Wake-Up Call


Saturday Morning began with a lovely wake-up call at 6:45am by the masonry team. Not to mention, temperatures’ in the 40’s along with rain and wind. From my viewpoint, Jacob was not ready for this day to begin for sure. After all that hard work of creating footings, it was now time to destroy them so the mason could begin wall construction in 3 separate areas – laundry room, front porch, and master bath.

Jacob’s determination on this project shined through on this dreaded morning, as he was outside pulling off the wood frame of the footings until Noon. It is so hard to stand back and watch the frustration and exhaustion on his face knowing he is doing all this work for both of us. Being the Observer might be one of the toughest things for me. I am trying my best to be available for any emergency needs, but it just doesn’t seem like enough.

(6:45 AM)

(We have walls!)

On a positive note, maybe the dirty work and bad weather is behind us now that the month of February has come to a close. On the horizon for March…delivery of the POD and the cleaning out of laundry room and den. Oh, and how can I forget, time for Jacob and I to mentally prepare for our move into the guest room for master bath completion and new window installation in the master bedroom.

Lessons in Concrete


Last Friday was our first glimpse at concrete pouring. I came home at lunch to find Mark and Jacob manning the concrete truck like they had been doing this for 20 years (well, sort of). I was able to capture some great actions shots of both of them in the field. Check out the new link to the right for a complete photo gallery!

Friday was about a 5 hour workday for Jacob. This allowed for some much needed downtime to enjoy our traditional Friday night pizza and wine at Antonio’s with the family.

But, of course Jacob’s persistence continued AFTER dinner, as he spent another 2 hours outside taking the footings off the master bath concrete; prepping for the masonry team due to arrive Saturday morning. He amazes me!








(I loved the boots.)

Longest Day So Far

Wow, I am inside watching Jacob and Mark continuing to work for the City Inspection tomorrow. It is 8:45pm, raining, and windy with temperatures dropping. This has got to be the longest day yet. The concrete cutters were here about 3 hours today cutting the necessary areas. The dirt needing to be removed seems neverending! I feel completely helpless as the Observer. I am in awe of Mark and Jacob's tenacity to stay on schedule.




(My view from inside.)

(10:00 pm)

Catch Up - Month 1



Work began in the front yard on February 1st. Jacob and Mark worked on digging the footings for the new walls to be built for the new master bath and front porch. Mr. T even stopped by last Saturday to assist with the wood placements to ensure everything was on the right track.


(Master Bath Ready for Inspection)


Only one hiccup so far! Mark cut through our main water pipe thinking it was the sprinkler system. Luckily, Mr. Plumber Man made it out in a couple hours to get us running water again.


(Oops!)



The BEFORE



Welcome to our lives! Jacob and I are embarking on our first big project as husband and wife. Above is a picture of our house before we started our journey, a.k.a gutting, our home on February 1st, 2010. There are multiple phases to the renovation, and my sister had the brilliant idea to start a blog to document the process. This will be the perfect outlet for Jacob to contribute his trials and tribulations in the field, as I chime in as the Observer. For those of you who watch HGTV or DIY, let the fun begin...