When we built the Kenai house we had one helper, Mik. He’s been a family friend for decades and spent his life in the construction trade. His knowledge is always appreciated and an extra pair of hands is invaluable. His ‘good enough’ sometimes irks Greg’s perfectionism, but we make do. In early May, he and Greg built the front wall and installed the showcase windows & door. They moved inside and he promptly fell off a 12’ ladder. Banged up his shoulder and hip but nothing broken. Mik is a couple of years older than Greg, and has been out of commission and sorely missed. He came back (albeit part-time) this week! I think for Greg and me both, the dam broke and things felt possible again.
Building a place is a process. There are some things that you can do in tandem but there is a lot that this is dependent on that being done first. Here are two big examples. At the end of last year Greg contacted the local folks he assumed would be the ‘go to’ folks for a new septic. We got on their list for being first in line this summer. Or so we thought. We STILL don’t have a quote from them. There is plumbing in the bathroom that is dependent on where the septic system is placed. So, we can’t close up that wall. I can’t finish taping, mudding, sanding in there. Which means I can’t prime. The wallpaper instructions say that any priming must cure for three weeks before installing. Yesterday, Greg decided that he is going to reach out on Monday to two other septic installers and see if either can give us a quote and/or timeline.
Another biggie is the storage room. They got the outside wall built this week! Hurray! That means that HEA (our electric cooperative) can now come out and move the electric line from under the carport to the side. Then Greg can dig it out, place gravel, and concrete it. Only then can we decide placement of water softener, water heater, and pressure tank. Two walls in the kitchen can’t be completely drywalled yet because the electric and plumbing to those appliances are dependent on their placement.
What DID we get done this week? That outside wall got built (HUGE!) The bathroom (portion that I can do), bedroom, closet, hall wall, and two walls in the living room have at least three coats of mud dried and sanded and ready to prime. Greg got the bathtub in and the plumbing for the sink, toilet and some for the bathtub done. We are making progress.
Oh. Gee. It just started raining. Again. Just going to try and upload a couple of pictures because cellular internet is SO slow when it rains. Maybe there will be a whole cache of new ones next week.
Sunset Exterior
Sunset Bathroom
1 comment:
I'm in awe of your efforts on the construction project, and they mostly seem to be done in a downpour. Good work, you two, but please take care of yourselves. love, Linda
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