DAY 55...KOKO containment!

Last minute details!  For example, the KOKO Barrier.  When the front deck came down, there was nothing to keep her out of trouble in the front yard!  Yikes KOKO!  So every evening, the plywood has to be put up, just to keep that girl safe.
There are so many details, that I am just finally going to through up my hands, eat breakfast, load the car and driveaway!  I am leaving behind a half done job, a messy house and a wild yard.  Good Luck to Kathee and Shirl, and everyone else who is involved in this project.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

DAY 54...Last Day of Work before my trip.

 The Kens made a good start on framing in the addition to the shed for the new solar equipment.  It will be all done when I get back.

 It was a short work day today as everyone finished what they needed to do, and now have to wait for the electrician to come back.  We need you Todd!  But the sheer wall is complete.  The building inspector came today and everything passed again, not that I had any doubts.  We found a tiny bit of dry rot near the front door, and as soon as the header gets here, that will be taken care of.  As soon as the electrical is done, then the outside can be "buttoned up" and the siding can go on now that all the windows are in place.  The bathroom is ready for taping, painting and tiling.  So exciting things on the horizon...hope I get some good photos!

The dogs are happy to be released from the studio early, but every day there is more stuff in their room...and it is always in a different place.  Every morning I am confused when I start to make their breakfasts, as the bins can be anywhere, but soon it will be a great laundry/dog/plant room.  We are going to use some of the old roof to cover the washer and dryer as well as the shelves beneath the new counter.  It will be a neat space.

 Right off the bat this morning, it fell to Daniel and Jose to try to rescue my Clematis Armandii and they did a great job.

 I wouldn't have thought to cut it away from the old railing and tie it to the giant beam...they were really careful and we will just have to see how it fares with all this action.  My sister gave me this plant, so it is one of those special ones.

 Rick and Andres take down the front porch/deck.  According to Mat, they disturbed lots of meat bees and those pesky wood bees...when I stepped out on the "bridge", I meet the bees too, but I missed the masses that followed the dumpster to the landfill!

 What to do about Koko?  Temporary Plywood so she can't scale the walls and head out into the great big unknown...you can see my bridge...three feet wide with custom railings!!!!

 As a counterbalance to all that destruction, the new windows for the laundry room arrived, the dogs will be happy tonight to have a little breeze.

And a final shot of the bridge to the house!  I don't like heights, but if I don't look down too much, I can handle it.  And there is even room for Khorkina to have breakfast out there until it has to be taken down.  Tomorrow the hunt for more dry rot and then we should be through with surprises!

 BYE Bye Luke...Good Luck with the Mill Valley Film Festival...sure wish I could be there for the World Premiere of Smokin' Fish!

 Scott from Direct TV came and did a great job getting us all on line.  He was very happy with all the work that Todd had done with the cabling to all the locations, esp. out to the studio.  In another happy coincidence, it turns out Scott, Shirl and Kathee are long time friends.  Scott assured me I was leaving the house  and dogs in good hands, but then I knew that!

And another meeting...first of the day.  Too bad I was distracted and didn't photograph the 3:00 pm meeting.  Here outside lighting and the awnings are getting vetted.

Economy Heating and Cooling!

Economy Heating and Cooling!, a photo by Rexfree_99 on Flickr.

Testing a method so that I can upload some photos to the blog while I am on the go. Flickr seems like the easiest solution, so how this works! Format will be slightly different, but workable.
This photo is of the installation of some of the custom trim designed and made by the talented sheetmetal workers at Economy Heating and Cooling.

Day 51...Company arrives

 Luke is just so hard to get to stand still and pose...he has the crazy idea that I might tickle him if I get to close!

 And usually I do make an effort.  But at least we are both smiling in this one.

Diana was the victim of Luke's antsy behavior this time.  It was wonderful have them visit, but when the action heated up on Day 52, it was fine to have them head on up to Covelo.  We had a great visit amid the ruins, and sure ate a lot of stew, and tomatoes and drank a good deal of wine!  I will be very sorry to miss the World Premier of Smokin' Fish in Mill Valley on October 8th.

DAY 51...details!

 The hallway is all sheet rocked now.  Looks very cool, especially the alcove to the left in this photo.

Third window in the dining room is in place, and the end walls are now going up...more scaffolding...at one point today I couldn't access the house without climbing thru the scaffolding as people were working over my head...I gave a shout out every time.

The day ended with a lovely visit from Luke and Diana.  

DAY 49 & 50

 Sunday's Flower, my beautiful yellow Dahlia...so many flowers to choose from at this time of year, giant zinnia's, roses...and it is almost the end of summer.

 The last segment of the decking turns out to be a three handed job!

 Mat ends up cutting the deck from underneath his feet...very strange looking...he had to step back into the dining room thru a gap in the wall.  I could never get out there like that, never!

 New Dining room windows going in...very beautiful...I can almost see the room again after it being open for so long.

 Jose walking in thin air...

The bathroom getting sheetrocked and kerdi board...it looked overly big when it was just framed, now it is more normal though still a big bathroom.

DAY 48...getting ready for more work!

Today to get ready for Monday, I tore down all the vines, grape and trumpet that had climbed up on the side of the studio following my directions.  You can see the tracks of their little feet.  The new inverter and battery backup will have to be house inside a small extension of the pump shed, so the vines had to go for now.  But they will be back!!!!

This is the devil bird, the Acorn Woodpecker who is the instigator of this entire remodel...I love him and hate his house habits.  He will have to get a grip when the metal siding goes up, and find an OAK tree!

DAY 47...New Slider and Sheetrock!

 Ah, hard to say much about this photo.  The reflections makes it hard to see but I am in the laundry room looking into the bedroom...but the new slider is in, with the weird white door handles that totally are not the right handles for this door.  Since they only lock on the inside perhaps I was meant to get others down the road that have a key?  Quien Sabe?  The door its self is just beautiful and is whisper quiet and easy to open.  The amount of light it lets in the downstairs bedroom is pretty awesome.  I think I will have to mask the washer though, at least on the side.

 From the inside looking out into the laundry/dog room...The Slynx was fascinated by his glimpse into the   realm of the dogs.  They, on the other hand didn't seem to see him there and he did stay back near the stairs.  One great thing about this door is the soundproofing effect.  I heard Koko bark once, but she doesn't seem to hear me coming and going on the stairs or the cat yammering.

Rick, Andres and Mat got the insulation up in the hall and bathroom and the ceiling is now sheet-rocked.  They masked off the kitchen and living room pretty well, and cleaned up in the style I am becoming accustomed to these days.  Hopefully they won't have to do too much sheetrock work while K&S are here.  There are openings all over the house from the electrical work and a few saw into the wall spots, but it doesn't look like an awful lot of work...but then I always underestimate how long something will take.
On Monday I will look forward to some or all of the dining room windows being installed.  Then we only have to wait for the second order of windows for the laundry room to arrive and we will be done with that installation.  Still need to trim them all.

DAY 46...Trying to Capture the Essence of a long long day!

 The day started at 7am when the 2Kens arrived to unload all their gear and pour the slab for the addition to the solar system, a power backup unit and two new panels.

 They are off to a good start having to work around all the plants, vines and bushes!

 The deck continues to be demolished even as the new slider is installed.  It is really beautiful.

 Todd goes back into the walls.  Watching an electrician work on existing walls is like watching a magician.  How they can tell what they are doing where is like magic to me.  And this amazing drill and guide which I learned is called The Moneymaker, is fascinating to watch.

 Standing underneath the former deck looking up thru the former floor...very strange.  The new deck will, at this point, only extend to the corner of the house not all the way out.

And the bathroom is getting it's insulation put in place...what a job!
It was such a crazy day with so many things going on, and my job was to order the hardware for the sliding doors and the heated towel rack.  Thank god that I found Brent at Vintagetub.com, and he was more than willing to work with me.  Had to get Trent involved...I think that Trent and I had to use the phone, text, email and chat to get it all done and Brent was cool the whole time.  What did we do without all this technology?  Anyway, the only downside for me was too much time at the computer and a slightly stiff neck to show for it.  Tai chi should help with that today.

DAY 45 ONE LAST DRAWING

This shows the updated awnings, but I couldn't capture the whole drawing showing the ramp and the full deck...wonder why not? Anway, I am done for tonight. I think it looks great.

DAY 45 PART III The Yellow Rose of TEXAS

And for tomorrow's preview: Danny and Jose worked in the broiling sun to frame in the east wall of the dining room so that tomorrow the fabulous new sliding door can go in. So happy that I am going to be home all day!
Today would have been my DAD's 97th birthday, and his favorite song was the Yellow Rose of Texas, which just happened to bloom in my yard today!
Got a much better shot of Sunday's flower, the Rose of Sharon...and then I found the real rose of the day.

DAY 45 PART II So much happened!

Final product...a rubber lamp, foldable too. Thanks to Design Within Reach and Todd!
Detail of the copper and junction of the wiring.
Hanging my new kitchen light fixture. I love reusing some of my copper piping from the bathroom. Todd is doing a real custom installation.
AND take that!!!
Putting in the blocking...when that sledge hammer hits the block, I can tell you that you could feel the vibrations thru the kitchen floor. The perspective is off in this shot, but Mat is not near the ground...

DAY 45...Inspections, sheet metal, and on and on...Progress

Sample of siding and trim! I am very impressed.
When RJ came out with the sheet metal he had fabricated for the windows and doors and roof, I missed the sample that he put up. When I came up on the porch though, I spotted it right away. It will be fabulous and the siding slides right up under it.
Working on more than one level today, plus a little more electric in the house and with the DTV stuff.
YAY! City of Clearlake inspector came out today and we are good to go to the next stages. Very exciting. I am so ambivalent about leaving now. But I know there will probably be some relief that I am out of the way with my inquiring camera! But Greg has promised to take a lot of photos as have Kathee and Shirl.

Day 44...The wrap!

This is the concept drawing that Trent did that we all are really happy with, for awnings and wrapping the corners of the house. Don't worry about the heart!

If anyone knows how to make the drawing bigger to transfer from Google Docs, please let me know. I think it looks pretty cool!