3/5/11
This is day one! Keith and I stopped by Home Depot to purchase some needed items for the demo work we have facing us. Pick-axe, sawz-all, dust masks, contractor bags, pry bar, etc. I'd rather be picking out paint colors and tile...but first things first.
After dragging everything into the house, we assessed the task. It felt strange to be in the house for the first time as owners and caretakers. The first order of business was to lay claim in the spiritual realm, so we asked the Lord for His presence and protection to permeate the space.
We spent the entire day making a huge mess of the first floor. The old bathroom between the dining room and kitchen needed to be removed. The back room also had to be gutted. That's where we began. AJ helped open the wall between the kitchen and mudroom. Then we took out the old baseboard radiators. Heavy stuff! We got half way around the room in tearing off the old sheet rock and then decided to concentrate on the old bathroom between the kitchen and dining room. After pulling out the old plumbing fixtures and vanity, we went for the walls. Crazy hard to rip out...double thickness of wall board, plus the original lathing walls. We discovered the space to actually have been the original back stairwell from the second floor!
We called it a day at 7:00pm. My nature says to clean up and put things away at the end of every day...but on this project? Dust, plaster and wood laying everywhere. The dumpster won't come for a couple more days. So we made piles of demolition work, tucked tools in the closet, turned the lights out and went home. Our bodies were dirty, tired and hungry!
3/14/11
Keith spent a long day on his own at the house today. Demolition and more demolition! Room by room. If you are having a particular need to get out some aggression, have we got a job for you.
3/16/11
Wednesday nights will be our work-on-the-house nights for the next season of time. Work begins after supper and we work til 9:00...the deadline will preserve our sanity. It was a lovely warm evening outside tonight. The dumpster was delivered yesterday so tonight we carted all the demolition dirt outside. Thanks to Bekah and Aj for getting a wheelbarrow for us; we hauled out alot of stuff. Feeling good about the progress so far.
3/18/11
Keith and I packed a little picnic supper and headed over to the house to do some more work. It was lovely working in the daylight and warmer weather! We spent the first couple hours shoveling the removed plaster into contractor bags and hauling it out. We made good use of the wheelbarrow hauling out all the old lathing strips and bigger pieces of wallboard. Took a supper break on the back porch steps upon hearing the nearby church bells chime 6:00. The rest of the evening we did some more demo. Keith removed the rest of the old ceiling parts between the kitchen and dining room. I removed the rest of the wallboard and ceiling in what will be the mudroom/laundry. Call us weird...we're actually kind of enjoying this.
3/19/11
With Keith needing to be at some meetings for the better part of the day, I ventured into the house myself. Working alone was not as much fun, nor did I get as much accomplished as I wished. But no worries. Keith arrived later in the afternoon and we continued to demo and haul out the trash. My wonderful parents stopped by with a hot supper for us...mmmm tasted good and renewed our energy. Then back to work. We have the kitchen area ready for the framers on Monday. We need to order the kitchen cabinets by Tuesday in order to get some good rebates. Gotta stay inside that budget. We also began to widen the doorway between the living room and dining room. With a few things yet to do on the first floor, we should start demo on the second floor next weekend!
3/23/11
Some midweek work keeps things moving along. With some rain moving in, the cloud cover made the old house seem even darker and gloomier. Keith hooked up some temporary electricity with the generous help of Dave B. Now we can begin to simply "cut the chord" on all the old stuff without worry. We spent the night opening up the walls in an old bedroom which will soon become a master bath. With rain pouring down outside, we simply pulled off plaster and lathing leaving a big mess for trips out to the dumpster another day. With most of the room stripped, we went home feeling like we made some progress.
3/25/11
Another day of demo. (Am I repeating myself?) Our goal was to finish gutting the room we had just started on Wednesday. It was a lovely sunny day. Our first order of business was to haul out all the demo work from the day before. We started our 2nd dumpster! There's not much else to tell other than we destroyed a lot of walls. Keith finished opening up the doorway between the dining room and living room while I was upstairs pulling down other walls. The last thing to destroy was the ceiling in the master bath. With a pick axe in hand, while standing on a ladder, dirt and plaster came falling down in piles. Keith was covered in black dirt! Mission accomplished. The final 2 hours before heading home were spent shoveling the plaster, lathing and dirt into buckets and hauling them down the stairs and out to the dumpster.
3/26/11
Another beautiful sunny day...but cold! Thanks to the help of some wonderful friends (Matt L, Kevin R and Barb E) we got a lot accomplished! Today we opened up a wall in the 2nd bedroom, and totally gutted bathroom number one. Kevin destroyed 3 bathtubs and made some headway with a sledge hammer on tile on the 3rd floor bathroom. The men carried out all the old bathtubs, toilets and sinks. Bucket after bucket of tiles were toted out to the dumpster. Barb's faithful determination was a big help in this area. Matt and Keith also hauled out tons of plaster and lathing. Keith and I called it a day at 6:00pm. I think everything seems to be right on schedule. (hopefully) One more week of major demo...framers are scheduled begin on April 4.
3/30/11
Keith and I did our Wednesday night thing at the house again...more demo. Melissa joined in on the fun with us too. We took down the wall between a bedroom and the hall bathroom while Keith took down the ceiling in what will be a study at the top of the stairs. And of course that meant hauling out the dirt. That's all...and it rained again.
4/1/11
Today, I spent the better part of the day on a personal retreat while Keith tackled some work at the house on his own. He channeled out some ceiling area downstairs in preparation for electrical and plumbing. More demo on the second floor bathrooms. We met late in the afternoon at a plumbing showroom and picked out the faucets for the house. After supper we did some more demo together and brought the crystal chandelier home with us for a cleaning.
4/2/11
Stopped at Home Depot on the way to the house to pick up a few items. We were happily anticipating friends stopping by to help with some of the work. Phil S and Jim H put their muscles to knocking out a couple walls, bathroom tile and another old staircase closed up behind some walls. Melissa N persevered with me in following the demo guys around to shovel and carry out the debris. We went up and down the stairs many many times toting garbage cans full of plaster and lathing. JoAnna and Janeese were treasure hunting in the basement as they carried out things left behind from previous owners/tenants. Matt and Bekah also put in a couple hours with us. Our third dumpster was almost full by the end of the day. A lot was accomplished! Most of the second floor is now down to the studs. We look forward to seeing what the framers will do next week.
4/6/11
Another rainy Wednesday evening at the house... Rainy evenings with low light, no heat and a dumpster at the far end of the property is not very inspiring. However, it was fun to walk through the house looking at what the framers had done that week. Rooms are starting to take shape. Keith had been there the day before with Marvin L removing a closet and doorway at the top of the steps. An old archway was uncovered which really gives the hallway character. Using a grinder, Keith removed old iron grates from some of the windows while I removed quarter round on old flooring. We also tested a steamer we purchased for removing all the wallpaper. It will certainly make that task alot easier and faster.
4/8/11
We got an early start...8:30am. Rain again! which means a wet walk through a muddy yard out to the dumpster. There are many little time consuming tasks right now which we want to make certain are finished so the subcontractors can do their work more quickly and effectively during the week. (it saves us money too) Keith spent the day cutting open the floor in the mudroom/laundry area so the plumbers can run water lines. He then had to break through the cement foundation underneath so they can run the lines into the basement. He also cut open the ceiling in the second floor hallway so they can run duct work for future air conditioning. The plumbers had started to cap off the radiators on the third floor (we will put electric baseboard heat up there). The framers put up more studs for closets and framed out the bathrooms.
I decided to go room by room, cleaning and stripping out anything that we are not keeping. My tools for the day were a screwdriver and hammer, pry bar, a step ladder and garbage can. I removed electric outlets, light switches, cover plates, window hardware, closet rods, nails in old studs, etc. I carried out all the old plumbing pipes and wall studs laying around from the subcontractor's work. Then, I would sweep the floor and move on to the next room. The day went very quickly.
4/13/11
What is it with rain and Wednesdays? Another night of dirty work.
4/15/11
With a whole day to work at the house, we got an early start. However, the entire morning was spent walking through the house with some subcontractors going over detail of design. We also had a productive meeting with our contractor going over the budget and timeline of all the work ahead of us. The house was crawling with activity as electricians, plumbers and HVAC workers were on task. Keith and I had a quick bite to eat and set to work in the basement, thankful for a warm sunny day.
We carried out all the debris and old pipes that had been removed. While Keith spent the evening with Matthew, I spent the remainder of the day carrying out trash from the basement and sweeping up the floors.
4/16/11
Keith worked on his own all day. He removed the ceiling of bedroom #2 and carried out the debris. He also carried out debris from the basement and an 3rd floor. In preparation for work to be done on the wardrobes, he began to cut a new opening in the wall for the doorway between the master bath and master bedroom.
4/18/11
Went to Rohrer's Hardware to order my paint. They're having a paint sale in April...buy 1 gallon, get one for $1.00...that means I'm getting my paint for half price!
4/20/11
Our mid-week work night was a short one but we continue to plug along. Keith knocked out some remaining tile behind old radiators that were moved. Then he set his energy to pulling down the ceiling from bedroom #2. It will be easier for the electricians and HVAC guys to do their work. I went room to room sweeping up the debris and doing what I could to keep the place in order, filling garbage cans with trash to be taken to the dumpster.
4/22/11
Friday morning...we got an early start, stopped at Yale Lighting on the way. Spent about 45 minutes with the sales clerk picking out lighting fixtures. Not done yet; need to do some price comparisons. the lighting budget didn't stretch as far as I hoped.
At the house, Gregg G showed up to help for 3 hours (we purchased his time at a youth group fundraiser). He and Keith worked on the 3rd floor pulling down the ceiling and carrying out the debris. What a big job done!
During the remainder of the day Keith screwed the lathing strips tighter into the ceiling joists in preparation for hanging drywall. I fired up the steamer and began the long process of stripping wallpaper off the walls. Then I realized that things will go faster if i take off the top layer first and use the steamer only for the under-layer of paper.
We stopped in at Carpet Mart on the way home because I saw an ad in the paper about a big tile sale. We found exactly what we wanted for a steal! Purchased all the tile for the kitchen/mudroom and bathroom floors (and shower) for about $800...and got a free area rug in the deal. The salesman told us that in his 12 years there he never sold that much tile for such a small price. I love it when that happens!
4/23/11
We went to the house later in the afternoon because we had prior commitments but working from 2:00 to 7:00, we accomplished pretty much. Keith spent the time continuing to tighten lathing strips to the ceiling joists. (had to run to Home Depot to buy a new drill). I fired up the steamer and continued stripping wallpaper. Easy work but slow process.
4/25/11
Keith took a personal day off work to get things organized in the project. Joel G met us at the house at 8:00am to talk about the wardrobes. He'll be making them deeper so that we can hang clothing in them. Then Keith met with Eric to go over next steps in the process. Paul stopped in too to talk about drywalling...which produced a long list of little items needing attention; including a few more walls to demo. Keith finished the ceiling prep, pulled nails from studs, measured out what will be needed for insulation, etc etc. Things are moving along.
4/27/11
A very warm humid night with more thunderstorms on the horizon. The cold damp house is finally warming up inside. Keith and I had some help tonight...my sister, mom and dad. The men took the pickup to get the load of floor tile which was carried into the basement and stacked onto skids (about 45 cases of tiles). A very big heavy load! They also went to get some OSB. We ladies continued to take off wallpaper. The second floor hallway is basically done.
4/29/11
I think I can safely say this time that we just completed the last of the demo work. Keith and I took down the only walls left on the second floor; one in the master bedroom and one in the second bedroom. Every interior wall on the second floor has now been taken back to the studs. The two bay windows also needed some attention. Keith took those places back to the studs in order to make things sturdier and neater looking when the drywall is hung. We learned how to disconnect the radiators; they will need cleaning and painting before being hooked up to the heating system...and some old wall tile needed to be removed from the walls behind them. There are jobs to be done at every turn. So after the demo work, we carried out the debris. Our 4th dumpster is almost full.
5/4/11
Dave B was at the house when I arrived. He started the job of wiring the 3rd floor while we had the ceilings opened on the 2nd floor. He and Keith worked together the rest of the night feeding wire into the correct places. I removed a bit more plaster in the livingroom and did a few other odd jobs before tidying up.
5/6/11
Time to prioritize! With a deadline looming ahead of us, we decide to tackle the insulation job full force. Within an hour we had our own little system going...Keith would measure and cut and "stick" it in the spot. Then, I would staple it into place. We started in the kitchen and by lunch time we were beginning the mudroom/laundry area. The weather was so lovely that we became distracted for awhile in the yard. Keith mowed the foot high grass while I pulled some weeds and ripped out some vines that were trying to take over the place. After a lunch break we pressed on...lots of funny odd pieces of insulation to fit in the laundry and powder room area. We finished the first floor insulation by 7:30pm.
An inspector stopped by in the evening to take a look at things, giving us the go ahead to continue the work. It was fun chatting with them (he brought his wife along to see the house) and finding out we had some things in common. Matt and some friends also stopped by as we were cleaning up - they were on their way to First Friday events.
5/7/11
Another gorgeous day outside. We jumped right into insulating the second floor. We spent the morning in the master bathroom insulating the ceiling. From there, we moved down the hall to the study...it was hot and itchy work. After a lunch break (picnic in our lovely quiet back yard) we put insulation in the ceiling of the second bedroom, hall bathroom and hallway. (Dave B stopped by to do some wiring for us, too. Matt also showed up to help him put some internet cables at just the right spots) We did some high-fives around 5:30pm as we finished the insulation! A quick break to rejuvenate ourselves...we had some daylight hours left and a few tasks to complete before heading home. I chiseled out some concrete patch in the corner of the living room and began sweeping up each room. Keith finished screwing lathing strips tightly to the ceilings in the kitchen and master bedroom so that the drywall will be attached to something firm. The end of a long 2 days came at 8:30. We were hungry and tired, yet happy and thankful that the jobs were completed.
5/12/11
We never made it to the house last night to do our normal Wednesday night work. An offer was presented to us on the sale of our current house and we had to do some thinking, praying, talking and wrestling. So we decided to work on a Thursday instead. Keith and I both worked til later than usual on stripping wallpaper. There's just no way to hurry that process along. The drywall is looking great and the rooms are actually taking shape.
5/16/11
We leave for vacation this week. Keith concentrated on getting more wallpaper stripped. He worked from 2:00pm til 11:00pm. Gotta get 'r done before we leave so that work is not held up in our absence.
6/4/11
After being on vacation for 2 weeks, I was anxious to see what progress was made while we were gone. Keith and I began our work day at 8:00am...with a majority of the drywall finished, our task was to get things cleaned up and in order for flooring. We wiped down the hardwood floors and covered them with rosin paper so they would be saved from drywall finishing and paint. I went room by room and floor by floor sweeping and carrying out trash. Keith filled in the holes that were made by plumbers, electricians and demo work in the kitchen and mudroom floors. We also took time to mow the yard (it was about a foot high), pull weeds and remove some old overgrown ugly looking bushes. It was a long day - 13 hours of work to get things caught up and ready for next week...
6/10/11
Looked forward to working some big chunks of time again. A variety of things are coming to a head. Some backer board for the tile floors was delivered at 8:30am. Our goal is to get the kitchen floor done so the cabinets can be installed. We carried the old kitchen radiator outside - took 4 people! Keith went to Home Depot to pick up supplies while I got organized and prepped the kitchen floor. I also began pulling up some floor inlay pieces in the master bath so that tile can be laid there too. Eric stopped by to check on things and gave some suggestions for beginning the flooring process. Joel G came by at noon to confirm the design for the interior of the wardrobes in the bedrooms. Crist and Jean P stopped by to talk about bookshelves for the livingroom. We are so thankful for friends who are craftsmen that are willing to use their skills to make this house lovely. We laid about a two thirds of the backer board in the kitchen and called it a day...another 12 hour work day.
6/8/11
We met Daryl M at the house at 7:00 to sort through all the trim and baseboard pieces. He and Keith measured each room and spent the evening calculating linear feet needed. Turns out we'll need to have some milled to match a few places.
I spent the evening priming the kitchen walls and ceiling. First room primed!
6/11/11
Tired from working on our hands and knees so long, we got a later start -10:00am. We began by finishing up what was started yesterday - the backer board in the kitchen and mudroom. Melissa N came by to see the progress and helped out for a couple hours by vacuuming up the drywall dust in the livingroom and entryway. After lunch my mother came by too. She got alot of "cleaning" done as well. Keith finished filling in holes left from plumbers and electricians. I began tearing up the old linoleum flooring in the 2nd floor hallway. After a supper break Keith began removing some flooring in the 2nd bedroom. As our strength was waning, we finished some vacuuming and hauling out trash. We got alot accomplished...drove home as the sky grew dark with a nasty rain storm.
6/15/11
Started to tile the kitchen floor. One large bag of thin set gave us 2 hours of tile laying. Got a third of the room finished.
6/20/11
Thus begins more evenings a week working...6 weeks til we have to move out of our Landisville house. Tonight we laid more tile. One more night should finish it up.
6/22/11
Purchased more thin set so we can finish laying tile. Matt came along and did a super job with the tile cutter. We had a nice little system going...I would spread the mud, Matt would cut the tile and Keith would lay the tile. A cold slushy on the way home hit the spot. Tomorrow kitchen cabinets are hung!!!
6/23/11
Mixed up some grout and finished the kitchen floor. We'll let it dry over night and clean it in the morning.
6/24/11
Worked all day. (8:30-8:30) The floor sanding guys from Caliber Hardwood Floors were there sanding. Wow, do they look gorgeous! My first job was scrubbing the glaze from the grout off of the kitchen tile. Keith spent time loosing up some of the radiators so they could be moved to refinish the floors. After a lunch break, I took a pry bar and hammer and began removing all the old linoleum that was glued to the stairs and hallway floor. Keith helped Darvin E install the kitchen cabinets. We all stayed on task until 5:00 - I went out to pick up some supper for us all. Darvin and Keith finished hanging the wall cabinets and crown molding. I tidied up...
Kevin N stopped by today to see the place.
6/25/11
Saturday - another long work day. Keith met Darvin bright and early at 7:00am to finish the kitchen cabinets. I came later (packed lunches and stopped by Home Depot to buy primer). I finished scraping up linoleum pieces and doing odd job clean up work. After lunch, more of the same. Phil K came by with his paint sprayer to give me a lesson on how to use it and to paint with me for a few hours. We primed the LR, masterbath, 2nd bedroom and hall bath in about 3 hours time. Melissa N brought over a delicious supper. The kitchen is finished! Took a bit more time to clean up the house and mow the yard. The place is looking more like a home after this week.
Friends that stopped by today...Tim & Kirsten , Mike & Risha.
7/1/11
Keith met Daryl M at the house bright and early to begin putting new windows in the 2nd floor. (I took Laura to the airport to go on vacation with my sister's family) I arrived at the house with lunch. While Keith continued with windows, I applied myself to pulling nails out of all the trim we removed during demo. Another subcontractor was on site putting in the shower stall on the 3rd floor. We worked only until 5:00...we wanted to attend First Friday!
7/2/11
We stopped by Home Depot to pick up more supplies on the way to the house. Corey came to begin leveling the hall bathroom floor for tiling. Rich and Dawn volunteered to help - they spent a majority of the day priming the vestibule, entry and stairwell. Pizza for lunch today. My parents stopped by to see the progress. Keith and I spent the day laying the rest of the backer board in the mudroom area and masterbath. After sweeping the floors throughout the house, we called it a day.
7/4/11
Began at 7am. Keith spent the day continuing to install windows on the 2nd floor. I decided to tackle some work on the 3rd floor. First I demo-ed the closet, then I began the much dreaded work of carrying out all the debris - down 2 flights of stairs and out to the dumpster. My mother came - spent most of the day cleaning kitchen cabinets. She also brought a delicious lunch. Bekah also came to help out. She scrubbed the grout from the kitchen tiles, removed wallpaper from the inside of the entry hall closet and helped me to carry out trash from the 3rd floor. My father also stopped in; learned more about putting in windows. It was a productive day...ending at 5:00...in time to enjoy a cookout with the kids back home.
7/5/11
Keith is taking this whole week off to work on the house. Today he finished removing the 2nd floor windows so Daryl can put new ones in. He also put insulation in the 3rd floor behind the bathroom. Later in the evening we both went back to the house to finish laying backer board. Dave B came to rough in the electric on the 3rd floor as well. Templates for the granite countertops were made today.
7/8/11
Keith got an early start while I tended to a few things at home. Tim M and Keith rented equipment to sand the diningroom floors. Loud, heavy, body-jarring work! The floor was coated with a black, sticky, tar-like substance. After trying several methods and tools, they returned to the rental place to pick up a big old drum sander and 12 grit sandpaper. By then it was lunch time...a much needed break from this heavy dirty work. They also tried it out on the 2nd floor hallway which turned out to be an easier job. This was encouraging. They were sanding floors all day.
Tile was being installed in the hall bathroom as well. Clean surfaces were a welcome sight.
I set myself to gathering all the wood trim and molding pieces, sanding the edges and making sure they were clean so they could be installed more quickly next week. Cheri G came by to help out with the priming. She began in the mudroom/laundry area. Everyone was on task. The skies grew dark mid-afternoon and I was chased inside by rain. Cheri and I finished the priming in the mudroom area.
Matt brought some supper for us around 6:30. Then, Keith and I concentrated on finishing up some tasks. We had the sander rented for a specific amount of time so he finished using the drum sander in the diningroom. I continued to paint...finishing the priming in the diningroom and 2nd floor hallway. We kept working til we were done...10:30.
7/9/11
A lovely sunny fresh day. Keith and I dropped off the drum sander and got started at the house. Ron was there laying tile when we arrived. I decided to finish priming the 2nd floor rooms. Keith continued working on the wood floors with the other sanders. When I was done with the priming (around 3:30), I carried the rest of the trim pieces to the side patio area and decided it was time to finish that job. Keith and I worked hard on task until my parents showed up with Chinese food for supper. A sit down break was what we needed. Things were cleaned up and put away by 8:30 - later than we wanted but we had to finish those 2 jobs before Monday!
7/11-13/11
Keith put in time at the house more than usual this week so far - our general contractor is on vacation and there are lots of things coming together all at once as subcontractors have lots of clarifying questions. Dave worked in the evenings in the 3rd floor doing electric work. Drywallers framed and hung drywall on the 3rd floor. Tilers were beginning to lay tile, etc.
Bekah came to help as we took the wallpaper of the 3rd floor stairwell. Daryl made a scaffolding for us so that we could reach it all.
7/15/11
Friday! I spent the better part of the day finishing wallpaper removal on the 3rd floor hallway and closet, plus general clean up type work. Keith helped haul more new tile up to the bathrooms as we had to return a whole batch of defective tiles. They came to take the templates for the vanities. The house was swarming with workers. Electricians were finally hanging some light fixtures. Now we can see to work. Caliber Floors came to put the initial coats of varnish on the diningroom and entry floors. Keith also helped Daryl hang doors into the evening.
7/16/11
I finished cutting in with primer throughout the house and did some general cleanup work. Keith, Phil S and Matt M cleaned and painted all the radiators! What a big job done.
7/22/11
Stopped by Home Depot once again to purchase a few needed items to continue the work. I primed more areas. Keith worked at various jobs. The heat was very unbearable (over 100 degrees)...we quit work at 5:00pm.
7/23/11
A very long day of painting...but that also means alot was accomplished. I painted the laundry so the washer and dryer could be installed, painted the ceilings in the mudroom and powder room areas. Then I moved upstairs and painted the walls and ceiling of Matthew's room, the areas where radiators will need to be installed in the hall bathroom, study, diningroom and livingroom.
Keith worked on the 3rd floor most of the day laying backer board and subflooring in addition to other various tasks.
By supper time, we decided to "go for it" and prime the whole 3rd floor yet so that electric could be finished in the next week. We primed and primed and primed...til 11:00pm.
7/25/11
Keith primed wood molding all evening just before Daryl installed it. I primed bare wood around window and baseboard that had already been installed. Tile work and floor refinishing continues. Appliances were delivered BUT the refrigerator doesn't fit! We'll have to order a small upper cabinet.
7/27/11
Wednesday...I took the day off work to stay home and pack boxes. I'm so thankful for the help of my mother. By lunch time we had packed all the kitchen and diningroom things into boxes. All that little breakable stuff filled at least a dozen boxes. I spent the remainder of the day stacking more items from throughout the house in the diningroom and livingroom area.
We still had no word on whether or not we would have occupancy on Friday. The inspector was scheduled to come at 3:00pm that day. If all goes well, we can move in right away. (a short window of time as we have to have the rental truck back by 5:00 - can we do it?) We'll just keep moving forward in faith.
7/28/11
Thursday... Keith went to the house at 6am to help set all the radiators in their place so the HVAC team could spend the morning hooking up the heating system. He also knew that he'd need to be available to answer last minute questions as all the electicians and plumbers were also there doing the final work. I came a bit later to do what I could. There was a long punch list of things that needed to be primed or put in place. I primed behind radiators just ahead of the HVAC team.
Keith ended up not going to work as planned; instead he helped prime other areas and ran errands for the electricians. We worked quickly as our deadline was approaching. Keith had to pick up the moving truck at 5:00pm so we could load our belongings that night.
By 4:00, the workers had all gone home. I stayed around to tidy up and finish a few details. The general contractor stopped by at 5:30 for a final walk through to make sure things were in good shape for the final day tomorrow. Good news - he said the inspector will come by the house at 10:30am instead of 3:00pm! If he gives us occupancy at that point, it means we'll have more time to unload the truck before it has to be returned.
I arrived home (in Landisville) at 6:00pm to see the truck already being filled. My parents, Dan M, George A and Barb E were pitching in. It had to be the most humid and hot day of the year! A thunderstorm even rolled in as we carried things out the front door. It was miserable moving weather...the amount of items to load seemed endless. By 9:00, we finished for the day.
But Keith, Matthew and I went back to the Lancaster house to do 3 more things for the inspection. (put kitchen knobs on the cabinets, hang the bathroom mirrors and patch a hole on the third floor). We fell into bed at 11:30 after a long cool shower.
7/29/11
Friday...We awoke at 6:00 ready to go. We took our beds apart and packed about 5 or 6 last minute boxes. My parents came at 9:30 to help finish the move. My father helped Matt and Keith load the remaining things on the truck as I boxed them, while my mother cleaned each room for the new owners. At 10:45 we received a phone call from the general contractor saying...WE HAVE OCCUPANCY! As we placed the final items in the truck we rejoiced in God's perfect timing!
By 12:00 noon, we were unloading everything into the Lancaster house. Phil S and George A joined us.
Workers were having their lunch break on the front porch celebrating their finished work with pizza. We spent the next block of time carrying everything into the house and stacking it mostly in the livingroom because some of the flooring was not finished. Tom, from Caliber Flooring was upstairs putting a final coating on some of the hardwood floors. We'd have to wait til 5:00 that night to walk on them.
Keith and I went to the lawyers for settlement of our Landisville house at 1:30. Transaction finished. Back to the house for more unloading. The truck was emptied by 4:30...just in time to return the truck to the rental place. Bekah and my mother helped to find homes for all my kitchen things. Dad and Matt took a break from all the heavy lifting on the couch in front of the fan. At 6:00 Tam T delivered a delicious Vietnamese supper. Boxes were everywhere! We set up our beds and unpacked our necessary personal items and tried to find the end of the day. A cool shower at 11:00pm was wonderful before going to bed.
7/30/11
Saturday...we awoke with lists of things in our minds that needed to be done yet...but we were moved in...and there's plenty of time now to work on things at a different pace. We are so thankful to the Lord for orchestrating the timing of things; for the hard work of all the craftsmen and tradesmen who contributed to the project; for friends and family who gave of their time and energy to support us.
7/31/11
Sunday...a day of rest. We enjoyed a wonderful worship celebration at church. Our hearts were filled with gratitude. God is great! Testimonies were told of his faithfulness and power. We are blessed.
