We had our first rain and the oak tree grew about 6 inches in two weeks. It is now waist high -- more than double the size we bought it at.There's hope yet that we won't be on social security before this is giving us some shade.
We bought these as an anniversary present for ourselves. They are made from old wine barrels and even have little notches in the arms to hold the stem of a wine glass.
Ultimately, they will go on the back deck we are planning to build, but for now they are on the front porch.
I bought paint thinner to clear the window in our front door, but Rob is actually the one who used it and got rid of that awful "stained" glass. We have a lot less privacy now that people can see through the window, but the beveled glass is so much prettier than that ugly, ghetto, spray paint that used to be on the window!
Rob has been pulling bricks out of the trash heap in the driveway and chipping off the mortar. This is what he has done so far. I plan to use these to make raised beds for vegetables in the spring.
They yanked out what was left of the rickety back steps so they could start shear walling the outside of the house. It's a lot like living in the Winchester mansion. Thankfully, the door will be going bye-bye just as soon as they start residing the house.
We ordered new, custom windows for the whole house. They were finished on Monday, but aren't going to be delivered until the contractor is ready to install them.These are pictures of the neighbors windows. I took them so the window manufacturer could see what we wanted and felt like the neighborhood perv while I was doing it.Ours will be made of stain-grade douglas fir to match the paneling in the dining room.
Our contractor dropped by while the washer was on the spin cycle and got a little freaked out by how much the house swayed. He added these extra braces to get us through until the shear wall was put up over the cripple wall. Now that the shear wall is up, the braces are gone and we are getting a really good sense of how the space is going to feel. It's a little bit darker than we had hoped, but I think it's going to be very cozy.
That gully is where they laid the perforated pipe for the French drain to carry water away from the house into the back yard. It had been an open trench for forever because the engineer hadn't specified what needed to be done on the plans and the inspector didn't like the solution our contractor had come up with. After months, the city approved what the contractor wanted to do.
I've been out of the country on business and A LOT got done while I was away.First, the rest of the cinder block was laid for the retaining wall, the concrete was poured in to hold the rebar, and the trough next to the was was backfilled with dirt.We are supposed to put a picket fence on top, but that is temporarily on hold because Rob wants to put up something higher for more privacy.
The old siding is being ripped off, insulation being put up and then the whole house is being covered with plywood to make it stronger. As if our house didn't look ghetto enough.
ould take up to pay for all these renovations...
We had our first rain and the oak tree grew about 6 inches in two weeks. It is now waist high -- more than double the size we bought it at.
We bought these as an anniversary present for ourselves. They are made from old wine barrels and even have little notches in the arms to hold the stem of a wine glass.
I bought paint thinner to clear the window in our front door, but Rob is actually the one who used it and got rid of that awful "stained" glass. We have a lot less privacy now that people can see through the window, but the beveled glass is so much prettier than that ugly, ghetto, spray paint that used to be on the window!
Rob has been pulling bricks out of the trash heap in the driveway and chipping off the mortar. This is what he has done so far. I plan to use these to make raised beds for vegetables in the spring.
They yanked out what was left of the rickety back steps so they could start shear walling the outside of the house. It's a lot like living in the Winchester mansion. Thankfully, the door will be going bye-bye just as soon as they start residing the house.
We ordered new, custom windows for the whole house. They were finished on Monday, but aren't going to be delivered until the contractor is ready to install them.
Our contractor dropped by while the washer was on the spin cycle and got a little freaked out by how much the house swayed. He added these extra braces to get us through until the shear wall was put up over the cripple wall. 
That gully is where they laid the perforated pipe for the French drain to carry water away from the house into the back yard. It had been an open trench for forever because the engineer hadn't specified what needed to be done on the plans and the inspector didn't like the solution our contractor had come up with. After months, the city approved what the contractor wanted to do.
I've been out of the country on business and A LOT got done while I was away.
