And luckily I don't have to!
The inspector showed up early (!) and deemed our insurance claim at 70% completion! Yay!!
This means they'll send us more money very soon; this also means I can breathe a big ol' sigh of relief.
Showing posts with label hail damage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hail damage. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Wish me luck
'Cause I'm gonna need it.
The inspector for the mortgage company is coming today to inspect our progress on the insurance claim items. Basically, we're supposed to have the inspection at 50% completion. All we know is we've blown through the first disbursement of funds, so we need more. They've basically told me that we can have more, they just have to do the inspection first. If the inspector says we are, indeed, at around 50%, we can have more. If not, then we have to write a letter and beg for it, though I've been told they're 99% sure they'll say yes to said letter of begging.
I understand why they're doing this. It's just that I hate jumping through all the hoops. It stresses me out and then I yell at people and my blood pressure skyrockets and it generally pisses me off. At any rate, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the porch ceiling that I started working on last weekend and the screen windows that need replacing will get us that much closer. The porch is halfway through and I'm starting to replace the screens this afternoon... I'm hoping that they'll see that we have all the supplies (except for the plywood that I need to borrow a truck for) and are in process with these two items-- one weekend will finish them up-- and credit us for both projects.
Then I won't have to resort to any unseemly begging.
The inspector for the mortgage company is coming today to inspect our progress on the insurance claim items. Basically, we're supposed to have the inspection at 50% completion. All we know is we've blown through the first disbursement of funds, so we need more. They've basically told me that we can have more, they just have to do the inspection first. If the inspector says we are, indeed, at around 50%, we can have more. If not, then we have to write a letter and beg for it, though I've been told they're 99% sure they'll say yes to said letter of begging.
I understand why they're doing this. It's just that I hate jumping through all the hoops. It stresses me out and then I yell at people and my blood pressure skyrockets and it generally pisses me off. At any rate, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the porch ceiling that I started working on last weekend and the screen windows that need replacing will get us that much closer. The porch is halfway through and I'm starting to replace the screens this afternoon... I'm hoping that they'll see that we have all the supplies (except for the plywood that I need to borrow a truck for) and are in process with these two items-- one weekend will finish them up-- and credit us for both projects.
Then I won't have to resort to any unseemly begging.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Another weekend over
I keep busting ass all weekend and it still doesn't seem like enough! So this is when the blog is helpful. It's a good chance to assess...I did stuff after all. Who knew?
Adam had to work aaaalll day Saturday, and the end result was a nasty sunburn. I was on my own.
First things first, I got a wild hair and busted out the scissors and garden shears. Here is the front walk right after I started
Yes, that's a coffee mug. It was about 8 am and I was perfectly happy to scoot on my butt with my coffee until it looked like this
I was pulling up toupees of grass. At any rate, lots of good clippings for the compost.
In other front of the house news, we've decided that the next item on the insurance money list is the porch-- we've got funds to redo the water-damaged ceiling.
I spent this afternoon removing the fan and tearing out the ceiling.
Next weekend we should be able to reinstall the ceiling and replace any boards that have rotted out.
Finally got our bedroom light hung...
But what was simultaneously the greatest accomplishment and biggest disappointment of the day was the kitchen cabinet doors. I got the hinges on them and got them hung. Ugh. Aside from the fact that I really don't like them, I wasn't able to get some of the stiles lined up perfectly, and they almost all hang askew. I put the same style hinges into the very same holes, but they still were crooked. And then I thought maybe I had them on upside down, but that didn't fix it. It just reminded me that the damn things were crooked when we bought the place; we took them off the cabinets a few weeks after we closed, so I had completely forgotten. Also, several screws broke off in the cabinets. If anyone has good solutions for getting those out without destroying the face, I'd love to hear it!
My main complaint is how yellow they are. We could take them apart and sand them and put them back together so that they're square, and rehang them so that they're not crooked, but that's far more time than I want to spend on something that I hate. I hate the design. It's just too, too MUCH for the rest of the kitchen with all the other clean straight lines-- in the counter, in the backsplash, in the floor.
Ugh. I almost don't want to show the pics.
It's so hard to tell how anything looks without the countertop trim, the crown, and the baseboards-- not to mention with the green window-- don't worry; it'll be white and the trim will be caulked. I'm also not sure whether natural wood will be ok for the doors. The sanded red oak is pinkish. The poly makes it a little yellower, but not like they are now. Remember this?
Do we think that finishing new doors like the top one above will help out the yellow insanity? The company said they could choose the wood for red undertones (like that red strip on the door above)...If it doesn't, can we stain dark? And if we can't stain dark, I guess we'll repaint the walls...
U.G.H.
The one thing making me a very VERY happy camper is the fact that we are getting new doors. It's decided. We just don't know when. That's one reason we put the old doors back on; the other reason? We didn't know how badly we wanted new ones until we saw the old one. Soon enough. I can be patient. I love the counters and dishwasher enough to make up for anything else that's wrong with that kitchen. And I still have high hopes for it once the trim work is finished.
I just need about 720 more weekends to get there...
Adam had to work aaaalll day Saturday, and the end result was a nasty sunburn. I was on my own.
First things first, I got a wild hair and busted out the scissors and garden shears. Here is the front walk right after I started
Yes, that's a coffee mug. It was about 8 am and I was perfectly happy to scoot on my butt with my coffee until it looked like this
I was pulling up toupees of grass. At any rate, lots of good clippings for the compost.
In other front of the house news, we've decided that the next item on the insurance money list is the porch-- we've got funds to redo the water-damaged ceiling.
I spent this afternoon removing the fan and tearing out the ceiling.
Next weekend we should be able to reinstall the ceiling and replace any boards that have rotted out.
Finally got our bedroom light hung...
But what was simultaneously the greatest accomplishment and biggest disappointment of the day was the kitchen cabinet doors. I got the hinges on them and got them hung. Ugh. Aside from the fact that I really don't like them, I wasn't able to get some of the stiles lined up perfectly, and they almost all hang askew. I put the same style hinges into the very same holes, but they still were crooked. And then I thought maybe I had them on upside down, but that didn't fix it. It just reminded me that the damn things were crooked when we bought the place; we took them off the cabinets a few weeks after we closed, so I had completely forgotten. Also, several screws broke off in the cabinets. If anyone has good solutions for getting those out without destroying the face, I'd love to hear it!
My main complaint is how yellow they are. We could take them apart and sand them and put them back together so that they're square, and rehang them so that they're not crooked, but that's far more time than I want to spend on something that I hate. I hate the design. It's just too, too MUCH for the rest of the kitchen with all the other clean straight lines-- in the counter, in the backsplash, in the floor.
Ugh. I almost don't want to show the pics.
It's so hard to tell how anything looks without the countertop trim, the crown, and the baseboards-- not to mention with the green window-- don't worry; it'll be white and the trim will be caulked. I'm also not sure whether natural wood will be ok for the doors. The sanded red oak is pinkish. The poly makes it a little yellower, but not like they are now. Remember this?
Do we think that finishing new doors like the top one above will help out the yellow insanity? The company said they could choose the wood for red undertones (like that red strip on the door above)...If it doesn't, can we stain dark? And if we can't stain dark, I guess we'll repaint the walls...
U.G.H.
The one thing making me a very VERY happy camper is the fact that we are getting new doors. It's decided. We just don't know when. That's one reason we put the old doors back on; the other reason? We didn't know how badly we wanted new ones until we saw the old one. Soon enough. I can be patient. I love the counters and dishwasher enough to make up for anything else that's wrong with that kitchen. And I still have high hopes for it once the trim work is finished.
I just need about 720 more weekends to get there...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Global warming sucks
This spring has been nuts. I don't think I've ever seen a spring/summer that has had as much severe weather in my whole life around here. We had big plans to get stuff done today, work on the kitchen, maybe the fence. Make a big fat trip to Lowe's. But while Adam and I were on the front porch having coffee, the dog came to the side of the house and started scratching on the porch in a panic, which is weird for him. But he was acting crazy, so I brought him inside. And while I was getting the cats' litter box out of the mudroom, and setting it up with his bed, the weather went insane. Sixty mile an hour winds and torrential rain-- I went out the front door and saw this:
Yeah-- it's noon and the street lights are on. There's hail in the surrounding communities. This is getting scary. We've had 2 bouts of damaging hail and another half-dozen threatening storms with significant flooding or winds. Not to mention some normal rainy days. I mean, it looked like it might rain, but not like this. It happened so fast. And even creepier? Here in about 30 minutes, it's supposed to be sunny and warm.
I guess we'll make that Lowe's trip after all...and maybe even get some work done. But this weather is scaring the shit out of me, to be perfectly honest.
Yeah-- it's noon and the street lights are on. There's hail in the surrounding communities. This is getting scary. We've had 2 bouts of damaging hail and another half-dozen threatening storms with significant flooding or winds. Not to mention some normal rainy days. I mean, it looked like it might rain, but not like this. It happened so fast. And even creepier? Here in about 30 minutes, it's supposed to be sunny and warm.
I guess we'll make that Lowe's trip after all...and maybe even get some work done. But this weather is scaring the shit out of me, to be perfectly honest.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Never thought I'd have to weed the patio
It was a good weekend, but I can't say the things I accomplished warrant pictures, really. Doing regular house things like, oh say, cleaning. Laundry. Weeding the patio. Filling in the dog-dug holes in the backyard. Potting cat grass. Dishes. Cooking. Grocery shopping. These are things people are supposed to do all the time-- whether they're renovating or not-- right? I wouldn't really know. Spending every weekend on this little "project" meant we let our other house go to shit on a regular basis. I'm trying to keep up with things at this place now, while unpacking (still) and preparing for the final inspection. Sigh. Never enough time or money. I'm pretty sure that an abundance of one or the other of those things would solve the above dilemma.
The good news? The roofer stopped by yesterday and told us they had already pulled the permit for our house. YAY! But then again, this only brings us one step closer to making a trim decision. I'm starting to think perhaps a nice warm, deep gray? Or a gray/olive green-- Something like Sherwin Williams Ruskin Pewter or Green Bronze. I really wanted to do red-- like the picture a few posts below, but leaving all the vertical slats white-- but I'm getting a lot of negative feedback, albeit, some of it's from people like my mother who says, "I HATE all light colored houses with dark trim. So I won't like anything you show me. It looks country." She's a designer, who is perhaps a wee bit colorblind, but maybe I should rethink the red. I'm wondering if my overwhelming desire for a balance of color (as in, not all white) has led me a bit astray. I don't know. It's all a moot point until we get a roof, so. Hm.
Meanwhile, I tried some organic "no dig" granules in the yard and seeded over some of the bare spots. The granules were white pepper, thyme and peppermint oil. I also added some cayenne to the mix. First thing Simon did? He ate it. Apparently, unlike most dogs, he loves him some pepper. Next step is the designated digging area. Beyond that, I just keep sweeping the dirt back to its proper location every morning. Oh well.
The good news? The roofer stopped by yesterday and told us they had already pulled the permit for our house. YAY! But then again, this only brings us one step closer to making a trim decision. I'm starting to think perhaps a nice warm, deep gray? Or a gray/olive green-- Something like Sherwin Williams Ruskin Pewter or Green Bronze. I really wanted to do red-- like the picture a few posts below, but leaving all the vertical slats white-- but I'm getting a lot of negative feedback, albeit, some of it's from people like my mother who says, "I HATE all light colored houses with dark trim. So I won't like anything you show me. It looks country." She's a designer, who is perhaps a wee bit colorblind, but maybe I should rethink the red. I'm wondering if my overwhelming desire for a balance of color (as in, not all white) has led me a bit astray. I don't know. It's all a moot point until we get a roof, so. Hm.
Meanwhile, I tried some organic "no dig" granules in the yard and seeded over some of the bare spots. The granules were white pepper, thyme and peppermint oil. I also added some cayenne to the mix. First thing Simon did? He ate it. Apparently, unlike most dogs, he loves him some pepper. Next step is the designated digging area. Beyond that, I just keep sweeping the dirt back to its proper location every morning. Oh well.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
I spoke too soon
I guess the quarter sized hail we had the other day actually did cause a little more damage. The HVAC inspector noticed some daylight coming through the roof yesterday. So I made Adam get up there and take care of it for me. I get vertigo, nausea. I can't get on and off the ladder at the top. Can't help but look down, and then it's all over for me. It's embarrassing.
But no worries-- we're supposed to be on the list to get our roof within the next week or two. The decking was plank, rather than plywood sheet, and some of the pieces that were broken by the hail have started to buckle, so whenever it happens, it needs to be soon.
And then we can get started on our new color scheme. I went to Lowe's last night and picked out, seriously, hundreds and hundreds of paint chips-- all the reds, greyish or olivey greens, and grays. I know they must hate me there, taking so many, but color corrected booths are the stupidest things I've ever seen. At any rate, I think we're now looking at a deep red with a very mid-tone gray (bordering on taupe, but more neutral) in addition to the existing white to accent the architectural features of the trim.
Can't decide much until the roof is on, but isn't it fun to dream?
But no worries-- we're supposed to be on the list to get our roof within the next week or two. The decking was plank, rather than plywood sheet, and some of the pieces that were broken by the hail have started to buckle, so whenever it happens, it needs to be soon.
And then we can get started on our new color scheme. I went to Lowe's last night and picked out, seriously, hundreds and hundreds of paint chips-- all the reds, greyish or olivey greens, and grays. I know they must hate me there, taking so many, but color corrected booths are the stupidest things I've ever seen. At any rate, I think we're now looking at a deep red with a very mid-tone gray (bordering on taupe, but more neutral) in addition to the existing white to accent the architectural features of the trim.
Can't decide much until the roof is on, but isn't it fun to dream?
Monday, May 12, 2008
or this?
The color keeps looking all wrong once I get it into blogger. It's a deep plummy red-- not purple, not brown, not burgundy. And not washed out grayish looking.
Regardless, the house just shouldn't be white. I just don't know if I'm mentally prepared to paint it another color.
40,000 Roofs
That's the number of new roofs being installed in Fort Smith. At least, that's what I overheard at Lowe's. Man. That's a lotta shingles.
We have picked out what we're going with. We decided on gray-- Owens Corning Oakridge Architectural shingles, to be exact, in Estate Grey. Well, we thought gray, as opposed to our current green 3-tab roof, would give us some more options in terms of trim color. Green basically left us with variations on green and red-- festive at Christmas, but I'd like something a little less seasonal all year-round, I think.
So of course, I couldn't resist some Photoshop time. I've done the trim with a gray/blue and with a plummy color...Next question will be, do we paint the rest of the trim one of these colors, too? And do we leave the house white? I think we leave it white but, I don't know!
That's a gable vent-- I just drew in a quick one; I start to lose my patience.
ALSO! I will gladly accept any other suggestions for trim colors and combinations-- all the help we can get!!!
We have picked out what we're going with. We decided on gray-- Owens Corning Oakridge Architectural shingles, to be exact, in Estate Grey. Well, we thought gray, as opposed to our current green 3-tab roof, would give us some more options in terms of trim color. Green basically left us with variations on green and red-- festive at Christmas, but I'd like something a little less seasonal all year-round, I think.
So of course, I couldn't resist some Photoshop time. I've done the trim with a gray/blue and with a plummy color...Next question will be, do we paint the rest of the trim one of these colors, too? And do we leave the house white? I think we leave it white but, I don't know!
That's a gable vent-- I just drew in a quick one; I start to lose my patience.
ALSO! I will gladly accept any other suggestions for trim colors and combinations-- all the help we can get!!!
No, I am NOT kidding.
Yes, that's right. MORE HAIL. This time, it was only nickel- to quarter-sized, and only lasted a few minutes, so it didn't really do any more damage. I was in my car, however, and it was a little frightening-- I can only imagine what it was like when the golf-ball stuff came down. It just kept exploding on the windshield.
And still, I think Fort Smith was spared the worst of it. Adam and the kiddo went to a minor league baseball game Saturday night and were delayed up there, 1 hour+ north, because of more hail, high winds, and tornadoes. So, yeah, all in all, it's ok. I know this system brought some really devastating tornadoes in Missouri, so my thoughts are certainly with them.
At any rate, not a lot else went on this weekend-- Adam's family came down for dinner Friday night, so I spent that afternoon sprucing up our 3 presentable rooms and the back patio. And we had the most awesome Cajun meal, at one of our favorite restaurants, so all was goo0d there. We bought all the supplies to complete one more section of fencing-- to give the dog a private yard to go to when we have company. This was a fiasco in itself. We tromped all over Lowe's looking for fencing panels, or even just the dog ears to build it from scratch. The garden people said it'd been moved to lumber, the lumber people couldn't be found...the kid who tried to help us in lumber saw us leaving and was able to get us talking to the guy in the store who "knows everything." He was finally able to help us. They'd stacked all the dogears out FRONT on the lumber end of the store. So we wrapped that up and went on our way.
Aaaand. That's about all we did this weekend. We found this cool vase on clearance at TJ Maxx, adn it is perfect for kitchen utensils:
And...um...remember head shops? Remember your college dorm? Remember big pieces of fabric tie-dye and batiks and Indian sari fabrics that worked great for covering walls and ugly recliners that you found on the side of the road, or something. Yeah, full disclosure, I thought that was some hippie dippy shit and not punk rock enough for little old me. But I could appreciate some pretty prints. I was still a little girly, too, after all. Well my sister bought me a beautiful and enormous piece of hand printed Indian fabric for Christmas this year. She just thought it might come in handy what with the new house and everything-- I have to say, that that is some forward thinking for a high school student.
This fabric will be perfect for living room curtains, and there's just enough of it.
The colors and pattern are perfect. I love it!
But I had a sad moment this weekend, too-- I over slept and missed bidding on this, the coolest light in the world.
I could kick myself.
And still, I think Fort Smith was spared the worst of it. Adam and the kiddo went to a minor league baseball game Saturday night and were delayed up there, 1 hour+ north, because of more hail, high winds, and tornadoes. So, yeah, all in all, it's ok. I know this system brought some really devastating tornadoes in Missouri, so my thoughts are certainly with them.
At any rate, not a lot else went on this weekend-- Adam's family came down for dinner Friday night, so I spent that afternoon sprucing up our 3 presentable rooms and the back patio. And we had the most awesome Cajun meal, at one of our favorite restaurants, so all was goo0d there. We bought all the supplies to complete one more section of fencing-- to give the dog a private yard to go to when we have company. This was a fiasco in itself. We tromped all over Lowe's looking for fencing panels, or even just the dog ears to build it from scratch. The garden people said it'd been moved to lumber, the lumber people couldn't be found...the kid who tried to help us in lumber saw us leaving and was able to get us talking to the guy in the store who "knows everything." He was finally able to help us. They'd stacked all the dogears out FRONT on the lumber end of the store. So we wrapped that up and went on our way.
Aaaand. That's about all we did this weekend. We found this cool vase on clearance at TJ Maxx, adn it is perfect for kitchen utensils:
And...um...remember head shops? Remember your college dorm? Remember big pieces of fabric tie-dye and batiks and Indian sari fabrics that worked great for covering walls and ugly recliners that you found on the side of the road, or something. Yeah, full disclosure, I thought that was some hippie dippy shit and not punk rock enough for little old me. But I could appreciate some pretty prints. I was still a little girly, too, after all. Well my sister bought me a beautiful and enormous piece of hand printed Indian fabric for Christmas this year. She just thought it might come in handy what with the new house and everything-- I have to say, that that is some forward thinking for a high school student.
This fabric will be perfect for living room curtains, and there's just enough of it.
The colors and pattern are perfect. I love it!
But I had a sad moment this weekend, too-- I over slept and missed bidding on this, the coolest light in the world.
I could kick myself.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Why is it so difficult?
Ugh. Apparently, the bank is going to hold our insurance money in escrow until we get the repairs done, releasing it one third at a time-- before we begin work, at 50% completion, and finally at 90% completion.
I mean, I get it-- they own more of the house than we do, and if we were scandalous thieves who took the money and let the bank foreclose, they couldn't recoup their investment. And they also claim the inspection done at each of these milestones helps protect the homeowner from ending up with shoddy work. I get it. I do. Everyone has been really nice in this whole debacle, too-- granted, it's not over yet and there's definitely time left for us to get bent over. However, everyone we've dealt with has been at the very least nice.
But it really, really sucks that we have to dip into credit to get it done (if it gets bad, I'll call and bitch and try to get more released). And it doubly sucks for someone like me, who has her own vast array of anxiety issues, that I am now left to obsess over. Like, what they mean by 50% and what happens if they don't like that we plan on replacing the garage door altogether rather than just reface it-- even though the insurance company is fine with this? And is there some way they can screw me? How long will this all take? Will they direct deposit it? Will I have to make requests for it like a trust? Or will I get a separate "credit" card for it-- one more thing to clog up my wallet and have to keep track of? When will I get the paperwork they claim they're sending...?
See why this is a problem?
I mean, I get it-- they own more of the house than we do, and if we were scandalous thieves who took the money and let the bank foreclose, they couldn't recoup their investment. And they also claim the inspection done at each of these milestones helps protect the homeowner from ending up with shoddy work. I get it. I do. Everyone has been really nice in this whole debacle, too-- granted, it's not over yet and there's definitely time left for us to get bent over. However, everyone we've dealt with has been at the very least nice.
But it really, really sucks that we have to dip into credit to get it done (if it gets bad, I'll call and bitch and try to get more released). And it doubly sucks for someone like me, who has her own vast array of anxiety issues, that I am now left to obsess over. Like, what they mean by 50% and what happens if they don't like that we plan on replacing the garage door altogether rather than just reface it-- even though the insurance company is fine with this? And is there some way they can screw me? How long will this all take? Will they direct deposit it? Will I have to make requests for it like a trust? Or will I get a separate "credit" card for it-- one more thing to clog up my wallet and have to keep track of? When will I get the paperwork they claim they're sending...?
See why this is a problem?
Friday, May 2, 2008
Oh boy!
The claims adjuster called yesterday and told me he had some extra time and was able to come by early. I wasn't able to leave work, so Adam handled it. The guy couldn't do an estimate on the spot-- too much to figure up-- and it's gonna be a lot, I think. New roof on house and garage, new carport, new wood clapboard on the garage, new ceilings in at least 2 rooms, new insulation, new love seat, paint on ceilings and garage and 2 sides of the house, new gas street light, new screens on part of the house, maybe a new heat pump (to replace our new heat pump) depending on what the experts say when they see it...the list goes on much further than that. No telling what the depreciation will be, but the majority of these things need to be taken care of, so we'll see most of that money in the end. Fingers crossed we can get on a roofers list sometime soon; with most of the decking needing to be replaced, there's gonna be a lot of people who won't even want to talk to us...
Anyway, the kiddo had an after school event yesterday, so I killed some time in Target while I waited to get her. A couple of hours there is a very bad thing. The dollar section has gardening stuff, so I got a couple of little planters and new gloves-- and a headband so I can look pretty whilst I work in the mud. Then I picked up necessary things like toilet paper and aluminum foil...and then I meandered into the patio/gardening/seasonal section. Lo and behold, there hung a hammock for $30!! I really don't even have that kind of money to spend, but I've never seen such a deal, so of course I bought it and I'll let you know how it goes; it was too dark to hang it, and it probably will be again tonight by the time we get home.
There was, however, time to pick our little strawberry, and we all had a taste. I forgot how much better homegrown strawberries are. My grandfather grew them, and in one or two bumper crop years, I sold them at the farmers market. Nothing beats strawberry shortcake that you don't have to sweeten.
At any rate, I'm excited-- lots going on, these days. Plans to get the backsplash up this weekend, then there's the used book sale at the library, and the hippies have started their outdoor movie showings, so things are finally picking up around the house and around town. Just have to keep moving on the important things, or it'll be feet up in the hammock for me!
Anyway, the kiddo had an after school event yesterday, so I killed some time in Target while I waited to get her. A couple of hours there is a very bad thing. The dollar section has gardening stuff, so I got a couple of little planters and new gloves-- and a headband so I can look pretty whilst I work in the mud. Then I picked up necessary things like toilet paper and aluminum foil...and then I meandered into the patio/gardening/seasonal section. Lo and behold, there hung a hammock for $30!! I really don't even have that kind of money to spend, but I've never seen such a deal, so of course I bought it and I'll let you know how it goes; it was too dark to hang it, and it probably will be again tonight by the time we get home.
There was, however, time to pick our little strawberry, and we all had a taste. I forgot how much better homegrown strawberries are. My grandfather grew them, and in one or two bumper crop years, I sold them at the farmers market. Nothing beats strawberry shortcake that you don't have to sweeten.
At any rate, I'm excited-- lots going on, these days. Plans to get the backsplash up this weekend, then there's the used book sale at the library, and the hippies have started their outdoor movie showings, so things are finally picking up around the house and around town. Just have to keep moving on the important things, or it'll be feet up in the hammock for me!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
It rained...
...but not inside the house. Hopefully things will stay that way. Though now I've probably just jinxed the whole thing. Can't help being a little superstitious here...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
HAha!*
Yesterday I called the city's building safety office and asked them if my file had "PROBLEM CHILD" stamped across the top in big red letters. He said that it didn't. But he laughed. I think maybe it does.
Remember back last fall when we got the CH/A installed? Yeah? You don't? Me neither. It was a long time ago. Well we finally got that attic trap door finished and were ready to get the mechanical inspection done. I called the inspector and he told me that the contractor who installed the thing has to call and schedule the appointment. I SWEAR TO something that I could not remember the name of the people who did it. They are so far out of the equation. So I'll have to call them to get that taken care of, wrap up the rest of the "repairs" and get the final. Then we have to get ANOTHER permit for the roof. Sigh. I was so ready to have the monkey off my back.
We've made a few more strides in the push toward a final inspection: tada! baseboards.
Adam rounded over the tops with the router. Easy peasey. Easy for me to say. Adam also primed all the backsplash panels and we started gluing them together this weekend with good old liquid nail and PL construction adhesive. He also painted the door jambs and the pantry door and got all the wet insulation out of the attic. Damn! He gets all the good jobs.
Meanwhile, still no word from the insurance people, but there's a lot of ground for them to cover. Everybody on the north end of town is gonna need a new roof. Everybody. My mom only lost one window, but they told her that her 10 year old roof is bruised-- not punctured, just bruised-- and she needs a new one. Everybody needs a new roof. We thought we had everything patched enough for last week's rain...
Hmmm. So we had to suck it up and do this (where "we"= Adam):
I know you can see that little blue spot. It's supposed to rain all week. Here's to hoping...
*(said in the voice of Nelson, of course)
Remember back last fall when we got the CH/A installed? Yeah? You don't? Me neither. It was a long time ago. Well we finally got that attic trap door finished and were ready to get the mechanical inspection done. I called the inspector and he told me that the contractor who installed the thing has to call and schedule the appointment. I SWEAR TO something that I could not remember the name of the people who did it. They are so far out of the equation. So I'll have to call them to get that taken care of, wrap up the rest of the "repairs" and get the final. Then we have to get ANOTHER permit for the roof. Sigh. I was so ready to have the monkey off my back.
We've made a few more strides in the push toward a final inspection: tada! baseboards.
Adam rounded over the tops with the router. Easy peasey. Easy for me to say. Adam also primed all the backsplash panels and we started gluing them together this weekend with good old liquid nail and PL construction adhesive. He also painted the door jambs and the pantry door and got all the wet insulation out of the attic. Damn! He gets all the good jobs.
Meanwhile, still no word from the insurance people, but there's a lot of ground for them to cover. Everybody on the north end of town is gonna need a new roof. Everybody. My mom only lost one window, but they told her that her 10 year old roof is bruised-- not punctured, just bruised-- and she needs a new one. Everybody needs a new roof. We thought we had everything patched enough for last week's rain...
Hmmm. So we had to suck it up and do this (where "we"= Adam):
I know you can see that little blue spot. It's supposed to rain all week. Here's to hoping...
*(said in the voice of Nelson, of course)
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Fingers crossed
Touch wood, lucky penny, shooting star, 11:11...I don't want to take any chances.
After almost one full week of drying out, tomorrow's forecast calls for rain-- possible severe thunderstorms. We've done some temporary patching to the roof, so I'm hoping for less rain on the inside of the house this time around.
The insurance people say that our interior damage puts us higher on the list, but there's still no telling when they'll get to us.
So no walking under ladders, guys-- I already had a black cat cross my path today...
(Just got a call saying it could be 4 weeks before anyone gets out to our house. Ugh. Any suggestions for making a big ugly hole in the ceiling look pretty? Lace? Dried flowers? Hole treatments? Help a girl out.)
After almost one full week of drying out, tomorrow's forecast calls for rain-- possible severe thunderstorms. We've done some temporary patching to the roof, so I'm hoping for less rain on the inside of the house this time around.
The insurance people say that our interior damage puts us higher on the list, but there's still no telling when they'll get to us.
So no walking under ladders, guys-- I already had a black cat cross my path today...
(Just got a call saying it could be 4 weeks before anyone gets out to our house. Ugh. Any suggestions for making a big ugly hole in the ceiling look pretty? Lace? Dried flowers? Hole treatments? Help a girl out.)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
One step forward, two steps back
I guess I should say that in the grand scheme of things, we were very, very lucky. Adam and I took a walk around the neighborhood the other day and looked at all the pretty houses. One of these beautiful red brick bungalows was destroyed by not one, but TWO trees falling on the house, while there were 6 children inside-- and no one was hurt. I'd say things could be worse. As my dad's friend always said, "You could be on fire."
I knew that we were supposed to get rain, but I didn't think much of it and I thought it was coming in late. So I stayed in Fayetteville to have dinner with some girlfriends. Adam called and said that I might want to stay there while the storm passed because it was really something else-- in fact, he and the cat were hanging out in the interior hallway in case of a tornado.
Now, Adam's not a worrier, or a Chicken Little. But growing up, we had tornado warnings 4 times a week this time of year. You become a little oblivious, and I just chalked it up to Adam having not lived in those conditions. But he insisted that I call and check on my mom, just in case.
My sister answered the phone and sounded like she was having a stroke-- because these had just started coming down:
You got it. Golfball-sized hail. Adam saved these in the freezer. What a guy, huh? No, seriously! I was excited to see them!
Anyway, it started dripping then gushing out of the AC vents and light fixtures in the living room and the kiddo's room and he had started sounding so worn out and miserable. So I drove down during a "lull" in the storm-- a lull I wouldn't drive in under any other circumstances. On the way, they started reporting impassable flooding on ALL of the surrounding main streets of my house. I had to drive about 30 minutes out of the way, and turn around in driveways and take the most back asswards route possible. But I got there.
I did the next round of bucket changing and floor mopping. Imagine this with about 5 more buckets:
Then I got about an hour and a half of sleep before we heard something fall. Thinking the light fixtures had filled with water and dropped, we got up to check things out and found that...
Four square feet of ceiling had fallen! and now that there's SO MUCH SPACE for water to exit, the buckets, which all had holes by the way, weren't enough. We couldn't dry towels fast enough. And after all the work on the floors, we are damned if this water is gonna ruin them.
Anyway, I didn't really sleep last night. In addition to the ceiling, the kiddo's room will need its ceiling replaced. Adam saw some straight up HOLES in the roof from the hail so it will likely need replacing; it knocked out both garage windows and one car windshield was cracked. In fact, it removed one light of a casement window and set it unharmed about 5 feet away. weird. Knocked paint off the garage. Both couches are soak, soak, soaked. It's a busy time at work, and I hate being gone, but I really don't want to leave this until I've talked to the insurance girl-- and of course her line is busy...
The flooding's gone down, the rain has stopped, and I'm allowed to get some sleep now, but I can't. Guess I'll commit to a few cups of coffee.
Here's some pics of the damage:
Not damage, per se, but a whole frikin lot of leaves to rake. That's all leaves you see there. I so thought I was done with those.
I knew that we were supposed to get rain, but I didn't think much of it and I thought it was coming in late. So I stayed in Fayetteville to have dinner with some girlfriends. Adam called and said that I might want to stay there while the storm passed because it was really something else-- in fact, he and the cat were hanging out in the interior hallway in case of a tornado.
Now, Adam's not a worrier, or a Chicken Little. But growing up, we had tornado warnings 4 times a week this time of year. You become a little oblivious, and I just chalked it up to Adam having not lived in those conditions. But he insisted that I call and check on my mom, just in case.
My sister answered the phone and sounded like she was having a stroke-- because these had just started coming down:
You got it. Golfball-sized hail. Adam saved these in the freezer. What a guy, huh? No, seriously! I was excited to see them!
Anyway, it started dripping then gushing out of the AC vents and light fixtures in the living room and the kiddo's room and he had started sounding so worn out and miserable. So I drove down during a "lull" in the storm-- a lull I wouldn't drive in under any other circumstances. On the way, they started reporting impassable flooding on ALL of the surrounding main streets of my house. I had to drive about 30 minutes out of the way, and turn around in driveways and take the most back asswards route possible. But I got there.
I did the next round of bucket changing and floor mopping. Imagine this with about 5 more buckets:
Then I got about an hour and a half of sleep before we heard something fall. Thinking the light fixtures had filled with water and dropped, we got up to check things out and found that...
Four square feet of ceiling had fallen! and now that there's SO MUCH SPACE for water to exit, the buckets, which all had holes by the way, weren't enough. We couldn't dry towels fast enough. And after all the work on the floors, we are damned if this water is gonna ruin them.
Anyway, I didn't really sleep last night. In addition to the ceiling, the kiddo's room will need its ceiling replaced. Adam saw some straight up HOLES in the roof from the hail so it will likely need replacing; it knocked out both garage windows and one car windshield was cracked. In fact, it removed one light of a casement window and set it unharmed about 5 feet away. weird. Knocked paint off the garage. Both couches are soak, soak, soaked. It's a busy time at work, and I hate being gone, but I really don't want to leave this until I've talked to the insurance girl-- and of course her line is busy...
The flooding's gone down, the rain has stopped, and I'm allowed to get some sleep now, but I can't. Guess I'll commit to a few cups of coffee.
Here's some pics of the damage:
Not damage, per se, but a whole frikin lot of leaves to rake. That's all leaves you see there. I so thought I was done with those.
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