Day 26 - Preparing for the Heat Index of 100

Brian called earlier this afternoon and asked if the shingles had been delivered. I said no and we went on with our days. This involved me moving the car just in case a big truck showed up with the next load of materials. As I was walking back to the house I noticed piles of shingles on our roof along with other materials up there. I quickly called Brian to let him know that something did happen - the delivery is on top of the house.

Kevin said that the roofers will be here Monday or Tuesday and asked when we'll be out of the kitchen. Sunday night we'll be out for sure. I find it difficult to be highly motivated to work at packing because we are still using the kitchen and the addition is clearly NOT weather tight. I'll take some pictures of the "set up" that will have to work for the next month or two.

With a heat index projected to be 100 this weekend Brian is stopping to get another air conditioner. This will bring the total up to 4...one in each bedroom, one in our temporary kitchen (although I don't know how much that one will be on) and one in the living room. Hopefully the one he's borrowing today will fit in the living room. Those windows are new and don't have as large of a clearance as our older windows do.

If you leave a message on our answering machine, please indicate the time you called. We've given up resetting the time after every time we blow a fuse around here.

Day 25

The carpenters left this afternoon and I'm guessing they aren't coming back since they took the trailer with them. We now have a roof! Far from being weather tight, you can still get a good idea of what the finished product is going to look like. It is a little disturbing how dark everything in the house is now. While disturbing, the overhang is going to be awesome for casting a shadow over the windows. Our current kitchen is VERY steamy since there is no shade. We had once tossed around the idea of doing Solar Tubes somewhere in the new space but then decided to put it off and wait to see where the dark spots were going to be. Well, I think we'll be saving like misers to eventually put in the Tubes.

Thanks for the votes on the sink...however what about WATER SPOTS? I hate, Hate , HATE cleaning the scuff marks off of my white cast iron sink, why would I want to clean water spots, daily, off of my new black sink? See, these are the things I need to know before I return the stainless steel sink we already bought.

It's Day 24

Our dryer situation was fixed Monday - thank the Lord given the flu bug that struck the boys Sunday and the loads of clothing and bedding that needed to be done. We also had to make a decision in regards to the length of our eves because our current kitchen walls are a foot shorter than the rest of the house (not really but it has to do with the stupid sophets in the existing space). I can't really explain it, but if you were here it would make total sense. Anyway, our overhang on the addition is going to be larger than "normal" but right in line if we were building a "green" house. How trendy...our house is environmentally friendly.

Over the weekend we devoted almost the entire day to shopping for things we need to get. For instance, a garbage disposal, new back door and storm door, dishwasher, faucet, lights, etc. I've already changed my mind about the sink. At least I think I have. Initially I declared we were getting a stainless steal sink because I hate the cast iron one we currently have. I hate how every time a pot goes in the sink I have to bleach the walls. Well, we purchased a stainless sink and now I think I might like a black cast iron sink. The reason being this is the faucet we picked out:
I can't put this on a stainless steel sink...can I?? Please readers...pontificate to your heart's desire about the pros and cons about a cast iron sink. Right now I hate mine. But, it is who knows how old and white. The new one would be new and black. Our new dishwasher is also going to be black (it's awesome...the buttons are on the top and not visible on the front. Take that little boys! No more stopping the dishwasher mid cycle or randomly starting it!) We are keeping our stove and fridge - both white and not in the budget to replace so it will have to do for right now.

First Problems...

What remodeling project has even gone perfectly? I discovered the first major problem today. We can't dry clothing. A few weeks ago I asked Kevin if we'd loose our ability to do laundry. His exact words to me were, "I'll take your kitchen but I won't take your laundry. I'm not that mean." Well sir, you did.

You see, there is a floor joist right in our dryer vent. There is no where for the dryer to vent to. Consequently, when I tried using the dryer (because both you and the carpenter said I could) the tube blew right off the wall. I also have a sick feeling there is something wrong with our dryer but I'm remaining cautiously optimistic. So, right now I have a bunch of laundry that needs to be done and a dryer full of wet clothes. We used to have clothes line but that was eliminated the day the hole was dug.

Also, earlier this week the circuits were being played with and now one of the outlets in Ethan and Logan's room doesn't work.

Day 18: Walls!

At the beginning of the day we just had a platform and now look at the progress!

Hanging out in our new kitchen...imagine Brian in front of the new island and next to the sink. That "pole" won't be there in the end, it's just holding up the skeleton of a roof.

Day 17: Floor

The floor is down, no more big hole! We were under the impression more work would be done today but that's okay, we have been very impressed with how fast everything is going. I also have a date in which we need to be out of the kitchen...July 9. Our contractor gave me one more week, which is greatly appreciated! What has been most difficult about getting the kitchen packed up is the heat. We are averaging upper 80's in the house during the day and who wants to be packing in that kind of heat? The heat is supposed to break this evening so maybe I'll be more productive in the next few days. Otherwise, I'll be getting up at 4:40 am, with Brian who gets up to run, to pack!

Floor is Starting to Take Shape

At the end of day 16 we have floor joists!