Blogin' it. - My first house. 

3/22/2006 - Thursday

We have power and hot water. Kevin called the power company yesterday morning, and by yesterday afternoon the power was moved over to the house.

Saturday and Sunday are moving days. Its officially the end of the beginning:) I don't think anyone's house is ever truly "finished." But at least we can move in, and the pressure is off. Now, we can work on it when we feel like it, and Kevin can get back to working on hydropower.

3/22/2006 - Wednesday

We got the CO! Hurray!

Now all Kevin has to do is convince the electric company to come out this week and move the power over to the house. Since we won't have enough power to run the water heater until they establish full service, I am hoping they'll get here before the weekend. I am not so sure I want to move in until we have hot water...

Anyway, Kevin finished installing the appliances, cabinets and countertops. Here are some pics:
3-21-2006-04
(Btw, the bathroom is NOT this yellow...the lighting and whatever mode the camera is in really distort the colors...note to self: try different camera settings so the bathroom doesn't look so damn yellow...)

3-21-2006-06

3-21-2006-07

3-21-2006-08

Just odds'n ends left to do. I think Kevin is spending today fixing the leaking sinks, and doing some touch up painting. Also, if I don't update for a few days, it means I am moving and not sitting in front of my computer, so wish for some sunny weather this weekend:)

3/20/2006 - Monday

Almost there!

Kevin has a very short list of tasks to do in order to get the CO. He needs to install a shut-off valve and a pressure gauge, put trim around the entrance to the attic, and a few other little things that I can't remember right now. His main goals this week are obviously to get those tasks finished so we can get the CO, and then get the power company to come move the power over to the house. Other than that, we should be ready to move in by the end of the week!

Here are some pictures from this weekend:
3-19-06-05

Our great big closet! (It has almost as much volume as my current bedroom...which tells you how small my room is right now, 'cause this closet really isn't that big...)
3-19-06-08

So much utility! Wow! :)
3-19-06-12

Trim...I am so sick of it....little pieces of wood you stick on the walls...poor Kevin, how tedious... (but it looks great! Finished even...)
3-19-06-18

3-19-06-19

3-19-06-19

I am going to be replaced by a machine, hurray!
3-19-06-25

The to do list for the week includes: installing all of the appliances, finishing trim, CO requirements, and kitchen cabinet work. Once the dishwasher is installed, Kevin can finish installing the kitchen cabinets and counter tops. Currently, both the kitchen sink and bathroom sink leak, so there will be some time devoted to fixing that as well. (To Kevin's credit, it's not his fault. The sinks are installed correctly, the hardware just doesn't seal very well). After that, its moving time!

3/17/2006 - Friday

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! – You know what I think is funny? All the noise and attention in the news about the “problem” of St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Friday during lent. The way it works is that Catholics are not allowed to eat meat on Fridays for so many weeks before Easter. However, the traditional Irish meal for St. Patrick’s Day is corned beef and cabbage. You can see where this had many people confused over what to do. The entire Catholic authority in America got together and discussed the theological consequences of eating corned beef today, and there has been an official edict, possibly even a statement from the Vatican, that it is ok to have corned beef for dinner today. LOL, these are the sorts of silly consequences that result from people doing irrational things.

So anyway, back on topic: Sorry, I forgot to get any pictures from Kevin, so there are no pictures to share today.

However, Kevin been working as diligently as ever, and there is much to report: He’ll try to get the CO today, which means that the electric company can come move the power over to the house early next week. (They don’t supply full service to a residence until there is a CO). He installed the pressure tank and water heater, so all plumbing is officially finished. All the lights, ceiling fans, plugs, and switches are installed.

He will pick up all of the appliances today, and hopefully get some of them installed. Once we get the dishwasher and oven in place, we can finish up the cabinet installation, and get working on the trim (which he may start painting today).

The to do list for this weekend includes installing the shelves and closet racks, trim installation around windows, doors, and the floor, cleaning cabinets, and touch up paint (there are a few spots where we pulled the tape off that we used for masking and it pulled some of the paint off with it). We may even be able to start moving some of our stuff into the house: ) It looks like we will be able to move in next week!

3/14/2006 - Tuesday

Here is the bathroom looking much more finished...
3-13-2006-02

Here is one of three ceiling fans:)
3-13-2006-03

Hooray for Walmart, these fans were cheap, and they run great!

3/13/2006 - Monday

The weather is beautiful here in NC. It’s been very sunny and warm, and the temperature will reach almost 80 degrees F today. It’s like we skipped spring and went straight to summer. (The weather is supposed to get colder again later this week, which will make it easier to be at work all day: )

Anyway, Kevin and I spent a lovely weekend in VA. We relaxed by the lake, and scored a free waterbed and microwave (thanks Mom and Dad!). We also spent more money at Home Depot, and loaded Kevin’s truck down for the trip back over the mountains to our house. I wish we had gotten a picture, because there was not a cubic inch of space left to carry anything else. The water bed took up the little trailer, and we packed the bed of his truck up with a bathroom cabinet, mirror, vanity top, Mayo Hydro’s new table saw, the bed frame, plumbing fittings, a trash bin, towel racks, door knobs, and sundry other little odds ‘n ends. We had to carry the microwave in the cab of the truck with us. I think Kevin’s typical understatement was something like, “This is just about a full load.”

The goal this week is to get the CO (certificate of occupancy). Kevin was able to get a lot of work done last week, including installing all of the interior doors. All that needs to be done before the government says we can move in is to install some finish plumbing (the toilet and sinks), and some finish electrical work. He should be able to get the CO either at the end of this week, or early next week.

However, that doesn’t mean we can move in yet. There are still some finish things that really ought to be done before we live there, like the trim around the windows, doors, and the floor, installing the closet racks, and getting all the appliances hooked up. The appliances won’t arrive until this Friday, the 17th.

In sum, we are almost there, and should be able to move in less than two weeks! Hurray!

3/10/2006 - Friday

Leaps and bounds, leaps and bounds:

3-9-2006-02

I think Kevin will start installing interior doors today:
3-9-2006-05

Not yellow....
3-9-2006-06

After spending yet another half day at Home Depot, and over $1000, Kevin has enough materials to keep himself occupied for the next week. Only the fun stuff is left:), trim, appliances, light fixtures, finish cabinet work, etc. We need a table saw though, so if anyone reading this knows where we can beg, borrow, or steal one, let me know:)

3/8/2006 - Wednesday

Kevin finished up the floor yesterday. Unfortunately, he didn’t get any pictures. I don’t blame him; the job took ALL day, and I imagine he was pretty worn out at the end, and didn’t feel much like taking pictures. He said the job went well though, and that our floor looks very professional. Good job Kev:)

The next jobs on the list include installing the cabinets, interior doors, and trim. I’ll keep you posted…

3/6/2006 - Monday

Well, we didn’t get quite as much done this weekend as we had hoped for. But that’s ok, we still made a lot of progress. On Friday, Kevin got the pressure washer working and cleaned the garage floor. On Saturday, he and I cleaned the floors in the rest of the house, and finished up in the garage. Now, it may sound strange that it took ALL DAY to clean the floor of our small house, but keep in mind that the bare slab was essentially covered in drywall compound and drops of paint and other debris. Kevin ran the pressure washer while I used our brand new shop vac to clean up after him.

Therefore, the tools of the week are definitely the pressure washer and the shop vac. Both were essential in the task of prepping the floor for the epoxy coat. The tools worked like a charm, and if not for them, we would still be trying to scrape drywall compound off of the floor. However, I really have no desire to ever do that job again. It was a wet, dirty, labor intensive, and tedious job that left my feet cold and wet, and my back sore for most of the day. (I know I know, poor me, right?: ) In the end though, the effort is well worth the knowledge that all that dirt and grime is not longer in my house, and will not be visible on my floor.

Sunday was a much slower day, as Kevin spent just a couple of hours on the Kubota covering up the septic tanks (yes, plural). My hope is that today he will be able to get at least one, if not both coats of epoxy down on the floor. At this rate, it looks like we really may be able to move in by the end of March: )

3/3/2006 - Friday

It’s Friday again, happy, happy Friday. According to Kevin, today is a good day to cover up the septic system (right now it’s a gaping wound in our yard), as well as prep the floor for finishing. So, that’s what he’s doing today. Moving a little more dirt around, again, and then playing with solvents and the pressure washer. It’s a lovely day for it too, sunny and warm. I swear its like spring around here.

As for tomorrow, hopefully we’ll finish the floor. We’re going as fast as we can, but neither one of us thinks its fast enough. The house is so temptingly close to being finished, and I really, truly cannot wait to move in:)


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