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It's February 9, 2003 and we finally have a floor. I spoke
with Mark this afternoon and he says they're going to start putting up
some walls later this week.
The satellite dish came down, as well as the old rain gutters. The roof was peeled back to allow the new roof to be tied into the old. Seeing the roof like this frightens me more than the thought of the house at the edge of the hole without a beam. I worry about the roof being irreparably messed up. And then I talk to the trouble dolls! |
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The roof worries me. The shed worries Leisa. Here she is saying, "this thing has to go." |
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I snapped this picture as she was worrying about the amount
of space that will be left in the backyard after the remodel. Although I
like this picture, she doesn't, and will probably try and make me take it
down.
Leisa spends a lot of time worrying. |
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By Tuesday afternoon, the walls were starting to take shape.
The forecast is still calling for rain, and it was sprinkling lightly as
we drove to the site. Mark assures me the floor will be fine, as the wood
is nailed down.
As I wandered around to the front of the house, I ran into Georgia, who was wandering over to talk to Mark and crew. She said she was glad to see me, "as prob'ly not a one of them that you've got out there can speak English." Georgia wanted to know when the work was going to be done. I lied and told her the beginning of April. She then told me that "all that banging" out there was causing her house to crack. I told her that was interesting, as my house was the one actually subject to the banging and it didn't have any cracks. She also told me Roberta had cracks in her house. I recall Roberta telling me about a year ago that she had cracks, and that she wanted to talk to our structural engineer about what was causing them, and how they could be repaired. The front porch slab was separating from the house and she had some cracks in the block of the house. She wondered if it could be the tree in front of her house. Georgia went on to tell me that the cracks allegedly caused by my construction are just as bad as the ones caused by the freeway when it was going in.
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| And as a cat walked across my porch, Georgia said "Oh,
that's one of Roberta's, that's mehitabel."
Oops. I remember seeing archy running around on the patio last summer. He won't be typing poetry for mehitabel anymore. I accidentally stepped on him! Georgia kept telling me about the cracks in her walls, and I kept smiling and nodding, then she wandered back home. I got my mail and wandered back to work. |
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Wednesday. Rain.
Thursday. Way more rain. This is pretty much where they left off before the rains of El Niņo hit Wednesday afternoon. They ran a commercial for the mud bogs last week on TV. Between Mark's pickup, Ernie's pickup and Chris's pickup, they could have a darn decent mud bog on Lot 7, Block 37, F.Q. Story Plat E. And by now, probably a swim meet in the basement. |
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| That dirt around the foundation is all really
loose, the result of being freshly-turned. Consequently, it makes really
good mud. I still have mud on my shoes from week seven. And that was a
light rain. This is the kind of mud that prohibits even the most fearless
of contractors from working for days after the rain.
As I sit typing this Thursday evening, February 13th, Valentine's Eve, the rain is pouring down outside. It'll hopefully be dry enough to work by Monday. |
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 Mr. Christopher Olson, who's responsible for these walls. And congratulations on being a Dad soon! |
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Friday night's rain report:We went to Buffalo Brown's and had some wings and beer, then went by to look at the house. Although my mail was soaked when I took it out of the box, everything else seems to be in good shape. The floor and the framing were both in good shape. I was worried that it would be all warped or something. The roof on the house seemed okay. The dirt by the basement walls had collapsed a bit as it settled. Don't know what condition the OSB that's lying in the mud is in, though. Brittany and I went down the ladder into the basement. There was a big puddle of water in the bedroom area, but it wasn't too bad overall. The wine cellar--which is the most important area of the remodel--appeared to be fine! Brittany liked her room, although she didn't like the fact that it had so many windows. She thought Justin might sneak out of his room at night and tap on her windows and scare her. She did seem to think that it was kind of cool that our bedroom was directly underneath hers. Living in Arizona, she's not really aware of the concept of a basement. She is now. And she wants a pool. Leisa doesn't like the fact that the window in Justin's room/our office (once Justin moves out) is off center on the wall. She doesn't think it looks right. But then, she looks at how it looks on the outside, and realizes all the windows are evenly spaced, and she's down with that action. |
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