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| Looking from the utility room past the laundry room to the back door |
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| The stairs |
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| Steve's toy room |
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| Data wiring room |
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| Kids playroom |
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| An insulated support pole! |
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| Looking into the utility room |
Friday, July 29, 2011
Insulation PIctures
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Insulation!
After waiting nearly an entire month, the contractors came back today and started installing insulation into our basement!
In one day, they nearly insulated the entire thing, ceiling walls, and even the support posts that they framed. They only have one small section of ceiling left to do, and one full wall of Steve's room. Everything else is done.
We actually didn't expect EVERY wall to be insulated, but it's not like we're paying extra for it. Clearly we're paying for it as it's what the contractor thought we meant so I'm sure it's factored into his price.
I'm guessing that means drywall will come tomorrow. Either that or they'll take the time to install our new door. I suspect that job will be relatively tough.
In one day, they nearly insulated the entire thing, ceiling walls, and even the support posts that they framed. They only have one small section of ceiling left to do, and one full wall of Steve's room. Everything else is done.
We actually didn't expect EVERY wall to be insulated, but it's not like we're paying extra for it. Clearly we're paying for it as it's what the contractor thought we meant so I'm sure it's factored into his price.
I'm guessing that means drywall will come tomorrow. Either that or they'll take the time to install our new door. I suspect that job will be relatively tough.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The week from H-E-double-toothpick
It's been a really long week (well, 2) in the Steak household.
Starting with July 10, we had an autocross and by the end of the event, we knew the club's Ford F550 crew cab with 11 foot steel reenforced flat bed wasn't going to start. We need that truck to tow our 46 foot gooseneck trailer back to where we store it. That started the search to find a company that could tow the trailer while I called AAA for the truck.
You can imagine how amused a bunch of car geeks were when a Ford F550 truck arrived to flat bed our F550. The guy tried valiantly to get it on his truck, but ultimately bailed on it. He called for a medium duty truck to come.
The medium duty truck arrived at the same time as the heavy duty truck arrived to pull the trailer. The medium duty truck, another F550, looked at ours and effectively refused to tow it or flat bed it, leaving us high and dry.
When the medium duty truck left, the heavy duty driver called his dispatcher for another truck to tow our F550. These guys lift 18 wheelers, so we knew that picking up our F550 would be no problem. And their motto on their truck says, "Relax. We got this." Sure enough, they picked up both the truck and the trailer like they were toys, and hauled them where we needed them to go. And they cut us a price break, too. They were awesome.
Little did I know that there was a little foreshadowing in that picture... but before I get to that, it turns out that with every phone call I received from the Ford dealership, my bill was getting worse. But I had to have it done ASAP because I had 2 events scheduled that weekend! The kicker was when they had fixed the initial issue, started the truck, shut it down, then tried to fire it up again to test it, and it failed. That fix cost my club's autocross budget $1300 alone. The service manager cut me a $500 break, and only charged me $5000 for everything... OUCH.
Although our event on Saturday was fun, an event the next day had us headed out early to get home. As I was driving, I heard a rattle in the engine of my WRX. I looked down at my temperature gauge, and it was nearly at the hot zone. I pulled over as fast as I could, took it out of gear, and drifted on the shoulder until the car shut itself off. I drifted to a stop on the 175 ramp towards Columbia. Hi, again, AAA.
$100 later, my car was sitting at Hampton Automotive so that Gary could confirm for me what I already knew... I'd blown the engine. We had plenty of offers to drive cars at the event the next day because the autocross community is *awesome* like that, but we chose to just stay home.
Good thing we did stay home because I ended up helping Ernie and George with the yard regrading. Plus, Ernie took out some overgrown landscaping for me. Ernie dumped the extra stuff behind our fence line, effectively creating a 5 foot berm to combat what the land owner removed. See, we can play with big machines, too...that's a whole other story. Anyway, both DJ and Elektra loved watching the Ernie drive the backhoe!
Meanwhile, I had asked our electrician to come fix a couple more things we thought weren't quite right on Tuesday. He said he'd come Thursday or Friday. Thursday he texted me that he'd come Friday. Friday came and went, no electrician. Saturday, nothing. So now it's the day before insulation and drywall is supposed to go in, and he tells me that it's all fine and to code. I'm sure it is, but come and walk Steve through your work, answer his questions. No, his work is fine. I told him that Steve was ready to cut him loose at with only the payments we've given him, but I was giving him an opportunity to earn his full fare. He said to call another electrician. He had fired himself.
Awesome.
Ok, get that it's an hour to drive here from where he is, but for the money he was leaving on the table, I'd drive the hour every time! Steve called a friend who is in the home theater business (and apparently is a master electrician). We didn't hear from him Sunday, so I postponed my contractor another week. Ross came by on Tuesday, fixed the issues we had, and gave Steve guidance on others. Steve was MUCH happier.
Having posted my frustrations on Facebook, Steve's Uncle Kenny saw it and said he'd be over with his son (and Steve's cousin), Ryan, to help Steve finish the electrical work. We thought Kenny and Ryan were only into HVAC, else we would have had them come do the whole job!! I wish we had known about Ross, Kenny, and Ryan earlier!!!
Experience is what you get right after you need it.
Thursday, I was braking hard to a complete stop in the Outback, and it stalled on me. I tried replicating the scenario under my own terms, and it stalled again. This could be a sign of a transmission failing. I had already made an appointment with Hampton Automotive for Friday to have him recharge the A/C, so I asked him to look at that first. I wouldn't fix the A/C if the transmission was dying.
Yesterday afternoon, Gary called and said he couldn't replicate the stalling issue, but he ran out of time to recharge the A/C. So he kept the car to work on it until Monday.
Last night, on the day in which the outside temps hit 106 degrees, our air conditioner failed to start after BGE Peak Rewards cycling. We never signed up for that; our previous owner did. I wrote George and told him to come over on Saturday to take that thing off!!! No more! Our house got up to 88 degrees last night, so we slept with all of the fans and windows open. The house got down to 80 by the morning but uuuugh it was humid, too.
It turns out, Ryan used to work for BGE, can install and uninstall those things in his sleep, and was coming over this morning. Kudos to Ryan for troubleshooting the problem, fixing it, and removing the Peak Rewards thing!!! It has taken the house over an hour to cool down 1 degree.
Admittingly, with the way this week (and this remodeling project) has been going, where everything I touch dies, I was convinced we would be shelling out for a new HVAC unit. Glad I'm not... yet.
When it rains, it pours.
- Posted using BlogPress from my newest toy.
Starting with July 10, we had an autocross and by the end of the event, we knew the club's Ford F550 crew cab with 11 foot steel reenforced flat bed wasn't going to start. We need that truck to tow our 46 foot gooseneck trailer back to where we store it. That started the search to find a company that could tow the trailer while I called AAA for the truck.
You can imagine how amused a bunch of car geeks were when a Ford F550 truck arrived to flat bed our F550. The guy tried valiantly to get it on his truck, but ultimately bailed on it. He called for a medium duty truck to come.
The medium duty truck arrived at the same time as the heavy duty truck arrived to pull the trailer. The medium duty truck, another F550, looked at ours and effectively refused to tow it or flat bed it, leaving us high and dry.
When the medium duty truck left, the heavy duty driver called his dispatcher for another truck to tow our F550. These guys lift 18 wheelers, so we knew that picking up our F550 would be no problem. And their motto on their truck says, "Relax. We got this." Sure enough, they picked up both the truck and the trailer like they were toys, and hauled them where we needed them to go. And they cut us a price break, too. They were awesome.
Little did I know that there was a little foreshadowing in that picture... but before I get to that, it turns out that with every phone call I received from the Ford dealership, my bill was getting worse. But I had to have it done ASAP because I had 2 events scheduled that weekend! The kicker was when they had fixed the initial issue, started the truck, shut it down, then tried to fire it up again to test it, and it failed. That fix cost my club's autocross budget $1300 alone. The service manager cut me a $500 break, and only charged me $5000 for everything... OUCH.
Although our event on Saturday was fun, an event the next day had us headed out early to get home. As I was driving, I heard a rattle in the engine of my WRX. I looked down at my temperature gauge, and it was nearly at the hot zone. I pulled over as fast as I could, took it out of gear, and drifted on the shoulder until the car shut itself off. I drifted to a stop on the 175 ramp towards Columbia. Hi, again, AAA.
$100 later, my car was sitting at Hampton Automotive so that Gary could confirm for me what I already knew... I'd blown the engine. We had plenty of offers to drive cars at the event the next day because the autocross community is *awesome* like that, but we chose to just stay home.
Good thing we did stay home because I ended up helping Ernie and George with the yard regrading. Plus, Ernie took out some overgrown landscaping for me. Ernie dumped the extra stuff behind our fence line, effectively creating a 5 foot berm to combat what the land owner removed. See, we can play with big machines, too...that's a whole other story. Anyway, both DJ and Elektra loved watching the Ernie drive the backhoe!
Meanwhile, I had asked our electrician to come fix a couple more things we thought weren't quite right on Tuesday. He said he'd come Thursday or Friday. Thursday he texted me that he'd come Friday. Friday came and went, no electrician. Saturday, nothing. So now it's the day before insulation and drywall is supposed to go in, and he tells me that it's all fine and to code. I'm sure it is, but come and walk Steve through your work, answer his questions. No, his work is fine. I told him that Steve was ready to cut him loose at with only the payments we've given him, but I was giving him an opportunity to earn his full fare. He said to call another electrician. He had fired himself.
Awesome.
Ok, get that it's an hour to drive here from where he is, but for the money he was leaving on the table, I'd drive the hour every time! Steve called a friend who is in the home theater business (and apparently is a master electrician). We didn't hear from him Sunday, so I postponed my contractor another week. Ross came by on Tuesday, fixed the issues we had, and gave Steve guidance on others. Steve was MUCH happier.
Having posted my frustrations on Facebook, Steve's Uncle Kenny saw it and said he'd be over with his son (and Steve's cousin), Ryan, to help Steve finish the electrical work. We thought Kenny and Ryan were only into HVAC, else we would have had them come do the whole job!! I wish we had known about Ross, Kenny, and Ryan earlier!!!
Experience is what you get right after you need it.
Thursday, I was braking hard to a complete stop in the Outback, and it stalled on me. I tried replicating the scenario under my own terms, and it stalled again. This could be a sign of a transmission failing. I had already made an appointment with Hampton Automotive for Friday to have him recharge the A/C, so I asked him to look at that first. I wouldn't fix the A/C if the transmission was dying.
Yesterday afternoon, Gary called and said he couldn't replicate the stalling issue, but he ran out of time to recharge the A/C. So he kept the car to work on it until Monday.
Last night, on the day in which the outside temps hit 106 degrees, our air conditioner failed to start after BGE Peak Rewards cycling. We never signed up for that; our previous owner did. I wrote George and told him to come over on Saturday to take that thing off!!! No more! Our house got up to 88 degrees last night, so we slept with all of the fans and windows open. The house got down to 80 by the morning but uuuugh it was humid, too.
It turns out, Ryan used to work for BGE, can install and uninstall those things in his sleep, and was coming over this morning. Kudos to Ryan for troubleshooting the problem, fixing it, and removing the Peak Rewards thing!!! It has taken the house over an hour to cool down 1 degree.
Admittingly, with the way this week (and this remodeling project) has been going, where everything I touch dies, I was convinced we would be shelling out for a new HVAC unit. Glad I'm not... yet.
When it rains, it pours.
- Posted using BlogPress from my newest toy.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Pictures of the basement remodel in mid-stage
Here are some pictures that are of the basement remodel about midway through the project:
Notice Steve's new toy room has a subfloor. It will also have something called Quiet Rock and insulation to basically contain any noise made within it.
George found 4 new basement windows from Gnome Despot. We were surprised to find windows that fit there; we thought we'd have to have them custom made. It's a whole lot less expensive when things don't have to be custom made! Score one for George! The Sombreros installed them.
You can see that the subfloor has 2 parts to it: Delta FL plastic matting and OSB (plywood boards). The Delta FL plastic matting has hard indentations in it to allow moisture to escape and evaporate from underneath to the sides. The Delta FL and the OSB are screwed into the concrete. The Sombreros broke a couple of drill bits and screws trying to install this.
George did a supremely good job with this. Before all of the water filtration, water tank, and water well pump were moved, it was a rats nest of pipes. Now it's all neat, clean, and organized. It took George 2 full days to get all this moved (and therefore, get water back). Steve helped him source parts and helped whenever he could. George did "fire" Steve as his helper twice during that phase, but apparently, Steve has earned his plumbing wings back with George. haha THANKS GEORGE!
This is a few into the kids playroom from the opposite end of the finished part of the basement. This is going to be pretty awesome when it's done!!!
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| Steve's new toy room. |
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| New double paned window and its framing. |
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| New framing around the electrical panels. |
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| Subfloor. |
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| The new water center. |
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| View down the long finished room. |
New tile
We decided to have tile installed in our new basement bathroom, in the hallway connecting to it, and the laundry room. Steve picked out the tile from Gnome Despot, and George was going to install it. Somehow, George convinced Don, the guy who remodeled our entire kitchen, to install the tile for us because Don is a tile expert. It's actually really hilarious in that George ragged on Don for not using the right plumbing fittings, and George knows that Don would rag on him for poor tile installation. So George is not taking any chances, and convinced Don to do the work.
We were thrilled to have Don back in our house, and so were our dogs. Napoleon LOVES LOVES LOVES Don. Sorry, tangent.
Don understands little boys like DJ. He showed DJ how to mix the quick set, and how to cut tile. Then he showed DJ how to lay tile, too. DJ was totally fascinated, and couldn't get enough!!
Even with the littlest helper in tow, Don had the bathroom floor tiled in no time flat. He's going to wait until all the drywall is up before tiling the rest. Meanwhile, this allows George to start installing walls in the bathroom to start finishing it.
We were thrilled to have Don back in our house, and so were our dogs. Napoleon LOVES LOVES LOVES Don. Sorry, tangent.
Don understands little boys like DJ. He showed DJ how to mix the quick set, and how to cut tile. Then he showed DJ how to lay tile, too. DJ was totally fascinated, and couldn't get enough!!
Even with the littlest helper in tow, Don had the bathroom floor tiled in no time flat. He's going to wait until all the drywall is up before tiling the rest. Meanwhile, this allows George to start installing walls in the bathroom to start finishing it.
Waterproofing, sort of.
When we ripped up the old carpet that was in the basement, I noticed it smelled musty in the sections near the basement door to the outside.
Then, in mid-May, it rained for one straight week. Our basement floor was covered in muddy water. The water had come in from underneath the basement door, proving that the drain that is at the bottom is worthless.
My cousin George suggests renting a backhoe, and having another cousin, Ernie, operate the machine because he's trained on it. A hole would be dug to where a new drain would empty, add stone to make a drain pit, and then refill the hole while grading the earth away from the house.
The backhoe arrived last Saturday. I'm convinced that the delivery guy was on speed; he was just nuts. Maybe you have to be nuts to be a delivery guy of heavy machinery... what do I know??
Anyway, Ernie comes over, and I look at him, point to the backhoe, and say, "That is NOT a small backhoe!" He replied with a grin, "Nah, that's just a baby! I've seen backhoes with wheels that are 9 feet tall!" If you're digging the foundation for a skyscraper, you better believe that backhoe has tires that are 9 feet tall!
DJ couldn't keep his eyes off of this thing. It wasn't as loud as we expected, so DJ tolerated it pretty well. When Ernie started digging, DJ went and sat on his dresser to look out the window to watch the entire show. He was GLUED to it. If I were a 4 year old boy, I'd be glued, too. How often do you get to watch a backhoe at work from the comfort of your own room??? DJ was fascinated with the whole process!
Meanwhile, Elektra slept through ALL that racket, and they were digging outside of her window!!!
After the whole was dug deep enough, George and Ernie used a jackhammer to crack the concrete at the bottom of the stairs to install the new drain pipe. They also drilled a hole through the concrete retaining wall for the pipe to exit into the new drain pit.
All of this was too much for DJ. He couldn't get enough of it all!!
Hopefully, this coming weekend, George will get the drain installed, the stones will be delivered, and Ernie can finish. We only have the backhoe until Monday!
Then, in mid-May, it rained for one straight week. Our basement floor was covered in muddy water. The water had come in from underneath the basement door, proving that the drain that is at the bottom is worthless.
My cousin George suggests renting a backhoe, and having another cousin, Ernie, operate the machine because he's trained on it. A hole would be dug to where a new drain would empty, add stone to make a drain pit, and then refill the hole while grading the earth away from the house.
The backhoe arrived last Saturday. I'm convinced that the delivery guy was on speed; he was just nuts. Maybe you have to be nuts to be a delivery guy of heavy machinery... what do I know??
Anyway, Ernie comes over, and I look at him, point to the backhoe, and say, "That is NOT a small backhoe!" He replied with a grin, "Nah, that's just a baby! I've seen backhoes with wheels that are 9 feet tall!" If you're digging the foundation for a skyscraper, you better believe that backhoe has tires that are 9 feet tall!
DJ couldn't keep his eyes off of this thing. It wasn't as loud as we expected, so DJ tolerated it pretty well. When Ernie started digging, DJ went and sat on his dresser to look out the window to watch the entire show. He was GLUED to it. If I were a 4 year old boy, I'd be glued, too. How often do you get to watch a backhoe at work from the comfort of your own room??? DJ was fascinated with the whole process!
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| Digging the hole outside of the basement door. |
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| The "baby" backhoe/front loader. |
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| Another view of the hole. George is in the foreground. |
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| HI ERNIE!!!! |
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| Backhoe at work! |
After the whole was dug deep enough, George and Ernie used a jackhammer to crack the concrete at the bottom of the stairs to install the new drain pipe. They also drilled a hole through the concrete retaining wall for the pipe to exit into the new drain pit.
All of this was too much for DJ. He couldn't get enough of it all!!
Hopefully, this coming weekend, George will get the drain installed, the stones will be delivered, and Ernie can finish. We only have the backhoe until Monday!
Some fun pictures
Just posting some fun pictures of the kids!
This first set happened because DJ climbed into Elektra's crib one morning to hang out with her. So she played peekaboo with him!
Then there's this picture... of DJ... going potty... with his underwear on his head. "Why is your underwear on your head, DJ?" "Because it's a hat!" It was all Steve and I could to not laugh, and we didn't succeed... this was hilarious!
This first set happened because DJ climbed into Elektra's crib one morning to hang out with her. So she played peekaboo with him!
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Then there's this picture... of DJ... going potty... with his underwear on his head. "Why is your underwear on your head, DJ?" "Because it's a hat!" It was all Steve and I could to not laugh, and we didn't succeed... this was hilarious!
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Because we don't have enough to do...
... we decided to help Italian Greyhound Rescue, and foster a 9 month old boy puppy.
Yes, we're nuts. We know, thankyouverymuch.
And yes, he might just become a failed foster... i.e. I'm not sure Steve can give him up for adoption when the time comes. ;-) Here are some pictures that Greyhound Rescue took of him: http://www.smbrjphoto.com/egor
His former name was Egor... we've changed it to Comet because he ZOOMS from one place to the other, and he has a bent tail right on the tip as if it got caught in a door at some point, and comets all have bent tails.
Comet is a sweet boy, with a great personality, curious as can be, and ridiculously smart! He's been dealing with the dominance wars from the senior incumbents just fine, and at some level, hasn't given in to Napoleon yet. He's driving Napoleon NUTS, though, with the amount of play and running around. It's great... Napoleon, age 11, is exhausted. :-) IO is just done with all of it. He's a tired old man at the ripe old age of 13.
So how and why would a 9 month old puppy come into Rescue? Well, a couple in their mid-late 80s decided they wanted another Italian Greyhound after their first one passed away. Unfortunately, they came into ill health recently (stroke and hip replacement) and couldn't care for him any longer. That said, I'm not really clear what they were thinking since IGs live to be 15 ... being that they shouldn't be buying green bananas either... maybe they were being optomistic that they'd live to 100?
Anyway, they weren't versed in the ways of breed rescue, and apparently calling the breeder from whom they bought him to return him wasn't an option. There were some choice words for the breeder, so I hear. Sooooo, they called the local police dispatch and asked if any of the officers would like a puppy, and could they get the dog in the next 3 hours - this was the only time their neighbor could take the dog to the pound. Luckily, the dispatcher is the ex of someone in the local Greyhound Rescue group, and called Greyhound Rescue. Greyhound Rescue called around to find who the local Italian Greyhound Rescue Rep is and if they could take the dog.
IG Rescue agreed to take the dog, and then the call to foster this boy went out to the Rescue list of which I am a part. Greyhound Rescue was located in Aberdeen, and I know that we're the closest IG Rescue Rep geographically.
Aaaaaaand I also know Steve has wanted a puppy for forever. So I offered to foster this boy, knowing full well that he may never leave us.
Yes, we're nuts. We know, thankyouverymuch.
And yes, he might just become a failed foster... i.e. I'm not sure Steve can give him up for adoption when the time comes. ;-) Here are some pictures that Greyhound Rescue took of him: http://www.smbrjphoto.com/egor
His former name was Egor... we've changed it to Comet because he ZOOMS from one place to the other, and he has a bent tail right on the tip as if it got caught in a door at some point, and comets all have bent tails.
Comet is a sweet boy, with a great personality, curious as can be, and ridiculously smart! He's been dealing with the dominance wars from the senior incumbents just fine, and at some level, hasn't given in to Napoleon yet. He's driving Napoleon NUTS, though, with the amount of play and running around. It's great... Napoleon, age 11, is exhausted. :-) IO is just done with all of it. He's a tired old man at the ripe old age of 13.
So how and why would a 9 month old puppy come into Rescue? Well, a couple in their mid-late 80s decided they wanted another Italian Greyhound after their first one passed away. Unfortunately, they came into ill health recently (stroke and hip replacement) and couldn't care for him any longer. That said, I'm not really clear what they were thinking since IGs live to be 15 ... being that they shouldn't be buying green bananas either... maybe they were being optomistic that they'd live to 100?
Anyway, they weren't versed in the ways of breed rescue, and apparently calling the breeder from whom they bought him to return him wasn't an option. There were some choice words for the breeder, so I hear. Sooooo, they called the local police dispatch and asked if any of the officers would like a puppy, and could they get the dog in the next 3 hours - this was the only time their neighbor could take the dog to the pound. Luckily, the dispatcher is the ex of someone in the local Greyhound Rescue group, and called Greyhound Rescue. Greyhound Rescue called around to find who the local Italian Greyhound Rescue Rep is and if they could take the dog.
IG Rescue agreed to take the dog, and then the call to foster this boy went out to the Rescue list of which I am a part. Greyhound Rescue was located in Aberdeen, and I know that we're the closest IG Rescue Rep geographically.
Aaaaaaand I also know Steve has wanted a puppy for forever. So I offered to foster this boy, knowing full well that he may never leave us.
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