Sarge posted another Friday Flyby, (first one in quite a while but we'll take what we can get) and gets 118 comments at last count. Well done! Hint...Hint...
Back in my little neck of the woods, my friend the wood pile burner is doing much better. Had to have some minor skin grafting done on his abdomen and hand, but it was done in an out-patient manner and completed in less than an hour. Dad says he's doing fine and should only have some minor scarring. So, that's good news.
On the home front...
Last week, I left you with this.
The framing supplies had been delivered and the framing crew had shown up and started sorting them out.
Tuesday morning their arrival at the site is bright and early, meaning they woke me up. (Yes, Beans, I no longer get up at 0600 or earlier, one of the bright sides to retirement.) By the time I get up, get dressed and get my mandatory cup of coffee and wander out to see what's what, I am presented with this picture.
By lunch time, the picture is like this.
And by COB (about 1900).
We walked through it and could now get a pretty good feel for the layout. Unfortunately, we also found our first "uh-oh".
Not having ever worked in the construction industry, I'm no expert, but given that the above view is looking at the hallway through the door from the master bedroom, I think having the bathroom stand pipes there might be an error.
So, we called the foreman. He said he'd noted that and had ordered the fix to be made. They will chip out the foundation and move both to the other side of the wall to the left, otherwise known as the master bathroom.
Ok, feces occurs. He was honest about the mistake and had a plan to rectify it. We will be keeping an eye on that though.
Wednesday dawns and we're awoken to the sounds of construction. Walking out to feed the horses their morning sit down buffet, we're treated to this view.
A little after lunch as I'm headed to my woodshop, I see verticality in the project.
Even more so by the end of the day.
Thursday and Friday, they were no shows, so I'm a little concerned, but Saturday they're back out in full force.
By the end of the day, the project looked like this.
Dang! That's starting to look like....a home!
So, after Mrs J and I walked up to serve the horses their evening feast, we decided another walk through was in order. Being the on the ball, forward thinking, plan for anything kind of guy I am, I had brought along a tape measure and my notebook of furniture dimensions so we could get a feel for fit. (Yes, Beans, Mrs J reminded me to bring them.)
The view from the front door, looking through the living room to the back patio. Floor to ceiling windows above and to either side of the door. The kitchen is to the left with the dining room to the left of the patio. Again large windows there.
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| Guest house over her shoulder |
Mrs J in the entry way with the opening to her office behind and to her left. She'll be able to surveil the whole of Rancho Juvat.
Yes, she got first dibs. My "office" will be a spare bedroom. But, if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!
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| My "office", able to surveil the horse barn |
View from Sarge's (and other guests) bedroom.
View from the kitchen towards the fireplace. Hallway to the master suite is just to the right of the right brace.
What I liked was the high tech method used to keep track of all the angles and lengths. I think I can learn a thing or two from them.
Here's hoping the project continues at a similar pace. We might even be moved in by Christmas.
But I'm not holding my breath.
So Saturday evening, Mrs J invites me to sit with her on the front porch for a glass of wine. I accept and walk into one of the biggest air to air engagements of modern time.
Enjoy.
That framing went up way faster than was possible, I think aliens had a hand it this.
ReplyDeleteWell...other than the Honcho, they did speak only Spanish.
DeleteHa! I knew it...
DeleteI figgered you did!
DeleteLooking good there. Horses need supervising too juvat..........:)
ReplyDeleteThanks. Yes, and these two seem to need more than others. Coming in out of the rain seems to not be in their ken, even when accompanied by thunder and lightning.
DeleteThat DID go up fast!
ReplyDelete(BTW, that's a crap ton of hummingbirds!)
Yeah, we’re on the flight path for their annual migration between the upper mid-west and central America, so we get them twice a year. Mrs J enjoys them. What makes her happy, makes me happy.
DeleteIt is interesting to see them fight for the 'flowers' and chase each other off. Very interesting.
DeleteDid you know that hummingbirds have increased their range since the late 1800's? Seems they fly farther north and farther west from the east coast every year. And scientists were wondering why, until some janitor or other non-scientist said his wife sure loves feeding them. Complete Duuuuuuh moment amongst people who purportedly are smart. And so quick research and butterfly and buzzbird gardens came into vogue around the late 1890's to 1900's, and haven't stopped since.
Well, one bright side of this whole current inconvenience is the highlighting of the utter incompetence (That would be "Complete Duuuuuuh, in Beans speak) of our supposed intellegentsia. They've certainly convinced people why they should follow their every guidance.
DeleteOr NOT!
We will see hummingbirds at the feeders once in a while, mostly we notice the iridescent flash of color just a bit too late to see them feeding.
ReplyDeleteOur friends near State College in Pennsylvania had put out several bird feeders and hummingbird feeders. The word "had" is apt because they also found out that a hungry bear will eat birdseed.
Take photos of all outlets and switch locations before the drywall is installed. After the drywall in out addition was put up an outlet was missing.
The house is going up like lightning. And although not exactly applicable, bits of the barn raising music from "Witness" played in my head.
Thanks, John, while the included photos may seem too many. I have taken, and will continue to take, many more as the project continues.
DeleteNot too many photos at all. There will be a time in the future when you need to know exactly where the stud is, and a whole array of fancy stud finders will fail. The result is what I call "Swiss Cheesing" the wall in an attempt to find the stud.
DeleteOne failure was because the wallpaper we put up had a metallic (not a Metallica) and the search for a ceiling stud failed because we put new attic insulation in the stud bays and faced the foil side down.
The Walabot seems like a good idea, but the manual says it will fail under much the same circumstances I ran into.
Juvat, I have one recommendation: Receptacles. Three times the number called for in the electrical blueprints!! Receptacles underneath every window! Receptacles in the island! Receptacles here, receptacles, there, receptacles EVERYWHERE!!!!
ReplyDeleteMrs. J will thank you later.
Jim S. Yes! And those receptacles that juvat mentioned before that include a USB port.
DeleteI also agree with more receptacles. But I also suggest putting in more circuits and getting the largest circuit breaker box and most powerful electrical service that they'll allow you to have. It can't hurt to plan for future needs and wants.
DeleteWho knows, wife might pick up pottery (kiln needs dedicated 220 line) or enamelwork (helps to get a 220 line) and you might want to suddenly start forging knives and such. Or run a metric crap-ton of cooking implements at the same time.
Power is good, more power is better. Unless we're speaking of politicians, then less is better, none is best.
DeleteWhen my folks re-did their 18th century farmhouse, Mom had the contractor put in a receptacle every 16 inches...all the way around. We never had an issue with finding a plug, and as I have gotten older, and have lived in homes, both old and new, with limited number of plugs, I have seen the wisdom. She said no house ever has enough light plugs, or closet space.
DeleteI have found she is correct.
Digital cameras are great during construction and remodeling. Take pictures all the time, everywhere, because no telling when you (or your future repair person) are going to want to know "What's inside that wall/under that floor/above that ceiling"
ReplyDeleteI'm old school, so in addition to USB-enabled outlets (and high current ones at that) I vote for running CAT 6/fiber all about. Although my living in a townhouse complex where I can see over a dozen WiFi base stations and who knows how many devices may have something to do with that. :)
/
L.J.
LJ, i was very pleased that Cat 5 E throughout was included in the basic plan. We are taking lots of pictures every day for just the reason you (and others) have suggested.
DeleteWhen I remodeled the beach house, most all drywall work done by yours truly, I actually sketched the walls and utility/outlet locations, along with measurements to help me locate studs etc. before I put in one piece of wallboard. Lots of work, but it's already come in handy. The old saying is that after a gunfight, no one wishes they'd had a smaller gun or less ammo - the corollary to building is no one wishes they had less detailed information after the house is finished. And the house is looking great, juvat - glad things are going so well so far (no, I am NOT tempting fate by saying that - wood appropriately touched!)
DeleteThanks, Tom. I'm not very artistic in the drawing category, but do intend to digitally capture as much as possible. (Especially since film is so cheap.
DeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteAin't no quit in those little buggers, only fight.
ReplyDelete(My mom has a couple of well-attended feeders, so that behavior doesn't surprise me, but some people just think they're "cute"...)
Yes! Receptacles! We live in a condo that was apparently constructed before electricity was commonly in use domestically. We have one receptacle per wall ON AVERAGE!! Sometimes (especially in the office/guestroom) it gets maddening.
ReplyDeleteWe used to have the hummers in Santa Cruz. Always amusing to watch. I read somewhere that those cute little things were the most aggressive avians in God's creation. Except of course a fighter pilot ;-)
I'm glad you commented Dave. It was fun, watching them engage each other. Hi Yo-Yo's were very much in use as was lead and lag turning. Course it was a nice evening, wx was good, wine was enjoyed, watching and debriefing an air to air engagement was icing on the cake.
DeleteVery nice. Hope they'll be able to put a roof on it and get it dry before too many more spring rains. Are you going with a metal roof or shingle? Metal if you can.
ReplyDeleteSomething that also helps in this phase besides photographs is... sweeping for metal. Either order to get delivered or go to Horrible Freight or Blows or Home Despot or even an Ace Hardware or Tractor Supply and get a magnetic sweeper. And a big magnet like they use for magnetic fishing (wherein you use a magnet on a line, chuck it into water, and find all the stuff the cops know nothing about like guns, cars, bikes, knives and so forth.) Periodically run the magnetic sweeper around the outside to about 30' out, and you'll be surprised at the number of small metal anti-foot and anti-car sharp things you'll find. A good crew does this at the end of construction, but stuff can get buried pretty deeply doing that only to surface in future times.
As to your office's location. Look at it this way, it makes you Master of the Horse. While she is Mistress of Everything. Master of Horse sounds so regal and pompous, and doesn't cover that you're responsible for making sure the two knuckleheads get out of the rain, get fed, get their stalls cleaned and so forth.
And, seriously, suggestion from a few days ago. Have your plumber stub out an outside shower. It's nicer than just using a hose to knock off mud and dirt, and great for getting a cooling soak while doing outdoorsy stuff during summer heat.
Yeah, I have noticed a lot of metal on the floor within the frame. Walking back to Casa Juvat yesterday, I noticed a string of nail gun nails on the road up to the new house. Since we drive that regularly for various purposes, that caught my attention. I will definitely take up your suggestion shortly.
DeleteYes, we're getting a metal roof. Hail has destroyed too many roofs at Casa Juvat to make the additional cost worth it.
Outside shower. Gonna have a discussion with Mrs J about that.
They are nice, on a hot day, to just bathe outside (if one has a nice privacy curtain.) I highly recommend you put it inside the screen room (if you are adding one) as being zapped by mosquitoes (of the non-deHavelland kind) while washing one's nethers doth suck rocks most greatly. DAMHIK (because I will talk and talk and talk forever about various places I've been zapped by those flying pestilence carriers.)
DeleteBeans/juvat. We bought one each of these for when the roofers left.
Deletehttps://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HGN6P8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000COYMDK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They worked great and even though the roofers did a good job, we found a bunch of nails.
And you should sweep with an overlap.
Old NFO could probably tell you that it's just like hunting Russian subs with MAD.
Having had my house built by the same builder, they are a couple of three weeks out from roofing the place at best. It might have been sooner but getting the scheduling was a little hit and miss. We had near week-long pauses between different crews as they went from project to project. Oh, and the last few days of rain have not been helpful to construction.
DeleteAnd OAFS? Nice job on the header.
ReplyDelete😁
DeleteAgreed - beautiful picture! and a view no Russian bomber pilot wanted to have!! Like this for example:
Deletehttps://www.researchgate.net/figure/An-F-15-Eagle-fighter-intercepting-a-Tu-95-bomber-near-Alaska_fig1_309605658
I agree, Sarge, nice job. Even the right fin flash. 78-0477 is in my log books, coulda been me in the picture. (Probably not)
DeleteAccording to the caption, it was the actual commander of 5th Air Force. Which it would'a been cooler had it been you!
DeleteYeah, with a shoulder mounted AMRAAM, the picture was taken WELL after my time.
DeleteTom, I'm sure there are quite a few pictures taken from Russian Bombers like that. The "bad guys" would come up to our Air Defense Inteception Zones (ADIZ) and we would intercept them. Fly on their wing and take pictures of them taking pictures of us. They would generally fly around and then leave and we'd fly formation on them and then leave. What you didn't see in that picture which was also correct was the Eagle's wingman. He'd be in weapons parameters about a mile back from the bomber. Generally, he'd be in a much more warlike posture, switch wise. Just in case. There are stories of Bear's slowing down, slowing down, slowing down and then turning into the fighter. Fortunately, the Eagle could fly much better than the bomber and could pitch the nose up, zoom out of the way, then roll back into formation on the opposite wing. Typically, #2 would immediately, lock on and select radar missile, which would send a different radar signal to the Bear's receivers saying, "Now, Now, Now, Sergei, you really don't want to test Raytheon's manufacturing process do you?"
I was so ferocious, that I never got to see one up close.
My story and I'm sticking to it.
Death from... AFAR!!!
DeleteHummingbirds are amazing little creatures - God's little attack helicopters, at least in flying abilities. Mom used to put up feeders at our house in Dallas, so we had frequent visitors. One time she got accosted by a ruby throat when she was walking out from under the carport. Seems he thought her red lips indicated a feeding station! He was close enough she could readily feel the breeze from his wings, and he considered his next action for quite a few seconds before deciding to move along without getting closer. Mom was an avid birdwatcher (and dove hunter - no, that is not paradoxical, many if not most hunters are ardent conservationists) and made trips to the Rio Grande Valley, southern New mexico and southern Arizona specifically to see hummingbirds whose northern migration limit was in those locales. I was interested to hear the hummingbirds in your video, since I used to hear them all the time such that I could alert her to their presence.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and kids and I visited the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center up in Glen Rose one spring in the mid 90's, and besides getting "slimed" by a giraffe who poked his head into the sunroof to get some alfalfa pellets, a highlight of the trip was when we had lunch at the facility's cafe. The hummers were in full migration, and the cafe had put out feeders. There were probably 50 of the little buzzbombs having at it. Quite the aerial circus and a great family memory.
Beans - thanks for the comments about human behavior changing bird behavior. Once you think about it, it's obvious, but not something I had considered before. As you said, kind of a "Duhh" moment.
Tom,
DeleteI've been through Glen Rose several times to and from the DFW area. (Can't stand I35, so take the US highways.) Never really stopped to smell the roses there, think I might try and talk Mrs J into an overnighter there sometime.
Besides the wildlife center, you can also go look at dinosaur tracks in the creek bed in the Glen Rose area. Did some work scouting for archaeological evidence there in the mid 70's before they built the nuclear power plant and attendant reservoir, nice area. Granbury is also a nice town not too far away with some good cafes on the square and a cool old jail. And know what you mean about I35 - pretty ugly!
DeleteBeen through both quite a few times and always wanted to go back, just never got a round tuit. May have to find one of them suckers.
DeleteBack in the day, we'd drive through Lompoc, CA on the way out of Vandenberg. Very pretty. But my nose hated it. Lompoc, by the way, at the time was the rose capital of the world. I can feel my sinuses engaging now...
DeleteWatching something being built by people who know what they are doing, and approach the job as professionals, has a certain joy to behold. Being the cause for the transformation (writing the checks, ok) is a unique joy.
ReplyDeleteIt’s been confidence refreshing so far. Folks doing good work, on schedule, as expected. Have no experience otherwise, but hope it continues through completion
DeleteI seem to remember in a previous post that you gents are located near Texarkana. If so, when I return to the states, I'd like to meet everyone to enjoy a few adult beverages and a burger at Scottie's Grill just off US 67, west of "Twice as Nice." I think I could sit & listen to you speak of your worldwide adventures, and maybe share one or two of mine. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteWe’re. Basically in the geographic center of Texas. Texarkana is almost as far as El Paso. That having been said, Texans are friendly and we’d love to make new friends. Sarge has our contact info. Shoot us some info and we’ll figger sumtin out.
DeleteI live in Plano usually, but I park my RV near Texarkana. So I suppose, the Dallas area is where you hang your hat. Where can I e-mail you? At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, I'm stuck over in southeast Asia. Yeah, that place. I should be back in three-four months.
DeleteThe house is coming together quickly, which is good! And that porch was a true furball!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd the vid din’t really capture all the 1v1 engagements.
DeleteYou must be paying those contractors well considering how fast they put all that up. I hope the momentum continues!
ReplyDeleteNice potential in that house. You really shouldna mess about with the little teeny tiny minds of those bird-brained and feathered types although they are fun to watch. Used to sit on my back patio in Encinitas and watch them scraggle for hours stopping only when I hawk flew over.
ReplyDeleteJuvat, I may have said before, our similar issue to your pipes was an 18' wall that was off about 2 inches. It was not discovered until they tried to put the bathtub in the hall/guest bathroom. All of the plumbing was already installed which made it a HUGE problem.
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you all! I really enjoyed the photographic tour. Thanks for the added video of the birds - it was nice to watch them for a bit and see all the greenery and trees. ;)
ReplyDelete