Carpet!!!

Aaaahhhhh..... Finally! Today our carpet was installed. The saw is back in the garage, and all we have left is another hundred feet of 1/4-round, the fireplace, and the A/V rack.

Just another basement weekend

This weekend, we did what every other couple does when they've bitten off more than they can chew: we worked on the basement some more... We caulked the baseboard, we primed the baseboard, we finished painting the baseboard, we installed the casing around the office closet, we finished the casing around the storage room door, we caulked and painted the casing, we installed the window sills, we installed the laminate flooring transition wolding tracks, we installed the remote control and glass for the fireplace, we babysat the neighbors' fluffy dog, we babysat the other neighbors' tiny dog & cat, we entertained guests for lunch today, and we moved everything out of the bare areas in anticipation of carpet on Monday!!! School starts back up in four weeks - all I want is to have everything done and a free weekend in the sun before class begins. At least we had a beautiful sunset storm.

Basement Sofa

Here's the large sofa and the larger window opening...

Basement Progress

This week we received the new sofa for the basement. JP fought for an hour and a half with the delivery guys about getting it downstairs. It was a long, hot day for them, and they did not want to even try to get the pieces downstairs. If JP signed a damage waiver, then they would give it a shot. No thanks - we'll just wait for TP to get home from work...

I got home from work, had a bite to eat, calmed JP down, and then we tried to get the sofa downstairs. The first attempts were launched from the kitchen. We tried big end first, small end first, skinny dimension first, fat-wise first. It finally became obvious that the pieces would not be going down the stairs.

When we framed the windows, I made a special window sill for the office window so that if/when we wanted to get something big thru the window, it would have a better shot. So we drug the sofa outside and tried to slide it thru the basement window. Nope. Again, we tried the curved end first, armrest end first, skinny side up, skinny side to the side, etc. The sofa was 41" and the window 39". So close, but there's no way to shrink a 10-foot sofa down by two inches.

Now what?!? It was getting late and I was hot & tired & sweaty from wrestling with sofa in the window well. Our last option: pull the window out of the house! Of course! Why not? It only took half an hour to remove the siding, nails, & seal to get the window frame out of the house. That gave us the precious two inches of clearance we needed to easily slide the big pieces downstairs. I wasn't going to go thru the hassle of reinstalling the window, but I was so sick of it I figured I'd better, because it wouldn't be any easier the following day. We had everything buttoned up by 9:15. Good thing, too, because we had a humdinger of a storm that night.

Last weekend (4th of July), we installed the double doors for the office. They were primed and had the glass masked with plastic film. We were surprised that they required so much work. For what they cost, I expected that they would have been closer to being finished. Whatever. They look gorgeous now.



Also last weekend, we installed the laminate floor. Just click it together, right? It took 12 hours to install less than 400 square feet. It was a lot more work than I ever thought it would be. We went carpet shopping yesterday and came away with nothing. How can carpet be so expensive?!?

Today we finished the bathroom - caulking, towel bars, etc. Only need a mirror & shower curtain.

Fireworks!

This year the boys had fun, as usual, playing with their fireworks. AJ was here from California and help to keep the boys busy for a couple of weeks. JRO brought us some bottle rockets to shoot out of the homemade RPG. How much better can it get than that?

Storm of the Year

Tonite we had the best storm of the year, so far. High winds, golfball sized hail, creepy clouds, and a light show that was second to none. We were spared the worst of it. However, 5-10 miles south of us got POUNDED. Of course, that's where all the fireworks stands are. They got rained out last year, and the night before opening day, they received an inch of rain.

Busy Week

Last weekend, we tiled the shower. This week we finished it up with grouting and cleaning. Thursday nite, JP laid the tile floor while I was at work.

This weekend we completed the bathroom floor and then attacked the fireplace. We were able to get it all done, including grout. JP wired up the last remaining outlets, so now the electric system is complete except for the fireplace wiring.

Father's Day

For Father's Day, we finished tiling the shower. It still needs to be grouted, but now all 85 ft^2 are up and shiny. After that, we played cornhole and enjoyed the nice day.

The day after Father's Day, we had a hellacious storm come up from Kansas. I had been working downstairs, and when I looked outside I saw this cloud. At first I thought it was a funnel cloud, but it was just a section of the wall cloud that was passing over at that moment. Spectacular!!

Basement Helpers

Now that the final vision of what the basement will become, we have plenty of helpers for the project. GP likes to mix mortar.

Maggie like to watch JP hook up outlets.

Valentine likes to hold things down so that they don't blow away. (She also likes to see what's in the mortar pail, but she won't admit it.)

The Doors

This past weekend we hung the three normal-sized doors for the bathroom, storage room, and under-the-stairs closet. The first one was a hassle. The last one was a breeze.On Sunday we hit the good ol' Nebraska Furnitur Mart and picked up the projector abd hooked it up. Guitar Hero has never been better!I know, fellow Linconlites, I need to keep my dollars local, but NFM has prices and selection that cannot be beat, and make it worth the drive there.

Drywall!

We contracted out the plumbing & drywall. It's cheaper and faster to have experts do it for us.

The drywall crew hung 3000 s.f. of rock last week, and the finishing guy has been working daily to patch it up and make it real.

This past weekend, I rocked the fireplace and it was enough to make me fully appreciate how good the drywall professionals are. I stayed out of the way and hung the Durock in the shower. What a mess!

Insulation

Last week and weekend, JP hung the insulation. We never thought that it would be that difficult, but all of our floor joists are at spacing other than 16" OC. We had to cut down every piece that went into the ceiling. Yuck. The insulation inspector gave us his stamp of approval this morning.


Today was the first official day of summer vacation for the boys. They stayed busy watching the guys haul our drywall into the basement. 70 sheets in all. 3,000 square feet. 2,000 lbs. I'm glad I didn't have to do that.

Another HS Graduate

A couple weeks ago, Nana came out and we all went down to OK City to watch our nephew graduate. I can't believe he's already going to college next year. Wow.

Nod of Approval

This last weekend we spent all of our free time finishing up the details on our rough-in basement in preparation for our inspections this week. As usual, the weekend was way too short, so I took off half a day on Monday to complete the items that weren't crossed off JP's list on Sunday.

Today the framing, plumbing, and mechanical inspectors came and gave us their stamps of approval. Tomorrow the electrical guy is scheduled to stop by. If all goes well, we'll be hanging insulation this weekend and drywall next week!

Let there be Light!

Last weekend we installed and hooked up 16 of the 18 light fixtures in the basement. A few days earlier the plumber came and installed all the bathroom plumbing and drains. I'm glad I didn't attempt that project - it would have taken me all weekend and then some.

You know it must be springtime when...

You know it must be springtime when
•It's 98 on Tuesday, and 50 degrees colder a few days later.
•There are wild ducks trying to nest in your backyard.
•There is a momma duck with 18 ducklings in the pond at GP's school.
•The wild ducks that tried to nest in your backyard chase a squirrel out of the neighbor's yard in order to get to their front yard water feature.
•You have to give the dog benedryl for her allergies.

Chicken Challenge

Busy weekend - Friday night we hit Menards and got all the can lights and the shower pan for the basement.

Saturday morning we installed all the lights and picked up the fireplace after GP's run downtown. In the afternoon, I swapped out my snow tires for the normal summer rubber. Nice to have my ride back - I have always been afraid of wearing out the soft snow tires.

Saturday night we went to our Chicken Challenge at the neighbors'. Each couple brought a chicken dish and we sampled each. Everyone ended up eating way too much. After dinner, we acted out a murder mystery.

Sunday we finished off the framing so that we can get it inspected this week, and then put up all the switch and outlet boxes. Next step will be to start stringing romex.

Mayor's Run

Once again it's time for the annual Mayor's Run downtown around the capital building. CP is too old this year, so it was just GP. As usual, it was colder than planned, and we wished we had brought warmer clothes and hats.

Finally, a new Mower!

Since I work for a mower company, one would think that I'd have the biggest, baddest mower on the block. Not so. The boys are old enough to cut the grass now, but our old mower with the monster engine I put on it is too difficult to push, so I broke down and got a sweet Toro 22" Recycler with Personal Pace. After cutting with it, I wish I had made the move five years ago.

Easter Brunch

This Easter, in addition to the standard Easter Bunny activities of the egg hunt and feast of candy, we held our first annual Easter Sunday Neighborhood Brunch with the neighborhood. A fun time was had by all. We finished the party with a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity.