Heat saps the energy right out of you. I am so glad things are moving forward for you. Looking forward to the pics. We are having a storm right now.
Building a Home
Thanks everyone - for being here with me and following along with our construction adventure.
Gosh= it took a few days to actually get hot water. After we moved and hooked up the hot water heater, it decided not to work.
The hot water tank had a warranty on it so hubby called around trying to get it fixed. It turned out that we would still have to pay to have it fixed but would be reimbursed after a Load of Red Tape Paper Work. Forget the paper work= we need hot water now. The plumber told hubby what to do and it turns out that the plumber was wrong..........Anyway. Hubby ended up replacing everything==the heating elements and the thermostats. Now we have hot water in the bath. No hot water line to the kitchen yet....sigh.
The electrical has been ran for the Washer and Dryer and I was able to do laundry all day long yesterday.:)
The electrical has been ran for the Microwave and a few more outlets for the kitchen.........no more extension cords for the coffee pot.........
The roofer has to go out of town this weekend so the roof is delayed but hopefully no more than a week. Sigh again.
forgot to mention the roof shingle color= which also helped decide the color of the house. The shingles are Golden Cedar. That's the lightest I could get it for the roof= hoping it won't be too hot.
Our bed was set up on concrete blocks for months and months cause the headboard wouldn't fit in the shed with our sons bunk bed above us. Then when we moved into the house we kept the bed on blocks cause we didn't want the bed frame legs to get wet when the floors flooded during rain and no walls ==etc..................... We are moving and putting the bed frame together this evening. I know thats not exciting = but = I am impatiently waiting for it. We don't have interior wall covering yet. The pillows keep rubbing againts that black board insulation ==itchy pillows.
The bathroom. This is a very important Room. lol
I don't have a bath sink yet. Don't know when I will have one. I was standing in the corner
where the sink goes when I took the picture. Just an average bathroom.
I'd not miss this adventure for anything. I am so glad for you that things are getting done.
I have never seen shingles other than black or brown unless they were wooden.
the shingles are the regular tar shingles= Home Depot sells different colors. Even green.
Well, that's a new one on me. Is shingles cheaper than metal?
Metal is quite expensive - but it lasts virtually forever.
I love the copper colored metal. I have only seen it on cabins in the Smokies.
There are different grades of metal. Forgot how many. I figured it was going to cost about the same for the metal but I much prefer shingles. We did get the 25 year warranty shingles.
Back door has been installed. No screen door yet. Hubby will install the office door in the morning. He has a hurt ankle. A ladder fell and hit his ankle. (while at a customers home painting) So= unable to finish the overhang/carnish til his ankle is better.
Moved my bed frame and the secretary desk that was saved out of the fire.
Beautiful desk!
Wow .. beautiful wood ..
thanks for the comments on the desk. I lost many things==but was so excited when I was able to save that desk.
It costed a pretty penny too.
Things are moving along so slowly........I been calling my husband a Jumping Jack Rabbit cause he won't complete
one project at a time. But what he's really doing is==doing what he feels like at the moment depending on body illness....or medications..... He works a little on the roof over hang one day, then works on the siding the next, then back to the over hang,,,,,,,,,,,then electrical, then he goes fishing, then he goes to work elsewhere, then he works on the roof again. I asked him to HOLD still please. I think we might actually finish the over hang tomorrow. And he decided to put the roof shingles on himself. He won't get any help form me on that one.......I aint going up there.
The main door entry is on the West end of the house and when it rains , it floods the door way floor. Crud......There will be a porch on that end of the house one of these days but until then we have to construct an awning of some sort the keep the rain out...sigh.
No pictures yet===I was waiting for something to be completed or at least look like it was.
Husbands! Jumping Jack Rabbit is a good nickname for some of them, lol! At least he is getting a lot done (in his piece-meal way). It is hard to get much done in this heat...
Remember= we still have to lower the 48ft deck===even to get the siding on. My Jumping Jack Rabbit Husband still hasn't finished the over hang on the house. While he was working on it, I just said out loud, "" I will be soooo happy when the deck finally gets lowered. I been waiting for that to happen for a long time. "" What does hubby do.?..... He stops working on the over hang and starts lowering the deck. I didn't say anything. I was just watching.
The last 16ft of the deck was cut loose so he could lower the deck easier. The 32 ft section is not completely lowered or leveled yet. The 16ft section was cut into 2 eight foot sections so we could move it manually around the corner to the end of the house where the main door is at. There is another 8ft deck out back that had been removed months and months ago that will complete the corner at the end of the deck. The corner of the deck will be cut to form an angle as you turn the corner=====hope that made sense.
Since we had to lower the deck, 12 inches, I now have to remove the top layer of concrete blocks on the front steps. Which were not cemented together either====I had put them together with Liquid Nail.......lol redneck cement.
Here is the current Mess.= Deck reconstruction.
This message was edited Jul 29, 2011 1:47 PM
You guys are so awesome! And in the middle of all this, you have your veggies/flowers growing! When everything is done, you can throw a big DG party. I'll bring meat for the BBQ!! Janet in Houston
Thank You bariolio. Yes= must have veggies and flowers no matter what. I would be a very sad person without my veggie ventures. Considering the fact that I do have a greenhouse nursery business= My life revolves around veggie gardening and trying to make it easier to garden due to severe arthritis. Many days during the week, I am unable to stoop down and unable to bend over for a long period of time. I made sure I had a private door coming out of my little office onto my deck. My deck will eventually have Table Top Gardens Down both sides. I have all the tables that I need to finish building the table top gardens and already have 4 table top gardens like the one in the picture above and below.
My brain is hyper and goes off into hundred directions like a spider web.=====trying to explain the construction and why.
Picture of Deck with one Table Top Garden=== also this pic is from today which was only 4 days after the last picture and the squash plants are growing like weeds. And the pic has a table that will be made into a table top garden with a 6 inch ledge on the front for laying garden tools on---------no binding over or hunting for tools while I Play.
Excuse all messes=====everything under construction
edit= the boards coming off the side of the table top garden was to keep the table from falling over while hubby lowered the deck.
This message was edited Aug 2, 2011 12:42 PM
Just wanted to save the work you and your husband are doing is amazing!! I have following along this thread since you first posted and I am in awe of your home!
The deck has been lowered but still has to be leveled. You will most likely notice unlevel areas in the photos.
This pic is of= where we cut the 16ft portion of the 48ft deck off and put it on the end of the house where the main door is at...............still have to fill in that gap with a triangle corner.
another pic coming up
This message was edited Aug 2, 2011 12:57 PM
This pic is of end of end of house at main door..............the 16ft deck in place=
again= excuse the mess
and one more pic after this
I have dial up. while my pictures load, I am off doing chores.
This pic= back side of some of the house that has some siding on it. I want that deck to wrap around and go past the back door.
Also= pic of my other table top gardens. It use to have potatoes growing in there but I pulled them all up and sowed carrot seeds this past week. And there are 2 crookneck squash plants in there too. Eventually- the table gardens go on the deck. And watered that squash plant while pictures were loading.
Would you like to see who you been chatting with.
Me= 41 years old.
Hubby =43 years old.
AT the Birmingham Zoo March 2011
Great picture of the two of you. I like your table top gardens. Do you treat the wood with anything?
Thank you Desert.
And Janet= bring on the meat. I'm hungry.
I was thrown a curve ball. I wanted a cast iron wood burning stove in the living room. Somebody gave me a fire place insert.
Now I am Pondering... scratching my head..... sigh.....i really want a cast iron stove.
I didn't treat the wood. The wood is already treated but I lined them with 6mil plastic and the plastic has holes where the holes are at in the bottom( 3/4 ply)
The newest table gardens are going to have 1x10s instead of 1x12s.........not sure how it will work out .
Sell or trade the fireplace insert... 90% of the heat goes up the chimney.
Cast iron stoves radiate 90% of the heat into the living space... and you can cook on most of them in a power outage.
forgot i had taken two more photos while i was out watering
I took distant pics.
back
thats a good idea darius====a friend gave us the insert. He does a lot of construction work and got it off a job. After we moved to this area 9 years ago, we now live far apart= 100 miles. I would hate to hurt their feelings but= I really like the idea of selling it and buying what i really want. I want a small cast iron in the office too to help heat our master bedroom and bath.
distant corner front view
I am very impressed with your accomplishments! Thanks for taking us along on your journey.
Everything looks great including the 2 of you. How long have you been using the table top garden method?
You know. It doesn't matter if the house is 8000 sq. ft. or 800. You two are truly living your dream. Doing this work yourself. You know it will be a well made home and last the rest of your lives. You should be so proud! AND, it's adorable!! And I LOVE your table top gardens. I will definitely have these plans for my hubby's future... heh, heh.
Really sorry to hear about your arthritis. I was dx last year with inflammatory arthritis and have some other health issues cropping up. I know how hard it is to do anything some days.
And you're on for the party!! Maybe next year?!!
Take care of yourselves and have a great time. Janet :)
Cool to see the major progress you two have done! Very nice and what has your grandfather had to say lately? He should be very proud.
On the fireplace insert, I would agree with Darius. We have one at work and one in the living room area and one in our bedroom. They are o.k. and we have found a means to keep more heat in the room but the cast iron is far more efficient with far less wood consumption.
If you decide to keep the insert, place it about 18 to 22 inches above the floor level. That makes it easier to tend to, radiates the heat out into the room better and we have found when it is not on the floor level the cold air draft doesn't make the heat go up the chimney as freely so it is a bit more efficient. Just a thought.
What are you planning for flooring in the rooms with the heat?
Flooring around heater= I want to round up some River Rock. That may take more time than what I have. It will be rock of some sort just so it doesn't heat the floor and cause fires. The floor will first have that Backer board put down, then morter ,then the rock. I want it to be rustic. I been collecting a few antiques that I want hung on the walls behind a cast iron heater. The walls will have rock on them too==but only a couple of feet.
This was my first year growing in the Table Top Gardens. I've known about it for a long time. Just never took the time to make them. I have had arthritis in my knees for 22 years. The older I get the worse it gets. Knees lock up in the middle of the night while I am sleeping too. Severe pain level 10. Most of the time when I stoop down, I can't get back up. Hurts going down and hurts coming back up. I have to have help sometimes when I go grocery shopping cause I cannot stoop to the bottom shelf. And sometimes I cannot climb stairs. Somewhere along the way, my elbows started having problems too. Recently it has gotten worse. Hands and feet are minor. Arthritis in my back too for about 12 years. I thought my back hurt cause I worked too much but chiropractor said it was arthritis. I just take ibuprofen and keep going. I can't take Celebrex. If you have a bleeding disorder , you should not take Celebrex. I have a bleeding bladder and its been that way most of my life.
I just want to make my life more comfy. Table Top Gardens are great.
I have trouble getting back up after stooping down too. My arms are still a bit stronger than my legs. I can only take a bath if DH is home to help me out the tub. Otherwise I have to take a shower. I really like those gardens.
I am going to start a topic thread about Table Top Gardens in the Vegetable Gardening forum. It's a whole subject all by its little self and maybe others have done the same thing.
That is a great idea.
Table Top Gardens thread
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1205112/
bounce bounce.
look= shingles :)
Looking good!
Wow!!!!
awsome, now no more leaks