Walls, frames, and more

My dad came to Texas again to help us put up the framing - for walls, doors, windows, etc.

Russ and Dad (Jim) have been working since Saturday on the house. They have removed all the old windows, the old doors. They have put up more than 150 2x4's in the new walls. And been framing for the new windows and doors.

It certainly is exciting!

The New Beam

Last week, Russ had his business partner and employee over to get the beam up for our living room addition. See the photo! They also got some of the old wall out.

Next, he needs to extend the ceiling joists and put up the roof trusses. Then, we should be ready to enclose the addition and start putting up walls!

Columbus Day Holiday

On Columbus Day, we had a holiday from school. I was able to give Russ some much needed help out at the house. I finished getting the insulation out of the building. I swept a bunch of the floor. Finished pulling out the nails in the walls and ceilings where I couldn't reach due to the large pile of insulation.

Russ worked on putting up the wall for between my craft room and the "jack and jill" bathroom.

We also pulled off the electrical boxes that were on the outside of the building by what will be our front door.

I hope that in the next few weeks, we can get the rest of the "bat" insulation off the trailer. Once that is done, we can get the rest of the wood and trash out of the inside. And in two weeks, (after I return from Notre Dame) I am going to get the metal out to the recycling place. Then, we will have a barren floor and can start getting the old glue-down carpet up and the footer boards down.

Electric Meter

WE HAVE POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We returned from Michigan (our vacation) on August 10th. I (Marsha) went to work the next day. Russ took care of some business stuff too.

My dad finished watching TiJim on the 20th and stayed with us until the 28th. During the time that dad was here, Russ and dad built the steps up to the house, started the deck, and started the interior walls.

Our electrician came out yesterday, and got the power run from the pole to the main fuse box in the house. Our meter is supposed to arrive tomorrow.

The next problem is the septic system. Russ called for our first inspection. The inspector said that there is a problem with the soil and they now want us to change the design of our original system. There is a tremendous increase in price for either of the two options.

I am attaching photos of the inside, the steps, the deck, the electrical fuse box.

Septic Tank Is In!

The septic tank is in! One more step forward.

We hired a couple of teenagers to clean out the loose dirt in the lateral lines for the leach field. They didn't quite finish but Russ was real happy with their work. When we are ready for inspection, we will have them back out to finish.

Russ also hired a guy (Mark) to rip out the rest of the sheetrock on the other side. He didn't want me covered in insulation again. So Mark finished that and helped Russ set the poles for the biginning of our deck. The cool thing about that is that he will be able to start the steps as soon as he gets some decking material on.

This will probably be the last post for a few weeks. We are leaving for Michigan on Friday and won't return until mid-August. My dad will be back at the end of August and we hope to put him to work on the plumbing! (Are you ready for that Dad?)

The Septic System is Dug!

We have gotten a lot done over the last several days.

I have finished gutting one side of the building. I removed the center wall, two closets, paneling, sheetrock (on the ceiling), and all insulation. I also removed all the nails on the outside walls and almost all the nails in the ceiling joists. Then I took all the usable 2x4 wood, and removed all the nails from them. I also removed the siding where we are putting the addition.

Russ rented a backhoe this weekend. And what a weekend it was! On Wednesday, he started a second story deck with a roof underneath . He and his crew were supposed to be done on Friday. But leave it to the lumber company to make sure THAT didn't happen. The first lumber they needed, the 6x6s, didn't arrive on the truck Wednesday morning. Then didn't arrive until around 5 pm. Russ was "fit to be tied." He thought he had a few hours left on Saturday. It ended up taking until 4 pm. Meanwhile, the backhoe sat here with no one to run it.

When Russ arrived from the jobsite on Saturday, he took the backhoe to the back and dug holes He got the hole dug for the 1000 gallon tank and started digging the lateral trenches for the leach field. Russ was concerned that he wouldn't get it all done before Monday when they are scheduled to pick it up.

Sunday, I took his dad's tractor back there and started moving the dirt that Russ was digging out. It was a LONG day. But we finished. I feel like someone has beat me up. Bouncing around all day on that tractor is hard on the body. We finished up around 7 pm. Russ put 10 hours on the backhoe.

The sand and gravel are due to arrive on Tuesday. And the septic tank is schedule for Wednesday. But Russ is going to have to call and push that back to Thursday or Friday.