New Creation - House Warming

[pporky]

Great updates Adrian and that fire place looks very impressive . I also used the same type of parquetry flooring in my living room and found once I had the technique worked out that It layed out pretty well. That was for me one of my satisfying jobs in building our home. Bill

[Rockoonz]

Super exciting Adrian. I hope you will be able to post a video of your housewarming celebration when the time comes.

Lee

[adrian65]

Thank you friends!

This was the first weekend when we slept in the new house (the upper floor is "livable" by now) and started cleaning, etc. Not yet moving, but from now on this would be our weekend job for a few weeks. Demanding, but pleasant

Adrian

[connrock]

Hi Adrian,,,
So now you are camping at the new house! LOL
It must feel great to be there even if it is only on week-ends!

We started our home in March and like a (young) fool I told Nancy the house would be finished by the time we got married on September 3rd! LOL
I was only a little off with my estimation and I fianly finished the house in February! LOL
So,,,,after our honey moon we camped in our home from September until the 1st week in February!
We slept on 2 Army cots,,,had a Coleman camp stove and only a few electric outlets that were hooked up temporarily to plug in a lamp and a fridge.
Our couch was 2 metal milk crates with a 2 x 10 across to sit on! LOL
We had a small folding table and 4 wooden folding chairs to sit and eat!
There was no kitchen sink or toilet for about 1 week when we moved in but Nancy "prompted" me to do some plumbing FAST so I did! LOL
It was very difficult "camping" like that but even after 47 years we still have VERY nice memories of it and I know all of you will have those memories too!

Have fun!

connrock

[adrian65]

LOL, Tom, what a funny storry! No wonder your marriage lasts so long, you put it to a test since day one

Ain't funny how the tumbler of time turn those unpleasant happenings into golden memories ?

Adrian

[connrock]

Hi Adrian,,,,,
One of the best,,,,,or worst "golden memory" was at the end of February.
My parents gave us a black and white TV but we had no antenna for it so we used 2 aluminum vacuum cleaner pipes on short wires for an antenna.The problem was that someone had to stand and hold the pipes in the right place or the TV didn't come in at all!I tried every thing I knew to make the pipes stay where we wanted them but it just didn't work so,,,,,again I was "prompted" by Nancy to do something about this,,,,,,FAST! LOL
I bought an outdoor TV antenna that mounted on the side of the house,,,with 2 brackets,,,, right near the top of the roof.
We got about 20 inches of snow that week that fell on top of about 30 inches of snow from other storms.After work on a Saturday a friend came to help me put up the antenna.The wind was blowing VERY hard and it was colddddddddd!By the time we got the ladder in place,,,the tools all set and (of course) had many beers,,,,it was dark out when my friend climbed up on the roof to hold the brackets for me so I could screw them into the side of the house.I was having a VERY hard time with the long 6 inch screws and when I pushed on the screw driver it made the ladder come away from the house.This didn't bother me but it bothered my friend who INSISTED that I get on the roof and do the job from up there!!!!!!
I laid down in the snow on the roof and tried to push the screw driver from a VERY bad position and the ladder kept getting in my way while I was hanging off of the roof,,,,so as I pushed on the ladder to move it,,,,a STRONG gust of wind came and blew the aluminum ladder down on the ground!!!!
Nancy was not home and the only 2 homes on the road were very far away so my friend and I were stuck up on the roof for about 2 hours when Nancy came home to put the ladder back up for us!
It was a very long,cold 2 hours for us but my friend brought 2 six packs of Budweiser when he climbed up so we had some "comfort"! LOL
We finished putting the antenna up on Sunday after I got home from work but NO beer this time!
To be young and foolish again! LOL
connrock

[TByrd]

Oh Adrian, you must be so excited! To see a dream come to be. The work that you have head of you is going to be daunting, packing, unpacking, cleaning both the old and the new places, but when you are finished and get sit back and let out that last big sigh and to know that this is your dream and you helped build it will be so satisfying and rewarding. Congratulations on a once in a life achievement.

Tammy

[connrock]

I think Adrian got tangled up with one of those wine bottles up in the loft,,,,or he likes "camping" so much he doesn't want to finish the house? LOL
connrock

[adrian65]

No, Tom! I HATE not to have time (literally) to post pictures and real updates, but I will do my best those days. Tasks are piling up now, when the finish and the move are in sight.

Changes and progresses have been made a lot, so stay tuned

Oh, and that story about how you froze on the roof was SO funny!!!

Adrian

[connrock]

OK Adrian,,,you are forgiven but my popcorn is getting rotten! LOL
connrock

[adrian65]

OK, Tom, then I must hurry up. I would had been waitin' for a couple more days to add some plumbing updates also, but here it is:

Some progress inside the house: the soffit light around the fireplace chimney and the other one which mirrors the first one:


In the kitchen we already have the furniture. Here is a picture taken during the mounting of the furniture:


For the moment, the furniture is protected because the kitchen is also the crew's kitchen. So the furniture is barely visible. Anyway, here is Ina cheering you all during the first BBQ we made here in the family:


Brightning the fire:


Cheers again!


Going again inside, upstairs, the upper floor is almost ready: floor mounted and cleaned all over:


The main progresses have been made outside the house, though. The "decorative paint" as we name it here (stucco) is ready. Here are some pictures:











The steps in the backside (kitchen entry) are covered with tile:


Some works at the entrance gate in the yard:


The base of the house will be covered with stone, as you see here:





These days the concrete "biscuits" for the pavement of the yard arrived. As you see, we had to take them from the truck by hand, piece by piece:






That would be all for the moment, but progresses are made almost as I type, so I hope I would have time to make some updates pretty soon.

Thank you all for looking,

Adrian

[connrock]

WOW,,,Indoor camping at it's best!
BBQ in the (almost) new kitchen,,wine cups for everyone,, charcoal fire starter-Bucharest style(torch),,and Ina even has you vacuuming her floors already! LOL Smart woman! LOL
I think I was most "shocked" when I saw the outside of the house(photos 10 and 11) with the finished stucco and stone work on it!It looks beautiful and soooooo much different from the last time I saw it!
I see a pipe coming out of the wall in photo 14.Is that for water drainage?
I hope the man wearing shorts and no shoes didn't drop any paving blocks(biscuits) on his feet!OUCH! LOL
Everything is looking great Adrian!
Thanks for tasking the time to take all these photos!
connrock

[adrian65]

Tom, your plumber eye is a kind of radar for pipes, huh? That pipe is the drainage for the triangular "flower pot" next to the entrance door.

No biscuit related incidents, that's so good!

Adrian

[connrock]

What do you expect an ex-plumber to notice on his radar?
It's funny what people think of us when our eyes seem to be looking at something and they think we are looking at something different,,,,,
I always look at a women's jewelery and when I look at the pendants they think I'm looking down their blouses!I get some VERY bad looks from the women too!
Better stick to looking at pipes?? LOL
connrock

[The Dad_Ohs]

Hey Adrian, save 1 or 2 of those stones from the outside of the house and cab them then frame the cabs along with a finished picture of the house so you have a memento of the house raising. That's what I'd do anyways!!

Looks great cheers Bro!!!

[TByrd]

Adrian, There is so much going on, new stuff everyday. I like Mario's idea, cab a couple of those stones and a photo of the house. The kitchen looks beautiful, what I can see any way. I love the exterior of your home, it is beautiful. Your dream is almost a reality!!!! What an awesome achievement. Cheers to you and Ina, congratulations.

Tammy

[Deleted]

Beautiful design and build. This has been a great project to watch.
Jim

[adrian65]

Thank you very much for your replies, friends!

Mario, the stone is very soft so it's impossible to make a classic cab out of it, but the idea is great. Thank you.

Here is what was going on lately in and around the house.

The crew started to work at the pavements in the yard.

Firstly they set the baseboard. Notice they left a small gap between the pieces, to allow rain water to go to the green areas.


Then they put a layer of sand and hammered the concrete "biscuits", as you see here:








This is the alley on the southern side of the house:


They also started to pave the northen side of the house, where the alley is wider for the car to be parked:





These days the doors inside the house were also mounted.


The crew for the doors came with some special tools...


...which they used for precise grooving:







And here are two of the doors set in position. This pic is taken from the kitchen. The door in the left leads to the enreance hall in the house and the door in the right leads to the basement.



Thank you for looking,

Adrian

[Rockhobbit]

Wow! Your home is shaping up nicely. I am so excited for you!

Sheri

[NatureNut]

Oh Adrian, it looks more beautiful than I could have imagined! No wonder you have such a happy smile on your face!
Jo