Architects live with their mistakes; Doctors bury them

I made a mistake...and when I asked scott if we could fix it, he said "THERE ARE NO CHANGE ORDERS ON THIS JOB!"     ha ha he is right, mean, but right.  we cant go backwards no matter what.

all the windows are now installed.

the window in the future first floor bathroom had to be reframed a bit smaller in order to accommodate the bath fixtures (i didnt want the window partly in the shower, and partly out of the shower) 

the 'mistake' was not centering the new window in the old opening...cause now there isnt much space to the left of the window for the vanity/mirror.  This might just send me back to the drawing board! (actually, part of the mistake was NOT drawing the window...I should be ashamed of myself!)

the corner windows had to be framed smaller because of the new kitchen cabinets- the kitchen sink will be located in this corner.

lots of natural light now-with the doors!

the back yard feels a bit bigger now that the apple tree is gone

i somehow found myself back up the ladder today, in the windy cold weather, stripping more paint from the bricks.

money well spent...hire a landscaper!

the landscaper came today and removed all 6 of the stumps and roots that were left after i cut down the shrubs

what took them 3 hours, would have taken me 36-- not to mention the cuts, bruises, and sore muscles that were averted!  this was well worth the money!

they also cleaned up all of the leaves and cut down a small apple tree that was in the back yard.   i will have better pictures to post tomorrow-  (forgot my camera today, this was taken with my phone, at the end of the day, when the sun was setting...and i was so excited to see the stumps removed that my hands were shaking!)

window replacement

psychedelic discovery

i found these amazing pencil drawings rolled up and stored in a closet

this guy was called "Sodvockner"

and the drawings were numbered, how funny.

they were drawn on the back of old posters.  i have no idea when they were made, but there are pretty groovy references to the 60's...this monster is giving the peace sign!

this one makes me sad.

this one makes me scared.  and its drawing number 775577...ha!

buck n' cold

I was on my way to the house last week when I was actually thinking 'wow, i have a really nice commute now,  15 minutes door-to-door, and I drive through a quaint pastoral town filled with horse farms and barns and at that very moment a buck ran by---awwwww perfect!

later, at "the office"

yup, that's me getting ready to sand the exterior sills in 40 degree weather.  I think I heard the neighbor's dogs snickering. 

so, we are trying to preserve the existing exterior window sills- they are quite weathered (sorry, no before pic-but they were grey and cracked), but after a good sanding and filling, they look 'almost' new. 

pay no attention to the types of terribly bad-for-you snacks that we keep at "the office"

some sills are beyond repair, and will have to be replaced. 

i pulled that chunck of sill off with my hands.

so here is the test/mocked up window.  with new replacement window, new pvc brick moulding and existing sanded/painted sill. 

i still need to caulk all the exterior joints, but its TOO COLD TO CAULK!

thank goodness for low temperature paint.

not a perfect sill, but much better than where it started!

aluminum is the new gold!

we found out today that we can get $2.50 per pound for aluminum at the local recycling center.
we only brought a small load of the aluminum siding to the center today, but brought back a whopping $72.
 
i think we have another 4-5 loads worth...not bad!

UPDATE 1:

2nd load brought in $104

3rd load was worth $96

UPDATE 2: Aluminum is just plain Aluminum.  Scott told me that he miscalculated the value of the stuff...it's actually about 50 cents/lb.  that's okay, we still got about $300 for the lot!

:)

black is the new red!

we installed (and painted) the new front entry door:

(notice, the aluminum siding has been removed)

we had to patch the wall around the door, but no worries- the new siding will cover the patch

this is a benchmark therma-tru fiberglass door that we got at lowe's.

and we also installed the french doors:

a little before shot:

and progress, believe it or not!:

and we also demolished the crooked brick and concrete step...that is no longer needed

one of these days we are going to find a buried treasure to make this all worthwhile- you'll see!

on the lighter side, this image is on the side of our box of 'contractor' trash bags...i thought it was hilarious...


it was even funnier when i realized that i was looking at it upside down!

ha!

climbing ladders and stuff...

the replacement windows were delivered today

along with the french door

the lumber stock is for the deck project...in a couple of weeks!

today, scott stripped the old shingles (2 layers) from the lower roof 

while I stripped the aluminum siding, starting with the backside of the house

i had to get over my fear of heights to climb that ladder!  it really doesnt look high from the ground, but from the top of the ladder, its pretty freakin' high!

i thought i would have more done by the end of the day, but i was still getting used to working from the ladder...i am hoping to be more productive tomorrow.

we are stockpiling the aluminum so that we can bring it to the local salvage yard for recycling...

...oh, and cash!

:)

remember this?

gone!