WEEK 4 of Remodel a House and Don't Divorce or Die Doing it...

WEEK 4
13 June 2011 thru 19 June 2011

Start of a new week and this week the inside will slow down big time but the outside projects should start.  We have contractors for the outside work..

Clarence was stopping by at 10.30 to go over the final details of the concrete.  Now to set the stage, Clarence is 79yrs old.  Cute as a button and lively.  A grandpa.
Well anyway George came home and got to meet Clarence for the first time. 
You would think I turned invisible all of a sudden.  Clarence signaled to George to follow him so he could explain better to him all that he was going to do and George would understand. 
WHAT !!!  I told Clarence, I understood exactly what he was talking about (I was thinking it was because I was a Women)  Bad start to the day.  Hey Clarence I know what you mean...his reply" I know you do but I have NO CLUE what you are saying to me"  I was cracking up..my accent can be a problem for some.  We were all set, the concrete work would start Wednesday.

After Clarence left George and I headed back out to Leland's  in Lampasas met up with David Carlile.  He took us out onto the lot and first showed us The Weekender Building.  It had a bedroom, kitchen, living room and full bathroom.  It was listed as an RV and would solve all our problems for George's man cave.  It could be wheeled into the back yard, put on blocks, leveled and hooked up. The best part because it was listed as an RV it would not raise our property taxes.  We also looked at the log cabins, boy they are gorgeous but way too big for our lot...

We left Lampasses and were so excited  we headed to see about our permit. 
Cathy was out at lunch but the City Inspector Kenny was there.  He told us he was planning to stop by the house later so it was good we had stopped by to see him.  We told him about our plans for the building and he told us he would let us know when he came by at 2pm.

Kenny came right on time, 2pm sharp.  He looked first at the wall we opened up between the den and kitchen.  He was concerned about the beams and pillars. 
Our options were
 1. Have a structural engineer look at it and sign off on it
2.  Switch out the header with an Engineered beam or
3.  Put another pillar in. 
Would have to think on that last one....

He went back and looked at the other wall in the master bedroom that we removed and he gave us a go because it was not a load bearing wall. 
Kenny then looked over George's plumbing, gave him a few pointers and said just to call him for the inspection when he was done. 
He then checked the Family room floor and laundry room walls.
After we put in the insulation, call him, he will inspect then we can close them up...simple right...WRONG....

Kenny also told us the RV building was a no go...Back to the drawing Board.

After Kenny left it was 3.30 pm, way too late to start doing any more projects on the house so I suggested George call David from Leland's and find out if another distributor had the Classic Manor Cabin on their site, so we could look at it.  He called back and the retailer in Burnette had one. 
Off we went.  Road Trip..only about 45 mins away..
Is everyone called Mike here in Texas.  lol
We arrived at Leland's in Burnette and Mike greeted us.  He took us out onto the lot and showed us the Classic Manor.  Loved it.  It was so cute on the outside with it's porch and had the bedroom, kitchen, living room and 3/4 bathroom.  I think it was a wee bit too girly for a Man Cave for George...
 Mike wanted to show us one more, he said if we loved the Classic Manor then the next one was even better.  He was right.  I was not that impressed with the look on the outside but George was drooling when Mike opened the door. 
The walls were all tong and groove wood.  Bedroom, Full Bathroom, Kitchen which had more cabinets than the Classic and enough space in the living room for George to Jam with his guitars.  George was sold....The only hiccup was making sure they would be able to get it in the back yard.

David from the Lampasas Leland's showed up at our home around 7pm that night, took measurements and viewed the site.  We would have to trim some trees and take down part of the fence and double gates to get the truck in but other than that we were good to go.

George's Man Cave

looking down the hall to bedroom door

Kitchen Area

kitchen area.

George's Building will be custom made.  We chose a mink brown color for the main outside color and beige trim and tan roof....he is Happy, happy.  It will take about 4 weeks to build and deliver and the city said it is a go..

Tuesday I went to the City and picked up our permit for the inside remodel..We were legal...yahoo

We had a friend  come by to look at the tree in the front yard.  It would need to be trimmed in order to get the man cave in the back yard.

A large part of the tree was dead and if we just trimmed that and the few branches that were in the way, the tree would have looked lopsided.  No choice , it had to come down.



will find out later how much the city charges to haul off

All that's left is another stump..

Now for all the Tree huggers out there, please don't get upset with me .  I promise to plant at least two trees in my yard when everything is done.  I am already on the hit list with one group for taking down the Pecan tree...

The Squirrels were eating their last Pecans from the tree, they just didn't know it at the time...

Wednesday morning we were up bright and early.  Clarence, Santos and Paul were here at 6 am sharp to start removing the concrete surround around the pool.  I am sure we have pee'd off our neighbors.  Jack Hammering for the next three days early, early in the morning. 

They have to start early because it is in the 100's by the afternoon, so they finish working at the latest 1.30 pm.

Day One Setting up Wednesday

End of Day One Wednesday

Day 2 or concrete removal Thursday

Day 3 of concrete removal

Clarence and George

End of Day 3 Friday

My concrete pile, watch it grow...

Unfortunately we are behind schedule on the concrete removal.  That puts our Siding, Windows and Pergola installation on hold for a few weeks.

Nothing got done inside on Thursday as we had to be up early for the concrete guys at 6 am and then go to George's ceremony.

I came home and was spent with the heat today.  I had set up a meeting with Mike Jacko from Lawn Master because the carport was out and we also had to adjust the measurements for the pergola on the back Lanai.  The roof of the pergola had to be 10ft away from the edge of the pool. Problems, problems..

Mike came over and started the measure and redo the design.  George eventually got home from work and got to meet him.  Mike and him got on like a house on fire.  We ended up talking for quite a bit about each others lives. 

I then found out George had been at Lowe's again and bought some more power Tools

New compressor

George checking out his nail guns

George was off for a 4 day weekend , so he worked for a while on Thursday night to finish up the plumbing.

Clarence and the crew were back at 6am Friday.  That jack hammering is tough on the ears.  I feel so bad for our neighbors.  I don't think we will be on anyone's Christmas card list.

I called the city for Kenny to come and to the final on the plumbing. 

Kenny called George to make sure he had done the water test on the pipes...oops

George went back to the store, got what he needed and set everything up...Bummer one pipe is leaking.  George calls the city to cancel the inspection but Kenny showed up anyway since he was already on his way.  Kenny went back and took a look and gave George some advice. He is an awesome inspector.  He said he will stop by again Monday and do the inspection.  Kenny called later on and spoke to George again.  I asked him if I could take his pic on Monday for my blog.  He did eventually agree although he is hesitant.  He said no one has ever asked to take his pic before.

We finished up for the evening and went out to dinner at my favorite Chinese Restaurant, The Taiwan Dragon http://taiwandragon.com/  Love the food here and the owner...

We then went to Lowe's..Go Figure

We picked up more supplies for the plumbing and my new vanity for the Powder room.

George busted his butt all Day Saturday.  three trips to Ace and Lowe's and he is done.  The water test worked.  No leaks  Yahoo...  I did give him the answer to last problem he had with the leak in the vent...I promise..ask him...The Project manager saves the day again..lol

I spent the day catching up with the blog. It's 6pm and George is out cold...well deserved rest..

Sunday it was onto putting in the insulation in the Family Room floor.  It took all morning but George got it done.  I should feel bad since I don't think this is how you are suppose to celebrated Father's day

George is in there somewhere

Insulation in...

I worked on taking the rest of the moulding out of the 3rd Bathroom that we will turn into a powder Room.

George ran out of staples so I had to run to the store.  I picked up the staples, lunch and bought me a power tool...

I bought an Electric Sander.  I started work on the built in unit in the guest bedroom and got one shelf and one drawer sanded but the room is kind of tight to work in with all the tiles and doors in there, so I will continue another day.

George finished up the insulation, took a shower, had a short nap and wanted to start framing the closets in the master bedroom when he woke up.  Let's just say I ask too many questions.  It took twice as long as it should have because George said I talked too much and got his measurements all screwed up...

One closet frame complete.

We had to take down the rest of the framing that was on the ceiling from the old wall that separated the two bedrooms...guess what..I now have another hole.  This time in the ceiling.

When the hole opened a ton of insulation came out...

That is the roof frame you can see

Well that's the end of Week 4

What I have learned

Listening to Jack Hammering will give you a headache real quick

Be prepared for delays.  One delay can set you back weeks..

Again check with the city before you buy any buildings to put on your property

We can only take up 25% of our total yard with any type of buildings and

our pool is counted against us as a building..

Don't ask too many questions when someone is measuring, you end up doing the work over again

Don't let your husband go to the store himself

He will buy way too many power Tools and blow your budget..

Hope all the dad's out their had a Happy Father's Day

Until next time.....



WEEK 3 of Remodel a House and Don't Divorce or Die Doing it...

WEEK 3
6th June 2011 thru 12th June 2011

George is back at work so this week is not going to move quickly.  I decided to do some research on Pergolas, carports, garages and get some quotes...
I set up an appointment for Tuesday with Lawn Masters..
After talking to them and Tuff Shed, I got on the city website about Permits.  To my dismay we need a permit for all the remodeling we are doing inside..  Holy Smoke..we didn't know we needed a permit for inside.. I got on the phone to the City Building Development Office about the Permit  http://www.copperascove.org/pages/building/building.htm and asked what we needed to do. My next call was to George...Our Remodel was on hold so I took the opportunity to go do laundry at our local Laundromat. The contractors we hire for outside have to get their own permits.

Mike Jacko the Territory Manager from Lawn Master www.lawn-master.com showed up the next day and we discussed having a Pergola Carport built at the side of the house, a Pergola for shade attached to the back Lanai and a new Fence and Gates.  Mike was also very professional and took the time to show me the wood, stains and different designs.  He done the measurements, drew up the plans and gave me the quotes.  I was so excited...yahoo.. 
He was heading over to inspect his last job and told me he would take pictures and show me when he came back.  I asked him if he could possibly ask the homeowner to give me the contact information on the concrete company he used for his foundation.  Mike's client passed along to me Clarence from C.R. concrete phone numbers.
I called Clarence and he was coming out the next day to give me quotes...

My husband had been at the Gas station before he came home and spotted a Lawn Care truck.  He went in to the station and introduced himself and told the gentleman he needed a Pecan Tree removed.  Mike stopped by later that evening and gave us a quote.

Wednesday morning at 8 am, Mike from Five Brothers lawn Care  http://fivebrotherslawncare.com/Home.html came out to start work on taking out our very large pecan tree.  It is a beautiful tree that produces a lot, hundreds of nuts but it also creates a large problem since it sits right next to the pool.   

last pic of tree before it's cut

Timber !!!!!

there she goes one branch down

all that is left of the Pecan Tree

Clarence stopped by later that same day and we went over all the concrete work that needed to be done.  A new Driveway, a concrete slab for the carport, pier and beams for my husband's man cave building, remove and replace the concrete surround of the pool, remove and replace the concrete lanai and remove and replace the sidewalk around the house and put in a new side walk from the street to the front door.  

Jackie Herbeert also showed up later in the afternoon from Home Depot to do the final measurements for the Siding, windows and gutters. 

At the end of the day, I was exhausted.  I had not done anything physical but had spent the whole day with different contractors.

Mike from the Five Brother's Lawn Care came back the next day to load up the logs and hall off all the brush from the chopped up Pecan Tree. 

Early morning I started to make a spreadsheet on the computer to keep track of our expenses.  It took most of the day to plug in every receipt with every item purchased that we had from the begining of the Remodel.  We will be able to break it down and see exactly where our pennies go and if we are going over Budget.  I will have to keep track of George and the Power Tools....

After I was done with the spreadsheet, I headed down to the City building and dropped off my Application for a Permit.  I spoke with Cathy, showed her my plans, got to talking about the outside work and then my plans were dashed.  I could not put a Pergola carport at the side of my house because all structures had to start 7.5 Ft. in from my property line.  Unfortunately that would not work, so that project is now trashed...
Cathy from the City Building Office was very informative and helpful.  Our biggest obstacle now is that we have to wait for the inspector before we can close any floors up.
I stopped by to see Cathy again  on Friday to see where we were on the Permit, it would be Monday before we would hear anything...oh well I guess more demo can be done.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed to Lowes to get a few supplies.  I feel like we spend to much time between there and Home Depot..

George and I decided to drive out to Leland's http://www.lelandscabins.com/ in Lampassas to look at their buildings, unfortunately they were closed until Monday.  Time to go home and back to work.

We decided that we should finish the demo on the sub floors in the family room.  Boy they were tough but we managed to get them up, the wood boards cut down to manageable pieces and moved out to our trash heap.  We got all the old tar paper removed and the floor boards looked real good..yippee

George wanted to check under the floor to check the insulation...to our dismay there was none..

The Beginning of another HOLE...Watch out this gets bigger...
He then bored a few holes in the outside walls and thank god they were insulated.

We went into the laundry room to check for insulation in the walls and floors, disappointment again, there was none.
You guessed it..more demo.  We started in a few areas but decided to call it a night and start fresh in the morning.

Holly Toledo, there were two loads of dry wall on the both walls.

I don't envy him.  I will take the demo any day over crawling about under the house replacing pipes.

Drywall all gone...

Drywall gone...

The End of Week 3

What I have learned

Always, Always check with your Local City Building Development Permit Section

BEFORE starting your remodel on your home.

Plan for delays and the unexpected.

Make a spreadsheet to keep track of what you are spending on your project

on DAY 1...

Talking and spending money is just as exhausting as physical labor.

Only difference is with physical labor your whole body aches

Talking and spending money gives you a headache..

Until next time...