Week Six - November 22-26

Thanksgiving week - and more rain- not a big week for the room. However...
Monday- No work today - it rained and Dan (the draftsperson) had to go get revised floor plan approved.
Tuesday- The inspector didn't come to sign off on floor joists - surprise surprise-Rob upset since he waited and waited
Wednesday- Mike and Brian working - inspector finally came- and they were able to cover the joists and insulation with plywood. They built a higher plastic tent to protect everything. Maybe THIS is the room!
Thursday- Thanksgiving- We have more than enough to be thankful for (besides the room!), This was a really nice day for Jim and me- spent with Judy and friends- good food (the best pecan pie I've ever had-sigh), good conversation. Later, more conversation (and more wine!) with Brian and Jan and their family. Maggie sprained her leg running around like the wild girl she is- so she got lots of attention everywhere we went - as did Camelia the beautiful.
Friday- No room work - but I almost finished painting a hummingbird for MaryBeth-and.....worked on and on doing drafts for the Leopard and Mouse book...a long project I am doing for WAY too little - but...it may have good consequences down the road.

Oh yes....I think the rest of the house is striking back from neglect - after the water heater, now the existing bathroom sink drain decided to corrode through-so...we now have no water in the bathroom sink and are waiting for Jim's plumber friend Scott to resurface from invisibility.

Week Five - November 15-19

A lot of progress made this week..
Monday- Finally - the inspector came- approved the property line changes - everything ready to go to pour the footings

Tuesday-Footings done

Wednesday-Cement dry and wood sub floor begun
Thursday-insulation in subfloor, then everything covered since it might rain.
Friday - Waiting again for inspection. It's going to rain all weekend, so a big plastic roof covered everything.
Meanwhile, I ordered samples for tile for the bathroom an they came - but too dark. Rob sent me off to DalTile to look at their selection - I got some samples. The saleswoman there said it would be 8 weeks to make the tile! oh dear. The tile selections are daunting. However, since the house is a 1924 Craftsman bungalow - I thought it would be best to stick somewhere close to the time period instead of veering off into all the stone and Spanish tiles so popular in Home Depot. I found an online source with a good selection of hexagon and subway tiles. I don't want just black and white - but who knows how expensive this part of the project will be. Also, meanwhile, our water heater decided to disintegrate, so the plumber, who was already coming to do some work on the water piping, came to replace the water heater and reinstall in on a platform, so it is now according to code as well - another $1000. sigh.

Week Four - November 8-12

This week we were hoping the foundation would be poured. However...
Monday- An inspector came and suspected the property line and setback for the foundation is off. Todd, Mike and Rob measured from the marker -unofficially, and found a few inches discrepancy. So- turns out we have to have surveyors come and measure officially. Sigh. Tuesday-Rob got estimates and has guys coming Wednesday to survey- it's costing $2200. Bigger sigh.

Wednesday-Surveyors measured and found the real property lines. Okay in the back but the side is off 2 1/4". They have to move the forms. Better now than later. The guys also made a trench for the new gas line. Gas company is supposed to come replace the line in the next 5 days.

Thursday-Holiday for us, not for them. Mike and Todd are here working away on the forms. Meanwhile, the next door landlady, Mindy, called Jim to voice the tenant Char's complaint that she had no notice about the survey guys. Well, we didn't have any either. Plus, Jim let her know that Char's dog Daisy is a total pain in the butt - barking in the middle of the night most nights. Just what we need- trouble with the neighbor!

Friday-Mike waited all afternoon for the inspector to come and approve the moved forms. They were still hoping to get approval and pour cement on Saturday. Mike left at 4pm - the inspector showed up at 5pm, as it was getting dark. He looked around and said it was too dark and left- throwing Jim's phone back at him, Rob still talking to the guy. Nice! Makes you feel good about your local services. Will he come back on Monday? Who knows. Meanwhile, the gas company hasn't come to move the meter and do their work either. Here's the wood in the driveway- waiting......

Week Three - Nov 1-5

Halloween and Maggie's 4th birthday happened over the weekend-Maggie continues to behave like an unruly puppy regardless of her supposed maturity-but still- how cute is she with her birthday snake?
Monday- waiting to resume work. Tuesday-yay! The guys were here early- started digging and getting rid of the giant pile of dirt. We met in the evening with Rob to make final decisions about the windows and door. Wednesday-Work started early morning. Mike was going to shut off the water to remove the sewer line and replace. It happened earlier than I thought since he hit it- oh well-I was leaving for a conference in the bay area anyway- Jim wouldn't be home until later. The sewer pipe was corroded and broken anyway-another good reason to be doing this addition!

Thursday - waiting to start making the forms for the foundation

By the end of Thursday some of the forms are up! The sewer pipe is fixed too. A setback with the windows - there's a big delay in production for the Milgard ones- so we're switching to Melvin - apparently they are better anyway- and for the same price.

Friday- Inspector came out - there are some issues about the property line that have to be resolved before any cement can be poured. Here's what things looked like Saturday morning after I got home. The sewer line is new - but look at the standing ground water underneath- not sure about that.


I'm going to try to save the last hopseed bush this weekend.