Ev"s New (to hime) House

Saturday, October 14, 2006

The office...

What more does a good blogger need then a nice cool office space with a little fridge full of drinks nearby? The chair rolls quite nicely on the concrete too. Creaky floor boards above also allow me to monitor the rest of the house quite nicely.














Managed to get the drain from the tub straightened out this morning, it had gotten knocked out of center a bit when we moved it in last weekend. Still no water though, it was nice enough today that I thought I'd better make some progress on the outside. Made a trip to Menards and got some vinyl siding and foam sheeting to give us a bit more insulation from the cold winter winds of Iowa, got some of the sheeting done before it got too dark. Hopefully more progress on that tomorrow.

So how was Nan able to soak in the tub tonite without running hot water to it? Eavestrough, of course. Hey, its better than hauling buckets four whole feet :-)















And yes, I know I'm lucky that Nan hasnt strung me up yet for all this crazyness she's been putting up with.

Friday, October 13, 2006

The writing on the wall...

Call me crazy but I think there may be a little pirate roaming our neighborhood. Some strange symbols have appeared on our front door. Only a pirate would leave the sign of the Black Mark with a permanent marker...















Check out some more of the latest photos from around the house...

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Cool, clear water...

Nothing like cool water from a porcelin tank to quench your parched, dry throat. I didnt think that not having water from a faucet on the main floor was so bad. Then again I havent been the one doing dishes lately, I guess its alot harder than it looks to fish out your silverware from the tank and not accidently flush all the water out.


















Hmmm... It is much easier to drink without having to mess around with a ladel. I guess hot water is nice too. As you can see running water takes priority over taping off the drywall and a coat of paint, the vanity may have to come again when that time comes... but that might be awhile.














The littlest man likes having Gigi around to take care of him.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Not much to report...

Slow evening last night. Didnt have everything I need to get the vanity sink going in the new bath (my original planned project for the evening). Dumpster is getting picked up today, so I spent the time making sure that it is a full as possible.

Monday, October 09, 2006

The half day...

Left the office at noon today with the goal of sealing up the underside of the bathroom before the coldness hits later this week and for once it is mission accomplished. The old porch, which is now the new bath rested on some concrete block piers, so my job was to fill the gaps between piers. Framed in between, sheeted it, and then covered that with some insulated foundation panels, that we'll eventually paint to match the rest.

Before...
















After...





































We did have a casulty tonite though, my electric drill armed with a masonry bit fought the good fight against a host of concrete blocks, but was vastly outnumbered by the blocks and was overwhelmed. Fortunately for me it was on the last hole to be drilled on the last block. It was a hard block, a block from of old, molded at the dawn of time. I knew going into battle with that last block, a weathered block, molded so long ago, that my drill was weary from the battle thus far and that it would be no small miracle if it could defeat this old champion of blocks. The drill managed one hole on that block and I being overconfident of my victories over previous blocks thought I could muster one more hole from the overheating and rattly drill and that I am afraid was its undoing... it came apart at the very end of that final hole. Never leave a drill behind is our moto and after much wrenching and pulling and tugging I managed to pull its broken frame from that block of blocks. It was a great final battle for that drill and the holes he made will not soon be forgotten.














Dumpster is pretty much full...














Check out our Picasa Web Album for more photos...
From House

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Kitchen Status...

Here's a couple picks of the kitchen and how things have transformed. Still aways to go. Nan and Gg are putting up with no running water in the kitchen right now and have to run up the stairs to get it. I better get a cracking or I'll be strung up.

Before....














After...





























I think winter will be moving in this week, so the priority will be getting the underside of the new bath sealed up. Got the outside of it papered and most of the floor joists have R-16 insulation.