Frame I

Frame started on Friday, 9/22. First floor walls started, and will be completed on Monday, 9/25. The house should be almost completey framed out by the end of the week. This weekend I'll be out helping my Uncle install the windows, so I'll take more pictures then and post them next week. Next week all the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing and so forth will be installed. Hopefully insulation and drywall will happen the week after.

Rear of house from the back yard. Master bay window on the left, patio in the center, and garage on the right.
Close up of the master bay window.
Future patio door and windows.
One of the 2 garage doors are completed
Front right side.

The Master Bath is now 90% finished!!

I still have plenty do do, but at least it's functional again!! I don't have before pictures, (though if I had a scanner, I could scan the prints and post them) but I can tell you it looked sterile. Everything was white!! White painted walls, small white painted vanity with one sink, white countertop, cheap white cabinet at the toilet, white vinyl floor, white4" x 4" tile in the shower...white, white, white.

Here are the "after" pics.

After removing the old vinyl, the first major project was to remove the old vanity and pull the plumbing around to the side wall, where I had room now for a double vanity. My dad helped out a lot with this part of the job, and it took an extended weekend to complete the job. I then installed the new cabinets, which I had made by a cabinet builder who is under contract with the company I work for, then had our countertop company install the cultured marble vanity top. I then installed the fixtures after work over the next couple of evenings. I still have to move the vanity lights and install a new mirror, as I am using a small temporary mirror at the sink I use.

Next came the floor tile. I spent some time laying out the tile and cutting the edge pieces to fit before actually laying the tile. I pulled the toilet, laid the tile underneath, and reinstalled it with new anchor bolts and parts after grouting the tile. I still have to cut off the tops of the anchor bolts so I can put the cap covers back on, touch up the paint on the walls, and caulk and paint the new base. The cabinet above was installed with the vanity cabinets.

I tore out the old shower tile and wall board, tore out the arch over the entry of the shower and reframed it so I could install a shower door, reframed the back wall for the recess, retiled the shower using the 12 x 12 floor tile, regrouted, and reinstalled the fixtures. Now all I need is the shower door. I'm using a shower curtain in the meantime.

It took awhile to figure out the exact dimensions to frame the recess, as I wanted it to fall into the field of the rest of the shower tile. I didn't get it exactly, but I got it close enough. The grout is dardker in the resess since it has been sealed with silicone.

So there you go. It's been about a year long remodel, but it's made a huge difference in my master bathroom, and should help boost my resale value, though I don't plan on moving out of my house for some time. I would like to build my next house like I'm building my parents house.

Until later,

Engagement Pics

Here are our engagement pics. Feel free to let me know what you think, as I would love to hear from you, especially those of you whom I can't see that often. If you would like to purchase any online, send me an email, and I'll send you the link and password. I think there are 11 poses over all.

Vapor Barrier and Cables

Saturday, September 16th:

Mom and dad are out of town this weekend visiting friends and family in Tulsa. Mom participated in Race for the Cure, and has done so each year since she went thru breast cancer herself. I decided to have a look at the progress made on the construction of their house.

The foundation is called a post tension slab. The first step is to trench the beams for the areas of thicker concrete. After the plumber runs water and sewer lines for the house, the concrete company adds the vabor barrier and cables, which like the grade beams (trenches in the dirt work) run in a grid. These cables run thru a red sleeve so the cable does not come into contact with the concrete when it is poured, then after the concrete has cured (28 days), tension is put on the cables, which serves to pull the foundation together into one cohesive unit. This deters differential settling of the slab, which results in foundation failure. In essance, the soils here are clay, so they expand when wet and shrink back when dry. As this can not be avoided, the foundation is designed to "float" on the soil.

This view is taken from the front. The foundation is scheduled to be completed on Monday, however, rain is in the forecast.

This picture shows the anchors, which are attached to the inside of the form board. The cables are slid thru the ones shown so the cable extends out of the concrete. After the concrete cures, a machine is clamped to the end of the cable, and pulls the cable until it reaches the desired tension. The anchors do not allow the cable to slip back, thus ensuring it stays under tension. The extra cable is then cut off, capped, and finished over. The other end of the cables have anchors, also nailed to the inside of the forms, but the cable does not extend thru the anchor.

Here I am seen checking the plumbing rough with the plans. The area I am looking will eventually be the master bathroom.

Whoops, I've discovered a problem. The plumber appears to have missed the rough-in for the sink in the laundry room. That will have to be added on Monday.

Forms and Plumbing Rough

Construction has now begun. The concrete company did the dirt work and forms the end of last week, just a couple of days after Labor Day, and trenched the beams on Tuesday, 9/12. These pictures were taken at dusk on Wednesday, September 13th, as we were nearing completion of the plumbing rough.


Dad and I are talking to the plumber as his crew is packing up for the day. They still have to run a water test on the water and sewer lines to make sure there are no leaks, but that will be done the next day.

Here I am walking the forms with the plumber.

You can almost see down one of the trenches in the dirt work. This is called a grade beam, and they run in a grid thru the slab. Concrete fills these beams as the slab is poured, giving the slab added strength.
Plumbers working on the plumbing rough. The neighbor's house in the background serves as a great landmark for directions, as it is the only house in the neighborhood with a blue metal roof.

I'm Back!!!

Sorry it’s been awhile since I’ve posted last, but my computer is now officially a paperweight. It has crashed for the last time. I could have probably replaced the motherboard and be back up for awhile, but since the computer is about 6 years old, low on virtual memory, and VERY slow in comparison to current standards, I’m not even going to mess with it. So I've scraped enough money together to get another computer, and am now again able to post.

I did however promise to give the details of the proposal, so before I forget any more of the details…

In order to set the stage, it should be understood that we had discussed the possibility of getting married a couple of times, however we hadn't discussed it for a couple of months, which worked to my advantage as it added to the surprise.

I therefore decided to use this time for a little research. For instance, I noticed that Taylor never wore gold, which told me she would prefer white gold or platinum. She had also told me at one time she liked the square cut of diamond, so after a bit of research, I knew to get the diamond in a princess cut. On yet another occasion, I learned she preferred the simple classic look, so I was able to rule out most of the ornate multi stone settings. Finally, a few weeks before shopping for the ring, I noticed she had changed rings. Before, she had worn a ring on the middle finger of each hand, but for some reason had changed to wearing her class ring on the ring finger of her left hand. I compared it to my class ring I had lost, described it, and while talking, tested its size on my little finger.

Over the course of my job, I met a couple that gave me a contact name with the Bock Company, which is the corporate office for Bachendorfs. The corporate office is closed to the general public, and requires a referral to get in the door. During the last week of June, I called the contact, which set me up for Saturday, July 1. As I reached the top of the stairs, I nodded to the guard in the reception area, gave my name to the receptionist behind the bulletproof glass, and was buzzed in to the waiting room. After a short time, I was buzzed thru into the show room and taken into a private office area, where I spent the next 3 hours visiting with a wonderful sales person, who took the time to ask questions, make suggestions, give me a cup of coffee. Not in a disposable cup either, but in a china coffee cup with saucer. He brought stones of different sizes and cuts and quality to look at under a jewelers loop, and allowed me to view them and compare them side-to-side. It was truly a pleasurable experience. After I left, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a 2 liter of Dr. Pepper, and bought some flowers on a whim. As I pulled out of the parking lot to drive to the pool party, whom did I end up following but Taylor! When we arrived at the house, I was able to give her the flowers before going inside, which allowed us to be alone for a moment. Later that afternoon, I told Hugo that I had ordered the ring, and swore him to secrecy.

About a week and a half later, I received a call that the ring was ready, and I picked it up from the jeweler before going to Taylor’s house as planned. After I called Taylor and told her I was on my way, I called her mom, who met me at the Chili’s just a couple of miles from the house, and I asked for her permission and blessing to marry her daughter. After showing her the ring, we began to conspire!!

I had actually planned to propose the following evening, and we had planned to go to the Firewheel Mall, which has a large outdoor fountain and landscaped stream with park benches. It’s a nice area anyway, but it becomes more beautiful at night with the lights.

The plan however changed to that evening. As we were walking out the door, Taylor called her mom, who said she was on her way home, but decided she wasn’t in the mood for Chili’s take out, an would discuss other options when she got home. We then parted company, and as I started my truck to drive off, Taylor called me. I told her I was just a couple of miles away, and would be there in a couple of minutes. About a minute after I walked thru the front door, her mom came in thru the garage, and suggested we meet her at the Fish City Grill at Firewheel Mall, as she still needed to shop for a gift for her anniversary. Having never eaten there, we agreed.

After a wonderful dinner her mom, who carries her camera for her remodeling business, took our picture as we sat in the booth, loaned us the camera to take a picture of the fountain (remember, I had planned on us being there the next day, so I didn’t have my camera, which I had planned to use to take my own picture of the fountain) and left for home. Taylor I then walked to the fountain, took a couple of pictures, as it was dark and the fountain and landscape lights were on, an walked down the path next to a softly lit stream to a nearby park bench.


We sat and talked for a while, and I still didn’t quite know how I was going to bring out the ring. She however gave me the perfect segway. I said, “Well, since we were able to come here today and get pictures of the fountain instead of tomorrow as we had planned, do you still want to make the ladies coffee with the Sunday School class tomorrow?” She looked at me and responded, “Unless you can make me a better offer.” I couldn’t have asked for a better lead in line than that. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the jewelry box. I wish I could say I pulled it out and flipped it open in one smooth motion, but it didn’t happen quite that way. I was able to get it out of my pocket just fine, but as I had one arm around Taylor, I had to open it with one hand, which still would have been fine had the box been turned the right way. After turning it about 3 times, I opened the box I exclaimed, “Will this do?”

Taylor didn’t notice the fumbling. For about 45 seconds after I produced the box, all her voluntary and involuntary systems shut down. I would not have been surprised if I had turned her head, looked into her eyes and seen miniature computer screens instead of pupils flashing the words “SYSTEM RESTART.” Once her brain came back online, she took the ring out of the box, shaking to the point I took the ring from her hand and placed it on her finger for fear she would drop it, and asked her to marry me. Her voice cracked in the first response, so after asking her to repeat it, she was able to get a “yes” thru the tears. With the stream behind, the soft landscape lighting, the fountain in the distance, the comfortable clear night weather, and the music from the speakers in the park area, it was a beautiful moment.

Now the madness of planning the wedding is starting. Taylor has set up a web site that gives the details, pictures, gift registries, and so forth. Check back often for updates, as it’s just recently up and running, and we haven’t completed all of the registries yet, which will soon include Lowe’s Home Improvement for gift cards so I can work on the house. We will be adding more pictures to the web site as well, and I will add the address in my Web Site menu on the blog. The web site address is:

http://www.taylorandmichael.bravehost.com/

Thanks for visiting.