3-D

I was always fascinated by Tinker toys and my Lincoln Logs. The idea of taking small pieces and fitting them together to make a 3-d structure amazed me. As a child we never had those 3-D Puzzles like below we had to use old fashioned imagination.

We were always happy as children when a new appliance was delivered in the neighborhood. We stalked the delivery truck and drivers to get that prized possession, the refrigerator box! The box would become a fort or a house for dolls (by the way Scott is not writing this, not that there is anything wrong with boys playing with dolls but . . .) As the fort or doll house would become mangled we flattened it and used it for summertime sledding down a grassy hill only to be rendered into a soggy mess destined for the trash after a quick moving summer storm.  Our builders are using wood and concrete in place of Tinker Toys and Lincoln logs but we have that kid like awe watching our dreams rise from the muddy earth.

What was planned is now in 3-D.

Driveway Side

View from Back Yard

View from Side Yard

And the inside is also taking shape as we have insulation and drywall.

This weekend also found us battling yet another drenching rain storm.

We are thrilled to say the sump pump installed this past week worked like a charm. We kept a cautious and watchful eye on the basement as the rain came down and were pleasantly surprised by a visit from Terry from Mingioni who stopped by Saturday to check on things.

We met more friends from Craigslist this week as Myron, his brother-in-law and son came out Saturday morning to pick up the heater and air conditioner. Myron is getting ready to sell his Mother's home and is trying to update the HVAC systems to make the house more marketable. We feel very eco friendly as all of the appliances for the kitchen and the heating and cooling systems that were destined for a land fill are now living out the rest of their lives helping others.

Following the early morning pickup by Myron and team on Saturday we spent the rest of the day watching movies listing to the pitter patter of rain coming down on the new roof which was followed by exploring the patterns of sunlight coming from all of the new windows on Sunday morning.

Since we have many people emailing us with requests for more pictures and details we are taking some time to answer a question or two each week.

About the dogs:

Zoey, Maggie and Fenwick are handling the strange noises well. Maggie shakes occasionally early in the project when the noises were much louder. Fenwick on the other hand has recently had issue with the sound of the screw gun used for the drywall. He comforts himself by sucking on Maggie's ears like a pacifier. He will eventually fall asleep with the ear in his mouth. The dogs are growing ever more curious of the new addition and Fenwick the youngest dog has claimed the dormer room for himself.

This past week Fenwick went missing from the bedroom and hallway upstairs which has become the office, kitchen and complete living space for the Bombeck family. Fenwick managed to wiggle past the barricade dragging his pillow in to take a little nap in the new unfinished room.

Zoey, Maggie, and Fenwick

The Good, The Bad and The Soggy

WOW!


What a week.

Everything is coming together and in some cases falling apart.
This week found the plumbing rough in, electrical rough in and siding complete not to mention the framing of new doorways to the bathroom, bar area, kitchen etc.
While we await insulation we thought how fortunate we were given the nice weather that is until Old Man Winter visited a bit earlier than expected delivering lows in the 30's and 40's. Given that the heater is going to be replaced to handle the increased size of the house we tried to avoid turning it on as we did not want to watch the precious heat and money flow out the roof of the addition.
With determination to not turn on the heat I found my down quilt and several flannel blankets and hunkered down in the bedroom. After about 5 minutes I found that despite the warmth the blankets provided along with the flannel PJs my nose was extremely cold breathing in the arctic air. Remembering something my Mother told me about putting a hat on to go out as you will lose all of the heat from your body I summoned or bribed Scott to venture out of the warmth and procure a hat from the coat closet in the deep freezer downstairs. While I waited, I invited Maggie the Shih Tzu to join me on my pillow. Her nose was cold but I was getting warmer as the furry furnace on my head curled up to sleep. Note to self: Must make grooming appointment as the dog was a bit stinky. Scott returned like Nanook of the North sporting hats scarves and gloves. My hero. Bundled up like Ralphie's brother in a Christmas Story I drifted off to sleep.
4AM . . .What the Hell? Why is my head soaking wet? Please tell me Maggie did not decide to use my head for her relief. Wait a second, me feet are wet too. I look over at Scott who now has the covers tossed back. With my groggy powers of deduction and the fact that we do not have a water bed I pride myself in knowing that I have created a sweat lodge. I remove my hat, scarf and place Maggie on her doggy bed and return to slumber as it is too cold in the bathroom to take a shower.
As the rain came down on Friday and no sun was available to heat the house we requested that the plastic sheeting go up in all the openings to the addition so that we may delight in having the heat turned on and to sleep like normal people.
As we reflect on the week we are amazed at the progress even though according to the schedule provided we look like we are a week behind but we feel like this project is moving at lightning speed or more appropriate a tsunami wave.
You see the real story this week is about the tsunami under the stairs. As we slumbered we heard the battle between the heater as it kicks on and off vs. the patter of the rain in a white noise symphony.

Bang.

"Did you hear that?" 8AM Saturday I awoke. "What was that noise? Hey Scott did anybody say they were going to work here today?" I look at the dogs, they are asleep. I must have dreamt it as their sonic hearing did not pick up the Earthquake in the basement. No tsunami warning was issued so we began our day and despite the weather were going to venture out to the non-construction world to the Home Show.

Scott headed down the basement to just check our sump pump as it was disconnected due to the rerouting of pipes this past week.

I heard the thundering footsteps running up from the basement followed by my name and a few words hastily put together with much urgency. Flooded, leaving, pumps, help.

Thinking that our sump pump has flooded the basement I put on my sensible red leather clogs as I cannot find my boots. Running down the basement I see a little puddle by the sump pump. What's the big deal.

That is until I walked into the basement through the newly framed opening to find 4-6 inches of water depending on where you are standing covering the entire basement floor.

Sitting proudly in the middle of the floor are all of our earthly possessions packed in hardy cardboard boxes.

Up the steps I go with my own thundering footsteps. We need help.

I call Mingioni's office knowing that on Saturday I would be just leaving a message.

This was followed by emails, a page to Joe's cell phone and a message to the cell as well.

I hope I was able to sound coherent as I left messages as all I kept thinking about was which box contained our Wedding Album and family photos.

I also did what any responsible adult would do. I called my Mommy. Hearing the crackle of my voice she headed right over with her more functional footwear (snow boots).

I see Scott pull up outside as he leaps from the car with hoses and pumps in hand.

Off to the dark basement.

We string extension cords over the rafters and hang lights where we can so that we can see (remember no lights are installed yet in the new basement and no windows to let the dim light in from outside.)

Mom shows up and we begin to survey the damage.

The loud bang was a tower of cardboard boxes that lost their footing as the bottom box disintegrated from the rippling water. Using the only sharp tool I had I began to feverously cut through the tape on waterlogged boxes. This tool was a yellow ice scraper. After a frantic and nail biting search we found the pictures and wedding album. They were dry.

We were pleased that the liquor bottle box was the most damaged - but the contents were just fine and much needed :)

We lost a few items. Scott's bass sound effect peddle, a punch bowl base, and stuff I should have tossed long ago. I guess this was God's way of saying why are you saving this crap. This was evident when my Mom said "You just celebrated your 18th wedding anniversary on the 14th, just wait till you see how much crap you'll have by your 40th." This was followed by the realization that her snow boots were not the best footwear as she was feeling her socks getting soggy.

I hear a distant ring.

As I splash through the now 2-4 inches of water and see the cause of the water problem I run to the phone before voicemail kicks in.


"Hello Kim?  This is Joe Mingioni."

With an expression of shock and awe I am delighted to hear the voice on the other end of the phone asking what do you need, I am on my way.

Joe and Ray arrived to help discard the wet boxes and neatly stack the remaining boxes on pallets they have brought with them.

By 3PM the floor was dry and the cause of this tsunami (the new sump pump pit) was fighting against the two pumps lowered 2 feet below the surface of the floor. This battle raged on until 7-8PM when the temporary sump pump was winning the battle.

I cannot tell you how thankful we are to Joe and Ray. When I joked about should I mention this in the blog. Joe responded with "Of course you should"

He proceeded to tell me that despite any best efforts in construction everything cannot be perfect.

While this is true in life as well we are thankful for the imperfection as it is a great teaching tool.

While the water receded we were very happy that we chose the right construction company for us (one that shows up shortly after you call on a Saturday with an emergency); that the French drain and sump pit that were newly installed did their job and that the new foundation seams connecting it to the house were water tight.

As the heat kicked on we settled in for a warm dry night.

Feeling electric with the flush of excitement

This past week has found us with crews working on Plumbing, Electric and Siding.
In the category of Ewwwwwwwww we find our old gable siding coming down.

And in its place our beautiful new HardiPlank Cement Siding now covers both the gables and the new addition. (more pictures coming soon.)

It is just amazing to see the progress as outlets are positioned and our NJ Tub find is now installed in the location that used to house my Yellow kitchen sink and dishwasher.

This week found us making many critical decisions that will affect us for the rest of our lives . . .the positioning of lights and switches. To give you some insight as to our dreading of this part of the project we take you to our last vacation rental in Maine. You see Scott and I have been vacationing in homes that are much bigger than ours for the past 10 years or so. We rent a house that has a gourmet kitchen and room for us, the dogs and the Mothers so that we can enjoy spacious living. The house we rented in Maine was beautiful. Check out the listing  For one week we delighted in having more room than we knew what to do with, however by the week's end we still had no idea of what all the complex arrays of switches did. Like some game one of us would flick a switch and then the other would search for a light that had been turned on or a garbage disposal that was gurgling at not being fed. While we loved cooking in this kitchen we grew tired of the odd configuration of sinks and switches and learned a great deal about what we did not want.

So that brings us to our meeting with our electrical contractor on "What we did want. . . "
3-way switches, outlets, Cat 5 jacks, COAX, Speaker cables etc . . . .
Oh the choices.

We were amazed at the ease of this dreaded task. Our contractor gave us ideas to eliminate the crazy switch dilemmas we encountered before. I was empowered by my quick decision to put the fan switch here or the breakfast nook light switch there. It was easy to read the look on the contractors face about whether my choice was good or whether I would be pissed off the rest of my life because I had to walk across the room to switch off the ceiling lights before going to bed every night. Suggestions like "Are you sure you really want that switch there . . .which way will you be entering and leaving the room?" helped us a great deal.

We were also amazed at the dedication of our electrician who finished up the rough in over the weekend!!!

We were also amazed at the Plumber who should win the Nobel Peace Prize for the ability to blend the old with the new. We were fearing the tie in to the stack which is as far away from the kitchen as you can get. This was our biggest preconstruction fear how would the drain from the kitchen sink get to the stack without us having to do some basement limbo to get to our washer and dryer.

As you can see from the pictures this Herculean feat is complete as the kitchen drain follows the walls around the basement to the stack which is happily secure at the new PVC addition to the family.

As Fall starts to chill the air we are excited for the next phase HVAC when we welcome our new heater and AC unit. Until next week

The Crowbar and the story of the Octopus in the wall

Yes this week finds us with another intriguing title and yet another story to be told.


Growing up with a Dad who could put together a broken muffler with a soda can and who could begin with an idea of a sun porch and embark on a yearlong adventure by building a porch with a cinder block and concrete foundation learning as he went has left a lasting impression on me.

With each wall that comes down and every header that is raised I cannot help to think about what my father would say. This week found us walking down memory lane while the demo team encountered the sea creature behind the wall -- The Octopus of Wakefield Drive.

Flashback 12 years ago. . .

As new home owners with little more than a hammer, screwdriver and determination to fix up our "new" house we ventured into the idea that we could save that much needed mortgage money by doing small projects ourselves. Sure we scraped wallpaper off of the walls and painted but that required very little skill to be passable. I am sure the gauges we left from over eager scraping and the not so neat trim that sports the drips and runs from a shaky paintbrush are noticeable they have no bearing on the structural soundness or the basic functioning of our house.

"Let's upgrade our electrical service . . ."

With a "what the hell are we doing" and more bravado than we should have we enter the electrifying world of Romex and Circuit Breakers. In the back of my mind the phrase written on every electrical item warning the person using it that under no certain circumstances should they open or touch the mystical contents or a fate worse than death or death itself may occur. So my brother the lineman with Peco helps by doing the extremely dangerous stuff as I shield my eyes as he handles the main feed to our house and installs the new 200 amp panel.

With our little screwdriver and hammer we discover that we do not have the proper tools to rewire the aging wiring in the house. But rather than driving to Home Depot and purchasing tools we venture to the tool emporium also known as my Father's basement. Dad had retired due to health concerns and was eager to lend a helping hand. As he maneuvered among the shelves and drawers he gathered items that at first seemed out of place to novices like Scott and I. Fishing tackle box. 30ft length of wire. The Wonderbar Crowbar. Flashlight. Pretty Red Electrical Tape. Hammer drill. Hole Drill. And the most important tool determination.

We headed back with Dad and the buffet of tools and sundries and began to find the house's sweet spot.

We are sure the original architect that designed these homes 60 years ago had some training in that our house is still standing but we certainly cannot understand the placement of the walls.

We started on the 2nd floor looking for a wall that would line up with a wall on the 1st floor in order to fish a line through. Dad began inconspicuously in the closet. Bang, Bang, Bang. The wonderbar punctured the wall inside the closet. Drill, Drill, Drill. These sounds were followed by a few four letter words and then a new spot was selected for the next Bang, Bang, Bang, Drill, Drill, Drill. Fearing that my home would end up like a plastered piece of Swiss cheese I prayed to the Patron Saint of Home Improvement. As my Father feed the wire with the lead fishing sinker into the wall Scott and I began to play Marco - Polo on the first floor as the sinker tapped from inside the ceiling as we walked from room to room listening for the little sound above our heads. We found the spot.

Imagine a little 3 inch hole that lines up from the 2nd. Floor to the 1st Floor and down to the basement. This little space would be where we would feed lines up to the 2nd Floor. Like trying to put on a pair of jeans that are too tight we pull and push 5 Romex Lines, 1 COAX, 1 Phone Line and 1 wire leader into the hole from Attic to Basement. This 8 line Octopus has been hidden in the wall for 10 years.

It has not been silent for 10 years as we always know it is there especially when watching the TBS channel in the bedroom. You see this 8 line Otcopus acts like a giant antenna. As planes approach Philadelphia International Airport and request from the tower runway clearance this info is broadcast on TBS. While watching Seinfeld reruns you may hear US Air Flight 543 requesting landing runway 27. Quickly looking up on the computer we find that the flight from Puerto Rico is landing on time.

Dad helped us greatly during our first few years as new homeowners not only with the work he performed (such as fixing the issue of the bedroom fan which would turn off if you turned on the bathroom light) but more importantly as a teacher helping us to problem solve the small stuff and knowing our limitations on the big stuff.

And if you find yourself asking what the significance of the red electrical tape.

Dad wanted us to know which outlets and switches he replaced in the house. Any outlet that when you remove the faceplate and examine the internal workings that has the red electrical tape was lovingly replaced by him.

While I miss my Father greatly and regret that he will not be able to see this addition in person I am thankful that I am reminded of the funny stories and trials and errors when the Octopus in the wall gets to see the light of day.

The Octopus in the Wall with the switch and outlet with the red electrical tape and Dad's seal of approval.