Electrical, Water & Pavers Update

Electrical Conduit Running to the Telephone Pole

 

The Conduit will be Run Up to the Meter

View from the Pole to the House

Conduit will be Run up the Pole

The Red Tape, which will be buried, will let

Anyone Know that there is an Electrical Line Buried Below.

 

Electrical Circuit Breaker Panel

It's interesting how they ran the Sewer Line Behind it

 

 

The Blue Line is the Water Service Coming Into the House

 

Water Service Curb Stop (Shutoff) Buried about 6 inches Below Grade

 

Pavers - 2 Pallets Moved with Another Started

 

The trenches have dug for the electrical and the water service and the conduit for the electrical, cable and phone has been run. The electrical panel has been added in the basement. Now we’re just waiting on the conduit inspection so that the trench can be filled in. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow as today was a state holiday in RI.  Yup, it was Victory Day today which was formally known as Victory Over Japan Day.  I can even remember as a kid when we had Victory in Europe Day. Both of which celebrated the end of World War II in Europe and Japan. I'm sure like the aging Veteran's that fought in that war, these holidays will pass in time as well.

 

So besides being closer to having power in the house, the water line has also been roughed in so hopefully we’ll have water soon. Not that we can run it anywhere without faucets, but it would be nice to know we’re that close to having it.

 

And we’re making headway on the pavers. I have to stack them out of the way because of the top soil that has to be brought in so I’ll be moving them again somewhere down the road when we start the patio work. I like to think of it as good exercise. My back and knees likes to think otherwise.

 

Enjoy your week.

I must be Crazy

Future Patio (about 25 x 20) Outlined by 2 x 4's

Green area with Garden and Grass to the right

 

The Stairs from the Deck will come down alongside the Garage wall

We'll tie that into the Patio with a walkway

 

Paver Pile

From the Other End

 

There a lot of things that get thrown at you when building a house.  Change orders that mean we need to give the builder more money or things that looked good on the plans but not in real life (or missed altogether) will all drive you crazy. And then there are those things that are self-induced that you know full well that somewhere along the way you're going to say "I must be crazy!"

 

Mine, at the moment, is self-induced. I saw this ad on Craigslist for pavers. You know, the kind that are used in walkways and patios. I’m planning on building our own patio and when I saw that someone had a boat load of them for sale, I jumped. I’m always on a quest for a “deal”. The ones I found were from folks that had replaced the pavers that served as a patio around the perimeter of their pool with stamped concrete. About 1,000 square feet and perfect for us. One small catch though. They are piled up behind the pool and the pile is about 20 feet long, 10 feet wide and about 5 feet high. And it’s not a neat pile. Just a pile. And they had to be moved from out of the woods behind the pool to the driveway out front (there is no trailer access to the “pile”).

 

When I first saw them, the first word that came to mind was “daunting”. The second thought was OK, so you’ve spent an evening in the emergency room and another morning in an outpatient clinic because of throwing out your back so this is a good idea why? So of course, being the knucklehead that I can be, I bought them anyways.

 

I tried some horse trading early on to try get some help in moving them saying in my best Tom Sawyeresque voice “Don’t you want a patio? I’ll trade a pallet for your help.” No takers (yet).

 

So I started moving them myself yesterday with my trailer. I figure if I do small loads, and listen to my back when it’s murmuring, not screaming to stop, I should be OK. Besides, I have some leftover meds from that ER visit that I kept around for the next back “emergency”.

 

I’ll keep you posted. Now let’s see, where are those meds…?

 

 



Big Week Coming Up

The White Cedar Shingles Have Arrived!

 

Stacked in the Garage Too

 

Maibec Nantucket White Cedar Shakes

 

Electric Meter Location

You can see the Telephone Pole in the Background where the Trench will go

View Looking from the Pole Towards the House

The Orange Lines Mark out the Utilities Trench

 

The Shingles are in! A couple of loads and a side order of shingles have arrived. We went with the Maibec White Cedar R & R’s (rebutted, resquared) shingles for our siding. They’ve been coated with a gray weathering oil to give it that Cape Cod look. We think the color will look excellent with the white trim. Rebutted, resquared means that the bottoms of the shingles have been squared off. This provides a more even shingle and helps the work move faster. They’re pricier but overall, it will be better look.

 

Also the trench for the utilities (electrical, phone & cable) has been marked out. Our plan is to bury the lines as the closest pole is out front and we didn’t want any wires coming into the front of the house.  Again, it’s pricey but overall it will give the house a nice neat look without any wires hanging from it.

 

At the same time that the electrical trench is going in we are having the trench dug for the water service. The curb stop is already in from the last house so it should be pretty straight forward. Of course, it’s required that the installer be licensed with the local water authority to do the install so this narrows the playing field down a bit. The company we have hired does a lot of work for our builder so we know we have the right person for the job.

 

So if everything goes according to my plan (I suppose I should check with the builder…) by the end of the week, we’ll have electrical service and water service installed. And maybe the siding started.

 

The house is slowly but steadily coming alive.

The Perfect Weekend

Charlestown, RI Seafood Festival

With all kinds of Seafood

 

Rides - Puke-A-Rama

 

More Food

 

Clam Cakes & Lobstah Rolls

 

 

Newport, RI

Concert Night on the Wharf

 

Double Decker Food Bus

 

Still a Working Waterfront

 

With time to Relax

 

Robin Wilson (center) Lead Singer for the Gin Blossoms in the Crowd

 

Like bookends, our weekend was spent doing yard work and stuff in the middle framed by some down time enjoying life. We spent the day on Friday at the Charlestown, RI Seafood Festival where we enjoyed  a couple of lobster rolls and an order of clam cakes. The clam cakes were disappointing as they had very few, if any, clams. The lobster rolls did not disappoint and made up for their seafood cousins. The weather (or “weatha” in our Boston accent) was perfect. It looked like a fun place to bring the kids as there were the usual carnival type rides and a bunch of games to play.

 

Saturday and Sunday were spent catching up on yard work. Our crab grass weeds at the house being constructed are doing tremendous and are a deep shade of green. I even broke the weed whacker out of the box where it has been aging for the past three weeks. It’s a noisy bugger though. Maybe when this one goes I’ll opt for one of those quieter battery powered ones.

 

Sunday night we were in Newport where we went to a 90’s tour concert where Fastball, Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth all played. It was a lot of fun with Sugar Ray and Gin Blossoms really getting the crowd going. We missed Fastball as we outside sitting on the dock having dinner when they came on. Smash Mouth must have been having an off night and we left about half way into their set like a couple of old fogies.

 

It was wide age ranging crowd. This was music from when my children were growing up and there were a lot of parents with their kids there. The best picture that I missed was of a boy who was about 11 sitting in his seat eating ice cream with earplugs in while his parents danced to the music. It’s funny while we’re becoming our parents, our kids are becoming us. The picture I did get (and nobody else but she will see) was of a lady that we know from church dancing on the chairs. Not something you would normally see in church. And she made us promise not to tell anyone. I’m pretty sure she’s not going to remember a lot anyways.

 

We had a great time and really enjoyed the show. And our ears have even stopped ringing. It was a perfect way to start and end a weekend with some good work done in between.

 

The way life should be all of the time.

 

Enjoy your week.

 

Trim Work

Finishing the Garage Door Trim

 

Rubber Tape over Edge of Windows Before Trim Work

This Helps to Seal the Windows from Water 

Trim Work. Wood Filler & Paint will Neaten It Up

 

Soffit with Soffit Vent

 

Soffit Vent

 

Windows & Corners Trimmed Out

 

We're Ready for the White Cedar Shingle Siding

 

 

The trim work is pretty much done with the windows all trimmed off and the corner boards in place. The garage doors are all also trimmed off.

 

The soffits with their trim are well along the way. It was interesting that they now use plastic vents as soffit vents.  I’ve seen all kinds of soffit vents. 3” round ones, 6” rectangle ones and metal ones that go in front of the gutter and so on.

 

 

These vents work in conjunction with the ridge vents on the roof peak where heated air moves by convection drawing the cooler air in at the soffits and venting the hotter air through the ridge vent. This helps to keep the roof cooler extending the life of the roof. It can also help keep moisture out of the attic which can create a mold problem.

 

The vents and roof rafters need to be kept clear so that the air can move through. Too often folks paint the vents thus clogging them or they block the vents or rafters with insulation. Doing any of that defeats their purpose and you’ll be replacing your roof in no time or hiring a mold remediator.

 

Now that the trim work is up, it won’t be long before the siding starts going on the house. It will be fantastic to have the outside completed. We’re almost four months into construction and a year and a half into the planning.

 

And it’s all coming together.

 

House Signature a/k/a Front Door

New Front Door!

 

From This When the Door was in Window Jail

 

And the Door Opening in the Front of the House

 

 

 

To This!

 

Now we Need a Front Porch!

 

Inside View (Hard to get a good shot with all of the light)

 



 

We now have a front door! OK, so it’s nailed shut and there aren’t any steps to it but it’s in. A front door says a lot about a house. It can signal a warm and welcoming house or it can be just the opposite, keeping the Halloween candy seekers away. And everyone else for that matter. Ever notice how you always seem to look at the front door when you’re checking out a house? It’s the signature of the house  isn’t it?

 

We opted for lots of windows which will let in tons of light to keep the front entrance warm and welcoming on the outside and inside. I’m sure we’ll put some sort of curtains over the windows to have some sense of privacy. I don’t want to scare the neighbors across the street in the morning after a night of too many gin and tonics.

 

We’re planning on having it stained and polyurethaned to protect it. I wish I could tell you the name or the model but I can’t remember at the moment. I’ll update this once I do.

 

Now the character of the house is starting to show. We have a front door to welcome friends through.

 

And our house has a signature.

 

Roofing & Skylights

On the Ridge. Note how he has a rope tied to his harness.

 

The planking provides a good place to stage work

 

Starting Roof around the Skylights

Roofing the last of the Exposed Section

Adding the Flashing

 

 

The Roof is Finished!

Framing around the Skylight. This method maximizes the light

Room over the Garage Looking from the Entrance

View from the Other End. These two Skylights really open up the room.

 

I went over to the house on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to see the framing crew working. They had been waiting for the skylights for the room over the garage to come in before finishing the roof. The shipment arrived on Thursday and they were now tackling the installation and wrapping up the roof.

 

It was a hot and muggy day again and I’d take a break every now and then from what I was working on and watch these guys work. They were absolute professionals and kept the work moving even on what had to be a very hot roof.

 

By the end of the day, the roof was now complete and the skylights installed. This is great news because this means that I’ll no longer have rain coming in and finding its way to the basement where I still have a large puddle from the last rain storm. Now it can finally start drying out.

 

And begin week three of the weed whacker still in the box. Man am I going to be in trouble.

 

Enjoy your week.