Hillcrest Casa Verde

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Coming Along

Well, Friday was a big day......the door and windows went in and the felt went up on the roof. It's beginning to look like a real room.....and a covered porch too!

And tomorrow, the back wall is coming down! There will be a big beam in it's place, so the whole room will be huge (by Hillcrest standards, that is!)

I can't wait.

There are pictures in the camera of the updates, so they'll go up soon.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Finally Photos!

I finally got photographs downloaded from the camera last night, so here they are!

Some are self explanatory, others show the guys straightening the post in the front, and the new brackets and fascia boards.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Well, last week I found the only place in Arkansas that sells denim insulation.(Bonded Logic - Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation).....and drove 2 hours each way to go get some. It was much cheaper than it would've been to pay for the freight to get it sent to me! On the way back, with two bundles filling in the back of my car, and one on the roof, going about 40 mph...... I got back in town just in time for a heavy thunderstorm. Now my denim is in the kitchen, waiting to go between the joists of the new floor.

Also last week, my tankless hot water heater went in, and I LOVE it! I'm getting hot water much faster than I ever did before, AND I'm not keeping 40 gallons of water hot all the time, waiting for me to need it.(Rinnai. America's Leading Tankless Water Heaters: Energy Saving, Forever Hotwater)

The same day the water heater went in, my dishwasher died. Just a coincidence. Didn't really cry over the demise....now I can get a new one!

The old hot water heater, storm windows, and washer and dryer are off to Habitat for Humanity(Habitat for Humanity - Pulaski County - Arkansas).

The old porch is gone. There are some joists in the new part, but we have to wait for the electricity to go underground before we can put the rest in because the old electricity is in the way. They dug the hole across the yard and buried the pipe for the electricity. The cable and phone lines will be in the hole too.

When the guys were replacing the fascia boards around the house, they found out that part of the chimney was about to fall down......so down it came, all the way to the roof, and now there's plastic in it's place, waiting for the guy to come and rebuild.....but the fascia looks good!

I've been getting ready for demo in the kitchen...so my cabinets are mostly empty at this point....and no pots and pans means no cooking, indoors. Still have the use of the grill, and the microwave. What the heck, it's too hot to cook anyway, right?

I've heard that my new storm windows are in, my new windows are in, AND I just ordered my floor tiles on Thursday and they already called this morning to tell me they're already in! I guess it's better to have the materials waiting on me than to be waiting on the materials.

I've been taking pictures, but they're still in the camera, so I'll get them downloaded soon, I promise. Meanwhile, I've got a picture of my tile for you....

Monday, July 7, 2008

It Has Started!

Today I have three different crews working on the house. One starting the foundation in the back, one working on straightening one of the front columns and tuck pointing brick all around the base of the house, and the electrician starting the updating and moving of the service panel. The electricity will be underground along with the cable and phone wires, which will look so much better than having wires dangling around everywhere.

Already had one guy come out today to see what needs to be done to stop air infiltration and seal the ducts and give me a bid, and another will come later to see about the retaining wall and chimney.

It's great to see all this actually happening instead of talking and thinking and planning for so long....

There will be more pictures soon.