Back in the basement!

No, we haven't quit working on the house. It just took awhile to finish up outside. That is my kitchen window. Dave decided to surprise me by putting up a couple of birdfeeders.

Just trying to give the house a homey touch. This is the back porch area.

We did get the garage moved. What a HUGE job!

Those cabinets are heavy. We moved one at a time, one day at a time. HEAVY I tell ya.

My little area in the garage. The bottom half. I'm still trying to talk him into the top half!

The siding is finished on the front porch. We're getting there.....little at a time. Still need to do the porch floors and columns.

But for now...we are back in the basement. This is O.S.B. It's heavy. We hauled in about 15 sheets of it to be put on the walls. We are only using drywall in the living area of the basement. The storage areas, pantry, and mechanical room will be O.S.B.

Which is made in the USA!

Cindy

Drainage Tiles

I realize the postings on this blog have been fewer lately. It does not mean we aren't working on the house. It just means that it is taking us awhile to do the same thing which makes the pics a bit boring. Right now we are still getting the outside ready for winter as it is fast approaching. Dave has been adding drainage tiles to the downspouts so the water will be directed away from the house. And he is digging by hand, of course. Is there any other way?

I think there are about five of these that need done. Plus, he is putting siding on the porches. We're not sure if Tyvek will hold up through two winters! He is close to finishing both, but the weather (rain) has put a stop to him working outside for awhile.

Cindy

Painting and Siding

I painted the room that is going to be initially used for storage.

Eventually Dave wants to use it for a wood shop. He wanted it tan, I prefer to call the color sand, but it's official name is Basket Beige.

I was a little nervous at the drying process...

It seemed to be several different colors and not "sand" at all,

But it turned out just fine. As soon as I do a bit of touch up work, this room is finished enough to start putting stuff in from our house. Eventually, Dave will put trim around the top where the OSB meets, so you won't see that line there...but that's after we get moved in and settled. Right now, it doesn't matter, the door will be closed on this room.

And the guys are finishing the siding on our house.

Cindy

Apex cuteness and Dave's work

This is the cuteness I was talking about yesterday, in the apex or gables.

This is what Dave has been up to, while I've been painting.

Electrical panel for the basement - he put it in, he's an electrician.

He put up this wall in the basement room we've been working on. This is the room we will be storing all of the 'stuff' from the house we live in now, until we are ready to use it or get rid of it.

He's got the lights up in this room.

From the inside of the room looking out.

Cindy

Siding and mud!

The only thing left to do in the garage, besides paint, is fix this door. It is way too tight.

Last week I mentioned a painting party. Lucky for all of you it didn't happen! The guys that we hired to put siding on the high part of the house called us last week. They wanted to jump in and start siding since it was going to be warm out. Well, the garage was needed to put the siding in, so we would have been in each others way. So we put the painting off. The weather has turned cold again, so the next warm weather days I'll try to paint the garage.

In the meantime I thought I'd share a story and show you the siding progress.

Our construction area has turned into a mud bog since the snow melted.

We laid down all of this scrap wood to walk on.

Last Friday, the guys needed some siding materials and Dave was working. So my friend, Marcia, and I went to Chrysler and got Dave's truck out of the parking lot. Then went to the building supply store and picked up the siding materials, and proceeded to the house.

I GOT STUCK IN THE MUD! oh my...

What a mess....

Lucky for us I've lived in Indiana all my life. I learned at an early age how to rock an roll a vehicle to get it unstuck in the snow. Mud is about the same theory. Problem is, I flung mud all over the truck, all over the siding, all over everything!

The guys that were siding had a hard time too. Their ladders sunk in the mud, they sunk in the mud, there is mud throughout my house.

But look how nice the siding looks...

I know a lot of people are wondering/asking why we went with white and why vinyl.

1) White is classic and traditional.

2) You can add color in other areas. Remember the one area on the other end of the house that is sided with T1-11. It can be painted any color I want. I can also add some shutters and stuff in colors. But in the house I live in now, the roof is dark green and we have dark green shutters. I loved the dark green color. Now I'm tired of it, but can't change it.

3) Vinyl is maintenance free. I want a low maintenance house. We are 52 and want to enjoy this place as much as possible. That's why....

So many decision to be made. We decided to flute the corners.....to add a little character...

But not the corners of the fireplace box. You don't really want it to stand out.

The front. I couldn't take a picture of the entire front because of the mud.

The front edge - fluted corner.

That's it for now. It rained all night so I doubt I have updates for awhile.

Cindy