Retired so..... What's up
Links are broken down by Month's

 Home Farewell page  - NOV08 - thru DEC08 - JAN09 - FEB09 - MAR09- APR09 - MAY09 - JUN09 - JUL09 - AUG09 - SEP09 - OCT09 - NOV09 - DEC09       email: deals@richssite.com

 So. for those of you with an interest read on.

Busy……… Wow is that an understatement. I can't believe only six weeks have gone by to date. We have been so busy since we arrived in Rancho Cordova California that I wonder how we are managing our time. I will say the most fortunate item is all the time I have now is mine, or should I say ours. We finally got internet, TV cable and a phone, another story maybe some other time. AT&T is not user friendly and they wasted over a week of our time allowing us to sign up for a service they could not provide. The population here is 60,000 and they ran out of circuits for the internet. So you have to wait until someone expires. So we ended up going with Comcast. It is really great having the internet again. The unlimited communication with the world, resources and information it provides especially with us involved in everything we are into right now makes it so important.

For those that did not know, we purchased my parents estate home and decided to come to California and suck up some of the heat for a while. We don’t know how long we will live down here but we are committed and will ride out the housing market. We decided to get our new older home in some kind of order (major remodeling) before we started any long traveling journeys. We are I guess what you would call snowbirds until we settle either in Washington or California.  Time will tell. We will take some short trips to help us cope while dealing with all that is going on so that we will allow time for ourselves for some pleasures. The delayed travel decision was based on several factors like weather across the southern states right now as well as the fires they had a few weeks ago in southern California. The news just reported snow in some of the southern states, our proposed travel route. What’s with that? Helen is still healing from her knee replacements so the wait to travel is best to put some healing time in before our comfort zone changes with traveling.
To give you an example of some of our latest ventures (besides being a SUB-contractor and a manual laborer) that we decided to take on:

Hire an interior painter. This has to be done before any other projects can start. So how difficult can this be? Well let's see besides finding the right one. Oh yes, then comes all the preparation work that needs to be done before you can even start painting. We have been trying to get bids for over a week and still don't have one (fun). Now the best part, Laborer (me) sand all the glue off cement walls from existing wall boards I removed, pull a zillion nails, patch holes from all sorts of previous picture hangers etc., remove floor molding, remove all light fixtures, fans, and window treatments, and outlet plates. Oh ya!, you will like this one, removal of an entire wall and lowering another wall making a larger opening for views. This opening will allow me to install a breakfast bar which will tie in to the existing new counter tops we will be installing. We will also be cutting back the existing breakfast bar so the wall can be painted. This is a small example for our painting preps.

OK, so now a couple days have gone by and we have not slowed down one bit. We believe the home is now prepped for the painter to start on Monday 23 Nov. Only hick up was the painter forgot that Thanksgiving day fell in the middle of our big paint job dates so she asked for a split time for working this paint job. So of course we ok’ed her proposal and will allow her to take the holiday break. If we would have been thinking we would have delayed this for another week. Since we will have the home half painted and all of our stuff will be covered over or sitting out in the garage, we will most likely go out for our Turkey dinner. It is getting tiring living like hobo’s. This place is going to be awesome when we are done.  The painter is already trying to hire me to work for her.
 

These pictures show how dark this home is.  Notice nice sunny day outside and lights on inside.  See below for new pictures.
 
Late note: Painting is completed and the home looks great. What a big difference a paint job can make in a home.

By removing most of the wall to the left which was an entry wall, lowering the wall on the right, eliminating some shelves, adding paint and tile, this is the difference in how light the home is now from the before pictures above.  This was with no setting changes on the camera.

OK, so you got a sneak preview of the tile.

Notice the old lamp gone and the counter top cut back.
Dishwasher: This has to be installed before the kitchen tile is put down. Don't ask me why because it really will not lock it into place. Of course I had to pull the other dishwasher out, it died years ago. Remember the rules of engagement about working on an older home. Touch one thing and go back three steps. The shut off valve leaked by and the jerry rig piping was not user friendly to this job. I ended up building a new piping assembly, shutting the water off to the whole house and removing the old valve to install this new stuff. Of course the pipe runs through the cement wall so I had to be very careful not to turn the pipe threads inside the wall. I chipped some of the cement around the pipe so I could observe it after tightening everything up. Success story, nothing leaked and this now supports the dishwasher installation with its own shut off valve.

Late note: Dishwasher came in and is sitting in the garage until the tile flooring is complete. Since we now know the tile only raises the floor ¼ inch I will have plenty of room to install dishwater later.

Tile: We decided to tile the floor in the kitchen, dining room, front entry way and hall. Of course the tile has to flow with everything else you are going to do. Let's see it has to go with oak kitchen cabinets which we will be sanding down and re-staining another color. It also has to flow with the carpet in the living room and has to do something…… oh ya have pop, you know the other items surrounding it have to make it pop. HEHEHEHE oh.... do us guys have stuff to learn about. We finally settled on a tile color/pattern and carpet. So when the painting gets done the tile will be put down. We will be putting new tile down in both bathrooms also.

Late note: Most of the tile is laid down and what a major change it is making to this place. It is amazing to watch the transition from what it was before to what it is now. The tile setters still have another day installing and then they will put in the grout. Sound easy so far. Not….. we now have to pick out a color for the grout that flows with the tile pattern colors, wall colors, and the kitchen cabinet color for which we still have to do. With me being a visual person, I am having major issues trying to see what this is going to look like in my head.

Appliances: I will be able to start putting in the new appliances along with wiring and piping them up soon. When brothers removed the old refrigerator they cut the water line and crimped it over. Where are brothers? Good question. They found out I was working on the house and are staying away, probably until work is done.  oops, I spoke to soon, brother has dropped by a couple times and has offered help.  We finally got a refrigerator we have been wanting for quite awhile.  It has a bottom freezer compartment. 

Late note: You will like this one. They installed the washer and dryer and we started using them already. After 5 loads the (upgraded) washer went on a destroy mission and ate itself. Service man came out and said it was a total and recommended replacing it. The business we purchased it from is ordering another so not a problem if you don’t count not having the washing machine for another week.

Carpet: No brainer this was easy. It just had to make the tile pop and it will go with the furniture we don't have yet. They will start laying the carpet on Monday.

Furniture: We are trying to find the right furniture. Boy was that a loaded statement. It has to look right, fit right, and don't forget make the tile pop. Ooops... forgot, not the tile the carpet tones and flows. Oh! Boy...... do we men have stuff to learn about. We will start getting serious with furniture the end of next week.

Next to follow, new counter tops and windows. This might be a good time to take a needed break.
So to sum this all up I walk around with a piece of tile and a piece of carpet where ever we go now. Man has to be good for something. Hee Haw

Ok, so as not to bore you with all the stuff that has to be done, the sequence, or trials and tribulation this is a minimum of stuff that has to be done so we can live like normal people again. As soon as the painting starts we will move into the travel trailer or garage for a couple days. It is exciting yet it can ware on you fast if you don't take breaks. We do a lot of driving around learning the area. This population 60,000 plus requires some getting used to.

 I went to my first garage sale the other day and bought something for the home so that felt good. There is so much more to do and plans to continue making. The lemon and grapefruit tree's are producing big time. I already picked a couple lemons. I still haven’t got to plant my garden yet but I will get to it in the very near future.

More of what’s up:
No times or dates just some stuff I have been doing. I actually slept in until 5:30 and laid in bed thinking, so I decided I best get up before I did much damage with to much of my thinking. Yesterday I completed a major grinding job. I guess over the years the shipyard does teach you some good work habits. You should have seen the containment enclosure I built to wire brush some paint and existing glue from the kitchen baseboards. I wore a respirator, safety glasses, ear plugs, and disposable clothing. Probably a little overkill because none of this stuff I wire brushed was a contaminant. I did it more for not messing up the kitchen and safety to me lungs and eye’s. I also managed to raise the kitchen cabinets above the refrigerator because when my dad built these cabinets in he did not ever think he would have to buy another refrigerator. So... yup, he built this one in. I only had to raise it an inch but I was dealing with a cement block home and working with the overhead weight. Lots of support blocks and a floor jack for raising it up a fraction of an inch at a time to match the exiting holes with the new ones that I drilled for remounting. Another success story.

It really is comical when you think about it. To older people, two short ones at that, and one with bad knees doing this job. Now you know why I lay in bed thinking. How the heck am I going to do this job…….c a r e f u l l y             a n d      s l o w l y. It only took 3 hours but heck who is paying my wages.  No pictures, you would not have liked the site of this one.

We took a break the other day because we were invited to lunch by a realtor we had been working with when I was trying to sell the home before we bought it. It actually was a fish hook because the company she works for was having a chili feed to sponsor the homeless. It was a big event with lots of auction items. Food was good and discussion with her was interesting.

The other day I installed an elbow, small nipple and a gas valve for the new dryer. I will be installing a couple ceiling divider boards where the walls used to reside and the ceiling changes from smooth to popcorn, don’t ask me to explain pictures later. Other than that I have a bit of sanding to do. Right now I am going to go and take a walk so I don’t fall out of my routine. Remember that division I was talking about…Separate work from family. Did that make sense? Sun is still out but we may get a chance of rain over the next couple days. Did I say chance, heehehehe
 
The next job staring me in the eye is to modify the gas piping going to the kitchen stove. It sticks out from the wall approximately 8 inches. Why? Who knows, but it keeps the stove from being able to go against the wall all the way. So I will cut out the sheet rock and locate the mechanical joints to see if I can put in a close tolerance elbow and rotate it toward the wall. I will then build an enclosure for the connection and be able to move the stove all the way against the wall. Did he say gas piping modification ?
Whose his work control manager ?

I won't get away as easy on this job as I did the gas dryer.  I will have to shut the main valve off and then get it turned back on by the gas company.

 
 I have removed a lot of the old awning wood structure in the driveway and windows with future plans for installing some electric awnings that will extend when needed.  This is my new crew Nacoma and Gage.  They scarfed the wood up for kindling for their fireplace next door.  They had a blast helping demolish this, rules were simple, no nails or screws in driveway when done.  All this other structure on the left will be coming out soon.

In between all of this I am getting in some xmas shopping, and got an overdue full body message.
 

Dec 12
Tile setters put down all the tile today, so the grout is all that is left to be done.  What a transition.  Pictures to follow.  

While the tile setters were using front and back outside faucets I got to observe leaking valves.  So off to the hardware store.  We are on a first name basis now.  This will require the water main to be shut off.  I know that one doesn't leak, went there done that already.
 
Please note: 
From this date on through the next couple days I will be discussing some negative items.  It is not my intent to trash the contractor or sub-contractors at all.  I am just pointing out some events that we or you could end of dealing with with as home renovations are underway in your home.  At the end of this you will see we are very satisfied with the end results and would recommend this business to others at this time.  Delays, communication, and mistakes are part of the process.  It is how they are handled that is most important. 
Dec 13,
Here we sit without the tile getting its grout done today.  This is a scheduled set back.  The color and type/style we wanted was not in so we cannot get it until Monday.  Of course miscommunications prevailed and they asked if they could pull the only other toilet available for us to use.  With me not realizing the grout was not in, I allowed them to pull both toilets.  So I had to call the contractor and told him he can either send someone over to install a toilet temporarily or rent us a motel room.  He has been very supportive and is sending some one our way. 
 
Dec 15 Major set back.  After all the tile was set down we observed one major area that had some high spots and several tiles that had high spots to the adjoining tiles.  During the setting of the tile my wife noticed a high spot and told the tile setter it needed to be fixed.  They discussed this and pushed back on wanting to do this extra work.  Wife won and they ground down a little on the cement floor.  After the job was done and we were waiting for the grout to come in we got out the long straight edge and started our inspection.  I ended up calling the contractor who subcontracted the tile job out and had to get what I felt was a little aggressive.  Long story short they have to pull up approx. 30 tiles, grind the floor, and re-lay new tile.  It is what we call rework.  Their was a bit of a communication break down between contractor and subcontractor.  So instead of stopping and getting this resolved it is now causing them some rework time.  My recommendation to anyone, even if you hire a contractor, continually look over their shoulders to make sure you get what you want done and stop them if you have to especially since you are paying for the job.  Example:  Our contractor stated right up front since it was a cement floor that if they find any cracks, low or high spots they would level it out.  Good communications is paramount to any job I don't care what job you are working on.  This only set us back another 3 days.  Never again will I schedule work near holiday's.
Dec 16 Rework started.  I just noticed in the picture above that showed during the laying of the tile floor they had a nice straight edge they were using along side each tile to keep them in straight in line.  They could have used that on the high spot.  To give you an example when I used my straight edge I could see the gap under the ends.  Well we are in a divide and conquer mode today so we could get some xmas shopping done.  Wife is out shopping today while I supervise.  Tomorrow is her turn to supervise and I get to escape to do some shopping.  Fun to be had for all.
Dec 17 Rework completed, grout laid. and it looks great.  Lots of dust throughout the home right now.  we will talk to the company about getting a cleaning crew in here to clean it up.  Demo and tile setters are not clean workers.  They focus on their work and out the door they go.  You shouldn't have to clean up after them.  Oh well as long as it gets cleaned up and the end product is satisfactory that is the risk of seeing people work on your home with you watching as it is on going.  I guess I had more faith in them to complete the job and restore the home back to what it was when they started their work.  Right, I believe it could be worse if we had not been here.  Lots of learning curves on this job that I will bring into future work. 

It looks like I might be able to start bringing in the appliances in today.  At least the refrigerator and the dishwasher.  I got lucky and got in some shopping done yesterday so this will allow me some time to get some of these other items done today.  No pressure from the boss.  You believe that?  Just kidding my partner has been great to work with  throughout  these work phases.

The carpet gets installed tomorrow and I will be able to start putting all the doors back up tomorrow night.  Slowly coming together.
Dec 18 Carpet is installed, and oh what a transition that made to this home.  I did not install the appliances due to the fact we are going to get a deep cleaning of the entire home tomorrow and it makes sense to wait.  The carpet installer did an outstanding job and he left his help behind to clean up all there debris .  This is the way a job is supposed to be done.  One of my ideas actually got used for transitioning from the dining/hall area into the living room with the tile and carpet.  It has an arc built into the tile and carpet instead of a straight cut going from one room to the other. 
Dec 19 The Contractor dropped by for an inspection with us this morning and we pointed out several areas that concerned us.  Not major items but to the scrutiny of a perfectionist, wife not I, they will all be corrected.  As I figured when all was said and done the contractor is actually very anal also and said to us you will be 100% satisfactory before we walk out your door.  It is good to see and know you have that support and perfection as originally stated by them.  They will get a high rating/recommendation from us when all is said and done. 

The cleaning crew showed up and they are doing an outstanding job detailing out our home.  Very through and good at their job.  So again satisfaction on this part.  At this point we have the trust and confidence that our major renovation job will be completed with the high standards that a home owner should expect.

I will probably install appliances tomorrow as we are going to escape and do some needed shopping.  Who knows we might even find a living room and dining room set while we are out and about today. 

New bed was delivered and we are thrilled to finally have a real bed to sleep in again tonight.

 
Dec 24   You can see we took a couple days break.  Now that we have a clean house and a bed to sleep in all the other stuff still needing to be done really doesn't matter right now.  We have talked to the contractor and he will schedule the tile setter to come back after the 25th to fix a few rough spots.  They are going to build enclosures to ensure home cleanliness.  As soon as they are done hopefully within days the painter will finish all the touch up that was expected with all the other work that was going on in the home.   I am going to Lowes to purchase what they call a contractors package to finish off the baseboards.   Lets see the boards are 12 feet long and bed of truck is 6 feet...... ummmm it does has a sliding back window.

We are ready for Christmas and I purchased some video cams for my children's computers.   Video cams are a lot of fun.  I was fortunate in between all the to do's to get in a visit with one of my nieces that flew out here to California from back east to visit her grand parents.  I picked her up at the airport and took her to dinner before she departed for the holidays.

Oh ya..... the gas pipe which was modified by a professional gas man is now installed and the stove fits up to the wall now.  It was worth hiring him especially dealing with gas.   As you might have seen in the news a home near ours completely blew up, like gone due to a gas leak.  Killed the residence and hospitalized two  of his relatives.  This happened after my decision to have a pro do my job.
Was that the old Intuition or gut feeling kicking in?

Still don't have dining or living room set yet but will work on that again after the holiday.   MARRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

 
BACK TO TOP OF PAGE      

Copyright © - 2009 richssite.com