dollars, therefore federal regulations have to be followed while doing this repaving. That means no heavy machinery on the second and third layer of asphalt.

If the county sticks to their schedule, Ron and crew should be able to get back up to the Ridge early next week.

The good news is that there was more work completed on Monday and Tuesday than anticipated, so we really are just waiting for the gravel trucks in order to finish the driveway.

The driveway is at a 13% (7.5 degrees) incline which doesn't sound like much, but is fairly steep. Not San Francisco steep, but not something Northerners envy come winter time. Right now the base is packed clay which is beautiful in terms of a nice solid base for our road. However, if it gets wet from rain, it's one big slick hill. Grab a sled, and who needs snow! The downside is that when it rains and becomes slick, vehicles can't get up the driveway.

We desperately need the gravel!

Week 1 - Day 2: The Gravel Trucks are Delayed

2009-10-13T22:06:00.008-04:00

Yesterday the base was put in, and today was
all about dropping gravel and rolling it in. Right?
Well, they showed up at the job site this morning to find this:

That's right. Paving RIGHT IN FRONT of the driveway. The gravel trucks aren't allowed to come for the rest of the week! So, long story short, Ron and Ken had to find some other work to do till the road is done. And boy did they find it!

First they rollered what was there:

Then they yanked the final few trees along where the driveway needed to go...

Then they went to work up top! That upper part of the driveway was in dire need of fill to help it be a reasonable height:

So Ken put the excavator to work clearing off the topsoil
and taking some clay to fill in on the driveway:

Oh - and you see that apple tree in the background to the right of the excavator in the above picture? Use that as a reference and see how much has changed in a day and a half:

And...from the apple tree's perspective:

Finally, a shot up the mostly-done driveway.
We have been told that it's a 13% grade.

Week 1, Day 1b: The Clock Starts

2009-10-12T15:57:00.007-04:00

Even though we officially broke ground on Saturday, today marks the day the clock really starts. Ron came over on Saturday to get a head start by himself, but today more of his crew showed up, and they brought an excavator with them. Lots of work on the driveway.

Pic 1: First, here's a shot standing on the edge of the road,

looking up the driveway. A 13 degree grade!

Pic 2: They're really cutting down deep to minimize the driveway grade.

Pic 3: Here's a shot up the driveway from the spot
where the bulldozer is in pic 1 above.

Pic 4: Looking down the driveway from up top...

And of course, this is the week that the county chose to repave our road!
(picture taken standing at the edge of our driveway)

Week 1, Day 1: Ground Breaking

2009-10-10T21:02:00.009-04:00

We broke ground today!! Woo hoo! The Blackthorn Ridge project has finally started! Ron came over today and started popping out stumps, and moving dirt to create the driveway.

Gigi wanted to take pictures too with our little camera. It took me a few shots to realize she wanted to take pictures of the mud, not the bulldozer!

Popping out one of many, many stumps.

The beginnings of what will eventually be a VERY large stump pile.

Looking down our driveway, towards the road.

Schedule

2009-10-08T10:46:00.002-04:00

So we have approval, what's next?

We are scheduled to break ground on Monday 10/12. From there, it will be about 3.5 months to complete the house.

1 week for Initial Site work, excavation, and driveway.
2 weeks for Water service, sewer lateral, electric and electric secondary, basement excavation, basement walls
1 month for Rough Framing, Beams& Sheathed roofing complete Most windows and exterior doors
1 month for Rough Plumbing & HVAC, Rough Electrical, Insulation, Drywall/Sheet Rock Installed, taped and walls primed. Exterior Siding.
3 weeks for Concrete Basement Floor, Interior Doors & Trim installed, Cabinets Installed. Painting and flooring.
3 weeks for Electrical fixtures, counter tops, carpeting, finish plumbing, final rough grade, gutters. Certificate of Occupancy complete.

MOVE IN!

Throw in a slow down for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I'm estimating we should be moving around Valentine's Day.

Slight delay

2009-10-04T11:57:00.002-04:00

We've had a bit of a delay due to acquiring financing. All is well, and we're back on track!

This time we really WILL break ground in the next week or two!

Stay tuned! Things are about to get exciting!

Punch Out!

2009-08-09T15:42:00.002-04:00

We started with completely wooded acreage all the way to the road. Tim and Jim just kept cutting and chopping until finally we had PUNCH OUT!

We can see the hole through the woods for the driveway!

The town came in to put the culvert pipe into place.

The start of our driveway! Woo hoo!

Our "view" as we come out of our driveway.

On your mark, Get set...

2009-07-23T13:33:00.003-04:00

... I think "Go!" will happen next week.

We received our street address today! So giddy! Technically we could notify the post office, pop up a mail box, and start receiving mail at OUR residence! Er... almost residence.

Other notable highlights:

- We have electric and gas accounts

- The driveway is completely laid out all the way to the road

- The quote is expected to be complete today and is UNDER budget

- The surveyor arrives on Monday to lay out the house and garage

- The site work (pushing out stumps and grading) starts next week!

- The kitchen design is almost complete.

We have a lovely little sign at the road front touting the names of our Builders and the street number!

Could it be?

2009-07-14T22:20:00.004-04:00

Will we actually start breaking ground?

NO WAY!!!

Well, maybe yes way. :-)

The plans are back from the architect, and Mike and Melody are getting pricing. We were given the supplier list this evening, and first thing tomorrow we start calling to make appointments.

The kitchen design, siding, roofing, and flooring are the big ones to get taken care of this week.

And GET THIS! Mike and Melody said we might even break ground in another 2-3 weeks!

Wouldn't that be something? When I heard that, I had butterflies in the stomach!

Modifications

2009-06-11T22:34:00.004-04:00

Dead tired.

Received blueprints today.

Spent HOURS pouring over every detail.

Pulled out the ruler and colored pencils and post-it tabs.

Moved walls.

Moved stairs.

Re-did bathrooms.

Changed roof lines.

Added windows.

Removed windows.

Added cabinets.

Enlarged doors.

Exhausted.

Ahhhhh.... Success.

Clearing the Woods

2009-05-20T10:49:00.017-04:00

The bulldozer came on Friday, and knocked down a path for a driveway. The days following have been filled with cutting trees and burning brush. Between Jim and Tim, all the trees for the driveway are cut and hauled out. (Captions are on top of each pic)

The orange paint indicates the southern boundary of the driveway.

Tim on the tractor with the bush hog getting rid of the smaller growth.

This is a 'before' picture of the area where the garage and driveway circle will be located.

The bulldozer!

The start of a driveway! Yay!

Lots of trees to push over and/or cut down!

A nice, long, windy driveway through the woods- perfect!

We have LOTS of vines to get rid of. Not good. Some of the trees have really been strangled. We have a whole project in and of itself just de-vining and cleaning up the land to get the trees healthy.

The bulldozer just knocked down some trees and left them in the path for us to haul out.

One of the half-way 'after' pictures of where the driveway will come up and meet with the garage.

And just because every good job site needs a super in a chair...

Burning the brush with the Elmo potty in the background. Don't leave home without the potty.

Big brush pile!

Gigi loves playing in any dirt she can find. We chopped, cut, and burned, and she dug holes.

Two hard workers taking a break!

And clearly having too much fun!

All the cutting that took place over the past couple days. The stumps are left so the bulldozer and come and push them out. We'll haul them away afterwards.

The 'Dozer Guy

2009-05-14T21:16:00.004-04:00

The 'dozer guy (the guy with the Bulldozer and other heavy equipment) came today for the first time, and the guys scoped out the driveway. We went and painted orange stripes on trees that will be removed for the driveway. Tim took the bush hog up and started clearing out areas at the top of the driveway where it's mostly scrub. It actually looks good- the makings of a real clearing.

Tomorrow (and quite a few 'tomorrows' after that) Jim and Tim will be spending the day cutting down trees and hauling them out. Exciting stuff.

Snakes

2009-05-06T09:32:00.004-04:00

We went over to the Ridge on Sunday, and what did we find? Not one, but TWO snakes living on OUR property! I kindly (while swallowing screams) gave them their eviction notice. If they are not gone in 7 days time (it's not as if they have much to pack up and move so I figured 7 days was fairly generous), we will have to resort to more drastic measures.