Whirlwind of Activity

Well we have a lot of dust flying but nothing to show at the moment. With the floor leveling almost complete, I have contacted hvac contractors, plumbing contractors and termite/pest exterminator to provide me with quotes. All the flooring is removed such that all these contractors will have easy access to perform their functions. We are obtaining the quotes and weighing our options on what to tackle ourselves and what to sub out. I know for sure we will sub out the termite treatment.

Zelda had our second intruder on the premises over the weekend. We have not been locking up the house as there is a huge hole where the sliding doors in the back used to be and it seemed pointless. We are now boarding up the the void and have installed motion detector lights, informed our neighbors and the city police. Four (4) work lights were stolen as well as exposed copper piping in one (1) of the bathrooms. The total length of 1/2" copper piping taken was about three (3) feet which is the second occurance of a small length of copper piping being taken. I suspect it is some neighbor kids that are just down the street and become bored on Friday nights and sell the copper for a few dollars. The current going rate for scrap copper is $3.00 per pound.

Construction of Floor Piers Begins

Our floor leveling contractor has been absent for several weeks and then Brent saw his picture on the side of a milk carton and telephoned the number. The next evening (Tuesday, August 14th) our contractor arrived at Zelda and began digging the foundation footings and removing more flooring. At the end of Thursday, eight (8) piers to support the floor had been built and more old flooring removed.

When we purchased the house, the floors were sagging in places near the load bearing walls. During the ninty year history of the house, all the downstair mantels were removed from the four (4) fireplaces and replaced with massive brick hearths. This extra weight over time, buckled the floors and we thought bowed the supporting floor joists. After removing some of the flooring to explore, we discovered that a lot of the floor joists had cracked and/or split, so my husband made the decision to remove all the existing subfloor and inspect all the joist.

Removing the subfloor is time consuming, but it does allow our contractor complete access to the ground to dig, pour footings and build the new support piers. It will also allow complete access for our plumber, hvac and electrical contractors to work, which should save us time and money for the subcontracted work. We will have the extra expense of all new floor joists and subflooring but we will also have the comfort of knowing the flooring is solid. Before we begin installing the tongue and grove subflooring, my husband is going to have an exterimator treat the exposed ground for termites and insects.



Brent is meeting our proposed roofer at the house this evening. He is negotiating a labor only price as we will purchase and supply all the material to the roofer. An added bonus till August 20th is that Lowes has all the in stock 30 year Owens Corning roofing shingles 25% off which will save us some money.

The bottom line in repairing/remodeling Zelda is watching the bottom line.

Another couple of items that were accomplished this week was the continued removal of the existing subflooring. Currenlty on the first floor only the entrance foyer flooring remains. All other flooring has been removed and we could start a vegetable garden with all the exposed dirt. My husband was able to crank up the chain saw and do some weeding in the yard. Yes I did say a chain saw because not only did we purchase a house that needs repair but the yard was in the same sad shape. It is a double lot which is quite nice for being inside the city limits. We have a lot of beautiful tall pecan trees which we dub "The Pecan Orchard". We have plans to plant peach and apple trees along with blueberries once we move in. The result of cutting down the weeds and small trees around the pecan orchard is great.

Tearing Down and Building Up

This week at Zelda was a tearing down and building up time. We tore down the roof over the kitchen and built a second floor addition on top. This addition will eventually become a master bath and closet.

News on the foundation or rather no news on the foundation. The Contractor we hired to level the floors did not show up to do the work this week so that has been put off for another week. Tune in next time for more on this saga of the Contractor and the floors.

Other work went on at Zelda like nails removed from wall boards and bathroom tile and walls removed. We also took off the carpet on the stairs. All this work was done by a crew outside in 100 degree heat. The crew consist of my brother-in-law, my sister-in-law, my husband, my daughters, and myself. Next week rafters on the new addition and more plaster removel and maybe flooring work starting. We will keep you informed.

Over the weekend we found some chandeliers at Lowes for 50%-75% off and bought them. I know we are a long way from puting them up but the price was right and sometimes to pays to think ahead instead of waiting until you need it. So you avoid getting something that you don't really like because it was cheaper then the one you really wanted. Besides, you need the fixture sooner or later.