Siding Going Up

The Hardie Board siding is going up, up, up!

Happy Days

Groundbreaking ceremonies are fun and everyone is so happy. I'll remember to have one on my next personal project. So how does this relates to my garage apartment? Well, I also brought home some cool coquina rock (with permission of course) from the site.

Artisan Alert!

I know this is a little off topic, but I wanted to share the news and goodies with all - geeks included. =)

For those of you that are early adaptors, I guess the secret is out! Special thanks to Jean for visiting our boutique and highlighting some of our wonderful products in the Orlando Sentinel.

Cottage Industry Co-op and Infusion Tea would like to offer goodies to those who bring in a copy of the article to the store. Cottage Industry Co-op will offer 10% off one product, up to $50, per person. And, beat the heat with a free cup of tea (no strings attached). But hurry, this special is good through July 3 only!

It rains in Florida!

The Hardie boards were delivered this morning. There goes my parking spot again... Then, as soon as the guys start to get in the swing of things, it rains. I'm glad we started the first half of the project during our dry season.

Cool Days in the Summer

The mechanical contractor is done! Here is the ductwork above the closet. I wasn't about to lose closet space for an air handler. One of the guys at the office said, "when you have a small space, you have to treat it like a boat."

The doors are pretty much the only new thing you can see from the outside.

Closing Up the House

Welcome home! This is the front door to the entry and living space.

French doors with sidelights are in. They are beautiful! I also have a matching pair in the main house's dining room.

The silver straps above the window are hurricane straps. I'm recording this moment so that when I hang draperies, I can remember where they are - and not hit them. Contractor's head in the the bottom left corner of the photo.

Light!

Fixed skylights in the wall facing the rear yard.

Windows installed!

Cool Air

Not too much to see on the outside. The inside is a different story. They are supposed to finish roughing in the mechanical systems today.

Windows

The windows have arrived. We went with vinyl as they are supposed to be better for us Floridians! Next up, shopping for doors and hardware.

This is why you don't have windows on the wall facing the rear yard. Who knew?

Plumbing is in

The plumber came yesterday to set the tub and other stuff. The air conditioner guy is coming today.

Weekend Update

I had a few late nights and it rained quite a bit. Take the two together and you get some grainy pictures. The good news is that the construction crews got a lot done AND passed the roof deck inspection. We are at our one month milestone!

I found some time this weekend to chalk out my furniture layout. It all looks good, with the exception of my dining room table. Here comes my first bad owner change - I'm going to shorten the kitchen bar by 18 inches.

Building at Night

I decided to take this picture before they got the decking on. It is not a view that will be here when all is said and done. The moon was peeking through, but it doesn't show up in the photo. Beautiful stuff.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Normally I love the rain. It helps cool down the hot summer days. But when you are under construction, rain is not your friend. The guys managed to get the trusses and another wall up before it started to rain. The top picture is the bedroom.

Field Inspection

Guess who came by yesterday to do a little field inspection?

3 out of 4

More walls, more walls. The north, south and east walls are up. This is the future dining and kitchen area. The large opening is where the french doors will open up to the porch. For the first time, I was able to look out into the neighboring yards. It is a good thing that no windows are allowed facing the rear yard, because that is the worst view!

Moving Up

We're moving on up. The framing guys (3 of them) were nice enough to explain to me that these stairs are skinny and temporary - as written on the fourth tread. They didn't say, don't climb up there... I need to find out when I go shopping for doors and fixtures.

Rebar and Rock Column

Most people take pictures of the vineyards. I take pictures of cool gates with posts made out of rebar and filled up with rocks. This gate is at the Kaz Winery, north of Sonoma. It looks like I may have some extra rebar sitting around...

Jam Packed Site

More lumber and other materials showed up. My yard is now packed from front to back. No more parking at the house for me or anyone else. You can see the apartment balcony start to shape up in the second picture. I'm starting to think that I need to plant something tall along the fence.

Did I mention that I took the red eye flight back?

We Have Walls

You leave for a few days and the next thing you know...there are walls!

The quick version of the trip to the City by the Bay includes - great food, wine, wineries and shopping, lots of free transit rides, APTA conference, catching up with old friends and co-workers, a Giants homerun and - oh, those bloody marys.