Murphy Room Get Subfloor

Last night, Lynn and Brent began working on the "Murphy" room insulation and subflooring. On Wednesday night, Brent had installed all the chicken wire, and Thursday, Lynn installed all the insulation.

The Murphy room is the bedroom/office on the first floor. We have dubbed it the "Murphy Room" because our idea is to put a murphy bed in the room. It will have a duel purpose as a guest bedroom and to be used as an office.

Lynn took over the "screwing" details that had previously belonged to Pa Pa Neal. We were able to install four (4) sheets of the 3/4" subflooring last night. This is not a big room but there were a few cuts required. Believe it or not, the walls are not square which requires time to cut fit and then sometimes recut. Then there is the liquid nails and all that screwing.

Please inform us if you see our HVAC contractor. We are a little worried as he was taking a trip to the Bermuda Triangle.

This completes the work at Zelda for 2007 as we are off to Gatlinburg to celebrate the New Year. We wish everyone a Happy New Year for 2008 and please be drive safely over the holiday period.

Past the Five Month Milestone Post

We have had a lot of personal activity this month which has limited the amount of work that could be focused on Zelda this month. Still, constant improvement on the project has been made this month. Lynn's dad Joe, has made some improvement but remains in the hospital and will remain in there with no projected release date. Please continue to keep him and her mom Anna, in your prayers.

Attached are some photos taken of Zelda at the mid point of June 2007 and comparison photos taken on December 22nd. You can cleary see a change in the house which in our opinion is an improvement. The main point of change is the addition of the bathroom closet over the kitchen and the redesign of the roof line on the laundry room and pantry. The photos are only of the exterior as the interior has made an even more drastic change throughout the house. Note that this is a remodel and not a restoration. We plan to leave the original siding on the three sides in tact, but expect there will be repairs needed as the aluminum siding is removed.

Most of the original details inside were taken out of the house prior to our purchase but we are saving the few items that are salvageable.

Ceiling Coming Down - Siding Going Up

The Christmas break has arrived at Zelda. Brent finished working mid-afternoon on Saturday and headed back to Holly Springs. This week he demolished the old ceiling in the keeping room and began stiffening the ceiling or the second story floor joist. He has finished installing all the required 16 foot joist which was a job working by himself. There is still some blocking to finish but he was able to install the headers between the dining room and keeping room.

Some good news in the remodel. Brent has decided that both of the front room ceiling are sturdy enough to support the two (2) rooms above and we will leave the original ceilings. That means the original bead board ceiling in the dining room will stay. We could not be more thrilled. It turns out that the front two (2) room ceilings were installed with 1x6 boards that were tied directly beneath the floor joist which stablizes and strengthens the floor. Unfortunelty, the bedrooms above the keeping room and "Murphy" room had the wood floors nailed directly to the floor joists with no subflooring. This has required the stabilizing beneath the floor joists.

A huge improvement in the appearance of the outside of Zelda. Ray Jr and family have been installing the cement siding on the back of the house. It looks great and once finished and painted it will look fantastic. There is a picture of Ray Jr which his dad stated, "He always wanted a lofty position."

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Signs of Improvement

Improvements all around. First, Lynn's dad has improved somewhat and was moved back into a private room. Current situation is that the doctor told Lynn that his current condition is not life threatening, but he his clearly not out of the woods.

The subflooring is nearly complete in the library/formal living room. Looks like the hvac contractor is showing up today to finish hanging all the duct and install the gas pack unit. Now Brent can finish all the flooring and begin demolishing the ceilings. After the demo, he will inspect the underside of the second story floors and brace/strengthen as needed.

Our contractor that installed the piers and leveled the house is now repairing the fireplaces and installing a brick wall with manway door between the foundation piers. The bricks and sand were delivered yesterday and work is to begin today.

The siding was delivered on Thursday and Ray (our roofing contractor and neighbor) will begin installing the siding today. Brent sill has some windows to install that will impede the progress.

Two (2) electrical contractors have confirmed appointments set for Tuesday, December 18th to view the house and prepare bids.

There are alot of irons in the fire but we are hopefull as the progress is noticeable.

Sub-flooring begins in Library

While Lynn arrived safely in Louisiana, Brent continued work on Zelda Monday night. He was able to start installing the flooring in the room designated as the library and/or formal living room. After installing the insulation, he was able to put down half of the flooring which was approximately four (4) sheets.

Tonight he will continue but will need to make some shims for the floor joists. He want to raise the area near the hall by 1/2" so this will be accomplished over an eight (8) foot length. I assume he will rip some 2x4 boards on the table saw.

Received a call from Home Depot and our cement siding boards should be in on Wednesday. We ordered the 7-1/4" wide cement siding to cover the backside of the house. We plan on using a 2" cover that will result in a 5-1/4" revel. The original siding spacing was all over the place and ranged from 4-1/2" to 5-1/2". The contractors which did our roofing are going to install the siding.

Prayers Needed

Not much happening at Zelda so far this month. Brent was traveling overseas to Finland on business and upon his return Lynns dad's health condition has taken a turn for the worse. He is currently in the hospital in Opelousas, LA. They were in Kings Mountain back in late September and the two (2) photos were taken at Zelda.

We just ask that everyone please include Joe in your prayers as he was moved from his room into ICU this morning. Lynn is traveling down to Louisiana tonight.