It’s been almost a year since the foundation repair was done. We are working on getting some sheetrock work done on the two of the bedrooms and re-painting those and the hallway. Then maybe putting the house up for sale. Looking forward to our vacation later this month to Big Bend. I will be posting pictures and updates for that when the time comes.
Weekend in Review
After checking out the house and doing some much needed laundry, Crystal and I decided to head to the firehouse and see Jim. Neither one of us had seen him in awhile and I felt a need for skin to skin and skin to fur contact.
Crystal and Dad
After leaving the firehouse, Crystal and I were off to spend the next couple of days with my sister and my niece and nephew dogs – Lucy and Coco. There was much excitement upon arrival; Crystal hadn’t seen her cousins in months. Lots of sniffing and toy grabbing – and then things settled in. We lounged around and watched marathon LMN “women gone bad” movies, read tabloids and grazed the fridge.
Coco at end of bed, Lucy at pillow and D2 behind her “reading device”.
Monday night I had to go and meet Jim at the house to move the flooring from the garage to the house. Thirty-five pounds per box times ninety-six boxes. Let’s just say that Jim did most (okay all) the moving of the boxes. I did clean out the fridge though!
Whew!
I met Jim again on Tuesday night to drop off Crystal and finish some last minute stuff before the flooring people start.
Wednesday was the day the new floor installation was to start. Unfortunately, they came late and had lots of leveling to do. Soooo, the actual installation did not start until today. I have a feeling they may take longer to put in the floor than it took to do the foundation repair!
It’s finally happening
My Life as a Nomad
It’s been awhile since I posted – I have been staying at different places and living out of bags, suitcases and my car. Anyway, I came back to the house on Tuesday morning (March 28th) to give Jim the names of all the crew chiefs etc. I went on to work and got somewhat caught up there. I stayed at dad’s house Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Olshan finished the job late Friday afternoon – yeah! There was a little drama however – the city inspector came early Friday morning and I suppose an Olshan representative was to be there to meet with him and wasn’t. Jim called and said that the inspector was p*ssed and was threatening to leave and wasn’t going to come back until next week sometime. I frantically called the main office at Olshan and spoke with their production manager. Luckily he got a hold of the inspector and smoothed things over. Whew. Kind of reminded me of a “Money Pit” moment:
My house didn’t look quite that bad. I wonder if our city inspector was related to this gentleman?
Saturday, I left dad’s and went to pick up Crystal from J-Canine. She was so excited to see me. She kept smelling me up and down. She loves it at “camp”, but she had been there for over a week. So, we loaded up and headed back to the house to see how it looked. I’m still amazed at how much they got done from the inspection Friday morning to the end of the day. They had to fill in all the open holes with dirt and then concrete and clean up. Amazing.
Living room patched up.
Dining Room patched up
- Fireplace Before
Fireplace After
D-Day
Finally, the day has come. The plumber got here first and did find a leak. However, it did not stop the foundation guys. I think there was about ten of them and they descended onto the house – shovels in hand. They started in the side yard and then moved onto the patio where they broke out the jackhammers! Ahhhhhh – I love the sound of jackhammers in the morning!
The side yard diggers!
The Lone Jackhammer
I stayed at the house and talked with the head guy and then went to lunch. I got back in the afternoon and the piers were delivered – it was an emotional day.
The great pier delivery!
What used to be my dining room.
The end of the day dump.
The dirt piles in the backyard was the sign of the end of the day – and I am ready for bed.
One last note:
Twas the night before chaos, and all through pad, all the floors were torn up, to repair our poor slab.
The furniture was moved and tarped with care; in hopes that Olshan soon would be there.
The animals were shipped to their kennels last week, while vision of their home became obsolete.
And Jim in his hardhat and I in my work boots, had just settled in for a couple of boozy snoots.
The sun on the breast of the new dug up yard; gave the luster of a warzone to this simple bard.
When what to my tearing eyes did I see? But a wheelbarrow and ten worker bees.
Now, Bubba, now Bill Bob, now Jamie and Luther; On Juan, on Jime, on Jimbo, and Gunther.
To the end of the driveway, to the back of the house, now dig away, dig away, dig away all!!
Good night everyone.
Catching Up
Just catching up since I didn’t have internet access for awhile. Thursday was fine. We got the living room, dining room and hallways done.
Living room before the movers came on Thursday a.m.
Living room after the movers came.
Living room after demolition.
Living room after demolition and emptied.
We also got a dumpster on Thursday afternoon to dump all the flooring. Never thought I would actually see the day that I would have a dumpster in my driveway – well, never say never.
Dumpster delivery.
Jim made about a “bazillion” trips to the flooring place to pick up out new floor – 96 boxes! They are now stored “tightly” in our garage.
New flooring.
Friday was a rough day. We were on a roll on Thursday, the floor was coming up easily, but we were both tired and sore Friday morning, so some tempers flared throughout the day, but no blood was drawn. Jim got the kitchen and all three bedrooms ripped up by about 5:30. Also, the insurance adjuster and roofer man came in the morning to inspect our roof for the hail damage that occurred the week before. Nice.
Saturday all we had to do (all – I say) was to get up the flooring in the utility room (blood was drawn here – but it was between Jim and the washer), moving the furniture according to the location map and tarping some of the furniture. (Incite into tarping furniture – I felt like my furniture was probably dustier before than worrying about the dust afterward – not saying much for my dusting skills).
We covered Jim’s deer head – I’m calling him the “unknown whitetail”:
The “unknown whitetail”.
It’s Sunday as I write this and to tell the truth I am feeling a mixture of relief and stress for what is to come. I’m hoping that they don’t find any plumbing leaks and that all we have to go through is a “warzone” experience. It has been amazing what we have done in the last three days. I never knew that my eyebrows could get sore!
This is how I feel – can I run and hide?
Anyway – tomorrow is D-day, so with any luck, things will go smoothly or whatever…..I’ll keep you posted.
Dog, Cat & Movers – Oh My
Got up this morning at 5:30 to get the animals ready for their “adventure”. Crystal is a real trooper, but Nelson – not so much. It’s crazy how we fool Nelson into his carrier. First, I go to the kitchen to make some coffee. He follows me looking for breakfast. I give him a quick pet on the head and then SWOOP – I pick him up, holding the feet and run to the bathroom. I close the bathroom door and put him in the shower and close the shower door. Airlock complete!
Then I bring in the carrier and up end it with the door facing the ceiling. I go and get Nelson, holding on with dear life. How many legs can he possibly have? A lot! He goes in hind legs first and then shut the door. The next half hour to the kennel was a mixture of meows and screams that I can only imagine that were kitty cuss words mixed in with kitty “I’ll do anything for you if you let me out” pleas.
Crystal looking on at Nelson (in carrier) awaiting their adventure.
I raced home to get the house ready for the movers. We had gotten most of it done, but there still needed to be some cleaning up. The movers (Leroy and James – I don’t know why James wore a shirt that said Bobby but…) showed up around 8:30 a.m. and got to work quickly. They were really nice guys with a good sense of humor and were done in about 1 1/2 hours. They did complain about the motorized recliners, but all in all it was a painless move.
Leroy and James after the move.
After lunchtime, Jim and I got to work on removing the floor. Jim managed to hit himself in the neck with a “rogue” plank in the neck. Luckily it was only a scratch that turned into a major swell – but no hospital visits were needed.
Jim with the first wound of the day. Glad that it was a minor one.
The Before
Attached are some pictures of the interior of the house before…..
Bookcase to be moved to the front of the room or to the POD.
Dining room – a work in progress…..
Cabinet over oven. You can see the separation.
Where the fireplace and the wall meet in the living room.
Crack along grout line in fireplace on right side.
Crack at door of utility room.
Corner of living room separation at walls.
Spare bedroom. Probably the worst of all the rooms. Several cracks in the sheetrock and “rippling” where the wall meets the ceiling.
More spare room madness.
Crack over office room door.
Master bedroom – mainly “rippling” at wall and ceiling.
Living room mess.
Well, that’s about it. Tomorrow, we are getting ready for the movers who are coming on Thursday morning. Later…..
The POD People Are Here
I’m a little late posting this as this happened on Saturday morning. The POD delivery came at 8:00 a.m. – for a short time, it seemed like they were not going to place it because of the tree branches. Jim had trimmed them, but the driver was still concerned. The top of the POD is plastic and he was worried it might get punctured. After serious discussions in the driveway and lots of staring and pointing – they finally backed it into the driveway! It was actually kind of interesting watching them place it.
R.I.P.
I got up this morning and found my last fish of the fabulous four dead. I named him Fred. I’m not sure what kind of fish he was. He was gold, but not a goldfish. I didn’t even name him until he was the last one since I couldn’t tell them apart. He lived for a very long time – almost 5 years, which is amazing for a small tropical fish.
When I found out about the foundation repair, I was concerned about Fred because of the concrete dust problem he might have in his tank. I decided to move him from the 10 gallon tank in the living room to a 5 gallon tank in the spare bathroom about a month ago. He was very happy with the move and lived actively until this morning.
I consider this a sign of new beginnings. R.I.P. Fred – you were a joy!
Calm Before the Storm
I had a dream last night…..
dupesalive58 