Cold Tuesday and Wednesday!

Well, we did find the camera, and so I'll load a couple of pictures, but we're still not moving as fast as I would like...  It's mostly me that is moving slowly, but I have to keep my day job...

So, here is a picture of the front of the house with snow yesterday...

Here is are two pictures of the "control room" where I have my office set up right now...

And, here is the outhouse...

Slow Monday

Well, still haven't found the camera -- that's ok -- not a lot to show anyway...

We were able to put the well pressure tank up on a shelf in the basement so that when the sump pump fails, it will take more than 3 feet of water to trip that circuit breaker.

We also worked on putting up insulation on the wall that divides the living area from the storage room / garage areas.

We did some picking up outside to make it look a lot better especially from the road.  The house living area is very clean -- my wife did a lot of work sweeping several times as I keep tracking mud around the house...

I relocated the port-a-potty to the back corner of the garage, and put up a couple of pieces of the insulation to provide some degree of privacy, and maybe a little less "breeze" :)

We started to put together the pieces of wood that snap in to look like window panes, but we found that they are about an eighth inch too wide, which seemed odd to us...  We called our supplier, and are waiting on them to find out what we should do...

If we are lucky, the power will be put in to the main boxes inside tomorrow, and then we will be able to have water from the well!  That will be great because then we can start power washing the floor...  Hopefully, the color will come out, and we'll be able to get it sealed soon!

Sunday Odds and Ends

When we had the phone and internet set up, we got a bundle which included satellite TV, and so the dish was actually isntalled on Saturday (yesterday), and we got the receivers then also.  So, we had the dish installed on the meter center outside, and I have cables running inside in the same conduit as the phone / DSL line.  Today, I finished putting the ends on the cables both inside and outside, and hooking up the satellite boxes...  Now I can watch TV while taking a break...

Also, we bought a cheap toilet seat, and I used a Home Depot bucket and a little bit of scrap wood to make a port-a-potty...  I'll try to post a picture tomorrow ;)  My wife thanks me very much ;)

I also put an outlet strip and a light (along with a switch) on my workbench.  So, I just plug in the workbench, and I have light and power...

While I was working on the workbench, my wife was sweeping and vacuuming the house, and it is beginning to really look nice.  We plan to work on power-washing the floor and using a heater and fans to dry it so that we can get it sealed.  That will be a major milestone!

Sorry, no pictures today -- couldn't find the camera -- it's probably somewhere in the van which has become my roaming workshop...  Or, is it a dumpster on wheels?

Long Saturday...

We had some things done today, but no pictures to show for it :(

We had a little bit of digging done for the conduit to be laid so that we could finish getting power from the meter center in to the two main boxes inside the house.

Also had some caulking done to finish sealing up where the ridge cap meet the corner caps.

Then we finished getting all the remaining rooms cleaned out and swept.  We will need to sweep it again before we get ready to seal the floors, but it does look 200% better now!

I also was able to get a lot of the scrap from the siding and trim picked up on the outside...

Every day is just a little bit of progress, but it sure doesn't seem like much to write about it!

Siding, Trim, Downspouts Finished

Today, John and Irvin Miller and their guys finished the siding, trim, and downspouts.  We have been almost done for quite a while, but they were able to get all the little details finished up today, and it was a nice warm day for it too!  38 degrees here right now!

Note that I still have many of the deck and porch railings to finish, and it turns out that the shutters were about 4 inches too short for the windows!  So, we will be returning them and getting some the right size...

 

  

 

Pictures -- desk, shelf, work bench...

Well, I finally remembered to bring my camera -- AND I am here AT THE HOUSE using the new DSL to make this blog entry...

I build a little desk off a wall in the "control room" -- where the phone, satellite will come in and the computer modem / network will be located...  Also built a little shelf for the DSL modem and router (to be installed)...

Then, I built a big work table that is free standing, and will later be my workbench.

The siding on the front of the house is complete except for the porch gable, and I finally got a couple pictures of that.

Note the all important coffee thermos that my family got me for Christmas :)

 

Work bench...

 

Happy New Year! 2009? Wow!

Well, this is the year -- we will certainly be completing the house this year!

Forgot to put the camera in the van this morning, so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow...

Here are a few of the things we have gotten done the last two days...

• Siding on the front of the house is done -- except the front of the porch gable.
• Some of the trim covering the deck and porch headers is up.
• We had the phone line put in and I have run that into the house now -- DSL, 2 satellite cables and an extra CAT5 cable...
• Built a temporary shelf for the DSL modem, router, and power strip.

Not a whole lot, but we are getting ready to really start moving...

Hopefully, this will only be another two months, but stay tuned...  As a first time builder, I'd rather take my time and get things the way I want them rather than get done quickly, and then wish that I had done several things differently...  I'm sure we'll still wish we had done some things differently, but that would be even more true with a "real" general contractor!

Stay tuned for pictures tomorrow evening!