Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Modern House - Eastern Shore

[Hpozzuoli]

Can you put more windows in some of those wood squares and rectangles? I think that house would be cool with a lot more windows and less painted surface. I am a builder and would love to get my hands on something like that to work on. My house is contemporary as well. I like different and not cookie cutter.

 

[Brian R]

Can you put more windows in some of those wood squares and rectangles? I think that house would be cool with a lot more windows and less painted surface. I am a builder and would love to get my hands on something like that to work on. My house is contemporary as well. I like different and not cookie cutter.

Hpozzuoli,
More windows? That is an interesting question. I really don't know where they would go. If you look at the picture:

The area circled in YELLOW is a pocket where the 3 sliding glass doors (blue arrow) go into and so if there was a window and the doors are open you could not see out of them. (and on the other side of the house the refrigerator sits in front of this pocket).

The area circled in PURPLE represents the only wall without a window in the family area on the ground floor and will hold built-in office nook.

The area circled in WHITE is a bunk room and bunkbeds will be built on this wall. The house originally had bunkbeds on the water side that were built in front of all the windows that faced the water. Not only did the bunks block the water view it made looking into the house look really odd.


The area circled in GREEN represents the only wall space on the third floor den. This wall will have a built in entertainment center.


The areas marked in RED in the center of the picture approximates the stairs and landings.

Oh yeah, non-cookie cutter is the way to go! I wish I had more building skills and wasn't a hack but I'm learning as I go. Thanks for checking in.

Brian

 

[Brian R]

Don't you just love going to a big box store to pick up a simple item only to have it turn into a hilarious cluster*** circus? I know I do. You have to laugh otherwise you'll cry.


Great job again, Brian!

Thanks for the kind words and following along Finally (and thanks for letting me vent).

Brian, my wife doesn't understand why a simple trip to L/HD/HF takes so long. Lately I have been searching for items on the Home Depot web site where it tells me which aisle and bay it is located. It turns out I am the new trainee. The place is really coming along.

Between this project and the ENTIRE summer of 2008 in which I build a theatre room above the garage (started with non-insulated no floor attic space) I am pretty good at getting around big box stores. I'm tiring of my job - just might apply at one of them so I can see what it is like to deal with idiots like me.

I just stumbled upon this thread, and what a great read! This is such a fascinating project. There are so many interesting and different problem sets when rebuilding a house as compared to new construction.



Jeff

Jeff,
Thanks for reading through it. Again, there are so many good threads - glad this was fascinating for you. I'm hoping the house is finished soon enough and the garage build starts in earnest.

Excellent progress Brian--lots of careful choices to keep the character, but build it better.

I hope you get to kick back a little this summer and enjoy the place!

I'm still plugging away on mine--one of these days I need to start a thread of my own...

Paredown,

DO IT! Start that thread! As for me (as the kids say) this summer is going to be epic.

 

[Brian R]

Kitchen Progress - Part 1 - Sink Installation

I neglected to inform the guy that designed the kitchen cabinets that we wanted a farm sink. I can't believe that was the case since we had that idea from the beginning of the renovation but for whatever reason this sink basin cabinet was not designed for it.

So to install sink we needed to modify the cabinet and install some additional bracing. It ended up that the front panel opening was approximately 1/2 inch too wide on each side of sing. We cut in some filler pieces and I'm ok with this. Should be pretty much invisible after countertops installed.

 

[Brian R]

Kitchen Progress - Part 2 - Cabinet Panels and false walls

There are pockets on each end of the kitchen that the sliding glass doors slide into. On one end of L is the microwave and on the other is the d/w and refrigerator cabinet. We needed to install false wall panels in these areas since without them objects could fall behind counter into abyss. We also wanted to cover plumbing (water and drain lines). The first two pictures highlight the areas.

The next couple of picture show the plywood that box in pvc and support added for counter above d/w. Nothing pretty but solves another problem.

We also mounted missing cabinet end panels as 2 items removed from punch list.

 

[Brian R]

Kitchen Progress - Part 3 - Countertop Template

With the sink installed and the boxes built for false walls I called the countertop installer to set up appointment for them to build template.

My request to have a neighbor let them in the house and have installer call with questions or issues was denied. They wanted me onsite to 1) answer questions and 2) sign documents. Oh, and they would not come out on a Saturday so I could make it a weekend trip and their Friday appts. were booked to far out.

I managed to find a cheap flight but paid dearly for it. It was supposed to leave Dallas and 8:30 but we were delayed an hour and a half for two reasons. One, the were waiting on a part that needed to be shipped to Philadelphia and then the rear door would not seal.

I've been on flights that left an hour or more late and has made that up on the trip but I think there was little incentive for this since it was last flight of the night. We take off and 90 minutes late and arrive 90 minutes after schedule arriving.


It's now 2:30 AM and I go over to Avis to pick up my car. Even at this hour I have to wait and when served I was directed to space E-4. I get in car and drive to exit where they inform me I've got the wrong car and should be in the gray minivan. At this point I'm a little tired so it's conceivable that I really did pick a car from the wrong spot so I jump in car and drive across lot. Nope. E-3 and E-5 are full and my car is from E-4. I snap a quick picture to demonstrate this to attendant but she ain't buying it and so a manager is summoned.

You may be surprised to learn that at 2:45 AM it takes said manager 15 minutes to get to gate and another 15 minutes to resolve the issue. There was no apology or anything like that but they did inform me that my plane being late was the likely culprit. They did not respond to my inquiry of why after said flight was late I was directed to E-4 and that I was just following directions.

I did not arrive at property and get to bed until 5:00 AM and meeting was for 8:30 AM. I'm too old to function on 3 hours of sleep but I was able to answer questions about installation and sign off on papers. I cleaned up some areas and did a few other tasks and headed back to airport at 5:00 PM. Luckily no issues leaving.

Here is a picture of the template. The countertops are slated to be installed on5/2. We inch closer to using the place.....

 

[PelicanPines]

Omg... I had to do that exact farm sink mod for a client... I had to get more creative... the wood was natural hickory... I farmed a piece from a too wide filler strip... getting at the filler strip was another story... had to remove three uppers and the corner cabinet.

 

[Finallygotit]

Getting there Brian!

 

[Brian R]

Omg... I had to do that exact farm sink mod for a client... I had to get more creative... the wood was natural hickory... I farmed a piece from a too wide filler strip... getting at the filler strip was another story... had to remove three uppers and the corner cabinet.

Pelican - Yikes. My plumber wanted me to remove one upper cabinet for running a water line and I said no way and showed him a way we could squeeze it in next to existing drain. I'm also glad to hear I'm making similar mistake as the pros do and desperately hoping it turn out better than the hack I am.

Getting there Brian!

Finally, you bet and thanks for following along.


Brian

 

[Brian R]

My wife had not been to the property in 2 years. There were a few reasons. One, she was not so interested in 'camping' there. (which is odd since we do a fair amount of camping and it was not that primitive: I mean there is running hot water for showers and a working toilet but we do lack beds and appliances). Another reason was that it kind of overwhelming and discouraging how much time and $ needed to complete it.

However, I finally convinced her for me to finish I needed some input on multiple items and so we spent a weekend there two weeks ago. It went well since her friend (who we stayed with) is gung ho about the place and we were able to resolve some final design issues and picked out several light fixtures and ceiling fans, etc.

In addition, I had one Saturday for a project and I decided to tackle the gangway to the dock. The original one left a lot to be desired. It was built out of 2x6x12 and it was not actually connected to the dock. This meant it was undersized and used rocks to hold it down in place.

My replacement is built from 2x10x16 and is fashioned out of galvanized hardware. I was not able to finish decking but that will be done shortly. Now I'll have access to the dock which also has issues that need to be addressed but at least I can get to it.

I probably need to add another set of pilings but I think what I came up with will work for the time being.

 

[Finallygotit]

Nice work Brian. Who's the cute little guy that photo-bombed your picture.

 

[Brian R]

Dan,
I had a friend help that day and he brought his dog Musket.

Here are some pictures of mine. They are mixed breed rescues - Molson and Miller (I've been know to drink some beer).

 

[Bob Heine]

Brian, that's a real nice upgrade from "Walking the Plank" to access the dock. Do you have a boat?

 

[Brian R]

Brian, that's a real nice upgrade from "Walking the Plank" to access the dock. Do you have a boat?

Bob,
Thanks and yes. A neat little 15' Boston Whaler bought when the kids were 10 and 6 and served us really well. It has been bullet proof and easy to manage. This is a picture of my kids taking out some friends a few years ago for an afternoon ride.

They will turn 24 and 20 this year and so we might need a bigger boat.

Brian

 

[Bob Heine]

...we might need a bigger boat.

Brian

Words I and a few other boaters may have said. Those are great little boats.

 

[wasfast]

I'm curious what your wife's reaction was since she hadn't been there through the process, excepting some pictures I'm sure.

 

[Finallygotit]

^^^^^^^^^^^


What he said (asked).

 

[Brian R]

I'm curious what your wife's reaction was since she hadn't been there through the process, excepting some pictures I'm sure.

^^^^^^^^^^^


What he said (asked).

Wasfast & Finally,

She was surprised - both about how much was done and how much had to be done. She loves it and thinks it looks great but she is also practical and is wondering how we can finish it. New goal is July 3 since that is when are dear friends from Ireland are going to spend 4-5 days with us.


She spent a great deal of her time outside. That's not exactly where all the crucial parts of the TO DO list are but it is spectacularly beautiful and she hadn't walked the whole property yet.

My whole family is heading out there this weekend for a week and she just told me her goal was to bring some mud boots to work on yard and then 'direct' me on the punch-list. I'm fine with that.

 

[Brian R]

My brother and I had an opportunity to visit the house together 2 weeks ago. The trip was set in motion over the winter with two main goals: See the St. Louis Cardinals play the Washington Nationals and then visit with our father who is now 81 years old and we don't get much time to visit with him together.

This also worked out perfectly because I was also able to line up the countertop installation for the same weekend.

In between all that my brother helped with some projects around the house. First we finished the framing for the gangway and installed the rest of the planks. (I've got an order in for missing composite decking plank and replacement boards for the dock - you can see some missing in the picture and there are some that are pretty rotted).

He also helped me finish assembling the 2 Ikea sleeper sofas for the den on the third floor. The first picture with one frame build was taken April 10 and the one with the fully assembled pieces are from May 3 and notice the difference in the greenery.

 

[RickP]

Your progress on the house looks really good Brian. I hope you and your family are able to spend some time there in June.

 

[Brian R]

Your progress on the house looks really good Brian. I hope you and your family are able to spend some time there in June.

RickP - thanks for following along. My son and I spent a week there around Memorial Day and I have pics and stories to post but have not had enough time to put proper posts together.

Here are a couple of shots from our time there. We had a few problems but we also had a ton of fun and got some big things done.

We are also heading out there for 2 weeks at the end of this month and so I'm really excited.

Hope things are good for you.

Brian

 

[Finallygotit]

Boy, that place is shaping up real nice Brian.

 

[bashr52]

Just seeing this now that it has filtered backup to the front page. I live in Chincoteague currently and am in the process of building a new house/garage just of the island. I feel your pain about trying to remodel a house from that far away, I'm having a hard time getting a place built on the eastern shore and I'm only 15 minutes away!

 

[Brian R]

Boy, that place is shaping up real nice Brian.

Thanks, Finallygotit. I really dig your place and your tribute to 1/2 cup was spot on.

Just seeing this now that it has filtered backup to the front page. I live in Chincoteague currently and am in the process of building a new house/garage just of the island. I feel your pain about trying to remodel a house from that far away, I'm having a hard time getting a place built on the eastern shore and I'm only 15 minutes away!

Bashr - yeah, I'm pretty burned out right now but this summer the place is finally going to function as it should. We're hosting a cousin's reunion and having some dear friends over from Ireland.

I love Chincotegue but haven't been able to get down there much - this house ***** up all my time. Good luck with your project.

 

[Brian R]

Travel

The last big job is to install screens [yellow lines in first picture] on 2nd floor (screened porch and bump out off of dining room) and balusters [green lines in first picture] on 3rd floor (deck and balcony off master bedroom). Note that this first picture was taken some time ago.

I originally planned to spend approximately 10 days there. I needed to rent a lift since the screening system selected needed to be installed from the outside and enlisted my son to help. Our original plan was to fly up there by ourselves but my wife and daughter wanted to come up also. I figured this would be beneficial since they could help with certain projects (not the least of which is unpacking everything from out of storage but also painting, etc.)

Now what to do with the two dogs we have? Our regular dog sitter was away and kenneling them for that long wasn’t an option. We switch to Plan B where my son and I drive up there with dogs and then wife and daughter fly up later. It’s 1410 miles each way and eats up lots of time but it does enable us to take dogs, move an SUV worth of household goods, and we no longer need to rent a vehicle while we were there.

The master plan falls apart right away. We leave Friday and are hit with terrible traffic in Arkansas and Tennessee and a 20 hour drive turns into 23.5 hours. And to add insult to injury there are bad storms in Dallas and my wife and daughters flight to Philadelphia is cancelled after they spend approximately 8 hours at the airport. It gets worse in that there are no open flights on Sunday or Monday and pretty much the rest of the week due to flight cancellations and holiday travel and so they never make it up. So now son and I are on own rushing to finish projects with the added bonus of taking care of 2 dogs.

An inauspicious start but here is picture of lift and dogs.

 

[Brian R]

Countertops

I’m behind in posting. While I was out there in early May the countertops were installed.

They are made out of recycled glass and this is the item that the kitchen was built around – my wife saw this product and selected cabinets to match. It’s a small kitchen and so not much countertop space if you exclude the island.

The island piece is big though. Roughly 58” by 74” and it is on the second floor. The staircase is narrow (less than 34 inches wide) and there are four turns from ground floor to 2nd floor. The template builder said they would need 4 guys to install it. However, lead installer said muscle would help but they wouldn’t fit so only two guys showed up.

They were an interesting pair and very talkative. They moved the four smaller pieces in first which I thought was odd since I would think you would move large piece before you tire yourself out. I asked why and was told that most of the carpet needed to place on stairs and landing were underneath the other pieces for protection in travel so that they needed to empty truck prior to moving big piece.

So small pieces were brought up and then carpet was laid down (it can break if they set it on wooden stairs to rest). The island has locking casters but I was asked to stand next to island to insure it does not move when they set down countertop. In the middle of carrying it up I hear one guy exclaim,

“C’mon man – my wife is heavier than this!”

They got it done and patched the pieces together. I’ve now got to:

Finish installation of sink and drain
Install backsplash
Paint and finish window trim

Toolfool politely PM’d me to say it was not a good idea to have sink front rest on that little bit of cabinet. I really appreciate that and if anyone spots anything I do that looks wrong – PLEASE CHIME IN. In case you haven’t noticed I have no idea what I’m doing ½ of the time.

 

[Bob Heine]

Brian, if you know what you are doing half the time you are doing well. I dive into most projects knowing nothing and learning enough through my mistakes to get it right on the third or fourth try. I may have to avoid your thread for a bit to be sure my wife doesn't see your counters. She wants something different that isn't dark.

 

[Brian R]

Prep and Clean Porch for screen install


The porch had become a dumping ground for leftover material and most of the furniture from the living room. In the first picture you can see a piano and piano bench, a chair, a daybed, coffee table and mirror. These items will be cleaned up and reused except for the piano.

I’ve become close to one of the families that had rented this place for more than 25 years. He told me that the first year they showed up it was out of tune and when they mentioned it the PO he had it serviced and tuned for the next year and thereafter. When I bought the place, I was showing it to friends. We were walking around outside at night and had left all the sliding glass doors open. My friend’s husband went in to grab some beers and stopped at the piano to play some tunes. The music filled the whole property and it was something. But no one in my family plays and this particular model seems to be pretty cheap. Plus, it had been left outside for over two years.

We decided the best thing to do with it was to get rid of it. Rather than toss it off the 2nd story we decided to take it apart (aided by a saws-all). Funny thing is I also found a Service Date sticker – last service date 7/23/82. Although it is possible it was serviced and not marked. We threw the pieces off the deck – ready for the burn pile. I'm no expert but taking it apart confirmed how cheap it was - the keys were made of wood and just painted black and white.


My daughter says we should get a new piano to replace it - we will see.

The next picture shows us starting to clean the floor. The fiberglass decking was installed over two years ago and I haven’t swept this surface in all of that time. I was worried this dirt/pollen/sawdust/junk would be a real pain. However, all it took was a little water and a stiff bristle broom and good as new (see corner of porch).

 

[JJ13]

Toolfool politely PM’d me to say it was not a good idea to have sink front rest on that little bit of cabinet. I really appreciate that and if anyone spots anything I do that looks wrong – PLEASE CHIME IN. In case you haven’t noticed I have no idea what I’m doing ½ of the time.

Good catch ToolFool. I agree, your cabinet probably only has 2-4 pocket hole screws and a little glue on that horizontal piece that is supporting the sink. Add a center support at a minimum to avoid repair or replacement work in the future.

Think about the weight of the sink combined with the weight of water (8.35 lbs. per gallon), and possibly leaning into it to scrub a pot/pan or simply using it to steady yourself. That's a lot of weight on that thin horizontal support which was originally only holding false drawer front panels, if I'm not mistaken.

If I were you, I'd measure the vertical distance and buy 1x2 or possibly even a piece of hard wood 1x3 to put under the center of the sink. It won't restrict the opening much and it's not like you're constantly under there, right?

This next step depends on the hinges used but if they're flat face hinges I'd also put 1x1 or 1x2 pieces on each side cutting them for clearance over the hinges and using 3-4 screws into the cabinet face frame. That way it's easily removeable (no glue, simply working as jack studs to support the weight like under a window or door opening). Of course, this doesn't work if you have Blum type hinges instead of the flat type like you find on a door.

Also, I've not chimed in before but I am REALLY enjoying watching your progress. Nice work!

 

[Brian R]

Good catch ToolFool. I agree, your cabinet probably only has 2-4 pocket hole screws and a little glue on that horizontal piece that is supporting the sink. Add a center support at a minimum to avoid repair or replacement work in the future.

Think about the weight of the sink combined with the weight of water (8.35 lbs. per gallon), and possibly leaning into it to scrub a pot/pan or simply using it to steady yourself. That's a lot of weight on that thin horizontal support which was originally only holding false drawer front panels, if I'm not mistaken.

If I were you, I'd measure the vertical distance and buy 1x2 or possibly even a piece of hard wood 1x3 to put under the center of the sink. It won't restrict the opening much and it's not like you're constantly under there, right?

This next step depends on the hinges used but if they're flat face hinges I'd also put 1x1 or 1x2 pieces on each side cutting them for clearance over the hinges and using 3-4 screws into the cabinet face frame. That way it's easily removeable (no glue, simply working as jack studs to support the weight like under a window or door opening). Of course, this doesn't work if you have Blum type hinges instead of the flat type like you find on a door.

Also, I've not chimed in before but I am REALLY enjoying watching your progress. Nice work!

JJ13 - thanks and really appreciate the kind words and that you are following along and chiming in. I hope I make enough progress this summer that I can start planning the garage.

I'm heading back up there next week and solving the sink (lack of) support problem is no. 1 on my to do list. I think Toolfool really helped me dodge a bullet. Yes, the weight of the water is an issue and as you and a friend point out, how many people end up leaning against your kitchen sink?

Brian

 

[Brian R]

Screen System?

The first picture shows the house when we bought it. If you look closely you can see that the screened in porch on second floor featured some sections that featured no barriers to protect someone from following through and some that feature an X crossed threaded long rods. This system was not safe and was not up to code. What to replace it with?

We looked at balusters (either metal or wooden), clear panels (plexiglass or class), or a cable railing system. We ruled out balusters because we wanted to maximize the view. We ruled out the clear panels because of cost and not really liking that look for the house. So it looked like the cable wire would be the best option. However, it turned out this system would be super expensive for this project.

A couple of things worked against me for a cable wire railing. They work much better when your wire runs are longer. Typical installation feature two posts on each corner so that the cable passes through the first 4x4 and then there are 45 degree though post fittings to the next 4x4. The corners on our porch feature 4x4 clusters and additional clusters in the center of the 24-foot width of the porch. This means we would not have many posts where the cable would pass through posts. We basically would have needed surface mount fitting expenses every 12 feet (in addition we would need these additional fittings on some 4 foot runs on the bumpout screened porch on the other side). Nine fittings at each attachment point every 12 feet becomes astronomically expensive [over $4,000 just for post fittings without cable or other required fittings]. I can’t tell you how much time I spent with graph paper and spreadsheets and looking for ways to make this work and how thoroughly discouraged I was when when I crunched the numbers.

And then a stroke of luck and good fortune. While researching screening systems I came across ScreenTight MeshGuard. Basically, they have designed an ‘infill below the rail’ screen system that confirms to building codes. It was created to replace balusters and provide unobstructed views. It basically installs similar to a regular screen system with spline with a few innovations:

1. Plastic base is installed with a metal strip (and installed with longer screws)
2. Spline is flat on one side and is larger/thicker than regular spline
3. Special screen material

Perfect! I emailed the Kent County MD building inspector and included a summary of what I wanted to do (picture attached) and the ISS-ES Evaluation Report [Issued 5/2018]. I was told my property was the first in Kent County to be granted approval to use this system.

This was a real great moment for me. This saved a ton of money and creates the perfect look (the final picture is from the ScreenTight MeshGaurd website and illustrates what I want my porch to look light).

 

[54earl]

What a journey. Looking forward to the garage posts.

 

[Brian R]

Brian, if you know what you are doing half the time you are doing well. I dive into most projects knowing nothing and learning enough through my mistakes to get it right on the third or fourth try. I may have to avoid your thread for a bit to be sure my wife doesn't see your counters. She wants something different that isn't dark.

Bob,
Just in case you want to take a look it is made by Curava.


https://curava.com/

It's funny because both my wife and I have thoroughly avoided the update the countertop phase over the past 25 years. Two kitchen renovations we've done included formica laminate countertops.

But this Curava was seen early in the process at a Lowe's and since the countertop area is not all that large we decided to go all in with it. It ended up being $68 a square foot installed so I guess it could of been worse with some type or grade of granite.

Brian

 

[Brian R]

What a journey. Looking forward to the garage posts.

54earl,
Thanks and me too. I'm heading out there next week and appliances are set to be delivered Monday. I've got 100 items on the punch list but I certainly plan on walking the property to find the perfect place to put a garage and that is moving it along.

Thanks for following.

Brian

 

[Brian R]

Installing Lumber for Screen System

Now we have the screen system figured out and permission to use it. Below the rail we will be installing ScreenTight Mesh Guard and above the rail it is regular ScreenTight. All of the system will be installed from the outside but before that we need to install 2x4’s in between each 4x4 posts. The screen porch is basically three 12x12 foot sections shaped in an L. They are divided in half by a single 4x4 post and then each corner and the center of the long 24-foot sections are divided by a cluster of 4x4’s.

I’ve been ordering my lumber from a local company and it has worked out well. I can place an order and within a couple of days it is delivered. However, they were really uncompetitive with cedar for some reason and I needed to pick up some light fixtures at the Home Depot about 40 miles away and so I decided to order the lumber from the big box store. Plus, since the posts are approximately 6’ feet apart I could order 2’x4’x12” Home Depot could cut them all in half for free and they would still fit in our Honda Pilot.

HD said that everything would be ready by 6am so I stroll in and am told that the order is not done and they need to track down the problem. However, it turned out the last 4 pieces were pretty curved warped and ugly and the guy cutting them wanted me so see ‘em before he thrust on me. I tell him that I can use these on the header since they are attached to the bottom of 4’x10’ and mostly hidden from view. So sometimes these box stores pleasantly surprise me.

Here are a few pictures of the order, loading wood up porch and then working through installing 2x4 handrails, "footers' and 'headers'. We will attach the 1.5” plastic base of the ScreenTight system on the outside of all this lumber (2x4 horizontal pieces we installed and then vertical pieces to the 4x4 posts that were installed earlier.

The 'footer's or bottom pieces were left slightly off the deck in order for them to allow water to run off. I'm going to have to see how well that works when the next big rain storm runs through.

 

[Brian R]

Lift and screen porch

Day 1 we install lumber. Day 2 we install ScreenTight base system. We were able to complete both of these jobs without the lift since they could be completed from the porch. I had rented a lift in order to install screen with spline and then cover this with a white cap and we begin this work on the 3rd day.

I spend about an hour in the lift with my son handing me material as I go. This works well for the upper portions but there are parts of the ScreenTight MeshGuard installation where two people are better and so after a little while my son joins me in the bucket. Then disaster strikes because when the lift fails and we are stuck in the air about 15 feet off the ground and a good 4 feet from the porch.

We have no phone to call anyone and the lots are each 5-7 acres so don’t bother screaming since they couldn’t hear us. What to do? We finally decide that the best option is for my son to scamper from bucket to porch. I’m a little nervous but he makes it. It turns out that the lift controls from the bucket work intermittently. Now we are at a point where we think it would not be the most efficient use of time to keep the lift. We can control it from the ground but if there is only one person in lift they need to be handed material. For the portions of the work that require two people in the bucket we’re worried that we will get stuck again and this time too far from porch for rescue.

Here is a picture of the work that we were able to do before the lift failed. There are twelve 6-foot sections. We were able to work on three of them before lift failed.

Green ovals reveal ScreenTight base
Red ovals reveal ScreenTight MeshGuard base with steel retaining plate
Yellow ovals reveal White caps that cover bases

I returned lift to rental place. The mechanic was off that week so no opportunity to get it fixed. They did agree to let me have for the balance of my term when they get it fixed.

 

[y'sguy]

I recall seeing the beginnings of your endeavor from waaay back. So I just took the time to start over and review/catch up to where you are now, since I was never subscribed before.
I must say, a fabulous performance! It is indeed a wonderful place you have brought back to life and will be a great place to retire. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Brian R]

I recall seeing the beginnings of your endeavor from waaay back. So I just took the time to start over and review/catch up to where you are now, since I was never subscribed before.
I must say, a fabulous performance! It is indeed a wonderful place you have brought back to life and will be a great place to retire. Thanks for sharing it with us.

y'sguy - thanks for that and following along. Read through your Blackhawk restoration and you do great work.

Brian

 

[Brian R]

My family and I spent two amazing weeks at the property earlier this summer. We were there the last week of June and first week of July.

The 4th on the Bay is my favorite time there. To me it's like Christmas, Thanksgiving, last day of school and your birthday all rolled into one great holiday. Fireworks, crabs, beer and boat rides - we had it all.

Although during this trip I also needed to complete many tasks including the following -
1. Moving beds, furniture, dishes, etc. from storage unit to house
2. Assemble beds and arrange furniture
3. Delivery and installation of kitchen appliances
4. Finish installing screen system for porch
5. Install ladder on dock
6. Get boat running


On top of this we invite two sets of people over. The first weekend featured a Cousin's Reunion and the second weekend we hosted our good friends from Ireland and their two teenaged kids.

I ran around like a mad man between work and fun and so did not take nearly enough pictures to document my work or results. I'm going to post what I have of the various projects but in the meantime here is a summary of one little project.

Our kitchen table was damaged in storage. It is built with four canoe paddles as legs and one broke off. It was not well built to begin with because the paddles were not attached correctly so the table would shake violently whenever you brushed against it (especially annoying at breakfast because coffee would spill everywhere).

I've never owned a table saw and bought a portable Dewalt since eventually I want to install some built-in furniture. My friend from Ireland, Tony (as seen in pictures) owns his own business in Ireland restoring houses and was extremely helpful with several projects. Here he is putting the saw to use ripping boards to use to strengthen stringers that hold paddles (legs) in place.

Final picture is of kids sitting at table on screened porch.

 

[Toolfool]

Tell the truth, you only invited Ton so you could get some work out of him. (just kidding). Glad to see you and family enjoying all the hard work you put in.