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Posted to WeAreBuildingAgain by Ellen in Orlando, FL
on 11/15/2007 4:14:11 PM
It’s been a busy last few days. When George & Linda were here on Friday, they gave me a list of plants; and it took 2 trips with the truck to get everything. On Tuesday, we had our final inspection on the low voltage and the electrical. We passed both inspections and were very pleased. Additionally, the shed passed its final inspections. More sod was delivered and laid. Their forklift got stuck and we tried to pull it out but our rope snapped, then a County truck stopped and he had chains. His toy, I mean truck, was bigger and pulled the forklift out of the mud.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007, we got our CO!
What a great birthday present. We are currently moving things in from the motorhome and setting up house. Lot’s of shopping to do, but someone has to do it. Thursday, we went out and finally got our grill for the patio and did more shopping! We had our water softener system installed and the water is so clear. Friday, Art has been working on hanging towel bars and reducing his to-do list. Saturday, we had the garage door openers install and more shopping. Sunday, we traveled to Naples to see our friends, Larry & Janet, and picked up our new John Deer lawn mower. Now, Art is in heaven with another new toy.
Until next time
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Posted to WeAreBuildingAgain by Ellen in Orlando, FL
on 11/6/2007 7:08:37 AM
Sunday, we cleaned the house and put everything in order. Art placed one of our patio sets in the dinette area and it actually looks good in there.
Monday, Chris, our painter, was here painting doors and trim. Art hung all of our blinds in the windows. Also, Del-Air was here replacing a part and doing checks, the heat works. I had to exchange one piece of molding trim for the hardwood floors. The trim was about 4 shades lighter than the rest of the trim. When I visited the store and selected the correct color, I was told they could not exchange the piece, because we had opened it. In other words, we had removed the cellophane wrapping. Additionally, we had cut about one inch off, so the store refused the exchange because it is their store policy. I asked to speak to the manager in my nicest voice, while wearing my receptionist smile. He reiterated the store policy, so I asked in my nicest voice, but a little louder, “You mean to tell me, that after I spent over $2000 for hardwood floors, you do not want to help me with this one piece.” He then replied with “would you drive a new car off the lot with a flat tire?” That response required an Ellen “look!” I advised him that if I did, I would expect the dealership to immediately take care of it. He pulled my receipt and noticed how much I actually did spend, which was close to $2800, he then said he would exchange it for me this time. I will not buy any more hardwood floors from that store!
Tuesday, we had several crews here doing their jobs. Jim, the inside trim, the cabinet guys, the painter and an electrician were all here at one time.
Wednesday, the Lovelace Gas guys installed our tank and we have hot water in the house. Art is working on the low-voltage wiring in the house and moving our RV pedestal.
Thursday, we order some trees in order to get our CO. In our area of Orange County, we have to have 6 trees, and they do not count palm trees as a required tree. Not only do we have to have 6 trees, they have to be a minimum of 2 inches around. We ordered 2 Red Maples, 2 Crepe Myrtles, 10 small date palms, 5 Bird of Paradises, and 5 medium date palms. The nursery we ordered these from will also plant them for a small fee. The painter was here and the new electrician is finishing up some work. The new electrician is not a happy camper with the mistakes he is correcting.
Friday, the same crew that was here on Thursday was here today. George and Linda stopped by midday to do measurements for our plants. The three of us went to Lowe's and Home Depot to get an idea of what other plants we would need. During the evening we went shopping for bed mattresses at Sam’s Club. Our purchases included a queen box springs, queen mattress, 2 mattresses covers, 2 set of pillows, king box springs, and king mattress. We were standing in line along with 2 helpers from Sam’s with our purchases, and Art left to get the truck. After Art left and I was paying for the purchase, a 3rd helper came to help and asked “what kind of car are you driving?” I didn’t miss a beat and said, “Volkswagen beetle.” The expression on his face was priceless! Then, one of the other guys said we were driving a truck.
Saturday, Martha and Rolando arrived with the plants we had ordered. We only had him plant the 4 trees. The palms we kept in their pots. Art did not like the bird of paradise, so we did not get them.
It is really starting to look like a home.
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Posted to WeAreBuildingAgain by Ellen in Orlando, FL
on 11/1/2007 11:15:34 AM
This started out with a busy Sunday. Art worked with the electrician on some final problems. I worked in the motorhome getting ready for a road trip. What a gorgeous fall day in Florida, the temperature dropped down to 79, and it was a great day to do catch-up work.
Monday, the yard is finally graded and looks great! The sod guys were here laying sod in certain areas to stop erosion. We hit the road around 7 pm and headed for North Carolina.
Tuesday, was a travel day and the motorhome ran fine after sitting still for 4 months.
Wednesday, we traveled by truck to Virginia. Our oldest daughter was getting promoted to Lieutenant on the Police department.
Thursday, attended the promotion ceremony and headed back to North Carolina.
Friday, we hit the road to go furniture shop. What a day, and deals to be made. We went back to the campground and met some friends, and then we went out to dinner. Acted like a bunch of silly kids.
Saturday, we traveled 45 miles to the rally site. The next few will be busy with motorhome rally things.
Tuesday, we heard from Chris, our painter, the hardwood floors are almost completed and he has been working on the sills. He will get in touch with Jim, the inside trim, to finish his work.
Friday, we finished all the furniture shopping and would highly recommend the North Carolina experience. The rally was great! The food, entertainment and sharing time with friends was also great! We started our trip back home, what a great sound, back home. Everything ran pretty smoothly on the first day except a little leak in our ceiling before we even left the parking lot. Nothing that we can’t fix. Saturday, we only had 136 miles left before we arrive to our home and by our calculation, we should arrive home around 1:30 in the afternoon. After we were on the road for a little while, Art notice the driving of the coach wasn’t feeling right. We pulled into a Flying J in St. Augustine to check the coach. Art noticed our rear left tire was low, so he filled it with air. He did not feel very comfortable with this tire, so we unhooked the truck for me to follow him. After about 50 miles, I noticed a piece of rubber fly past me. I called Art on the cell and told him to pull over, and before he could pull over, he lost the tire. We not only lost the outside tire, but it tore the rear inside tire as well. That means we will have to buy 2 new tires and have them mounted on the side of Interstate 95. After $730 later and a few hours of waiting, we were back on the road and landed at home around 6:30 in the evening
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Posted to WeAreBuildingAgain by Ellen in Orlando, FL
on 10/23/2007 9:09:11 PM
Week ending October 15th
We began this week by trying to sleep until 8 am, and we almost accomplished that task. Sunday left us to cleaning the inside of the house, I mean really cleaning. The carpets should be laid this coming week.
Monday, we had two crews here today, the pavers and the carpet guys. Our carpet was installed in the bedrooms and it does look nice. We are having pavers for our driveway, sidewalk, and small patio beside the lanai, sidewalk from the lanai to the driveway, and from the back of the garage to the front of the detached garage. These guys worked on the back side area and got most of it finished. After things were winding down, Art started to install our towel bars in the master bathroom. I did buy the blinds that we would need in the bedroom, and the curtain rod for the dining room.
Tuesday, before 8 am, the painter and plumber arrived! The pavers and screen folks arrived after 9 am. Everyone is off in their own area and working steady at their jobs. However, I must take a few minutes and discuss one of the screen workers, and I use that term loosely. She is dressed for work, but I have not seen her do any work, only sitting down. Maybe I should take her a Nora Roberts book for her to read, because she definitely is not working. I must have put her to shame seeing that I was working, helping Art put up our columns, because then she started to work a little.
Wednesday, what a busy place we had today. The crew finished our screen around the lanai area; our closet guy finished his work by installing the rods in each closet; and the concrete guys was working all day on the apron to our driveway, another finished job. The pavers’ crews worked all day and are 75% done. All that is left for them to do is to finish the sidewalk, concrete around the edges and sand the top. After several calls to OUC over the past few days, our meter was installed today and we have pre-power! Art called Del-Air to start the Air Conditioner. They were out by late afternoon to do their work and we have AC in the house!
When we went to the Home Show, we received a 10% off coupon at Floor Décor in Orlando. That happens to be the place that we have been looking for our hardwood floors. After I made my selection and was arranging for pick up, the team leader asked me to fill out this form for future pickup, explaining that I would not be able to get this all in my truck. He never asked me what type of truck I was driving; he just assumed I was driving a girly truck. After he walked away, the clerk asked me when would I be picking up the floor, and my reply was “now.” She then asked what date to put on the form, and I replied “today’s date.” I then asked her to take a look at my Dodge Ram truck, she replied “the red one,” and I said “yes.” Her response was that I would have no problem. We unloaded all the wood supplies, well, Art unloaded the supplies and I did what he asked me to do. Our wood is inside our nice cool house and acclimating to our home’s temperature. I was told by Dick, one of my brother-in-laws, we have to do this for 48 hours before the wood floors are installed. They are scheduled to be installed on Monday.
Thursday, our pavers are finished and worth every penny we spent. The company was a nice group and left our property the way they found it.
Friday, now that we have our pavers down, we can not drive on it for 7 days. Normally, that would not be a problem, except next week we are going to North Carolina to shop for furniture. We have a drainage ditch directly in front of where we parked the motorhome, so we could not drive straight, or so I thought. Art had a “men’s brain session” with the guys at Tropical plumbing and they came up with a plan, and all I was told was to have the motorhome ready to be moved. At 7 a.m., I heard a dump truck; looked out the window to see he was dumping dirt in the ditch, and right behind him was a 2nd truck ready to follow the same plan. Since Tropical has been doing all of the grading, the plan was to dump the first 2 loads in the ditch and the other 2 in the yard. Shawn from Tropical was here at 7:15 and went to work moving and packing dirt. So by 8:30 am, we were ready to roll. We had parked the motorhome on wood which helped with traction for Art’s running start. All that was going through my mind was our motorhome sinking in this freshly packed dirt and that’s probably the reason I wasn’t told of the plan. Shawn and I watched for traffic, and once Art started rolling, he didn’t stop until the motorhome was completely on the street. Shawn spent the rest of the day moving the dirt from the ditch and spreading the other 2 loads. We hired a handyman who was willing to work for $10 an hour to shovel dirt into places that Shawn couldn’t get to.
OUC didn’t waste any time mailing our first bill to us. They turn on our pre-power on Wednesday and read the temporary meter. We received our first bill on Friday!
Until next time!
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Posted to WeAreBuildingAgain by Ellen in Orlando, FL
on 10/8/2007 8:09:38 PM
We started the week off by going to the home show. We talked to a lot of folks about different things and received tons of information.
Monday, started with the painter, gas guys and the new electrician. Harry stopped by to give us a bid for the wire racks in our closet and he wanted $1,502 to do everything. We talked about it and decided to wait for the 2nd guy. Ray, the 2nd guy, stopped by and gave us a bid of $500 to do the same work. Ray will be installing our closets racks on Wednesday.
Tuesday, Chris, the painter was here bright and early with instructions not to wake us. The pavers guy stopped by for us to sign a contract. I cleaned the rest of the windows to get them ready for the 3M window shield.
Wednesday, our gutters were installed; Chris finished painting the inside of all the closets and the shed. Shawn was also here finishing the final grade. Art was not feeling well today, so that left me IN CHARGE! By noon, he was outside digging a trench. I asked the workers if Art passed out to let me know, so I could throw him a pillow.
Thursday, our guys were here hanging our gutters, Chris was painting the garage and some flower pots, and the 3M film guys were also here installing our window film. Our pavers were delivered today, along with their mix for our driveway. Our front yard is waiting for the action to begin.
Friday, OUC sent out a contracting company to pull the electrical wire to the box, after they complete their side of the work, they call OUC and then the meter is installed by OUC. As soon as the guy walked to the box, he informed Art that it would not pass inspection. Apparently, our electrician pulled the ground wire through the wrong hole. He should have pulled it through the hole next to it. I was at Home Depot doing my morning errands and received a call from Art giving me the news. He was not a happy camper. When I returned home, I could tell that all the other contractors were staying far away from the hornet's nest! Art repaired the ground wire and the guys returned late in the afternoon do their thing. OUC should be out on Monday to install the meter and then we can have pre-power. This also means we can put our hardwood floors down!
Our wire rack closets were installed today, and they look great. Chris finished painting my pantry and I love it!
Saturday, the pavers guys are here, and our concrete texturing guys are here. The plus side is that they all showed up after 9 a.m. This is good for us.
While we were traveling, I had a crap, I mean craft box, which contained ALL of my craft projects. Since, I am being honest; it contained most of my bear and sewing projects. My beading projects and supplies are in an undisclosed area inside the motorhome. Anyway, I had the pleasure of sorting this box into smaller boxes, so we can store them temporarily in the detached garage. The shelves are installed in my crap; I mean craft, closet in the house. I am so excited over the amount of shelves and room that I am going to have. Art out did them himself in my crap, I mean craft, area.
The urinal – that’s right ladies, we have a urinal in our master bathroom. After I had adjusted to the idea of having one, I chose one that wasn’t so commercial looking. Then our plumber contacted us and asked if it was OK to change the type of urinal. I said, and I quote “As long as it is similar to the one we have chosen.” The only thing that is similar is the fact that it is a urinal. But, it seems that it’s only me that is having a problem with the looks of this thing.
The plus side is that the toilet seat will always be in the correct position! I have attached a picture of the urinal that I chose and the one that is installed, so you can see for yourself!
Other pictures are the master bath shower.
Now, I will close out this week on another note, grandkids. As any grandparent will tell you “our grandchildren are our reward for not killing our kids when they were growing up.” Grandkids are so special, and think that we, grandparents, can do no wrong. Just the other day, we get a call from one of our grandsons, age 5, and he needed to talk to his grandpa. It appeared that he overfed the fish and his dad told him that the fish would die because he overfed it. So, he wanted grandpa to come over to his house and fix the fish before he died. The grandson had a plan, grandpa was to get the fish out of the tank, press on the fish’s stomach and blow into the fish’s mouth!
Now, that everyone has had a laugh, until next week!
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Posted to WeAreBuildingAgain by Ellen in Orlando, FL
on 10/3/2007 5:30:37 PM
Sunday, we both worked in the house. I vacuumed floors, cleaned cabinets and vacuumed the inside of all the cabinets. Art cut the grass around the motorhome, used the leaf blower on the garage floor and got it ready for the paint guy. We also had a visitor today; I looked at our security monitor and saw something walking up our driveway, like he owned the place. I looked outside to see that our visitor was an armadillo.
Monday started out a little slow, but by midday it was as busy as usual. The plumbers are here finishing up their work. There is a little snag with the fixtures for the half bath, but I’m sure that will be resolved. Our low-voltage guy is here finishing up his work, we hope. (Actually, he has to return on Wednesday to finish.) The electrician’s crew did not have the correct parts for the floor outlet and it is required before we can get pre-power. I should explain when we first started with this electrician, he listed his company name on the contract, then when we saw the electrical permit, it was under another company’s name. We asked him about this and he informed us that he subcontracts for this company. Art asked to meet with the license holder of the other company and we did so.
We voided the original contract and reissued a contract under the license holder's name with the understanding that the original electrician would still do all the work. The original electrician has caused all our problems. The original electrician has not showed up the last two weekends, but has sent his weekend crew to do the work. This crew works only on the weekends for the original electrician. Anyway, the original electrician was supposed to come out on Monday to complete the work so we can get pre-power. He did not show up!
Tuesday, the original electrician did not show up today, and he did not call either. We called the company’s owner and decided to hire another electrician to finish the work. We wrote the original electrician a letter to this effect.
Our yard was graded today and it looks great. We passed our gas and plumbing inspections.
Wednesday, we woke up to a very busy place. The stucco guys were working on the shed, soffit guys were here, and the new electrician arrived. Our drywall guy was back repairing all holes and mistakes made by others. We received a bid for a tinted 3M window film for all the windows in the house. This type of film will help with the sun from fading furniture and wood floors. Sounds good to me! The film prevents people from seeing in, blocks UV rays, and makes the window hurricane and break resistant. The soffit guys started their work and it look good.
Thursday, the new electrician finished the rest of his work, and we are waiting for the pre-power inspection. Shawn was out bright and early doing more grading. The soffit guys were here to continue their work and Chris, the painter, was also here setting up for Friday. We had another company come by to give us a bid for the window shield. The first guy called us, so we informed him of the lower price. Later in the evening he called and lowered his price. We agreed to his lower price.
Friday, the painter painted the inside of the garage and that was about it for today; except for the pre-power inspection, and we passed that. This inspector is the same one that will be doing our final electrical inspection, so he gave a list of about 12 items that needed to be corrected before the final.
This is the first weekend in a long time where we are the only ones working. We did have two little helpers that actually did help.
I must take a few minutes to talk about Florida’s Love Bugs. If you have never had the pleasure of being in Florida during Love Bug season, you don’t know what you are missing! They are only around twice a year and last for only 4 weeks each time. It is 4 miserable weeks! The reason they are called Love Bugs is because the two bugs are attached together. When they are done, they die. This aggravating 4 weeks does have an effect on the workers, some put a fan on the bugs, just to blow them away so they can work.
Now, I also must take a few minutes to brag about our oldest granddaughter. She called us to read a speech that she had written, and I almost started to cry. She sounded so grown up! I can’t believe she is 12 years old and in the 7th grade. She read the excellent speech to us. The phrases she used; how she outlined her qualities in an easy to understand way; how she made several valid points; and the way she read it was awesome! Most of all, she is our granddaughter and we are very proud of her!
Until next time
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Posted to WeAreBuildingAgain by Ellen in Orlando, FL
on 9/24/2007 7:41:41 AM
Soon we will be finished
After thinking about this landscaping stuff, we decided to call in a motorhome friend. This couple loves to take cruises, and we met them when they asked us to babysit their tomato plants. So, whenever we were in the same campground, we would watch their plants for them while they took off. Over time, we learned that our friend loves playing with plants and designing. But, since he retired and started to travel, he no longer has a yard to play in. After we talked to him, I don’t know who is more excited, him or us. He can’t wait to come by next week to take a look and see what he wants to do. Locally, there is an “able body” place to hire help for jobs, so we will be stopping there for some able bodies that can dig.
Monday, our tile person, plumbing folks, and paint guy were here doing their thing. Everything seems to be coming together. Part of the bathroom fixtures were installed today, all the tile floors have been laid and the outside painting is almost finished. This last painter is great! During the afternoon, Art knocked on the door and said “your plant man is here.” I’m thinking to myself “what plant man?” but went outside to see what he was referring to. There stood a little man with a trailer full of plants, now I told myself “don’t look too excited.” He had over 50 small palms and wanted $10 each for them and also said he would plant them. I started to fire questions at him, and those that know me, know that I talk very fast when I’m on a roll, and my southern accent comes out even more. This little Mexican man held his hands up and said “I call my wife,” I kept on asking questions and he said hurriedly “I call my wife, her English is better.” So he handed me his phone and I talked to his wife and got all my questions answered and prices on several different plants. Their prices were very reasonable and the planting was cheap. Our last granite countertop was installed today. All the countertops look great, especially with the fixtures that we picked out.
Tuesday, the tile person grouted all the tile floors, walls and is all finished. The painter finished working on the outside, and has moved to the inside to correct mistakes made by the other painter. We now have bath fixtures in both full baths, sinks in the garage and laundry room, fixtures in the kitchen and wet bar. We only have the half bath left and then the towel bars. During the afternoon, our pavers’ guy dropped by to take measurements and scheduled an installation date. It is going to take 50 pallets of pavers, which is three semi-trucks. I spent the morning pricing TV’s, there a lot to choose from, but I think Costco has the best prices.
Wednesday, what a rainy day, it’s a good thing that everyone can work inside. The painter’s here and Art worked on some of his projects. I ran errands and did a little shopping. One of Art’s projects was to cut out a square of drywall in the half bath, so our plumber can move the pipes over. When he did the initial plumbing, before the walls went up, Art explained that it was not in the correct location and needed to be moved over 3 – 6 inches. The plumber said “not to worry,” because he leaves room and can move it at the finals. Now, we are told he cannot move it over, because we have a pedestal sink. By the way, our sinks were chosen a long time ago and have not changed. Now that Art has cut a square out of the wall, the plumber can re-pipe it.
Thursday, I started the day with a visit to Home Depot. That place seems to have moved to the forefront of my shopping experience these days. We decided to install tile around the fireplace and the tile person was here today to take care of it. Additionally, the inside trim guy, Lovelace Gas, and the painter were here. Apparently, none of our subcontractors care for the color we chose for our outside doors. The painter painted the back doors, and was shaking his head when I arrived back to the lot. Well, it does appear to be a deep dark RED! It is suppose to be garnet, I will wait for it to dry, and see what it really looks like.
Friday, the paint is drying and I think the door paint is going to give a color pop to the front. We are going to have the painter paint three pots for the front porch in the same color, which will enhance the color. Lovelace Gas finished with all the gas installation except for the tank itself. My dryer is hooked up and ready to go, the stove looks great, and the fireplace has logs in it. We also had a gas connection run to the outside, so we can connect a grill to it. The tile around the fireplace is absolutely gorgeous, or at least I think so. We bought three TV’s yesterday at the Military base and they did beat Costco’s prices, so Art is busy installing them on the wall. The county inspector came out to inspect our well, she was very businesslike. She seems to think our detached garage is too close to the well, so we had to write a letter explaining that we would not be using any chemicals in that area on the land.
Saturday, the electrician’s team was here finishing up. Well, they tried to finish, but I know that your cover plates and switches should match. The plate is an ivory color and the switch is almond. We all decided to leave it as is for the time being, so we can get pre-power this week. George and Linda dropped by to check out the place. We went to Mass, then dinner, and had a long talk about plants and the layout. When we return home, every light was on in the house! Since we have temporary power, which is different than pre-power, they were able to test everything by running a power line from the temporary pole. Even my light pole by the front driveway was lit up.
This coming week, we are hoping to grade, put the pavers in, finish the plumbing, paint the inside of the garage, stucco the shed, I mean shop, and get pre-power.
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Posted to WeAreBuildingAgain by Ellen in Orlando, FL
on 9/19/2007 5:00:14 PM
Another week down
Sunday, Art went to work using some of his new tools. We did not want the wire rack system for our pantry, so he made shelves instead. Now, all we have to do is have them painted.
Monday, the dumpster folks came out and made the switch, tile folks were here working on the floors, the inside trim man was here working on some tasks, and the drywall guy was here getting his money. Deliveries were made for the shed, I mean shop, the framers stopped by to look at our progress.
Tuesday, tile guys were here still working, and trusses were delivered for the shed, I mean shop. We went shopping for locks and knobs; that was interesting. We have been in Home Depot so much, that the paint clerk can recognize us. Also, now when we need something from a high shelf, Art just pushes the ladder over and gets it, while the clerks watches. We heard from our granite company, and the countertops should be ready for installation on Thursday. Del-Air failed their final inspection, that doesn't surprise me, something to do with tape. We are still waiting on our electrician, haven't heard when he will arrive, I think his phone call is overdue.
Wednesday, the framers were here promptly at 7 in the morning to start on the shed, I mean shop. Who am I kidding, it's a detached garage!
Thursday, our granite countertops were delivered and installed. We are really pleased with the guest bathroom and kitchen, but I don't think Art is crazy about my selection for the master bath. Now for the down side, while loading the wet bar countertop, it fell and broke into pieces. They will have to remake it, and will be back next week for installation. We had to have a talk with our painter, it seems that this job was more than he could handle. He agreed th |