IX. We Have Walls!

November 14, 2016

It's Monday today and inspections are scheduled for tomorrow - electrical and framing - but today the drywall began in the areas not covered under the permit. We had so many damaged walls and ceilings besides the kitchen remodel, they have plenty to do.

This may look bad but I was ecstatic! Finally - walls!!

Check out the ceiling. There were many drywall sheets that were sagging come to find out so our main man Danny screwed them all back into place where he could and replaced those he couldn't throughout the entire house - garage and all. This guy was so tall he rarely stepped on a ladder. :D You can see where he then ran tape and smoothed them over with some 'mud' as they call it in prep for the finish.

His team was quite impressive. Floridians, call Todd Wendell Drywall Contracting Services if you need meticulous drywall people who come when they say they will and work till it's done. Hugs! as Marge would say.

November 15, 2016

It's inspection day and we passed! :D Electrical and framing. Now we can get to insulation - and of course an insulation inspection. After that we are free to let go!

Exciting eh? Insulation... Great couple of kids on stilts put this up in no time.

Inspector came through and thankfully we passed. Seemed a waste of his time somehow...

Meanwhile the drywall continues - everywhere now. These are not specs on my camera. I took a few shots with the flash on and these were actually dust particles flying around from cutting and prepping the drywall. Not good for their lungs...

That was the worst day. Once it was all up, they got to work with seaming and prepping for the texture. Here's a look at their patch work.

Laundry room big leak area...

Laundry ceiling was falling down...

Garage leak area...

And the garage ceiling falling down. Danny thinks someone fell partway through the ceiling when in the attic.

 From the front door walking in...

No more popcorn in the master. That patched hole above the folding doors will soon be a pass through crawl space into the attic.

And that black wire in the ceiling is for our stove vent. Can't wait to get my little Japanese tea pot boiling away on the stove so I can have some tea and just chill...

November 19, 2016

It took them the week but it's all done and ready for paint! These pictures were taken through November 22 when the painter came through and primed all the walls and painted the ceilings white. I'll do the walls but I draw the line at ceilings. So, all done and ready for me... 

The guest bath. :D Remember the hideous pink?

Laundry room...

Garage - no more holes in the ceiling...

And the nasty leaky garage wall... no more!

OMG!

OMG!!

Master bedroom...

Next is paint - then floors! Did I say floors!!

November 27, 2016

Today is Sunday. Had a nice Thanksgiving with Paul at Rosebuds Restaurant in Osprey last week. Turkey dinner for me and roast duck for Paul. And a huge piece of carrot cake that took us 2 days to eat - and that's saying something!

Cabinets came day after. Garage suddenly seems so much smaller.

Started painting the walls a couple of days ago - Sea Salt by Sherwin WIlliams. No need to neatly trim as we will have baseboard and crown moldings going in.

Hmmm. This is gonna take a while.

But I did get this far... had to stop as floors are starting and they prefer not to have to work around me. :D You can see what they did in preparation - scratched off any stuck on texture. That's Kayla's bed. She spent the day with me while I painted.

November 29, 2016

Now we can't wait to get the new windows. Hopefully coming this week. Their cousins, the exterior doors are already in Sarasota waiting on the windows. Interior doors came yesterday.

And the floors have started! Running over there soon to check it out.  

Will post floors next but will make you wait until the weekend - when they are finished! 

In anticipation of being there for Christmas, I dressed up our little palm tree out front. Maybe the neighbors won't notice the third overflowing dumpster out front...

Someday we will have a patio behind that palm to watch the sunsets. And some new paint on the walls, and some new shrubs...

Santa baby, slip some pavers under the tree for me

Been an awful good girl

Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa honey, I want a yard and really that's not a lot

Been an angel all year

Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight 

Ho Ho Ho...

Merry Christmas!

VIII. Pool'scapade

November 17, 2016

The pool reconstruction began today. Or should I say sucking...

And this is what they do with the water. I asked. But we are told it goes into the street - per ordinance. Wonder what the neighbors thought.

Here is our guy digging out the green monster.

Guh...

 LOL! How disgusting. I'm just glad we didn't find any bodies in there.

November 18, 2016

Next is scraping it down.

November 18, 2016

Finally! Something pretty to look at!

Well, kind of.

 But the bullnose looks good.

November 19, 2016

Getting ready for pavers. We wanted something called cool-deck (textured cement) but the pool deck is really uneven and pitches in the wrong direction - towards the house! They would have had to add inches of cement to level it out which would not have been durable over time. So pavers it is.

And new drains. 

Pavers are ice gray.

November 21, 2016

Smiles!

November 22, 2016

The guys finished the pavers and did the inside lining today!

Here is a closeup.

November 23, 2016

Apparently it will take nearly 24 hours for the pool to fill up - by the hose. Checked on this too. That's they way they do it in Florida. But the water department gives you a break I've been told.

November 24, 2016 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is where we are so far! We are so happy! The pavers still need to be cleaned off yet - lots of sand to sweep in and away.

But what a far cry from here!

We still have some work to do yet. The carpenter is going to fix the base of the pillars. They are all a bit rotted at the bottom. And I need to get back tomorrow to run the rest of the water. The inside lining cures under water so we need to fill it up to the tile half-way mark.

The crew returns on Monday to treat the water and brush down the lining (which is really cement mixed up with sand and quartz). They are supposed to attend to it over the course of a week before it gets handed over to us.

And... while all of this has been going on our new found drywall crew has been working in the inside. Yay!

I'll post those pictures soon. Been busy running back and forth and planning and calls to keep everyone aligned. So far - perfection! What a great crew. Floors start tomorrow and the cabinets are being delivered tomorrow. Interior doors coming on Monday. Carpenter just waiting on the floor guys but will do the kitchen and guest bath first so the templates can be made for the countertops. 

Going to buy a ladder tomorrow - black Friday, really Nance? But yes, I'm going to do some painting over the weekend and need a ladder that I can mess up. We brought leftover paint with us from Palm City and all of our painting gear. 

We had a painter come through on Tuesday - she primed all the walls and primed and painted all of the ceilings - so we are ready for wall paint. In an effort to save some money... I'm up!

Life is good.