Sanctuary and Sanity

The Way the Light Falls ...

2012-01-06T13:20:00.000-05:00

“This process of a turning a wreck of a house into our abode and then transforming the physical reality into a dream of the ideal home has made me look at my life’s work with a new focus, different now because I see things more existentially. How I see and experience this process is the truth about my home. I see everything as if for the first time. The way the light falls on my desk in the morning matters terribly to me. I do the dishes at different times of the day, depending on when the light floods into the white porcelain sink, not when the meal is finished. For the first time in my life, I have the luxury of making discoveries about a house that may not be apparent upon first inspection but become clear naturally, in time. Only through actual daily living — the reality of how we use the house as opposed to its appearance — can we know for sure how we feel at home.”

—Alexandra Stoddard, Creating a Beautiful Home, page 4

Keeping House

2012-01-05T16:25:00.004-05:00

"When you keep house, you use your head, your heart, and your hands together to create a home — the place where you live the most important parts of your private life. ... Housekeeping has always encompassed knowing and doing whatever is needed to make the home a small, living society with the capacities to meet the needs of people in their private life: everything from meals, shelter, clothing, warmth, and other physical necessities to books and magazines, music, play, facilities for entertaining oneself and others, a place to work, and much more" (preface).

— Cheryl Mendelson

Home Comforts, The Art and Science of Keeping House

What You've Been Waiting For (At Least Some of You)

2011-08-19T19:12:00.002-04:00

Greg finished his portion of the first-floor renovation a couple of weeks ago. Thus far, we love it. At this point, we still need: the ceiling fan, closet light and vanity light installed; trim painted; front door stained; cabinetry (it's on order), washer and dryer delivered; electric in-floor heat and porcelain floor tile; oh, and plumbing fixtures like sinks and a toilet. In the meantime, here are photos of the work in progress:

Closet doors

Closet interior: coats will go on the right; vacuum, mops, broom on left

Powder Room

Laundry Room/Studio (with platform for washer and dryer)

Bob the Plumber

Samples: sink material (Blanco) in brochure, laminate countertop, cherry cabinets

More Samples: black cabinetry; laminate countertop

Porcelain Floor Tile (piece on left) with Cherry Cabinet Sample

More Than Three Years in the Making

2011-08-14T21:22:00.001-04:00

The master bathroom is nearly finished. Sure, Dennis has more grouting and tiling to do. We have to hang towel bars and toilet paper holders, and Bob, the plumber needs to address the radiators, BUT the toilet works, the faucets/sinks work, the shower works and the bathtub works. For the first time in nearly four years, we have a tub in which to take baths. While I'm not a huge fan of soaking in hot water, it is nice to have a tub available when you want one.

Space is at a premium in the water closet, so Dennis and I want to choose the toilet paper holder's locale carefully. We decided that this might be a good way to figure out which spot works better.

The large, walk-in shower (about six feet by four feet) has plenty of space for hanging our towels. Dennis added two hooks near the shower entrance, and thus far, they've stayed dry there.

Dennis and I moved moved our toothbrushes into the master bath last night, and we each brushed our teeth there. We were probably more excited by this than we should have been.

After a long night (not because of the teeth brushing; I've been awakening Bridget at 3 am ever since she got her insulin pump, so we can check her blood sugar, but getting back to sleep has been difficult—for me, not Bridget) and busy day, I figured the tub might make a good napping spot. Unfortunately, Sam and Dennis (behind the camera) found me.

Sam thinks the tub will work for him.

Re-Assembly

2011-07-07T21:41:00.001-04:00

It has been a long time since I posted, but that's because it's been a long time since any work has been done around here (renovation work, that is).

Greg and his son, Isaiah, showed up on Tuesday morning and got to work on the first floor. They've been here each day since, making great progress. Plumber Bob was here today, removing heating pipes and drilling a hole for another stink pipe.

We've decided to go with electric, radiate floor heat, which will free up wall space (no radiators) and give Dennis a chance to try something new. He will be installing the SunTouch floor warming mats and tiling the floor in the entry area: foyer, powder room, laundryroom/studio.

Remember that steel beam Greg and Larry slid under the load-bearing wall that was sitting on plywood between floor joists? Well, it interfered a little with Greg's plan to cut out the existing, wafer-thin sub-floor and put in a new one. Because the old sub-floor is sitting directly on the beam, it would be very difficult for Greg to cut out the old plywood and adequately support the new sub-floor. Therefore, Isaiah tightened up the old sub-floor with new screws before he and Greg glued and screwed down the AdvanTech sheathing.

The biggest changes (and best), so far, have been the opening for the new window in the laundry room (more light!), and the wide open doorway from the foyer into the kitchen (we can walk straight from the front door into the kitchen: no closet to navigate around). We also asked Greg to remove more of the stairway wall to add
needed light there.

Bob's Contribution

2011-05-26T21:43:00.001-04:00

Bob the plumber was here on Tuesday. He got started on installing the master bath sinks and tub. Since we changed sink "cabinetry," though, he had to get out the saw, remove drywall and re-configure drain pipes. It's progress, and I'm happy about it.

Slow Going

2011-05-20T09:27:00.001-04:00

This is what the eating area of our kitchen looks like. Caddie looks as depressed as this rain and lack of progress is making me feel. Books are piled in baskets; Dennis's speakers stand, covered with an old blanket, in the corner; my father's old tool boxes hold some of my art supplies (the ones I can find when I want to use them).

Life is conspiring against us. Outside, it's nothing but gray skies, rain and just, plain, ole moisture that dampens our spirits and makes mold spores reproduce like rabbits. Said spores prolong our cold symptoms and make the house sound like a TB sanatorium during the night and first thing in the morning. After months of sparse travel, Dennis is gone for nearly two weeks straight. When games and practices aren't canceled due to weather, I'm hauling kids hither and yon, then watching from the car or trying to keep Stella entertained for two hours with books, snacks, and dashboard buttons and knobs.

Yesterday, though, I was hopeful (even with the rain). Greg and Bob the Plumber were coming up. Greg would be measuring doors and windows; Bob would be installing the tub and sinks in the master bath. They arrived by 9:30; we chatted as we always do; discussed my changes to floor plans and looked at the sub-floor in the entry, future laundry room and powder room. That sub-floor has to go; I know it and Greg knows it, but, damn, it won't be easy and it won't be cheap. Greg explained that, like he had done upstairs, he'd have to cut out the plywood (so thin, you can almost see through it, except — of course — where the black mold obscures the view), working around the two-by-fours that make up the base of the walls. Apparently, this is labor-intensive, and, ergo, costly. There's only so much money to go around, so now, instead of dreaming of a lovely studio/laundry room with beautiful cabinets and a brand-new washer and dryer; I'm looking forward to walls covered in drywall and trim that have been painted, new windows and doors, ceramic tile and oak or maple over that expensive, new subfloor. If we get a toilet and sink installed within the next year or two and blinds on those new windows, I'll consider it a bonus.

As far as Bob's work on the master bath, there wasn't any. Dennis had not left a big enough opening in the tub surround, and there was no way Bob could have gotten the drain in. Further, the man was feeling less-than-stellar, thanks to the toll the weather was taking on his seasonal allergies. So, Dennis has some work to do, before Bob comes again next week and removes one of the two-by-fours in the tub surround (approved by Greg), then tears into the drywall behind the sinks, so he can re-do the plumbing that was designed for a vanity cabinet (our original plan), not an open table (our new plan).

All is not dire, though. If I've learned anything over the past three years, since our second-floor renovation, it's this: time moves swiftly. I'm constantly amazed when I look back over weeks, months or years and realize that I've successfully lived with a situation I'd imagined would be unbearable. In the last six years, our house has never looked as good as it did before we moved in, but there's been a lot of fun, love, learning and growth in that time period, and those are infinitely more valuable than clean, pretty cabinetry.

Granite

2011-04-23T09:32:00.000-04:00

The granite we chose for the master bath — Amadeus, a rock from Finland that contains garnet — got installed today. We're getting closer to having a completed room (after nearly three years). The problem is, that since we are so close, I want it finished NOW. As in all other aspects of my life, though, patience is the keyword.

Thoughts on Home

2011-04-21T10:25:00.003-04:00

"There are people who feel superior because they have the wealth to have everything they want, but this condition doesn't make them finer individuals. Their display of financial success doesn't speak of their character, their spirituality, their philosophy, their altruism, their kindess and sweetness or generosity; nor does it create warm, cozy and comfortable residences where people can feel fully at ease and be themselves."
—Alexandra Stoddard, Creating a Beautiful Home, p.17

Chaos

2011-04-20T10:08:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, Dennis and his father began tearing into the foyer's and bathroom's walls. Chaos — more than usual — has reigned since. Dennis and Luke tore into my studio on Monday (and thankfully, put up plastic first). We now have furniture in the kitchen, which makes it difficult to set the table and eat at it, more furniture and other to-be-sold items in the living room, and dust just about everywhere. I think that living without a second floor (with beds in the kitchen, Dennis's office and elsewhere) was less insanity-provoking.

Oh, and yes, we uncovered more black mold: a nice coating on the wall behind the uninsulated toilet tank. Another surprise discovery was the cut, live, 240-volt wires just hanging there, inside the walls. I shall withhold further comment on that one.

Trashing the Place

2011-04-14T21:16:00.000-04:00

We got a dumpster delivered and parked in front of the house on Tuesday. Today, we began filling it. The idea, of course, is to stuff it with drywall and old flooring and the like. Before we can get to that, however, we have to get to the walls of the entry, the bathroom, my studio, and the mold room. Since we need to rid those areas of stuff before we can get to the walls, we have to find room for the stuff. Yes, just getting started is a process. So, today, we went to work on the basement and garage, throwing away as much as we could, setting aside many, many items for an upcoming garage sale, and throwing in some yard work, for good measure. A pictorial record follows.

Trying to be Patient

2011-03-19T09:36:00.000-04:00

But it's not easy. Spring is almost here. I'm ready to come out of hibernation. I'm ready to make the house look good: inside and out. So much, however, depends on the weather.

Greg has given us a very reasonable quote for new doors and windows throughout the first floor and for converting the foyer, bathroom and studio to an improved foyer, bathroom and laundry room/studio. Dennis, Luke, my father-in-law, and (very likely) Henry and Sam are planning on doing the demolition work in the front of the house. Greg will put it all back together.

Nothing can happen, though, until we can get a dumpster delivered. Right now, the front driveway and a very muddy slice of lawn is available, but with more melting (and probably more snow, like we're getting today), it would be advisable to wait. Besides, we'll have to pay for the dumpster by the day. We don't want to get it too far in advance of the time-off Dennis has requested for the demo.

We also desperately need to rid our house of about half of everything we own (including most of the stuff we took out of my parents' vacant house last year, before the house was sold). We will be having a garage sale to end all garage sales, BUT we need the snow to go away and the weather to warm up.

So, in the meantime, I work at emptying my studio, sorting the stuff filling the mold room (which also will get gutted), and drawing up plans. Yesterday, I worked on a plan for laundry room/studio cabinety. Today, I'll work on the virtue of patience and more emptying and sorting ... one baby step at a time.

The Waiting Game

2011-03-04T14:57:00.002-05:00

I guess you could say we've gotten tired of playing it. In July, it will have been three years since Greg finished his part of the Big Job: turning our cape into a colonial by removing the entire second floor and building a new one. Back then, we naively assumed we'd have a completely finished second floor within a few short months. Dennis would finish tiling bathrooms; we'd both paint and attach door knobs; toilets and sinks would get purchased and installed. Let's just say it didn't go according to plan.

That's in the past, though. Like Cornelius Robinson always says, we'll "keep moving forward." We've recently set to work on completing the master bathroom, and will soon embark on a gutting and restoration of the entire first floor. Right now, we're awaiting pricing on granite for the tub deck and vanity counter. Yesterday, we met with a plumber who will help us get the tub and sinks working and fix some of the mistakes the inept plumbers of Augusta Fuel Company made.

The first photo (above) shows a sampling of the Cambria Quartz we brought home from Kitchen Encounters. The second photo shows the granite samples we picked up. The fourth photo is the Amadeus granite we have chosen (subject to price; we 're awaiting that). The granite is sitting on the ceramic tile floor Dennis installed and is resting against the Crossville porcelain tile (Empire in Black Swan) that covers the bottom portion of the walls (also installed by Dennis).

The following photos show some of the details of the master bath in its current, — shall we say, unkempt? — state.

It's Been a Long Time

2010-06-21T11:42:00.000-04:00

Obviously, I spend little time updating this blog, but I have to at least get a picture of the remodeled and painted exterior posted, so here it is.

Moving Day

2008-06-25T09:53:00.005-04:00

The kids and I slept upstairs last night! Dennis was out of town.

Shortly after Greg arrived yesterday morning, Corey showed up. Boy, was I happy to see him. He installed all of the light fixtures. We would've slept upstairs even if he hadn't, but having all of those lights was a bonus. What really precipitated the move was the delivery of mattresses and a headboard/bed frame from Room and Board. The driver arrived from Minneapolis, as promised, with two full-size mattresses (one for Luke and one for Henry) and a king-size bed frame for Dennis and me. We used to shop from Room and Board's showroom in Denver. We really like their designs and love their mattresses.

The kids were excited about sleeping upstairs, but even more excited about their ceiling fans and sconces. Everytime I walked into a room upstairs, I had to turn down the fan. Sam thought that ceiling fans spinning as fast as possible felt and looked great.

Enough already. Here are some photos.

The hallway.

Dennis's office. He moved in on Monday.

Henry's fan.

Luke's ceiling fan. The blue complements the orange -- just like a Broncos uniform.

Sam and Jack's propeller, I mean ceiling fan. It's like something out of Looney Tunes.

One of Bridget's sconces.

The master bedroom with new bed.

Luke found his new mattress very comfortable.

I didn't get Bridget's bed moved upstairs, so she shared Henry's new mattress.

This is Sam's "bed," where he lay for about 15 minutes,

before deciding there had to be a better option.

Here's the better option: my bed.

Caddie slept upstairs too.

Catching Up for the Big Finish

2008-06-21T08:04:00.004-04:00

It's been a long time. In more ways than one. We've gotten to the home stretch. Cliches, I know, but it IS baseball season (where cliches abound), and I've been up since 3:30 am. Please forgive me. Speaking of baseball, the regular season has just ended for Henry, Luke and Bridget (softball), but now Luke's on the All-Star team, with lots of practices and games. I took him to Winthrop at 7:30 this morning. We'll catch up with him there soon. He has two games to play.

As for the house: the drywall is finished, the trim is finished, walls are painted and floors have been installed. Dennis and I painted and painted and painted. I'm so glad we picked lots of fun colors, because it would have been drudgery if we hadn't.

Greg worked this week on building the shower in the master bath. He's got the floor built and tiled. He needs to grout that and go to work on the walls. I primed the ceiling and walls of the master bath this week and need to paint those. I filled ALL of the nail holes in the trim and hallway wainscoting. Now I have to caulk and paint that. The stairway still needs to be primed and painted, but the oak stair treads are in place.

Corey the Electrician was here on Wednesday and Thursday. He installed outlets and switches and the mandatory, hard-wired smoke detectors and closet lights. Sam was so excited about the closet lights, that he gave Dennis a tour of all the closets when he returned from his trip on Wednesday evening. That was after Sam and I read books together in his closet that afternoon. We did it again before bed Wednesday evening. At the end of that session, Jack saw me standing at the top of the stairs with a handful of books. He got to me as fast as he could, and led me to the hall closet, turned on the light, threw in the books and insisted that I sit down and read to him.

So, you'd probably like to see what has gotten done. Here are a few older photos. Check back soon. I may have more recent ones. Then again, there is Luke's game, the whoopie pies I need to bake for Bridget's softball cookout; the cookout itself, and all the trim that needs painting. Check back anyway.

Except for the snow, the front of the house doesn't look much different -- just a few pieces of new cedar siding have been added.

Luke's geography books on the new cork floor in the master bedroom. Once the floors were installed, we all gravitated upstairs whenever possible. I'd sit on the floor in Dennis's office, hiding out with a cup of tea.

That's me, at work on the walls of Dennis's office.

Luke's orange walls and green closet. Bridget's pink walls can be seen in the background.

Sam and Caddie in Sam and Jack's room, which now has all of its walls covered in aqua paint.

Empties.

Sam's closet, where he likes to read with me. The floor is cherry.

Looking into the hallway from Sam and Jack's room.

New Stairway

2008-05-26T14:48:00.001-04:00

We've got a new stairway.

The steps are solid and even and level. What a difference.

The risers, however, aren't in yet, and you can see through them as traffic goes upstairs, downstairs, and to and from the basement. It looks a little something like this:

Prime Time

2008-05-24T20:31:00.006-04:00

Well,

The time has come to start painting.

Limber up the limbs and loosen up the joints. Crane your neck as you're going to be straining your neck. We've got five bedrooms, an office, a master bath and a long week(end) to prime, sand, and paint with a coat or three.

Greg was nice enough to pick up our order of primer and paint at the Paint Pot in Portland (nicely alliterative name, eh?). We found Mythic Paint (Legendary stuff, it claims on the can), which is non-toxic with low odor. Let me tell you, it's nice to paint a room and not walk away with a headache. I think the total was 40 gallons at 13 colors. But then again, there were three different primers. So that would make 16. We're gonna need some rollers. And some Ben Gay.

Monday night, I primed the office-cutting in and rolling- from 9:00pm to about Midnight. On Tuesday afternoon, Cheryl and I started tag-teaming the rest of the upstairs. Let's see: Hallways, Sam and Jack's room, Henry's room, Bridget's room, and the master bedroom. And all closets. I'm not too good at closets (being male, I'm able to innocently overlook them... without guilt), so Cheryl had to catch those and paint them.

It's a black and white world with shades of gray (256, I think), and it looks like this:

Good Enough for Now

2008-05-09T13:43:00.002-04:00

Here are photos of the bathroom that has made me so happy.

Goal Accomplished!

2008-05-08T21:37:00.001-04:00

What a long, wonderful shower it was -- and my legs are so smooth.

Jack, Bridget, Henry and Luke each got in showers before dark. Jack liked it better than the downstairs one. I know, because he cried less. Luke, Bridget and Henry loved the new shower. Sam gets to try it out tomorrow.

Short-term Goal:

2008-05-06T22:37:00.002-04:00

To have another useable bathroom.

Yesterday morning, I had to reach out of the shower and unlock the bathroom door, so Luke could "use the facilities." By the time he was finished, Henry had to go. I won't even discuss how long it's been since I've shaved my legs. Suffice it to say that the very small shower in the first-floor bathroom makes leg shaving difficult.

The goal, however, is within reach. Yesterday, I grouted the last of the wall tile that Dennis had installed in the blue bathroom over the weekend, gave all of the trim a final coat of paint, washed the floor and sealed the grout. Today, I painted a final coat of blue wall paint, cleaned the rest of the grout haze from the wall tile, and hung the closet door on its hinges. Dale from AFC will be here on Thursday to install the toilet, caulk the shower and turn on the water! I still have to call Corey and try to "sweet talk" (Greg's words) him into coming by this week to install the outlets, switches and ventilation fan and turn on the electricity for that bathroom. If that doesn't happen by Friday, though, I'll shower in the daylight with the window open.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-04-23T16:44:00.005-04:00

What a day. I started it on the right foot, at least. As soon as I was out of bed, I got dressed and took a walk to the end of the road and back: about a mile and a half. The weather was lovely, and the sounds of nature very relaxing. I returned home to lots of commotion.

Dale and Dwayne were here to work on the plumbing; Corey was here to rough in the rest of the electrical, and he had his 14-week-old German Shepherd puppy, Chico, with him; Greg and Galen showed up with Greg's 12-year-old son, Isaiah. The second floor got crowded, but plenty of progress was made. Greg, Galen and Isaiah finished putting up drywall in Luke's room, Henry's room and the stairway. Dwayne got called away for a plumbing emergency, but Dale installed the pipes for the master bath sinks and the valve for the shower. Corey got most of the master bedroom half of the house wired. In addition, Mike from Mason's Choice arrived this afternoon, looked at the propane fireplace, climbed on the roof to look down the chimney, and told me he'd get back to me with a quote for a new chimney liner.

The kids and I got out to the playground with our friends, the Gallettas. They stopped here to check on our progress and to take Bridget and Henry back to their house. I ended up taking Sam over to play a little while later. When I returned home, I got Jack to sleep, put on a pot of tea, and gave my shelf, brackets and baskets another coat of spray paint. Dennis is picking up the three of them now. Jack is still napping, and Luke is golfing in the yard with Matthew.

It has been a full day, but we still have to go out to Lowe's or Home Depot for a whole-house fan. Dennis is also hoping that they have rounded-edge half subway tiles with which to finish the bathroom walls.

In the photos below, Jack shows Chico how to use a hammer, then tries to give Galen and Greg tips on using a tape measure.

Creative Thinking

2008-04-22T22:09:00.004-04:00

Greg and Galen got Bridget's room drywalled, along with the ceilings in Luke's and Henry's rooms. Before leaving early for an appointment, they worked on cleaning up the second floor. They put saws and other tools not currently needed out in the trailer and basically just opened up space for Corey to work his electrical magic. He'll be here tomorrow, rather than Thursday. I'm also expecting Dale from Augusta Fuel and someone from Mason's Choice, who will re-line the chimney.

Today, I worked on expanding my garden plot, and now have the dirt turned over in a space about 4 feet by 12 feet. It's still muddy, but no longer wet enough to be a pond. The day also included a number of walks and playing outside with Sam and Jack. Henry was in and out all day; Bridget played at friend Megan's house and Luke played nine holes here at the "Ruffing Links" with his friend Matthew. After Greg and Galen left, Dennis began installing the white subway tile in the boys' bathroom. He finished grouting the floor in there yesterday.

For me, the past few days have been spent on the details. Besides choosing and ordering light fixtures, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, I spray painted wire "window boxes" I picked up at TJ Maxx and will use to hold towels in Bridget's bathroom. I used the same Green Apple color on the top of a small demilune table I bought for $20 at a used furniture store and on a couple of pairs of iron brackets. One pair and the tabletop will come together as a nightstand for Bridget.

Last week, I talked to a local cabinetmaker about a custom built maple table to hold a granite countertop and two sinks in the master bath. When he quoted me $1100, I decided it was time to explore other options. I headed to Cheapskate Furniture in Augusta (where I scored the $20 table), then moved on to the antique stores in Hallowell and, finally, Lakeside Antiques, just a mile or two from here, in Winthrop. I found a funky, almost Art Deco, sideboard for $175. It's almost the perfect size, and Dennis liked it, so we bought it. Furniture Refinisher Extraordinaire Harry Olsen picked it up yesterday and will finish is with a reddish stain and a few coats of polyurethane after he removes the top and legs and shortens some of the drawers, so a counter and sinks will fit in it. He'll also cut a panel into the side for access to the tub's plumbing and make a matching filler piece, because the sideboard is about five inches shorter than the sink alcove. Harry's work should cost about $225. Greg will create a counter with some of the wall tile we ordered and we'll install two Kohler Yin Yang countertop sinks. The entire sink project should cost less than $1,000. Oh, and I'll get the curved part of the sideboard's top to use as a wall-hung desk in Bridget's room.

I love thinking creatively, which is a good thing, because I've had to do a lot of it lately. Perhaps in another post, I'll explain why I'm buying a bookcase, plywood and barn door hardware.

Dennis and Jack check out the framing in the master bath.

The sink alcove is to the right of the tub.

In the photo below, Greg frames the ceiling in Sam and Jack's room.

This is the sideboard that will become a vanity cabinet. We also purchased the mirror shown below and will give the frame a shot of silver spray paint.

Busy Work

2008-04-21T23:33:00.002-04:00

It feels like I haven't slowed down in the past two weeks.

Greg continues to make great progress. On Thursday, Galen started working with Greg, and they seem to be a really good team. All of the framing is finished. Tomorrow, they will work on putting up the drywall. Dale from Augusta Fuel is scheduled for roughing in the master bathroom and getting the boys' bathroom up and running on Wednesday (as long as Dennis gets the wall tile up in there by then). Thursday will bring Corey back to the house to rough in the electrical on the master bedroom side of the building and to install the light fixtures in the boys' bathroom. It's quite exciting to have the end in sight, even though it is a bit blurry yet.

I've just been busy. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, and after such a long, snowy winter, I'd be unable to keep the kids inside, even if I wanted them there. I get out when I can: to rake, sweep, clean up construction debris and begin digging a garden plot. The first day of digging resulted in lots of mud and a small pond in the backyard. It's drying up, though, and I'm hoping to get at it again tomorrow.

Caddie cut her front right paw almost two weeks ago. She has a history of cutting her paws, but this was the worst yet. She sliced the largest pad open from front to back. Bleeding through two towels before Dennis and Luke got her to the vet, she had to have the artery tied off immediately. A couple of hours later, Caddie was put under, and the Dr. Barengo began stitching. Caddie ended up with more than thirty stitches on the exterior of the pad, with many other stitches below it and a few on nearby pads. According to Luke, Caddie cut her paw in the woods across the street. He thinks she jumped over a rivulet and landed on the edge of a sharp rock. Since the incident, Caddie's gotten out of the house unchaperoned on a number of occasions, I've taken her back to the vet twice, and I've performed a number of bandage changes. When Dr. Barengo took a look at the paw on Friday, she discovered that a number of stitches were missing and was able to get two new ones in before Caddie refused to sit still any longer.

I spent much of Friday evening and Saturday morning looking at 365 pages of light fixtures on Bellacor's website. I could have narrowed my search, but I've discovered things I never would have seen with the parameters I'd have chosen. I placed my order Saturday afternoon, and the only lighting we have to choose now are the ceiling fans for each bedroom and Dennis's office.

Sam just awoke crying, which set off a chain reaction, and I now have to deal with Jack. I hope to post again soon.

New Black Top

2008-04-08T17:42:00.005-04:00

Hi folks, Dennis here.

Greg was our alarm clock this morning, seizing a clear blue sky and a calm Spring (yes, it almost feels like Spring) day to get the roof finished.

Yes, you heard right, finished:

Jan and Gilbert were surprised and stopped by to chat about it:

I climbed up on top and was able to see all the way over to the airport on the other side of the valley. The new chimney is beautiful and all the seams on the roof- from the new edges to the chimney- are well flashed. If it leaks, it will be after our time here.

Thanks Greg and Larry!

Tiles, Doorknobs and Shingles, Oh My!

2008-04-03T18:18:00.004-04:00

Greg is officially our contractor now. Larry has moved on to greener pastures. On Tuesday, he and his son Lance became owners of The New England Inn in North Conway, NH. Dennis and the kids and I are looking forward to a lovely summer vacation in the mountains of New Hampshire, although Larry hasn't yet told us what the former-client discount is at his fine establishment. I have no doubt it will be a generous one.

Thus far, Greg is doing very well on his own. Yesterday, he trimmed and shingled the front half of the roof above the master bedroom. Our new black shingles look quite nice snugged up against the new chimney that Joel Allen and his two assistants built on Wednesday. Of course, like every other aspect of this house, the condition of the original chimney brought head scratching and exclamations of astonishment. Before Joel agreed to work on the chimney, we had to assure him that we'd never burn wood in the fireplace. Once he finished, he asked for our assurances that we wouldn't use the propane fireplace until a new flue is installed by a licensed professional.

The new chimney stands proud next to the soon-to-be shingled roof.

A view of the front.

On Wednesday, Greg began laying the ceramic tile floor in the boys' bathroom. A few weeks ago, he had asked me to pick up two bags of cement for adhering the floor tiles and a bucket of mastic for the wall tiles. Thinking he may have made a mistake in his request, I bought only one bag of cement. I should have known that Greg was right. Yesterday morning, Bridget, Jack, Sam and I drove over to Lowe's for more cement. It was a good trip. We saw a number of ceiling fans that we liked and scored big on doorknobs. Knowing we'd soon need some, we headed down the door hardware aisle and found brushed nicked levers on clearance. I bought eleven of them for the bedrooms and bathrooms and paid only $10.47 each, instead of the original price of $40. That $300 savings may offset some of the cost for the beautiful polished porcelain tiles I found at Mattson's for the master bathroom.

The boys' bathroom with some of its flooring installed.

Tug O' War

2008-03-18T20:53:00.002-04:00

It was a back-and-forth day. I was awake, showered,dressed and had a load of laundry going in the washer by 8:00. Jack was asleep, which made my early accomplishments possible.

The kids and I got started on lessons before 9:30, but when Greg arrived (with the gallon of milk I asked him to pick up on the way -- he's very sweet), a discussion on the bathroom design derailed schoolwork for a while. Usually, it's Jack who does that.

I knew Greg would point out problems with my design, but he was less impressed than I thought he'd be. OK, I'd think about his suggestions. Yes, things were a bit tight between the toilet compartment and tub --we could live with that. There wasn't a lot of wall space for baseboard heat -- how much heat do we really need? What about the sinks? Greg said that the plumbers will not like them on the outside wall, because they'll have to bring the pipes up through the floor, and with pipes exposed beneath the sink, they'll have to be chrome. In other words: going through the floor means longer pipes; longer pipes mean more chrome; more chrome means more money. Alright. Back to the drawing board. Again.

Our next conversation revolved around door and baseboard trim. Greg had samples to show me. None were exactly what I wanted. One was close, but it was taller than the baseboard heat registers and cost nearly twice what Larry used in his quote. "Fine," I capitulated. "Use the one you guys normally use."

"Wait," Greg said. "The plain one you like comes in 3.5" and 5.5." We can use the 5.5 for the tops of the doors and the baseboards."

"Really? Can we use it for the vertical trim on the wainscoting?"

"No," Greg said. "The 3.5 is too wide for that."

"Fine," I said again. "We'll use average, everyday beadboard for the wainscoting instead. You'll just put the thin stuff over the drywall, right?"

"No, it'd be better to use the half-inch beadboard on the bottom and sheetrock on the top. That way, everything will be on a even plane," Greg advised.

"You know what? At that rate, let's just get the wide v-grooved stuff you saw at the homeshow. It's what I wanted in the first place."

By lunch, I was wondering where the day had gone, but as soon as the kids and I had eaten, I read them a belated St. Patrick's Day story, Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola, and shortly thereafter, I had a new bathroom design on paper. Greg liked it better: sinks on an interior wall, room for the heat, still tight near the bathtub. "Why not turn the tub?" he suggested. I turned the tub. The bathroom looks good on paper.

Now, Greg wants to get the plumbers back as soon as possible, but do I know exactly what I'm using for a shower base? Where will the drain be located? The plumbers need to know this stuff. "I'll decide on a shower base," I told him.

At this point, though, the kids were getting restless and getting on each other's nerves. It was time to go outside. We all went. I put the sump pump into the "pond" in front of the garage and worked on removing some of the slushy snow from the driveway. Luke got out his snowboard; Bridget, Henry and Sam went on lots of fun adventures in the backyard; and Jack trudged back and forth through the "pond," played with Bridget, Henry and Sam, tried to shovel like I me, and climbed two steps up a ladder and kicked off his boots.

When I brought Jack into the house, he was ready for a nap. He fell asleep pretty quickly, bless his heart, and he slept long enough for me to prime the ceiling in the boys' bathroom.

After dinner, I found the bathtub I want and a selection of shower bases at www.designerplumbingoutlet.com, where I've purchased faucets for the showers and sinks in Bridget's and the boys' bathrooms. I've been very happy with their service, and the tub was nearly $200 less than Home Depot's price. I'll consider the day a success.

Bathing in Possibility

2008-03-17T23:00:00.002-04:00

Greg asked me to work on the design for the master bath. When it got completely demolished last week, it gave Dennis and me a chance to visualize it differently: no more constraints from the walls and fixtures that were there. Once we get the design down, the plumbers can get started. Working on it had been on my to-do list, but Greg's request made it a priority. Larry gladly gave me his drawing. He says he's finished drawing. Closing on his new hotel is scheduled for April 1st, and I think he's ready for his new adventure to begin. Anyway, the lines on my drawing had been penciled in and erased so many times, I was finding it nearly impossible to work with. Of course, my eraser got a workout on Larry's drawing.

Trying to get a toilet closet with a sink in it and the large glass block shower proved difficult. I finally gave up on both. The toilet will remain where it had been, but all by itself -- no sink or bidet to keep it company. I've placed the bathtub (0n paper, at least) where the shower was, with a 32x48" shower next to that. The tub will likely be the Kohler Greek with a surround. I think we'll end up with a glass door and Silestone or Corian or Swanstone walls. A double sink, probably on a table base, will go pretty much where the sinks had been. Tomorrow, I'll show my design to Larry and Greg, so Larry can make jokes about how many times I've made changes, and Greg can point out every negative thought that comes into his mind.

Greg is supposed to sand the the mudded drywall in the boys' bathroom tomorrow. I'll be able to prime the walls and ceilings the day after that. The primer and paint I ordered from Mythic arrived last weeks. I still haven't had a chance to open the cans and check the colors: "Barely There" for the ceiling; "Boy Scout Blue" for the walls; and "Regal Rose" for Bridget's bathroom.

I looked at the sconces that arrived from Bellacor. I love them. I'm hoping the crystal-laden light fixtures for Bridget's bath arrive soon.

When Dennis got to Portland, he let the bat he caught today out of the bag. He reported that it wasn't moving much. I feel bad. It was either the one Bruce (who sometimes helps Greg and Larry with demolition) dealt with last week (I'll say no more), or it was one of the six bats in the open bag Greg left in a trash can at an undisclosed location. Yes, I wrote "six" as in "six bats in a bag." Greg and Bruce encountered seven of them on Thursday.

Larry and Greg opened up the floor and exterior wall of the master bath today. There was black mold beneath the floor under the toilet and black stains on the wall. Within minutes of walking into the area today, my face and scalp started to itch. I had experienced no reactions this weekend, after the boys had gotten rid of everything but the floor and the exterior wall's sheetrock.

You Mean, I Was Right About Something?!?!?

2008-03-14T13:35:00.014-04:00

I once lamented to friend, "Most people seem to think I'm stupid."

"What?! No!" she replied.

I went on to explain that I'm always being told that I'm wrong: sometimes outright; sometimes in more subtle ways. People question my opinions; they roll their eyes; they say, "You're crazy!"; they laugh at me and make snide comments, either behind my back or to my face.

When I began to realize that we had a mold problem in this house and shared my thoughts, many people furrowed their brows and said, "How do you know? Have you seen any mold? Everyone has mold in their shower."

"No, no," I'd counter. "This is more than just a little green stuff in the bathroom. This is a significant problem affecting my health and the health of my children. I get out of the shower and find swollen lymph nodes under my arms. (Within a few hours of going downstairs, they're gone). I walk upstairs and the rosacea on my face gets itchy, or a hive appears on my leg, my elbow or behind my ear. Bridget's eczema won't go away. Luke always looks like he has shiners under his eyes. Henry's face is swollen. Jack won't sleep at night -- unless I take him downstairs. Sam thinks he has bugs in his hair because his scalp is so itchy. He gets diarrhea after spending time upstairs in the playroom."

"You're probably all allergic to the dog," they'd say.

"Mold has been around forever. Why does everyone think it's a problem now?"

"A $20 roof vent should take care of the problem." Perhaps that was a not-so-subtle way of saying, "You just want to spend your husband's money and get a fancy house."

When Greg and Larry took on the job of renovating the second floor, Larry asked, "Are you sure you've got a mold problem? Have you had a sample tested?"

Greg said, "Your problem's probably caused by the carpeting in the hall and kids' rooms. You'd be amazed by how gross capeting can get, especially if it's been cleaned and hasn't dried properly."

The ironic thing is that the people who are most vocal about my "misguided notions" are the ones who seem to think that admitting to being wrong is the worst thing in the world. (Perhaps they should read what C.S. Lewis or the Bible has to say on the subject of pride.)

OK. So, what's the point, right? Yesterday, Greg came downstairs and announced, "I found the cause of your mold problems." I followed him upstairs, where he pointed to the underside of the roof in the master bathroom. It was black and decaying so much that it was literally starting to peel away in little layers. The blackness spread from the area above the tub at the back of the house towards the front of the house. The underside of the roof above the shower was mostly obscured by fuzzy, grey mold. All of this was in addition to the mold he and Larry had discovered a few days before. That was spreading out over the plastic that had been placed directly above the drywall ceiling of the master bedroom. It was also in addition to the mold growing on the floor joists below the other bathroom, hallway and playroom, which was discovered a month ago.

In the orignal section of the house, the fiberglass insulation had filled the cavity between the roof and ceiling, allowing for no airflow.

In the addition, constructed 20 years ago (master bedroom and bath, where the really nasty stuff was found), foam "trays" that keep the insulation from touching the underside of the roof and allow for airflow had been used in some areas, but two layers of insulation flattened the trays.

The ventilation fan above the tub in the master bath vented moisture into the ceiling cavity (and rafters had been cut to install the fan). The "stink pipe" for the master bath ended inside the ceiling cavity, stopping just a 1/4" above the 2x4 at the top of the wall. Twenty years ago, a $20 roof vent would have helped the situation, but not at this point.

So, how could I have been right about the extent of our mold problem? I'm no biologist, and I had no scientific evidence. Well, I relied on my own observations; I paid attention to the way I was feeling and when various symptoms appeared. I listened to my kids and really looked at them. I realized that if they were whiney or in a bad mood or unable to concentrate, it often was due to the fact that they just didn't feel good. I asked questions and did my own research. I also analyzed my past experiences in the light of new observations.

For five years, we lived with black mold in the crawlspace beneath the basement of our home in Littleton, Colorado. When the discovery was made shortly before moving out, I started re-evaluating my previous conclusions. For instance, black mold did not grow in the basement bathroom simply because it got cleaned less often the upstairs bathrooms, but because there were more mold spores down there. Here in Maine, the toilet and drains in the master bath quickly got covered with black mold, but it was never a problem in the other bathrooms.

I'm glad I trusted my instincts, and I'm grateful that Dennis trusted me.

The ceiling of the master bedroom.

See that white pipe ending just above the 2x4? It should continue out through the roof.

Drywall removed from the master bathroom ceiling

Underside of the roof above the master bath

Another shot from the master bath

Underside of the roof above the shower

Walls Going Up

2008-03-04T17:02:00.011-05:00

I feel like we've reached a milestone. Greg and Larry put up drywall in the boys' bathroom today. Wow! It feels like we're making progress. Each day's weather generally influences which aspect of the project our very competent contractors tackle. Therefore, there are times when they're making great strides on the interior and times when they focus on the exterior. Last week, they started ripping out the walls and ceiling around the staircase, because the bat in the shower on Tuesday morning drove me to surrender the second floor completely. Our family of seven now relies exlusively on the small first-floor bathroom with the very small shower. Each night when Greg and Larry leave, they seal up the plastic "wall" at the bottom of the staircase. It does not get unsealed until they arrive the following morning.

Larry cuts a piece of drywall.

Greg works on the boys' bathroom today.

The staircase with the plastic "door" at the bottom.

As some of you know, when I went upstairs on Monday night to get ready for bed, I saw a bat flying around the unoccupied master bedroom. One look was all I needed; I raced downstairs, closing the door behind me. The next morning, I complained to Greg and Larry and begged them to seal up the holes that were allowing the bat to go from the "attic" into the master bedroom/bath. They protested, saying the bat might not even be back in the attic. It might still be on "this side." I disagreed and kicked them out of the bathroom, so I could take a shower. When I opened the shower door to turn on the water, though, I noticed some stuff on the shower floor and realized it was guano. That caused me to investigate further, and I saw the bat asleep near the bottom of the shower door. My reaction, as you might imagine, provided Greg and Larry with plenty of laughs, but Larry scooped the bat into a box and carried it outside. He dumped it on top of a pile of lumber covered with a blue tarp and theorized that it would die of exposure. Sure. Within 20 minutes, the bat was gone, apparently right back into the attic.

Here are a couple more pictures of the critter -- hope you don't mind.

The bat sleeps at the bottom of the shower. (And yes, I can't wait to get rid of the that disgusting, moldy shower stall.)

The recently released rodent sprawled on a blue tarp.

On Friday, the bat (or its friend) fell onto the staircase when Larry cut into the roof above the stairs, and today, it swooped down near Larry's head as he and Greg were putting up drywall. Dennis scooped it into a bag again, drove it a couple of miles away and released it into the woods. I'm sure we'll see it again soon, but I wish it would just take the hint and move out. No, sorry, I can't bring myself or anyone else to actually kill it.

Greg and Caddie supervise as Larry cuts out the roof above the staircase on Friday. Apparently, the bat had been up there and got a rude awakening.

The outside of the house is now on the inside.

When I relinquished the master bath, Greg and Larry wasted little time filling it with debris.

Henry looks like he did some damage to the master bedroom, but we actually had to pay people to make that mess.

The newly framed hallway.

The bones of Henry's room and Luke's room beyond. Each bedroom will have a vaulted ceiling.

Who Says Good Help is Hard to Find?

2008-03-01T17:03:00.003-05:00

Jack is always willing to give Greg (and Larry) a hand.

"That's a Good Sign"

2008-02-14T11:39:00.007-05:00

Those were the words of Larry when I pointed out the cracks that had just appeared in the load-bearing wall. Our house is Larry's last construction project before he leaves the biz to become owner of the New England Inn in North Conway, NH. At least, that's what he tells me. I think he might be planning a last-minute bid against Hillary and McCain. He answers questions like a seasoned politician.

About those cracks in the wall: they appeared there after Larry and Greg started jacking up the beam they placed in the ceiling of the garage two days ago. The beam is designed to support the load-bearing wall, which, until two days ago, was sitting on plywood. Jacking up the beam is designed to get rid of some of the sags in the house. The base of the wall needs to get raised about an inch.

It started snowing Tuesday after midnight. The snow turned to rainy, icy, wet stuff before noon, and it continued to come down throughout the afternoon and evening. The resulting ice brought down many tree limbs and knocked out our power from 8:30 to 10:30 last night. About 3 p.m., water began dripping from the frame of the french doors and pouring down the chimney and living room walls AGAIN.

Cracking up. Of course, these are minor compared to the cracks Larry and Greg put into the walls as I was posting these photos. I turned to Greg and said, "I'm paying you to do this?"

A look down at our icy driveway.

Crystal tree.

The Hancock Lumber boom truck operator lifts the beam.

Beam in motion.

The beam about to be slid through the hole in the front wall of the garage.

The beam sliding into place in the ceiling of the garage.

The load-bearing wall was sitting on this bowed and cracked plywood.

Heating pipes got shifted to make room for the beam.

My Knight in Carhartt Overalls

2008-02-12T09:47:00.000-05:00

Greg showed up with his orange Kubota tractor this morning and immediately went to work on our steep, snow-covered, poorly plowed driveway and the surrounding snowbanks. I guess he and Larry have had enough. Either that, or he wants to get the dumpster hauled away and make room for the boom truck that's scheduled to deliver the steel beam for the garage. Whatever the case, one of the first things Greg did was rescue my mailbox, which had been knocked off its post and buried. Ain't he sweet?

Building Bathrooms and Going Batty

2008-02-10T15:01:00.000-05:00

A result of the leaking roof, a bladder full of water makes its way down the living room wall.

Moments after Luke leaves the room to fetch a sharp instrument for deflating the bladder, it relieves itself.

It has snowed nearly every day this week and is doing so right now. All of this fluffly precipitation makes for beautiful surroundings, but slows down work on the house. Larry and Greg stayed away on Thursday, but, otherwise, have been working on the bathrooms.

They tore up the plywood subfloor along the back of the house in the work area, removed insulation, sprayed the floor joists with Mold Control and glued and nailed down new, better engineered plywood for a subfloor. Once a few sheets had been installed, Greg invited me over to experience what a solid floor feels like. With Jack in my arms, I set out to navigate the exposed beams and immediately slipped off of one. I never saw Larry move so fast. He couldn't believe the lower half of my leg didn't end up in the kitchen below.

Greg sprays Mold Control into the floor cavity.

Snow-covered ladders and staging at the back of the house.

Since then, Larry and Greg have framed the showers and linen closet and walls for the main bathroom and Bridget's bathroom. I'm hoping the main bathroom will be ready for use in two or three weeks. Photos of the bathrooms follow. Oh, when I went into the work area this morning to take the pictures, I discovered a bat sleeping on the wall. I'll include a picture. I left the little critter there as a special surprise for my contractors.

View from Bridget's bedroom into her bathroom and the main bathroom beyond. Bridget's shower is in place; the base of the other shower is not.

The doorway to Bridget's room has been constructed.

A second resident of the attic moves down and goes to sleep. (Notice the screw near its foot? I think the bat's actually holding onto it.)

Chinese Water Torture

2008-01-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

That's what ran through my mind at 3am, after Jack had gotten me out of bed to sleep in the living room, where the mold is generally less of a problem than in the studio, temporary bedroom for Dennis, Jack and me. (Mind you, the mold in the studio has never been as much of a problem as it has been on the second floor.) Upon entering the living room/dormitory, I heard a drip-drip-drip-drip-drip from the vicinity of Bridget's bed. When I turned on the light and walked bedside to investigate, I felt drops of water splashing on my feet. Indeed, rivulets of water were trickling down the side of the chimney next to the bed, drops were "ka-plinking" from the crown molding and a fine spray was ricocheting off the case of Dennis's Taylor guitar (the really expensive one), which was stored beneath Bridget's bed. I awakened my intrepid husband, he and I assessed the damage (which includes wet, ruined drywall above a set of french doors on both the living room side and dining room side), removed books from the now-wet cartons in which they had been stored, and placed towels and buckets beneath the drips. By the way, all of this moisture leakage was caused by the "wintry mix" we'd been getting since mid-afternoon.

The early portion of the week was somewhat exciting. We got: an answer to why there was a soft spot in the floor next to the second-floor bathroom -- someone had cut through a floor joist with a chainsaw; questions about why the contractor who built the master bedroom addition 20 years ago ran a wire under the roof decking; and "Holy Cow!" reactions when Corey, the electrician, got zapped by one of two LIVE 220-volt lines left inside the walls after the house had been converted from electric heat to hot water heat. (Don't worry, Corey's ok.)

What we did not get, however, was a real answer from Larry to the question "When do you expect to be finished with the job?" I can't say as I blame him, though, what with the all the "what-the?" discoveries he and Greg find everytime they touch the existing structure. Progress will be slowed by the process of replacing all of the plywood subflooring on the second floor, a task Larry hadn't planned on undertaking. The stuff that's there, though, is in pretty bad shape and covers insulation that is probably harboring mold. We scraped some of it off the floor joists after pulling up some of that insulation.

Check back again soon. I hope to post photos later today.

Here We Go Again

2008-01-18T18:35:00.000-05:00

I'll try again with those photos I mentioned. Cross your fingers.

This is what the front of the house looked like on Monday.

A side view on Monday. There is now an entirely new second-story wall on this end of the house. The rest of the photos were taken on Wednesday, January 16.

Greg stands in the window opening in Luke's future room. During construction, Greg and Larry use this opening as a door through which they bring new building materials in and throw old building materials out.

The new roof towers above a remnant of the old roof.

The new gable end wall. It's tempting to put up a basketball hoop, add a pool table and call it a day.

The view from inside the newly built portion of the second floor. I was standing where I stood to take the next photo.

This was taken with the camera backed up against the new front wall and aimed towards the back of the house.

Photos, finally

2008-01-17T12:42:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. I won't even try to make excuses. I'll simply post lots of photos. Here they are.

Wrong. I would love to post lots of photos. At the moment, however, I am unable to do so. Thank you, Blogger. Once again, you have vexed me.

The Cherry On the Sundae

2007-12-21T19:44:00.000-05:00

Well, we got our heat back, and apparently, a bat that had been living in our attic space decided it was warm enough to come on down and fly through the dining room. (I wonder if any of his buddies are up there.) Dennis noticed the little critter while in flight. When it roosted on the window sill, Dennis donned his bat gloves, grabbed a paper bat bag and fearlessly (yeah, right) tapped on the bat, convincing it to fall into the bag beneath it. Once he had nabbed his prey, Dennis closed the bat bag and released his catch into the wild outside the front door. I wonder when we'll see that particular flying rodent again.

Heat and a Roof Over Our Heads

2007-12-21T18:56:00.000-05:00

It took the service technician from Augusta Fuel two trips and numerous tries to blow the clog out of our fuel line. The furnace began functioning again around 2:00 this afternoon. It's nice to have heat.

Larry and Greg spent much of the day climbing ladders with 4x8-foot sheets of roofing plywood over their heads. We now have a new roof deck on the front half of the house.

Raise the Rafters

2007-12-21T09:38:00.000-05:00

We got snow yesterday, so Larry and Greg, weren't here. The day before that, however, they put rafters on the front half of the house. Greg is here this morning, raking snow off the existing roof. When Larry arrives, they'll begin sheathing the roof. Once the front is pretty well finished, they'll move to the back of the house.

In the meantime, we're sitting in front of the gas fireplace, waiting for Augusta Fuel to come and fix the furnace. We have no heat.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2007-12-17T20:24:00.000-05:00

... but that didn't stop Greg and Larry from shoveling off the staging, the piles of lumber, the roof -- and building a wall, at least the beginnings of a wall. Tomorrow, they'll get out in the cold again and frame the windows. First, they'll tweak the window space at the right side of the house (if you're looking at it). Unfortunately, Larry trusted the accuracy of my drawing and left space for the windows where I drew them. He's creating his own drawing tonight.

Going up ...

Progress! (Do you see Jack supervising from the front door?)

The cold hasn't affected these two in any way.

Visualization Assistance

2007-12-11T21:46:00.001-05:00

OK, let's try some of those photos.

Here is the beam, on the truck, in front of the house.

The house, with new posts sticking out the top, awaits the beam, which is on the truck, in front of the house.

Bridget and Jack looking at the house -- with new posts sticking out the top, which awaits the beam, which is on the truck, in front of the house.

Larry and Greg atop the house, while Bridget and Jack (and Sam and Henry and Luke and Cheryl) look at the house -- with new posts sticking out the top, which awaits the beam, which is on its way to the house.

Larry and Greg atop the house, while Bridget and Jack (and Sam and Henry and Luke and Cheryl) look at the house -- with new posts sticking out the top, holding the beam, which is now in place.

Beam Me Up

2007-12-11T13:20:00.000-05:00

The 40-foot structural beam that will form the new roof ridge of the house got delivered today. The kids and I stood outside and watched it get placed atop the three posts Larry and Greg built through the existing roof, down to the floor of the second story. It was less than 20 degrees out there, but we toughed it out. If Larry and Greg can walk all over the roof and spend hours out there working, we figured we could handle 15 to 20 minutes.

From this point, Larry and Greg will build up the front wall, construct rafters and build a roof, before dismantling the current roof from the inside.

The kids are enjoying the adventure, Jack has taken a shine to Larry, and Dennis and I are dealing with the joys of the construction process as they come at us.

Guts!

2007-12-02T09:49:00.000-05:00

As you can see from the pictures, we've made a start. Larry and Greg started on Wednesday and have ripped out bathrooms, bedrooms, and play rooms. What will we build? Well, the Mullet is probably not the solution. After mulling it over ;^)

Each morning and afternoon brought new discoveries about how the house was put together and how it is hanging together. We changed in scope from an interior redecoration to the Mullett to a colonial with a three season room in a space of twenty-four hours. We're settling in on a colonial, which will push the upstairs front walls out four feet. That will greatly enhance the room space for bedrooms and offices. As a result, the upstairs should hold three bedrooms and the master suite, an office, a laundry, and one or two additional bathrooms. A floor plan will be posted here as we settle into it. I think I've managed to negotiate myself from a 12x13 ft office down to an 8x9 and back up to something in between. It all depends on placement...

The construction process will be neat. Larry will be able to build the new roof and walls outside the house leaving hte current ones in place. When that's weather-tight, they'll be able to tear down the old roof and walls from the inside out. Bridget's window is going to see a whole lot of house go through it.

No more blue potty! Gone with it are the blue shower-tub, the blue vanity and sink, and everything else in the bathroom regardless of color. We've already got a replacement shower for this room, and have tile and other materials on the way. We're starting with the necessities of the facilities, so we can transition from the master suite side of the house into the renovated side of the house one half at a time. At least that's the plan. For today.
This was Bridget's room early in the deconstruction process. The whole right side of the upstairs is stripped down to the guts, leaving the wall framing, the heating, and the wall and ceiling insulation in place. Gone are the carpeting, dry wall, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, moulding and doors. Samantha Smith apparently like Holly Hobbie, as we found such wallpaper underneath the pink. The original hallway had a very lemon and yellow colored flower print to go with the dark trim. Ah, the 70s.

Greg pointed out that the heat in the house had, at some point, been converted from electric to the hot water we have today. A run of the heating pipes makes a detour out of Bridget's room, into the eaves and exposed to the elements, and then ducks back in and out of the house a few times. Why did the pipes never freeze and burst? Dumb luck? My theory is that they were carrying heating water, and the heater comes on when it gets cold... but it's risky to be heating the great out of doors.

It's fun to fill a dumpster from three stories up! The kids helped jettison wood, drywall, and junk, and got a kick out of watching the potty and tub fly out the window. We took advantage of the dumpster's size and cleared a lot of junk from the deck and garage. We'll be getting another dumpster next week, so if you have anything you'd like to rid yourself of, give us a call.

A Mullet House?

2007-11-29T23:57:00.000-05:00

It won't be "all business up front and a party in the back" (like Sam's and Henry's temporary hairstyles -- courtesy of Uncle Tom), but it might be a colonial up front and a cape in the back. Larry just keeps on analyzing and suggesting. I hope to spend more time updating all of you tomorrow.

What next?

2007-11-12T15:13:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted for some time, because I just didn't want to get into it all. Dennis's post has goaded me on, though.

Our quote from Larry came in $50,000 more than we had hoped to pay, $30,000 more than we figured we'd have to pay. Ironically, it doesn't even include plumbing and heating. We've yet to get that quote from Wayne at Augusta Fuel. Part of the added expense comes from the structural issues Larry, Greg, Don and Manfred found. In short, the load-bearing wall in the kitchen (at least a significant portion of it) is built only on plywood. One of the first things that needs to be done (no matter what) is removing the double garage door, cutting into the concrete walls of the garage, installing two single garage doors and placing a steel beam in the ceiling of the garage directly beneath the load-bearing wall. While we're at it, we'll rid ourselves of the fire hazard in the garage: paper-backed fiberglass insulation hanging from the ceiling. It will be replaced and covered with fire-resistant wallboard. The ceiling beam in the living room also needs to be supplemented, no matter what.

From there, where do we go? Neither Dennis nor I are keen to invest a half-million dollars into this house (purchase price plus the renovation/addition). Neither do we want to invest another $100,000 to make repairs and add maybe another bedroom to end up with a house that still doesn't quite work for our family. So, we've done some investigating. We've started asking around about land for sale in Manchester, and we toured the house you see in the pictures Dennis posted.

The house is about a half-mile from here, on Rte. 17, which is a very busy road with a speed limit of 50 mph. The proximity to our house is a pro, the road on which it sits is a con. It is a house I have often admired. It sits on a hill overlooking Lakeside Orchards. When we realized we might want to move, there was no way I could not check out this house I have admired for so long.

We toured it on Friday. I am torn. It was built in the 1950s and has not been updated, but it is a huge, rambling ranch with five bedrooms; 20 acres of lovely land that contains two ponds; and a fabulous 15-mile view.

Later in the week, I'm hoping to see the house again, this time with Larry, our contractor. I want him to tell me that we should EITHER run as far away from this house as possible OR that it is structurally sound and has a ton of potential. We'll see.

As for our house, Larry and Greg will begin tearing out the ceiling in Bridget's room this week. What they find behind the drywall will bear heavily on our next steps. If the rafters are sound, we may simply open up the second floor interior, kill the mold, properly vent the roof, put everything back together (while possibly converting the master bath to a bedroom and creating a new master bath), make cosmetic improvements and list the house for sale. If we add a bedroom, the house will be comfortable enough for another year or two, which gives us time to figure things out, buy land, build a house.

The plot thickens.

Ah, the Kitchen

2007-11-12T12:33:00.000-05:00

Cool kitchen, eh?

We could host a cooking show, or at least have a place for Alice to work.

How many minutes past move-in would it be before the top is closed, the bottom is open, and a kid is lying on the floor with a concussion? I've got minute number four in the office pool.

Master bedroom has a view southeast.

Oh, that house down the road a bit

2007-11-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

So sure enough, as we discover the cost (prohibitive) of doing Taj Mahal renovations and structural foundations, a house at the end of the road goes up on the market. Custom built in the 50s for a young family whose husband became the president of Central Maine Power (and to whose business I contribute monthly an amount more than my first car payment), this ranch has views of Lake Cobbossee, two ponds, twenty acres, and is a sprawling ranch with loads of rooms and character. Oh, and it's $350k, which is a good price for the market, especially going into the slow winter sales months for real estate.

Here's the view of the lake, though I think with summer foliage it would be hard to see.

Here's the skating pond at the bottom of the acreage/ driving range. You could sled on down, skate around, and take the tow-bar back up

This is the backside of the house facing southeast, the hill, the lakes and the pond. Since you already know what the window looks out on, it looks out on it from the goodly sized living room.

This the dining room. It has an open path into the living room, built in corner cabinets, and a nice flow to/from the funky kitchen.

There are more pictures, but this at least captures the charm of the place. Ranch living can be nice, and this has plenty of fifties feel to it.

And it has three heating oil tanks, so we could load up for the winter in one fell swoop. :) All we would need is a bank loan for the cost of the fuel.

Waiting to Exhale

2007-10-30T23:09:00.000-04:00

Remember that hump and slope I mentioned in the previous post? Larry and Greg were here with a structural engineer and materials estimator from Hancock Lumber last Thursday. They conducted an evaluation of house's "support system," so to speak.

It seems that the stringers for the house are going in the wrong direction. (According to Answers.com a stringer is "a long, heavy horizontal timber which connects the posts in a frame which supports a floor.") Essentially, they span the width of the house, not the length. This leaves the load-bearing wall between the kitchen and my studio (where the hump and slope are most noticeable) without support under the length of it. From what I picked up, there should be extra joists running the length of that wall. There are none: only the "wrong-way" stringers and not-quite-strong-enough steel beam running in the same direction as the stringers and being supported by a rusting column -- all of which is visible in the garage under the kitchen and studio.

While here, this construction business foursome also looked at the ceiling in the living room, as I've had some concerns about the ripple across the middle of the ceiling. The living room and the master bedroom above were added onto the original house about 20 years ago. At this point, it looks like the ripple is caused by a problem beam that will need a supporting cast of at least one more beam.

Before Larry left on Thursday, I asked him, "So, does this mean we should turn the house into a ranch?" He replied, "That's what we're trying to figure out." I haven't heard from him since: hence, the bated breath.

Going in a Forward Direction

2007-10-18T21:37:00.000-04:00

At least it feels like we're making progress.

Contractor Larry and his son, Greg, met with us at the house today, looked at the construction drawings, looked at the house, asked questions, made suggestions, asked more questions, figured out why the kitchen floor has a hump in the middle and slopes toward the front of the house, threw out suggestions on how to deal with that hump and slope, picked up their set of drawings and drove off after promising to get back to us with a cost estimate. We're hoping they'll be merciful.

Within 30 minutes of their departure, Wayne from Augusta Fuel Company arrived. He got his own set of construction drawings, answers to his questions and a quick look at the furnace.

On Saturday, Dennis, the kids and I will drive to Lewiston to meet with Lisa at the FW Webb showroom (you may have seen their ad on a wall at Fenway). Anyway, we're going to the showroom to pick out a tub, showers, faucets and other plumbing fixtures. Wayne needs an idea of what we want to give us an accurate estimate.

Stay tuned, this is getting interesting ...

The Goal

2007-10-12T12:46:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I posted, because it's been awhile since I had anything to write. Ken, our architect, has been hard at work on floor plans, blueprints and other drawings. We're expecting to have blueprints in hand on Monday or Tuesday. At that point, we'll meet with Larry, our contractor, who will take some photos of the house, figure out logistics and start working on a cost estimate.

On Thursday, we'll meet with Wayne from Augusta Fuel Company, who will receive a set of blueprints and get to work on cost estimates for plumbing, heating and air conditioning.

Once we start construction, I'm not sure what to expect. In fact, I'm trying to have no expectations at all. I generally work better when I take life as it comes at me. Dennis's post about a five-year plan was interesting. That's not the way I work at all. I have a hard time seeing more than a day ahead of me, which is not to say that I've given no thought to the upcoming project. I simply try not to worry, and when I do attempt to make plans, it's all about the details. I've thought about bathroom sinks, wall colors, flooring options, door hardware, you name it. I have to get out the zoom lens, blur the surroundings and really focus on the details, so to speak.

So there you have it, for now. Check out the drawing of the exterior. I love it.

A five year plan?

2007-09-12T11:11:00.000-04:00

Ever read a self improvement book recommending a five year plan?

"Where are you going to be in five years? What are your goals- how will you achieve them? Write them down, to be specific and measurable, and you can then start to progress towards them."

Are you kidding me? I've more affinity to phrases like "I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up" or the Talking Head's "Well, how did I get here?" or She's Having a Baby's (remember that 80s great? I paraphrase greatly here) "I dreamed of being a writer and I woke up with a career, a house, a car payment and a kid?"

So how does one go about creating a five year plan anyway? I can break it down (I am an analytical bastard), but need some other suggestions on figuring out goals. For example I can calculate almost exactly how old each of the kids will be in five years. I know how old the cars will be. I think I know where we'll be living. Income and job-role are hard to predict (I'm coming out of something I hate and into something that so far, I love), but the optimistic assumption is that they will go up.

For the last year or so, my goal was to gain back my sanity and soul while still being a husband, father, and getting our family financial approach organized. Well, those weren't formally expressed goals, but it is an accurate summary of what actually happened. And it sure wasn't easy. But 'tis better now. And with the fundamental problems resolved, I'm able to focus more on life.

I suppose a five year plan is a chance to brainstorm, dream; to plan instead of react; to have a destination (even if it changes) to be working towards when the day to day might feel like life is on hold. Without those plans, goals, life is on hold- you're dealing with the daily challenges with the daily bread- but to what end. Taking it from surviving to living.

But where to go? How to plan? Pragmatic or precociously preposterous? Family, friends, finances, hobbies, business interests, career steps?

Big Plans

2007-09-04T17:35:00.000-04:00

The kids and I started the school year today. It has gone well, so far. I write "so far," because, at 5:25 p.m., there are still items I want to cover and check off my list. Every year, I begin homeschooling with big plans and great intentions. Creation of those big plans have taken up most of my spare time (what little of it there is) these past few weeks, which is why I've not posted for some time. In the past, my big plans have not seen us through more than the first week of the school year. This time, I hope I've been more realistic than usual, especially with major upheaval right around the corner.

Larry Merrill, our contractor-to-be, called last night. If I have plans in hand by this weekend, Dennis and the kids and I will head to Larry's house in New Gloucester to check out his handiwork, give him the plans and let him start creating a cost estimate. Once we have that in hand, we'll talk to the bank.

Ken's drawings are coming along nicely. I'd include them here, but Blogger won't let me upload a pdf file. Our house is looking great on paper, though. It will be a three-story farm house with a walk-off front porch and a three-season room in the back. The second-floor will contain five bedrooms, three baths and a laundry room. An office for Dennis, guest suite, playroom and half-bath will comprise the third floor.

Dennis and I have managed to move more stuff from the upstairs. It gets emptier everyday. Of course, Henry and Sam find the spaciousness most attractive and as nature (and young boys) abhor a vacuum (on many levels), they have created a playroom in their former bedroom.

Our "new" bedroom in the studio off the kitchen reminds me of my bedroom in the Denver house I shared with my sister. Sam sleeps there with Dennis, Jack and me. We found a $15 Batman toddler bed for him at TJ Maxx last weekend.

The living room now does double duty, also functioning as a dormitory for Luke, Bridget and Henry. Their beds are side-by-side, and Jack thinks going from one to another is great fun. Of course, the rest of the kids and I have found the new setup to be great fun also. We sometimes hang out there late into the night, throwing stuffed animals at each other and giggling like girls at a slumber party.

Slumber Party

2007-08-10T16:56:00.000-04:00

The kids and I have been sleeping down in the living room all week. It's like a big slumber party, except that it goes on and on and on ...

We got a lot of rain this week, which makes the mold problem upstairs much worse. In addition, the ragweed pollen that is everywhere makes all of us feel extra sensitive. Jack doesn't sleep well when environmental irritants bother him; Sam cries periodically throughout the night, has diaper issues and behaves horribly; Henry gets a swollen face and red, irritated eyes; Bridget coughs and gets a stuffy nose; and Luke snores loudly, gets a puffy face and sometimes a headache. My symptoms range from rosacea breakouts to swollen hands and feet to headaches, hives, and other unpleasantries. (OK, so that's not a word, but it should be.)

So, the slumber party: we put the mattress from the pull-out couch onto the floor, along with various pillows, blankets, cushions and sleeping bags, and tried to sleep. Some met with more success than others. I'll leave you to figure out which ones. Yesterday, I managed (with help from Luke) to get the boys' two twin beds dismantled, then reassembled in the living room. Luke and Henry slept well last night. Today, I was able to dismantle the king-size bed, move it from the master bedroom, and put it back together in my studio, just off of the kitchen. I look forward to sleeping in it tonight. Jack and Sam will join me, maybe even Dennis, if he returns from Philadelphia as scheduled.

That leaves Bridget on the floor. I can't move her queen-size bed by myself or with Luke. I'm hoping Dennis and I can get it moved to the living room tomorrow. Oh, in case you're wondering: I was able to move the king-size bed because it is a Select Comfort mattress and box spring. It's made of plastic, foam and air, and it all comes apart easily.

All of this furniture moving is done for two reasons: to escape the ill effects of the upstairs mold and because the upstairs will need to be emptied before demolition and construction can begin. I spoke with Larry Merrill, the man who will, in all likelihood, be our contractor in this odyssey, and he thinks we may be able to start in mid-September.

In the meantime, Ken Foster, our architect, is working on drawings, and I can't wait to see how he interprets my ideas this time. In another post, I may write about the number of design iterations we've tried, but, then again, I might not.

Matters of Weight

2007-07-28T07:36:00.000-04:00

Broaching the subject our house and its issues has been interesting. I enjoy hearing people's opinions on the topic, and each piece of input gives me a new angle to consider or a different way of viewing the problem. Of course, one of the questions we're often asked is, "Why don't you just move?" It's a good question. Dennis and I have discussed it, but the cons seem to outweigh the pros. There is a lot of work involved in the renovations we have planned, but there is also a huge amount of work involved in finding a another house and moving into it. In considering the financial ramifications of both options, moving may possibly save us some money upfront, but doing the renovations seems like a better investment in the long run.

Whether we move or not, the issue of the roof needs to be addressed. If we stay, we can fix the roof and gain more room, effectively building our "dream house" in the process (with the landscaping already finished). If we move, we can merely fix the roof. "Merely fixing the roof," however, is not as simple as it sounds. One contractor related the story of a job in which he was hired to install a wood paneled ceiling in the master bedroom. When he began removing drywall from the existing ceiling of this ten-year-old cape, large portions of the rafters came down with the drywall. The roof had been built in the same manner as ours, and fixing the problem added $15,000 to the job's price tag 15 years ago.

Our house is 30 years old. Chances are, the roof (including rafters) will need to be rebuilt, and all of the drywall on the second floor will need to be removed and re-done. We'd also have to rebuild the chimney in the master bedroom to cure the leakage problems that have been present for years. What are we up to at this point? $25,000? $50,000? After our $8,000 mold mitigation project before moving out of the last house, I'm not jumping at the chance to spend three or more times that so someone else can move in.

Peter brought up the subject of litigation. I can only imagine the headaches involved in that process, but more importantly, I believe that my problems are my problems. I'm incredibly analytical (even with that liberal-arts bent; the two are not mutually exclusive), and I constantly search for the causes of effects, but I don't look for scapegoats. Further, Dennis and I are very aware that the behaviors we model to our children are the ones they will likely choose for themselves. While suing others in such matters may be legal, it is not necessarily right.

Finally, a disclaimer: Dennis and I are a couple and these are shared problems, but we don't view everything in the same light (not even close). Therefore, when I write these posts, I generally use the pronoun "I". Dennis is sure to weigh in with his own point of view.

Preparing to Begin

2007-07-25T09:56:00.001-04:00

When we decided to buy this cute little house here in Maine, we knew that it was too small for us. The problem was that we loved it: its kitchen, master bath, twin living rooms, french doors, backyard, setting. Besides, we weren't even supposed to see the house in the first place. It was the house next door we had come to tour. "It must be serendipity," we said to each other and to anyone who asked. Dennis and I are generally good at trusting God (would we have five kids if we weren't?), and we figured He wanted us to be here, in this cute, little yellowish-beige house. We still think that God wants us to be here, but He's going to make us work for it.

Even before we moved in, I was drawing floor plans and trying to figure out a way to get more bedrooms (there are only three), a laundry room that was not in the basement, and maybe even a studio where I could pursue my artistic -- well -- pursuits. Within a week of settling in, I talked to a contractor (he was here to replace leaky windows, part of our agreement with the previous owners) about expansion possibilities. He was not encouraging, but he is a nice guy and has put up with me and many discussions of my various schemes for gaining more space without giving Dennis a coronary over the price tag.

Thankfully, I'm better at scheming than taking action, and Dennis kept his eye on the checkbook. Over the course of living in this house for the past two years, we've figured out what works and what doesn't, what we like and what we don't. Most importantly, we discovered that we had a mold problem in the master bedroom due to a chronically leaking chimney and years of moisture infiltration behind the drywall. This discovery explained many of the health complaints all of us were experiencing. Most notably, my rosacea (which is worse in the morning and never plagued me until we moved into our house in Littleton, which, it turned out, had major mold growth in the crawl space and cost us $8,000 to mitigate for the new owners.); Jack's inability to sleep at night; and Sam's waking and crying throughout the night.

OK, we decided, we'd tear out the master bedroom and build the addition at that end of the house, rather than the other.

We were wrong, at least in part. Sam started getting sick whenever he played in the upstairs playroom, and Bridget continued to struggle with eczema, facial swelling and a stuffy nose in the mornings, even though she'd been gluten-free for months and that helped with many other health issues. Bridget's room and the playroom were at the end of the house opposite the master bedroom. Were there mold problems there? Yes.

More than one contractor investigated and found that the roof of our cape was built incorrectly. The six-inch rafters and 5.5-inch thick insulation obstructs the air that is supposed to flow over the roof. In turn, this causes the rafters, insulation, plywood and ceiling drywall to get wet and stay wet, which encourages mold growth. Mold reproduces by sending spores into the air. These are what cause the health issues for those who are sensitive. Rainy days (and there have been plenty of them lately) make our symptoms worse. In addition, since the house is 30 years old, it's probable the rafters are rotted.

Where this all leads is a change in renovation plans. Our architect is finishing a design in which the entire second story will be removed and rebuilt.

If I remain sane through this process, you'll be able to read about it here.